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27th
William Inge Theatre Festival Workshop and Panel
Descriptions
(Check Frequently for updates
and changes)
On Writing:
Master
Playwriting
Workshops:
Each of
this year's honorees offers a workshop on the art of
playwriting. Spectators welcome.
Christopher Durang
Sat.: 10:30
AM Room
AC200
Adam Bock:
Sat.: 2:00
PM Room
CLC East
Director/Playwright Collaboration:
Gigi Bolt
moderates a lively
discussion between working playwrights and directors on how
different collaborations work and drawing the line between
who does what. Features writers: Alice Tuan, Adam Kraar, Marcia
Cebulska, Dawson Moore, and directors: Michael
Pressman, Jack Cummings, Peter Ellenstein and Luke Yankee.
Sat.: 3:30 PM Room
AC200
Otis
Guernsey New Voices Play Discussion: The
Flowers a play by the 2008 Otis Guernsey New Voices Playwriting
Award-Winner Adam Bock, is the subject of discussion
with the writer and
Director Jack Cummings and Members of the cast. Fri.:
9:00AM. Room AC200
Readings: The Agony and the Ecstasy:
Playwright-in-Residence Adam Kraar leads this workshop for
playwrights to explore strategies for getting a good reading
of your play, whether your purpose is to hear the script or
interest producers in your play. Topics will include:
organizing a reading, the role of the director, casting,
staged versus sit-down readings, the misuses of readings,
and the specific value to playwrights of a strong reading.
Thurs.:
9:00AM Room AC200
Generating New Text: Playwright-in-Residence
Alice Tuan invites
you to come start a new play with a writing exercise that
will prompt you towards surprise.
Bring paper and writing utensil.
All levels welcome.
Thurs.: 10:30 AM
Board Room, Administration
Building
Your First Ten Pages:
Three writer participants will be chosen from the group to
read their 10 page one-act play (or the first ten pages of a
full length). The readings will be followed by a discussion
of exposition and audience expectation at the beginning of a play.
Those wishing to participate must bring 5 copies of their
play. Those wishing to work as playwrights, volunteer
readers and audience participants are all welcome.
Guest Artist John Augustine leads the workshop.
Sat.: 9:00
AM Room FA114
Creating
Compelling
Characters are the soul of any script. How
does one go about creating truly memorable and dynamic
characters? Participants may bring along problematic
character ideas to work on. Lead by past
Playwright-in-Residence Marcia Cebulska.
Thurs.:
2:00 PM Room
FA114
Writing a Short Play The tools necessary for
creating a short play. Lead by the director of the
Last Frontier Theatre Festival, Dawson Moore..
Thurs.:
3:30 PM,
Room AC104
The
Craft of Exposition A workshop on how to keep your
exposition from seeming like exposition.. Lead by the
director of the Last Frontier Theatre Festival, Dawson
Moore.
Fri.: 3:30 PM
Room FA114
Marketing
Your Script--Now that you've created your
work of incomparable craft and indescribable genius, how do
you bring it to the attention of the world? Or at
least of one nice producer.
Lead by past Playwright-in-Residence Marcia Cebulska
Fri.: 2:00 PM Room
FA114
"The Flowers" Discussion: Otis
Guernsey New Voices award Playwright Adam Bock, Director
Jack Cummings and members of the cast lead a discussion of
the previous nights presentation of Mr. Bock's new play.
Fri.:
9:00AM.
Room CLC East
Becoming Emily Dickinson:
Actor/playwright, Barbara Dana, leads this workshop
on how to portray a well-known person from another time. How
do you get under her skin? How do you make him "live"? She
will share her process in writing her new novel, "A Voice of
Her Own", based on the young life of Emily Dickinson, and
as an actor in preparing the play Emily in the "Belle
of Amherst."
Who would you like to portray? You are invited to
begin! Bring a pencil and paper.
Thurs.:
2:00 PM,
Room AC113
What
Keeps Us Going:
Writing a Part for
Yourself and Playing It: Elizabeth Wilson
and Barbara Dana will read Dana's new one-act play, "What
Keeps Us Going", directed by Anthony Arkin. The three will
discuss the process of developing a new play from the point
of view of the actor, director, and playwright, and how a
actor can get things going by writing a role for herself.
Thurs.:
2:00 PM,
Room AC113
On
Directors and Directing:
Directing:
Workshops with Michael Pressman, director of the recent
"Come Back, Little Sheba" on Broadway. Jack Cummings,
Artistic Director of The Transport Group.
Directing
William Inge:
A panel discussion focusing on how different directors
approach the work of William Inge; with Michael Pressman, director of the recent
"Come Back, Little Sheba" on Broadway. Jack Cummings,
Artistic Director of "Requiem for William" and "The Dark at
the Top of the Stairs" in New York, and Michele Pawk,
director of the current Inge Center production "Picnic".
Fri.: 2:00 PM
Room AC104
Directing on Stage Vs. Film: Directing for
the Stage vs Directing for film an analysis of both
artistic and career issues by Michael Pressman, whose work
has had great success in both media
.
