Sunday, December 12, 2010

The Finale

The final performances in our class came and went without (too much of) a hitch. This past Wednesday evening we gathered in Middleton Theatre, at Strickler Hall, and performed each of our self-written, solo character study pieces, interspersed with scenes from "A Perfect Wedding" that we had been working on. Since the public was invited, our teacher offered them the chance to write down feedback that they would be able to give to her; and though I haven't heard any of it yet, I am very interested to hear what folks had to say. Regardless of what others thought, I felt as though things went as great as could be expected. It was unfortunate that we couldn't perform in our "home base," the University of Louisville's Thrust Theatre, but we made things work as best as we could.

It felt good to finally perform for people outside of our class (even if the majority of them were peers of ours) and the feeling that we were unveiling this secret project we had been working on for the better part of the past three months was fantastic. I could really tell in that moment just how much we have learned this semester and how we have each grown as actors and individuals. Not to mention, our group had really come together as a true ensemble at this point, almost like a small family; and it really felt like we were a united front in all of this.

This particular exercise (and this entire course, really) was an excellent jumping off point for all of us. I feel like I have learned more in this class about ensemble theatre than I have in any other course at UofL, and the range of things we studied are unlike anything else I have also experienced here. It makes me excited for the coming semester and the ability to expand our ensemble to encompass more people into this experience, and hopefully to learn even more about theatre through our production of "A Perfect Wedding."

It has been a real honor to be in class with all of the guys, and I'm going to miss them all (well, until next semester when I see them again!).

A Different View of Viewpoints

Following our final performances this past Wednesday, our teacher extended an open invitation for any folks that were curious about the viewpoints to take part in a small viewpoints workshop. It was a very much abridged, crash course on the subject, but a fun one nonetheless!

She gathered all participants on the stage and went through a very brief explanation of each of the viewpoints (shape, gesture, architecture, topography, spatial relationship, tempo, repetition, duration, and kinesthetic response). From there, we began a very simple and standard exploration of the space, gradually incorporating all of these at one point or another. All of this is something that my classmates and I are very used to and comfortable with at this point, and though it was interesting to experience this with new people who aren't accustomed to it, the real learning (for me, anyway) came when I was allowed to sit out in the audience and finally be an observer.

It is one thing to process each of the viewpoints as an active participant, but as spectator you can really see just how drastically every movement we make effects people. Things that, as a participant, I thought were minimally different and tedious in performance, were actually drastically different. I remember the specific moment where our teacher asked the group on stage to form a shape altogether (since they were lumped up together at the time) using only straight, angular lines, and then following that, a shape with only curvy, soft lines...and it was astonishing the difference. I guess I always knew in theory that the two were different when I was doing them, but seeing them actually in practice really made the viewpoints work we have done this semester finally come full circle. It was a really nice feeling to finally see the viewpoints from that outside perspective, and I feel like I learned SO much more just from those brief moments of observation.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

I'm a little bit sappy...

This class has been, challenging, frustrating, put on the back-burner, and yet, I have loved every minute of it! I do not think this class could have been more beneficial to me as a performer, but also, and this will sound corny, as a person. I have always wanted, for me, theatre to be more than just a 2-D art. I have never wanted an audience to leave a show and never be impacted of moved by the work I have done. I look at theatre as work. Not art, per say. It is more. I was relieved by this class to find out that I was not the only one, and performers long before had had this thought and had pioneered this sense of community theatre.

In end, community is what it is all about. Without an audience, there is no show. The training we have had, the sense of opening in our process of building the characters, the way the class had discussions and worked unified as an ensemble were things I may never get to experience anywhere else. This is something I would love to take me elsewhere outside of the classroom.

What is truly exciting is the chance, now, to get together as a class and also new people once the process of auditions happen. Being able to expose new people to all that we have been learning and involving them, and hopefully engaging them as we have been, is almost overwhelming.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Thursday, December 2, 2010

The Power of Ensemble

In my theatrical career I have worked with good directors and bad directors. I have worked with directors who had a clear vision for the production and directors who did not have a single clue what they want. I have never worked with a director so focused on developing a sense of ensemble amongst the cast as Amy has done with us and plans on doing when we start rehearsals. Personally, I think it is an ideal model to follow and is an idea borrowed while working on a play I recently directed: Laundry and Lies.

