Theatre @ Michigan Newsletter

Fall 2009, Volume 20

Theatre at Published for our Alumni, Students and their Families,

Friends and Supporters

In This Issue: Student Awards and Honors 2008—2 | Student Perspectives—3 | Spotlight on Faculty—5 The Place Where Anything is Possible—9 | Shakespeare ‘08—15 | Scholarships 2008–2009—16 | Spotlight on Alumni—17 Left to right: Seon Britton and Seth Moore, Timothy Douglas, BFA Clown Class.

Left and center photographs by Peter Smith Photography. Right photograph by Malcolm Tulip.

FROM THE CHAIR One of Life’s Most Civilized Experiences The late actor Robert Prosky really loved the theatre. He died in December 2008, at age 77, having appeared in more than 200 plays, ranging from Broadway’s Glengarry Glen Ross to Arena Stage’s Death of a Salesman. He also appeared on TV and in films as diverse as Mrs. Doubtfire and The Natural. I very much enjoyed seeing his performances when he was a company member at Arena Stage.

Prosky once said, “When human beings onstage interact with human beings in the audience…together they create the event of performance. It’s one of life’s most civilized experiences.”

I like to think that’s why we all love the theatre and what our department is all about.

Whether a performance is on the stage of the Arthur Miller Theatre or in a Basement Arts production, there is generated an exhilaration that only humans can share and embrace. It is the aim of our accomplished faculty to work with our talented students in helping them develop to their fullest capacity as emerging theatre practitioners, whatever their particular focus. Thank you to all of our friends and patrons who help us make this possible. And we salute Mr. Prosky and his spirit, which I think speaks to everything that makes a life in the theatre so special and rewarding.

See you soon,

Gregory Poggi

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WALGREEN CENTER WINS NATIONAL AWARD The Charles R. Walgreen, Jr. Drama Center & Arthur Miller Theater received the 2009 Architecture Merit Award from the United States Institute for Theatre Technology. Representatives of the architectural firm Kuwabara Payne McLenna Blumberg Architects accepted the award in March at the USITT annual conference and state expo in Cincinnati, Ohio.

An exhibit board showcasing the Center was on display at the conference, and will be available for exhibition at schools and other institutions across the country.

Inside its 80,000 square feet, the Drama Center on North Campus houses classrooms, faculty offices, the 280-seat Miller Theatre, studios, lighting labs and the costume shop. It opened in 2007 and has won praise from faculty, students and visitors alike.

Students Earn Awards in ’07 and ’08 American College Theatre Festival Department of Theatre & Drama students earned awards in both the 2007 and 2008 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. This national theatre education program identifies and promotes quality in college-level theater productions. All university productions are entered and are eligible for a response from a regional KCACTF representative.

Students in Design & Production attended and competed in regional finals in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in January 2008, and they were joined by Performance majors in Saginaw, Michigan, in January 2009. Students received awards based on works they participated or performed in during 2006–2007 and 2007–2008 academic years.

The 2007 award winners, all BFAs in Design & Production, were: Justin Lang, who won the Regional Design Projects

With three U-M teams entered in the Tech Olympia

Lighting Design Award for Titus Andronicus and also a

and the rest of the group cheering them on, the team

Barbizon Honorable Mention for his lighting design of

of Stephanie Shechter and Adam McCarthy received a

Two by Fassbinder.

Bronze Medal and Certificate of Merit.

Elyse Handelman, who received the Barbizon Award for

In January 2009, for the first time in several years, we

Theatrical Design Excellence in Scenery Design for her

had four teams of BFA Performance majors participating

design of Two by Fassbinder.

in the Irene Ryan Awards competition. Two of the teams

Stephanie Shechter, who received the Stage Management Award for her work on J.B. This is the third year in a row one of our students has won this award.

As Region III winners, both Elyse and Stephanie participated in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in April 2008 in Washington, D.C.

made it to the semi-finals: Joe Moses, nominated for Madmen and Specialists, with partner Seth Moore; and Lee Tyler (Chrisman), nominated for You Never Can Tell, with partner Jaime Lyn Beatty.

U-M students also received Performance Awards for Associate or Participating Productions. The company performance of You Never Can Tell was awarded a

The 2008 award winners, all BFAs in

Certificate of Merit and the four "Madmen"—Corey

Design & Production, were:

Dorris, Seth Moore, Joe Moses and Joe Walker—also

Betsy Lynch, who won the Regional Design Projects Lighting Design Award for The Menaechmi.

Justin Lang, who received the Second Place Barbizon Award in Scenic Design for Madmen and Specialists.

Mitchell Hodges and Angela Kiessel, who both received Stage Management Award Honorable Mentions for their work on Pride and Prejudice and Rent respectively.

received one for Ensemble Performance in Madmen and Specialists.

Lastly, the entire U-M team received the Congeniality Award for their team spirit.

Twenty-two BFA Design & Production and Performance majors participated in the Festival in 2009, and we are proud of them.

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STUDENT PERSPECTIVES WORKSHOP PUSHED THE BOUNDRIES OF TRADITIONAL EXPECTATIONS

By Alex Bisker, (BFA Directing, 2009)

HER SUMMER SPENT INSIDE A TALENT AGENCY

By Rikki Gimelstob, (BTA, 2010)

During the later half of November 2008, I was fortunate

I spent summer 2008 in New York City as an intern

enough to take part in the visiting workshop of Ask Your

at Abrams Artist Agency. My responsibilities included

Mamma, a new multimedia piece by Emmy Award-winning

setting up client audition appointments with casting

composer and Michigan alum, Laura Karpman. Karpman’s

directors and creating a talent database which

innovative piece, based on the work of poet Langston

organized all of the client's special skills. With the click

Hughes, incorporated everything from the spoken word to

of a button, agents knew which of their clients could

kazoos. During the workshop at the School of Music, Theatre

drive a stick-shift vehicle or land a double axel figure

& Dance, Michigan students made up the ensemble, and

skating jump.

served as stand-ins for legendary soprano Jesse Norman, who premiered the show March 2009 in Carnegie Hall.

a talent agency is run. Abrams represents artists in

I worked as the assistant to the director, and found the

theatre, on-camera commercial, commercial print,

production team warm and welcoming from the start.

voice-over, literary and children’s departments. I

Everyone in the rehearsal hall had so much to offer, and they

learned to read a breakdown and analyze headshots.

each took time to get to know me and offer advice.

