What Memories Are Important?

Dell’Arte Third Year MFA Student Brian Moore chose to do his Thesis Project based on stories of the Great Depression. Here is Brian’s account of working with non-professional actors in their 90’s. The Thesis Projects run May 14 – 24. Used with permission. --JS

What Memories Are Important?

By Brian Moore



The original intent of my thesis was to write a play that used only historic documents and interviews as text, such as the transcribed and recorded interviews conducted by Studs Terkel for his book Hard Times. Since I proposed that idea my thesis proposal has morphed a bit, or grown. My intention is to still us historic material to create a play, but the material I am now working with is not words captured on paper or on the tape recorder, I am working with flesh. My cast is made up of 7 – 10 senior citizens who have survived the Great American Depression. They come from all over the country and have one way or another ended up at Timber Ridge Assisted Living Center in Eureka, California.

In my original proposal I mentioned that I wanted to use a more mature cast. When I imagined this I saw three to five actors in their late sixties. I thought that using older actors would add more gravity and authenticity to the characters we would bring to life. They would be older but I never imagined them to be so old that they would have lived through the Depression! Maybe they would remember stories their parents told them, a sort of survivor once removed. These actors would be able to move about on stage, stand on set pieces, memorize lines, and put on the mask of the character.

The cast I have found, chosen, and am determined to work with is not the one I imagined. The majority of them are well over ninety. Some have Alzheimer’s, most have trouble getting around without a walker or a wheel chair, they all have trouble seeing and hearing, they have been living together for years but can’t remember each others name, and some don’t know where they are all the time.

Unfortunately, along with their myriad of problems, ailments, and disorders they also have everything I would ever want in a cast for this show. They show up to rehearsals three days a week eager to work with my partner Liza and I. They jump into exercises with commitment and laugh hard and often when they can’t remember what I told them twenty seconds before. Though they might not remember what day of the week it is they remember the Depression viscerally; I couldn’t get that from a recording. They are eager to share their stories with me and with each other.

When we share stories the memory of one participant often brings someone else’s lost memories to the surface. There is a drama that you see occur in the body when something lost is remembered. You can see the memory travel up the spine taking the storyteller by surprise when it reaches her lips. The other day we were talking about the tastes they remember from the Depression. We were going around the room when suddenly I saw the tiny frame of 89 year-old Helen shudder violently. Her face twisted into a terrifying mask, and I was afraid she was having a stroke. She opened her mouth spat and said “Rutabaga! I remember the taste of rutabaga! For weeks and weeks that is all we had to eat. I’ll never ever eat one again. Even today.” When she finished she sat back and smiled, happy to know that memory is still there.

The power and the fragility of memory is what surprises me every time I work with the cast. For some the past and the present slide into each other. Tom Morgan talked to us the other day about hobo-ing around the country when he suddenly realized everyone he ever knew was dead. He was sitting forward on his chair caught up in his story. The revelation doubled him over at the gut, sunk him back in his chair and brought tears to his eyes. The man is 99 years old and the best times of his life were cutting hair in Arcata.

Some others can’t let go of the past and carry it with them everyday. Lori, a nurse at the center, approached us as we were leaving one Thursday. She told us about her father, and how he lived on an Indian reservation during the Depression. She recorded some of his stories before he died two year ago of leukemia. She asked us if his stories might be something useful to the play. When we said yes she began to cry, explaining to us how much it would mean to her if he lived on in that way.

What memories are important? Right now we are headed into hard times, and these might be worse than the last. Talking to members of my generation, and interviewing students at nearby Humboldt State, I have found that almost all the information we have received about those times is from the media. Here I have the direct sources, and they won’t be around for long. I have the chance to ask them how they did it, and they have the chance to tell us what they think will be important for us to remember. History has come to the present to speak to the future.

Photo of Brian Moore by Jen LaMastra.
Photo of 96 year-0ld cast member Ann Cusamano by Brian Moore.

