I was hit, grabbed, caressed, yelled at, and hugged. None of which was meant in any way malicious – hit because of excitement, grabbed for help, caressed because I had a bird on my shirt, yelled at so as to hear a question, and hugged to simply say hello. All amidst my first lesson in my first outing as a teaching artist. Sometimes I wonder if I should think a bit more before I say yes to certain opportunities.
Autism is an affliction I am terribly, and embarrassingly, unfamiliar. As the Educational Associate for Adaptive Arts – a theatre company devoted to creating accessible theatre for individuals afflicted with said disorder – one would imagine I’d have a bit more knowledge of the subject. And it’s not to say I don’t. Miss M (I’ll refrain from name-dropping here in these entries – we’re all equals in my diary) has given me a great deal of intellectual information regarding Autism and how it affects individuals. Though, of course, even that’s sometimes difficult to swallow because it's on a spectrum, meaning that many people are affected in many different ways. So, from the outsider’s point of view, it’s kind of a grab-bag disorder. Which makes walking into a classroom of autistic students for the first time to teach them theatre an awakening experience, to say the least.
I could not have been prepared, in any way, for what I would experience walking into that classroom for the first time. I just had to dive in, and though I knew that intellectually and had been telling myself that for the few weeks leading up, feeling it was all together very different.
The first thing I noticed was how intensely unique everyone in the room was. I thought of when I was a student, and how, when walking into a class for the first time, it was very difficult to judge what sorts of characters were there in the room. Gradually, over time, people will reveal themselves. Here, my first day in this class, within seconds I had a very clear image of what I was up against (which was the unfortunate phrasing I had in my mind at the time. It is always so much easier to be negative - I suppose it takes a leap of faith to choose to be positive). Of course, as I discovered, I couldn’t predict what they were capable of – we are all, after all, individuals, and our external selves rarely allow an honest glimpse of the person deep inside. Either way, I did become excited by this prospect – it is my philosophy that as an educator one needs to work with their students as individuals and not preach something more generic so the mass can take what it will. We all learn differently, and that was absolutely about to be the case here.
I was right, and wrong. Thankfully. I might like being wrong just as much as I like being right – if not more so, for from discovering we’re wrong, we learn (so long as we're willing to know we're wrong). I was afraid I was not going to get through to these kids at all, nor be able to figure out how I might over the next month of the residency. Those kids showed me. By the end of the first class, we returned to a game we started the morning off with – we asked them to make a motion expressing how they felt while saying their name. As the first activity, this proved very difficult, decisions had to be made, and we were scary new people asking them to show themselves to us. But finishing off the day, they were eager and excited to share (despite some having difficulties bridging the gap between wanting to and doing).
Where I was right was in that everyone did indeed need to be treated on an individual basis. I could not coax miss L into an engaging game of Knee to Knee with high-energy enthusiasm as I could mr. N. So walking around the room during the games was thrilling to find ways into these students very individual worlds, how to engage them and get them able to perform the tasks we set them to. Do I need to play the game with them, resulting in my need of their help? Do I demonstrate? Do I simply encourage? Do I come up with a similar activity, finding a new way for them to get their hands dirty with the material? There are a million ways to play, and that, essentially, is what we are here to do. Play.
My heart was sincerely touched at the end of the second session. I had worked a bit with one student on several games, mr. N, and was afraid he was too overwhelmed and stressed by us (me) pushing him to engage. I was having a hard time reading him (as I was most everyone else). When it came his turn in the circle at the end to express himself, he turned to his iPad (he was our only non-verbal student for the day) and typed out this little message:
“this was awesome.”
I can’t wait to see these kids again next week.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Professional Development Day
So, yesterday, Adaptive Arts had our first Professional Development/training day and we are still reeling over the massive amount of courage and creativity our participants brought. So much so that a full update will have to wait. BUT, we wanted to post our plans for the day. As we made our way through the training lessons got adjusted, exercises got added, some got cut, we (because it's hard to avoid this pun) adapted the lessons as we went along. However, we thought it might be interesting to post what we wanted to focus on going into the day, what we intended to teach.
so here goes:
Session one: Ensemble building/Welcome (11:00- 11:30am)
- Introductory games and hellos
o “Cross the room”
Description: Participants will form two lines. Facilitator will provide side coaching in the form of introductory questions. If the question applies to the student, they will cross the room, switching lines.
Rationale: This will give participants an opportunity to learn a little about their peers. They will be able to quickly notice similarities and differences among the group and bond in new ways.
o “move v. action”
Description: Participants will form one large circle in the space. The facilitator will model this first and then the participants will follow in a clockwise motion along the circle. The facilitator will describe an action (ex. “I am climbing a rope”) and perform an action that does not correlate (ex. performing a jumping jack). The student next to them will then have to describe the action their neighbor actually performed while performing a different, new action (ex. they will say “I am doing a jumping jack” while miming that they are sweeping the floor).
Rationale: This is a game that tests the participants’ level of attention. They will be forced to attend to and listen to their peers. This also builds on the
participants level of false belief (or theory of mind) which is a skill lacking in those individuals on the spectrum.
Session two: Information on population (11:30am-12:15pm)
- Using brain-blasts, we will acknowledge deficits in knowledge on autism and explore basic terminology within the community
o Description: Around the room will be posters asking questions about autism. Participants will be asked to walk about the room and respond to the questions. We will then briefly go over the participants’ answers to the questions and the correct answers from the field.
o Rationale: This will build a core knowledge within the group on autism and inspire them to learn more, leading to our next activity.
