nyudublin

[nyudublin]

It’s the Final Countdown

Dear Blog, it’s me, Carla.

Well, we made it.  Three weeks flew by.  I still cannot wrap my brain around how much we managed to squeeze into 3 weeks.  When I woke up this morning it really hit me that this journey was coming to a close when I realized my roommate, Shannon, had already left… one day early.  It was lonely and sad in my dorm room, until I realized I could now do what ever I wanted with my new found freedom.  I then realized, by tomorrow, I’ll be on a plane ride home, and won’t have to live in a hot dorm room anymore.  But then I got sad again.  This trip began to resemble summer camp.  You see, I went to the summer camp of dreams, in northern Michigan, where kids, decked out in variations of blue, explored theater and art and music all summer long.  They bonded over their weirdness, and love for the arts.  They played silly games and had deep conversations about the meaning of life and what it means to be an artist and where we all fit in to this crazy world.  They were encouraged to be creative and work hard.  These past three weeks were like adult summer camp in Dublin and I am so thrilled that I got to spend this time with the best group of weirdos a girl could ask for.  

This morning was our last meeting together as a group.  Over the past three weeks we really became our own community.  Through all of our differences initially, we became bonded together and learned the true meaning of community. It is not about just being chummy all the time, but also going through the muck and helping each other come out the other side.  It is about growing with one another, learning from one another and sharing experiences together.  

We began the morning with some lovely Nan movement games.  We were instructed to move around the space quietly and we could walk, run or stand still.  Those were the only instructions.  One thing I have learned from this trip is not to judge a weird set of instructions.  As we all began to move around, people began to form small pods, or weirdos standing around the space.  One would stand in front of another person, lines began to form, chases ensued around the room, awkwardness came forth, and giggles came out.  It was a simple exercise that played around with relationships toward one another and how space and movement can change those relationships.  Simple.  Brilliant.  It was a clear example of our growth together as a group.  It was a nice pat on the back to remind us of how far we have come.  

After the warm up exercises, our tutors spread out large pieces of paper on the floor and asked us to create a timeline of our experiences here in Dublin.  We had all been asked to think about 2 “ah-ha” moments the day before, times in which something became clear to us during the program, and to start from there on the timeline.  We were given markers and told we could draw or write down what ever we wanted.  

As we began drawing and writing, it became overwhelming clear how much we had actually managed to do these past three weeks.  What a jam packed journey this has been, no wonder we are all exhausted!!  As we filled out the timeline with moments from the trip, certain themes began to take shape.  Our next exercise was to split up into the groups we had created tableaus with during our very first workshop on Day 1.  (Trying to remember who was in our group was a bit tricky, but we did it!)  On our first day, Blog, if you remember, we were split into small groups and had to create a tableau that demonstrated our first impressions of Dublin.  Because we arrived during Pride Week, most of us had marriage as a theme, or bridges and castles.  Today however, our themes were about what we were going to take away from our time here.  Most of the groups seemed to pick up similar themes.  There was a lot of sculptures that demonstrated community, trust, balance, support, letting go.  It seems we all took away a similar appreciation for the importance of trust and process.  

I asked around the group what people were going to take away from this experience, and I was not surprised by the answers, because they reflected a lot of the feelings I was also having about the experience.  Here are some of the things they had to say:

I really discovered the importance of letting go of expectations and living in the process. That, as an artist and a teacher, is a wonderfully liberating thing. -Sam

I was reminded that no two devising processes will ever look the same. Unique histories, populations, places, and times ensure a group's process and product cannot be repeated. -Rachel

I rediscovered the value in just jumping in and doing. Talking about doing is not doing and is actually counterproductive. Making the first brush stroke is risky but it's the only way to begin the creative process. - Haila

There is always more to learn and more people to learn from. I was just lucky enough to have been surrounded by the best type of people teaching me the best type of stuff. -Katelyn

Praxis is where theory meets community. -Emily

I felt honored to have Korean song into our performance piece and have Carla say words that were part of my stories. I was amazed when my identity, words, thoughts and feeling were shared and I felt  encouraged, and blissed for everything that happened before. I truly believe that is a power of sharing and performing in theater! -Josephine

I learned that in order to be the best facilitator I can be, I need to demonstrate the strength and courage that I never thought I had. I am claiming my confidence! - Nicole

Beautiful.  Simple.  As I reflect on the importance of process and trust, I am grateful that we were surrounded by such a giving group of individuals who were open to go places that were out of their comfort zones.  This “brave space” that we so eloquently created, allowed us to have meaningful discussions, ask important questions and create rich relationships with one another.  If that is not what theatre should be about, then what is? I think back on all the situations we found ourselves in, new, uncomfortable, dangerous, fun, and I think that as future-facilitators, that is what this is about.  We must be willing to open ourselves up to strange and unfamiliar territory in a non-judgmental way if we want to be able to create a “brave space” in this kind of work.  We all had experience that we maybe didn’t enjoy as much as others, and hopefully those experiences allowed us to think critically about why.  They allowed us to open up and ask ourselves what kind of facilitator we want to be and maybe what kind we do not want to be.  If everyone loved every single thing we did, perhaps there wouldn’t be as much room to grow.  

So, with that, Blog, I leave you with some pictures from the end of our time in Dublin, starting with the amazing timeline that we created!

We say adieu to these 4 who have now officially completed their masters!

We thanked the amazing Haila for being a rockstar!

Below are the beautiful blankets that our fantastically fancy facilitators received as gifts and moments of joy and happiness that we made it through this journey together.  It’s been real Dublin… see ya on the flip side!

I leave you with Nan and Katelyn. 

Bye Ireland! (One last selfie with the selfie stick before heading to the airport!)

[nyudublin]

The Brave Space

by Shannon Singley

Dear Blag.

Today was my last day in this country, but don’t be sad for me, travel is always good (probably). I’m in a weird place where I’m both looking forward to what’s coming up for me, and at the same time looking back at everything we experienced, accomplished, and will take forward. Limbo-ish, I guess.  

I was so excited to have a good last day I bounded out of bed an hour and a half before my alarm to pack 10 pounds of stuff into a five pound bag. “But Shannon,” you may ask, “Why art thou leaving one morn early?” That was very eloquent, and thank you for asking.

*Fake story: I’m leaving early to bring a new penguin child into my family where she will grow up happily in Florida with me and my cats. We haven’t chosen a name for her yet but “Kudos” is definitely an option.

Photo credit: I did not take this picture.

**Real story: I messed up my tickets and I couldn’t change them.

BUT fret not, for life goes on in Dublin and with Steinhardt Global Programs even when I’m not there (they’re tough, they’ll make it through).

Before I even got to meet with everyone, Zak and I discovered that we must be separated-at-birth superhero twins because for the second time on this trip, we both JUST HAPPENED to wear our Superman shirts on the same day.

Photo credit Carla Stickler. 

We started our morning with a Debrief! (Which I thought had something to do with underwear, but I quickly learned that was not accurate.)

The debrief was an important part of our artistic process--in my opinion, feedback helps me grow and gain a greater understanding of how the world perceives me. Which is kind of the definition of feedback, but that’s neither here nor there. Though the devising groups have been heavily involved in their own pieces, it was nice to step away from that and reflect on the successes of everyone else (and to see where others saw your successes). We were also to ask questions of the groups we watched, both abstract and concrete, from “I wonder how this piece would have been different with a different focus point,” to “try having a smaller audience size.” We did a great job of not only articulating beautiful praise to our peers, but also challenging them with difficult questions. It was a lovely, refreshing discussion. 

We broke off into the big group into our smaller devising groups for one last talk through, then broke off into our Smallest Groups--One member of each piece in each tiny group. We were able to share candidly about the successes and failures of our various experiences and really get personal insight into the other devised pieces.

After we finished talking, explaining, venting, questioning in the smallest groups, the door was opened and away like birds we were freed into the world! I personally celebrated with crepes, souvenir shopping, and a frantic assembling of all the necessary items for the next day’s travel. Terribly festive of me, I know.

In the late afternoon we met one final time in the National Art Gallery with our tutor groups (MORE GROUPS!) to check in one final time about where we were now as compared to where we were on Day 1 of the process. I celebrated this meeting with a mousse that was disguised as a cheesecake. Look at all that celebrating.

Photo Credit: Me.

To cap off the evening, we met after dinner at this place whose name I didn’t write down, but was definitely a pub! It was a time for merriment, laughter, and most of all, DANCING. Both students and tutors alike took to the dance floor to express and relax. There’s no way to express the beauty of a Loveable Weirdo in its natural habitat, but tonight, many of them took to the dance floor and took part in the behavioral “cutting loose” as they say in field. ‘Twas a privilege to behold, my dear colleagues.

Photo Credit: Still me. 

I’ve thought a lot today about the “brave space” we’ve challenged ourselves to exist in here on the Emerald Isle, and I think as a group we’ve really done a lot of pushing or ourselves, and some gentle pushing of others (in a good way).

As part of reflecting as a group, I asked everyone to tell me what they were most looking forward to about going home. The answers centered around an obvious theme: Home, family, bed, familiarity.

“I'm looking forward to seeing my family and my dog Frodo.” -Katie

“From Ireland, I'm flying straight to California to be back in time for my brother's wedding.  I'm excited to see my family, more than anything else.” - Katelyn

“I look forward to seeing my friends, my family, and snuggling with my pets.” - Aliza

“I am most looking forward to going home and sleeping in my own bed.” - Haila

“I am most looking forward to seeing my family again.” -Felicia

“I’m most looking forward to my own bed.” -Zak Ferentz

And yet some were looking further down the line at what was to come for them.

“I think what I am most look forward to when I get home is obviously spending time with my husband and my dog, but mostly I am looking forward to taking everything I have learned here and applying it to my own facilitation when I start student teaching.”

“I’m most looking forward to keeping in touch with the amazing people that I’ve gotten to know a little bit better, and with those I’ve been able to bond with on this trip. I’m also looking forward to bringing all of the great activities and exercises I’ve learned here into my own practice back at home!” - Lacy

“I look forward to stepping in Memphis and feeling much more confident as a valuable artist within my community. I look forward to using what I have learned in my time in Ireland.” Aliza

“I am really looking forward to returning to New York later on in August and working with Trusty Sidekick Theater Company and Lincoln Center Education this fall. I am also excited to spend time with my wonderful boyfriend again” - Sam

“I am excited to bring a lot of the facilitation techniques and activities home with me and try them out with some kids for the rest of the summer. - Natasha

“I miss my song work with guitar and piano with friends. I am going to write the songs about stories I had and my inspiration from this wonderful journey I had in Ireland.” -Josephine

“I am looking forward to using many of our applied theatre techniques in my new job in the education department at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum.” - Kirk

I’m excited for everyone! Personally, I’m looking forward to just being in the same time zone as everyone I care about. And southern food (I might be from Florida).

But what are people going to miss most? What little slice of Ireland are they taking with them? It seems many were thrilled with the whole environment of the place.

