A Viewpoint from the Stage

If you haven't heard about the actor in The King and I coming to the defense of a child with autism, then you should read this article from The New York Times. Kelvin Moon Loh made a passionate plea on his Facebook feed for more understanding in the theatre, and the post has received thousands of "likes." I admire his ability to articulate the importance of this issue.  

Thinking about the 3 Ps with Shakespeare

Often times, when I'm tackling a long speech coming from a single character in a play by Shakespeare, considering the three Ps can help me to discern the meaning and the purpose of the speech. The three Ps refer to public discourse, private discourse, and personal discourse.

Public discourse refers to words that characters speak that can be heard by everyone in their presence. This kind of discourse occurs in a scene with more than one person, and a character tends to want everyone to hear what's being said.

Private discourse happens with one other character or a small group of characters and usually includes important information that only those characters can know in that moment. Private discourse can take many forms: declaring love, sharing a secret, hatching a murderous plot, etc. And private discourse can happen between a character and the audience, as Shakespeare's characters often take the audience into their confidence, making them privy to information that other characters onstage do not know.

Personal discourse happens when characters speak to themselves in a reflective way. Important personal discoveries can occur in these moments, and these can lead to changes in a characters actions and intentions. Personal discourse can happen when characters are alone or in the presence of others. Think: that moment when someone is talking to you and your mind wanders to something else and you speak that something else aloud but the someone can't hear you. 

Identifying which kind of discourse a character uses in a speech helps me to unlock the character's intentions based on the text. Also, by noticing if the character switches back and forth between these different kinds of discourse, I can more easily track the character's state of mind in a particularly dense piece of text.

Writing a chapter

I’ve been asked to write a chapter on ethnodrama and ethnotheatre for a new book entitled The Handbook of Arts-Based Research, edited by Patricia Leavy and published by Guilford Publications, Inc. Look for the book’s release sometime in 2016.

I look forward to sharing the techniques that I've developed over the years to aid in the selection and arrangement of interview data into a performable script. Often easier said than done. 

The opportunity to write the chapter comes at a great time, as I'm also proposing to teach a new course at NYU in the Spring 2016 semester called "Creating Ethnodrama: Theory & Practice." Plenty of discoveries from writing the chapter and then teaching that class that can be applied in future projects.

Towards the Fear, an ethnodrama exploring bullying, social combat, and aggression produced at NYU in April 2014.

Something gorgeous... A gift.

Take a look at this performance of "Mama Who Bore Me" from the recent revival of Spring Awakening. The more I see and hear about this production, the more I need to get a ticket.

Collaborating across the pond

Jenny Macdonald in workshop rehearsals for Enthroned, July 2015.

Very excited to announce that I’m working with my colleague Jenny Macdonald on her new one-woman show, Enthroned, an autobiographical storytelling and movement performance telling the story of a woman’s journey to confirm her right to existence and self-determination. Jenny and I worked together for two weeks in July in New York City, and we’ll work together again in Dublin, Ireland, in November.  All leading up to the show’s premiere in early 2016!

In July we used our time together to develop the first two parts of Jenny's script, and in November, we'll use our time to develop the third and fourth parts of the show. It's humbling to work on a project that uses an individual's personal stories and experiences as the catalyst for creation, and I learned so much in our first developmental process. Jenny is a gifted writer and performer, and we had a great time exploring our working relationship and discovering our shared vocabulary.

Three key suggestions for this kind of collaboration:

1. Learn as much as possible about the primary artist's inspirations for the project. This material may not make it into the final piece, but it's crucial to identify how the artist can use those sources to inform her performance pathway through the piece.

2. Understand and embrace the idea that more material may have to be produced and rehearsed before the performance script presents itself. The act of writing a moment, telling a story, embodying a movement sequence may serve as the bridge that leads to a key piece in the script puzzle. And sometimes after crossing that bridge, it can be dismantled and those raw materials can be used in other parts of the script and performance.

3. Allow the logic of a piece in development to emerge. Approach with ideas about structure, but be ready to allow those ideas to fall away as the piece's logic presents itself. #Soften the grip and the next idea will arrive.

I look forward to more discoveries along the way!