Over Halloween, Artistic Director Shami McCormick traveled to Florida to join in some theatre classes at Rollins College. She recounts her activities and insights below. Managing Director Chris Casquilho wrote the awesome title for this post - you must read on to find out what it all means! -ed.
I just returned from a week away from the final throes of an Adirondack fall. For the last seven days I have been in the land of the Great Mouse—Orlando, Florida. I was there to spend a week at Rollins College where my sister and brother-in-law are faculty. Jenny is the Department Chair of the Theatre and Dance Department and it is always interesting to be a fly on her wall!
Rollins is a small liberal arts college with a mighty Theatre department. I participated in two courses: Theatre History (can you define Neo Classicism or explain why “Le Cid” was so controversial?) and a new course team taught between the Theatre and Physics departments (the week’s topic was the physicist Robert Feynman, portrayed by Matthew Broderick and Alan Alda in film and theatre respectively).
Being back in a classroom was both enlightening and invigorating. Taking in-depth analytical looks at plays within the context of culture and history made me reexamine some of the choices I make as an Artistic Director. When I look at creating a season there are several factors that come into play. Though I start with the merits of the text itself, I often find it difficult to do so without also thinking about our theatre’s size, resources, Board reaction, audience reaction, budget, casting and how many beds will be needed to house the actors! Going back into a seminar setting helped me focus my thoughts more securely on the theatrical literature at hand and think more critically about “why this play, at this time in this style”.
Indeed, the trip couldn’t have come at a better time as we are in the process of determining the Depot Theatre’s 2011 season which will be finalized this month. The Depot’s Program Committee and I have been reading and discussing plays for several weeks as well as having conversations with Directors, artists and audience members. One of the things we have looked at is how the Depot Theatre can best contribute to the theatrical field and serve the North Country. As a professional company, our first obligation is to producing quality work and therefore we hire the best artists and staff to work on each project. Our professional status also makes the Depot Theatre an attractive venue for playwrights and composers to debut new work. Our winter play reading series has often focused on new work but producing new plays and musicals has not been a core part of our mission. We hope to change that in 2011 and include new artistic voices alongside more recognizable ones so that you can see tomorrow’s classics in the making.
The experience at Rollins also suggested that the Depot Theatre provide more information to our audience about each play we produce. “Why this play, at this time in this style?” In 2011 you will find more information coming to you in emails from the Depot, in the playbill and in discussions with the Directors and artists associated with each show.
My trip to Florida also included a lecture by James Olmos (“Stand and Deliver”, “Battlestar Galactica” and the forthcoming “Green Lantern” amongst others). It was a provocative and spirited discussion about cultural identification and the concept of America as a “melting pot” brought to life by Mr. Olmos’ insights as a Latino growing up in Los Angeles, his experiences as a baseball phenom, a musician, an actor and an activist. Inspiring!
Other theatre related activities included talking to potential interns from the Theatre department (would you like to be a host family for a bright, energetic, user-friendly student for a few weeks this summer?) I also got to see Stacy Norwood, one of our Equity Stage Managers who works at Universal Studios and at Orlando Shakespeare Theatre in Orlando during the winter.
I also made a visit to Sanibel (now relieved of many of its shells by yours truly) and was a [blue] alien galactic diva to my nephew’s astronaut for Halloween. Several tropical smoothies later, I am back in the Adirondacks, but only for 24 hours. I am off to New Hampshire and Northern Stage in White River Junction, VT to see a production of “The 39 Steps”!
