a director's notebook

Why do "Children's Theater"?

2012-01-29T13:06:00.003-05:00

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.

Bragging rights

2012-01-29T12:25:00.003-05:00

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 life in Theater Art

2012-01-18T08:20:00.001-05:00

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.

Why I have been so passionate about youth in theater

2012-01-10T21:09:00.002-05:00

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.

stay tuned for more news

2012-01-09T08:20:00.002-05:00

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.

Teaching and directing

2012-01-03T16:08:00.004-05:00

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

funding your theater troupe

2011-12-04T09:52:00.005-05:00

Image by Free-StockPhotos.com

Theater is an expensive art. There is an old theater adage that in theater, you might "get lucky and make a killing, but you may not be able to make a living".

A first step in determining how to fund your theater troupe is to determine what your costs are likely to be.

Some likely costs:

costumes and make up- Depending on the show, these may be built, bought (for cheap at Salvation Army or Goodwill- or you may shop at real retail if you have the budget), or borrowed/rented.
fees, honoraria, stipends- You may consider paying the director, tech director, or various specialists for workshops in dance, design, music, or stage combat.
food- I've been working in youth theater for many years. EVERYTHING goes much more smoothly with adequate hydration and snacks every couple of hours. This works for adult groups too. These needs may be addressed by donated items or requesting folks to bring their own; however, I am listing food because I believe it to be an essential ingredient to successful theater!
insurance- At the very least, you should consider having liability insurance.
office supplies- Paper and pencils and pens, oh my! The thousand and one things needed to keep your organization organized must to come from somewhere.
postage- More and more communications are digital; however, there are still uses for the post office in mailing checks for reimbursement, sending packages, mailing promotional materials.
printing- Printing will be needed for programs, scripts, enrollment forms, posters, promotional materials.
props- "Properties" such as canes, cards, guns and roses may be acquired in much the same ways as costumes.
rental- You will need to plan for rental of rehearsal space, of performance space, of tech equipment such as lighting or microphones, of instruments- you name it. However, the big one is space: unless you are fortunate enough to have a relationship with a site suitable for rehearsal and/or performance, this is a big expense.
repairs- You will need to plan for the repair of the items you have in inventory, or (gulp) the ones you borrow that get damaged.
royalties- Theater artists should support other theater artists! If you are using a script written by a modern playwright, or a script translated recently, you will need to pay royalty fees to the holder of the copyright/publisher of the script. One of the many benefits of Shakespeare- and Shaw and Wilde as well- is that the scripts are in the public domain, and thus royalty free.
scripts- The physical scripts themselves may need to be purchased. This is a separate cost from the royalty costs.
sets- These can be inexpensive using backdrop curtains or existing sets on your site and borrowed furniture- or elaborate and expensive - or anywhere in between.
technology- Depending on your play and your concept, this may include laptops, light projectors, dimmer boards for lights, mixing boards for sound. Again these may be borrowed or rented. A website is fast becoming a necessity for virtually* any organization.
video- Often friends or family of the cast will volunteer; however, having a quality video is often well worth the price of having a professional do your recording.

In my theater troupes, we have found ways to minimize every one of those costs.

Costumes have been supplied by parents for individual actors, or costumes have been supplied by the actors themselves. Costumes have been borrowed from other theater troupes at low/no cost. While the plus side is that the costume budget is low, the negative side is that the design unity will inevitably suffer.
For years I was not paid for any of my work, nor was anyone else. While this use of a "labor of love" keeps costs down, it can also lead to burn out of your best- and also to the difficulty of "firing" those whose work is not the best in quality or in timeliness.
Food costs can be kept down by asking each family to take turns donating snacks or to have members bring their own.
I don't advocate skimping on insurance. This is for everyone's protection.
Office supplies are often donated by members/participants.
Postage costs have decreased as more and more communication has become electronic.
Printing costs can be brought down by printing fewer items. Sometimes, materials can be distributed as PDF files and each individual user can print their own.
Props are borrowed whenever possible. It was a game for my husband to try to spot how many items from our home were onstage. On one occasion, as the set opened to the interior of Scrooge's home, my husband turned to me and said, "Wow! We have a wall clock at home just like that one!" Without missing a beat, I said, "No we don't- not right now, anyway!"
Rental costs are hard to keep down. Our troupes have borrowed members' basements for rehearsal, rehearsed outdoors in public parks, and negotiated percentage-of-profit or percentage-of-fees payments to some of the theater spaces we have used.
Repairs can only be minimized by being very careful with the materials that you use.
Our troupes have favored the plays of Shakespeare because they are brilliant- and also because they are royalty free, since the works are now public domain. When using the work of a living translator for Sophocles' Antigone, we were able to find a translation online that the translator made available royalty-free- so long as you acknowledged the work and let the translator know where your performance was.
Scripts have been distributed as PDF attachments in email, for individual printing.
Set costs can be minimized by creative use of design- deliberately choosing minimalist or easily borrowed/adapted sets.
Technology costs have been minimized by having crew members use their own laptops, and/or borrowing from the theater spaces we are using. Volunteers for website design and maintenance can be lovely, but you are not retaining ownership and control of your site.
Videos have often been made by friends and family, with distribution costs borne by individual purchasers (Hey! Give me a blank tape and I'll make you a copy!). However, in more recent years, MYT was fortunate to connect with Double Vision, a team of videographers who taped the shows and sold the DVDs to the cast members, at no/low cost to MYT. The quality of these videos has been far superior to the volunteers from previous seasons.

So- those are some of the tips for reducing costs. However, reducing costs doesn't make them disappear! The problem of funding remains.

Funding sources can include:

admission- This is the easiest source of funds. Most people are used to paying admission fees to performances. Depending on where you are performing, or the requirements of any grants you may have received, you may need to call these funds "suggested donations".
advertisements- Selling ads in your program is another way to garner funds for your production.
donations- One of the best reasons for actually incorporating and seeking status as a 501(c)3 organization is that you can offer tax benefits to those who give you donations. As a 501(c)3, you can also give tax credit for donations of tangible goods, such as furniture or costumes. We have also asked for donations for our refreshments table at show time- each family contributing items, which the troupe then sells to the audience members at intermission, often for a "suggested donation" price.
fees- The instituting of cast or show fees for participants was a difficult choice for me to make. However, when one considers the fees paid by student dancers or musicians for their performances and/or concerts, it does make sense. The fees collected not only go towards the costs of costumes and props for the production at hand, but also go towards the cost of insurance and other indirect costs.
grants- Grants can be challenging to write, and the pool of grant money for the arts is drying up these days. Nevertheless, funds are available for the arts and the long hours of research and writing can pay off big time for specific projects or even for your organization.
sales- Sales of refreshments, tee shirts, videos and other merchandise can offset the costs of- and sometimes even net a small profit from- the merchandising of memories.
sponsors- Finding an angel who supports your mission, or a corporate sponsor who wants to be associated with your organization can bring in big bucks. A good relationship with a sponsor can bring in money for years, and provide good will and exposure to the company that supports you.

Over the twenty years and more that I have been involved in youth theater, I've enjoyed the benefits- and the headaches- of grants and of sponsors only a few times. Using all the other funding sources, our troupes have operated in the black for every realized production in our seasons.

* pun originally unintended, now definitely intended!

A fun production- for YOU?