- “two men in a boat”
Description: Participants will walk about the room. Facilitator will yell out “two men in a boat” and when he/she does, participants must find a partner for their boat. Sometimes this game is played where the participants must hug their boat buddies, but as this population is sometimes uncomfortable with physical contact, participants will be given the option of simply standing next to their buddy. After they find a partner, they will be told to return to walking. Facilitator will then yell out another number of people in a boat and they must find the corresponding number of boat buddies. After a few rounds, they will be told “five people in a boat.” These five people will become their group for the next session.
Rationale: As a transition tool into the next activity, this will get the participants moving around the space and mingling with new people. This will also help randomize the groups for the next session.
- Using living newspaper practices we will learn a bit about autism and the arts
o Description: In four small groups, participants will be assigned to one of four articles. They will then be asked to quickly read them and discuss how to dramatize them. They will then be sharing short improved scenes for the other groups incorporating three facts from their article.
Articles include: “Make School Make Sense for Me,” “My Son is not a Monster,” “A Case for Teaching Functional Skills,” and “Autism Worksheet.”
o Rationale: This will be an interactive way to share some knowledge between groups. It will also be an introduction for our artists to a new type of theater technique.
Lunch Break (12:15-12:45pm)
- When we return from lunch, each participant will be asked to find an index card around the room. They will each have one of four colors on it. The colors they chose will decide their groups for the next exercise.
Session three: focusing on our senses (12:45- 1:15pm, each group will have 10 minutes for each activation)
- Because this is a sensory driven population, we will play games that invoke/use our senses.
o Group 1: Touch/sound/sight: Boal Obstacle Game
Description: One student will volunteer to be the pilot, one as the airplane, and the other three will serve as obstacles. The airplane will be blindfolded and put on one side of the room. The obstacles will place themselves between the airplane and the pilot. The pilot’s job will be to safely lead the airplane around the obstacles and to him/her using only his/her voice. The airplane will have to trust the pilot and rely on his/her senses besides sight. After this is completed, participants will switch roles.
Rationale: This will let the participants begin to focus on their senses and the importance they play in everyday jobs like successfully crossing the room.
o Group 2: Puppets: Make your own from newspaper!
Description: Participants will be given sections of newspaper and asked to create their own puppets. They can do this in groups or individually.
• Materials needed: newspaper, tape
Rationale: This will give participants a look into the many everyday objects that can be used in low budget, quick ways to inspire participants to activate their imaginations using puppets.
o Group 3: Masks/emotions
Description: Using images from magazines as masks, we will explore their emotive power. Participants will be asked to choose the mask they are drawn too and move about the space interacting with other masked participants. Once they feel comfortable with the masks, they will be asked to exhibit specific emotions using their bodies.
Rationale: Participants can begin to explore how taking on a different characters/emotions affects their body and movements.
Session four: Introducing Alice (1:15- 2:15pm)
- Using the knowledge we’ve developed so far, participants will be split into small groups. Each small group will read through a short scene from the play we are producing (Alice sit by the Fire) and brainstorm things within it that might be “points of entry” for participants; this can be as basic as something like “what is a costume?” to something a bit more in depth like character or theme
- Groups will then have an opportunity to “test out these ideas” or activate them, acting as participants for each other.
Session five: Regroup and reflect (2:15pm)
- Large group discussion of experience of the day
- I will also pass out basic response sheets/surveys for participants to fill out regarding the experience.
so here goes:
Session one: Ensemble building/Welcome (11:00- 11:30am)
- Introductory games and hellos
o “Cross the room”
Description: Participants will form two lines. Facilitator will provide side coaching in the form of introductory questions. If the question applies to the student, they will cross the room, switching lines.
Rationale: This will give participants an opportunity to learn a little about their peers. They will be able to quickly notice similarities and differences among the group and bond in new ways.
o “move v. action”
Description: Participants will form one large circle in the space. The facilitator will model this first and then the participants will follow in a clockwise motion along the circle. The facilitator will describe an action (ex. “I am climbing a rope”) and perform an action that does not correlate (ex. performing a jumping jack). The student next to them will then have to describe the action their neighbor actually performed while performing a different, new action (ex. they will say “I am doing a jumping jack” while miming that they are sweeping the floor).
Rationale: This is a game that tests the participants’ level of attention. They will be forced to attend to and listen to their peers. This also builds on the
participants level of false belief (or theory of mind) which is a skill lacking in those individuals on the spectrum.
Session two: Information on population (11:30am-12:15pm)
- Using brain-blasts, we will acknowledge deficits in knowledge on autism and explore basic terminology within the community
o Description: Around the room will be posters asking questions about autism. Participants will be asked to walk about the room and respond to the questions. We will then briefly go over the participants’ answers to the questions and the correct answers from the field.
o Rationale: This will build a core knowledge within the group on autism and inspire them to learn more, leading to our next activity.
- “two men in a boat”
Description: Participants will walk about the room. Facilitator will yell out “two men in a boat” and when he/she does, participants must find a partner for their boat. Sometimes this game is played where the participants must hug their boat buddies, but as this population is sometimes uncomfortable with physical contact, participants will be given the option of simply standing next to their buddy. After they find a partner, they will be told to return to walking. Facilitator will then yell out another number of people in a boat and they must find the corresponding number of boat buddies. After a few rounds, they will be told “five people in a boat.” These five people will become their group for the next session.
Rationale: As a transition tool into the next activity, this will get the participants moving around the space and mingling with new people. This will also help randomize the groups for the next session.
- Using living newspaper practices we will learn a bit about autism and the arts
o Description: In four small groups, participants will be assigned to one of four articles. They will then be asked to quickly read them and discuss how to dramatize them. They will then be sharing short improved scenes for the other groups incorporating three facts from their article.
Articles include: “Make School Make Sense for Me,” “My Son is not a Monster,” “A Case for Teaching Functional Skills,” and “Autism Worksheet.”
o Rationale: This will be an interactive way to share some knowledge between groups. It will also be an introduction for our artists to a new type of theater technique.