Copyright Dell'Arte International 2008
PO Box 816, Blue Lake CA 95525
(707) 668-5663
www.dellarte.com

Our "school of fools" Nov/Dec 1983 By Alain Schons, School Director

From 1981 - 1984, Alain Schons was director of our school, then called “The Dell’Arte School of Mime & Comedy." As a designer and teacher, Alain was a key player in the early years of the company; he also initiated organization of the curriculum around a consistent program and a resident faculty/ensemble rather than Carlo’s personality alone. As we were about to inaugurate our first Advanced Program in 1983—decades before we began the MFA—he wrote for our Fall newsletter about the direction of the school. His words still seem fresh as we continue our research of the school into the training of the actor. Alain now lives in Sauve, France, which is officially Blue Lake's sister city--see photos below.
---Joan Schirle, Founding Artistic Director, School Director


STATE OF THE PROGRAM

Nov/Dec 1983

By Alain Schons, School Director 1981 - 1984



When I took the direction of the Dell’Arte School a few years ago, Don, Joan, Mara, Michael, Steve, and I* were very much aware that what the school needed was a consistent and progressive curriculum that would not solely rely on teachers’ personalities or box office value. The reputation of the school had to be built on the three components that make up any school such as ours: the program, the faculty, and the student body.

My analysis at that time was that we had an excellent faculty indeed. It was the other two components that were lacking. I therefore decided to put all my energy into the content of the program. By doing this, I was hoping that a solid curriculum would attract more committed students—young performers that were not just interested in playing the resumé game, but anxious to expand their knowledge through a demanding program in physical performance.

My thought at the time was that by strengthening the curriculum, student enrollment would increase and the faculty would become stronger. To bring about such a change was not an easy task. Leaving old habits and individual resistances aside, there were no models to follow. Some in our close entourage were even predicting that the school would fold because of what they perceived as a radical change. They were obviously not taking into account the belief we had in our strength as teachers and artists, our vision of a theatre to come, and of course, our organizational talent and capabilities to achieve our goals.

Most schools that are similar to ours rely on the presence of one strong personality to give a specific philosophy to their school program. They generally function as a private business with the single vision that this entails. It is fair to say that those same limitations constitute their strength as well as their weakness. It would be futile to try to deny here that such schools do not fulfill an important role in training physical performers. The point I would like to make though is that the Dell’Arte School has chosen a different and more ambitious path. For several years our school has tried to fulfill a wider range of needs of today’s young professionals. The challenge confronting us looked almost like a contradiction between the need to accentuate a pluralistic approach to each subject taught and the necessity to maintain a specific school philosophy.

After my teaching experience at the experimental university of Paris VIII (1959 through 1975), I became more and more convinced that what was needed were small schools that would not separate theory and practice in an academic fashion and would actively keep up with the methods and philosophies of small professional “grassroots” companies. Those companies--theatre, mime, comedy (or a mixture of those three) constitute the majority of the live performance force today. Very few schools are or have been functioning while recognizing this fact.

The historical models that influenced me the most during my formative years were “L’Atelier de Charles Dullin” and the “L’Ecole du Vieux Colombier.”** Both schools were closely associated with small theatre companies working as ensembles. Their belief was that the only way to free theater from its psychological or literary excesses was to start with the training of performers, emphasizing physical training, and giving those performers the possibility to apply their art in a performing company. The Dell’Arte School thinks that those principles remain as valid today as they were years ago. The presence of a high caliber professional company guarantees a pragmatic approach to our curriculum. The fact that most of our faculty is actively involved in the profession also contributes to that approach. This type of thinking has helped us over ten years to modify our curriculum and to be more deeply involved in the area of performance. Most of you who have worked with us in recent years will be able to relate to what I have said here.