After looking at hundreds of resumes, I began to

Professional Director Annie Dorsen (Passing Strange, Democracy in America, Ecstatic States) was no different.

She was very open about her process and encouraged questions of all types. Nor was she reluctant to put me to work, which I greatly appreciated. I took part in rehearsal set-up, kept track of script changes, and helped maintain the {3}

Throughout my summer at Abrams, I learned how

understand what makes certain ones stand out. I learned the importance of an actor's reputation and work ethic. I saw a side of the entertainment industry that was completely new to me. Everyone in the office respected the work U-M does and the quality of its graduates.

master tracking document that guided the show through its

In summer 2009, I am interning in New York again,

New York premiere.

with Telsey + Company, a casting house that works

By far the most interesting part of assisting Ask Your Mamma was learning how Dorsen incorporated technology into her productions. Watching her balance the work of singers and musicians with recorded sound, super titles and video showed me just how far you can push the boundaries of traditional expectations.

The Michigan workshop ended November 23 with a small informal performance and lots of positive feedback.

closely with Abrams and other talent agencies in casting Broadway shows, movies, television shows and commercials.

MPulse Program 'Amazing' Twenty-four students from eight states attended the Department’s second Theatre & Drama Academy for high school students for two weeks during summer 2008.

the two weeks was remarkable. They really learned a

From 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each weekday, the students

faculty taught me so much that I am now excited to apply

participated in intensive sessions of acting, voice,

here.” The summer 2009 Theatre & Drama Academy

movement, stage combat and play analysis taught by faculty

took place under the School of Music Theatre & Dance’s

members Janet Maylie, Annette Masson, Jerry Schwiebert,

MPulse banner from June 28 to July 11 in the Walgreen

Greg Poggi and alumnus Dan Grandke.

Drama Center.

tremendous amount as emerging theatre artists.”

Feedback from the students was uniformly positive. One student wrote, “All the classes were amazing. The superior

The sessions culminated in a public performance in the Arthur Miller Theatre. As Chair Poggi observed, “Seeing the growth and development of these young people over

M I S S I O N S TAT E M E N T “So much of what I learned in school holds water in the professional world …how I was taught to think, what I was taught to look for, and what I actually learned academically at University of Michigan was dead on.”

—Gina Rattan, 2008 BFA Performance/Directing graduate It is the mission of the Department of Theatre & Drama in the School of Music, Theatre & Dance to nurture our students in an environment of open artistic expression and academic excellence in expectation of professional development.

The Department’s goal is to provide student actors, directors, designers, stage managers and scholars with an environment that strengthens their individual creative growth while celebrating imaginative collaboration.

The faculty of the Department of Theatre & Drama possesses rich and varied professional backgrounds and expertise. Combined with the unparalleled academic and cultural resources of the University of Michigan’s diverse community of learning, the department delivers a distinctive and rigorous educational experience.

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S P O T L I G H T O N F A C U LT Y Our O u Ladyy off 121st Street, 20088

majors to the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in Saginaw, Michigan. On sabbatical during the winter 2009 semester, she worked on a new play with Timothy Douglas for the Virginia Stage Company, Line in the Sand, which opened in February. The play centers on the resistance movement of 1958 in Norfolk, Virginia, to stop the desegregation of public schools. In addition, she is doing a project with the Kent State Museum and co-designing the installation of an exhibit about the Kokoon Arts

Photographs by Peter Smith Photography.

Club of Cleveland while learning about the preservation of historic clothing. She hopes to showcase garments from U-M's historic clothing collection in the near future.

Philip Kerr (Claribel Baird Halstead Professor of Theatre) directed

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Erik Fredricksen (Professor, Acting and Stage Combat)

and performed in

conducted a master class for the Irene Ryan finalists

a presentation of

at the Kennedy Center in April 2008, and awarded a

A Number by Caryl

scholarship to the International Society of American

Churchill, as part

Fight Directors seminar at North Carolina School

of a cross-discipline

for the Arts. Following that, he participated in the

collaboration

International Birankai Aikido Seminar in San Diego,

with the U-M

which hosted visiting Shihan from Japan, China and

Ross School of Business, the School of Public Health and the

Europe. In July 2008, Erik was a guest master teacher

Medical School. Bachelor of Fine Arts acting senior Joe Moses

for the Nordic Society of Stage Combat, an organization

performed with Kerr in this two-person play in which a father

he helped found in 1992. Students, actors and teachers

and three identical sons deal with some unexpected issues of

attended from Russia, Finland, Denmark, Norway,

cloning. The Business of Biology—presented in fall 2008 as part

Germany, England, Sweden, Estonia and Latvia.

of a U-M class—explored the intersections between science,

Philip Kerr and Joe Moses in A Number, 2008

technology, commerce and social policy. This production was the Jessica Hahn (Associate Professor of Costume Design)

inaugural presentation of a full dramatic play in the new Stamps

has been quite busy since the 2008–09 academic year

Auditorium.

began. She designed the costumes for Madman and Specialists directed by Mbala Nkanga at the beginning