Lunch Break (12:15-12:45pm)
- When we return from lunch, each participant will be asked to find an index card around the room. They will each have one of four colors on it. The colors they chose will decide their groups for the next exercise.
Session three: focusing on our senses (12:45- 1:15pm, each group will have 10 minutes for each activation)
- Because this is a sensory driven population, we will play games that invoke/use our senses.
o Group 1: Touch/sound/sight: Boal Obstacle Game
Description: One student will volunteer to be the pilot, one as the airplane, and the other three will serve as obstacles. The airplane will be blindfolded and put on one side of the room. The obstacles will place themselves between the airplane and the pilot. The pilot’s job will be to safely lead the airplane around the obstacles and to him/her using only his/her voice. The airplane will have to trust the pilot and rely on his/her senses besides sight. After this is completed, participants will switch roles.
Rationale: This will let the participants begin to focus on their senses and the importance they play in everyday jobs like successfully crossing the room.
o Group 2: Puppets: Make your own from newspaper!
Description: Participants will be given sections of newspaper and asked to create their own puppets. They can do this in groups or individually.
• Materials needed: newspaper, tape
Rationale: This will give participants a look into the many everyday objects that can be used in low budget, quick ways to inspire participants to activate their imaginations using puppets.
o Group 3: Masks/emotions
Description: Using images from magazines as masks, we will explore their emotive power. Participants will be asked to choose the mask they are drawn too and move about the space interacting with other masked participants. Once they feel comfortable with the masks, they will be asked to exhibit specific emotions using their bodies.
Rationale: Participants can begin to explore how taking on a different characters/emotions affects their body and movements.
Session four: Introducing Alice (1:15- 2:15pm)
- Using the knowledge we’ve developed so far, participants will be split into small groups. Each small group will read through a short scene from the play we are producing (Alice sit by the Fire) and brainstorm things within it that might be “points of entry” for participants; this can be as basic as something like “what is a costume?” to something a bit more in depth like character or theme
- Groups will then have an opportunity to “test out these ideas” or activate them, acting as participants for each other.
Session five: Regroup and reflect (2:15pm)
- Large group discussion of experience of the day
- I will also pass out basic response sheets/surveys for participants to fill out regarding the experience.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Casting Announced for our Fundraiser this sunday!
This sunday, we will be showcasing four new plays in an effort to raise awareness of autism and raise some money for disability and the arts charities (specifically, Touching Humanity Inc).
While the plays have been chosen quite a while ago, wejust finalized casting all four plays and are so happy with the artists assembled.
The night will feature readings of:
"X-ray Vision at the motel 9" by Ian August, directed by Marielle Duke and featuring Eric Bland and Alex Engquist
"Rain" by Garry Williams, directed by August Schulenburg and featuring Ken Glickfel, Alisha Spielmann, Jane Taylor and Isaiah Tanenbaum
"Prodigal Father" by Isaac Rathbone, directed by Dev Bondarin and featruing John Greenleaf and John Gardner
"Walk into the Sea" by Elaine Romero, directed by Jerry Ruiz and featuring Sandra Delgado and Teddy Canez
"Teasers and Pleasers" the first installment of our "Autism Initiative" series, will be taking place in Penthouse 1 of Shetler Studios (244 w54th st) at 7:30 pm on 10/24/10. Tickets will be 18 dollars and can be reserved by emailing RSVPadaptive@gmail.com or by calling 845 667 0757
We hope to see you there!
While the plays have been chosen quite a while ago, wejust finalized casting all four plays and are so happy with the artists assembled.
The night will feature readings of:
"X-ray Vision at the motel 9" by Ian August, directed by Marielle Duke and featuring Eric Bland and Alex Engquist
"Rain" by Garry Williams, directed by August Schulenburg and featuring Ken Glickfel, Alisha Spielmann, Jane Taylor and Isaiah Tanenbaum
"Prodigal Father" by Isaac Rathbone, directed by Dev Bondarin and featruing John Greenleaf and John Gardner
"Walk into the Sea" by Elaine Romero, directed by Jerry Ruiz and featuring Sandra Delgado and Teddy Canez
"Teasers and Pleasers" the first installment of our "Autism Initiative" series, will be taking place in Penthouse 1 of Shetler Studios (244 w54th st) at 7:30 pm on 10/24/10. Tickets will be 18 dollars and can be reserved by emailing RSVPadaptive@gmail.com or by calling 845 667 0757
We hope to see you there!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
culture, passion, and science- a look into the mind of Elaine Romero
Meet playwright Elaine Romero, whose piece WALK IN TO THE SEA is being featured in our upcoming fundraiser (directed by Jerry Ruiz)
1)It appears that culture and heritage play a really important part in a lot of your plays. How does your own culture influence your writing and characters?
I just write what's in my gut and sometimes the plays dance with, or around, cultural themes. I do enjoy including Latino characters. I see them in my head. It's my community. I noticed early on that if I did not specify Latino characters that Latino characters were not cast when I wrote, "can be played by actors of any race." Just never. I found that discouraging. I realized I had to carve out a place in some of my work. Indeed, the culture influences how I see space and time. There's a sense that there is a very thin veil between this world and the next.
2)You seem to be in a different state each time I speak with you, is there a place that you consider your artistic home? Similarly, do you have a favorite place to write?
I currently live in Chicago, so that is my new artistic home. I have used Arizona as a home base for a long time, and I'll always return there to write. I have a long term relationship with a regional theatre there that has always served as a home for me. Super cozy there. They still love me and I still love them. My reality is that I have multiple artistic homes, companies I return to, again and again, who produce my work. I have homes in Denver, Dallas, Florida, and New York. They are all my homes.
