My Statement of personal and creative work
All Theatre is physical
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There is not a magical line that separates the physical from the non-physical actor. When an actor steps on the stage they are engaging in a physical act. Actors must train body, voice and imagination as one cohesive instrument of communication. My experience and creative approach has been, and continues to be, shaped by my training in LeCoq, Stage Combat and Michael Chekhov, as well as my “apprenticeship” as a member of a European acting company. This is further informed by my background as a musician, athlete and dancer. I very much believe that the actor is an “athlete of the heart”.
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All theatre is the engagement of the imagination, both the actor’s and the audience’s.
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"Consider what this world would be like if we limited ourselves to only those things we experienced in reality. There would be no need to go to the theatre or pick up a book. No films. No legends. No bedtime stories or nursery rhymes. The child within us all would die . . . As actors – as artists – we are the last of the shamans, the keepers of the fantasy, Knights Templar of the creative." (William Esper)
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All effective theatre is improvised and strives for an immediacy of creative communication.
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Each performance must be approached fresh, rebuilt every night; nothing is “locked in”. Rather, a performance is highly structured, Grotowski’s river between two banks. Between the two banks the river flows. If the river becomes stagnant, it ceases to live. Actors act and respond to one another and the audience, living truthfully in each moment on the stage as imaginatively and beautifully as possible.
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All theatre is communication between storyteller and audience.
Everything else (mise-en-scène, creative team) serves the communication of the play through the actor to the audience. |
As a director I use whatever is necessary in my attempt to encourage an efficacious communion between actor and audience. As many modern directors, I have an eclectic grab bag of conventions and techniques to pull from, combine, or put aside as the story demands. Each play has its own style and, in combination with research and an awareness of local and world community and events, provides the shape and concept of a production.
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The goal of this training is to emphasize the idea that all theatre is a communal effort.
Everyone contributes to the whole on many levels. The lead actor should be as likely to sweep the stage as the apprentice working on his or her first show. |
Though confidence in oneself and one’s fellow company members is necessary to a dynamic and creative environment, there is no room for the negative aspects of ego in the theatre. There is no “me” in theatre. We must embrace an awareness of the humanity inherent in the theatre to attain a higher form of creative- imaginative- engagement.
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Philosophy of teaching
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The Teacher as Artist
Teaching is an art form and like any art form it demands constant growth and attention. Like the theatre, teaching is ephemeral, sometimes its successes are frustrating in their elusiveness, but it is ultimately remarkably rewarding. Like the actor, director, dancer, musician, or painter, the teacher must always strive toward a deeper mastery of this wonderfully challenging art. The instructor is a guide, a mentor, and a provocateur of thought. As such the idea of “teaching” must be reexamined; the artist/teacher introduces ideas and provides opportunities and experiences. The artist/teacher strives to communicate with the student-audience in a creative and efficacious manner and, as in the theatre, these experiences must be based in a shared communion. The artist/teacher is an agent of change and as such must take risks; always learning, growing, and adapting, in turn, challenging, daring, the students to do the same. An effective artist/teacher provides expert training, helping the students to realize and develop skills in an environment full of permission: permission to risk, permission to be adventurous and spontaneous, and most importantly, permission to fail. Part mentor, psychologist, diplomat, and drill sergeant, the artist/teacher must maintain a delicate balance between patience, encouragement, and discipline, challenging and pushing the skills of the student to their limits. A theatre mentor must give completely, energetically, enthusiastically, with commitment, laser like attention, and an embarrassment of riches to be eagerly shared with the students. We must not only teach but do. The theatre teacher is the student par excellence, leading by example, demonstrating through relentless expectation the pursuit of perfection in a fleeting moment. Addendum: It is helpful for those that answer the call of teacher to have a marvelous sense of humor. In my experience, though a certain amount of gravitas is required, a healthy sense of humor helps one to maintain perspective and avoid taking oneself too seriously. |