2011-11-17T09:12:00.002-05:00

Award-winning playwright (and my daughter) Beth Kander has a special offer:

All right, social media machine: prove your value! I just got a letter from a publishing company that they are interested in publishing "See Jane Quit"... IF it gets another 1-2 regional theater productions first. Who can help make that happen? I'll allow a *rights-free production* in exchange for the guarantee of a newspaper review/some publicity. This should not be impossible. Please help make my dreams come true! :D

****************

Interested? Email Beth at beth_kander@yahoo.com

Early days of MYT

2011-10-03T10:14:00.009-04:00

Early days of MYT or, how to found and fund your own theater troupe.

I'd founded a 4-H club- a drama club- 8 years earlier.

In the 4-H drama club, we produced Shakespeare. We piloted a Creative Drama Curriculum. We visited a TV studio. We went to plays in Detroit and at Meadowbrook. In the 8 years, we had produced 11 full length plays, including 8 Shakespearean plays. We had created two touring shows. We had field trips to Stratford, Ontario for the Shakespeare Festival.

And some of the teens wanted more.

In founding Michigan Youth Theater, we drew from what we had learned from Class Act as a drama club. We drew from what we had learned from 4-H about organization and creating forms. And we did something completely new, in forming a corporation and applying for 501c3 status.

From Class Act, we had scripts for traveling shows. We had forms created for auditions. We had workable plans for scheduling rehearsals.

From 4-H, we adapted forms for media release, medical release and for collecting insurance information, and forms for registering and creating a database. We searched and found a liability insurance provider similar to that used by 4-H.

Incorporating was a relatively simple process. The government provides helpful websites for those wishing to submit articles of incorporation-- at least in Michigan. You can even find helpful hints of one kind or another or still another.

Applying to become a 501c3 non-profit was a bit more daunting. That required a bit more effort. I'll detail that in a later post.

beginnings: a class act

2011-09-22T19:54:00.007-04:00

My friend Lisa B- and there are a lot of Lisas in my story- asked how I got started with my youth theater troupes. How did I fund them?

So, it's as a good a place as any to begin to answer Lisa's questions, and start to outline the journey I have had with youth theater.

I had joined a 4-H club for home educators. This was a general 4-H club. Each of the project leaders- and I was now one- was to lead a project during the year. I created and directed a skit, based on my skill set.

It was fun, low key, well received.

Another 4-H club was doing an adaptation of Midsummer Night's Dream- could I come and give some advice? So I did.

And I thought: I love Shakespeare! Why haven't I done Shakespeare with my kids?

So I founded a 4-H club, Class Act Drama, to introduce kids ages 5-19 to theater arts. I founded this club in 1992.

The advantages to starting this troupe as a 4-H club were several. Because 4-H is an established youth organization, we started out with some name recognition, and connections to a larger organization and its resources. As a 4-H club, we had access to group insurance for $1 / member, for liability purposes.

Also, the structures and forms of the organization gave us a place to start for internal structures. Later, when I founded the independent group Michigan Youth Theater, I borrowed heavily from the 4-H forms for media release, for medical/insurance info and release, for set up for database info.

For this organization, we charged minimal dues- $5/child*- which covered the insurance costs, and paper, copying and so on. We were able to get free rehearsal spaces, in part thanks to the 4-H label.

When it came to our first production, Taming of the Shrew in spring of 1993, each of the families chipped in for each of their kids' costumes. We found a theater that would let us use their stage- on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday- for $100.

I put up the $100, figuring I might never see it again.

However, I was paid back. This, and every production that has been seen through to performance, ended in the black.

Our funding came from: volunteering and donations from participant families; "well-wisher ads" in the program; admission donations for the performance; donations for the refreshments.

Well-wisher ads are greetings from parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, or friends- one-liners in the program such as "Gloria, you will always be our star!- love, Gramma and Gramps"- for $5. These ads- and later, actual ads from businesses- have always covered the cost of the program, and then some.

Refreshments were donated by the participant families, so any money collected for them was profit for the troupe.

Class Act Drama went on to produce several plays, present workshops, visit television studios and more.

As Class Act grew, I learned more and more about how to run a successful theater troupe. We also developed a core group of young theater artists and their families who were ready to try for the next level of theater excellence.

So we decided to found a new troupe, independent of 4-H, for older youth who wanted a more intense, professional level experience. We created Michigan Youth Theater.

*For Class Act, and for Michigan Youth Theater, I established from the outset that an inability to pay would never be an impediment for participation. Family discounts and scholarships were set up for each organization.

Shakespeare

2011-08-12T10:27:00.003-04:00

Many years ago I directed a production of Twelfth Night with actors aged 7 to 17. After the show, an audience member- someone I knew well- asked in all seriousness how long it had taken me to "translate" the script.

He understood everything being said so well that he assumed I had changed the script.

I hadn't changed the script. The actors, Shakespeare and I had all done our jobs well enough that the audience entered into the world we created together and understood the characters, action and dialogue.

The audience enjoyed the show. They forgot it was Shakespeare. They forgot it was youth. They just had fun watching the comedy.

That's how it should be. Shakespeare is a theatrical genius; just do the *show*, and the audience will have a blast.

And wonder later how long it took you to translate the script from Shakespearean to understandable.

paper trails, to you...

2011-08-09T08:46:00.003-04:00

My last show with my youth theater troupe closed this weekend. Our Comedy of Errors was set in the Wild West, with cowboy-themed sound track. Roy Rogers was singing "Happy Trails, to you..." at every performance.

Hence the title.

I am retiring from this phase of my life- over 20 years of leading youth in exploring theater. I am going through the files, some to save as a part of my life history, and some to give back to the organization for their archives, and some paper goes to the recycling bin.

There is a lot of paper involved in over 20 years of volunteering with youth. In 1990, I became a trained 4-H leader. In 1992, I founded a 4-H club to explore drama. In 2000, I founded a teen theater troupe.

Back in the day, digital archives were not a possibility. So there are multiple, multiple copies of many, many workshop outlines, promo pieces, schedules, programs...

A lot of paper.

It is an opportunity to reflect and recognize the amazing journey.

If you were there in the early years, you may be receiving some snail mail.

I'll share the hard copies of our shared memories with you.

Paper trails, to you...

giving notes; or, how I exercise my drive to be a standup comedian

2011-08-08T14:07:00.006-04:00

I actually enjoy giving director's notes to the cast.

During much of the rehearsal period, as a director, you are breaking the play down into scenes, into moments. I am very vocal during this period, jumping to my feet YES! or ACK! Stop! Do it again- think about where you just were! What do you want?

Later on, however, we have to put it all back together, establish continuity, rhythm, pace, the long arcs of the characters and of the play itself. We can't stop. We run through, all the way through the scene, the act, finally the entire play.

While I, like most directors, take notes.

Sometimes, because the hour is late and actors (and I) have to go home, I type up the notes and email them to the actors after I've returned home. I don't like to do this because A) actors may not understand a specific note, B) actors may not read the notes and C) I like to give notes.

I like to give notes. I do. I make eye contact. I make jokes. I exaggerate, exhort, and expound. I prance and I posture, I prod and I praise.*

From time to time, I may have to shush the actors who are starting side conversations. After all, for many years, the actors with whom I have worked have been teens.

Still, all in all, I have fun giving notes, and the actors have fun receiving the notes.