Annette Masson (Associate Professor, Voice) serves as the

of the fall 2008 semester and Pride and Prejudice in

current president of the National Society of Arts and Letters, Mid-

December with guest director, Timothy Douglas. In

Michigan Chapter. She also organized the voice competition at

January 2009, she accompanied 14 design & production

the School of Music in 2008, and organized the NSAL Drama

Competition at the Walgreen Drama Center, which took place

Mbala D. Nkanga (Associate Professor, Theatre Studies)

in March 2009. The winner traveled to Washington, D.C.,

attended a workshop on Kongo Culture and Performance

for the National Competition in May. Masson also produced

in Oakland, California, in June 2008, leading two sessions

a theatre installation on Picasso as part of the celebration for

on the performance of Kongo history and its major figures.

the University of Michigan Museum of Art reopening on

In September, he participated in the Conference on

March 28. She has conducted workshops in “Presentation

African & Afro-Caribbean Performance at the University

Skills for Public Speakers” for the University’s Enriching

of California-Berkeley, presenting a paper titled “Mvett

Scholarship program, Library Science Center and the Medical

Performance: Retention, Reinvention, and Exaggeration

Education Scholars program.

in Remembering the Past.” He directed Wole Soyinka’s Madmen and Specialists, which opened on October 9 in the

Janet Maylie (Assistant Professor, Acting and Acting for the Camera) represented the Department in spring 2008 at the National Congress of Acting Teachers in New York City, hosted by J. Michael Miller of The Actors Center.

Representatives from major acting programs attended, including Tisch School of the Arts, The Juilliard School and Yale School of Drama. In summer 2008, she served as Acting and Scene Study Director of the MPulse Theatre and Drama Academy Ann Arbor.

Christianne Myers (Assistant Professor, Costume Design) was busy with University Productions, designing the

Madmen & Specialists, 2008

costumes for As You Like It, Rent and Ella Minnow Pea. She designed two world premieres at The Purple Rose Theatre

Arthur Miller Theatre, and Eugene Ionesco’s Exit the King

in Chelsea: Vino Veritas and Panhandle Slim & the Oklahoma

presented November 30–December 1 in Studio One. In

Kid. She collaborated with Malcolm Tulip, (Assistant

November, he attended the 51st African Studies Association

Professor of Movement, Acting and Directing), on his new

Meeting in Chicago, presenting the paper “Radio-trottoir

piece The Day Everything Went Wrong at The Performance

or the Rumor Machine and Artistic Creation in Mobutu’s

Network in Ann Arbor. She also designed the clothes for

Zaire.”

the April 2009 production of The Magic Flute for The Florentine Opera in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her design for

Jerald Schwiebert (Assistant Professor of Acting &

the Queen of the Night was featured in the Slusser Gallery's

Movement) has taken his movement training (physical

exhibit Imagining the Universe in February 2009. The

expression) into the broader performing arts community.

dress was constructed by Lea Morello, painted by Elizabeth

Since the last printing, he has been the featured guest

Gunderson, with accessories crafted by Renae Skoog, all

clinician at the Inspiring Musicianship: The Conductor’s

members of University Production's staff.

Art symposium co-sponsored by the University of Georgia ...Faculty Spotlight continued on page 7

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S P O T L I G H T O N F A C U LT Y ( c o n t i n u e d ) Our Lady of 121st Street, 2008

Ugh Hodgson School of Music and Georgia State

E.J. Westlake (Assistant Professor of Theatre Studies) is

University. With Annette Masson, he offered a three-

co-editing a book on political theatre. Political Performances:

part workshop for the University of Michigan’s Medical

Theory and Practice was published by Rodopi Press in

Education Scholars Program. Also at U-M, he and

summer 2009. She also has completed the research for a

Amy Porter offered the Anatomy of Sound workshop

book on the Nicaragua national dance-drama El Güegüence

for flutists and for members of the Wind Conducting

and will have two essays on the subject published in 2010.

Department. In Maine, he and Ken Kiesler, director

Her essay “Friend me if you Facebook” was published in

of University Orchestra, offered a three-week summer

The Drama Review fall 2008 issue.

program for orchestral conductors, and repeated the program in France at the Académie de Direction

Jonesin’, April 2009

d’Orchestra of the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris. He also assisted with the department’s MPulse summer program for high school students teaching Tai Chi and Improvisation. In February, 2009, he directed Barrio Bohéme (an adaptation of La Bohéme) for the Syracuse Opera, worked with its Resident Artist Program, and offered master classes for the Syracuse University School of Music and the Syracuse Opera Chorus.

The manuscript of his book on expression for the performing artist is being published by the University of Michigan Press.

Nancy Uffner (Production Stage Manager for University Productions and Assistant Professor of Theatre) received a call in June 2008, while standing on the top of the Hoover Dam during a family vacation, to stage

Leigh Woods (Professor, Theatre Studies) spoke about

manage All Shook Up at Music Theatre Wichita. She

George Kelly's The Show-Off at the Ann Arbor District

joined colleagues Mark Madama and Arthur Ridley and

Library in January 2009. He acted in the U-M Residential

several SMTD alumni and current students to work

College production of Brecht's Galileo in March 2009 and

on the production, using the sets, props and costumes

led the U-M Alumni tour of the Stratford and Shaw Festivals

from the national tour on which she had worked the

in August. His essay, "Degrees of Choice," on the ethical

previous year.

dilemmas posed by undergraduate degrees in acting, will be included in The Culture of American Actor Training to be published by Routledge at a later date.

Photograph by Peter Smith Photography.

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Drama Students ‘Fool Around’ at the Kennedy Center A troupe of drama students journeyed to Washington, D.C., in May 2008 to present an original work highlighting Shakespeare’s clowns and fools on the stage of the Kennedy Center Family Theatre.

Malcolm Tulip (Assistant Professor of Theatre and Production Director) assembled a group of eight acting students, who had three weeks to develop a one-hour program, Quick Comedians and Changeable Taffeta, featuring Shakespeare’s clowns. The project is part of the Kennedy Center Educational Department’s Shakespeare Project, which invites universities around the country to produce versions of specific aspects of Shakespeare’s works.