This was not my first official go-round with directing it was however, my first time directing for a official venue like Studio. From the very beginning of rehearsals I always tried to give my actors the utmost respect and adopt a “no worries” attitude. Also I made sure we did a group warm-up every day that included ensemble building exercises. I stole the 12-6-4 exercise we did with Amy, group counting, and some exercises of my own concoction. It made rehearsals fun and when it was time to start working everyone was willing and ready.

I did everything I could to make sure I was developing a solid trusting relationship between me and my cast; more importantly between the cast members themselves. I have work on productions where there was no sense of ensemble between any of the people working together and it was a miserable experience. Know that Amy is all about building the ensemble in an effort to bring about a better production make me even more happy I signed up for this project.

Research and Process

The research I did for this production opened my eyes up to the cruelty of the world. Female genitalia mutilation and ritual deflowering are two practices that happen all over the world and are also issues that are dealt with in “A Perfect Wedding”. Not only did my research enlighten me about these subjects but it gave me a sense of pride and involvement with this project that I have never really had with any other play I have done.

I have done quite a few plays in my theatrical career and with every project I have signed up for there has always been some sort of research I had to do about the play of about the character. The difference between those situations and this project is that then, I was doing research for personal reasons. For “A Perfect Wedding”, we each were responsible for researching a certain theme or subject matter the play addressed. We then were responsible for presented the research we had done to the class. I thought this method of content analysis was great because now, everyone else’s understanding of certain parts of the play were my responsibility. It was no longer about me researching just for the sake of myself but for the sake of our production.

Learned a lot about the subjects I research. Moreover I gained a sense of pride for our production. It is like when you help build a set for a play and then you go see that play. As you watch it you have a tremendous sense of pride because you helped build it. When this play finally goes up in March I will have that same sort of pride because in a sense we have all helped to build this production.

My Favs of the semester!

As the time approaches for us to perform our finals I can’t help but look back over the semester and think about some of the wonderful things we’ve done. In my opinion this class has been an absolute adventure. It has given me tools that will stay with me for the rest of my theatrical career. The Viewpoints and The ELP exercises are two things we have done this semester that I feel have taught me the most.

I believe it was Triza who said this on one of the blogs, I am paraphrasing but she said that the viewpoint are a great tool because they take you out of your head and allow you to just do. They allow you to move through time and space in a way that is not only interesting but in a way that creates beautiful stage pictures. I am performing in a ten minute play for Studio. I came to the rehearsal process late due to an actor dropping out. I had to find a very quick way to make bold choices in rehearsals and the viewpoints inspired those choices.

The ELP exercisewere my second favorite of the semester. The reason I like this exercise so much is because it forces the performer to base their character off a real person. I think it is an amazing way to step away from generic or mundane performances and be able to present three dimensional characters on stage. Moreover, I gained a lot of knowledge about how to conduct an interview and that alone is a useful tool that I will need for the rest of my career.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Research I forgot to post

Hey all this is some research that I tried to post before but for some reason it isn't posting so here we go again.

These are just some things that I didn't get to involving Combative Homophobia (or Nonviolent Homophobia) and the Mormons. I didn't get to the Mormons too much in my presentation but what I found could fill volumes.

http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_lds5.htm
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1lacy_nightlinethe-life-of-gay-mormons_news

And here is an interview that I found from the LDS Newsroom regarding homosexuality and Mormonism and how they skirt the issue. Please read this one if you can it is enlightening and gut wrenching.
http://beta-newsroom.lds.org/official-statement/same-gender-attraction
-Jared

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Interesting Videos

This video is amazing! Kevin Spacey doing impersonation on Inside the Actor's Studio. I knew he was talented, but this takes the cake.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKKDKAKNH-k

As I was driving to class the other morning this song came on the radio and I couldn't help but think how perfect it is for the play.

The Flamming Lips, "Do You Realize?"

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Retro-Spectacle

So, I am actually quite glad I waited to post this one. My opinions have changed quite drastically since I wrote this on October 7, 2010. I have added more to the end with my thoughts now...


