I am teaching a class on the Makers of Modern Theater. I am having the opportunity to re-read Stanislavski's An Actor's Work in the new translation by Jean Benedetti.
I am asking the students to identify key terms and define them, supporting the definitions with quotes from the text.
Stanislavski's writing style, and the convoluted paths of his writings to publication and translation, make for a text that is sometimes confusing and hard to pull together. Nonetheless, there are gems to be found and savored.
Perhaps it is just reading through my own lens, but I am heartened when I read places where KS seems to agree with my own thoughts and process:
"You must absorb and filter any system through yourself, make it your own, retain its essentials and develop it in your own way." xxv
"When choosing an action, leave your feelings alone. They will appear of their own accord as a result of something which has gone before, that evokes jealousy, love, or suffering." 43
"You must use accidents, feelings wisely, must not reject but cherish and yet not base your artistic planning on them." 338
The last quoted reminds me of what I so often tell actors: use what you bring. If you've had a fight, if you are worried, let the energy of those feelings influence your actions in character- within your character's Given Circumstances.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Why do "Children's Theater"?
This is a great article. I would add that it doesn't go far enough: the very best is doing theater with young people.
Why Children's Theater Matters.
Why Children's Theater Matters.
Bragging rights
I may not hold the copyright, but I certainly hold the bragging rights!
My daughter, the award winning playwright Beth Kander, has another feather in her cap!
I have mentioned her play See Jane Quit.
Now, another of her plays, Scrambled, has won two awards. Scrambled has won best play of the year for 2012 at the Southeastern Theatre Conference AND is one of the top ten finalists for the Jewish Play Project.
I couldn't be more proud!
My daughter, the award winning playwright Beth Kander, has another feather in her cap!
I have mentioned her play See Jane Quit.
Now, another of her plays, Scrambled, has won two awards. Scrambled has won best play of the year for 2012 at the Southeastern Theatre Conference AND is one of the top ten finalists for the Jewish Play Project.
I couldn't be more proud!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
My life in Theater Art
My Life in Theater Art
I fell in love with the theater when my sixth grade teacher read Taming of the Shrew aloud to the class. I went to the Stratford Festival and saw great theater- and not so great. I started acting in high school and from that day to this I have performed in, produced, written and directed hundreds of shows.
I love the transformational power of theater. Theater saved my life, giving an awkward, introverted girl a community and a shared experience of power and energy and connection. I have seen this magic work again and again on actors, crew, designers, directors, -everyone, as Stanislavsky would say, including the hat check girl. I love the power of ensemble: the very real experience that together, our whole is far greater than the sum of our individual parts.
I hate theater that despises its audience. Without the audience, there is no theater. We, as theater artists, must develop our audience, tease, tempt, teach our audience. I don't advocate a "comfortable" theater or a safe theater; I do advocate a theater that seeks and engages the audience.
I have many goals for theater. One personal goal: I would like to see theater artists who are teens- or who work with teens and youth - recognized as (potentially) valid theater artists. Also, expanding on my comment #2 above, I would like to see the work of amateurs- those who do this work for the love of it- to be recognized for the important work that it often has been.
I fell in love with the theater when my sixth grade teacher read Taming of the Shrew aloud to the class. I went to the Stratford Festival and saw great theater- and not so great. I started acting in high school and from that day to this I have performed in, produced, written and directed hundreds of shows.
I love the transformational power of theater. Theater saved my life, giving an awkward, introverted girl a community and a shared experience of power and energy and connection. I have seen this magic work again and again on actors, crew, designers, directors, -everyone, as Stanislavsky would say, including the hat check girl. I love the power of ensemble: the very real experience that together, our whole is far greater than the sum of our individual parts.
I hate theater that despises its audience. Without the audience, there is no theater. We, as theater artists, must develop our audience, tease, tempt, teach our audience. I don't advocate a "comfortable" theater or a safe theater; I do advocate a theater that seeks and engages the audience.
I have many goals for theater. One personal goal: I would like to see theater artists who are teens- or who work with teens and youth - recognized as (potentially) valid theater artists. Also, expanding on my comment #2 above, I would like to see the work of amateurs- those who do this work for the love of it- to be recognized for the important work that it often has been.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Why I have been so passionate about youth in theater
A few months ago, I was asked a few questions about why I have been so involved with youth theater for over twenty years. Here are some of my answers.
I guess why I have done this so long and for so many hours and sometimes even at cost to myself is because I believe in theater and I believe in young people. I believe in the power of both theater and youth to transform our world.
I believe that theater gives us an opportunity to put ourselves in another's shoes and see the world from another perspective. Theater allows us to question, to explore questions of what it means to be human, what it means to be good, what it means to love.
I believe that young people have the energy and the vision to take on the challenges of making the world a better place. One of my favorite quotes is attributed to John Andrew Holmes:
“Never tell a young person that anything cannot be done. God may have been waiting centuries for someone ignorant enough of the impossible to do that very thing.”