Here are some of the key ingredients for good note-giving:

Make eye contact. Make sure the actors are listening.
EVERY actor should receive a comment. Each actor should know that they are important, and that their work is (literally) noted.
Use humor. I use a lot of humor at my own expense... I tease and challenge them to be bigger, bolder, more energized than this "old lady"
Catch them doing something right; be specific about when it happened, and what it was. Comments like "you're great" or "good job" might feel good for a moment, but they don't tell the actor where they are succeeding or how to build on that success. A comment like: "I could really see you focus on the other character on your line 'Not now, darling''" tells the actor what is working and when.
Be specific about what you want the actor to change. Comments such as "That's no good" or "I didn't like that" again do not give the actor any useful information. A comment like "When you enter in scene two, try rushing straight to the couch- remember what just happened to the character before you entered" gives the actor useful information about what needs work in the scene, and a suggestion for a new approach.
I try to give both the "director's reason" and the "actor's reason" for a direction. For instance, in the above example, I might remind the actor that the actor's reason- the character's reason- for rushing in is that the character is escaping from an uncomfortable encounter in the other room; while I will admit that my "director's reason" for asking you to rush in and cross to the couch is that the scene needs more energy, and I need you out of the doorway!
Be a believer. Believe in the play, believe in your actors, believe in theater magic. Keep cheering, keep watching, noting, and sharing what you see. Eventually, it all comes together- how? It's a mystery!

*In fact, over the years many parents have confessed they stayed at rehearsals for the entertainment value of watching me give notes!

beginnings and endings

2011-08-07T11:42:00.003-04:00

As the current chapter in my theater life draws to a close, and new chapters are waiting to be written (literally- written!) I reflect back on some of the beginnings.

Although I fell in love with theater earlier, my first on-stage experience didn't happen until I was a freshman in high school when I landed the lead role in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes". Incredible casting, since at that point I was not blonde, voluptuous or preferred- but to be fair, my romantic lead was nothing like a gentleman, either.

It was an odd beginning for the woman and theater artist I have become: "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" is a fluffy little comedy about sex appeal being the way to get a man; about a woman's assets being her- well, physical, not spiritual or mental, attributes.

One of the girls in the cast, a senior, tried to teach me how to walk with a wiggle in my non-existent hips.

The theater department found a blond wig for me.

I was costumed in red satin "flapper style" dresses, though I had nothing whatever to flap.

For the woman I am now- a believer in the complexity and depth of all human beings, a devotee of Shakespeare and others who explore the infinite variety and diversity of the human experience- it was, to say the least, an incongruous place to start.

But.

I made them laugh, and I was hooked.

Rain or shine!

2011-08-07T11:29:00.004-04:00

When working in the theater in the great outdoors, one needs a plan B. Actually, when working in the theater, one needs a plan B.

Sometimes, in fact, one needs a plan B, C, D...

But when working - all summer long- on a production that only has 4 performances on one weekend, one MUST have a plan in case of rain.

Usually, having a plan in case of rain is enough to keep the rain away.

This year, with a new venue, we had lots of rain through the rehearsal period. And discovered that much of the venue had a tendency to flood.

Not good, especially since we need to string lots of extension cords to power our rented lights and sound equipment.

AND this time, it actually rained. On our last performance day, which included a matinee and an evening performance.

And we used plan D.

Plan B was to move the audience on to the (covered) band shell and reverse the set. Looking at the set, we decided, unless it was Noah's downpour, the work of reversing the set really wasn't worth the time it took.

Plan C was to move the portable awning/gazebo tent that we had erected (to protect the sound equipment from the hot, hot sun) to the center seating area, seat audience there with a few umbrellas to the side. We would move the vulnerable sound equipment on to the stage and trust the audience to ignore the sound crew (a la the Wizard of Oz "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!")

Well, that didn't work because the awning, when center, blocked virtually all sight lines.

So we used plan D: put sound crew on stage, left the awning/gazebo on the side and allowed audience to sit under it, and issued umbrellas to those few audience members without them.

And it worked.

opening night(s)

2011-08-05T09:27:00.000-04:00

Last night was our first opening night! It went well!

And tonight, since we have two casts, is our SECOND opening night!

Twice the energy! Twice the fun!

Ensemble

2011-08-04T15:38:00.003-04:00

My job is essentially over. For the director, opening night is the closing of the work.

I still have a few things to do- in this particular production, I am giving a curtain speech to set up the audience- but in the main, what I can do, I have done.

And there is still so much more being done.

I am reminded, as I watch the emails fly back and forth among the cast and crew, of what a truly collaborative art theater is.

There are those coming early to set up tech, coming a bit later to set up concessions, others are bringing long staplers to put the programs together.

Some are bringing signs; some are bringing repaired props or costumes.

We are just a few hours from opening.

From theater magic!

Hell week- the ultimate rehearsal

2011-08-03T09:48:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, of course, was the *penultimate* rehearsal(s). The first half of my 12 hour day was sweltering, like a sauna- or more like a steam bath.

Progress, definite progress. I now have a sound track I can live with, and most problems are addressed. There are always the last minute items- shortening a skirt, finding some black socks, one last improvement to props- but the tech end is just about in place.

Except for lights. We aren't sure about lights.

Because the SECOND half of my 12 hour day? It rained. I huddled under an umbrella, sitting in the shower, in essence, taking my notes.

Tonight- the ultimate rehearsal(s)! And tomorrow- opening night! The end- the reward- for all the work.

I think the most essential ingredient of all in theater is: the audience.

lonely

2011-08-02T08:53:00.003-04:00

Sometimes I feel so lonely. Everyone has their own friend or friends, to chat with and sit with, for company, conversation, companionship.

I used to have that.

I wonder when that changed? I know some of the why: my age-mates/stage-mates have moved on to other things.

Still, I am lonely.

Hell week- continued...

2011-08-02T08:35:00.003-04:00

So day 2- Friday- went much like day 1- It was hot and sticky and so was I and not in a good way.

Saturday I had "off"- although dh K and I had several social engagements and shopping to get through- and we managed.

Sunday - from noon, the hot part of the day, on!- was our set-building marathon.

I have to say, it was pretty awesome. From bare cement to 3 painted façades and several accent/ masking units in 5 hours in the hot sun- amazing.

One of the aspects I love about the set-building day is the camaraderie of all the families working together. We see dads and siblings on set-building day that we haven't met before. Also, everyone is involved. Everyone, especially this time, had something to do: lift something, clean something, cut something, paint something.

It is "many hands make light work" at its finest. It is *satisfying*, too, to see tangible results of your work- unlike many of the other of the director's tasks.

So, that was a long, satisfying day.

Yesterday, Monday, was the first dress rehearsal, and we brought in the sound equipment. We brought in the lighting, too, but didn't have time to deal with that on Monday. Maybe tonight.

There are issues that we discovered with the set that we must address: the enormously wide stage has huge areas that need masking to hide the backstage areas. Everything needs stabilizing due to the wind.

And my sound designer apparently attended entirely different meetings- with me- than I did! Because the sound design is NOT Western at all. The farts I asked for and the chimes I asked for are not there. We will see if it is amended today; if not, it will be a long night tonight or an early morning tomorrow for me - with or without the sound designer.

Oh! And, daily I've been getting sunburns, despite increasingly desperate efforts to stay out of the sun. No worries today, though: it's supposed to rain!

Of course it is!

I'm ready for theatre magic to kick in, whenever...

Hell week: day 1

2011-07-29T08:57:00.003-04:00

We open one week from yesterday.

Yesterday was the start of hell week for me.

It's Comedy of Errors- sometimes literally!- Shakespeare in the Park, with teen theater troupe. TWO complete casts: one traditionally cast, one all female- except for Dr. Pinch, who is a guy in drag.

The last week of July. A heat wave.

Yesterday was the first day the actors were not allowed to call for line.

Oh, how I dread that long, painful day in the rehearsal process. Doubly dreadful this time, two run throughs, one for each cast.