“I'm going to miss the beautiful skies and architecture - Katie

“I miss everything about my time in Ireland. I will miss having to the time to focus and create work that was creatively inspiring. I feel so blessed to have been in Ireland and meet such a wonderful group of people.

I will also miss the weather and the sheeps.” -Aliza

“I will miss Belfast, Giant’s Causeway site specific ritual performance, the Pride celebration & sharing moments of personal stories with laughing, crying and encouraging!” -Josephine

Others responses centered around the rich community of people in the program.

“I'm going to miss all my wonderful NYU peeps, more than anything else.  Working with you all has been a delight and I wish that we could all create theatre together ALWAYS.  SRSLY. LET'S DO THIS”. - Katelyn (I’m ready when you are, Katelyn.)

“I will miss the cool weather and the sense of community we've developed here.” - Haila

“I’m really going to miss being around such a cool, creative group of people everyday. I will miss seeing the tutors, and working with our amazing playwriting facilitator, Declan. Last but not least, I will miss being in this beautiful country!” - Lacy

“I will miss the open flow of creativity and the excellent Guinness.” - Natasha Knorr (It is really good here)

“I'm going to miss graduate school! This is my last course of my Masters degree. I will miss being inspired, daily, by my incredibly talented and brilliant colleagues and professors.” -Sam

“I am going to miss this "vacation" lifestyle. Learning about attitudes towards different ethnicities and nationalities outside of the context of the US.” -Felicia

“I’m most going to miss Salad Bowl” -Zak (if you need an explanation, ask Zak)

“I will miss mature cheese.” -Kirk (and it will miss you.)

“I am really going to miss  the beauty of Ireland but most of all I am going to miss the camaraderie among all of us late at night writing journals, or playing games or going out for a pint. i love everyone!” -Nicole

All in all, we’re a great group who love each other and miss sleeping in our own beds. I have no doubt today and every day spent here will be treasured by all of us. Personally, I like leaving my mark in the world in a small way. 

To everyone spending their last day in Ireland, I have you have fun, and I’ll see you in the States!

[nyudublin]

It's All About the PROCESS

Ya know how they always say it is about the process not the product? Well, eventually you get to the product and then what? Then and only then do you have to worry about it. In our five day process, three devising groups went on their separate and distinct journeys which concluded in a presentation of sorts today. Yes! Today! Some groups were all about the process right down to the wire, while other groups seemed to have always had the end goal in mind. Either way be not afeared, as one of our gentle hosts in Tallaght once said “you will always have something to show”. And let me tell ya, we did. We all presented really brilliant and unique pieces. As I sit here and watch the performances one by one, awaiting our turn (yep, my group is last to go up but remember “be not afeared”) I realize by focusing on the process, we have all gotten so much more out of it than just a resume builder. We’ve gotten-- Hey! Don’t cause me to jump ahead. One thing at a time. Let’s here about some of these processes.

Site-Specific Devising with Bairbre Ni Chaoimh

Process

This intense process headed up by Bairbre. What a lady? I’ve only met her on a few occasions but may I tell you she is one classy woman. Hearing her speak about the history and of this self described magnificent site and her vision for the work that could be done there was inspiring. It seemed as if she spent a lot of time and research investigating this site. On selection day (the day were were separated into houses based on where the sorting hat put us back on the Fourth of July-check out that post too) I expected that she’d be diligent and detail oriented. Based on the outstanding product presented, it seems as if her process was such- detail oriented.

Product

An exciting energy surges through the air as we wait for our first devising group to come out and greet us. There are adoring moments of reconnection between estranged colleagues who have been quarantined into their artists’s barn. Literally barns converter into working spaces. Now that I think of it the Irish seem to like converting things- currency, goals into museums, tunes into other songs. That is beside the point. Don’t get me off track! So here I am waiting, taking in the scene: 

-Devising groups mingling, discussing their process and the potential product

-Tutors/Devising Facilitator/Directors smiling nervously like a crooked moon

-Supporters like friendly ghosts from our past sight visits eager to see what bunch a crazies they actually worked with. (Some guests include Community/Education Manager Phil Kingston from the Abbey Theater, Drama Facilitator Jed whom we worked with in Drogheda, Community Engaged Theatre Participant Vlad from our trip to Tallaght).

-Family members and friends such as Haila’s Alan. Bairbre specifically has a ton of supporters here. These bodies are a physical representation of the energy, effort and passion she put into this production*. Additionally, it was a sea of tall that I couldn’t see. But I digress!

The amazing thing about this space and production was that I didn’t need to be at the “front”. There were so many points of entry and interaction- physically, intellectually and artistically. Okay, let me take you through the tour:

Margie and Phyllis come out to greet the group who wants an illegal tour of Trinity’s engineering building. This building currently houses the departments of geology, engineering and physics. The relationship between these two modern day maids eases anyone’s jitters and concerns about entering such a breathtaking space. With lots of jokes we are introduced to the space.We learn about the building as it stands today through humor that touches our hearts only to be moved again by the subtle representation of reality for those who occupied this building in the early 20th century. We witnessed how two sisters are affected by the loss of a brother in the midst of national violent conflict, a woman who has a relic of her lost loved one in the face of a child, a spunky friend grieving the loss of her companion’s liveliness. Through song, movement and acting the the multi-dimensional surround performance illustrates in a rather moving way the connection between humans past and present, even generations a part. 

!- Connection point: Throughout this process we’ve learned some about the deep history of Ireland, especially The Troubles and the 1916 Easter Rising. One thing that we could all take away from this experience is the importance of understanding our family history. At Upstate Theater in Drogheda, we saw several clips of documentaries and short films focusing on everything from the past to the future. Despite where theme of the film fell on the timeline there was a profound dedication to the appreciation of one’s family history whether it be to cherish unsung heroes or understand oneself a bit more. This site specific piece that connected science and people, generations of life and death, as well as audience to performers captured the essence of what it means to connect. Connect with the universal self. And realize it is about the process of connection, learning and grieving rather than the outcome. The results will come regardless. If you take the time to know connect with people and places a bit more you’ll reach that outcome more brilliantly than if you wouldn’t have taken that time.

*Yes, I used the word production several times to describe the site specific work. There was a violinist and videography. I think I have some right to believe it was a production. A quality one at that which speaks volumes about the professional performers I get to call colleagues.

Personal Narrative through Physical Theatre with Jenny MacDonald

 Process

This was all about getting intimate. Think about it. Personal Narrative. Well if no one shared their story during this process (1) how would it be personal (2) there would be no narratives (3) there is no product. And by the nature of physical theatre, participants in this devising work were bound to get up close, personal and intimate. From what I can tell through our time with Jenny on the trip, she made it an easy brave space to share, appreciate, accept and be challenged. Viewing challenge as an opportunity to grow is very important to both the personal process and artistic product. 

Product

Entering into the theater:

“Oh hey, there’s my roomie. Hi Emily!” I wave. “Oh! Look! Andrew is up there.” I nudge anyone and everyone around me and point. “Oh snap look at Tiffany on the other side looking like the angel from Jose Rivera’s Marisol.” My head nearly does an exorcise exercise trying to capture all of the images of people I recognize in the space. Much like the previous performance, this space was brought to life because we interacted with it in a different way. Amazed and finally realizing that my friends were in character, I settle into my seat awaiting the stories they were generous enough to share with us. What would these poses and positions mean for the rest of the performance? How will my personal narrative change after tonight? What insight from other people will help me appreciate them, others and articulate myself better? Way too many questions and anticipation. Let me just relax and enjoy what is about to come.

Bam**! Snippets and quotes of personal narrative as a lifeless body on stage flops around gaining consciousness. Bam! A beautiful song in Korean closing in a tableau that illustrates intersectionality and interconnectedness in one snapshot. Bam!! People bravely sharing their stories of identity, pride, hurt, acceptance, rejection, confusion. Bam!! A beautiful dance that keeps the audience on the edge of their seat. Bam!!! The interweaving of narrative. Bam!!! More singing. Bam!!!!! Of course there is physicalizing. I hope you didn’t forget about that. BAM! People claiming their identities and finding solace in the company of those who do the same.

Watching this group and interacting with a few of them during the one hour that we can see sunlight once released from our artist barns (yes, literally a stable) I realize the nature of the work. Going through such an intimate process their greatest product wasn’t the accomplishment of a show. Their greatest take away is allowing iron to sharpen iron, enriching themselves in a community of identity and sharing, enjoying a new appreciation for story and storytelling. 

Being in the audience I am learning so much about different ways to use physical theatre in a non-exclusively physical production. How the bodies on stage add depth to the story through abstract images and reenactments. I am learning about how we share and frame stories and who tells them. Who listens? How do we listen? How do we retell?

!- Throughout this trip the aforementioned questions have come to mind when working with different facilitators such as Jonathan Harden and Sylvia Beatley. Some of the dramatic exercises stretched me out of my comfort zone. I claim being a foreigner to the history, culture and land of Ireland. With devising projects on Giant’s Causeway and at a mall in Belfast, I was unsure as to how I could occupy physical space and impose my interpretation of someone else’s history or story in the name of art. As a person who identifies as a woman of color who has lived in ‘project buildings’ and lost family members and friends to violence, drugs and related, I felt extremely unsafe with an exercise that gave a false impression to some of my cohorts that they understood narratives more complicated than mine. So really whose stories are we sharing? How are we sharing those stories? How are we framing it? Who is listening? Why?

**Think of these bams more like the click of a camera. These are snapshots as to respect he integrity of the work and the personal stories of those who were brave enough to allow us to see a bit of themselves. If you want to know the specific stories and segments talk to them personally. While there is no one truth, you must be careful of the truth you speak and the truth you choose to listen. Hence, I have no right to share their personal stories. 

Collaborative Playwriting with Declan Gorman***

Process

Four out of the five days (and even several hours into our fifth day) was all about the process. We wrote all the way until the deadline. Then we blocked all the way into the show. So ya know. It’s about the process. As a group of eight we made twenty four fictional characters (who all seem pretty real). We got intimate with all of these characters. We took the time to identify how they overlap (two characters by the name of Sam and Jeannie) and how they are distinct (Sam male or female; Jeannie young or space architect. Just kidding. Their distinctions and contributions were more profound). Every character has a DNA and fingerprint of his or her own. This process similarly is about people although they came from our own invention. As Declan says “We worked with the dust on the floor and the draft carried in the bits of ourselves". We ended up in there somehow. And we left changed by them and each other as well.

During our process we didn’t worry about the story. We became so engrossed in these characters that once we eased into an event they would all be affected by, their stories and relationships fell into place much like the curves of a clay vase in the hands of its sculptor. 

Product

I’ve learned that if you focus on characters and relationships, the story will take care of itself. People will take what they want out of the experience. The audience member will reap a message that they need to hear based on the information they collect and the humans reflected in it. 

