"Good friend, for Jesus sake forebear
To dig the dust enclosed here.
Blest be the man that spares these stones
And curst be he that moves my bones."
-- Inscription on the Tomb of William Shakespeare
I figure that Shakespeare has little to fear on the account of his grave being moved. After all, the thing weighs quite a bit. Indeed, the curse upon those who move his bones will most likely be severe hernia.
Which is not at all dissimilar to the aspirations of the Savannah Shakespeare Festival. To accomplish the vision set out by Festival Director, JinHi Rand, some heavy lifting is going to be required. It is the hope of The Savannah Dramaturgy that the theatre community, or tribe, if you like, will be equal to the task. Getting almost any festival off the ground is a daunting task, and combined with the challenge of doing justice, as opposed to violence, to the Bard just adds to the weight.
As I currently understand it, and I encourage anybody more involved than myself to disabuse me of this if it is fallacious, is that the Festival will be partnering with the various producing agencies in the city of Savannah to produce a showcase, essentially, of Shakespearean works on the topic of love and its various incarnations. To sew such disparate elements into a coherent whole will be a challenge akin to getting the Spruce Goose off the tarmac. While I applaud the concept of integrating the performance community, I also question if it is possible. Indeed, if one were to lock Savannah luminaries such as Ryan McCurdy, Karla Knudsen, and DJ Queenan into a room, the chances of getting a completely satisfactory pizza order from them may fall short.
Indeed, having spoken to some folks involved, the unified festival auditions, as they were performed, left each of the institutions unable to cast their sequence and in need of holding separate auditions. While not necessary problematic, each of these producing agencies have their own health and seasons to keep in mind, and many things to do. Indicative of this is that there has been little to no notice regarding these separate auditions, and the clock is ticking.
Given how close this program was to being axed entirely, which would have been an unwise move on the part of the City of Savannah, perhaps we should consider ourselves lucky that it still has legs at all. But current status seems that it has legs very similar to James Caan's in Misery and one must ask if a year on ice might not help in the long run.
Indeed, my proposal for future festivals, so that they could be properly be called festivals, is that the Savannah Shakespeare Festival approach each of the production companies in the city and work with them to integrate festival content into their season. The Festival would help foot the bill, and the production companies would have a way of coming together. The current situation, I fear, may be an example of too many chefs spoiling the stew.
An albatross, once aloft, if actually quite beautiful. But watching the takeoff procedures is similar to watching sausage being made in terms of general pleasantness. Here is hoping that my worries are unfounded, but they exist nonetheless.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf: Armstrong Atlantic State University
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf, performed over the weekend of March 28th at the Masquer's Chinese Theatre on the Southside has managed, under the direction of Dr. Elizabeth Denoyers-Cola, to create the ensemble feel that The Savannah Dramaturgy applauds most heartily.
This choreopoem, as it is labeled, by Ntozake Shange, has lost none of its bite or relevance despite roughly twenty years of age upon its back. Particularly following Dr. Cola's approach of "Old School/New School" this piece rises as a collaborative masterpiece in the college season. Though the language is not updated, which would often ruin the poetry of the piece, contemporary music and dance, particularly of the hip-hop genre, is leavened into the piece. As Dr. Cola acknowledges that the process was largely one of learning, running in both directions from New and Old schools, this learning has not failed to produce a product that rewards the audience.
Further, for the opening night performance of March 27th, the piece was accompanied by a reception (and I do not know a dramaturg who will turn down free food) with panel discussion regarding For Colored Girls' continued relevance and place in the African-American dramatic canon. For this discussion alone, it was worth braving the cramped, stuffy interior of Masquer's Chinese Theatre. Indeed, given the fact that the program is staged by an educational institution, I find it dismaying that this is not done more often. One of the prime purposes of drama in education, according to scholars as various as Thomas Gressler and Robert Corrigan, is to teach individuals a deeper understanding of themselves and their situation. By placing Shange's work in the broader context, and reflecting upon how it affected and still affects the panelists, an excellent opportunity was created for the students to explore their own past and the history of the African American. It is a communal experience and an attempt to tap into the communal history.
