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Show eT The Salt Lake Tribune ARTS Creating D3 Sunday, August6, 2000 Theater on The Internet Sundance: NoPlace for Timid Artists @ Continued from D-1 @ Continued from D-1 (and the professors’ responses to them)are read onlineby all members of the cohort, providing a the expectation of actually producing their works. They create on the vanguard of contemporary Lab Receives $1.95 do good work. Students learn from each others’ assignments andreceive comments from one another. Photos, audio- and videotapes, and projects remain on the far fringe visits from professors lend per- of experimental theater, Himberg says their impactisfelt. “All of the artists here see work byotherartists.It resonates. Like sonaltouchesto the experience. Last summer the candidates metoffline for three weeks at the Sundance Theatre Lab to partici- aripple of a stone ona pond, other workgets influenced by work that wasn’t seen bya large audience. We're developing artists,:not just pate as stage managers and to do class work together on the U. campus; some returned to Sundance greater culture by focusing on works.Ideally, you are feeding the artists whose work is unique and singular.” this summer. At Sundance the students earned credit by observing and assisting The creative process can be rocky. In a rehearsal of Stephen Sater’s adaptation of “Spring nationally Secnahatne on Lake Tribune dramaturgs, designers and actors. All of the candidates spent time Marjorie LopezTibbs,left, Nate Measom,Katie Byrd and Joe Rogan dance andsing a part from the play “Puck's Potion.” Awakening” work is the master’s thesis for the distance learning program; most becomes prominentdirectors, playwrights, last month at the U. developing original stage works through a collaborative process based on the Sundance model. That’s where “Puck’s Potion”comesin. Puck’s Process: A scene is coming to an end. Onthe “stage,” two womenburnwith love for the same man — buthe’s enamored of his own reflection (it happens). Spontaneous applause greets the scene’s funny conclusion. The play’s creatorssit ata table, along with other members of the candidates are developingprojects they can use with their own students in the public school system. “We hope to be able to publish quite a few,” says Dynak.“I think that would be a true rewardfor the participants — not only to im- prove their understanding of the field, and study their ownpractice, Again, cost is an issue. Dynak is concerned that expensive improvements in the program might price it. out of the reach of the teachersit is designed to serve. Sundance, Mini-Dance: On the plus side, the partnership with the Sundance Theater Lab ranks high for Dynak and for the students. “Being able to watch professionals but also to publish an original piece.” at the peakof theirfields collabo- cohort and a couple of professors. To BeorNotto Be: Becauseit is Everyone discusses the scene with the actors.It is agreed that yesterday’s changes improved the scene; it is nearly “set.” a pilot, the distance learning program is subject to evaluation be- rare experience for a teacher,” he says. The actors (members and recent graduates of the U.’s Actor Training Program whoare paid for their work in the seminar)join the groupat the table and read the next scene, fleshing out the characters with their own interpretations. Brianna Lindahl, the master’s candidate who wrote the show’s “book,”listens and respondsto the actors’ questions and comments, referring some of the issues to Jerry VanderDoes, another master’s candidate and composer of the musical score (Lindahl’s hus- band, Richard Lindahl, wrote the fore it becomes a permanent degree offering at the U. The program’s strengths and liabilities are already evident. “Distance learning creates its own set of responsibilities,” says rating on newwork, speaking with directors and dramaturgs — it’s a VanderDoes, composer of “Puck's Potion,” speaks in glowing terms of his experience at Sundancelast summer. “T worked with Lee Breuer and Mabou Mines [an experimental theater troupe from New York] on Dynak. “When you slow down the responses, you slow thoughts the play ‘Animal Magnetism,’ and down. You examine, you write, and you edit your thinking.It creates a higher level of ating a musical. They were so open and willingto listen to each other. They would even ask me,the stage manager, what I thought about how things were working. I felt like I was part ofit.” engagement.” One of the challenges of the program is the time needed to do lectures, class presentations, re- sponses and evaluations over the Internet. It’s challenging for the students, but also for the professors. Dynak is trying to put to- got to watch their process for cre- The on-campus seminar in which the students develop their own plays by emulating the Sundance model has been christened songlyrics). gether a consortium of professors The creative team pays close attention to the actors — their im- from around the country to par- “Mini-Dance.” And ideas generated at