As a person involved in the presentation of our process, I feel very protective (as anyone would). I laugh at our inside jokes. I indulge in the characters that transform the playwright into the actor; actor into character; character into other character. I feel a deep sense of loss as we, a collective of playwright/performers, share our final moments on stage. Not a mourning for a character (yes, we had one of our beloved characters killed off). Rather, it’s the end. This process had all the moments one could think of when collaborating but the product: one kickass show, nine co-playwrights, and a deeper understanding of what it is to be human and connect.

***Most of the posts during this five day devising process has been from this group so I sincerely apologize for not being able to give you another angle. What can I say?! We are cool AF!

Final statements: The person is political. Every individual brings something with them in the process innately. None of these products would have been the same if a single member in the cohort was different. Because we put so much of ourselves into each of these processes the product means something different per person. You’ve gone through the process and read this- figure out your own conclusion.

[nyudublin]

Spotlight: Collective Devising and Writing for Community-Engaged Theatre”

by Elana Safar

“The actual making of the magic can never be planned. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be magic.” —Declan Gorman, Playwright, Director, Actor and Community-Engaged Theatre Facilitator

As a student of applied theatre and community-engaged theatre, it is incredible to be immersed in Ireland’s rich literary and theatrical tradition. As I walk through the streets of Dublin, I am constantly reminded of Ireland’s renowned novelists and playwrights, from Jonathan Swift and Richard Brinsley Sheridan, to George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde, W.B.Yeats, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, and many more.  Highlights of my experience thus far included seeing Sean O’Casey’s “The Shadow of a Gunman” at the Abbey Theatre as well as Brian Friel’s adaptation of Ivan Turgenev’s “A Month in the Country,” at the Gate Theatre.

Above clockwise, from left: (1) Mural featuring Oscar Wilde’s quote: “We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars.” (2) Playwright George Bernard Shaw was born on Synge Street in 1856. (3) Mural depicts James Joyce’s famous character “Leopold Bloom” in “Ulysses.” (4) I really enjoyed seeing Sean O’ Casey’s “The Shadow of a Gunman.” (5) Writer James Joyce (6) Feeling electrified after seeing “A Month in the Country.” (6) Dublin’s wall of famous playwrights.

We also participated in various forms of non-traditional theatre. At Dalkey Castle and Heritage Centre, costumed actors captivated us with guided tours that felt more like interactive live theatre performances. In Northern Ireland, we transformed our physical surroundings into impromptu theatrical venues as we experimented with “site-specific” theatre. [Definition: any type of theatrical production designed to be performed at a unique, specially adapted location other than a standard theatre]. For example, in Belfast, we randomly stopped and interviewed local citizens on the streets to learn more about who they were, where they came from, and where they were going. If that sounds a little nuts, you’d be surprised to learn that these complete strangers were more than eager to share their personal anecdotes with us. Next, we used their stories as inspiration for the creation of brief physical theatre performances. Shortly thereafter, we performed these pieces in various parts of their town centre. We actually stopped foot-traffic as our pop-up style performances came to life in public alleyways, stairwells, shopping areas, and phone booths! Another day, we piqued the curiosity of many a tourist at the Giants Causeway with spontaneously devised physical theatre vignettes inspired by the site’s majestic ambiance and mythological back-story. 

In both Belfast and at the Giants Causeway,  the theatre we performed was devised entirely by us as a COLLECTIVE unit.

Top: Devising theatre at the Giants Causeway. Bottom: Actors at Dalkey Castle/ Devising theatre on the streets of Belfast. 

As we neared the final week of our journey in Ireland, it was time to begin working on original performance projects that would be presented at the Samuel Beckett Centre. These original works were meant to showcase various community-engaged theatre approaches and techniques. Having already studied traditional playwriting, I was fascinated by the idea of writing as a group, so I chose to focus on “collective playwriting and adaptation.” I was excited to see what it would be like to write a play “by the community, for the community!”  

We only had five days to create a 45-minute original staged reading of our play. I assumed we would spend much of the time writing, rehearsing and getting as off-book as possible. Surprisingly, our experience could not have been more different. 

Under the guidance of the incomparable Declan Gorman, we stayed rooted in the creative process for three and a half days! Free from attachment to the final end-product result, we seemed to do everything BUT write.

So what did we do? We warmed up our energy with various listening and focusing exercises. We strengthened our sense of group trust with various theatre games. Using an innovative, ensemble-based approach, we fleshed out twenty-four unique characters of various ages, occupations, interests, and life stories. We planned their places of birth and death. We presented their eulogies. We took our ‘characters’ for a walk as we embodied them around Trinity College’s scenic campus. We observed how they interacted with one another. The more time we spent inside our characters, the better we got to know them. 

Above: Creating characters. Brainstorming unifying places and events. 

On the morning of day four, I woke up and realized that we hadn’t yet begun to write the play, yet our performance was slated for the following evening! Other students expressed their surprise, too. Our laptops were beckoning us. Our fingers were itching to type. We were certain that we would begin day four with writing. 

To our further surprise, and a few nervous chuckles, Declan told us there was no need for our laptops just yet. Instead, it was time to make some tough editing choices. Though we had worked hard to develop twenty-four characters and story lines, there were only eight of us to perform the play. Therefore, we had to throw some of our brilliant ideas away! In fact, Declan had wanted us to experience this pain of choice. This was his lesson in “the art of letting go.”

But how to begin the edits? We approached this necessary task by employing Declan’s three--pronged technique which is helpful in driving a cohesive narrative: 

BLENDING

CLUSTERING

DISCARDING   

We lined up our twenty-four characters and began the process of blending, clustering, and/or discarding them. All of a sudden, certain logical groupings and trends arose. We noticed, for example, that two of the characters happened to be students, so we BLENDED them together into one simple character. Another two characters were coincidentally both dancers, so we CLUSTERED them as teacher and pupil. A snobby interior designer, Sybil, wound up being irrelevant, so we DISCARDED her all together. And so on and so forth. 

After a lengthily process, we collectively managed to condense twenty-four characters down to sixteen strong personalities. This meant that each of us would be double-cast as two characters in the final play. This also gave us room to invent peripheral, “satellite” characters such as a Starbucks barista, a restaurant host, etc., so that we had some wiggle-room in creating realistic scenes. 

As we explored connections and correlations between the characters, I was struck by how well-suited this writing process was to a group unit. As I mentioned earlier, many of us had the pre-conceived idea that we would sit down and purposefully write a story, create characters, and manipulate their actions to serve our super-objective. Here, in the collective process, we started with the characters first, and story next. 

Parallel to finalizing our characters, Declan  introduced the power of UNIFYING PLACES & EVENTS. First, agreeing to a PLACE would ground all the characters. He referenced the ensemble film “Crash” as an example for us to keep in mind. In “Crash”, several characters' stories interweave during two days in Los Angeles. 

In selecting a place, we collectively tossed around ideas and voted on a location that worked for all. We even devised a group poem about it. Here is an excerpt, can you guess the place?

                                         Busses screeching to a halt                                          Busy streets                                          Hot bagels and coffee on my way to work                                          Fast-paced hustle and bustle                                          High energy all around                            

That’s right, we chose New York, the city that never sleeps! 

We had even more fun choosing the unifying EVENT. According to Declan, a unifier here is “something that all the characters experience even if independently from other characters. The event or device is not necessarily at the heart of the story--it just happens, and informs all the lives in some small way.”  Again, many ideas were tossed around, but we were ultimately most attracted to the idea of a widespread communications breakdown: THE INTERNET BREAKING!!!

Inspired, we got on our feet and improvised an abstract movement piece depicting the claustrophobic tension on the subway as everyone’s cell phone loses power. (Note: Later, this piece would be lifted as an expressionist interlude in out final performance!)

Now that we had our unifying PLACE, EVENT and CAST OF CHARACTERS, it was time to finally write the story, right? Wrong!

Declan challenged us to map out each character’s day from morning to night. Using large sheets of paper, we each drew giant timelines for all of our characters, charting their day from 6am to midnight. Afterwards, we lined them side by side and looked for commonalities. 

Not all the ideas we came up with were to be included in the play, but the exercise was helpful in highlighting potential scenarios. The scenes started to unfold before our eyes. We discovered that Melissa-Jane, the magazine assistant, might be interviewing the soap opera star, Juan Miguel, over lunch. We found our two dancers debating the merits of fat-free milk in a coffee shop. We found some of the single characters agree to go to a speed-dating event. We even had an astronaut in space, looking down from above. We loved the idea that each character’s personal mobile device, and subsequent mis-communications, would play an intricate role in the story. 

For three and a half days, we had been inching closer and closer to a narrative. Finally, at the end of day four, it was time to begin the actual writing.  Now the clock was ticking and there was no time to waste! First, we assembled an overall scene-by-scene treatment. Then, each of us chose a scene and started writing separately, in true ‘divide and conquer’ form. Thirty minutes later, we put untied them to produce a logical rough draft.

Despite the fact that we wrote separately, the characters’ voices remained amazingly consistent since we all had gotten to know them so well! We ended day four with our official first read-through. Surprisingly, the play was funny and heartfelt. We wound up with more written material than our 45-minute slot allowed, so we agreed to edit down further the following morning, aka performance day!

As we walked out of our work studio, we felt a real sense of achievement. None of us had ever spent so much time soaked in a creative ‘process’ before (PROCESS turned out to be the operative word of this trip). It felt like the ultimate luxury. Our collaborative path bestowed us with a proud sensibility of equal contribution and ownership. We truly glowed with the joy of writing and we looked forward to sharing evidence of our magical process with everyone the following day!

We are so excited to share our work! (If only we could take one clean photo...)

To see how the performance turned out, you’ll have to read the blog tomorrow...

The theatre never stopped! Even on our bus rides and rest stops. All “HAILA” the queen!