At this point in our history I am glad to be able to say that those choices were sensible ones. The one-year program has reached its maximum enrollment and our advanced program is taking off in January, 1984. I am deeply grateful to all those who are helping me to run our “school of fools.” They know who they are. To all of you out there, struggling in the vast world of theatre, mime and comedy—your school is alive and well. Your work as performing artists is the best advertisement our school could have. We need you. Keep up the good work!



* The resident Dell’Arte Company members in 1983: Donald Forrest, Joan Schirle, Mara Sabinson, Michael Fields, Steve Most
**The school of Jacques Copeau.

Photos: Joan Schirle

Copyright Dell'Arte International 2008
PO Box 816, Blue Lake CA 95525
(707) 668-5663
www.dellarte.com

Dear grads and friends,


Tomorrow night we will involve the entire staff as well as our Board of Directors in an exercise known as the "Histogram." We will build a visual timeline around the Carlo Theatre of what has happened since Dell'Arte was incorporated in 1971-------------that's a long time! Should be a re-e-e-e-ealy big piece of paper, since it includes the significant events of Company, School, festival, youth program, people, productions....wow… Since we are looking back, I'd also like to give you all a cross section what is happening right now and what’s to come at the School and in our Dell'Arte community.......


STATE OF DELL'ARTE: what's going on?
from School Director and Founding Artistic Director Joan Schirle

2008 was a year of transitions, most of them the result of planning (a few that were a surprise to everyone) and looking always how to honor our past as we continue to venture into the unknown………to how best improve our training, our programs, and our service to the audience, our community and the field.

Some of the '08 transitions:

• We completed the transition from a 2.5 year MFA to a 3 year program, making this the first tine that we have a Third Year MFA class in residence for the entire year. With three full classes of students sharing the spaces, supporting each others’ work, and passing on their traditions, the creative energy is in full force.

• For the first time our Third Year MFA students performed as DACompany members during an internship with the company devising and touring our holiday show (2nd year MFA's have done this twice). “The Glasnost Family Holiday” was a huge success, fuelled by the marching band created by the MFA’s during their 2nd year.

• New staff faces: Kristin Shumaker, Production Stage Manager; Gannon Rogers, Marketing; Kate Braidwood (MFA ’08), School Administrative Associate; David Jervis, Development Director.

• Stephanie Thompson as Associate School Director has taken on a large share of the administration of the programs in addition to her teaching work. Arranging schedules for all three classes is a huge job and just one of the areas where Steph has taken charge, in addition to her teaching work.

• Joe Krienke is within a few weeks training of becoming a certified teacher of the FM Alexander Technique. This means that we will have three—count ‘em THREE—Alexander teachers on our faculty (Joe, Philip, and Joan), a rather amazing teacher/student ratio given that most schools which do include AT in their training programs have only one! In a future blogpost, I’ll talk about what this means to our training model and why the work is so foundational.

• The Dell’Arte Company is in a state of re-visioning, a place of introspection and questioning its role in the overall organization, its role as a producing/touring entity, and its relation to the deeper ensemble concepts now embodied in a 3-year MFA program. Question: How can a company model which we can no longer afford-- a resident company of actors working fulltime together –transition into something which offers an ensemble model to a 3- year MFA program in which young actors DO work together fulltime?



• We have expanded our Board of Directors, revised our by-laws, and will continue to restructure our organizational systems to account for these facts: we are lots bigger than we were ten years ago, we’re over 30 years old, we have lots more to discover, and our greatest laboratory is the organism of company/school. DAI co-founder Jane Hill has been a major consultant in the Board evolution.

• With great systems organization by Tyler Olsen, an alum and fulltime staff member, we rearranged a lot of the spaces. We now have two campuses--the old Oddfellows building plus the new River Campus in the industrial park, with a real acro studio, maskmaking studio and much more. Facilities Manager and alum Jerry Lee Wallace never lacks for work to do in the areas of repair, remodel, renovate, set painting, design, and on and on.

And now in 2009..........