Anyone reading the script to Colored Girls will find themselves somewhat confused by
Shange's unconventional punctuation, yet the purpose is to break up the standard narrative rhythm into Shange's poetry. One thing that was disappointing was that the rhythm and verve of Shange's writing was not always embodied in voice or movement by the actors. Notable exceptions to this are a recitation by Dr. Cola, the director, herself and much of the material from Lady in Purple (Amber Jones). Here one can find Shange's writing used to its full extent to create the beat of the life of a black woman.
Notable in this production is the inclusion of the male roles in the play, as opposed to the women playing an entire ensemble. While the latter is the more traditional approach, Dr. Cola elected to cast and include male actors in those very roles. Doing so, I feel, was the wiser thing to do in this case on a few different grounds. Firstly, changing between roles quickly is a form of acting that requires a definite amount of talent for the actor involved, and it is a task which student actors are generally not capable of performing effectively (certain counterexamples, such as Will Mobley's performance of the Artful Dodger in SCAD's production of Oliver Twist notwithstanding). Further, from a less practical standpoint, there is the fact that African American men are a very real, very physical part of the lives of African American women. Including the men in the space physically helps to reflect this.
Clive Barnes of The New York Times wrote that this piece could have made him feel guilty about being white and male, and yet it didn't. Coming from a very similar standpoint, I must agree. Instead, the AASU Masquers have managed to construct and perform a canticle. A canticle that sings the praises of humanity, and makes it possible for WASPs to have black sisters.
This choreopoem, as it is labeled, by Ntozake Shange, has lost none of its bite or relevance despite roughly twenty years of age upon its back. Particularly following Dr. Cola's approach of "Old School/New School" this piece rises as a collaborative masterpiece in the college season. Though the language is not updated, which would often ruin the poetry of the piece, contemporary music and dance, particularly of the hip-hop genre, is leavened into the piece. As Dr. Cola acknowledges that the process was largely one of learning, running in both directions from New and Old schools, this learning has not failed to produce a product that rewards the audience.
Further, for the opening night performance of March 27th, the piece was accompanied by a reception (and I do not know a dramaturg who will turn down free food) with panel discussion regarding For Colored Girls' continued relevance and place in the African-American dramatic canon. For this discussion alone, it was worth braving the cramped, stuffy interior of Masquer's Chinese Theatre. Indeed, given the fact that the program is staged by an educational institution, I find it dismaying that this is not done more often. One of the prime purposes of drama in education, according to scholars as various as Thomas Gressler and Robert Corrigan, is to teach individuals a deeper understanding of themselves and their situation. By placing Shange's work in the broader context, and reflecting upon how it affected and still affects the panelists, an excellent opportunity was created for the students to explore their own past and the history of the African American. It is a communal experience and an attempt to tap into the communal history.
Anyone reading the script to Colored Girls will find themselves somewhat confused by
Shange's unconventional punctuation, yet the purpose is to break up the standard narrative rhythm into Shange's poetry. One thing that was disappointing was that the rhythm and verve of Shange's writing was not always embodied in voice or movement by the actors. Notable exceptions to this are a recitation by Dr. Cola, the director, herself and much of the material from Lady in Purple (Amber Jones). Here one can find Shange's writing used to its full extent to create the beat of the life of a black woman.
Notable in this production is the inclusion of the male roles in the play, as opposed to the women playing an entire ensemble. While the latter is the more traditional approach, Dr. Cola elected to cast and include male actors in those very roles. Doing so, I feel, was the wiser thing to do in this case on a few different grounds. Firstly, changing between roles quickly is a form of acting that requires a definite amount of talent for the actor involved, and it is a task which student actors are generally not capable of performing effectively (certain counterexamples, such as Will Mobley's performance of the Artful Dodger in SCAD's production of Oliver Twist notwithstanding). Further, from a less practical standpoint, there is the fact that African American men are a very real, very physical part of the lives of African American women. Including the men in the space physically helps to reflect this.