This past weekend we had our class’s community reading of the play we are studying, Charles Mee’s, A Perfect Wedding. This not only got the community involved and got word out about our play and connected us with possible interviewees, but also allowed to hear the words spoken by all different voices. Somehow by simply hearing the words, the play instantly gained a new life and purpose. I was so caught up in all that was happening within the play, even after having read it previously. The reading did however leave me wondering just how realistic some of the characters truly are.

I read for Ariel, a character who seems very much lost and confused about love. She did not seem extremely realistic to me, however. This disheartened me a bit. I am considering using this character for my character study, but at the same time, how am I to find such an absurd literary character in a realistic human form? And once I do find someone with some relevant quality related to this character, how do I incorporate this into the character without completely loosing the character? I can see how there are humanistic qualities to Ariel; lots of people in today’s society are extremely confused about love and what it means and how to express it. Yet at the same time, this character is based on Shakespearean characters, which were not the most realistic characters even then.

There were others that were a bit “out-there” as well, including the priest. There is the argument that no one lives in absolute reality and it is all different for every individual, but it is not quite theatrical realism to be having a mud fight on stage. It is not quite realism to have three entirely different couples as were originally planned couples at the beginning of the play getting married after a few hours, either.

I am very interested in doing a character study, but do not see, just yet anyway, how this is be possible if I choose a character who is not very realistic to begin with. Perhaps another play this would be very helpful, but this play in particular is going to be tough. Having characters not based on real people makes this hard to do as well.



---Now! I think it very foreseeing that I said I didn't see how this could be a character study, just yet. Mainly because I now don't see how it couldn't be. Perhaps Mee isn't going for realism, perhaps my initial thoughts were a bit confused. (Which is more likely than the former.) Now having conducted a couple interviews and having some very in-depth, and random, conversations about the play, love, personal issues and struggles, and just life that are so relevant to the play it is quite frightening. For example, my aunt has always been an open book about her life and I greatly appreciated it, but now every time she and I have a heart-to-heart I find myself trying to take mental note of everything she is saying and how she is saying it.

Also, I have a really weird obsession with watching people's hands and mouths when they talk. I have a person, who I won't name, whom I will find no reason to talk to sometimes just to watch the funny way her lips move when she talks. I find myself trying to mimic it for no apparent reason, and I think it is because I regard her as a very wise, very intuitive person and perhaps if I can speak as she does I will be regarded the same. There is another person who has very specific hand gestures that I often, unknowingly, incorporate into my gestures, as well.

These little nuances are what form a person, a personality, and a character. I feel like, finally, the light bulb clicked on, and DUH! I get it...

Han Solo

This was originally dated September 28, 2010 and is a response written after the class did our first solo performances of original pieces the class wrote after incorporating specific criteria including viewpoints, music, costumes, and a prop piece.


This last week we have been doing our solo pieces, and even from just watching the pieces performed by others in the class, I have learned so much about how incorporating the viewpoints really makes for a much stronger purpose to the acting. Just like playwrights have a meaning and purpose for every word they write, a performer must have a reason for every move they make on stage. Even in everyday life we have specific reasons for doing things we probably never think about, and it wasn’t until I watched other performers that I truly became completely aware of how minute a gesture can be for me to relate to it.

There was one moment in a student’s piece where while he was describing a stressful situation he placed his index finger on his eyelid and pulled it over to the corner of his eye as if he was massaging out pressure building up in his eyes. I do this exact gesture probably ten times a day, and it is something I would have never noticed if he hadn’t done that gesture with his dialogue which made this brief three second moment so incredibly powerful to me. I could so easily and instantly relate to him and his character.

The viewpoints overall have helped me, especially when I decided to do a four-year-old version of myself for my solo piece. I knew I didn’t want to a caricature of just any little child. I wanted specifics. The way I always fidget with my hands is something I’ve always done. I constantly have hangnails on the sides of my thumbs where I pick at them. The way I sit has been deemed “unlady-like” for years and I refuse to change it for the sake of comfort. The costume helped emphasize this as I do not sit with my legs together or crossed when I sit on the floor, and wearing a dress makes this very awkward, but also very four-year-old like.

When I first began developing a story I had about ten ideas of what I wanted to do. I had every idea in the book of what I wanted to do, but none of them meant much to me. I went back to the paper where we had done the free-writing exercise in class and looked at the phrase I circled and recited in class about being four and missing my front teeth and thought about my four year old mentality of the world. From that came the piece. Having so many guidelines for the piece and only five minutes proved to be the toughest part.

