Destination: Staunton

My plans for this summer are closer to being finalized!

I had five potential options for the summer by the time February rolled around. As a theatre major, I started to realize during my sophomore year that my summers during college were going to be extremely valuable, and that I should use them in the most effective way possible while I had them. They're a time when I'll be able to do theatre-related things without necessarily having to get paid (in real money) just yet. Once I graduate I'll have more pressing matters to deal with, like paying for a place to unpack my suitcase and maybe cook some Ramen noodles. Not to mention finding some way to be able to pay for clothes to go in the suitcase and for the Ramen noodles.

But, during my summers in college, it's a little bit of a different story. I don't have to worry about supporting myself independently just yet. Meaning that I can do things like internships for credit. Granted, it would be awfully nice to do something to further my career that also pays real money, but that didn't seem to pan out for this summer.

Before Christmas, I applied for internships at the Goodman Theatre and the Lookingglass Theatre in Chicago, and the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Virginia. All would be unpaid internships completed for academic credit with IWU. Only one internship is required to graduate and I actually already completed my internship last summer, stage managing for Minnetrista. But I am allowed to do up to two.

After the auditions in February, I ended up not getting an offer from Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona, Minnesota. I did get an offer for employment from Missoula Children's Theatre in Missoula, Montana, but I decided that my second choice would be the American Shakespeare Center instead because 1) Missoula, while it would no doubt be fun and memorable (and would pay me), probably would not do a whole lot for my career and 2) I'm fairly certain I want to apply for the Shakespeare and Performance MFA program at Mary Baldwin College in Staunton which has a partnership with the ASC, and this seems like a good way to get my foot in the door.

Long story short, I got an offer from ASC, accepted, and turned down Missoula. I did a phone interview with someone from Lookingglass and they said they would get back to me the next day but I still haven't heard anything back from them, so I doubt that's a positive sign. I haven't heard anything at all from Goodman, which is fine (and not wholly unexpected).

Last week I got a call from the ASC outlining what my internship would look like and discussing possible dates. I was named Production Assistant for their upcoming production of "Two Gentlemen of Verona," (and one of my responsibilities will be some dog handling! I don't know why but I found that exciting), and then was also told that the second part of my internship would consist of helping the ASC develop a program to market their theatre on college campuses. The Production Assistant position will go be from June 11-July 13 - the rehearsal period for "Two Gents," but I've set my tentative dates from June 11-July 25, probably heading down a few days earlier to get my bearings, and then leaving about 12 days or so after the Assistant-ship is done to work on the marketing.

I'm excited! I think it'll be a great experience. And it won't be the entire summer, which is nice, and should leave me at least a little time to work on Rachel Corrie.

Auditions this week for Much Ado About Nothing next fall - we'll see how things go.
My costume pieces have been pulled together and distressed for my creation of Eliza Doolittle from My Fair Lady. I had a very interesting day with mud and a cheese grater.
Advanced Acting Shakespearean scene performances this week - my scene partner and I are performing Helena and Hermia from A Midsummer Night's Dream.
And, most pressing, I have a critical essay/research paper on Merchant of Venice due tomorrow that I've started on but still have a way to go. It could be a long night and day tomorrow (and I may or may not end up skipping a class or two).

Yo ho, yo ho, a thespian's life for me.

Deborah Brevoort, Playwright of "The Women of Lockerbie"

Listening to the playwright of "The Women of Lockerbie" talk in Script Analysis class today, here are some things I learned and some quotes I took away that I never want to forget:

• Lockerbie was the first terrorist attack on American interests - a defining moment in American history
• The terrorist bomb was implanted in a Toshiba radio
• There were 38 women of Lockerbie
• The laundry project of washing the clothes took about 9 months to a year to complete
• She first heard about/started thinking about the laundry project in 1998, ten years after the incident

Regarding the laundry project: "I couldn't believe I had never heard about this, that I thought was one of the most breathtaking gestures I had ever heard of."

"I wrote the play because I was so moved by the story."

Regarding: "why I write, how I write" -

"It's an exploration of something I don't know, something I don't understand."

"I don't begin with any kind of agenda at all."

"When I go to the theatre, I like to encounter a story and figure out my own meaning to take away from it, so that's the way I write."