[nyudublin]

Ye Olde Technologically Unadvanced Blog Post

I began today as I have begun all of my days here in Ireland so far, bright eyed, well rested, idealistic, and ready to change the entire world using the magic of theatre. (Read previous sentence as: I woke up later than I expected, missed breakfast, and ran out the door with hair that looked as if weasels had nested in it during the night.) Fortunately, this morning was salvaged by the fact that I got to meet with Declan, tutor extraordinaire. All of us are getting to pitch our initial ideas for our prospectus projects to our tutors today. What is a prospectus, you ask? Basically, we are coming up with original applied theatre projects and writing a grant proposal type paper to present our ideas. We are given a theoretical budget and we have to tie the project to an organization as well as give it context within our work here in Ireland. I hate to call homework cool, but it’s actually a pretty cool assignment. I won’t tell you what my prospectus idea is (because clearly it’s brilliant and everyone will try to steal it), but I will say that I am glad we had those tutor meetings. Declan pointed out a crucial flaw that could’ve had grave repercussions, not just in my project, but in the entire surrounding community. Declan Gorman, saving the world one overlooked prospectus mistake at a time. I should mention that the other tutors are also fabulously helpful and to prove it, here are a few student testimonials. Nicole says: “Sarah was amazing! Some of us were working towards the same demographic and so she had us meet in a small group and bounce around ideas. We even had posters that each of us were allowed to write on to give advice. I emerged with a fully formed idea of my prospectus. I highly recommend Sarah for all of you prospectus needs!” Shannon says: “Jenny helped me flesh out everything! I have a full outline of my prospectus even though I went in unsure of exactly what I wanted to do. Now it’s perfect! It is actually perfect!” Ashley says: “If Johanna were a US citizen, I would encourage her to run for president. She was so helpful and she even had food! I was worried about the prospectus, but she completely put my mind at ease. I am now as calm as a cucumber.” (Some quotes may be only slightly exaggerated.) Johanna also receives bonus points because she made us all a sugary (I mean healthy because it has oats) treat called “flapjacks”. They were delicious and so necessary at the end of a long Monday. At least, I think this is Monday. The days have started to run together, so I can’t be quite sure. All this is meant to be a big thank you to our tutors, who have been invaluable throughout the entire program. I wanted to send some love your way. I will not complain if you reciprocate the love by encouraging Nan to give me an A on everything. After lunch, we broke up into our devising groups once again to perfect the masterpieces that we are going to present on Wednesday. I really love that we get to work very in depth in one particular area, but I do hate that it means that I don’t get to see 2/3 of the group. Nick, Ralph and I had a very heartfelt reunion in the middle of campus today. I think Ralph may have shed a few tears, or maybe it was just the sun glinting off of his glossy exterior. The separation anxiety has caused the song “See You Again”, clearly the Miley Cyrus song and not the sappy Fast 7 anthem, to be replayed in my head. The only part of the song that is relevant to the situation is the title, but it’s a real jam piece. (See video for reference) Moving on, today in the site specific group, we really began to set in stone (both in a literal and figurative sense) what our piece was going to entail. It’s going to be hard to talk about today without going into detail about the piece, but I want it all to be a surprise! I would say that this is also the reason that there aren’t many pictures in this post, but that’s actually because the camera on my phone is deader than the people who tried to invade Dalkey Castle. Anyway, we began at the actual site of the devised piece. We seemed to be very much in the way today. We were constantly either being shushed by the people who worked there or finding ourselves in the way of the visitors. I guess that’s just the nature of site specific theatre. It won’t be an issue for the actual performance because the building will closed and we will be the only ones there (or will we?). It has been very interesting for me to experience because I have never done a site specific piece before. We had to hide in a granite corridor to have our initial conversations. We went through our scene ideas and created an order. From there, we needed to decide on transitions and blocking. In order to do that, we had to branch out and explore more of the space. We ran into a few instances where we had a specific idea of how we wanted a scene to flow or where we wanted a character to enter or exit, only to be physically incapable of making it happen due to the constraints of the space. Conversely, there are going to be moments where a character can emerge in a dynamic way because the space is not a typical theatre. Once we felt as if we had sufficiently either annoyed or puzzled everyone in the building, we moved to the dance studio. Believe it or not, (Takes 3 minute break from writing because a Boyz 2 Men song comes on iTunes) we already had a pretty set script at this point. Well, the script was pretty set with the exception of my part because I decided I wanted to address a different entity. That means in addition to this blog post, I also have to rewrite my script tonight. My fingers are going to be in great shape, as are my legs from climbing all these stairs at Trinity, but I digress. We began from the very top of the show and began our very first run through. We stopped to critique and smooth some sections. As we worked our way through, we would get to a piece of the puzzle that had not quite been fleshed out and we would develop it. Some of these sections were devised more smoothly than others. We have a section that involves a poem (I think I am allowed to say that much) and on our first day together, we had devised a performance around it. When we revisited it today, we realized that our original plan no longer fit what we were trying to do. It’s amazing isn’t it? How alive theatre is, how it grows and changes throughout its development. The creative process, while trying at times, is really something so metaphysical and magical. Sappy, I know, but it’s how I feel. My favorite moment of creative collaboration today came while we were devising the ending to the show. I felt like we began with this shapeless lump of ideas and it was slowly formed into a cohesive product. I think, or hope, that our audience will find it as moving as we do. We put a lot of feels into a small amount of time. I feel blessed, or #blessed, to be surrounded by the group that I have. They have been such a fun group to collaborate with. I think we all have managed to give our input into this project without anyone dismissing or steamrolling anyone and that does not always happen. In fact, in my experience, it usually doesn’t happen. So thank you lovely groupmates for being perceptive and full of great ideas. (We can still sneak in a soundscape. I know we can.) Up until this point I have just been writing how I felt about today without a particular theme in mind, but I realized that still yet a theme has emerged. That theme is thankfulness. I have thanked the tutors and my group, but I would also like to thank everyone that has gotten us to this point. Maybe this is a “last day of the program” conversation, but too bad. We’re having it now. A special thank you goes out to Nan, giver of joy and keeper of the grade book. The Artist Formerly Known as Sierra Roberts

[nyudublin]

I meant to post this inside the actual blog post, but it decided to post separately. You will understand why it's here once you read my post, or maybe you won't. - Sierra

[nyudublin]

Ireland vs. USA

By Lacy Numbela

July 12, 2015

So, today the group split up and we went our separate ways to enjoy some much-needed free time on our one and only day off. Some of us decided to take mini day trips and explore outside of Dublin, while others remained close by to rest and relax. I was one of the many who decided to stick around campus. I began my day with a delicious breakfast by the River Liffey with Felicia and her friend Leo from Brazil.  

(Top: The River Liffey, Bottom: Felicia eating a cookie for breakfast!)

As we sat enjoying our pastries we reflected on many things, some of which pertained to the parallels and differences between Ireland and the USA. The conversation was sparked after recalling the morning’s UFC fight between Ireland’s Conor McGregor and USA’s Chad Mendes, from which McGregor took the gold. Entire establishments here in Dublin were repurposed solely for the viewing of the fight. The energy and buzz surrounding the fight inspired my theme for the day: Ireland vs. USA.

(McGregor vs. Mendes)

In the spirit of ‘McGregor vs. Mendes’ I decided to go around throughout the day and ask some of our group members about the differences and similarities they have discovered so far between Ireland and the USA (see Ireland vs. USA video below).

While hanging around the apartment, I asked my lovely roommate, Sam, what she thought.

“So, I think that the differences between Ireland and America are that Ireland seems to be a country really steeped in history and whether that history is positive or negative they’re very proud to wear it kind of on their sleeves and America tends to sometimes push it under the rug a little bit and we’re not as open and talking all the time about our history. Also, they are much more friendly in the shopping malls here.”—Sam (on differences)

“So, what is similar between Ireland and America? Well, much to my excitement there is yoga in both places. There is tourism in both places. I think it’s a little bit stronger here, but especially in New York City and in Dublin tourism kind of is a big name of the game. And they have colleges and universities both in the same place where you can go and get your graduate degree!”—Sam (on similarities)

(Sam and I outside our building for a roomie photo!)

Thank goodness there are colleges and universities in Dublin, because I don’t suppose we would be here if there weren’t! Later in the evening, before heading to a tasty dinner at Hippety’s in Temple Bar, I asked Katie what stood out to her in terms of differences and similarities between Ireland and USA.

“Here in Ireland people drive on the wrong side of the road. It’s quite terrifying.”—Katie (on differences)

“In both Ireland and the United States there are lots of pigeons around.”—Katie (on similarities)

I have to agree with Katie’s conclusions, and must say that pigeons are just as disgusting and annoying here in Dublin as they are in New York City. As we got closer to our dinner destination Rachel was kind enough to take a moment to tell me about her findings.

“Some differences that I’ve noticed between Dublin, Ireland and New York City is that there are cobblestones everywhere which makes it really hard to walk around in shoes that aren’t tennis shoes. Also, just the general architecture of the buildings that we’re around are so beautiful and historic and really old and detailed. And back in the states I feel like most of our buildings are really modern and new and it’s interesting to see how these new businesses and restaurants and shops are all incorporated in really old architecture. It makes for an eclectic and interesting city experience.”—Rachel (on differences)

“The similarities that I’ve noticed between New York and Dublin are that there are beautiful street performers everywhere and you really feel that arts and music and performing is appreciated around the globe.”—Rachel (on similarities)

I would have to agree with Rachel that the performers on the street really do make you feel like you’re in a place where people understand that art is important and should be shared with all! After we finally arrived at Hippety’s and ordered our meal I got the scoop on Irish men from Sierra.

“So, I’m going to tell you a little bit about Irish men. I guess one of the main differences is they have these fabulous names like ‘Terlock’ and ‘Fergus’. They also all have this amazing haircut where they shave around their heads but leave this part. Apparently it’s inspired by an MMA fighter and the show ‘Peaky Blinders’. And in my experience they seem to be very ‘marriage minded’ we’ll say. So, there are some differences.”—Sierra (on differences)

“I guess a similarity is that they’re humans and…male. So, yeah I’m not going to date anymore Americans only Irish men forever, all the time.”—Sierra (on similarities)

So, as we waited for our food to arrive we learned we must remember Irish men are humans too, and the group must try to help Sierra find one to take home with her. 

(The gals at Hippety’s for dinner!)

(Katie enjoying her cute tea at dinner.)

(Ashley, Rachel, and Sam doing a lovely tableau for us during our walk.)

After laughing through dinner talking about Irish men and other fun topics we got gelato from Gino’s, took a little walk to Steven’s Green and then headed back to campus where Natasha gave me her discoveries on Ireland vs. USA so far.

“One difference I’ve noticed between Ireland and New York City is the amount of public transportation and the way that they operate. So in New York we have the subway obviously, but here in Dublin they have the DART and the Luas. The DART is kind of like their version of the subway but it’s actually a lot above ground and it’s really clean, and really nice, and very civil. Which if you’ve ever been to New York you might think otherwise about the subway. And then the Luas is kind of like a mix between a bus and a trolley car. It runs on cables just on the street but it’s really cool because it doesn’t hit traffic it has it’s own lanes and it’s much faster than the New York City bus system.”—Natasha (on differences)

“Both New York and Dublin have a really distinct ‘hustle and bustle’ to them. It was surprising to me at first because I kind of pictured Dublin being sort of a more quiet quaint city, but walking around Trinity campus feels a lot like walking around NYU. And walking outside of campus feels a lot like walking around downtown Manhattan. It doesn’t look the same, but it feels the same. People are busy they have places to be and they’ve got stuff going on.”—Natasha (on similarities)

To Natasha’s point, Dublin and New York City in particular do have a similar sort of big city feel. It’s been nice that we have had the opportunity to travel outside of Dublin and see different parts of Ireland such as the countryside and Belfast, while also having the comfort of staying on a campus that feels like it could be our own.

Finally, after talking to Natasha I headed back to my room where I ran into Carla and Shannon who offered their thoughts on similarities and differences as well. Also, Haila might have made a special appearance.

“It’s a lot colder here.”—Shannon (on differences)

“One of the things I’ve noticed is I don’t get treated like a foreigner here and obviously I’m not from here.”—Shannon (on similarities)

“One of the big differences that I’ve noticed is that it’s 10pm and it’s still light out.”—Carla (on differences)

“A similarity is that they speak English.”—Carla (on similarities)

Yes, yes they do speak English. I’m so glad that the folks at home will learn at least one important thing from this blog post. (But just so you know, some Irish folk speak Gaelic as well.)