Tulip and his students combed all the plays, and came up with 15 scenes ranging from slapstick to verbal sparring to malapropisms. They strung the scenes together then devised transitions that helped one scene flow into the next.

“The nature and scope of the production highlighted and expanded the students’ talents” said Tulip, who teaches a class on clowning. “These characters are archetypes in the history of Western comedy and offer invaluable insight into human foibles and human nature. We hoped to reveal these historic roots as vibrant, contemporary and alive.”

Roles included Bottom of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Dogberry of Much Ado About Nothing, Lear’s Fool, bumbling murderers from Richard III and Touchstone of As You Like It. The production, which played to a packed house two days running, was simulcast and archived at www.kennedycenter.org/programs/millennium/schedule.html. Type “Shakespeare’s Clowns” in the box under ‘Archives.’

The cast included drama students Rebecca Whatley, Mckean Scheu, Brian Holden, John Jarboe, Joey Richter, Nicholas Strauss-Matathia, Seth Moore and Pat Rourke. The production crew included students Angela Kiessel, stage manger, and Yael Kiken, assistant director; Theatre Professor Gary Decker, lighting designer; and theatre alumna Taran Muller, costume designer.

“Finding new and compelling ways to connect with audiences is an ongoing challenge, and our students are getting a first-hand look at the power of filmed productions broadcast via the internet in creating a 21st-century theatrical experience,” said Greg Poggi, Chair and Professor of Theatre and Drama at the School of Music, Theatre & Dance.

Material for this article was obtained from The University Record and Michigan Muse.

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the place where With the Department of Theatre & Drama settled into the state-of-the-art Walgreen Center and several successful productions

The following stories describe three examples of how fresh ideas, fresh faces and fresh initiatives generate new energy, enthusiasm and pride in our students, faculty and alumni.

In these stories, you will learn of a new program, the first of its kind in the nation, that establishes a collaboration between the School of Music, Theatre & Dance and the School of Art & Design. The program, the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interarts Performance, is a response to the real-world need for artists who are

staged in the Arthur Miller

interested in multiple fields of expression.

Theatre, more innovations

Then there is the profile of guest director Timothy Douglas for a student

and new approaches keep us

production of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Getting his inspiration from a picture in a fashion magazine, he set the production in a different century,

moving forward and create

with— horrors!—music from the likes of The Yardbirds and Petula Clark.

an atmosphere charged with

Finally, you will meet the remarkable young student playwright Seth Moore,

excitement.

whose work is the first student-written piece to be performed on the main stage of the Arthur Miller Theatre. How he developed the play, including a rather unorthodox method of organizing the scenes, makes for a fascinating tale.

We believe these three initiatives broaden and enrich our students’ experiences, and give them valuable tools for beginning their own successful careers.

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Schools Launch Interarts Performance Program A cutting-edge new performance program debuts in September 2009, the first of its kind in the nation.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interarts Performance is an interdisciplinary collaboration between the School of Music, Theatre & Dance and the School Examples of performance work by A&D undergraduate students, graduate students and faculty. These and more are viewable at: www.art-design.umich.edu/ curr_ugrad_interarts.php#examples

of Art & Design. The program is a direct response to what was already happening in performing arts—works that combine several avenues of creative and interpretive expression.

degree. The program is limited to 20 students, with only five admitted in any one year. Each will receive intensive faculty mentoring and work closely with advisors to develop an individual program tailored to his or her interests. Only the forum and survey classes will be required.

Tulip said he expects the program will attract students who are curious, but not sure what their own style will be, and that competition will be stiff. A graduate could become a Holly Hughes and Malcolm Tulip

designer in a theatre company that creates

A committee co-chaired by Malcolm Tulip (Assistant

original work, a multimedia performer,

Professor of Theatre) and Holly Hughes (Associate

or an actor who performs his or her own

Professor of Art and Design and Theatre) spent four

monologues.

years developing the program from existing classes in both units. Two new classes were added: a weekly forum in which students will share ideas and meet guest artists, and a survey course on live arts and collaborative media.

Hughes said the program also grew out of interests that many students have in working in both theatre and art and design. In addition, faculty in the two units have been involved in creating works that borrow from both disciplines—including performance art, monologues, physical theatre, performance for video, site-specific theatre and video installation.

Students will be enrolled in both Art & Design and Music, Theatre & Dance, and will receive a joint

“The program is not just for performers,” said Tulip. “A student could go through four years without taking an acting course.”

Hughes echoed that sentiment. “While we anticipate that many students will be interested in performing, we also expect that some will want to work with design, installation, video, costume, writing and music,” she said, adding the program will be geared toward creating new works, rather than interpreting existing scripts.

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Guest Director Crafts a New Pride and Prejudice Timothy Douglas went to Hollywood to become a movie star.

He left Hollywood a stage director. That switch proved fortunate for theatre arts in general and the University of Michigan Department of Theatre & Drama in particular.

Douglas served as guest director for the fall 2008 production of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. He brought to the project a wide range of experience as a theatre professional, a connection to the real world for both students and faculty, and a means of letting the theatre community know what academics are interested in.

As a director, Douglas said he has learned not to question his creativity, just to let it happen and then organize it. Much the same can be said of his shift to directing, a career that he said chose him. On his way to becoming a movie star, he taught voice for actors at the University of Southern California. Because he was a faculty member, he was required to direct a play. More directing experiences convinced him to Director Timothy Douglas

set aside acting for the other side of the curtain.

