Educational Theatre – NYU Steinhardt

May 31, 2008 by Dennis Baker 

Monday I start a new chapter in my graduate school education. I will be starting the educational theatre program at the Steinhardt school at New York University.

The NYU program emphasizes the applications of theatre in a range of community and educational settings, with concentrated study in drama education, applied theatre, and play production for artists and educators. The program is recognized as a national and global leader in theatre and drama education; artist-in-residence strategies; theatre for and by young people. They produce plays year-round with accompanying workshops and applied theatre projects in the Black Box Studio, the Provincetown Playhouse, and community venues. The program has recently committed to a prison theatre project in New York where our students have opportunities to devise and implement work in the most challenging of environments.

The program offers teacher certification degrees at the B.S. and M.A. levels. Here, students are trained as theatre educators and are placed in field settings with cooperating mentors. As well, students can take the M.A. and Ph.D (Educational Theatre for Colleges and Communities) where they explore and research the power of theatre in a range of contexts. I will be taking the MA course for Colleges and Communities. This means that I will only have to take 36 units (three semesters) of classes verses the two year program in which the second year is spent on a working towards a teaching credential.

As I plan to still work full time during these three semesters, most of the classes I will be taking will be at night. The two night classes offered during the summer are Problems in Play Production: The Development of New Plays and Drama Education I. Each run for three weeks Monday through Thursday. I will also be taking a one unit two day course entitled Exploring Social Issues and Conflict Resolution through Drama.

Problems in Play Production: The Development of New Plays is the first class I will be taking. The course is described as studying theories and methods of play development including script analysis, rehearsals and presentation of works-in-progress. Development of student written scenes through in class performances and an overview of recent scripts and new trends in theatre for young audiences. This class follows the rehearsal process of staged readings of the New Plays for Young Audiences. Three plays will each rehearse for a week and then performed for the public that weekend.

At first I was precarious taking a class in “Children’s Theater”. I have not seen a lot of children’s theater and what I have seen did not interest me too much. Reading through the assigned articles for the first class I came across an article by Maja Ardal that I really enjoyed. In it she describes that there should not be “Children’s Theater”, but plays that can interest adults and tell stories that young audiences can relate and connect with. In describing the play of I Claudia by Kristen Thompson she says,

Thompson created a work from the depths of her passion and imagination that happened to connect with a broad range of ages. She did not plan the production for young people, and so her material was never tailored or compromised to attract and suit students and families. It simply did. That is the perfect scenario, yet I believe it is almost impossible to achieve in a theatre that only has a relationship with parents and teachers, because the TYA [Theatre for Young Audiences] theatre is utterly dependent on the attendance of young people.

She goes on to explain about a show that was written for a children’s theater in Toronto. It was recognized by colleagues and with awards, but since it started at a children’s theater people did not come to see it. It moved to an adult theater and the audiences showed up. The adults would either bring their children or once they saw it realize their kids would enjoy it as much as they did and would come back with their familes. “The city of Calgary was represented at the theatre! This was, in my opinion, the perfect theatre experience. The play was successful because it was produced by adult theatre companies. It became a ‘Theatre’ and not an ‘Educational’ experience.”

Ardal sees a clear reason for this. She goes on to explain that a mixed audience is the perfect atmosphere for children to learn and that the play does not need to control all the details of work on stage in fear that the children’s moral lives are at stake.

Children are not literal-minded as many would have us believe. They understand metaphor and they understand imagery. They understand that theatre is an experience to reflect upon, not to obey, that theatre is an imagery world of ‘what if’ and not the ‘only world’. We need to show children the messy aspects of life. As artists we are not here to answer. We are here to question, and to invite our audience to question with us.

This article gave me hope that this class will be something that I will enjoy. If the discussions are anything like this article than I think I will fit right in.

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Ira Glass on Creative Perseverance

May 30, 2008 by Dennis Baker 

The video is titled “Good Taste”, but I think of it more as creative perseverance. I think Ira Glass is talented and This American Life, the radio show he hosts, is one of my favorites. It is great to hear a small example of his artistic growth.