"I don't write what I know; it would be boring for me to do that."

"I wanted to find out how you go through something like this and not be broken."

"If writers don't surprise themselves, they can't expect to surprise anyone else."

On Greek tragedy -

"I was seized by the idea of writing this story as a Greek tragedy."

"I had a hunch that the Lockerbie story was well-suited to this form."

• It took her 4 years and 25 drafts to write "The Women of Lockerbie."

Greek style:

1) Episode

2) Dialogue

3) Ode

"Stories like this are hard for an audience. Greek tragedy gives us a format for us to get through them."

• An episode contains the uncomfortable material - the stuff it's hard to get through.
• The dialogue is like a cooling device - the chorus reflects on the hard stuff.
• The ode is a song - a release. It cleanses the heart.

"Greek theatre was designed to tell the horrible stories."

"One of the struggles I kept running into was sinking back into naturalism or realism. When I did that, it began to become melodrama."

Question: "Most Greek tragedies are real downers, but your play leaves the audience with hope. Was that something you made a conscious decision to do?"

Her response: "Really I just followed the characters and the form. In real life, the people had found a way to come out of the darkness. That's how the story went. But I'm going to disagree with you about Greek tragedy. I think tragedy is the most hopeful form of theatre. A comedy only stops before the tragedy begins. But there's always something gained at the end of a tragedy. The price is always horrific, but something is always gained."

"I didn't write 'The Women of Lockerbie' with an agenda. Some people think I wrote the play as a political critique of the State Department. Some people think I wrote it as a Christian text. There are Christian values and ideologies, no doubt. But I'm more interested in writing characters into circumstances and writing them truthfully."

On why she likes to visit college campuses producing her play: "You're showing me things about my work that I didn't know before. This work is bigger than just me."

On writing characters in plays: "I think that if you're not inhabiting your characters, you're judging them."

Question: "Do you have a favorite character that you wrote? Like how you know you're not supposed to have favorite kids but everybody kind of does?"

Her response: "No, I really don't have a favorite. I'm fond of them all. They're all a part of me."

Question: "How did you make this play relevant to audiences?"

Her response: "I had the hardest time getting this play produced. People thought I was being morbid. And then September 11th happened. And suddenly, people understood. People in other countries understand the character of Maddie. The rest of the world has been ravaged by war. We've largely been spared. But suddenly people started to understand."

"The theatre's not about being historically accurate; it's about telling the truth."

"I didn't want the responsibility of journalism put on the play. I wanted to tell the story."

(RACHEL CORRIE!!!)

And finally -

Question: "What is your favorite play?"

Her response: "Oh there are so many. My three: 'A Streetcar Named Desire,' 'A Raisin in the Sun,' and 'Butterfly.'"

Follow-Up Thoughts on "World Changer"

A fellow student of mine who I greatly respect posted this as his Facebook status today after the World Changers convocation, and I wholeheartedly agree with him:

"I thought Kirk Cameron did well today. He spoke from his heart, and I admire that.

He encouraged others to stand for their convictions, and I applaud him for exemplifying that.

I may not have the same convictions as he does, but that doesn't mean that I won't affirm him as my brother.

I may disagree with him on his methods and some of his stances, but I will support his ultimate cause to serve God as best as you can with your life."

I also seriously do have this question, however:

In response to the ceremony today, and I imagine in response to naysayers of Mr. Cameron, IWU's Twitter re-tweeted a student who quoted Romans 14:4 - "You cannot judge another person's servant. The master decides if the servant is doing well or not..."

I love the Romans 14 passage and have even talked about it here before. And I agree. It should be in God's hands to judge his servants. And, in this light, I am certainly guilty of judging the effectiveness of someone else's servant.

The cool thing is that, as much as I find this truth convicting, I also find it comforting.

If, however, we use this verse in support for certain inductees, I see a need to look at the other side of the coin as well. The master decides if the servant is doing well or not. Not IWU's board of trustees. Not IWU faculty or staff. Not IWU students. Not the church. Not Christians. The master.

It also poses the question: if it is God's to judge the effectiveness of his servants, why are we giving a "world changer" award in the first place?

Stark, Raving