The opportunity to work with U-M students on Pride and

the play's costume designer) he happened to glance at

Prejudice also came about through much serendipity. Douglas

a magazine on her desk that suggested clothing of the

was recommended for the job after the original director had to

1960s. That glance was the inspiration for setting the

bow out for medical reasons. When Douglas got the telephone

production in the 60s, on a country estate outside London,

call, he had only one six-week period of free time in his busy

where tradition had been forced on the young people, and

year—one that coincided exactly with the production schedule.

the swinging London scene had not yet arrived.

“It was supposed to happen,” he said. { 11 }

The ideas just kept coming, he said, including using

Douglas stopped in Ann Arbor on September 4, 2008, for four

period music from The Yardbirds, Dusty Springfield,

hours on his way to California. He saw the beginnings of the

Petula Clark and Donovan. “These are privileged kids;

design process and the script that had been chosen. The play

they haven’t met the Beatles yet,” he said. He instructed

he directed in California closed on October 11, and on the 12th,

the actors to read the novel because the script was very

he was in Ann Arbor conducting auditions. Rehearsals began

condensed.

on October 21, after he made quick trips to New York City and Florida.

Douglas directs at least one production a year at a conservatory or training center, but confessed he rarely

“I really started talking to the cast and crew,” he said. “There was

works with undergraduates. He said he found “great

a pressure cooker of a time limit, and I had to cut to the chase.”

joy doing this,” adding that the students “folded me in”

He also had to determine how to present the piece. While meeting with Jessica Hahn (Associate Professor of Theatre and

to their lives. He even joined his students on Thursday evenings at a local restaurant, just to hang out.

Pride and Prejudice

His directorial goals were to assure students’ success, to tell

During the day, there was a constant flow of faculty members

the story as Austen intended it, and to trust the audience.

into his office, talking about trends in the profession or inviting

The 20-member cast included sophomores, juniors and

him into their classrooms.

seniors. While they had varying degrees of accomplishment,

As a freelance director, Douglas has headed almost 90 full

he found a high level of confidence. “The environment

productions in venues including the Guthrie Theatre, the

here helps them be so confident in their work so early in

Mark Taper Forum, The Juilliard School, the National Theatret

their careers, but with a total lack of arrogance,” he said.

in Oslo and Toi Whakaari in New Zealand. He has been a

“Something really right is going on here, and the facilities

voice instructor on the faculties of the University of Southern

are terrific.”

California, the Theatre School at DePaul University, Shakespeare

Douglas said he had to slow down his internal rhythm while

& Company and the National Theatre Conservatory.

working with students. With professional actors, he could

He holds a bachelor of fine arts degree from Marymount

reference a scene in the film Dark Victory where Bette Davis

Manhattan College and a master of fine arts degree from the

used a particular technique, and they would know what he

Yale School of Drama.

was talking about.

At some point, Douglas plans to return to the classroom as

Students, however, might not know the film, forcing

a full-time faculty member. Perhaps his time at Michigan

Douglas to explain what he was looking for. From this,

reinforced that intention. “Here, there is no distraction of

he said, he discovered more about himself, because in

looking for the next job,” he said. “Here, I’m a rock star.”

explaining the reference, he realized why it made such an impression on him.

Almost as good as being a movie star.

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Student Play Gets Main Stage Production When theatre performance major Seth Moore was asked to show some of his work to Assistant Professor of Theatre Malcolm Tulip for a possible production, he printed out every play he had written. Then he handed Tulip 400 pages of material. From that stack came the Department of Theatre & Drama’s first student-written play presented on the main stage. Moore’s Jonesin’, winner of a 2008 Hopwood award for undergraduate drama, premiered April 2, 2009, in the Arthur Miller Theatre.

Moore, a 22-year-old graduate from New York, said he felt incredibly excited because it was his secret dream to see one of his plays produced. “It hadn’t been done in the Department before, and I didn’t think it was an option,” he said.

“Then someone produced my play, putting money into it, with designers, a crew and a theatre. There was a lot riding on it.”

Student playwright Seth Moore

Tulip, the faculty director for the 2009 winter-term production,

“The subject is dependency,” said Moore. “I made a list of

was looking for a play, and had a conversation with Associate

the forms it takes —technology, chemicals, power, religion

Professor of Theatre OyamO. Oyamo had worked with Moore

—and tried to expand it. The concept behind it is addiction

on Jonesin’ in his intermediate playwriting class. He mentioned

and how much it makes up our personalities. Addictions

the quality of Moore’s work to Tulip.

separate people from their lives and the planet. It’s a way

“I asked Seth to meet with me and bring some of his work,” said Tulip. “He brought in a whole folder, and I asked him which

The play, he said, is also a love story, exploring what love is

piece was strongest. He said the latest, and I agreed to read it. I

through Terry’s relationships with other characters.

thought, there is a strong voice here, and with some rewriting it could be a very strong piece. { 13 }

of ignoring our inherent humanity.”

Moore has been writing for as long as he can remember, and has wanted to be in the theatre since age nine when

“I also thought it would be good for the program to do a student-

he played Jack Sprat in elementary school and turned

written play. I think it says that playwriting students can have

into a “big ham.” He enrolled in a young people’s theatre

the same chance as the acting and design students. I spoke to

group in Westchester County, New York, and acted in

the faculty and department chair, and people said, ‘Why not?’”

its productions. He choose the University of Michigan

Tulip described the play as contemporary, with a very personal voice. It centers on the character Terry, a drug addict, and his journey to become drug free through use of another drug,

because he wanted to get a sense of the country outside New York, was impressed with the U-M theatre program, and was accepted into the program.

ibogaine. Ibogaine is plant-based compound from Africa that

Jonesin’ itself was somewhat of an addiction with Moore.

has anti-addictive qualities and is used to treat addiction. It also

He heard of ibogaine at a party in the summer of 2007,

can produce vivid hallucinations, and users must be closely

and the idea stuck with him. He found information about

monitored.

the drug on the internet and read accounts of people who used it.