Clive Barnes of The New York Times wrote that this piece could have made him feel guilty about being white and male, and yet it didn't. Coming from a very similar standpoint, I must agree. Instead, the AASU Masquers have managed to construct and perform a canticle. A canticle that sings the praises of humanity, and makes it possible for WASPs to have black sisters.
Monday, March 24, 2008
The American National Theatre
The menagerie (not the Glass one, by the by), of theatrical beasts is many and varied. From the slumbering dragons of a dead-end, commercialized Broadway, with their witches, phantoms, and other critters, another unseemly beast is once again rearing its head. The ANT (American National Theatre), the dreaded ANT has once again returned to us. Indeed, it seems that it will take a theatrical Excalibur or Joyeuse to destroy this beast for good. If only we had a Parcival to wield it.
The current plan of the ANT, as founded by actor/producer Sean Cullen, is to pick and choose from among the finest of Regional Theatre productions every years, and then import those productions, with artistic teams intact, to a venue in New York. Indeed, this program has been applauded by folks such as Harold Prince, who wrote, "I think it's a wonderful idea, and that it's high time there was a formal program established that invited the best theaters we have in our country to its artistic capitol..." As such, the American National Theatre will essentially bring the best of what can be found throughout America to a New York audience.
While this may seem unequivocally a good thing to some, an understanding of the concepts of national theatres and their roles are required for a full understanding of precisely what is at stake here. Essentially, the concept of a national theatre is that of a theatrical group which sets the benchmark for quality and practice for an entire nation of people. Companies such as the Royal Shakespeare Company and Comedie Francais are excellent examples of such institutions. One thing that the current ANT lacks that usually marks a national theatre is the fact that the ANT will not be a production company, and will not originate works of its own, but instead merely provide a venue for the Regionals to bring their work to New York. Other national theatres, conversely, originate their own works and strive to bring them to the nation which they ostensibly serve.
Further, a little bit of history might be useful in consideration of the ANT. The ANT is an idea that has been circulated and pursued by the American theatrical community roughly since World War II. Back in the forties, under Rosamond Gilder or according to Porterfield and Breen, the plan was almost the polar opposite of the current one. A single production company would originate works and then tour them throughout the United States, bringing nationally recognized theatre to the corners of this nation. However, this plan never managed to materialize. However, commentators such as Brooks Atkinson of The New York Times, furthered calls for an ANT that would provide just such dissemination. However, this plan, as was noted before, never really grew legs, and as late as the 1980's, Robert Brustein made the comment that an ANT was uneccessary, as we had a perfectly serviceable national theatre in the form of the American Regional theatre system.
Which is something that The Savannah Dramaturgy heartily agrees with. If a theatre is to claim to be the national theatre, it should cater to the dramatic needs of that nation. While the United States has certain hurdles to overcome, massive size, commercial culture, and lack of common identity myths and just some of many. This difference in the texture of our nation, compared to the more homogenous European nations from whence we sprang, has been noted as far back the the Constitutional debates and is long remarked upon in Alexis de Tocqueville's masterwork, Democracy in America. There is no one American nation, but instead a multiplicity. However, the Regional system effectively overcomes these by bringing theatre to their localities. Celise Kalke, dramaturg at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, calls this concept, the theatre of place. By living life in their communities, a regional can more effectively tap into the heart and pulse of their place.