And, to add to the delight, a storm.

I arrived at the amphitheater to find the storage rooms had flooded. The cement space in front of the stage (we plan to use it for seating) was flooded- three or more inches deep in places.

Joy.

NOT.

We unloaded additional collected props, set up for rehearsal, pulled out what had been soaked to dry.

I set up my director's chair and opened my notebook- and my umbrella.

And, as predicted, it was awful.

But... I actually laughed out loud - at the *play*- in a few places.

There is hope!

tech week

2011-07-28T08:17:00.003-04:00

I am about to enter hell.

Tech week is called "hell week" by many, many theater folk. It's when in bringing it all together, it all falls apart- and, with luck, prayer, hard work and theater magic, it all comes together.

On Sunday, teens and adult mentors are gathering for a one-day marathon creating our set. The challenge this year is a new bandshell amphitheater - yea!- with a CEMENT FLOOR- boo! Fortunately, our design concept is Western cardboard cut out facade with bright primary colors and Southwestern rose and tan and taupe for neutrals- so it actually fits in with our concept if the audience can see braces and supports.

At least, I will tell everyone that it's an artistic choice!

Monday we bring in the rented lights and the rented microphones. We bring in the costumes and the props. We add the sound track.

Tuesday we add make up and hair.

Wednesday: final dress tech rehearsal. As close to show conditions as possible.

Thursday: OPENING #1!

Friday: OPENING #2!

(Oh, did I forget to mention that on each of those days I am doing everything TWICE? Once for each of two casts?)

Double hell.

thanks, Anthony and Karen

2011-07-14T21:22:00.001-04:00

You made me laugh. There is hope.

costumes and designs and props oh my!

2011-07-13T20:27:00.002-04:00

Looking forward to a fun day on Monday of props and costumes to try on and play with as we sort things out for the costume parade.

I hate this play

2011-07-13T08:56:00.003-04:00

Even though I have directed and produced and performed enough plays to know that this happens almost every time, I still don't like this place where I have explained and explored and expounded and the actors still don't get it and it will never be funny and Shakespeare is STUPID and doesn't know how to write.

Past experience reminds me that it will get better, in fact it will most likely get great but right at this moment I hate this play and I don't want to go to rehearsal.

I would really rather stay home and read trashy novels and eat cookies.

But, instead, I am going to get up, get going, and do battle with teens and Shakespeare once more.

It doesn't help that yesterday I saw one of "my" kids who has opted not to do this last show with me, and this reminded me of several other absences of those I had thought/hoped would join me for this last adventure of this phase of my life.

Why do theatre?

2011-06-13T11:37:00.003-04:00

I believe that theatre has the power to transform lives. It certainly transformed my life. Theatre's power comes from its immediacy and its vital human connection. There is intimacy and relevancy in sharing the human story through theatre.

In my research as I teach and learn, I found this wonderful video that captures much of what I believe theatre can do. The video can be found at http://www.ted.com/talks/patsy_rodenburg_why_i_do_theater.html

How I write plays

2011-05-22T21:36:00.009-04:00

There are many different ways to write plays, and sometimes I think I’ve tried them all. Some of the ways that I have started plays are adapting classics to modern relevance; writing parodies of current fads; and taking real people, relationships or events and adapting and fictionalizing them. I have also tried “now for something completely different” and gone for something original and outside my experience.

In The Faust Project, I led a group of teens in exploring Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus and Goethe’s Faust. The Faust legend is the story of a man who sells his soul to the devil for all knowledge and power. Our group analyzed the plot and characters of the two plays, then researched what we thought would be forbidden knowledge today. Then we wrote a play with similar characters and plot but set in today’s world.

In creating the interactive play Julia, I took the plot and characters from Julius Caesar, and adapted those characters into the modern day in an urban teen girl gang. In Shakespeare’s play, Brutus is led by Cassius to betray his friend Julius Caesar, for Caesar, in becoming emperor, has challenged the very meaning of the Roman republic. Brutus is torn by conflicting loyalties: loyalty to friends, loyalty to Rome (his country/community), loyalty to his own ideals. In Julia, Julius Caesar became Julia Sierra, who is capturing media attention and trying to bring her gang “legit”, threatening the relationships and community of their world. Brutus became Ruth, Cassius became Cassie.

In each of the above cases, I took an established play, borrowed the plot and the characters to fit the needs of the new play I was creating. It is important to note that I didn’t just take a play and change the names; the characters changed to fit the new setting and the new conflicts in the new play.

I had lots of fun in writing Nightlight: Vampires Afraid of the Dork, a parody of the Twilight series. Again, using the characters and storyline from an established work, I twisted and tweaked for humorous effect- real groaners, I am not kidding. For instance, Bella Swan became Smella Duck, and her father, Charlie the police chief, carried donuts and Dunkin Donuts coffee with him everywhere. Jacob Black, member of the tribe, became Jacob Schwartz, who commented that he was not related to Sitting Bull, although they were both Sioux (pronounced “Sue”), Sitting Bull was a member of the Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux, while Jacob was a member of the Yo Mama, She Gotta Sue.

CHEESY. Yes, but it got a laugh. In writing a parody, you are making fun of what you are satirizing by exaggerating and twisting out of shape.

Another great source, because you know it so well, is your own life and relationships. Ruth and Naomi is a play I am writing that started with examining the relationship that I had with my mother-in-law (of blessed memory). Our relationship started out as a difficult one; we came from very different backgrounds, and I was marrying her youngest son, her baby. Over time, we came to have a great relationship built on mutual respect. The beginning, however, was undoubtedly rocky. And I thought: what if? What if a mother-daughter-in-law relationship had that same rocky start- but the son/husband died? And what if the women were still tied together by an unborn child? So my play Ruth and Naomi got its start.

The play Ruth and Naomi also uses another technique: your own take on Biblical or mythical tales. In the Book of Ruth in the Bible, Ruth loves her mother-in-law so much that Ruth leaves her own homeland to follow Naomi. In my play Ruth and Naomi, the two women dislike and distrust one another, but each has an investment that keeps them bound together even after the death of the man they shared.

Finally, there are the works that are completely original. In my play Hootchy Kootchy Coo, a group of strippers discover that one of their troupe is pregnant. She is determined to keep the baby, but she really needs the job. The unlikely group become friends as they band together to hide the pregnancy and “cover” her stripping acts until the baby comes and transforms them all. In this play, I am interested in exploring the concept of women as sexy and women as mothers: two roles that in our society seem opposed and irreconcilable.

An idea can come from anywhere. It might be a childhood story, a family incident, a scrap of conversation overheard at a coffee shop. In your mind, a story begins. Write it down. Challenge your characters with obstacles to overcome in achieving their heart’s desires. Soon, you will have a play!

the value of the director

2011-04-29T09:54:00.003-04:00

Sometimes I have my doubts as to my value as a director; or indeed, the value of a director at all. Sometimes, doesn't it just seem that a good script and a good cast could do it on their own?

WELL-

1. Choosing an excellent script and casting it well are two of the director's most important tasks- sooo even if it seems they direct themselves, in fact the "click" that happens is due to the director.

2. When the director doesn't fulfill the tasks of directing- reading, interpreting, communicating the script to the many and varied artists-of-the-theater actors, designers, promoters- the entire fabric falls apart.

This was well demonstrated to me recently by one of the student teams doing the group project in my intro class. The director did not have a grasp of the play, and therefore all the different projects of scene design, costume design, poster design were disjointed, unconnected, lacked relevance and significance to character, plot or mood.

Once again, bad art illuminates the almost invisible *good* art of directing.