I found that the viewpoints actually helped me block my piece, though. I knew what I would normally do, and the viewpoints made me move out of my comfort zone and really try new things. It was brought to my attention after performing that I stayed in one place a lot, and this is something that is not me at all. I am usually all over the place bouncing off the walls, but for this piece and the context, having the confined area really worked to my advantage. The most difficult guideline for me, however, was the audience participation. I was taught that in acting you can never break the fourth wall, and this was defying the very essence of that rule. I had to find a way to do this and still stay true to my character.

The most difficult part of this assignment in general and overall was the fact I was putting me on stage. Which is something as a performer is my worst nightmare. I finally had to take a deep breath and quote John Lennon, “I write about me, because I know about me.” After that, it came down to what I wanted to discuss from being four years old. I also knew I had to have a story. The story came after about the fourth rewrite. Surprisingly, it was not the first thing I did. I really wanted to get down how I was at four and then evaluate something that I was willing to deal with on stage and something that was meaningful and true in my life. Overall, I was pleased with what I came up with. It is the artist in me that is never satisfied were the piece is, but I have every intention in the world to keep working on this piece and perhaps someday be able to move on from it. But this assignment was probably one of the greatest assignments I’ve ever had and actually was excited for it. It was very challenging and really forced me to do things I was not comfortable with and I had to try new things. Solo pieces may become something I do just for fun from now on. It was very enjoyable and cathartic to work on stage.

Prodigal Blog...

As a member of the Acting, Performance, and Community Class, I have been neglecting this blog-thing-a-ma-do-jit for quite sometime. However, there are some blogs I have written and edited and need to simply post now... so, here goes!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Imitating Real Life

Recently our Acting, Performance, and Community course began looking at snippets of the interviews that were each conducted individually by different classmates. Our assignment was to interview one (or more) people who have some tie, be it via personality, career, or some other similarity, to the character we will be playing in A Perfect Wedding. I haven’t had the chance to conduct my interview just yet, I will be doing so in a matter of days over the holiday break; but I have had the opportunity to view and/or hear most of the interviews that my fellow classmates have conducted.

I found it to be insanely interesting, and I wanted to listen to more. Being someone who is fascinated with “life” or the psyche of humans in general, I think it is always incredible to listen to interviews about different people’s lives and to read biographies and autobiographies. Unfortunately, we were only able to sample each of the interviews, as this is still a work in progress. The assignment, called our ELP (Everyday Life Performance) is simple: take a small portion of your interview, about roughly 15-30 seconds, memorize it, and be prepared to both perform/imitate the interview and play the same snippet in class.

Even with such small portions of the interviews, it was an incredible and didactic process to watch every action, every gesture, every facial expression, and hear every sound…observing people, regardless of religion, race, creed, culture, or beliefs, in an unbiased and objectively analytical format. The real treat was watching my classmates try to imitate their interviewee’s (an action I feel will be quite a challenge once it is my turn), and the process that was made through our ensemble work and help. By coming together as a group to give feedback, we were able to pick up on more things and enable the performer to fully comprehend and interpret their interviewee, down to the most minute details. I can definitely say that after watching each of these interviews, and the in class ELP’s, I am very excited to get my first interview down and begin work on my own!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Seeking Interviewees and Community Collaborators

Below is an announcement I posted on our Facebook page. In terms of the group we're looking to build and the process we're trying to use and develop, I think these lines from the play explain our purposes nicely:

MERIDEE
that's the whole point of a wedding
to reach out across the abyss
and embrace someone who is different

EDMUND
Exactly:
this is how it is
for all human beings everywhere
understanding who they are
and reaching into the depths of their own particular souls
and the civilizations they have come from
to find even a deeper connection
as they reach out across the gulf
and through the courage of reaching out to each other,
rediscover their self-confidence
this is why people cry at weddings probably
because they are so happy they can hardly bear it
that two people have done
what the whole world needs to do if life is to go on!
So, please feel free to send the message below to anyone who might be interested. Forward the link to this blog, or copy and paste the message into an email, or get the word out however you can. And please come join us on December 8 for performances and discussion and a workshop!

