Friday, August 16, 2019

Voices of Courage

The feeling is familiar. I can only describe it as a surge of energy pulsing through my veins accompanied by a quickening that can only be compared to expectancy. Equal doses of fear and anxiety - a mixture that is more exciting than scary.  On the precipice -  it is the beginning.  It is the unknown and it is certain - both.
Absolute. Driven. Determined. Important.
At this stage of my career in educational theatre, it is the only thing that matters to me.
Urgent. Necessary. It feels like the only thing I can do and must do because I can.
Theatre on Purpose.
For the next few months, I will be collaborating with students on devising an original piece of theatre focused on the theme of courage.  Why? Because I believe theatre can make a difference. I believe theatre can change the world. I believe theatre can inspire. I believe theatre is essential. I want my students to know that. I want them to have a voice. I want them to be empowered.
Our world needs to hear what they have to say.
They are coming of age in difficult times. I want them to know what it feels like to use their creative gifts and talents for positive change.  I want them to know what courage is, where it comes from and what it looks like. I want them to find their own personal courage.
We will look for examples of courage in our daily lives and throughout history.
Together, we will summon creative courage through collaboration and community to instill and inspire hope.
I will document our process and reflect on the experience of devising an original piece of theatre from beginning to end in weekly blog posts in the hope of inspiring other Theatre on Purpose practitioners.

Definitions of courage:
Merriam -Webster:  noun
mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear or difficulty

Oxford: noun
The ability to do something that frightens one; bravery

Original definition: The root of the word courage is cor - the Latin word for heart. In one of its earliest forms, the word courage meant "To speak one's mind by telling one's heart." 

Onward....







Thursday, August 1, 2019

Hal Prince - An Appreciation

Last night the lights dimmed on Broadway. This morning, we should all be planning our next creative project. The legendary theatre director and producer, Hal Prince, famously went to work the next day after the opening of every show, flop or a hit, and began working on his next big idea.

 I'll admit that news of Hal Prince's  passing hit me harder than I would have expected. I never had the privilege of meeting the man. I can't say that I thought all that much about him on a daily basis. The fact that he was responsible for many of the Broadway musicals I grew up with, listened to, performed in and directed was not uppermost on my mind. But this morning, as I sat down to write this post,  I couldn't stop thinking about how Hal Prince impacted my creative life.  Fiddler on the Roof, Company, Follies, West Side Story, Evita, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the ForumPhantom of the Opera  - just a few of the astonishing musicals he helped create in the twentieth century - are the reason I love the theatre so much. Company and Follies were part of the sound track of my college theatre days. They imprinted on my creative brain. Each starkly different in style, they were something entirely different from anything I'd ever seen before

There is no describing the importance that Fiddler on the Roof and West Side Story have played in my life. I've directed and performed in each of them twice. Both of these masterpieces rate among my favorite shows of all time.

I'm old enough to have seen Patty Lapone as Evita and I can still remember the utter thrill I felt as she belted out "Don't Cry for me Argentina." But the staging is what struck me the most about the show. It was the first musical I'd ever seen that incorporated film projection.  When the movie reel wound to a stop in the opening scene and the chorus of mourners began to process,  I was mesmerized.
 Phantom of the Opera ushered in the era of the visual and technical spectacle. For just one moment, remember the first time you experienced the chandelier falling. Hal Prince was a master of theatrical storytelling.

I am deeply grateful to have come of age in the twentieth century at a time when  musical theatre entered the modern age.

The legacy of Hal Prince has permeated my life in surprising ways.  But what I think I appreciate most about this artistic genius, is that he loved the craft so much that he never gave up. He just kept working. To me that is the epitome of the creative personality. Purpose-driven work is life-giving, energizing, passionate and essential.  I simply cannot imagine my life without the musicals Hal Prince produced. Period.

From everything I've read about Hal Prince, and I think I've devoured virtually everything written since news of his passing broke, he trusted his instincts and had confidence in his vision. There is a lesson in that.  Fearless, bold, larger than life, this legendary theatrical giant may have left this earth, but we will carry on inspired by and grateful for what he left us.

Now get back to work.