An Introduction to Theatre

2011-03-09T08:38:00.003-05:00

I've been teaching Intro to Theatre for some time now. Recent events have me musing on what the purpose of such a class might be.

One important purpose is to develop new audiences.

Theatre has so much to compete with for entertainment in today's world. Television - now cable, high definition, 3-D! Movies- in theatres, on DVDs, STREAMING!

Not too mention sporting events of all types. And video games! And social networking!

What chance does theatre have? Without a live audience, there is no theatre.

And that is what we must capitalize on: theatre is live- intimate - in person. The physical, sensual presence of the live actor engaging with the energy of the live audience is something that technology cannot replicate.

Introduction to theatre- when it includes a requirement to GO and SEE SOME SHOWS- is an opportunity to bring this live experience to those who may never have tried it otherwise.

And once there- good theatre will do the rest.

the legacy

2011-02-17T21:53:00.001-05:00

Michigan Youth Theatre: The Vision

Over the past decade, we have created something truly special. Michigan Youth Theater is about more than art: it is about acceptance. It is about collaboration. It is about love for our partners and the dramatic work we collectively create. MYT is a unique place where teens, during their most tumultuous years, can come together to create, share, and flourish in this atmosphere of love and acceptance. As founder of MYT, it has always been my belief that this is the artistic environment that fosters the greatest and highest art. This is a safe place where difficult issues can be explored, respectfully, without judgment or fear of rejection. We welcome everyone, regardless of race, socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation, religion, nationality. Anyone who is respectful and accepting of others will be respected and accepted by us.

This is the MYT Vision. This is our creed. If we do not adhere to these founding principles, MYT will no longer exist.

Lisa Hodge Kander

Artistic Director, 2000-2011

Founder, Michigan Youth Theater

play reading

2010-09-13T20:14:00.004-04:00

I am teaching two theater classes currently: Introduction to theater, and Development of Drama from the Greeks to Moliere.

In both classes, at different levels, we are discussing how to read a play, and how to see a play.

It is a lot of work to actively read a play.

When reading a play, one must be simultaneously actor, director, designer- all in the mind's eye as one reads the dialogue and stage directions.

When reading an older play, there is also the challenge of putting the play into historical context, and looking for connections to the current era- connections and/or disconnects.

It's a challenge. And I'm not sure how close this literary exercise is to actual theater.

mentoring new directors

2010-08-29T08:47:00.000-04:00

Looking for one or two young people who would like to direct! The MYT Playwriting Competition winners will be directed by young artists- mentored in directing by Dr. Lisa Hodge Kander. Is this YOU? Email director@michiganyouththeater.org

comedy

2010-08-06T11:22:00.004-04:00

Why is the number 3 funnier than the number 2 or the number 4?

In comedy, things often happen in threes (there is some aphorism about that, isn't there?).

Or, reactions are funnier in three beats.

And repetition is funny. The first time a gag appears, it may provoke a smile or just a notice- but the second time i funnier, the third funnier still- and soon the audience is expecting the next gag- and then if you pull a twist on it- you can bring the house down.

Make 'em laugh!

2010-08-05T14:59:00.003-04:00

For the past two weeks, in near record-breaking heat and humidity, I've been spending about 12 hours a day rehearsing.

We open tonight with Taming of the Shrew.

We have two casts: one cast pretty much according to gender expectations: men playing the male roles, and women playing women.

The other is an all-female cast.

I am looking forward to the audience response.

I am nervously awaiting the audience response. With comedy, they gotta laugh. If they don't laugh, you didn't succeed.

The casts are both just about ready-- just awaiting the energy and sense of fun that the audience can bring.

Make 'em laugh, teams!

off book

2010-07-15T11:45:00.003-04:00

The first off book rehearsals are awful. Terrible. A disaster. A train wreck.

At least in a teen theater troupe.

I wish I didn't have to be there. There is virtually no opportunity to direct.

But I have to be there.

Because if I'm not there, they won't do it.

And the NEXT rehearsal will be the first off book rehearsal.

scheduling

2010-06-27T21:23:00.003-04:00

I've just finished the rehearsal schedule: version 1.0-- for the current production. Scheduling rehearsals for a summer production of a youth theater is TRICKY. Our troupe insists that the last two weeks are clear for our cast members to concentrate on the play. However, when working with teens in the summer time-- with summer vacations, family events, lessons and classes, the process of scheduling involves intricate intellectual acrobatics.

I have completed a schedule that will please no one, and will barely address the needs of the production.

I've covered everything: working with the text, character work, stage combat workshops, blocking rehearsals, working rehearsals, stumble throughs, run throughs and tech. I've set deadlines for props, for lines learned, for costume parades, for set construction.

I've committed approximately 200 hours of my life over the next month and a half.

And I know I will be scrambling at the end...

Goal: for the next show I direct, I will have a set rehearsal schedule that the actors adapt to, rather than the scheduling-- and the director-- adapting to the actors.

Who do you love? THE AUDIENCE!

2010-05-17T08:27:00.003-04:00

As I was working with young people, training them for performance, audience awareness had to be a part of the training.

We would do dances on stage: Look Upstage! Step Stage Right! Step Stage Left!

As we worked scenes and blocking, I would hop up and demonstrate positions that would open up actors to greater visibility on the proscenium stage.

"The audience wants to see *these* cheeks," I would say, pointing to my face, "not *these* cheeks!" as I turned around and pointed at the butt cheeks.

Lots of giggles. And they learned.

The short hand shout out of "Wrong cheeks!" would prompt the actor to re-orient, adjust, move to share more with the audience.

They learned.

"You are a sunflower!" I would say, "And the audience is the sun! Ever so subtly you move, you lean, you orient to the sun!"

They learned.

I taught them that without the audience there is no theater. "Who do you love?" I would challenge them.

The shouted response: "THE AUDIENCE!"

The audience, I taught them, wants to like you, wants to love you. Share your character, your voice, your energy, your play, with the audience and they will love you and appreciate you and give back your energy ten-fold.

Who do you love? THE AUDIENCE!

post-play

2010-05-14T08:26:00.003-04:00

After a play closes, I am of divided mind.

Part of me is sad, missing the rush and the excitement.

And part of me is ready to rest, to detach, to regroup.

Ensemble

2010-05-08T08:59:00.004-04:00

Ensemble is tremendously important to me. The idea of each of us contributing to the greater whole is inspirational; and in my own experience, when this is working, the result is far greater than the sum of the individual contributions. When ensemble is really working, each of us is driven, challenged, LIFTED into doing BETTER than our best work.

Ensemble is one of the guiding principles in how I choose the scripts I choose. Significant acting for everyone. Room to grow.

Ensemble is a delicate atmosphere. It is difficult to foster, easy to destroy. It is based on respect: respect for the art, respect for the process, respect for each artist and for the art in oneself.

Stanislavski described every element of the theater experience, from the hat check girl to the usher to actors to the director to the janitor, being a part of that art. A part of the ensemble.

And we must respect every part. And we must love every part.

Back to the Bard

2010-04-25T08:52:00.004-04:00

For the past eighteen years, I have been directing plays. Most of the casts I have directed have been young theater artists, from ages four to nineteen. In the past several years, I have been working with teens and young adults. The favorite playwright of these theater troupes?

Shakespeare.

I am not surprised by this. Shakespeare has been my favorite playwright since I was eleven years old. While many who meet the Immortal Bard in high school lit classes may think of Shakespeare as difficult, boring and irrelevant, those of us who do Shakespeare—experience Shakespeare in production—find excitement, challenge and timely and timeless themes.