Before I conclude this blog post I suppose it’s only fair that I list similarities and differences that I’ve noticed since embarking on this journey. So, here it goes:

One of the similarities I have realized between the USA and Ireland since coming here has been the attitude towards same-sex marriage. This morning sitting by the Liffey we talked a little bit about the pride parade that welcomed us to town on the first day, and how exciting it is to see the two countries both moving toward equality for the LGBT population. Both countries declared same-sex marriage legal this year, Ireland in May and then the USA on the day we left to come here for the program. Some differences I’ve noticed between the USA and Ireland are the toilet flushers and the fact that the supermarkets make you pay for your paper or plastic grocery bags. Oh, and how can I forget! The Guinness here is even better than in the USA! So, after this thorough yet highly opinionated group analysis, who is the winner—USA or Ireland? To be honest, I think we all love them both, and have felt at home in both places. With that being said, let’s just call it a majority draw!

[nyudublin]

Let’s Get Physical...with playwriting?  by Aliza Moran

Howdy do friends and neighbors! Today on “Playwriting with Declan Gorman,” I explored the development of characters with a variety of fun and interactive physical activities. When I joined the playwriting group, I did not know what to expect. I suppose there was a part of me that simply thought it would be a lot of writing and sharing, but that is far from the truth. I have spent the majority of the time on my feet, moving, and connecting with my fellow playwrights. This is not a solo project my dear reader. The workshops are not about who created the best character or the better scene; they are about generating trust and unified ownership over the work. 

Today, Declan Gorman instructed the group through a series of fun activities that cracked open the creative spirit.  From start to finish, the workshop sought to balance the tragic with the hilarity of the absurd. Please join me as I try to explain one day in the wacky and creative world of the devising playwright. 

The day began bright and early at 9:30 am in the dance studio at the Beckett Theatre. Our first activity was to create new words to be added to the dictionary. Each person wrote two words on separate pieces of paper. Delcan collected the words and off we went into our physical warm up. You might be saying to yourself, “Whoa! Hold up! What is the purpose of these wacky words?” Patience, dear reader, patience. 

So, off we went to our physical and mental warm ups. The group facilitated these fun little gems. Elana, Ashley, Lacy, and Katie initiated and jumped in with the warm ups. They are listed below. P.S I have every intent on using them with my kids when I return home. 

Warm ups:

Physical warm up with Ashley, The Dukes of Hazzard,  Wizard of Oz, consonant vocal warm up, and Where the F’s the.. with Katie, The Expert and tongue stretch with Elana,  and Lion and Lemon with Lacy.

After our warm up, we all laid down and were asked to imagine a utopia where animals lived in harmony. We then created a sound scape and began to move about the room as the animal of our choosing. We then began to interact with each other.  You might be saying to yourself, “theatre people do the weirdest things!” Oh, my friend, you haven’t seen anything yet!

Soon, Delcan slowly brought the group back to a human consciousness and began to pass out a few slips of paper that had those wacky words from earlier written down on them. We were then instructed to go back to our animal sleepy spots and create a new animal based upon the words that we were handed out. We then slowly created new animals that were moving and interacting with the others in the room. Declan then asked us to find our “mate” among the group as that animal. How were we able to find our mate? Well, there were identical names given to the group and we had to interact to find our partner. Imagine EHarmony meets The Discovery Channel. 

Katie and Lacy found each other! 

We then went through an evolution. Seriously, our animals were then instructed to evolve from animals to a human in 2015. Our now newly created humans began to discover the world.  Declan posed a series of questions as our new humans walked about the room. We then sat and created a portrait without looking at what we were drawing. We then named them our characters. Rick is seen below. 

 After creating our characters, we then created a timeline from birth to death. This ended up being a tricky task. How do you decide how your character dies and when? In the course of an hour, we have experienced our characters evolve from a nonsensical name to dying right before our eyes. For me, this exercise ended up being the most emotional and reflective portion of the day’s work. There were times when I felt that perhaps I was putting a bit of my own experiences into Rick’s profile. Delcan was very clear about wanting each of these character’s to be fictional, but how do you create a fictional character that doesn’t end up including a bit of your own truth? 

Delcan with the timelines behind him.

Characters and timelines on the wall. 

Before we broke for lunch, we spent around 15 minutes writing an appreciation for our character. The set up for the appreciation was that it was not a biography nor a eulogy. It is a retrospective. We were told to imagine that this is several years after the passing of our character. The group poured their imagination on to paper. Upon completion, Delcan instructed us to put those aside and enjoy a light game of “granny’s footsteps.” It was a lovely game that broke up the heaviness of the writing. 

Upon returning from lunch, we recapped the mornings activities and went off with the rest of of the workshop. We worked on trust exercises and games that challenged our creativity and connection with each other. Our trust games consisted of sound and follow and then blind follower. For fun, we played a wall race that evolved into human sculptures across the room. 

We then moved on to a human knot exercise that the other group had to duplicate. 

After our knot duplication, we moved onto sculpture story telling. Four members took on the form of sculptures and the other members answered a series of questions that Declan posed to the group. The members then rotated, so that each member of the group had a hand in creating the description of the sculpture.  We then flip flopped and repeated the exercise.  Upon completion, we then moved on to drawing Declan’s portrait in a similar style and structure as previously done with our evolution characters. By the end of the workshops, we had another set of characters using the descriptions of our sculptures. So, in total we had 16 characters created from the day’s work. 

Our day ended with a reading of our appreciations that we created prior to the lunch break. They were lovely, humorous, tragic, and full of love. I look forward to creating a devised play with my playwriting group. They all have such heart and imagination. I know that whatever we create it will be done together and with care. I hope I have given you, my dear reader, a proper glimpse in to the physically creative world of the playwright. We are just in the early stages of our devising journey, so who knows what shape our play will take! Adventure awaits! 

[nyudublin]

On your mark. Get set. Devise! by Ashley Miskoff

Hello there friends, Ashley here. Today’s post will delve into the delightful, delicious, de-lovely world of de-vising! That’s right folks, today marks our very first day NOT spent as a whole but rather split up into our three perspective devising groups: Site-specific with Bairbre Ní Chaoimh, physical theatre with Jenny Macdonald, and playwriting with Declan Gorman. As a team of eight plus our facilitator, we are charged with working collaboratively for five full days to create original works to be shared at the end of next week at the Samuel Beckett Theatre (well, besides the site-specific group, which will…well…be presented at a specific site that is not a traditional theatre).

I’m in Declan’s playwriting devising group, which by the end of today had been renamed to the “Spoon-shaped Spaceships”(try saying that three times fast, it’s fun!). Anyway, the Spoonships and I met at rehearsal room 191 to begin work.

Side note: Room 191 used to be a horse stable at Trinity back in the day. We were first introduced to this space as being dark, dingy, and dungeon-like, needless to say we were all super thrilled to be spending the next eight plus hours devising theatre there.

Lacy and Natasha walking in for the first time!

But in reality the stables weren’t all that terrible- they even had a non-functional spiral staircase!

 I think it’s a part of the appeal. Artists tend to do their best work when given barriers to overcome (i.e. money, time, space…money). Besides, when have artists ever been given nice things anyways? #thestruggleisreal

The Collective Characters

We began our process by drawing portraits of each other. The caveat: we weren’t allowed to look down at our paper. So in pairs we had to do our best to capture our partner’s features by visualizing our drawing on the page. This task proved a challenge but also pretty hilarious. I wouldn’t classify myself as a visual artist (in any way) so for me anything other than stick figures and smiley faces gives me anxiety. But I found this exercise pretty freeing. Knowing that these drawings weren’t meant to be perfect and that none of them would actually look much like the person, allowed any inhibitions I had melt away. Fortunately for my partner Zak, his portrait came out pretty spot on. The resemblance is uncanny! 

Some more beautiful portraits! 

When we were finished, Declan extended the activity by having us choose a random portrait and give him or her a name, age, and occupation of sorts. Our very own portraits were now beginning to take form into all new characters. Then we passed around the portraits to the person next to us to add on where this character was born and where they live now. Around and around the characters went, being passed along to someone new adding on more information about this character’s life.  Some of the questions we were asked to think about and then answer for our characters were: earliest memory, most embarrassing moment, biggest fear, and when they are the happiest. When each of us had contributed we hung up our gallery of characters on the wall to get a better look. 

And just like that we created eight interesting and dynamic characters that may or may not be used or provide inspiration for us in our original play.

This was an excellent activity to set us up for collective creating. We all contributed to the life of this character individually yet built upon the ideas of others to further the story of that particular character. The end left us with 7 entry points into this character’s life that we could (and did) expand upon later.

A few of the other exercises that came out of our collective characters were:

Creating gestures/movement/ dialogue based on one of the facts about a character.

Creating three tableaux (beginning, middle, and end) based upon one of the stories we found to be intriguing about one of the characters.

Creating an improvised realism scene using dialogue based on those three tableaux

Dreams and Found Objects

A big part of this process has been exploring dreams. We did a few exercises exploring our own dreams and the dreams of our peers and then somehow combining them to make one big mess of a dream.  Reflecting our own dreams provides an excellent entry point for story ideas. Because anything could happen in a dream, we are not stifled by the limitation of space and time, rather we are given the freedom to explore unknown realms and stream of conscious thinking and writing. This in turn makes for very entertaining and fascinating stories, to say the least.

After lunch, Declan gave us instructions to go out on campus and fetch two found objects; just as long they didn’t appear to belong to anyone and could fit in the door.

This was our exhibition of found objects!

Collective Character, Dreams, and Found Objects

Between fleshing out our collective characters and exploring our own and our group member’s dreams, we did spend some time writing and creating stories. After all, we are the playwriting group. We were asked to free write a dream from the perspective of one of the characters that somehow included one of the found objects. After seven minutes we shared our dream stories and Declan extracted two juicy lines from our dreams and wrote them down.

In groups, we then created an abstract physicalized piece based on one of our lines from the character’s dream. Since it was the last activity of the day, a few Spoonship members were getting a little slap happy and had the case of the giggle fits. While it was quite entertaining, Declan could tell we just about had it for the day and released us from our first day of work. Thank you Declan and I apologize to my fellow Spoonships for the uncontrollable laughter that ensued from my piece. “I was sucked into my computer”.

Devising day one was officially over but the night was still young! Even though we were all exhausted from the day’s work, celebrations were to be had for one of our very own, Shannon’s Birthday! To commemorate this momentous occasion some of us celebrated with dinner and a show in typical theatre student fashion. 

We saw “Once the musical” at the Olympia Theatre. 

We even got a chance to visit the onstage bar at the interval for some pictures and a beverage.