3)Your characters have a way of making us believe and completely buy into their passions and ideas about life. Did a lot of research go into creating these characters for you? Specifically Karl and his theories on Viruses.
I did tons of research. Karl's theory is, actually, the theory of a good friend of mine. Over a ten year period, I was intrigued by how he applied his theory to social issues, politics, and himself. I became interested in the idea of a scientist who applied his theory to his personal life and it failed. I'm interested in our various identities and who we are if they fail us. I'm interested in Karl because he takes comfort in science. He does not know who he is without it. I'm interested in blind passion. I'm interested in obsession. It's something I deeply understand. I understand singular focus and blurring out the rest of the world. WALK INTO THE SEA is a product of that understanding.
4)What made you decide to apply for this festival? Do you have any personal connections to Autism that you would feel comfortable sharing?
I wanted to have WALK INTO THE SEA included in an event that was specifically about Autism. Frankly, I wanted to see the response to my play from those even closer to Autism. My best friend is a special ed teacher. I talked to her a lot while I was writing the play. She specializes in Autism. We talk a lot on the phone. I learned a lot about it from her. Other friends have kids who have Autism. It's been a path of learning. It continues to draw me in. As a writer, I love people. All people. As a writer, I want to understand them. Perhaps, writing a play is an attempt to crack a nut, solve a mystery.
5) What was the moment that made you decide to be a playwright?
I'm pretty certain that it started before I became conscious of it. I used to read plays aloud to myself as a kid. I always loved playing all the parts. As a writer, I found myself wanting to embody each voice in its entirety without interpretation. I found the craft to be pure. When I wrote my first plays, I was uncertain of the form, but I found myself fighting for each play. Really fighting for it in a way that I had not fought for my other writing. I found myself with the will to write and rewrite. The will to hear my work with other artists. I fell for the collaborative aspect of the theatre. I fell for hearing my work aloud in a room and feeling the response. It's been an ongoing journey of falling in love.
6)What is your favorite piece you have written? Or Favorite experience with a piece?
I've had magical experiences with my plays. Literally, ideas that have come out of the ethers. When I wrote BEFORE DEATH COMES FOR THE ARCHBISHOP, I had the experience of having the name of Willa Cather's novel come to mind. It was completely out of the blue. When I read the book, I realized I needed to do a Latina revisionist version of that time period from the point of view of a priest she lambasted in the novel. Within minutes of discovering his true identity, I ended up with an invitation to stay in his home with his descendants. That entire experience was magical for me. In many ways, it's that play I find myself returning to as a favorite. I wanted to capture that moment in time when the U.S. took over northern Mexico, but I wanted to find a personal vehicle to tell it. I found that vehicle in Padre Martinez.
7)If you were trapped on a deserted island with only one play to read, what would it be? Feel free to cast it as well (we can kidnap some actors onto this island)!
It would lend itself to A TEMPEST. I'd cast it with members of my cerebral ensemble because they'd keep me writing.
1)It appears that culture and heritage play a really important part in a lot of your plays. How does your own culture influence your writing and characters?
I just write what's in my gut and sometimes the plays dance with, or around, cultural themes. I do enjoy including Latino characters. I see them in my head. It's my community. I noticed early on that if I did not specify Latino characters that Latino characters were not cast when I wrote, "can be played by actors of any race." Just never. I found that discouraging. I realized I had to carve out a place in some of my work. Indeed, the culture influences how I see space and time. There's a sense that there is a very thin veil between this world and the next.
2)You seem to be in a different state each time I speak with you, is there a place that you consider your artistic home? Similarly, do you have a favorite place to write?
I currently live in Chicago, so that is my new artistic home. I have used Arizona as a home base for a long time, and I'll always return there to write. I have a long term relationship with a regional theatre there that has always served as a home for me. Super cozy there. They still love me and I still love them. My reality is that I have multiple artistic homes, companies I return to, again and again, who produce my work. I have homes in Denver, Dallas, Florida, and New York. They are all my homes.
3)Your characters have a way of making us believe and completely buy into their passions and ideas about life. Did a lot of research go into creating these characters for you? Specifically Karl and his theories on Viruses.
I did tons of research. Karl's theory is, actually, the theory of a good friend of mine. Over a ten year period, I was intrigued by how he applied his theory to social issues, politics, and himself. I became interested in the idea of a scientist who applied his theory to his personal life and it failed. I'm interested in our various identities and who we are if they fail us. I'm interested in Karl because he takes comfort in science. He does not know who he is without it. I'm interested in blind passion. I'm interested in obsession. It's something I deeply understand. I understand singular focus and blurring out the rest of the world. WALK INTO THE SEA is a product of that understanding.
4)What made you decide to apply for this festival? Do you have any personal connections to Autism that you would feel comfortable sharing?
I wanted to have WALK INTO THE SEA included in an event that was specifically about Autism. Frankly, I wanted to see the response to my play from those even closer to Autism. My best friend is a special ed teacher. I talked to her a lot while I was writing the play. She specializes in Autism. We talk a lot on the phone. I learned a lot about it from her. Other friends have kids who have Autism. It's been a path of learning. It continues to draw me in. As a writer, I love people. All people. As a writer, I want to understand them. Perhaps, writing a play is an attempt to crack a nut, solve a mystery.
5) What was the moment that made you decide to be a playwright?
I'm pretty certain that it started before I became conscious of it. I used to read plays aloud to myself as a kid. I always loved playing all the parts. As a writer, I found myself wanting to embody each voice in its entirety without interpretation. I found the craft to be pure. When I wrote my first plays, I was uncertain of the form, but I found myself fighting for each play. Really fighting for it in a way that I had not fought for my other writing. I found myself with the will to write and rewrite. The will to hear my work with other artists. I fell for the collaborative aspect of the theatre. I fell for hearing my work aloud in a room and feeling the response. It's been an ongoing journey of falling in love.