Here it is:

"Hello, everyone. We are hard at work on building characters for the spring production of A Perfect Wedding at UofL, and some of the actors are still seeking interviewees. The following is a list of characteristics we're interested in exploring. If you know someone who might be interested in working with us, please get in touch! (You can email Amy Steiger at amy.steiger@louisville.edu, and I'll put you in touch with the students).

We're also working on building a group of people from all over who are interested in participating in our community engaged rehearsal process. Our hope is to create a new community made up people with different backgrounds, experiences and beliefs to give feedback on our work and join our conversations about some of the important ideas and experiences represented in the play. Everyone is welcome, and there are lots of ways to be involved!

For more information see communitybasedacting.blogspot.com, or again, email Amy. Thanks!

Among the interviewees we'd like to meet are:

Wedding Planners

Funeral Directors

People who have been rejected, "jilted at the altar" or had a proposal turned down

People who have had broken engagements

People who have strong opinions about "love" and what it means

People who are getting married soon

People who are completely cynical about/opposed to marriage as an institution

Radical Faeries

People who would like to get married but are not legally able to do so

People who have specific philosophic interest in social theory (Marxism, etc.) and how our identities are shaped by institutions

People who were in heterosexual relationships and ended up with gay partners

People who have been through divorces

People who are in interracial relationships

People who practice particular faiths, specifically Islam and Catholicism

People who are from India or whose parents are from India

People who are or have been Catholic priests

People who can related to issues of gender as they relate to body image

People who think of themselves as extremely masculine

People who identify as "independent women""

Workshop/Demonstration on December 8

Anyone interested in the Spring 2010 production of

Charles L. Mee’s
A Perfect Wedding

should come to our FREE workshop on
Wednesday, December 8
University of Louisville Belknap Campus
Strickler Hall 101 (Middleton Theater: see map below)
6:00 pm

The first half of the evening will be a presentation of the character study performances students have developed as part of the “Acting, Performance and Community” course this semester.
The second half of the evening will be a Viewpoints workshop for people interested in auditioning in January for the remaining roles.

For more information, visit communitybasedacting.blogspot.com

or call or email Dr. Amy Steiger
amy.steiger@louisville.edu
852-8446


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Saturday, November 13, 2010

First Work on A Perfect Wedding

Over the past couple of weeks, we've begun work in earnest on A Perfect Wedding.

We began with all of the actors choosing a particular area of research that seemed significant to the play, and bringing in presentations on what they discovered. Since we're working as an ensemble, it seems useful to have everyone engaged in research on the play as a whole, and it seems like the information everyone presented enriched our understanding of it. At this stage, none of the actors was focusing specifically on character. For example, there is a character in the play who is a priest, and so one student did research on priests, but we have not yet cast that role. Another student did research on female genital cutting, because the character Djamila in the play announces that she has been circumsized and has had a "ritual deflowering," but he is not the actor playing that character.

One unusual thing about this process, which I'm sure I've already mentioned, is that the actors in the class are choosing the characters they will play based on their own interests; based on which characters they think are most different from them and from whose identities they might learn the most through the process; or whom they might never be asked to play in another context, but with whom they feel a particular affinity for some reason other than surface assumptions (that is, an actor who is a woman may have an interest in playing a male character who shares her passion for nature and the outdoors, but would never be allowed to play that character in a different context).

This part of the process may be jarring for audience members who are used to the idea that actors must always look like the characters they are playing; the standard of "believability" is key in our understanding of how theater works, most of the time. But we are hoping that because of this extended research process into which we are inviting outside members of the community, and because the play lends itself nicely to ideas of defying expectations, people will be able to put aside that expectation and think in terms of the value of actors working against their supposed "types." How can this help us and audiences think in terms of finding surprising similarities with other people, while also appreciating the attempt to bridge the gaps raised by difference? (See this blog entry from last year's version of this class for some of the inspiration for this idea).

After the research presentations, the students prepared scenes from the play so that we could start talking about their initial perceptions of these characters. After they finish compiling and performing their character research, the idea is that their understanding of the characters will probably change drastically, and they will make different choices based on interviews, feedback from interviewees, and other research. We also used Viewpoints to play around with their initial understandings, and were fascinated by how just changing the physical layout of the scene changed their impressions.

