Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Category
Visual and Performing Arts (includes Creative Writing; sculpture, painting, video, dancing, music, reading, etc.)
Abstract/Artist Statement
The force of the coronavirus pandemic found American theatres and artistic venues shuttered and closed - indefinitely - for business. The need to limit social contact implored the performance community to cease all activities that could bring virus exposure to the cast, the crew, and the audiences they serve. However, like a bird must sing to be a bird, artists must make art. The standards for theatre have radically changed in the months since the pandemic started, and not only do rehearsals require a fresh set of safety protocols, but the entire artistic process must be examined in order to resume our work in a safe, smart, and fulfilling way.
As a student in my final year of the Directing MFA in the School of Theatre & Dance, I will be directing Mother Courage & Her Children, a German anti-capitalist play from World War II that resonates with a global society coping with how to navigate, address, and improve the world we now find ourselves in. While most plays in the country - and all the performances at the University of Montana - have taken place via zoom since COVID-19 struck, Mother Courage will be rehearsed in-person, filmed, and streamed online. Not only does this approach alleviate any fears of audiences catching the coronavirus, but I have also created a thorough and complete set of regulations to maintain social distancing, incorporate masks into the story of the play, and other tactics to make meaningful art amidst a brand new normal. This sets our production apart in its simultaneous bravery and deep commitment to safety as theatremakers around the globe are forced to put all their projects on hold for the foreseeable future and even beyond.
While our implemented health protocols addressed the personal aspect of directing a show, the way in which a performance is traditionally created and constructed has become unsustainable in a room where actors can never get closer than six - and sometimes twelve - feet. On top of Mother Courage exploring a radically experimental style that acts as a departure from traditional theatre, I have accentuated its bold stance in developing a new directing technique that accommodates the challenges imposed by COVID-19 and also offers a roadmap for taking a play from the page to the stage during a pandemic. By exploring new methods of creating and bringing live theatre to audiences, we are adapting to the times as artists have done for centuries before us. This production’s meticulous documentation and resources will serve as a specific and clearly-outlined technique that can be applied to any professional performance, academic program, acting troupe, or group of eager theatremakers who strive to safely and effectively make art for audiences everywhere. For the arts, there is no going back to the way things were before, and so this era necessitates the creation of a new theatre for a new world.
Mentor Name
Pam Stiehl
Personal Statement
I believe that art must bring something new to the table in order to join the feast of great works. This does not require complete transformation or grand spectacle during the artistic process, but rather an unseen perspective that has yet to exist within the collective consciousness of our planet. Art - be it theatre, film, or dance - that recycles centuries-old forms without introducing a bold new take or vivid experimentation offers only a reflection of art. Great work requires great innovation. As a director, this credence frames the work I put onstage from conceptualizing a project all the way through opening night, no matter the size, reach, or status of the production. It never occurred to me to shoulder this mantle as some responsibility as an artist, but rather the opposite: I became an artist because I had something to say I had yet to encounter in the communities and society I navigated - and countless creative individuals share this sentiment. I remember as a child learning about radical artists and avant-garde vanguards who pushed back against accepted norms, established worldviews, and axioms on liberty, love, and life. These individuals defined the corners history bends around as they proved time and time again that their work could not be appreciated in their time when it was created for a world to come. When the pandemic washed over America in late March of 2020, only two weeks remained in the long, arduous, and deeply rewarding process of rehearsals for Pride & Prejudice. The show was cancelled and all that work, time, and creative spirit offered the cast, crew, and myself - most of whom were students - faded beyond the naive hope that we would reach opening night. Rather than spend a year spinning over what could have been, I used that time to develop an unbreakable and relentlessly flexible protocol that would provide access to the arts for my community and reconcile the need for safety. Beyond the University of Montana, I know that this work will serve as testament to the importance and value of storytelling, the shared experience of performance, and the vulnerability of life we all take for granted.
Mother Courage 2021
Mother Courage 2021: Making Art in the Age of Coronavirus
The force of the coronavirus pandemic found American theatres and artistic venues shuttered and closed - indefinitely - for business. The need to limit social contact implored the performance community to cease all activities that could bring virus exposure to the cast, the crew, and the audiences they serve. However, like a bird must sing to be a bird, artists must make art. The standards for theatre have radically changed in the months since the pandemic started, and not only do rehearsals require a fresh set of safety protocols, but the entire artistic process must be examined in order to resume our work in a safe, smart, and fulfilling way.
As a student in my final year of the Directing MFA in the School of Theatre & Dance, I will be directing Mother Courage & Her Children, a German anti-capitalist play from World War II that resonates with a global society coping with how to navigate, address, and improve the world we now find ourselves in. While most plays in the country - and all the performances at the University of Montana - have taken place via zoom since COVID-19 struck, Mother Courage will be rehearsed in-person, filmed, and streamed online. Not only does this approach alleviate any fears of audiences catching the coronavirus, but I have also created a thorough and complete set of regulations to maintain social distancing, incorporate masks into the story of the play, and other tactics to make meaningful art amidst a brand new normal. This sets our production apart in its simultaneous bravery and deep commitment to safety as theatremakers around the globe are forced to put all their projects on hold for the foreseeable future and even beyond.
While our implemented health protocols addressed the personal aspect of directing a show, the way in which a performance is traditionally created and constructed has become unsustainable in a room where actors can never get closer than six - and sometimes twelve - feet. On top of Mother Courage exploring a radically experimental style that acts as a departure from traditional theatre, I have accentuated its bold stance in developing a new directing technique that accommodates the challenges imposed by COVID-19 and also offers a roadmap for taking a play from the page to the stage during a pandemic. By exploring new methods of creating and bringing live theatre to audiences, we are adapting to the times as artists have done for centuries before us. This production’s meticulous documentation and resources will serve as a specific and clearly-outlined technique that can be applied to any professional performance, academic program, acting troupe, or group of eager theatremakers who strive to safely and effectively make art for audiences everywhere. For the arts, there is no going back to the way things were before, and so this era necessitates the creation of a new theatre for a new world.