6)What is your favorite piece you have written? Or Favorite experience with a piece?
I've had magical experiences with my plays. Literally, ideas that have come out of the ethers. When I wrote BEFORE DEATH COMES FOR THE ARCHBISHOP, I had the experience of having the name of Willa Cather's novel come to mind. It was completely out of the blue. When I read the book, I realized I needed to do a Latina revisionist version of that time period from the point of view of a priest she lambasted in the novel. Within minutes of discovering his true identity, I ended up with an invitation to stay in his home with his descendants. That entire experience was magical for me. In many ways, it's that play I find myself returning to as a favorite. I wanted to capture that moment in time when the U.S. took over northern Mexico, but I wanted to find a personal vehicle to tell it. I found that vehicle in Padre Martinez.
7)If you were trapped on a deserted island with only one play to read, what would it be? Feel free to cast it as well (we can kidnap some actors onto this island)!
It would lend itself to A TEMPEST. I'd cast it with members of my cerebral ensemble because they'd keep me writing.
talking fish, motels, and brotherly love or meet Ian August!
A look at playwright Ian August whose play "X-ray Vision at the Motel 9" is being featured in our upcoming fundraiser. X-Ray is being directed by Marielle Duke and features Alex Engquist and Eric Bland.
And now, lets get to know Ian...
1)Within your play, there’s a big theme of being replaced; what it means to be replaced and how we can be. Was this something you thought about at the inception of the project?
I think the idea of "replacement" is inherent in any piece about siblings or sibling rivalry. I know even with siblings of different gender that there is a certain amount of one-upsmanship that goes on between the two. Hank, the older of the two brothers in the play, and the character with autism, understands that idea with a genuine clarity that even Joe, the younger sibling, does not.
2) In the original version of the script, one of your characters was mentally disabled after an accident, how do you feel that the switch from a new disorder to life-long disorder (Autism), affects your characters and their relationship?
One of the things I love about this piece is that Joe, the younger brother, has a seemingly endless patience when it comes to Hank, the character with the disorder. I think changing Hank's affliction to a life-long disorder like autism creates a deeper history between them--a history that speaks of their relationship for years before the story takes place.
3) What made you decide to apply for this festival? Do you have any personal connections to Autism that you would feel comfortable sharing?
A younger cousin of mine suffers from a similar disorder to autism; his condition greatly affects his memory and his social skills. But he is one of the most hard working and persistant young men I know. He is now, at age 21, attending college and living on his own. It's pretty awesome.
4) What was the moment that made you decide to be a playwright?
Oh--that's a tough one. I was a professional actor for several years, toured the country and did some regional productions--but I was becoming dissatisfied with much of the work I was doing. The parts, the scripts, the experiences weren't as gratifying or as fulfilling as they had once been. So eventually, I just stopped complaining and started writing. And thankfully, people have been responding very well to my work. I feel extremely lucky.
5) If you were trapped on a deserted island with only one play to read, what would it be? Feel free to cast it as well (we can kidnap some actors onto this island)!
It would probably be something by John Guare or Peter Schaffer--I love the storytelling devices Shaffer uses in plays like Amadeus or Equus--but Guare is a master of merging form and content. That's not to say that either of the them are the authors of my favorite play--that's reserved for Stoppard's espionage / physics play Hapgood--but if I were stuck on a desert island, I could read House of Blue Leaves or Amadeus forever.
6) Whats up next for you? Any news or projects you want to share with the blog universe?
I just had a production of a new play called Donna Orbits the Moon premiere in Salt Lake City, but I'm eager to have it produced here on the East Coast. I'll also be workshopping a play with the Passage Theater in Trenton, NJ next year--It's a Irish ghost story that takes place in Northern Ireland in the early 80's--called For Mother's Song. And I'm writing a novel tentatively titled "And With Gills." It's a contemporary fairy tale about the residents of a fictional town in Ohio who are all searching for happiness, and turn to the guidance of an enormous, repulsive, one-eyed talking pike. It should be fairly bizarre.
And now, lets get to know Ian...
1)Within your play, there’s a big theme of being replaced; what it means to be replaced and how we can be. Was this something you thought about at the inception of the project?
I think the idea of "replacement" is inherent in any piece about siblings or sibling rivalry. I know even with siblings of different gender that there is a certain amount of one-upsmanship that goes on between the two. Hank, the older of the two brothers in the play, and the character with autism, understands that idea with a genuine clarity that even Joe, the younger sibling, does not.
2) In the original version of the script, one of your characters was mentally disabled after an accident, how do you feel that the switch from a new disorder to life-long disorder (Autism), affects your characters and their relationship?
One of the things I love about this piece is that Joe, the younger brother, has a seemingly endless patience when it comes to Hank, the character with the disorder. I think changing Hank's affliction to a life-long disorder like autism creates a deeper history between them--a history that speaks of their relationship for years before the story takes place.
3) What made you decide to apply for this festival? Do you have any personal connections to Autism that you would feel comfortable sharing?
A younger cousin of mine suffers from a similar disorder to autism; his condition greatly affects his memory and his social skills. But he is one of the most hard working and persistant young men I know. He is now, at age 21, attending college and living on his own. It's pretty awesome.
4) What was the moment that made you decide to be a playwright?
Oh--that's a tough one. I was a professional actor for several years, toured the country and did some regional productions--but I was becoming dissatisfied with much of the work I was doing. The parts, the scripts, the experiences weren't as gratifying or as fulfilling as they had once been. So eventually, I just stopped complaining and started writing. And thankfully, people have been responding very well to my work. I feel extremely lucky.