Personally, this was my fourth time seeing this show and it never gets old. It was also very special to see it in Dublin where the show takes place. New meaning emerged for me having now spent almost two weeks in this city. I felt clued in on some of the inside jokes and references that only true Dubliners would pick up on. Every time I see a production of this show I feel inspired and invigorated for my own practice and for the field of theatre in general. At its core, “Once” is about life and love and all of the complexities that it brings. To paraphrase theatre professor Debra Bruch, the theatre helps us to discover and understand ourselves, our relationship with our world, and with others. By exploring the human condition through theatre, we begin to examine who we are in relationship to where we are.  To quote the birthday girl, this show “gives me all of feels”. And I couldn’t agree more.

After participating in many devised physical theatre pieces thus far on this trip, it was exciting to see similar techniques used in this show. Now to only convince Delcan to allow our group to write “Once the musical the sequel” we’d have a show up and running in no time!

For now, I’m excited and energized to continue the process of creating original projects. I can’t wait to hear from the other groups to see what they are cooking up. I’m sure that by next Wednesday we will be very proud of the work shared.

I’ll leave you all with some classic Cole Porter to get you all pumped for the next four days of work. “It’s delightful, it’s delicious, it’s delectable, it’s delirious, It’s dilemma, it’s de limit, it’s deluxe,” it’s DE-VISING!

[nyudublin]

The Greatest Day Thus Far in Ireland!  BLOG DAY!

by Katelyn Miller

Dear Blog,

It’s me, Katelyn! I’ve got the Dublin City Rambler’s playing my “favourite irish folk songs,” a cuppa tea, a buttered scone, and my new green (for Ireland, obviously) sunglasses on my head as I sit and write this from the desk in room at Trinity College and realize how well we’ve settled in here in Dublin.  (See picture below)

I bet you’re wondering how I did that….it’s the magic of the Irish! (yes, leprechauns.)

 Anyways, we had a most spectacular day!  Today, we had our final site visit to the Tallaght Community Arts, but before I begin talking about what a great day that was, I would like to take a moment to reflect back on all our previous amazing site visits, as they have all been wonderful! (Again, look at those beauties below!  They include pictures from DublinBelfastGiantsCausewayPlasticDomeJohnnieFoxAbbeyTheatreWalkingTourUpstateTheatreProjectDalkeyCastleandHeritageCenterandMORE!  It’s truly amazing how much we’ve done!)

Now, for the meat of it! The day began with a ride on LUAS (pronounced “LEWIS” or “LOUIS,” regardless, it made me want to talk to tram as if it was an old man).  On Louie, we traveled through the land of Irish suburbia and strip malls galore to find ourselves at the quaint, modern, beautiful Tallaght Community Arts Center. There we immediately re-caffeinated our tired selves at their lovely café.  Tony Fegan and Jennifer Webster, (whom we met when we went to Johnnie Fox’s and heard her dad’s band play), gave us a great overview of what they do and how they work.  For me, it was incredibly helpful and very illuminating as far as what “Community-Engaged Theatre” can look like.  My huge take-away was from Jen was from her emphasis on focusing on the process, relinquishing control, the belief in the participants and project, and enjoyment. I took a ton of notes because she was spectacular with her practical, straightforward advice (If you are interested in said notes, please comment below with your name and email address and we will promptly get you those).

Possibly my favorite example of relinquishing control, was when she had the students talk about the various projects that they had been involved in.  These students: Kelvin, Vlad, Neil, Rhiaden, Ken, Charlie, Heather, and Alex, also collaborated with us in devising original pieces about Patrick Pearse.  

Brief background on Patrick Pearse: He was a teacher and revolutionary who participated in the 1916 Easter Rising and was subsequently executed for it.  He started a private school that encouraged bilingualism (Irish & English), the arts, and creativity!  He was simply a great guy!

After given a brief overview of what his school was like and how his students would collaborate and put on performances (for funding and in the name of creativity), we separated into two groups to create devised pieces.  Our objective was to use the talents of the participants in our groups, and create a piece that captured the students of Pearse’s school as they anxiously awaited his arrival back from the United States.  I created a video that includes pieces of both group’s devised performances and Tony Fegan reading an essay by Patrick Pearse.  The video does not include the whole performances or the whole essay, but will give you a peak into the work we’ve been doing. Enjoy!  

Also, here’s some more photos!

After our lovely morning with Tallaght, we returned to the Trinity Campus and had individual meetings with our tutors to discuss….well, that’s private….However!  I will tell you what mine was about!  We discussed my journal and reflections, and how I felt I was doing in the program!  It was lovely!  Below are my pictures of the tutoring meetings that I sneakily took, without anyone realizing and without disturbing the privacy of their meetings.

After tutor meetings, like a good NYU Steinhardt student, I immediately went back to room and began my work on this very BLOG!  Yay! However, some other, less studious students discovered a game being played right outside our doors.  Since I included a photo of myself writing this blog, I also included a video of this sport:

It appears that perhaps what the Irish call “Football” and Americans call “Soccer” have more differences than we thought…..

The final part of our spectacular day was spent at the Gate Theatre, seeing Brian Friel’s adaptation of A Month in the Country by Ivan Turgenev.  

(Photo Credit: http://www.gatetheatre.ie/production/AMonthInTheCountry2015)

A Month in the Country is centered around a rich housewife, who, out of boredom or some underlying unresolved issues from her childhood, welcomes the admiration of Michel, a friend of her husbands.  However, she finds herself falling for her son’s new, young, handsome tutor, and schemes to rid herself of her ward, Vera, who has also developed feelings for the tutor. Then, there are the charming servants, a hilarious doctor (“A Pair of Curtains goes to see the Doctor, complaining of not feeling well, the doctor says, “Pull yourself together , man!”), a cute husband, a 54 year old virgin and some other great supporting characters.

I adored this show.  The performances were phenomenal, particularly the role of Natalya Petrovna played by Aislin McGuckin.  During intermission, I found myself exchanging, “wow’s” with the members of the audience.  The scene design was great and the set wonderfully utilized.  The scene changes were fun and seamless.  The whole production was absolutely great.  The play was heart-breaking, funny, surprising, and kept me riveted throughout.  Truly though, for me, what carried the show was the amazing, quality acting done by the entire cast.  What a great ensemble!  I would recommend it for anyone who can get over to Dublin before it closes on August 29th. Also, just another little tidbit: the theatre is adorable and served delightful tea (though you could also get a Guinness, if that’s more to your liking!)

Rachel and I met Aislin McGuckin after the show!!!!!! Haila did not.

Thus ends another spectacular day in Eire!  Just look at this 10:30pm Sky!

[nyudublin]

Confessions of a Scooter a.k.a. “Ralph”

Approximately 11 days ago, a strange American named Nick Linnehan became my champion. We’ve had many great adventures together thus far. Some of the highlights have been off-roading on cobblestone streets (they’re hard on my legs), almost running over tourists daily, and climbing Giants Causeway (What a hill, but no problem for a noble steed like myself). I even made a cameo in a theater piece that my champion appeared in, which was my stage debut. I hope I didn’t let him down!

Notice how he’s the only one smiling?!

Today, we had a morning off where I had plenty of time to charge my batteries. (Boy, I think we all needed that!) After a morning of leisure, we went on another adventure (these Americans are sure giving me a workout!) to Dalkey Castle. We had to take a train there and they all seemed to relish taking tons of “selfies” (I don’t know why I haven’t been in more of them)

Then, as if that wasn’t bad enough, this girl mounted me and tried to ride me. You Americans are so impolite!

Thank goodness the train came before anyone else got any ideas. After some lifting (I need to go on a diet) from a noble chap named Andrew, we boarded the train where I got yet another rest. Once we arrived, we were ushered through a very picturesque city and rode down some non-cobblestone streets (yay) and arrived at the majestic-looking castle.

As we were riding along, I had a chance to reflect on how lucky you all are for this time in Ireland. I’ve been many places and I can truly say that there’s “no place like home.” I hope you all are taking the time to enjoy this beautiful land. The Emerald Isle is a magical place and we are glad you are here. I know your days have been quite long and that you are all needing some well-deserved rest, but please try to remember this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. So stay positive, hydrated, and have a blast while you’re here

OK, sorry, I digress. Anyway, back at the castle we were greeted by a gallant knight.

(Cute, isn’t he?) He took us back in time to a place long before the parts for me were ever ordered. Some of you were showing off your skills with the long bow.

Ready, aim, fire!

The next part I did not accompany you on, but I hear that you met a Barber/Doctor and a Cook. I wouldn’t advise going to this Doctor as his practices seem a little obsolete. I’m not sure why my champion would sit in his chair. I guess Americans are not that smart.

The cook taught us a tune “Yummy, Yummy, Yummy, Turkey in my tummy.” How cute. All of her feast preparations must have made you all hungry. I however only eat electricity, which does not sound nearly as appetizing as the many foods she was describing.

Now, interestingly, I overheard my champion saying that she was using her cell phone when she was not entertaining you all. I did not know that they used these devices, that you all can’t seem to live without, in the Middle Ages. I’ve noticed that at every function, even at dinner, you all have your phones firmly planted in your hands. I remember the day when this was not an option, and people had to talk to each other. Take my advice, don’t let worrying about what’s happening everywhere else block you from enjoying what’s unfolding right in front you. It can wait, but the people you are with right here right now will only be here once. Remember, the present is a gift -- that’s why it is called a present.

Again, I digress. My motors running on over-drive. You all have been learning about Theatre in Education. Today, was a great lesson in being in “role”. These educators really made history come alive by bringing engaging and enchanting characters to life. I could see why this type of museum education is valuable. Rather than letting you all simply read about the History of this place, they acted it out and brought it to life. This would make it much more accessible for younger audiences, as it becomes tangible. Making this practical versus conceptual seems to be an effective teaching technique; it seems that if people are having fun, they don’t realize that they are actually learning. Making learning come alive is definitely something to keep in mind as we go forward. (I remember hearing my champion, rehearsing for his turn as Sean O’Casey for class, and that seemed to go over well. I’m not bragging, just relaying comments. Well, maybe I’m bragging a little. After all, he is MY champion)

Next, I rejoined you as we went on a walking tour of the area. What an affluent neighborhood we were in!

I’d like to live here.

As we were walking in this area, I wondered of its socio-economic status (Hey, Scooters can use big words) had any relation to the type of immersive education that we saw at the museum. From my travels, I realized that those immersive educational experiences and innovative learning techniques tend to happen in more upper-class areas, while lower-class areas do not get the benefits of these types of experiences. Jonathan Kozol, author of Savage Inequalities, shows us that students from lower income areas do not receive the same quality of education and experiences as those in upper-class areas. Would the type of learning that happened at the museum happen in lower-class areas? Would students from these areas experience the same thing? I certainly hope so, but wonder if the community’s monetary wealth afforded their students more opportunities than those of lower-class neighborhoods? Do students from lower-class areas get to experience the castle and museum equally? Sadly, I do not think so, but have no proof to back that up. So these remain questions for now. (Who knew scooters could be so deep?)

Finally, we returned to Trinity College. Again, thanks to the help of “HE-MAN” Andrew, I made it on and off of the train.