“I wanted something completely

each change, and the truth is it wasn’t

different and wrote the first

that painful after the initial shock.”

scene, but didn’t know what to do

Tulip explained that his goal was to

with it,” he said. “Another scene

refine the play to be the best and

came out randomly, and then 30

clearest it could be.

pages came out all at once. I read it and was really excited. It was a

“I learned a tremendous amount

magical experience. It was in my

working with others,” Moore said. “I

head. I knew what was going to

was going after a style—a voice. This

happen.”

is the first time I’ve hit that, a sound I

He ended up writing 85 pages.

wanted associated with me.

Jonesin'

At one point, he didn’t like the way the play flowed, so he

“The play takes place in Terry’s head. It is his journey, the ride

put the individual scenes in a pile on his bedroom floor and

of his life. At the end of the day, Terry still has his soul. I don’t

kicked it. The order in which he picked up the scenes became

sympathize with Terry; I want him to get a grip.”

the order in which they occurred.

From a director’s perspective, Tulip said the play is challenging

In OyamO’s playwriting class, Moore read excerpts of Jonesin’

because the locations move quickly from place to place, and the

and received a page-and-a-half, one-sentence critique from

themes involve both being on or withdrawing from drugs, in

OyamO, written in the play’s style. “I wrote, ‘Seth, the play

which the characters’ reality is not totally grounded. “I looked at

reminds me of William S. Burroughs, connected from

using projections as part of the scenery,” Tulip said. “Light is

beginning to end, like one long river.’ I also said I thought the

as much a part of the set as physical walls or objects. Seth

play was brilliant.

attended the meetings with the set and lighting designers. It is

“I can’t tell you why he wrote what he wrote. Breakthroughs come from those who do something different, who take the

an interesting process for a writer to give up the play a little to the director.

same conventions of the theatre and use them as tools to

“The important thing to Seth is that it’s not a play about the drug

create what’s coming from their soul. This person is an artist.

experience, but addiction in all its forms and society’s hypocrisy

To him, art is a very serious, wonderful, energizing experience.

about which addictions to accept and which to wag a finger at. It

It’s something he just does.”

questions whether anyone exists who doesn’t have some form of

OyamO also chose Jonesin’ for a public reading in front of an audience, after which members of the audience could comment on the work and question the author.

By the time Moore met with Malcolm Tulip to discuss producing the play, he had done some rewriting. After his second meeting with Tulip, Moore found that Tulip had cut 22 pages. “It was eye-opening,” said Moore. “There were big Xs in the script and entire scenes were gone. Malcolm explained

addiction. If you take away your addiction to work or art, what are you left with?”

With the world premier of Jonesin’ and graduation behind him, Moore has moved back to New York, where he will get a survival job while submitting plays to companies and producers. “I’m on a honeymoon with writing,” he said. “I always have something cooking. I always have a project in the back of my mind while I’m doing other things.”

{ 14 }

SHAKESPEARE '08

Left: Paul Molnar, BFA Acting, 1996

Department Participants Vital to Success of ’08 Shakespeare Festival Several students and personnel from the Department of Theatre & Drama played vital roles in the success of the Michigan Shakespeare Festival’s 2008 season. The Festival, located in Baughman Theater in the George E. Potter Center on the Jackson Community College campus, formed an affiliation with the Department in 1997. It offers regional audiences high-quality performances featuring local and professional actors.

The Department’s artisans, actors and production personnel were, in large part, responsible for the successful costume, scenic and property elements, as well as the exceptional performances of the Festival’s two plays, All’s Well That Ends Well and Julius Caesar.

Also, the production staff was instrumental in transferring the plays to the Festival’s successful residency in Grand Rapids’ Peter Martin

Right: Dana Dancho, BFA Acting, 1998

Wege Theatre and returning them to Jackson.

In 2008, the Festival celebrated 14 years of quality Shakespeare productions, and the 10th year of Professor of Theatre John NevilleAndrews’ tenure as Festival Artistic Producer. The governor and state Senate have designated the Festival the Official Shakespeare Festival of the state of Michigan.

Performers from the Department of Theatre & Drama included: { 15 }

actor Dana Dancho, a 1998 graduate of the Theatre Department; actor Mark Gmazel, a 1998 Theatre Department alum; actor Paul Molnar, a 1996 alum of the Theatre Department; actors Marc Paskin and Alex Polcyn, 2008 graduates of the Theatre Department; actor Brian Rosenthal, a Theatre Department sophomore; and fight director Christina Traister, a 1994 Theatre Department graduate. Also taking part was actor Zachary Barnes, a senior in the Musical Theatre Department.

Those involved in production included: Michael Bou-Maroun, properties, a sophomore in Design & Production; Elizabeth Gunderson, craft, University Productions Costume Shop; Rich Lindsay, production manager, University Productions, Walgreen Production Manager; Taran Muller, crafts/wardrobe, 2007 BFA in Design & Production, University Productions Costume Shop employee; Rebecca Rothman, assistant stage manager, sophomore, Design & Production; Emilie Samuelsen, assistant stage manager, sophomore, Directing Program; Daniel Silverman, carpenter, Walgreen Scene Shop; and Marguerite Woodward, production apprentice, sophomore, Design & Production.