Indeed, in the words of Brustein, the ANT is simply a dry hole. Mr. Cullen, with the best of intentions no doubt, is spearheading a program of cultural imperialism. Us bumpkins from the far-flung provinces shall be given the right to worship at the epicenter, if the high priests are comfortable with it. Indeed, the ANT is just another excuse for New Yorkers to never leave their island. Sorry Mr. Prince, I have a national theatre down the street. It is called Cardinal Rep. If I want something bigger, the Alliance is a few hours drive. It is high time for something, all right... but I don't feel the need to come pay obeisance.
The current plan of the ANT, as founded by actor/producer Sean Cullen, is to pick and choose from among the finest of Regional Theatre productions every years, and then import those productions, with artistic teams intact, to a venue in New York. Indeed, this program has been applauded by folks such as Harold Prince, who wrote, "I think it's a wonderful idea, and that it's high time there was a formal program established that invited the best theaters we have in our country to its artistic capitol..." As such, the American National Theatre will essentially bring the best of what can be found throughout America to a New York audience.
While this may seem unequivocally a good thing to some, an understanding of the concepts of national theatres and their roles are required for a full understanding of precisely what is at stake here. Essentially, the concept of a national theatre is that of a theatrical group which sets the benchmark for quality and practice for an entire nation of people. Companies such as the Royal Shakespeare Company and Comedie Francais are excellent examples of such institutions. One thing that the current ANT lacks that usually marks a national theatre is the fact that the ANT will not be a production company, and will not originate works of its own, but instead merely provide a venue for the Regionals to bring their work to New York. Other national theatres, conversely, originate their own works and strive to bring them to the nation which they ostensibly serve.
Further, a little bit of history might be useful in consideration of the ANT. The ANT is an idea that has been circulated and pursued by the American theatrical community roughly since World War II. Back in the forties, under Rosamond Gilder or according to Porterfield and Breen, the plan was almost the polar opposite of the current one. A single production company would originate works and then tour them throughout the United States, bringing nationally recognized theatre to the corners of this nation. However, this plan never managed to materialize. However, commentators such as Brooks Atkinson of The New York Times, furthered calls for an ANT that would provide just such dissemination. However, this plan, as was noted before, never really grew legs, and as late as the 1980's, Robert Brustein made the comment that an ANT was uneccessary, as we had a perfectly serviceable national theatre in the form of the American Regional theatre system.
Which is something that The Savannah Dramaturgy heartily agrees with. If a theatre is to claim to be the national theatre, it should cater to the dramatic needs of that nation. While the United States has certain hurdles to overcome, massive size, commercial culture, and lack of common identity myths and just some of many. This difference in the texture of our nation, compared to the more homogenous European nations from whence we sprang, has been noted as far back the the Constitutional debates and is long remarked upon in Alexis de Tocqueville's masterwork, Democracy in America. There is no one American nation, but instead a multiplicity. However, the Regional system effectively overcomes these by bringing theatre to their localities. Celise Kalke, dramaturg at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, calls this concept, the theatre of place. By living life in their communities, a regional can more effectively tap into the heart and pulse of their place.
Indeed, in the words of Brustein, the ANT is simply a dry hole. Mr. Cullen, with the best of intentions no doubt, is spearheading a program of cultural imperialism. Us bumpkins from the far-flung provinces shall be given the right to worship at the epicenter, if the high priests are comfortable with it. Indeed, the ANT is just another excuse for New Yorkers to never leave their island. Sorry Mr. Prince, I have a national theatre down the street. It is called Cardinal Rep. If I want something bigger, the Alliance is a few hours drive. It is high time for something, all right... but I don't feel the need to come pay obeisance.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
The Mousetrap: Little Theatre of Savannah
The Little Theatre of Savannah, Savannah's oldest theatre group, presents Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap at the Seaboard Freight Station Theatre March 15-30. The piece, quintessential community theatre melodrama, has been performed with gusto and is an excellent example of ensemble playing at its best.
Allow me to say that, in his directorial debut, Mark Rand has managed to create an excellent sense of community among his players. Indeed, the ability to create a coherent ensemble is one of the prime skills required of a director, and it is one that Mr. Rand has performed ably. Further, The Savannah Dramaturgy applauds this activity, as it will be one of the first steps towards an indigenous and sustainable theatre community in Savannah.
