Tuesday, December 02, 2008

 



DUST...


DUST in the wind. All we are is DUST in the wind. - Kansas

What is DUST?

DUST is the working title of the mainstage show that I am directing at USF this spring, a show that will be created from scratch by the ensemble of performers and the production staff during a 7-week period. The motivation for DUST comes from my life-long interest in creation stories (see What will DUST be about? below) and also from a desire to explore a certain kind of creative process, one in which the performance emerges directly from imaginations of the people who are working together in the rehearsal room.

I am trained as a director - specifically a director of new plays. This means that I have spent a lot of time helping playwrights get what they imagine out of their heads and onto the page. Sometimes this activity is called dramaturgy - the act of shaping and honing a text so that it can effectively tell the story it wants to tell. I love working dramaturgically, because I love language, ideas and stories.

But I also love images, movement and music. I often work with choreographers and composers when I direct a play, because as an audience member I appreciate a richly textured theatrical environment, one that engages all my senses. I also like surprises. I like to be amused, delighted even, by unexpected and beautiful moments onstage.

Most of all, I love to watch people do what they do best. I like to see performers really do something amazing, rather than just pretend to do it. That's why I want to make a play in this way - because I want to see onstage the best theatrical material this group of people can imagine and manifest together.



Things need not have happened to be true. Tales and adventures are the shadow truths that will endure when mere facts are dust and ashes and forgotten. - Neil Gaiman


What will DUST about?


I was a Religion major in college (with a double minor in Theater and Gender Studies.) I spent a lot of time examining stories in the Bible and trying to unpack, understand, and interpret them. My senior thesis was an original production that explored the creation myth in Genesis 3 (Adam, Eve & the Serpent.) I'm also eternally curious about people's ancestry, both personal and communal (as in collective memory.) I think a lot about the secret messages our DNA carries. I think about angels (I've also directed Jose Rivera's Marisol.) I like to tease my brain with What If? scenarios.

So, DUST is a container for exploring all these ideas. What cultural and personal stories do we tell about where we come from? How do we remember/imagine our origins as a species? What is controversial about these stories and how does it impact the way we live and relate to each other?

I'm interested in putting a variety of answers to these questions onstage. I want to offer plenty of ideas, stories, and images for the audience to chew on, as well as room for them to mentally insert their own stories and perspectives. The form of this play will take is likely to be more variations on a theme than a single straightforward narrative.



I want to shake off the dust of this one-horse town. I want to explore the world. I want to watch TV in a different time zone. I want to visit strange, exotic malls...I want to live, Marge! - Homer Simpson


Who will be part of the DUST creative team?

Director, Christine Young
Movement, Anjali Vashi (Viewpoints specialist & USF instructor)
Dramaturgy, Eugenie Chan (professional playwright & USF instructor)
Sets, Jamie Mulligan (professional designer & USF technical director)
Lights, Gabe Maxson (professional designer & USF production manager)
Costumes, TBA (likely someone who designs for dance)
Sound, TBA (likely someone who composes electronic music)
Assistant Director, Caitlin Shindldecker (PASJ major)
Stage Manager, Ashley Smiley (PASJ major)

Performers, 9 to 16 students of any gender/ethnicity/body type/artistic persuasion (ie. actor/dancer/musician)
I'm interested in creating a diverse and dynamic ensemble of multi-talented performers who are jazzed about the chance to collaborate and create something new.


We come spinning out of nothingness, scattering stars like dust. - Jalal ad-Din Rumi


How will DUST be made?

Because this is an ensemble-created show, performers will be asked to attend every rehearsal.
Some say God made the world in 7 days.
We're going to make a play in 7 weeks.

Our process will have 3 phases:
PlayTime (Weeks 1, 2 & 3) - Rehearsal begins Friday, 1/23 (weekend before classes start)
BuildTime (Weeks 4, 5 & 6)
Tech/Perform (Week 7) - Performances Thu 3/12-Mon 3/16

During our PlayTime, we will develop intimacy as an ensemble and do lots of creative brainstorming through the use of daily creative prompts. For example: after a physical warmup, I might ask everyone to spend 15 minutes writing a personal story that starts with "In the beginning...". We might then take that text and play with it physically, developing character gestures based on key phrases. Then, we might work as a group to create a floor pattern that represents one of the images in the text. Finally, we might splice all these things together into a scene. We will also have production elements to play with. The set, currently conceived as a 3-dimensional chalk board that we can draw on, will be installed during week 2. We'll have light and sound sources available as well during early rehearsals (for example, a video-projector, some flashlights, a sound-system, instruments). Part of our playtime will be spent exploring all the different ways we can use these things theatrically.

At the end of the first 3 weeks, the dramaturgical team (Christine, Anjali, Eugenie, Caitlin, Ashley) will spend a few days sifting through all the creative material we've generated in order to discover the best structure for our piece. I liken this to the quilting process - the performers will cut interesting shapes out of the theatrical fabric we have available to us - then the dramaturgical team will assemble those shapes into the most dynamic pattern they can discern.

Once we've determined the structure, during the BuildTime, we'll stitch the quilt together, fleshing out the missing bits, connecting the dots, making sure the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Part of this work will involve editing, figuring out what fits and what doesn't. We will solidify characters, create transitions, gather additional props, costumes and other production elements we need to tell our story.

Finally, we will Tech and then Perform our work during 5 shows. Our goal will be to create 60 minutes of performance material with a beginning, middle and end that satisfies us and an audience. The "2nd Act" of each performance will be a conversation between the audience and "experts" in the fields of Theology and Science who can talk about the stories they tell to explain/describe our origins.


Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. - Pablo Picaso


How can I get involved in DUST?

Come to auditions (sign up for 1 of the 2 sessions by emailing me at cyoung8@usfca.edu). Or contact me via email or at 422.6733 if you have questions or want to be involved in another way.

Auditions for DUST are on Sun 12/7
Session 1: 10a-12p
Session 2: 1p-3p

Bring a piece of text you love (no monologues please).
A unique object
Your schedule/conflicts for January-March 2009
* Be prepared to speak, sing & move!

Labels: ,


This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?