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Gag Order on Chicago Theatre Bloggers

May 19, 2008 by Dennis Baker 

FinicialTimes.com is reporting that a Cook County judge issued a gag order to be placed on a number of Chicago theater bloggers. The gag orders barrs all parties from publicly discussing a case of blogger Rebecca Zellar potentially suing another theatre blogger Don Hall over a bad review. The original post and comments at the GreyZelda site have been removed but FT.com recovered comments from the ghost post “A Brief Public Statement.”

Chicago bloggers directly under the jurisdiction of the court order include Devilvet, GreyZelda, Paul Rekk, Don Hall, Trailing Spouse Blues, Nick Keenan, and Jay Raskolnikov.

I went and read Don Hall’s review of GreyZelda Theater Company’s production of The Striker directed by Rebecca Zellar. There one can get an idea of the tensions rising between Zellar and Hall. Then Jay Raskolnikov writes a post about Hall’s review and states “the director lashed out in the comments.” This starts a heated discussion on his blog. I say heated, but I am not sure if all this justifies a lawsuit. I hope things get resolved peacefully as this is the darker side of the theatrosphere.

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How Theater Failed America Roundtable

May 19, 2008 by Dennis Baker 

Thanks to Leonard Jacobs over at The Clyde Fitch Report for posting the panels for the roundtable after the Sunday performances of Mike Daisey’s How Theater Failed America at the Barrow Street Theater. Below is the list for a quick look. I previously blogged that I wanted to go on June 15th as Dr. Scott Walters was attending, but after seeing the roundtable discussions topics I want to attend all of them. Unfortunately my schedule prevented me from sitting in on the first one. If anyone went and took notes I would love to see them as I don’t think they are being recorded (or at least I have found no mention of that). The train or driving cost will add up to get into the city every Sunday, but I think this is a great opportunity to sit in on some forward thinking discussions about the state of theater in America. Group discussions with this caliber of individuals do not happen that often and I want to take advantage of it.

I believe they are free if you can not attend the show (or already have seen it). They look to start roughly at 8:30pm as the show starts Sundays at 7pm and runs for 90 minutes.

Sunday, May 18: DOWNTOWN, MIDTOWN, EVERYTOWN with Robert Brustein (Founder of Yale Repertory Theatre & American Repertory Theatre), Gideon Lester (Artistic Director, American Repertory Theatre), Jonathan West (Milwaukee based actor, blogger), Emily Ackerman (actor, ensemble member of The Civilians) Leonard Jacobs (National editor, Backstage), Sheila Callaghan (playwright, Dead City).

Saturday, May 24: DO-IT-YOURSELF OR BUST with Greg Kotis (playwright, Urinetown), Jason Eagan (Artistic Director, Ars Nova), Erez Ziv (Managing Director, Horse Trade Theater), John Clancy (Founder of the New York International Fringe Festival), Scott Shepherd (The Wooster Group), Lisa Kron (actor, solo performer, playwright – Well).

Sunday, June 1: YOU ARE WHAT YOU WATCH with Jim Nicola (Artistic Director for New York Theatre Workshop), Mark Russell (Founder, PS122 & the Under The Radar Festival), Steve Bodow (Head writer, The Daily Show & Elevator Repair Service member), Morgan Jenness (Literary agent, former literary manager of the Public Theater), David Cote (Theater editor, Time Out New York), Isaac Butler (director & blogger).

Sunday, June 8: FOR PROFIT, NON-PROFIT, NO PROFIT with James Bundy (Dean of the Yale School of Drama, AD of Yale Repertory Theatre), Dan Fields (Disney imagineer & freelance director), Stephanie Weisman (Founder & Director of The Marsh in San Francisco), Dave Greenham (Executive Director, The Theatre at Monmouth), Tommy Thompson (veteran Broadway PSM) & Diane Ragsdale (Mellon Foundation).

Sunday, June 15: ASSEMBLING ENSEMBLES with John Collins (Artistic Director of Elevator Repair Service, The Sound And The Fury), Tanya Selvararnam (actor, collaborator with Jay Scheib & The Builder’s Association), Colleen Werthmann (actor, Elevator Repair Service ensemble member), Heidi Schreck (actor, collaborator with The Theatre of the Two-Headed Calf, Seattle’s Printer’s Devil), Scott Walters (former Artistic Director of Illinois Shakespeare Festival, blogger), Hal Brooks (director, Thom Paine and No Child).