SCHOLARSHIPS 2009–2010

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS BFA in Performance Acting Irene Bychinsky Bendler Award Bonnie Gruesen Seon Britton Hal Cooper Scholarship Lee Tyler Nita Wakefield Eggertsen Scholarship Joseph Walker

Julian & Vera McIntosh Memorial Scholarship Corey Dorris Louis Marino Devin Lytle Nicholas Strauss-Matathia Torrey Wigfield L. Lamont Okey Prize McKean Scheu

William & Claribel Halstead Scholarship Dylan Saunders Jim & Millie Irwin Performance Award Jonathan Samela Betty Jean Jones Scholarship Kelli Rasmus

Betty Pease Scholarship Seth Moore Judith Dow Rumelhart Scholarship Jaime Lyn Beatty Alan F. Smith Scholarship Margaret Ferguson-Wagstaffe Trueblood Scholarship Tedra Millan

Ruth & Monroe Lippman Scholarship Joseph Moses

U-M Theatre Associates Tempest Tribute Julia Albain Phyllis Wright Scholarship Joseph Richter

BFA in Performance Directing Wandalie Hanshaw Scholarship Yael Kiken Emilie Samuelsen Sarah E Metzger Memorial Scholarship Alexandra Bisker Kathryn Edwards BFA in Design & Production Irene Bychinsky Bendler Award Michael Bou-Maroun Mitchell Hodges Meaghan Shelly William Hawes Family Scholarship Rachel Jahn

Trueblood Scholarship Michelle Bryan Corey Lubowich U-M Theatre Associates Design & Production Award Justin Lang Corey Lubowich U-M Theatre Associates Stage Manager’s Award Stephanie Shechter

Julian & Vera McIntosh Memorial Scholarship Justin Lang Stephanie Shechter

Bachelor of Theatre Arts Theatre Department Merit Award Janelle Korzeniowski

Betty Pease Scholarship Justin Lang Andrew Hill Sarah Petty Rebecca Rothman Marguerite Woodward

U-M Theatre Associates BTA Award Erica Ranade Angela Wetherby

U - M F R I E N D S O F T H E AT R E I want to support our Theatre students with a gift to:

Theatre Department Merit Award Amalea Chinnis Cassandra Flowers Elisabeth Griebel Craig Kidwell Angela Kiessel

2009–2010 { 16 }

Theatre Associates (364139) Theatre Associates Endowment (796749)

Name Address

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)

Email School of Music, Theatre & Dance Development Office Stearns Building Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2075 (734) 647-2035

ENTITY ID

For online giving, visit http://www.giving.umich.edu Email: asamps@umich.edu Phone: (734) 763-9769

$1,000 $500 $250 $100 $50 Other Enclosed is my employer (or my spouse's) matching gift form.

My check is made payable to the University of Michigan.

Charge my gift to VISA Master Card American Express Discover Account Number Expiration Date April 2009

Enclosed is my gift of

Signature 364139

AGO

BGA09

MUS

ALLOCATION

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SPOTLIGHT ON ALUMNI Pride & Prej ejjudice, dice, di e 200 0088

Brad Frazier (BFA Performance, 2004) played the lead role of Vincent in the new play The 13th of Paris by Mat Smart at The Public Theatre in Auburn, Maine. The production ran through March 2009.

Steve Best (BFA Performance, 2002) finished a 16-week run with TimeLine Theatre Company's remount of its award-winning production Fiorello!

Earlier, he played Charlie Guiteau in Porchlight Music Theatre's production of Assassins, which was nominated for three Jeff Awards including Best Production. He lives in Chicago with his wife Kelly Leamon (BFA, 2002), who will finish her master’s degree in education at DePaul University.

Adam Greenfield (BFA Performance, 1996) serves as literary manager at Playwrights Horizons in New York, a 42nd Street theatre devoted to creating and producing new works.

Sara Greenfield (BFA, Performance, 2008) did the voice-over narration for the on-line description of a new certificate program at the U-M Department of Public Health.

Beth Hoyt (BFA Performance, 2005) collaborated with Reggie Watts on the piece Transition, which was performed at the Time-Based Art Festival in Portland, Oregon.

In January 2009, it was performed at the Under the Radar Festival at The Public Theater in New York City. She performed with Bill Murray and Sigourney Weaver in The Oldsmobiles, a new play by Roger Rosenblatt, in a one-night benefit for The Flea Theater in New York City, and opened in the world première of A Light Lunch by A.R. Gurney, at The Flea in December 2008.

Sophina Brown

Sophina Brown (BFA Performance, 1998) has worked steadily since leaving U-M. Her theatre experience includes The Lion King on Broadway and Betrayal in Los Angeles’s Matrix Theater. Her work also includes guest appearances on several television shows, and as a series regular on Shark and Chappelle’s Show. She is currently a series regular on Numb3rs. { 17 }

Cassandra Flowers (BFA Design & Production, 2009) will work as an assistant stage manager at the Minnesota Opera for the 2009–10 season.

Chris Jamros (BFA Design & Production, 1999) finished his master’s degree in digital imaging and design at New York University, and is lead graphic designer for Behind the Emerald Curtain, a behind-the-scenes guided tour of the stage set and props for Wicked. Along with freelance graphic and broadcast design, he designs for Keen Company in New York and the Dorset Theatre Festival in Vermont.

John Jarboe (BFA Performance, 2008) performed a "movie trailer style" voice-over for U-M Marketing and Design.

Benjamin Klein (BFA Performance, 2002) received a Mike Ockrent Fellowship, awarded by the Stage Directors and Choreographers Mad M ad admen m & Specialists, 2008 Foundation. Broadway director Scott Elliott chose Klein from among nine early-career directors nominated by members of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. In addition to a monetary award, the fellowship allows Klein to assist Elliott in directing the upcoming revival of Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park from first rehearsal to opening night.

Nick Lang (BFA Performance, 2008), who currently works with ABC, edited a clip of The View in which actress Patricia Heaton praises the work of U-M grad James Wolk, who played the lead in a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie, Front of the Class.

Rachel Laritz (BFA Design & Production, 2002), a busy costume designer based in Chicago, received a 2008 Joseph Jefferson Award nomination for her costume design of The Philadelphia Story produced by the Remy Bumppo Theatre Company. She also designs for the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Northlight Theatre and Court Theatre, and was a 2009 nominee for the Michael Maggio Emerging Artist Award.