Shakespeare’s genius is above all theatrical genius. Shakespeare’s plays, in his own time, were great commercial successes. The plays brought in audiences and kept them coming back. Because of Shakespeare’s genius, audiences continue to be enchanted, challenged and touched by these plays. The young lovers of Midsummer Night’s Dream or of Romeo and Juliet, frustrated by parents and society, are easily recognized by young lovers of any era. Macbeth’s ambition—do the ends justify the means?—or Brutus’ struggle with divided loyalty—is my loyalty to my friend or to my country?—are as timely today as they were four hundred years ago.

Most people will agree that Shakespeare’s plays are some of the greatest in the English language. Many people will also agree that his texts are among the most challenging. Why should anyone attempt such difficult plays with young actors? For me, there are several answers to this question.

Young people deserve the best, and Shakespeare is the best. Any theatrical production requires many hours of practice, design work, set construction. Hundreds of hours are required to mount a production. In my opinion, these hours are better spent on a great script than a mediocre script. Working with one of Shakespeare’s classics, you know you have a script that can succeed – because it has succeeded with audiences for hundreds of years.

These scripts can succeed with young actors. While it is true that Shakespeare’s plays have a reputation for challenging both scholars and actors today, it is also true that many of the roles were written for adolescent apprentices, boys ranging in age from ten to seventeen or eighteen. The scripts are “playable”.

In producing and performing in one of Shakespeare’s plays, young people are learning by doing. It is obvious—and confirmed by numerous studies—that young people performing Shakespeare increase their vocabularies. The richness and quality of Shakespeare’s language not only enrich vocabulary but also encourage complexity of thought. Many studies also show that students engaged in drama improve academic performance in Language Arts and Humanities.

When my troupes have produced one of Shakespeare’s plays, we have learned much more than the lines of that particular script. We have set Shakespeare’s plays in different time periods. As a result, when working on Hamlet set in the Victorian era, we have learned not only about Elizabethan England, but also about the music and mores of Queen Victoria’s time. Setting Julius Caesar in Caesar’s Rome, we learned about costume, superstition and politics. Setting As You Like It in the 1920s, we learned about flappers, flivvers and dancing the Charleston.

Perhaps more important, although more difficult to measure, are the affective benefits of performing Shakespeare. I have seen the young people in my theater troupes grow and mature in many ways. They have grown in poise and self-expression. They have also increased their self-esteem, by undertaking a task that is acknowledged by all to be challenging and succeeding in that task. By working long hours on this task with a group all committed to the same goals, young people learn team work. They learn that the whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts; that everyone is needed and makes a contribution. In addition, young people seeking to test their limits and find a thrilling challenge can find a positive venue for this in performing Shakespeare. Performing in front of an audience is a challenge, a thrill and excitement. Performing Shakespeare can be a positive way for young people to challenge themselves to excel.

the darkest hour

2010-04-25T08:13:00.003-04:00

I'm THERE with this play. EVERY process of play production seems to have it: the point where it all is so horrible you can barely stand it.

The actors are struggling with lines.

As one costume problem is solved, another lighting problem arises.

There are key props that simply don't seem to exist.

And opening night seems just moments away.

This, I always tell my team, is just before it all comes together! Theater magic! Don't give up hope!

And this time, I am praying and telling this to myself as well!

serious as a heart attack

2010-04-08T07:49:00.003-04:00

I have recently been reminded how everything in our lives effects our work as artists.

I am approaching the mid-point in directing Ghosts.

And, suddenly, I learn my mother is being rushed to the hospital. She is having a heart attack.

Drop everything and rush to the hospital. Cancel rehearsal that night and the next-- we had a 3 day break scheduled after that, so we could wait and see . . .

At the hospital, helping my mom fill out in take paperwork-- although do we call it paper work any more? It's all on the computer.

We are asked about her advanced directive, or living will, or durable power of attorney for health care? Which she has, and she tells me where to find it, and I go the next day and find it.

The first person listed as holding this durable power of attorney for health care is my mom's significant other, now deceased. The nurse asks me to cross out his name, write "deceased" and initial.

Which I do.

I am now the person named to hold the durable power of attorney for health care. I am the one to speak for my mother, to see that her wishes are known, if she cannot speak for herself.

The nurse takes the copy I have given her and adds it to my mother's chart.

A few minutes later, as my mom is trying to nap, the nurse asks me to come into the hall. I do. She draws my attention to the section on "DNR"- Do Not Resuscitate. Under certain conditions, it is my mother's wish is that no extreme measures be taken to extend her life. If her condition were to be one where there was no reasonable hope of recovery -- this is all carefully defined-- then, my mother's wish is that she be allowed to die.

The nurse says that there are specific papers that are usually drawn up in this case and added to the chart. She asks, should she draw up these papers?

I say, let me think a minute.

And I go and think.

I ask her to wait, please. My brother is in Oregon, stuck on a business trip. I don't want to complete the paper work while my brother is so far away.

Nothing is imminent. (In fact, the good news for this episode is that a week later, my mom is back home.) We can wait.

But I know, in future, this is quite possibly a decision I will have to face.

And, suddenly, Helen Alving's pain and wrenching decision at the end of Ghosts is a little less melodramatic. It is much more serious.

As serious as a heart attack.

dramaturg

2010-03-19T12:11:00.003-04:00

The position of dramaturg was unfamiliar to me until I returned to college for my PhD.

A dramaturg is a researcher and reporter. A dramaturg researches a play, a playwright, a time period or any combination of these, to report back to the production. Sometimes the research is directly applied to the production, influencing the design of costumes, set or props; sometimes the research is shared with the audience in a lobby display or program notes. Sometimes the research is shared with the cast and crew to give a richer, deeper appreciation of the play's setting or characters.

This in depth research is a part of my preparation and process in directing.

At present, for Ghosts, I am researching:
- Norway
- the 1880s
- Bohemian Paris
- the status of women at the end of the 19th century
- Ibsen
- meerschaum pipes
- orphanages

that's for a start.

Playwriting workshop!

2010-03-15T13:37:00.004-04:00

What:

MYT Playwriting workshop!

Who:
For Creative People ages 12 - 19!

By Instructors Playwrights Beth Kander and Megan Donahue

When:

Saturday, March 10, 2010. 10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Where:

Old Town Hall, 486 Mill Street, Ortonville, MI 48462

Learn techniques, tools and tips, formats and formulae- and FUN! for creating great scripts for theater from professional playwrights Beth Kander and Megan Donahue. More info about the playwrights is available at http://www.michiganyouththeater.org/ (click on "Workshops" on the left).

Includes: Improvisation for dialogue, developing characters and conflict, scripting for success and more. This workshop includes follow-up work with instructors via email and online journaling with instructors.

Cost: Only $75 if postmarked by March 16 ($85 after). Lunch is included: cheese pizza, fruit and water. Registration also includes registration in Michigan Youth Theater's Playwriting Competition!

To register: download registration form at www.michiganyouththeater.org

(Click on "Workshops" on the left). Mail form and payment to MYT, 2122 Houser Rd, Holly, MI 48442.

Please make check or money order payable to Michigan Youth Theater.

criticism

2010-02-28T11:19:00.004-05:00

In teaching acting, or in giving workshops, I also teach feedback, or specific criticism.

In the Intro to Theater class I teach, the students are required to attend three plays and write reviews of these plays.

My instructions are to choose an aspect of the production, such as acting, directing, scenic design or costume design, and write about how that aspect aided or did not aid in that production's realizing the vision/message of the play.