As stated above, the script is classic community theatre melodrama. Ms. Christie manages to create a fairly suspenseful story, and yet there is little emotional depth, or even unity to the plot at the end of the day. The tale careens from beginning to end and attempts to take in concepts as wide as marital infidelity, murder, trickery, estranged families, and simple bad manners without treating any of them deeply at all. Further, the piece is not resolved by any real aspect of the plot, but by a suddenly revealed deus ex machina at the very end. While such pieces may be fun from time to time, I feel that Savannah would be better served by other fare. This is not to say that I am particularly opposed to melodrama, but there are better, and simply more unified melodramas. The works of Lillian Hellman, or many of the 19th Century American melodramas, such as Metamora might be helpful here.
A weak script, especially in the community theatre, places the burden of carrying the performance all the more on the actors. And, as is often the nature of community productions, they are often not up to carrying the extra weight. This production was marked especially by unfilled pauses. The ones coming from Giles Ralston (Brent Feasel) often seemed interminable in length and copious in number, and such pauses were quickly emulated by most of the cast to one degree or another.
However, this again goes to the nature of community theatre, and the state of theatre in Savannah generally. Given its amateur basis, all of these people have day jobs, please remember, actors cannot focus the same attention on their roles as professional, or even semi-professional actors can. As such, The Savannah Dramaturgy, issues a call to theatres, theatre supporters, and the cultural institutions of our city to help financially support our theatres.
Further, one can see in the set a certain lack of attention to detail that further bespeaks a lack of time on the part of our practitioners. Though the main room of the Monkswell Manor Guest House is ostensibly wood panelled, the set lacks faux finishing or painting detail to truly create the illusion, particularly in the intimate space of the Seaboard Freight Station. Again, such detail is a side effect of a group of artists who are able to spend their time focusing on their shows, as opposed to the myriad other concerns of the nine to five.
Though I point out limitations, this should not be seen, in any way, as a condemnation of the performance. Indeed, I find the ensemble effect, where even the flamboyant Chris Wren (Jeff Fuell) and oily, continental Mr. Paravicini (Jeroy Hannah) manage to remain on an equal footing with their more mundane counterparts, truly worthy of applause.
Allow me to say that, in his directorial debut, Mark Rand has managed to create an excellent sense of community among his players. Indeed, the ability to create a coherent ensemble is one of the prime skills required of a director, and it is one that Mr. Rand has performed ably. Further, The Savannah Dramaturgy applauds this activity, as it will be one of the first steps towards an indigenous and sustainable theatre community in Savannah.
As stated above, the script is classic community theatre melodrama. Ms. Christie manages to create a fairly suspenseful story, and yet there is little emotional depth, or even unity to the plot at the end of the day. The tale careens from beginning to end and attempts to take in concepts as wide as marital infidelity, murder, trickery, estranged families, and simple bad manners without treating any of them deeply at all. Further, the piece is not resolved by any real aspect of the plot, but by a suddenly revealed deus ex machina at the very end. While such pieces may be fun from time to time, I feel that Savannah would be better served by other fare. This is not to say that I am particularly opposed to melodrama, but there are better, and simply more unified melodramas. The works of Lillian Hellman, or many of the 19th Century American melodramas, such as Metamora might be helpful here.
A weak script, especially in the community theatre, places the burden of carrying the performance all the more on the actors. And, as is often the nature of community productions, they are often not up to carrying the extra weight. This production was marked especially by unfilled pauses. The ones coming from Giles Ralston (Brent Feasel) often seemed interminable in length and copious in number, and such pauses were quickly emulated by most of the cast to one degree or another.