What a Guy! Now, I sit in my room, plugged into 900 volts of electricity and happy to have shared my confessions with all of you.

Sincerely,

Ralph

p.s. this is what happens to those who cross me

another one bites the dust!

“I’ll get you, my pretty”

You know what you did! RUDE!

[nyudublin]

Confessions of a Scooter a.k.a “Ralph

[nyudublin]

aint I a fine looking fellow?

[nyudublin]

Borders: Thinking About Them, Crossing Them and Thinking About Them Some More

Blogger for Tuesday, July 7: Emily Schorr Lesnick

Our final day in Belfast has me pondering the theme of borders. Belfast as a city straddles many borders, the biggest border being between past and present. How much of the past of The Troubles should this city hold onto? How much should be left behind? I won’t go much into The Troubles, and there isn’t one narrative, but the concrete and psychic borders between Nationalist and Loyalist, Catholic and Protestant, were established and maintained and fought over for 30+ years. Interfaces were built to separate neighborhoods, and many of these walls remain, reinforcing borders between Us and Them. Over the past few days, I have tried to understand the context and the lived experiences of The Troubles. I have learned so much and formed so many questions. Borders within ourselves have also been stretched.

Returning to this question of past and present, we began our day at the Victoria Square Mall. This mall is quite new and thus has no memory of The Troubles. The mall, like most, represents values of consumerism over all. You might ask: “so then why would you go there?” Well, Dear Reader, we went there for two reasons:

1) We went to the top of the Mall, enclosed in a plastic dome, to see the city from above and gain a new context.

2) We went to devise theatre!

Theatre? In a mall? I mean, who selects community-significant places anyway? Mall theatre can be done! And it was!

Actor, facilitator, Belfast native and our guide for this part of the trip Jonathan Harden presented us with a challenge, a “Human Scavenger Hunt” of sorts. In groups of six, we walked around the vicinity of the mall with the intention of connecting with another person, getting their name and learning about their relationship to the place they were in. Why were they there? Had they been there before? Our group decided to go to Card Factory, a greeting card emporium of sorts. We asked people browsing and working about why they came to that store, if they had been there before. Thank you to Jenny, Sean, Sean, Callum, Lorkin and Hazel, the lovely people who chatted with us! In talking with people, we stretched the borders of tourist, as we weren’t just passively experiencing Belfast, but engaging. And as someone who grew up with a politician for a father (Hi, Dad/Chuck!), I felt happy talking with others.

Our work wasn’t done, however! Our collecting of stories became part of a larger devising piece. Yes, we devised site-specific theatre at a mall. Our parameters from Jonathan were:

- Find PLACE NOT YET COMPLETED

- Re-imagine this space as one of the significant places captured in the first exercise that has been destroyed/demolished and is now being rebuilt with a new purpose

- Include two ‘characters’ you encountered in Part 1, one of which must be identifiably outside of the narrative (looking on)

- No spoken words

- 1 still image

- 1 slow motion section

- Clear beginning, middle, and end

- Be respectful/mindful of the life of the space

- Ensure you select a safe place to perform/spectate.

My group imagined a story of contrast between two different greeting card stores and we utilized a crumbling old British phone booth. Here’s a picture!

(Photo credit: Nicole Abramowitz Gebler)

Other groups brought new meaning to alley ways and highly trafficked stairs. Some groups directly portrayed the history of Belfast; others portrayed a more contemporary view. Most interesting was watching “the public” make sense the art. Some were confused, others intrigued. Those passersby crossed a border into spectator.

Afterwards, Jonathan congratulated us and talked about our new ownership of the space. As we shared affirmations and reflections, Jonathan also asked for feedback on his own framing of the exercise, blurring his own borders between facilitator and learner. Throughout the day, we tiptoed along the borders of insider and outsider. Do I have a claim to this city? I’m not sure…

I pondered these questions (and my broad question of borders) with my pals Ashley and Felicia at lunch. We ate at the NATIVE cafe in the lobby of MAC, an arts venue and culture center that we would explore though the afternoon.

MAC was an incredibly impressive space. Our expert guide Julie, who works in front of house, led us through the space. MAC’s facilities include galleries, theatres, meeting spaces, the cafe, multimedia collaborative spaces and offices. While there are specifically purposed spaces, what happens within the boundaries of those spaces is not always fixed. Julie let us know that the MAC has multiple entrances so as not to turn their back on any part of Belfast. The responsibility of being a community space means all the community feels access. Borders to access must be smashed!

Julie first took us through a powerful visual art exhibit called I Will Go There, Take Me Home, which “explores 'the end of things'; the end of personal and social empires, not particularly in regard to colonialism but rather the apocalyptic element inherent in their destruction- the failure of philosophies, the failure of systems, and the failure of people....One thing that Brzeski, Ghenie and Hugo all share with the curator is that they come from countries that have experienced relatively recent and often violent upheaval. They also put this to use. Assimilating personal and collective memory in these circumstances can be problematic…” The exhibit was spread across three galleries on three different floors. All three of the artists, from Poland, Romania and South Africa, respectively (with a North Irish curator) wrestle with the borders of personal and community history, between fear and hope. Here is some of the powerful art.

(Combustion by Olaf Brzeski)

Interspersed between the galleries, we visited the two theatre spaces, one of which is a 120-seat house and the other which seats 350 people. As Julie said of the smaller black box: "all performance aren't going to be massive, sell-out, massive Book of Mormon. And that's still valid and that's what this space is for." Julie also chuckled about the interplay between audiences who might be in the same space to see two very different shows, perhaps a mainstream larger show and an avant-garde performance, all in the same lobby.

Some more MAC theatre facts:

-The MAC’s theatres host approximately 60% touring shows and 40% completely MAC-produced shows.

-Funding comes from The Arts Council, but with cuts, ticket prices could rise from between £3-£35 to much much higher. This would make accessibility a real challenge.

(Smaller theatre, photo credit Felicia Santiago)

As our tour wound down, we met with Ciaran McQuillan, a former classmate of Jonathan’s (remember Jonathan?). He spoke with us about his work as the “Learning and Participation Officer,” basically doing community-engaged and educational theatre! He said his job is to remove barriers for people to enjoy the work and to make work. It was like he *knew* the theme of today’s blog! But the barriers are real and they change depending on context. For the MAC, the main barriers are that they are new and relatively unknown or locals don't know what they do. Additionally, they produce more contemporary and challenging visual art and theatre, which can be a barrier for audiences. And of course, the context of being 300 yards from an interface and the historical legacy of their neighborhood is another potential barrier. There are also barriers that are linked to fears for the future of community-engaged theatre in Belfast: the real fear of not having a government, the fear of political history becoming present, the statistic of 1 in 5 young people out of work and training, and theatre being perceived as an excessive luxury.

However, Ciaran works with intention to anticipate and remove those barriers. As he sums it up: "This is a civic building where we want to have difficult conversations that need to be had."

If you are in Belfast, you must check out The MAC. It’s only been open since 2012, and yet it was already nominated for Museum of the Year!

We had to take a quick break, as some of us were crossing the border from awake to asleep! (This work is both nourishing and exhausting.) 

(Photo Credit Nicole Abramowitz Gebler)

During that break, my classmate Haila and I chatted about these boundaries and borders, still trying to wrap our minds around how a city continues with a fence that closes off parts of the city at night (or permanently in some cases).

With this special space around us and within us, we entered into our final project in Belfast: creating a community arts pitch for MAC. That’s right, we had to apply theatre! Quite a day! In small groups, we dreamt up programs and initiatives that be a good fit for the MAC and the populations they serve. (This was also good practice for one of our upcoming assignments, an Applied Theatre Prospectus.) Our proposal had to include an Overview with Key Questions, Background & Significance, Practicalities and a Timeline. We only had 20 minutes to brainstorms and 5 minutes to present, after which we received thoughtful questions and feedback from our tutors. This activity was an opportunity to think about the ways we might erase borders between theory and practice, between The MAC and “the community,” and our own positions between outsiders and collaborators. How can global education cross borders of nation while not overstepping our borders of respect? (These are questions I have thought about and want to give a personal shout-out to LINEglobal for being instrumental in my thought and experience). To answer this question, my classmates came up with some creative, respectful and innovative ideas! After that rapidfire simulation, we left The Mac.

I left Belfast with a fuller heart and with deep gladness for my experience. We boarded the bus, some classmates sang songs inspired by flump, and without any fanfare, we crossed the border from Northern Ireland into Ireland.

[nyudublin]

Applied Basalt Theatre

Excited to Be at the Causeway (Photo Credit: Josephine Cho)  

6 July 2015

By Betsy Kuehl

   On Monday we made the incredibly popular pilgrimage from Belfast to the famous Giant’s Causeway, a World Heritage Site that consists of beautiful basalt stone columns.   What makes volcanic rock special?  It’s volcanic origin of course!

Hexagonal Stones (Photo Credit: Tory Bentz)

As we all know from third grade science class, the separation of Earth’s tectonic plates, of which it has many, makes heat and causes the mantle underneath Earth’s crust to melt.  The resulting material is known as magma.  As hot magma collects under the earth’s surface, pressure begins to build and the volcano erupts.  What makes the stones of Giant’s Causeway particularly beautiful are not just its uniquely shaped columns and breathtaking green scenery, although both are mighty to behold indeed.  The core of the Causeway’s beauty for me was the spectacular way through which they came into existence: suddenly, explosively and unapologetically.

(Photo Credit: Haila VanHentenryck)

        Our trip to the Causeway began early.  At nine o’clock a group of 24 half zombies boarded the bus bound for Giant’s Causeway. We had little idea of what to expect from our Causeway visit other than a hint on our itinerary that left room in the afternoon for devising.  Upon arrival our ensemble explored the visitor’s center museum where we familiarized ourselves with the origin of the columns from both geological and mythological standpoints.  Much like the columns’ actual epic entrance into the world, the myth surrounding its existence is equally exciting.  Two giants boast to each other from across the sea and threaten to thrash the other.  Finn, the Irish giant, challenges Benandonner, the Scottish giant, by creating a bridge out of stone to Scotland so that Benandonner may come over.  Upon seeing the enormity of the Scottish giant, Finn runs home to his wife who dresses him up like a baby to prevent a sound beating from Benandonner.  The plan succeeds and Benandonner kicks up the stones of the bridge, as he fleas from the house, assuming that only a truly giant man could have such a giant baby.

        Whichever origin story one may prefer, these unique, hexagonal stones are shrouded in mystery, myth and wonder for all those who visit.  I set about the post- museum walk wondering how these stones may speak to me.  Luckily, our tutors suggested that we begin by allowing to stones in sink in corporeally.  The initial experience of walking on and touching the stones was incredibly humbling.  How many others have walked and talked and touched before I did so?  How many others that were not human?  How had these ancient formations changed throughout their fifty million years on this planet?  To me, these stones did not scream museum piece.  They were living, ever changing, constantly shifting minerals subject to weathering, the tides of the ocean, the movement of the Earth and, possibly, the movement of the Earth’s creatures.  These are not staid formations but pieces that have been affected by the atmosphere around them since they exploded into existence.  Perhaps it is this perspective that made our next task so fun and incredibly vital.