Each semester, I find ways to further refine instructions to guide students to seeing and evaluating the performer's art.

I am trying to get closer to providing a template for meaningful criticism of the production, not the play; of these particular actors' performances, not the characters.

I try to guide students to choose an aspect of the production, such as scenic design or costume design, where choice of line, color, texture, pattern are easier to distinguish. Do color and shape set a mood of light-heartedness or shadow? Does the costume tell you where the play is, in time and space? Do the setting and costumes work together to tell you if the play is striving for realism, abstraction, or fantasy?

It is easy to get drawn in by the acting, but harder to critique the actor's work. Like the director's work, the actor's work is ephemeral, hard to describe, hard to find that specific moment and describe what made it work.

For me, the best criticism gives the theater artist constructive information about what is suceeding and about what needs improvement in the creative work. While it is nice to hear "You were great!" such grand, vague comments give one no more to build on than a general negative comment.

Ghosts

2010-02-26T08:49:00.004-05:00

My youth theater troupe is about to embark on our latest production: Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen, translated by Lanford Wilson.

The small cast, realistic style and incredibly timely themes make this an excellent work for intense acting development and development of ensemble.

Ibsen shocked the world with this play in the late 19th century. In an era notorious for repressing all matters sexual, Ibsen wrote candidly about adultery, syphilis, incest and mental illness. He wrote complex characters struggling with society's stated values of fidelity and loyalty and self-sacrifice-- and the realities of infidelity, pyschological cruelty and betrayal of trust.

I am excited to work with Wilson's translation. Lanford Wilson is an outstanding playwright on his own merits, winning the New York Drama Critic's Circle Award, the Obie Award and the Pulitzer Prize in Playwrighting. One of Wilson's great strength is his wonderful ear for dialogue.

I am planning significant work on actor development and ensemble development during the rehearsal process.

Breathe

2010-01-21T11:14:00.006-05:00

Perhaps one of the best bits of acting advice there is: Breathe.

Breathe deep. Breathe often.

Breathe.

Breathing deeply relaxes us, on a cellular level. Inhaling deeply takes in oxygen to feed our energy. The oxygen enters our cells and flushes out the chemicals of fatigue and stress. Exhaling fully releases those chemicals and allows us to let go.

Relaxed and ready posture frees the breath to support the actor's voice and energy.

Both training the actor's body and training the actor's voice begin with posture and relaxation. Postural alignment puts the organs, bones and muscles of the body in optimal position to function well and easily. Relaxation frees body and voice to be flexible and responsive to the needs of the actor, the character, the moment.

I use deep breathing and deep relaxation exercises in teaching acting, and also in building small class ensemble. Breathing deeply slows us down, brings us in sync with one another.

Standing Room Only for Intro to Theater

2010-01-12T11:37:00.003-05:00

This week, I am exceedingly busy.

On Monday, I taught the first class for my Monday night section of Intro to Theater.

Tonight, I teach the first class for my Tuesday night section of Intro to Theater.

Tomorrow night, I teach a workshop on using Process Drama to teach Bible stories in Jewish Education.

Thursday night, I will be leading a rehearsal of my youth theater club to prepare them for leading a theater workshop next Tuesday (while I am teaching). After that meeting, I am off to meet with a subcommittee of my teen youth theater troupe regarding our "brand" identity.

Friday, in theory, I have off.

Last night, the class went quite well. However, the room was too small for the class. The class is capped at 45 students; I have permitted overrides that brought the number to 47. However, my overrides were not the reason we were at Standing Room Only last night. The room only had seating for about 25, and there was not enough room to bring in 20 more desks! I told my students I would look into finding another space for the class (which, with the help of the departmental secretary, I have accomplished today).

As always, the first part of the first class was taken up with going over the syllabus and establishing ground rules and priorities. Then, to introduce small group work and peer evaluation, both of which will be elements of future work in the class, I had the class break into groups of 5 students. Each group sent up one of their number to fetch the assignment sheet. Each student of the group took on one of the tasks: reader, facilitator, recorder, reader 2, presenter. The students then discussed a "think" question about theater-- each group had a different question.

Then, the groups reassembled in our (too small) room. Each group presented their question and the results of their discussion. The larger group was then invited to add additional comments.

Following a lively discussion, each student then evaluated the different members of their group on their contributions to the discussion and on their fulfillment of their task. These evaluations were then handed in.

Class went well; I think it will be a good group.

Ghosts and reviving

2009-12-29T09:58:00.002-05:00

I was much more disappointed and depressed than I anticipated when my teaching appointment for Intro to Theater was revoked last semester.

So I am delighted and excited that this semester, in about 2 weeks, I will begin teaching TWO classes of Intro to Theater! I am working on the syllabus this week and cleaning out my files.

Tonight I will be hosting the White Frosting Awards. We will be celebrating the past year and years of our work as a youth theater troupe. We will recognize the work of current youth, alumni and adult supporters.

Then I will begin preparing for our next two shows: Ghosts by Ibsen going into rehearsal in March for end-of-April/beginning of May performance, and Taming of the Shrew for summer performance.

We will also be announcing our first annual Youth Playwriting Competition tonight.

Plenty to work on!

echoing theater magic

2009-10-28T15:16:00.003-04:00

My daughter has written both a moving blog about the magic of theater, and a more light-hearted blog about theater magic past and present. Both are beautiful and have reminded me powerfully of those transformative experiences that theater can provide.

There is something magical about theater. We speak of the willing suspension of disbelief, the magical contract between artists and audience that we will set the ordinary rules of life aside for this brief time, and let ourselves transcend our lives, our very selves.

It is spiritual, moving, powerful.

And it's fun.

This time around, I have written a spoof of the Twilight vampire series that is the current rage for teens and tweens.

It is terrifying to write comedy, and also, when successful, immensely satisfying.

Immensely satisfying because, when the audience laughs you know the script works. You know you have brought enjoyment, amusement, smiles and laughter to a world that certainly needs more of all of these.

Terrifying, because if the audience doesn't laugh, you SUCK. No place to hide with comedy.

About two weeks from opening, I was terrified. My teen actors of our troupe were stumbling over lines, unable to make the timing work, missing the point and the punch of gags.

ARGHHH!! I thought. I have written CRAP. I SUCK.

And costumes weren't quite what I envisioned. Scenic design almost non-existent. The sound track hugely complicated.

And my actors were taking turns being sick, or out of town, or absent due to choir rehearsal.

ARGHH!! I thought. I have written CRAP. I SUCK. The play will SUCK. I will have to leave town and change my name.

And then...

Theater magic.

The sound track lifted and supported the gags. The actors started to hit their marks. We had a pizza party.

We still had actors out with the flu, but fortunately we were double-cast, so "twins" stepped in.

We added the final ingredient: an appreciative audience.

And opening night was wonderful. In the tiny theater, the 60 + people were a full house. The audience roared with laughter. The music and the make up, the actors and the action all worked brilliantly.

AHHH!! I thought. I have written COMEDY! We ROCK!

choosing scripts

2009-08-24T11:04:00.007-04:00

It has been said that 80%-- or 90%, depending on who is speaking-- of directing is casting the play. I would agree that a great percentage of good directing is selecting the right actor for the role AND the right combination of actors for the production.

However, even before casting, the director must consider the script. Most of the time I have had the luxury of choosing my own scripts. Most directors have at the very least the option to accept or decline the assignment of directing a particular script.