However, this again goes to the nature of community theatre, and the state of theatre in Savannah generally. Given its amateur basis, all of these people have day jobs, please remember, actors cannot focus the same attention on their roles as professional, or even semi-professional actors can. As such, The Savannah Dramaturgy, issues a call to theatres, theatre supporters, and the cultural institutions of our city to help financially support our theatres.
Further, one can see in the set a certain lack of attention to detail that further bespeaks a lack of time on the part of our practitioners. Though the main room of the Monkswell Manor Guest House is ostensibly wood panelled, the set lacks faux finishing or painting detail to truly create the illusion, particularly in the intimate space of the Seaboard Freight Station. Again, such detail is a side effect of a group of artists who are able to spend their time focusing on their shows, as opposed to the myriad other concerns of the nine to five.
Though I point out limitations, this should not be seen, in any way, as a condemnation of the performance. Indeed, I find the ensemble effect, where even the flamboyant Chris Wren (Jeff Fuell) and oily, continental Mr. Paravicini (Jeroy Hannah) manage to remain on an equal footing with their more mundane counterparts, truly worthy of applause.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Foreword
There is something shameful in the city of Savannah. That particular shame is that in a city with at least half a dozen producing organizations, there is absolutely no dramatic criticism. There is plenty of theatre, but no substantive criticism in any of the newspapers or magazines that grace our fair city. Thus, I present The Savannah Dramaturgy.
When G.E. Lessing, the first dramaturg, first began working at the National Theatre in Hamburg, he was expected to act, essentially, as a press agent for that theatre by raising the profile with his published praise and, possibly more in the minds of his employers, name recognition. However, he instead assumed the role of public educator, giving fair critique of theatrical performance and aesthetics for his city.
Such is the nature of my own project here. I will not pretend to be an impartial observer of theatrical Savannah, because I am not. I have worked and will work with various theatres in and around the city for years to come. Instead, I will promise my honesty. Given my working with the theatre, I have a distinct knowledge of techniques and methods employed throughout the city, and I will make use of these. If the reader has a problem with my involvement, let them read elsewhere... go pick up a newspaper and see what good it will do.
Thus, the purpose of this work is not mere criticism. This is a part of it, yes. This is, above all, dramaturgy. And the dramaturg, whether Michael Lupu at the Guthrie in Minneapolis, Mark Bly at the Arena in Washington D.C., or Celise Kalke at the Alliance in Atlanta, must be interested and involved in their theatre for its betterment. The Savannah Dramaturgy is an integral part of the ongoing project to create a professional, artistic, and indigenous theatre community in the city of Savannah. After all, if a tourist trap like Hilton Head can support an Equity company, then Savannah can surely muster what it needs for a professional theatre.
When G.E. Lessing, the first dramaturg, first began working at the National Theatre in Hamburg, he was expected to act, essentially, as a press agent for that theatre by raising the profile with his published praise and, possibly more in the minds of his employers, name recognition. However, he instead assumed the role of public educator, giving fair critique of theatrical performance and aesthetics for his city.
Such is the nature of my own project here. I will not pretend to be an impartial observer of theatrical Savannah, because I am not. I have worked and will work with various theatres in and around the city for years to come. Instead, I will promise my honesty. Given my working with the theatre, I have a distinct knowledge of techniques and methods employed throughout the city, and I will make use of these. If the reader has a problem with my involvement, let them read elsewhere... go pick up a newspaper and see what good it will do.
Thus, the purpose of this work is not mere criticism. This is a part of it, yes. This is, above all, dramaturgy. And the dramaturg, whether Michael Lupu at the Guthrie in Minneapolis, Mark Bly at the Arena in Washington D.C., or Celise Kalke at the Alliance in Atlanta, must be interested and involved in their theatre for its betterment. The Savannah Dramaturgy is an integral part of the ongoing project to create a professional, artistic, and indigenous theatre community in the city of Savannah. After all, if a tourist trap like Hilton Head can support an Equity company, then Savannah can surely muster what it needs for a professional theatre.
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