I'll use one of the scenes as an example. In the play, there is a young couple, Meridee and Amadou, who are engaged to be married; the beginning of the first act entails the leadup to what is supposed to be their wedding. Amadou's parents, Djamila and Vikram, arrive sometime through the first act, and the actor who is playing Djamila performed this scene for the class with help from someone not in the class who played Vikram. Essentially, this scene represents the first meeting of the young couple's parents. But the scene is immediately surprising, as Vikram right away begins to discuss women's bodies and what he finds or does not find attractive. Eventually, Djamila reveals that she has been through a ritual deflowering and a circumcision. Vikram becomes uncomfortable, and Djamila brings up the fact that he was allowed to talk about women's bodies all he wanted - as he says "We are not secret people with things to hide!" - but he tells her to be quiet when she begins talking about her own experience.

This scene raises so many questions that will be significant to our production, and so many concerns that could lead to really valuable community discussions, I think. First, the actor playing Djamila is not Indian, has not had a ritual deflowering or a circumcision; this is, of course, a major difference. We also have discussed the possibility that she was raised in some branch of Islam. But this is a sensitive issue that we'll be representing on stage, and the question of perceptions and misperceptions of Muslim women is raised. We also can use this as an opportunity to learn about the history of Islam in India, and the difference between civil law and Islamic law for members of the Muslim faith. For a small part of the play, these are bigger questions that can extend beyond the scope of our work, but what we learn should inform our choices here.

In addition to this specific question about identity, the two biggest issues that arose for me were about gender: women and their bodies; and what is or is not appropriate to discuss in public, and why - what is considered appropriate and "normal" and therefore okay for public disclosure, and what is supposed to remain secret. The question of gender, what is or is not "normal," and what is appropriate for public conversation is raised again and again in the play, and because it ultimately deals with marriage this is incredibly significant. What kinds of physical relationships are sanctioned by social convention, what kinds of physical processes get celebrated in public, and who determines what is and is not okay to discuss?

One of the most compelling things that came out of this early rehearsal, for me, was related to gender and staging choices. The first time the actors staged the scene, Djamila and Vikram stayed together, and their argument about these things seemed to be a more personal marital dispute. The second time, I had them choose a different spatial relationship, and we added the other characters who are present onstage - all male - into the scene. The actors chose a configuration in which all of the men stood together with Vikram in the middle, and Djamila was alone on the other side of the stage. The scene then became a conversation among the men about women's bodies, and there was a definite "boys club" process happening, in which they all played off and reacted to and tried to impress each other, while Djamila became increasingly uncomfortable off on her own. We aren't sure what choice we will make in production, but we're hoping that this research and discussion process will inform what we ultimately choose. Nonetheless, it was very exciting to see how the physical form onstage automatically affected how the actors behaved and the meaning of the scene.

We worked on three other scenes in class: one pivotal scene in which the group of couples who are gathered at the beginning get lost in the woods and their relationships get all thrown into chaos by this new natural environment outside of the expectations of civilazation; another scene in which two of the four Radical Faeries talk about the possibilities for turning the planned wedding into a funeral; and another monologue in which Willie, a young son of Djamila and Vikram, launches into a diatribe against marriage - another moment about gender and appropriate conversation. But I'm fully aware that I have been the dominant voice on this blog all semester ... I'm waiting for the students to join in the discussion and post their own initial impressions of these characters and scenes, so I'll leave it to them for now.

If you'd like to read the scene of which I was writing above and give us your thoughts, you can find the play here. The scene is about two-thirds of the way through the first act, I think, and I recommend beginning with Edmund's line that starts "The main thing in love, I think, is trust ..."

Monday, October 25, 2010

Is this REALLY a "different" way of working?

The other day, as we were finishing up a discussion of Community Based Theater and what that is, how what we're doing is different than the companies described in our readings, and how what we're doing is related to community engagement and social change, a really very important question came up: someone mentioned that all of the techniques and ways of working we've been studying are really all just research; good research practices, maybe, but in terms of the actor's process, they all fall under the blanket of research techniques.