5) If you were trapped on a deserted island with only one play to read, what would it be? Feel free to cast it as well (we can kidnap some actors onto this island)!
It would probably be something by John Guare or Peter Schaffer--I love the storytelling devices Shaffer uses in plays like Amadeus or Equus--but Guare is a master of merging form and content. That's not to say that either of the them are the authors of my favorite play--that's reserved for Stoppard's espionage / physics play Hapgood--but if I were stuck on a desert island, I could read House of Blue Leaves or Amadeus forever.
6) Whats up next for you? Any news or projects you want to share with the blog universe?
I just had a production of a new play called Donna Orbits the Moon premiere in Salt Lake City, but I'm eager to have it produced here on the East Coast. I'll also be workshopping a play with the Passage Theater in Trenton, NJ next year--It's a Irish ghost story that takes place in Northern Ireland in the early 80's--called For Mother's Song. And I'm writing a novel tentatively titled "And With Gills." It's a contemporary fairy tale about the residents of a fictional town in Ohio who are all searching for happiness, and turn to the guidance of an enormous, repulsive, one-eyed talking pike. It should be fairly bizarre.
Friday, October 8, 2010
"How far did you fall?" an introduction to RAIN playwright Garry Williams
Meet our second playwright, Garry Williams whose play RAIN will be featured in our upcoming "Teasers and Pleasers" night of new works.
1) What made you decide to apply for this festival? Do you have any personal connections to Autism that you would feel comfortable sharing?
A playwright friend, Rich Orloff, told me about the festival and it touched me that a company would devote an evening of plays to autism. I have a first cousin with heart damage and profound mental retardation, and I always admired my aunt and uncle and cousins for making sure that she was loved and included and always knew that she belonged.
2)The character with Autism in your play, Tyler, is nonverbal throughout the play. That’s a really challenging (and yet utterly rewarding) character trait for an actor just walking into the role. What made you decide to go this route?
Much of what goes into my plays is subconscious, I think. Maybe even accidental. I didn't know as I was writing RAIN that Tyler was going to end up being a Christ symbol - an all-loving but completely uncommunicative being. The decision to make him nonverbal wasn't meant to set that up. I was simply moved by the idea of Tyler being an unspeaking - but unconditionally loving - presence in the family and on the stage. The fact that Staff eventually uses him as a Christ symbol was a very happy surprise to me.
3) In your play, there is an amazing juxtaposition set up between Tyler, who has had a disorder for all of his life, and Staff, who recently became handicapped. Did you do a lot of research going into the play on the ways in which people cope with disabilities or the backgrounds of those disabilities at all?
I didn't do a lot of specific research into loss or disability before sitting down to write. This play really came more out of emotion than intellect. My mantra is always "How would that feel?" How would it feel for a man of the outdoors to lose his legs, his independence? For that matter, how would it feel to fall off a barn roof? After the opening night of the first production of the show (at the Alliance Rep in Burbank), a man came up to me and asked, "How far did you fall?" He had fallen forty feet and said that I described the experience and thought processes so clearly that he assumed I had fallen too.
4) Many times in Off Off Broadway theater I feel like we see plays about New Yorkers or situations we face in a big city. However, your characters live in a far away land known as the Midwest. How do you feel the location of your plays effect your characters and their sensibilities?
There is something stark about the part of Indiana that we live in. It looks stark and it feels stark. The summers are too hot, the winters are too cold, and there's very little of what most people would think of as beauty. It's flat and featureless and pretty much wall-to-wall corn and soybeans with a few trees and houses in between. But you learn to see the beauty if you live here. You learn to bundle up when it's cold as hell and run a hose over your head when it's hot as hell. And you go on. Those are the things that forged people like Staff and Mary - living on a part of the planet that humans couldn't live on if they hadn't tamed fire and learned to use tools. It's a no-nonsense environment and it produces no-nonsense people.
Another thing that makes Staff and Mary who they are, I think, is the fact that they farm. Farming is an act of both faith and stubbornness. They plant fields that are too big to water, so if it doesn't rain, they don't have a crop. But they'll do it again the next year, and the next. We live on a farm (though we don't farm ourselves), so I know the feeling of looking out across hundreds of acres of corn that is stunted and withered by heat and drought. And there's nothing you can do. Nothing at all. That's Staff and Mary's life. They chose it and they'll survive it. They're tough people.
5) What was the moment that made you decide to be a playwright?
My wife actually says that writing RAIN was pivotal for me. She read it, looked at me and said, "Well, you're a playwright." As far as a moment that made me want to BE a playwright, I can't really put my finger on one. I remember being young - 10 or 12 maybe - and watching a movie that touched me. I don't even remember what the movie was, but I thought it was a thing of beauty. And I remember thinking that I wanted to be in on creating something of beauty someday.
6) What is your favorite piece you have written? Or Favorite experience with a piece?
RAIN may very well by my favorite piece, along with an unproduced TV pilot called "Tijuana, Ohio." And I would have to say that my favorite moment was the very first production of RAIN at the Alliance. It was beautifully directed, perfectly cast, and brilliantly acted. They found every beat of the play. It was remarkable.
7) If you were trapped on a deserted island with only one play to read, what would it be? Feel free to cast it as well (we can kidnap some actors onto this island)!
Wow. I'm not sure I could settle on one. Maybe DEATH OF A SALESMAN. Or WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? Or STREAMERS. And the original Broadway cast of any of those shows would be welcome on my island!
8) What's up next for you after this? Any news to share with the bloggy world?
I have a script with the BBC called LORILEI. It's the true story of the mother of a murdered little boy who didn't want her son's killer executed. In the age of comic book movies, it's not an easy film to get made. And I'm hoping that one of the cable channels will take a chance on "Tijuana, Ohio," a series about a small town facing big city problems. It's about flyover country and what's happening here.