Angela Lewis (BFA Performance, 2000) performed in the new play Inked Baby at Playwrights Horizons in New York City in spring 2009. Damon Gupton, U-M Music Education 1994 graduate, also acted in the play.

Taran Muller (BFA Design & Production, 2005) recently designed Albert Herring for University Productions before leaving for the Utah Shakespearean Festival where she worked as a first hand in the costume shop.

Muller will be an MFA candidate at Penn State University starting in fall 2009.

Jennifer Nweke (BFA Design & Production, 2004) just completed her MFA in costume design from New York University.

Alex Odell (BFA, 2008) continues to make English-as-a-second language recordings for the English Scholars company, and also recorded the book More Speak English Like an American by Amy Gillett.

Photographs by Peter Smith Photography.

Jeff Bender (BFA Performance, 1998) portrayed Porthos in The Three Musketeers October 2 through November 9, 2008, at the Seattle Repertory Theatre.

Our Lady of 121st Street, 2008

Mark Paskin (BFA, 2008) participated in casting the spokesperson voice of The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ANNEX NYC while working in voice-over casting in New York City.

Gina Rattan (BFA Directing, 2008) has been busy working as the assistant director on Little House on the Prairie—The Musical which began a 40-week tour in summer 2009. She also is serving as associate director on First Wives Club, which premiered at the Old Globe in San Diego in July 2009, and is slated to transfer to New York City. In the meantime, she is temping in the office of Thomas Schumacher at Disney Theatrical Productions.

Lena Sands (Design & Production, 2008) is a member of The Juilliard School's professional internship program, where she works mainly as an assistant costume designer. She has assisted Ann Kennedy on a production of The Misanthrope, Clint Ramos on a production of Dancing at Lughnasa, and Olivera Gaijec on a production of The Royal Shakespeare Company's The Greeks: Part III—The Gods.

She also designed a production of Bill Irwin's adaptation of Scapin at Juilliard in December 2008, working with director Orlando Pabotoy. Before settling in New York, she spent her last semester in Paris studying French and finishing her art history minor.

also guest-starred on an episode of Eli Stone, and occasionally appears as Meredith's other half-sister, Molly, on Grey’s Anatomy.

James Wolk (BFA Performance, 2007) appeared in a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie, Front of the Class, in December 2008. He played the lead role of Brad Cohen in the true story of a man with Tourette Syndrome.

Alana Zonen (BFA, 2008) is in charge of Scheduling & Booking at Howard Schwartz Recording, a large studio in New York City. She deals with voiceover and television casting.

Aaron Seeburger (BTA, 2008) continues to record for the English Scholars company.

Mandy Siegfried (BFA Performance, 1994) played Sonya in Uncle Vanya opposite Peter Dinklage. She performed in the original OffBroadway production of The Scariest. Mandy

IN MEMORIAM Robert Schnitzer, Professor Emeritus of Speech, died on January 2, 2008, in Stamford, Connecticut, at the age of 101.

Schnitzer established the Professional Theatre Program at the University of Michigan in 1961. The PTP became a major regional theatre, which, in affiliation with the APA and the Phoenix Theatre, sent many productions to New York. During his years at Michigan, he also was a founder and executive director of the University Resident Theatre Association. Professor Schnitzer's career included stage acting on Broadway, building and directing theatre for the Works Progress Administration, and establishment and administration of the American National Theater Academy for the State Department.

{ 18 }

Theatre alumni, what are you up to?

Send us your news! Email us at theatre.info@umich.edu, or send us this update form.

Most recent accomplishments

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From Russia with Love Department Chair Greg Poggi and his wife Allison hosted a group of alumni on the “Waterway of the Tsars” Alumni Association boat tour in Russia in June 2008. Starting in St. Petersburg with Moscow as the final destination, the boat tour covered 1,800 kilometers during 15 days, visiting various world heritage sites and picturesque villages.

The tour included extensive visits to the renowned museums and attractions in St. Petersburg and Moscow. Alumni from other schools including Rice University, The University of Wisconsin, Madison, and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, also participated.

Dr. Poggi gave a series of PowerPoint lectures about Russian theatre, highlighting the accomplishments of Konstantin Stanislavski and the development of his “system” of acting, the work of the Moscow Art Theatre and the innovations in playwrighting of Anton Chekhov.

Tartuffe

Macbeth

Trafford Tanzi

by Molière, translated by Ranjit Bolt Directed by Priscilla Lindsay October 8–18, 2009 Arthur Miller Theatre

by William Shakespeare Directed by Philip Kerr December 10–13, 2009 Power Center

by Claire Luckham Directed by Malcolm Tulip April 1–11, 2010 Arthur Miller Theatre

Uncommon Women and Others

Our Town

by Wendy Wasserstein Directed by John Neville-Andrews November 19–22, 2009 Arthur Miller Theatre

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by Thornton Wilder Directed by Jerry Schwiebert February 18–21, 2010 Mendelssohn Theatre

Th The hee Re Regents Regen gen nts ts of the the Uniiver v sit iitty of Mich Miich higa higa i n Julia Don Donovaan Darlow Lauren e ce B. Deitch, D ise Den se Il Ilitc itch itc h Olivia Oli v a P. Ma via Mayna y rd yna An rea Fi An And Fisch F scher sch er Ne New N e man A drew C. Andrew And C R Richn chner h er, er, er S. Mar S. Martin in Ta in Taylo Taylo ylor l r Kather Kat herine her rine in nee E. E. W Wh hite te Mary Mar ary Sue Co Col C ollema eman, n, (ex (ex offfi ficcio) ioo)

Subscription tickets for the Power Series (The Marriage of Figaro, Macbeth, (Re)Visionary Dances, and Ragtime) are currently on sale. Single tickets for individual shows will go on sale September 8, 2009.

For information, call the League Ticket Office at (734) 764-2538, or visit www.music.umich.edu.

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