An unplanned transition: the economy! • The Recession makes us nervous—will we still have students next year? Will students still be able to get their federal loans? Will more theatres close their doors, more universities shut down their arts programs? Stay tuned…..

• Our summer intensive last year was hugely popular and now in its third year—this year focusing on the styles—it’s already ¾ fully enrolled, so at least the economy isn't killing us there.

• Further development of our voice program: In 2006 I received a grant from the Fox foundation via TCG for professional development. It was my choice to focus on voice study. I proposed to investigate the work of some of the major actor training methodologies in voice with the intent both of strengthening my own work as an actor and spending several years developing a voice pedagogy for the Dell’Arte programs that addressed the needs of the actor as mover, deviser, and poet. My studies to date have included work with master teachers Patsy Rodenburg, Catherine Fitzmaurice, Richard Armstrong, and research into the breath work of Carl Stough. I’m about to experience Estill voice work at a course in Boulder. I have been working with other faculty members to place this work into their voice work, whether singing or speaking, and to increase the amount of verse work in the MFA program.

• This final year of my Fox grant will focus on voice and text, as well as the production with D’A that is part of this grant--a project with Ronlin, Laura Munoz, and alum Richard Newman, based on 3 plays of Lorca--first showings in October 2009.

• It is a source of great satisfaction that our graduates doing are well in the world. We are working on a new webpage to keep us all up to day about the work of grads in groups as diverse as Cirque du Soleil to Second City, to tenure-track positions in graduate programs across the US, to the founding of new ensembles around the world. Gannon, our new marketing director, has generated a series of ads in American Theatre featuring photos of our alumni and proudly proclaiming in how many areas of the field you are visible. And we will continue to feature more of you in this way..........

• I am continuing to work on the book on Carlo’s work with The Showers—the basic exercises that are legacy of this school. • With Ronlin Foreman, we continue to define and refine the development of our school as a place for the training of the actor-poet, for the continuous research into methods of devised work, and the relationship of movement to the nature of theatre itself. These are lofty goals—they go hand in hand with the nature of ‘arte’--the skill of the professional—and we continue to train actors for a professional life, to make a living doing this work.



• Our MFA 3's went on the Bali program this year and had amazing experiences. Bali study will become part of the MFA3 curriculum for the next few years, but the program remains open to anyone-- we welcome musicians, dancers, maskmakers, designers, directors and ALL who have an interest in the arts of Bali.

• The Company is re-mounting our 1979 success, "Intrigue At Ah-Pah" which we toured for many years. An all-alumni young(er) cast will play Scar Tissue, Pops, and Beau and the other roles in this 30th anniversary production directed by Michael Fields. The subject: dams on the North Coast rivers, the decline of steelhead and salmon fisheries wrapped in a mystery thriller. All of that is more current than ever, as the fight to remove the dams on the Klamath is hot news to this day. The show opens the Mad River Festival this year. See the website for dates.

• Our faculty will welcome back Laura Munoz in the Fall. Laura has been teaching at Brown, where former School Director Daniel Stein has been named Head of Movement at Brown/Trinity Rep. Alum Lauren Wilson will guest teach with us in the Fall and then join the fulltime resident faculty in January. Alum Matt Chapman is joining our full time staff in a combination of recruiting and faculty duties. Visit our website for a look at the full staff and faculty list.

• Our thanks to staffers who have moved on recently—the Gleason sisters, Barb Geary, Meg Vogel, Tisha Sloan, David Ferney. And our thanks to all of you who continue to email, to dialogue with each other, to let us know what’s up with you, and who continue to promote the work of the School out in the world. We appreciate you! That's it---there's much detail left out but you can always look at our website for more info on things, check our DAInternational blog, and even join our Facebook group.... Wish us luck with remembering all that stuff for the Histogram!!!

And Happy Easter, Passover, Rites of Spring.....
best to you all,
Joan

Copyright Dell'Arte International 2008
PO Box 816, Blue Lake CA 95525
(707) 668-5663
www.dellarte.com