I think, to a certain degree, this is very true! These are indeed all methods of research, in the same way that, to my mind, every single production of a play can be considered research on that play. And a performer's work can be considered research on the formation of identity. But in terms of an actor's research, I imagine what we're doing a bit differently than research an actor conducts to lend his or her character a note of "authenticity," which I take as the goal of method actors and others who conduct character based research.

In order to explain this, first I should say that part of the idea of this class is based on the concept that actors are very important public figures: that they not only reflect the world around them, but also produce images that shape how people understand themselves and their world. Actors, in that sense, are to me very important public intellectuals who carry out ideas with their bodies and voices. And these ideas are, very significantly, often about identity.

But another part of the idea of this class is that "identity," rather than being a solid, constant, unchanging idea or type or mold into which a person (or an actor) steps, is an ongoing process that is built and changes gradually. So identity, contrary to popular understanding, is not formed by the individual before he or she steps into the world. It is created in collaboration with the world in a social and public way.

So when the actors in the class look at the play, and see the characters Chuck Mee has written, those characters are only pieces in a bigger puzzle. Yet another part of the equation here is what Mary Overlie calls thinking "horizontally" rather than hierarchically. Mee's words are, of course, incredibly important. But so are the words of the people in the community with which the actors will speak. And they all take on a sort of equal importance, as does the actor's own background. Further still, this is a kind of "Participatory Action Research" for actors. It's not about taking and using people's stories, so much as in discovering what the process can yield in terms of building new communities and talking about ways to solve problems.

It's also about collaboration: seeing the character you put on stage as a cooperative effort between you, the playwright, your colleagues and the community at large. At the Cornerstone Institute this past summer, we had a class in which we discussed different kinds of working together to solve problems, one of which was "collaborative." And "collaborative" was defined as two parties coming together to create something that didn't exist before. Through your collaboration with the community (however you define or build it) on these characters, you are creating several new things: a character for the stage which provides the audience with a way of seeing the world, a new relationship and community, and potentially new ways of solving problems.

I encourage you to go back and read again some of the ideas behind what we've been studying this semester -- Viewpoints, solo performance, ensemble performance and community based arts -- and see how you as a creative artist might consider your work to address these same kinds of concerns, incorporate the same kinds of philosophies of democracy. After this project, you may decide this kind of work is not for you. But for your work in this class, see if you can momentarily shift your perspective on the actor's work and on research just slightly.

I'll close with some words from photographer Tory Read, whose work with Picture Projects in NY was featured in A Beginner's Guide to Community Based Arts, and explain how I see them applying to the work of actors. She writes,
I took some time off to travel to Indonesia where I documented an experimental community-based reforestation project. Seeing a community galvanized towards one goal was inspiring. The participatory process was quite powerful. While taking pictures, I thought to myself, "Instead of just documenting it, how could I put photography into an activist role in the process. What if people used photography to identify issues, develop strategies, and solve problems within their own communities?"


Having been an actor myself, I know that actors are, in fact, creative artists. And theatre itself already galvanizes a community of people towards a common goal; we as groups have a lot of power to build new worlds. My feeling is that making the research, production and feedback processes more actively engaged in conversations with the community might allow us to open up our power and share it. This is inspired, in some ways, by Boal and Theatre of the Oppressed, I think. But it takes into account that people who train to be actors and are interested in having that social role do have a certain kind of presence and power onstage. So rather than making audience members into actors, it engages them earlier in the process as active, creative members of the ensemble. It's just a matter of tweaking, slightly, one's understanding of how the theatrical process and actor/audience relationship works.

Finally, one step that changes that relationship is the act of creating a separate "character study" composition that exposes, to some degree, the process behind the development of your character. Through making public some of the intellectual and physical work you're doing, you make it possible for people to examine the different components of the identity you've created, see the complexities and contradictions, and use that work as a basis for larger dialogues. Instead of only representing a character as "real" and as believable as possible, this reveals the process and movement and choices that inform your work, opens it up from the beginning, and allows critical discussions about it to happen on a different level. It's sort of akin to the work scholars are required to do: they're expected to support the argument they're making with detailed and specific evidence.

I hope this clarifies, in some sense, the goals of this experiment! Feel free to disagree, give your thoughts, specify some advice, etc. That's what this is all about: encouraging people to talk about ideas and choices and issues in a constructive, creative way.