    (Photo Credit: Haila VanHentenryck)         

   Many of us were reluctantly dragged away from our hiking exploration of Giant’s Causeway to begin devising performance work to share.   We began by singing a Nigerian nonsense song in a round, which helped to gather and focus the energy for the work that was about to begin.  Our instructor them prompted us to create a piece based on the mythology origin, the scientific origin, or the overall atmosphere of Giant’s Causeway.  Each piece had to have a moment of slow motion, an abstraction, sound, and a technique we learned from the Upstate Theatre Project workshop.  My group gravitated towards the mythological origin story and began by listing images that stood out to us in the story.  We all agreed that the wife, who becomes the hero of this particular story, was a fascinating character and that informed our exploration of the myth in our performance.  We began by crafting the Scottish giant, in his entire gory splendor, as a creature born out of the rocks.  We then added a character that, while exploring the Causeway, encounters the giant singing a kind of siren’s song, which entices him further.  Finally, the scene devolves and, while the giants made of stone takes pieces of the man, the man devolves into the stone itself.

(Photo Credit: Haila VanHentenryck)

        Other groups had various perspectives in their pieces.  One group created a sound and movement scape of the atmospheric feel of the Causeway.  Another had a beautiful moment of connection amidst clear differences in groups of giants.  A third group gave a presence to the ancient volcano from which the Causeway was born.  Not only did each group find active and dynamic ways to engage with the scenery, but they also tapped in to something primal and tribal with each piece.  It was as if each person was adding his or her piece to the creation story of the causeway.

An atmospheric exploration (Photo Credit: Haila VanHentenryck)

Giants Meeting on the Causeway (Photo Credit: Haila VanHentenryck)

During the sharing of these scenes, perhaps the most fascinating thing to watch was the reaction of the unintentional audience members.  While we were performing, onlookers passing by were extremely curious about what we were doing and why.  These people would look over their shoulders with intense curiosity and continue to move as their sense of propriety (or fear) carried them forward.  A man and his daughters sat for a while and watched the performers, not entirely sure that it was their space to be occupying but content to watch for the time being.  Tourists moved gruffly from spaces we occupied or walked over to us briskly to inquire about the work being done.

(Photo Credit: Tory Bentz)

I have been thinking a lot about how we, as people, engage differently with pieces when they are behind closed doors.  Our audio tour guide suggested that, for our own safety, it was best that we remained on the path.  As nearly every visitor diverted from the given path, this act of transgression seemed, to me, a very playful act of defiance.  Why follow the rules of engagement when, by doing so, you miss out on an incredible experience of real life connection?  Perhaps we all arrive at a deeper meaning when we allow ourselves to transgress the typical guidelines of propriety and play a little.  Giant’s Causeway exists because the earth shifts and moves and changes. What better way to honor its existence than by moving, changing and shifting with it?  These stones were not passive in their formation so it stands to reason that its visitors, present and future, should not be passive in their interaction with them.  There is a difference between standing on a stone and allowing it to support you.  There is a difference between observing a stone and allowing it to play with you.  Our ensemble did not simply stare at the rocks or gaze at them through the lenses of our phone cameras.  We allowed these rocks to inspire us and move us to create a performance.

(Photo Credit: Emily Schorr Lesnick)

While debriefing our performances, one classmate pointed out that the activity reminded her of how incredibly accessible theatre can be to anyone at anytime.  I loved that people just touring were drawn to our performances and took the time to watch some of them.  It reminded me that theatre, much like the Causeway itself, is not so sacred.  In fact, the continued growth of both practice and site rely heavily on the people who dare to step into a space and change it.  It reminded me how vital it is for people to be given the opportunity to truly make their own personal meaning when interacting with a site or piece.  Because these stones would not be where they were today, in this moment, on this particular afternoon without the rest of the Earth moving and shifting its plates over and over, we cannot be content to allow the Causeway to slip by unacknowledged as the ever changing entity that it is.  Far from a museum piece behind closed doors, the Causeway invites exploration, play, imagination and fun.  It asks you to leave a part of yourself there so that change and movement can continue forward.  Nothing on this Earth stays the same.

[nyudublin]

Myth and Science: Worlds Colliding at the Giant’s Causeway

[July 6th, 2015]

[brought to you by Natasha Knorr]

An example of one scenic view outside of our bus’ window on the way to the Causeway.

Link to the video (which seems to play at the bottom of this post if you scroll down):

https://vimeo.com/45569144

Here, Lacy enjoys one of the many interactive portions of the exhibit. 

Matching raincoats at lunch!

A panorama shot from the walk leading down to the Causeway

An example of the hexagon columns that make the Causeway famous

Glamour shot

Betsy and Ashley help show the scale of the Causeway

[nyudublin]

Troubles and Triumphs!  NYU’s Adventures in Belfast

By Rachel Gubow

July 5, 2015

We must understand the history of a place in order to understand its present. This is especially true of Northern Ireland and the city of Belfast.  But what is best for the community: to remember the hard times or try to forget? Come along, dear readers, as I expand upon what my lovely co-blogger Sam has written and provide perspective from the other side of the bus!

After enjoying our daily breakfast at The Buttery, our group departed from Trinity’s campus to venture toward our British neighbors in the north.  We rode in style on a private coach and had an opportunity to enjoy the eye candy that is the beautiful Irish countryside.  It’s not called the Emerald Isle for nothing! Rolling hills, patchwork farmland, and quaint country homes looked like illustrations from a storybook.  In true fieldtrip fashion, the quiet, front-of-the-bus students enjoyed a morning nap, while the party people in the back took to some intense games of charades to pass the time during our two-hour drive to Belfast.

Though the largest city in Northern Ireland, Belfast only has a population of about 300,000 people with roughly 600,000 in the greater Belfast area. After exploring the Queens Quarter for lunch (aptly named for the nearby Queens University) we were fortunate enough to get a grand tour of the town.  We knew we were in good hands with Belfast’s born-and-bread Jonathan Harden as our tour guide.  Jonathan worked as a professor at both University of Ulster and Queen’s University Belfast and is now an actor living in South London.  Jonathan’s enthusiasm for where he grew up and his connection to the city’s rich and troubled past made the history personal and meaningful to learn about.

In order to see all there was to see, we took our tour from the bus.  Despite the convenience, everyone knows what trouble it is to take pictures from the bus.  It’s a tricky thing to get just right.  Alas, we came to terms with the inevitable photo glare and journeyed onward!

To appreciate Belfast today, we first had to understand Belfast’s difficult history, what is called “The Troubles.”  Many site October 5th 1969 as the date the conflict started (understanding there was considerably more conflict pre 1916 when Ireland gained independence from the British Empire and split from Northern Ireland).  A confrontation between police and civil rights protestors erupted in battle, instigating the British army to come in and be placed on active service. The army stayed on service, policing Belfast and other Northern Irish towns until 2007!  Those policing the cities were primarily Protestant loyalists (loyal to Britain) and were discriminatory against Catholic nationalists who favored an independent Irish Republic.  In Northern Ireland the Catholics were a minority population and life was made very difficult for them. Catholics did not have voting rights, were not offered fair employment, and lacked housing.  The fighting, bombings, shootings, and hunger strikes that followed 1969 made national news and framed the way the rest of the world saw Belfast and continues to impact the negative perspectives people have about the city.

With all this in mind, we set off to see the town!  Here are some of the highlights:

The Golden Mile: “The Times Square of Belfast.”  Before 1969 this area was the hub of entertainment, but after the conflict broke out people avoided this space.  There truly was nothing to do in the city center; no shops, no pedestrian traffic.  This began to change in 1994.

Statue of Henry Cook: He is facing away from the educational institution behind him because he did not want Catholics to have the rights to learn there.

City Hall:  The beautiful green roofed building houses Belfast’s current local government.

Albert Clock: This clock tower is actually leaning because it was built on wetland.  Engineers have since fixed the foundational problem, but the tower is still off by 8 degrees.  An old wives tale claims that the clock tower started leaning from the prostitutes who used to stand leaning up against it, though Jonathan says there is no evidence to support the claims of this lore.

Titanic Dock:  The Titanic was constructed and worked on right here in Belfast!  This town has a proud industrial past, in that it guaranteed employment for Protestant men.  And as they say about the Titanic, “She was fine when she left here!”

The Nuala with the Hula: This gorgeous and large wire angel statue is just one of many landmarks on this island that have acquired weird and wonderful nicknames.  It is a representation of hope in the city now.

Crumlin Street: A dividing line between the Protestant loyalists and Catholic Nationalists in the city.  You can see very clearly the British flags displayed on one side.

Crumlin Jail: A hauntingly beautiful but dilapidated building that was home to terrible torture, pain, and imprisonment.  The jail has been closed for many years and no one can agree on what to do with the building.  The phraseology “send you down” was coined at this jail when prisoners were sent down in the building and never seen again.

Though much of the history we learned about is heavy, Jonathan made sure to inform us about the lighter fair in the city.  People in Belfast evidently love a “hollow boast” and enjoy their little victories like having the largest plastic dome in Europe as well as housing two buildings that have earned “biggest eyesore” awards.

Also, being the jokester he is, Jonathan informed us through the bus microphone, “If you take anything away from this town. . .put it back.”

One of the most meaningful and interesting stops today was at the peace wall; a graffiti covered divider, spanning miles, that split the city and isolated groups of different ideologies.  The wall was put in place by the localized British Army to prevent mobilization, to inspire fear, and to maintain power.  Today you can see how local artists have tried to reclaim the space and citizens and tourists alike add their name to the wall to take ownership of this place.  The peace wall is still limiting mobility in the city along with gates that city officials and police forces decide when to open.  Many individuals question the presence of the wall today and ask if its mere existence continues to cause conflict.

After the tour we had an opportunity to visit the Ulster museum to see more in writing about the troubles of Belfast’s past along with the vibrant cultural center it is becoming.  People did not used to come to Belfast.  As Jonathan described his upbringing, his parents did not want to let him out of their sight and there was nothing much to do in the town. Though relations today have improved, there is still animosity, prejudices, and discrimination amongst Catholic and Protestant populations.  It is wonderful to see now there are tourists and visitors coming to experience the interesting and complicated political, economic, religious, and historical trials and tribulations of this town and country.

As the city moves forward to write a new chapter, the citizens will need to ask the question How do you commemorate Northern Irelands troubles?  What is more important: remember or forgetting?

So how does this all relate to community-engaged theatre?  As facilitators and theatre practitioners, we are always entering new that are foreign and unknown to us.  Our identity and culture may differ greatly from the individuals partaking in the drama.  It is imperative to understand where their histories and culture to be able to provide the comprehensive and appropriate facilitation possible.

It was a fabulous day and we were all so grateful to Jonathan for sharing his beautiful city with us.