Sundanceare influencing the way theateris taught in public ticipate in the project. That would schools. provisations and ideas help shape spreadthe responsibilities around and add a diversity of viewpoints, the characters and the action of the play. After all the comments are addressed, it is decided that this scene is ready to go “on its feet” the next day. Lindahl will make minor changesin thescript; VanderDoes is working on new songs suggested during a previous but would raise the cost of the program, Theother:major concern about studyingthe art of theater via the Netis the lack of visual contactin the study of an inherer''y visual art form. Dynak hope: at fund- session. ing might be found to piace video David Dynak, head ofthe theater department at the U., origi- conferencing hardware andsoftware in each participant's school so that professors and cohorts could “drop in” on classes and re- nated the distance learning program.Heis at the rehearsal, and says, “ ‘Puck’s Potion’ is a perfect vehicle for high school students, and would be very well-received by audiences.” He explains that the development of an original hearsalsat the U. andatthe individual schools. “That would allow us to do what we can’t do now — give face-to-face, real-time support. “Now we're starting to see the participants doing new work with their ownstudents using the Sundance collaborative model,” says Dynak. “Whether we can sustain it is yet to be seen, but we knowit works.” If continuing the program is judged feasible, next year will be spent evaluating, planning and writing grants; another group of students would then be admitted the followingyear. “Then we'll dive in with interactive digital capability and more faculty support,” says Dynak. “With that in place I’m very confi- dent. We firepower.” just need more (by 19th-century German playwright Frank Wedekind), tempers flare as an actor frustrated representative from Foundation madea trip to theater trends, and even if some with the painstaking routine of coming toa Utah last summerto see for herself what goes on at the Sundance Theatre Laboratory. Now thelab is nearly $2 millionricher. The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W.Melion Foundation recently announced a grant of $1.95 million to endow and support the operation of the Sundance Theatre Laboratory. The Mellon Foundation will provide $450,000 overthe next three years for new play development; the Duke Foundationis givinga $1.5 million matching grant to create revenue for support of the lab’s future. Along with the Sundance lab, eight other theaters are receiving grants under the Leading National Theatres Program; Sundance’s grant is the largest. Doris Dukewasa lifelong consensus on how a scene should play. Director Michael Mayer smoothsthe situation. Later, over philanthropist who willed lunch, Mayerexplainshis method. “What you eventually want to mental causes and support $1.5 billion in assets for medical research, environfor the arts. tor, music director, choreographer and designers. Thedirector is the fulcrum forall of this — it’s a series of compromises,” says Mayer. “Thereare conflicts, but that can render choices that make every aspect of the productionbetter.” Composer Duncan Sheik charismatic young rock artist — explains as he downs burgerthat he doesn’t want his score for “Spring Awakening” to “sound like a mugjcal.” Musical director Tim Weil agrees: “It’s important that the sound comes from that guitar place. I try to go with the instrumental voice Duncanconceivedit with.” Sater, the playwright/adapter, says each person's contribution addsto his conception. “This is a dangerousplay, about repressed sexuality. We want it to speak to and aboutkids today, the kids who are bringing guns to school.” Sater doesn’t want to write a traditional musical that alternates speaking and singing and uses songs to advance the plot. “These songs are internal dialogues, rock soliloquies. They ac- cess the interior world of the characters. I want the songs to advance the emotional ‘action, not carry the burden of the storytelling.” All this is is part of the Sundance equation: struggling through rehearsals, rewriting, chatting about projects over lunch with other artists. Here theater pieces are not written by a sequestered writer; they are developed by the playwright, director and actors. Musicians and technicians might also join the collaboration. Sundance is nationally festival Roger Bart and José Liana. Theteamsforthe otherprojects are similarly outstanding: ™@ “Carson McCullers”is a onewoman show about thelife of an artist and the inner conflicts she faces. Sarah Schulman is the playwright; Craig Lucas is the director. It was written to be performed byactress Angelina Phillips. “Conjunto” traces southern California history during World War II, a time when Mexican nationals took over the operation of farms belonging to interned Japanese-Americans. Oliver Mayer, this year’s playwright-inresidence at Sundance, is the playwright. Playwright Javon Johnson created “Hambone”asa study of: family dynamics and cultural alienation amongblacks in South Carolina in 1988. Shirley Jo Finneyisthe director. @ “Haunted Traveler”is a oneman showinspired by the book Haunted Traveller: An Imaginary Memoir, by Barry Yourgrau, who is writing the adaptation; Itamar recognized as one of the premier venuesfor this process. Eight projects are in develop- mentat Sundance this summer. In choosing them, lab administrators looked for innovation: bold ideas, unique stories, new theatrical forms and fresh permutations of classical works. Expenses for the three-week lab are underwritten by several foundations(see related article). The creative teams for the chosen projects receive practical support — such as a cast of profes- sional actors, rehearsal space, stage management — plus air transportation, accommodations andfood for the project team. They also benefit from the feedback of a staff of writers, directors and dramaturgs (led by Robert Black- er, artistic director of the lab), and a flexible structure that allows time to alternate rehearsals and rewrites. And then there's that fresh mountain air and exhilarating scenery. Withall that in place, playwright Doug Wright, tells the factual story of an East German’ transvestite named Charlotte von Mahisdorf who escaped internment in a concentration camp during World War I by posing as a woman.After the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, the German Minister of Culture awarded von Mahisdorf a medal for heroicefforts at historical preservation. The elderly vor Mahisdorf accepted the prize on German national television — clad in a black dress and pearls. Moisés Kaufmanis the director. @ “Kafka Songs” is an avantgarde musical by Christopher Drobny (composer/librettist) that explores the troubled youth of philosopher Franz Kafka. Diane Paulus is the director; Joe Domencicis the musical director. @ Playwright Rebecca Basham’ is working on “Lot's Daughters,” a study of patriarchal Christian dogmaandits relationshipto his: toric repression in the gay community. difficult work can be attempted. “Spring Awakening” was, and @ “Passion Play,” by Sarah Ru: hi, contrasts the rise of German aminationof adolescent sexuality, Nazism with the 1934 Passion Play in Oberammergau, Bavaria. i is, controversial for its dark exdespair and violence. The contemporary adaptation has a whiff of the same youthful angst that permeates “Rent,” the gritty musical hit (also based on a 19th-century masterpiece — Puccini's opera “La Bohéme”) that won four Tony awardsin 1996. Sater’s script and Sheik’s music catch the raw anger ofa disillusioned generation. WJohn- Jesurun’s “Philok: tetes” is loosely based on the play by Sophocles, and looks into the issue of social isolation of those who are considered dangerous or different. Jesurun co-directs with Martin Acosta. 1 “36 Views,” by Naomi Iizuka, is an improvisation-based play. Theyare partof-a creative team that is a name-dropper’s delight: Mayer directed award-winning that examinesalternate version of the same scene from manyperspectives. Mark Wing-Daveyis the director. Bridge” on Broadway and “Side court the risk. If we don’t, we’re Man” in London's West End. doing something wrong.” productions of “Uncle Vanya,” “You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown” and “A View From the Thereis not a timid project in the bunch. As Himberg says, “We fOrBeery Theatre CEDAR CITY Here's whatthecritics are saying about The. Merry 4 WINDS “An uproariously funny rendering” ~The Salt Lake Tribune “Wonderfullyfunny. A non-stop laugh.” Logan HeraldJournal July 15 - September 10, 2000 2000 Season Extraordinary survivors, Now—September 2 The Merchantof Venice The War ofthe Roses The Merry Wives of Windsor the Navajo people approach weaving, silversmithing, andpainting as a way to retain ancestral identity. For the Diné, art contains both a physical and spiritual elementthat is inseparable from Navajo culture, with each work revealing the story of an undaunted people. For more information call 581-4303 orvisit www.umnh, utah.edu/dine. html TRUNK SHOW The Cherry Orchard &. TS, UTAH MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY 1990 B, Presidents Circle Salt Lake Ciey UT 84112 Peter Pan Noises Off September 14—October 14 Driving Miss Daisy raObtatesene Tne Utah Stakespearean Festiva’ 2000 Droduction of hw Merry Wives of Winctsov ry \ y nS 300-PLAYTIX NUN ACTKm Or majof cludes featured Broadway actors Outstanding Regional "The People" nomina won on Broadway. The lab cast in: 2000 TONY AWARD Life and Culture of the Navajo has awards for his plays; musical director Weil is the current music director and arranger for “Rent” (Orta te still available. SHAKESPEAREAN (Grammy Sater Kubovyis the director. “I Am My Own Wife,” by. arrive at is a unified voice comprised of the voices of the composer, lyricist, playwright, direc- Breathing” wright the Doris Duke Charitable grown-up kindof peer pressure to featured the hit singles “Barely tion) and “She Runs Away.” Play- Million Grant A Composer Sheik’s debut albunj |