1) What made you decide to apply for this festival? Do you have any personal connections to Autism that you would feel comfortable sharing?
A playwright friend, Rich Orloff, told me about the festival and it touched me that a company would devote an evening of plays to autism. I have a first cousin with heart damage and profound mental retardation, and I always admired my aunt and uncle and cousins for making sure that she was loved and included and always knew that she belonged.
2)The character with Autism in your play, Tyler, is nonverbal throughout the play. That’s a really challenging (and yet utterly rewarding) character trait for an actor just walking into the role. What made you decide to go this route?
Much of what goes into my plays is subconscious, I think. Maybe even accidental. I didn't know as I was writing RAIN that Tyler was going to end up being a Christ symbol - an all-loving but completely uncommunicative being. The decision to make him nonverbal wasn't meant to set that up. I was simply moved by the idea of Tyler being an unspeaking - but unconditionally loving - presence in the family and on the stage. The fact that Staff eventually uses him as a Christ symbol was a very happy surprise to me.
3) In your play, there is an amazing juxtaposition set up between Tyler, who has had a disorder for all of his life, and Staff, who recently became handicapped. Did you do a lot of research going into the play on the ways in which people cope with disabilities or the backgrounds of those disabilities at all?
I didn't do a lot of specific research into loss or disability before sitting down to write. This play really came more out of emotion than intellect. My mantra is always "How would that feel?" How would it feel for a man of the outdoors to lose his legs, his independence? For that matter, how would it feel to fall off a barn roof? After the opening night of the first production of the show (at the Alliance Rep in Burbank), a man came up to me and asked, "How far did you fall?" He had fallen forty feet and said that I described the experience and thought processes so clearly that he assumed I had fallen too.
4) Many times in Off Off Broadway theater I feel like we see plays about New Yorkers or situations we face in a big city. However, your characters live in a far away land known as the Midwest. How do you feel the location of your plays effect your characters and their sensibilities?
There is something stark about the part of Indiana that we live in. It looks stark and it feels stark. The summers are too hot, the winters are too cold, and there's very little of what most people would think of as beauty. It's flat and featureless and pretty much wall-to-wall corn and soybeans with a few trees and houses in between. But you learn to see the beauty if you live here. You learn to bundle up when it's cold as hell and run a hose over your head when it's hot as hell. And you go on. Those are the things that forged people like Staff and Mary - living on a part of the planet that humans couldn't live on if they hadn't tamed fire and learned to use tools. It's a no-nonsense environment and it produces no-nonsense people.
Another thing that makes Staff and Mary who they are, I think, is the fact that they farm. Farming is an act of both faith and stubbornness. They plant fields that are too big to water, so if it doesn't rain, they don't have a crop. But they'll do it again the next year, and the next. We live on a farm (though we don't farm ourselves), so I know the feeling of looking out across hundreds of acres of corn that is stunted and withered by heat and drought. And there's nothing you can do. Nothing at all. That's Staff and Mary's life. They chose it and they'll survive it. They're tough people.
5) What was the moment that made you decide to be a playwright?
My wife actually says that writing RAIN was pivotal for me. She read it, looked at me and said, "Well, you're a playwright." As far as a moment that made me want to BE a playwright, I can't really put my finger on one. I remember being young - 10 or 12 maybe - and watching a movie that touched me. I don't even remember what the movie was, but I thought it was a thing of beauty. And I remember thinking that I wanted to be in on creating something of beauty someday.
6) What is your favorite piece you have written? Or Favorite experience with a piece?
RAIN may very well by my favorite piece, along with an unproduced TV pilot called "Tijuana, Ohio." And I would have to say that my favorite moment was the very first production of RAIN at the Alliance. It was beautifully directed, perfectly cast, and brilliantly acted. They found every beat of the play. It was remarkable.
7) If you were trapped on a deserted island with only one play to read, what would it be? Feel free to cast it as well (we can kidnap some actors onto this island)!
Wow. I'm not sure I could settle on one. Maybe DEATH OF A SALESMAN. Or WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? Or STREAMERS. And the original Broadway cast of any of those shows would be welcome on my island!
8) What's up next for you after this? Any news to share with the bloggy world?
I have a script with the BBC called LORILEI. It's the true story of the mother of a murdered little boy who didn't want her son's killer executed. In the age of comic book movies, it's not an easy film to get made. And I'm hoping that one of the cable channels will take a chance on "Tijuana, Ohio," a series about a small town facing big city problems. It's about flyover country and what's happening here.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Meet our artists: Isaac Rathbone
As our new works program is fast approaching, we wanted to give all of you out there in bloggy land a chance to meet all the awesome artists who are donating their creative talent (not to mention time, energy, passion) to this project.
so, over the next two weeks will be posting interviews with playwrights, actors, and directors.
First up, playwright Isaac Rathbone. On October 24th, we will be presenting a reading of his new play, Prodigal Father, being directed by Dev Bondarin. You may remember him from our last fundraiser where he wrote "Hold the Bus", which was directed by Marielle Duke and featured Stephen Alan Wilson and David Nelson. If you can't wait until October 24th to see more of Ike's work, you're in luck! A reading of another new play of his is being featured in Oracle Theater Company's upcoming Truth be Told Series and you can find more info on that here: http://http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=118227288234105
and now, the interview:
So, your play Prodigal Father was actually written specifically for our “Autism Initiative” project. What made you want to take part?
It was a very challenging topic to write about a there was a strict deadline. Both of those things are good things for me. They were good motivators to jump right in and write.
Do you have any background or experience dealing with Autism Spectrum Disorder?