Sunday, June 22: THEATER IN 2033 with Rocco Landesman (Tony®-winning producer, Angels in America, The Producers), Gregory Mosher (Tony®-winning director, former head of Lincoln Center), Oskar Eustis (Artistic Director of the Public Theater), Richard Nelson(playwright, Conversations in Tusculum), Paige Evans (Director, Lincoln Center’s new LCT3 program), Garrett Eisler (Village Voice theater critic, blogger).

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Mike Daisey’s How Theater Failed America

May 15, 2008 by Dennis Baker 

Mike Daisey’s How Theater Failed America was playing at Joe’s Pub in New York City and I thought I was going to miss it as it was closing during my recent trip to Los Angeles. Good news, it will be transfered to off-broadway’s Barrow Street Theatre. I pulled the summary of the show from the website which says master storyteller Mike Daisey sinks his razor-sharp wit into a subject he knows well: the American theater, from the sublimely crass to the genuinely ugly. From gorgeous new theaters standing empty as cathedrals, to successful working actors traveling like migrant farmhands, to an arts culture unwilling to speak or listen to its own nation, Daisey takes stock of the dystopian state of theater in America: a shrinking world with smaller audiences every year. Fearlessly implicating himself and the system he works within, Daisey seeks answers to essential and dangerous questions about the art we’re making, the legacy we leave the future, and who it is we believe we’re speaking to. There is some great audio I would recommend: First Scene of How Theater Failed America and Interview with Leonard Jacobs.

Even better news is that Sundays will hold talk backs with various guests. Each Sunday, a roundtable forum with theater artists and administrators will follow the performance. Slated guest include: Eric Bogosian (Talk Radio), Robert Brustein (Founder of Yale Repertory Theatre and American Repertory Theatre), James Bundy (Dean, Yale School of Drama), Jim Nicola (Artistic Director, New York Theatre Workshop), Richard Nelson (Conversations in Tusculum), Lisa Kron (2.5 Minute Ride, Well), Maria Dizzia (Eurydice), Gideon Lester (Artistic Director, American Repertory Theatre), Maria Goyanes (Producer, 13P), Paige Evans (Lincoln Center) and others in direct conversation with working actors, technicians, designers and independent producers of the American theater. The audience is invited to stay for the roundtable forums that will immediately follow Sunday evening performances. I am most interested in when Dr. Scott Walters will be attending on June 15th. He has raised many interesting ideas over at his blog Theater Ideas. I have blogged about some of his Tribal Theater ideas.

What I appreciate about Dr. Walters and his blog is that it has brought me into the larger theatrosphere, a play on the term blogosphere referring to a community of passionate bloggers writing in length about the many aspects of theater. At times it is quite overwhelming and also exciting at the same time. I feel like I have found the equivalent of the the groups of kids I want to hang out with on the playground. I am eager to get to know them, but I feel like I do not have anything original to share. I feel I am still in the stage of learning the group dynamics and personalities and where I can fit into the conversation.

There are many sites that I have discovered that I enjoy. I usually start with Theatre Forte as it is a good directory of theater blogs. I first heard of them as they linked to my blog in the NYC section. I keep some of the following blogs in my iGoogle tab for easy access: Que j’ai reve (Paul Rekk), The Clyde Fitch Report (Leonard Jacobs), The Wicked Stage (Rob Kendt), An Angry White Guy in Chicago (Don Hall), On Theatre and Politics (Matthew Freeman), Rat Sass, Praxis Theatre.

I have to also mention a great online community Theatre Tribe at Ning started by Dr. Walters. He recently blogged that he feels the theatrophere conversation has become contentious and polarized. He wants to move beyond scrapping with bloggers whether the theater tribe idea will work. He believes it will work and seems like he wants to discuss the details of how it will work. It is a conversation I am very much interested in being a part of, even though at my present life stage am not able to put into action. I do have experience working with a start up theater company and love to explore the idea of decentralizing theater and bringing more artists out of the NYLACHI (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago) area.

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