I prefer to work with excellent scripts. Of course, who doesn't? It is more fun and more rewarding to work with great material. However, I think we often overlook another reason: much of the directing work is done for you by a great playwright. Characters are rich, conflicts are strong.

I am most interested in theater as a collaborative art. I believe in the excellence of ensemble over salesmanship of star power. This also influences my selection of scripts.

When I am looking at scripts for a relatively large cast-- 10, 15 or more-- I look for meaty roles for all characters. This is one reason I often choose Shakespeare: even relatively small roles are often rich and juicy.

With a large cast with a number of newer actors, I will often look for a play that has a group of characters that work together. This might be the Elders of Thebes of the Chorus in Antigone, or the street urchins of Oliver Twist. This strategy allows newer actors to get up there on the stage, while still providing the safety of being one of the crowd. In these character groups, however, it is important that the group has action. Being part of a group that are essentially stage decorations does not give the new actors a chance to develop character, goals and focus.

For me, a good script has a great story, strong conflict, engaging characters.

write, right?

2009-08-24T11:00:00.004-04:00

One lesson I have learned from my professors is:

The write ones remain.

Especially in this profession, this art, we only know/ learn from/ remember the directors who write, or those about whom articles and reviews are written.

Directing is the most ephemeral of arts: directing is the selecting, the seeing, the process, the forging of relationships.

It is the process, and only partly reflected in the product-- and, in theater, the product is also ephemeral.

So, it is only right that I write about these rites.

Right?

director's concept

2009-08-13T17:43:00.003-04:00

I am working/struggling with this term. Maybe a better term for me is "director's vision"-- I often begin with an image, a feeling, a mood.

Around this seed the production forms.

theater magic

2009-05-22T09:38:00.006-04:00

There is a marvelous recurring phrase in the movie Shakespeare in Love. It's an exchange of dialogue.

Philip Henslowe: Mr. Fennyman, allow me to explain about the theatre business. The natural condition is one of insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster.
Hugh Fennyman: So what do we do?
Philip Henslowe: Nothing. Strangely enough, it all turns out well.
Hugh Fennyman: How?
Philip Henslowe: I don't know. It's a mystery

This exchange caused me great mirth when I first saw the movie because it is so true. I can absolutely imagine the real Henslowe saying something very much like this, because I have said something much like this both before I saw the movie, and after.

In working on the Scottish play in 2008, I sent up prayers for the intervention of theater magic. And, in spite of numerous insurmountable obstacles and clear sightings of imminent disaster during this famously "unlucky" play, it, strangely enough, turned out well.

And again, when working on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, insurmountable obstacles of serious illness and mishap in my own family seemed to place the play directly on the road to imminent disaster. Strangely enough, it turned out well.

Then, working on Twelfth Night, set in the 1890s, more insurmountable obstacles, and again, strangely, it all turned out well.

Why? As the man said, ultimately, it is a mystery. We call it theater magic. We know some of the ingredients: passion, commitment to each other and to the play.

Somewhere in the recipe there is fear as the opening night approaches; excitement as costumes, set and props are added.

I am convinced that food-- pizza or pot-luck, it doesn't matter-- the sharing of a meal together in the midst of the work-- this is also a critical ingredient.

But the process, the means by which all of these come together to solve the unsolvable, heal the unhealable, surmount the insurmountable--

Well, it's a mystery.

A mystery to which I am grateful, once again.

Casting

2009-04-21T10:46:00.006-04:00

Casting is one of the most difficult of the director's tasks. Getting the right actor into the right role is a critical decision for the success of the production. In fact, one old saw has it that "80% of good directing is good casting."

So how do you do it?

Because I work in youth theater, and because
-process
-learning
-freedom to create
-empowering young people

are all high values, I often invite input from the soon-to-be actors on the audition sheet. I ask the auditioners to list their top 3 choices, if they could be ANYONE in the play. I state that while there are no guarantees, I will take their interests into consideration.

In more recent years, I have given the option to just list "small, medium or large" part. I have also started including a question allowing actors to note parts they would NOT want to play.

This has been very helpful for me. Often, the young people have a far more keen insight than one might expect into what they are ready for or will fit for them.

Still, since I often direct Shakespeare, where there are about 6 or 7 male parts for every female part, and because I am directing youth actors where there are 4 or 5 female actors for every male actor, I still have my challenges.

Even though I ask for the top THREE choices, I will still get auditioners filling out forms that say 1. Kate 2. Kate 3. Kate.

I agonize over casting. I spend a long time over it. Lately I've taken to creating a spread sheet of all the characters, then listing under each character the actors who would like to play it.

At least then I can get a visual.

AND I also, more often than not, have two complete casts per production. Double the rehearsals, double the fun...

This helps a bit more than it impedes the casting process.

So:

I have a list of characters; I have a list of actors who want to play the characters. I also have my "feel" for each of the characters. Orlando should be taller than Rosalind. Rosalind should be playful and witty.

At some point, I have to bite the bullet. Letting all the above information roll around in my head and my heart, I then write out the cast(s) that work for me and with my group. Then I double/triple/quadruple check, to make sure that I haven't cast brother and sister in roles where they have to kiss each other, to make sure that I haven't cast someone in THE ONE ROLE THEY WILL NOT DO, to make sure that I have respected scheduling conflicts to the best of my ability.

I take a deep breath.

And I send it out.

Almost invariably, by a few weeks into rehearsal, no one can imagine the play being cast any other way. Each actor comes to love his or her role.

ALMOST invariably.

Yet, every time, it is a struggle.

So, when you see the role you've been cast in, and it isn't your top choice, take a moment to realize in many, many places, there are those who aren't cast at all. And, for a caring director, this casting process was a difficult one, invested with love, care and artistic vision-- and a bit of pain and worry, too!

audition / orientation

2009-03-02T20:59:00.002-05:00

I am overwhelmed! Close to forty kids showed up for our audition/orientation. About 10 were coming in via Class Act 4-H, the younger ones. Then the other 30 or so were MYT age. There were perhaps 10 who were brand new.

Casting will be a bear; I'm not even going to look at it until tomorrow, AFTER teaching. Too much!

audition/orientation

2009-02-23T11:09:00.003-05:00

The announcements have gone out.

They look like this:

It's time!
Time to kick off the MYT 2009 season with our spring production of
Shakespeare's
Twelfth Night!
Rehearsals: March & April Performances: April 30, May 1 & 2
Audition/Orientation:Monday March 2
4:30 - 5:30 OR 6:00-7:00Holly Academy School820 Academy Road Holly, MI. Pick one session or the other to try out for the show.
Mandatory meeting:
Wednesday, Mar 46:00 pm- 8:00 pmMandatory all company meeting. If you want to be in the show, show up! Bring a parent and all your paperwork and fees. There will be design presentation and sign up for production tasks-- and snacks, of course!
Cast list will be posted Thursday, March 4. ALL PAPERWORK AND FEES DUE BY WEDNESDAY. You will not be cast if the necessary paperwork is not turned in.
First read through:
Saturday, Mar 711:00 am- 2:00 pmRead through script; measurements taken; and snacks, of course!
MYT membership dues: $25. Show fee: $40. Discounts available for multiple family members. Financial aid forms available. Please email me at lisajhk@comcast.net if you have any questions

***********
Here is where I trust the universe to send me what I need, or at least what I can work with.

new direction

2009-02-21T12:07:00.001-05:00

I'm about to begin my newest project. I will be directing Twelfth Night. This is my third time directing Shakespeare's comedy.

In my recently completed doctoral studies, I have learned the importance of writing it down. History is quite literally written by those who write.

So I will be writing from the beginning with this project.