I believe that young people care about the big questions and the hard questions. I feel that most places and people water things down for kids, thinking they are protecting kids. It's not helpful for a teen struggling with depression to be misled that everything is always sunshine or always should be.
I guess why I have done this so long and for so many hours and sometimes even at cost to myself is because I believe in theater and I believe in young people. I believe in the power of both theater and youth to transform our world.
I believe that theater gives us an opportunity to put ourselves in another's shoes and see the world from another perspective. Theater allows us to question, to explore questions of what it means to be human, what it means to be good, what it means to love.
I believe that young people have the energy and the vision to take on the challenges of making the world a better place. One of my favorite quotes is attributed to John Andrew Holmes:
“Never tell a young person that anything cannot be done. God may have been waiting centuries for someone ignorant enough of the impossible to do that very thing.”
I believe that young people care about the big questions and the hard questions. I feel that most places and people water things down for kids, thinking they are protecting kids. It's not helpful for a teen struggling with depression to be misled that everything is always sunshine or always should be.
Monday, January 9, 2012
stay tuned for more news
I will be returning here- I hope later today- because I am mulling a lot in my mind.
I have taken a job directing a musical! Which is definitely branching out of my comfort zone!
However, some of my old discomforts from the world of youth theater remain.
What I want to discuss/ put out there is:
How can youth artists and those who work with them find respect and come to be valued as youth artists?
And: thinking over the requests to "adapt," "water-down," "make more comfortable" a script to "suit" the youth performers- or, more properly, their parents.
I think the two are linked. I either will be leaving youth theater, or breaking out of the mold.
I have taken a job directing a musical! Which is definitely branching out of my comfort zone!
However, some of my old discomforts from the world of youth theater remain.
What I want to discuss/ put out there is:
How can youth artists and those who work with them find respect and come to be valued as youth artists?
And: thinking over the requests to "adapt," "water-down," "make more comfortable" a script to "suit" the youth performers- or, more properly, their parents.
I think the two are linked. I either will be leaving youth theater, or breaking out of the mold.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Teaching and directing
When I was in graduate school, I was teaching and directing as part of my fellowship. In fact, most of the instructors in the department were called upon to direct on one stage or another in addition to their teaching responsibilities.
A group of undergrads, for reasons that I no longer recall, presented a survey to the many director-instructors of our department asking: Which do you prefer: Teaching or directing? Why? Which do you identify as, a teacher or a director? Why?
After some thought, I answered that I feel that a director- a good one- should be a teacher, and that in theater, at least, a teacher - a good one- should be a sort of director.
The word "educate" comes from Latin sources that mean "to bring out, to lead forth". At its best, directing guides the actor in bringing out the actor's own creativity. Good directing leads forth the artistic team of actors, designers and technicians to finding their own unique, organic whole that is realized in the production.
When I am teaching, I am also working to guide the students to their own discoveries. I prepare and present and propose- and the real learning happens as the students make their own connections and draw their own conclusions. When I am successful in leading forth the students into the new ideas and connections, I will bring out the students' interests and innate abilities and engage their intellects.
Whether directing or teaching, I feel that I can only lead and guide. I create an environment where discoveries can be made and shared.
Ultimately I think it is impossible to "do" directing to someone, or to "do" teaching to someone. The director guides the actor and other theater artists; the teacher guides the students. Director or teacher may offer information or insight, may pose questions or suggest possibilities. In either case, the actor or student, must make the connection within themselves to bring the character to life- or make the learning their own.
“Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths pure theatre.” - Gail Godwin
A group of undergrads, for reasons that I no longer recall, presented a survey to the many director-instructors of our department asking: Which do you prefer: Teaching or directing? Why? Which do you identify as, a teacher or a director? Why?
After some thought, I answered that I feel that a director- a good one- should be a teacher, and that in theater, at least, a teacher - a good one- should be a sort of director.
The word "educate" comes from Latin sources that mean "to bring out, to lead forth". At its best, directing guides the actor in bringing out the actor's own creativity. Good directing leads forth the artistic team of actors, designers and technicians to finding their own unique, organic whole that is realized in the production.
When I am teaching, I am also working to guide the students to their own discoveries. I prepare and present and propose- and the real learning happens as the students make their own connections and draw their own conclusions. When I am successful in leading forth the students into the new ideas and connections, I will bring out the students' interests and innate abilities and engage their intellects.
Whether directing or teaching, I feel that I can only lead and guide. I create an environment where discoveries can be made and shared.
Ultimately I think it is impossible to "do" directing to someone, or to "do" teaching to someone. The director guides the actor and other theater artists; the teacher guides the students. Director or teacher may offer information or insight, may pose questions or suggest possibilities. In either case, the actor or student, must make the connection within themselves to bring the character to life- or make the learning their own.
“Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths pure theatre.” - Gail Godwin
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