I don’t, which was another reason I was interested in tackling this project. I have, admittedly, have limited exposure to it. Its why there’s no character on stage with Autism. I wouldn’t know how to write that character yet.
Now in Prodigal Father, they family believes that the grandson’s Autism comes from Ben’s exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. With the constantly increasing number of reported cases of Autism, there are loads of theories (from genetic to environmental) on what actually causes Autism. Why did you choose this as the cause?
I am currently writing a piece on Vietnam and in my research for that I discovered this trend [of linking Autism cases to Agent Orange]. I wanted to tackle that idea while writing this other piece. I am not sure the validity of the theory itself, but it seemed to speak to me.
So what’s up next for you? You mentioned another piece you are working on…
I was commissioned to write a script for Hofstra University based on their campus in the period during the Vietnam War. It will be based mostly on oral histories I am gathering from alumni, activists, professors, and veterans. All of the text will be based on these histories and archived documents. It’s not all completely verbatim though, we are taking some creative license. The story is so big that we need to add focus in order to better serve it.
You tend to write a lot of historical plays, what about that is appealing to you?
That’s actually a relatively new thing for me. But, I really enjoy working on them. The research alone makes the experience well worth it and the play becomes a bonus.
For both this piece with us and your last, Hold the Bus, you focused on some less than savory characters. Was that a conscious focus?
I like the darker sides of characters a big more. I find it more interesting to write about.
Now not only do you write plays, you also work with a company that puts a heavy focus on new
work , Oracle Theater Company. Why new plays?
I think it’s important to provide an outlet for new work. There is something about that process that is so exciting for us. We just want to be involved in that somehow.
Alright, tough question time, what is your favorite play of all time?
Oh, The Dumbwaiter. If I had to be alone on a deserted island with a cast and a script that would be it!
Dream cast?
Michael Caine and…..Ewan McGregor.
Ok, what about a favorite play that you’ve wrote?
There’s Always A Band. Philip Emeott, David Nelson, Jason Little and I went to Cape Cod last winter to develop it. It’s a story about two soldiers stuck in the middle of nowhere with no one but each other. It has yet to be done in New York though, outside of a ten minute version.
Speaking of New York, what’s the strangest thing that has ever happened to you on a New York
subway?
I once saw the three Hanson brothers on the subway. Each one had an age appropriate girlfriend too. So I rode the subway with them for a bit. It was pretty awesome. They were totally lost too and all asking each other where they were going.
so, over the next two weeks will be posting interviews with playwrights, actors, and directors.
First up, playwright Isaac Rathbone. On October 24th, we will be presenting a reading of his new play, Prodigal Father, being directed by Dev Bondarin. You may remember him from our last fundraiser where he wrote "Hold the Bus", which was directed by Marielle Duke and featured Stephen Alan Wilson and David Nelson. If you can't wait until October 24th to see more of Ike's work, you're in luck! A reading of another new play of his is being featured in Oracle Theater Company's upcoming Truth be Told Series and you can find more info on that here: http://http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=118227288234105
and now, the interview:
So, your play Prodigal Father was actually written specifically for our “Autism Initiative” project. What made you want to take part?
It was a very challenging topic to write about a there was a strict deadline. Both of those things are good things for me. They were good motivators to jump right in and write.
Do you have any background or experience dealing with Autism Spectrum Disorder?
I don’t, which was another reason I was interested in tackling this project. I have, admittedly, have limited exposure to it. Its why there’s no character on stage with Autism. I wouldn’t know how to write that character yet.
Now in Prodigal Father, they family believes that the grandson’s Autism comes from Ben’s exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. With the constantly increasing number of reported cases of Autism, there are loads of theories (from genetic to environmental) on what actually causes Autism. Why did you choose this as the cause?
I am currently writing a piece on Vietnam and in my research for that I discovered this trend [of linking Autism cases to Agent Orange]. I wanted to tackle that idea while writing this other piece. I am not sure the validity of the theory itself, but it seemed to speak to me.
So what’s up next for you? You mentioned another piece you are working on…
I was commissioned to write a script for Hofstra University based on their campus in the period during the Vietnam War. It will be based mostly on oral histories I am gathering from alumni, activists, professors, and veterans. All of the text will be based on these histories and archived documents. It’s not all completely verbatim though, we are taking some creative license. The story is so big that we need to add focus in order to better serve it.
You tend to write a lot of historical plays, what about that is appealing to you?
That’s actually a relatively new thing for me. But, I really enjoy working on them. The research alone makes the experience well worth it and the play becomes a bonus.
For both this piece with us and your last, Hold the Bus, you focused on some less than savory characters. Was that a conscious focus?
I like the darker sides of characters a big more. I find it more interesting to write about.
Now not only do you write plays, you also work with a company that puts a heavy focus on new
work , Oracle Theater Company. Why new plays?
I think it’s important to provide an outlet for new work. There is something about that process that is so exciting for us. We just want to be involved in that somehow.
Alright, tough question time, what is your favorite play of all time?
Oh, The Dumbwaiter. If I had to be alone on a deserted island with a cast and a script that would be it!
Dream cast?
Michael Caine and…..Ewan McGregor.
Ok, what about a favorite play that you’ve wrote?
There’s Always A Band. Philip Emeott, David Nelson, Jason Little and I went to Cape Cod last winter to develop it. It’s a story about two soldiers stuck in the middle of nowhere with no one but each other. It has yet to be done in New York though, outside of a ten minute version.
Speaking of New York, what’s the strangest thing that has ever happened to you on a New York
subway?
I once saw the three Hanson brothers on the subway. Each one had an age appropriate girlfriend too. So I rode the subway with them for a bit. It was pretty awesome. They were totally lost too and all asking each other where they were going.
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