Sat..:
2:00 PM Room AC102
Director/Playwright Collaboration:
A lively
discussion between working playwrights and directors on how
different collaborations work and drawing the line between
who does what. Moderated by Gigi Bolt. Features writers:
Alice Tuan, Adam
Kraar, Dawson Moore, Marcia
Cebulska, and directors: Michael
Pressman, Jack Cummings, Peter Ellenstein and Luke Yankee.
Sat.: 3:30 PM Room
AC104
Directing for Video, Film, and TV: What are the
responsibilities of a Director for video, film, and TV?
What are the business realities of getting the job
and fulfilling the requirements of this key creative
position? This
seminar defines, compares, and contrasts the
responsibilities of the Director for video, film and TV and
what it takes to get the job and keep the job.
Katherine Billings leads the workshop.
Thurs.:
3:30 PM Room AC103
The Art of Reinventing Yourself.
Are you an actor who wants to direct? A teacher who
wants to write? A writer who wants to produce?
This workshop will help you discover how to get out
of your own way and explore talents you never even knew you
had. Workshop lead by
Luke Yankee & Don Hill. Sat.: 2:00 PM Room FA114
On Actors
and Acting:
Scene and Monologue
Coaching:
Veteran stage and
screen actors provide hands-on instruction for
actors who bring in scenes and monologues. Those wishing to work on scenes or monologues should bring two
copies of their script, one for the workshop leader and one
to make notes on.
Thurs.:
3:30 PM, Room FA114, Fri.: 2:00 PM
Room FA101 Music Hall, Sat.: 9:00 AM
Room FA101 Music Hall
Movement
for the Stage:
In this workshop, Guest Artist Amanda white will use the
Viewpoints method as a foundation for teaching theatrical
movement exercises. Viewpoints, established and expanded by
such stage artists as Anne Bogart, Tina Landau and Alex
Billings, is a way to explore one's relationships in the
performance space; we will explore the Viewpoints of
architecture, spacial relationship, shape, gesture, tempo,
duration, repetition and kinesthetic response. Please wear
comfortable clothing for movement. Thurs.:
9:00 AM Room FA101
Music Hall
Musical
Theatre Auditioning and Performing:
Hands on musical theatre performance workshops with an
amazing group of award-winning performers from Broadway and
Hollywood: Kaitlin Hopkins and Jim Price, Michele Pawk,
Harvey Evans and
Wayne Bryan, with musical director Paul Baker.
These
musical performance workshops focuse on each student’s
prepared song or duet: how to get it to the next level by
exploring ways to break down songs and make strong, specific
choices that will serve the character.
This class is geared toward the actor/singer who
wants to work on auditioning for and performing in musicals.
While the main focus of these workshops is the
one-on-one work sessions, we also cover working in musical
theater on Broadway today: how to get started, and what is
expected of you when you work at the Broadway level.
Spectators welcome and participants
should
bring a song and sheet music they know well and would like
to work on.
Thurs.:
10:30 AM & 3:30 PM, Fri.: 9:00 AM & 2:00 PM, Sat.:
10:30 AM Room FA101
Music Hall
Acting
Master Class
The
focus of this dynamic workshop is one-on-one work sessions
where students work on prepared monologues or scenes.
This is a great opportunity for the actor who wants
to hone their craft.
They will learn techniques and develop tools to
create more options when approaching their work.
We focus on harnessing the actor’s innate talent, so
they can trust what is extraordinary and unique about
themselves; and assist them in making specific choices for
their characters in order to achieve a higher level of work.
Kaitlin Hopkins and Jim Price conduct the
workshop.
Thurs.:
9:00 AM Room: Anchor (Student Union Downstairs)
The Four Principles of Brilliant Acting:
Underlying creativity are four principles
which apply to brilliant acting, writing, and…life:
Commitment, Being Present, Relaxation, and
Communication.
In this workshop, each principle and how they interact will
be examined. A
powerful technique for Getting Present will be taught and,
as time allows, actors will perform monologues using these
empowering principles.
The workshop is safe and fun.
Conducted by Guest Artist: E. Katherine Kerr.
Thurs.:
2:00 PM
Room FA101 Music Hall
Creative
Intuition (for professional actors
and anyone else who's game):
Can you "move like the color blue?"
With a simple sentence to yourself, can you
immediately access any given emotion?
Using movement, exercises and games,
awaken a deeper discovery of your unique creative voice.
This is the instinctive, which knows the answer to
your mind's dilemmas and can often locate missing car keys.
It is fun, easy, and immediately applicable to your
work. Conducted by Guest Artist
Kate McGregor-Stewart.
Fri.: 9:00 AM
Room FA114
Acting On Camera Let an
entertainment professional show you how it’s done.
Explore acting techniques expected for a career on
the screen.
Experience exercises to achieve camera readiness under the
business and creative pressures of film & TV.
Learn the professional expectations of the
entertainment industry. Katherine Billings leads the
workshop.
Thurs.:
9:00 AM Room FA114, Fri.2:00 PM
Room CLC East, Sat.: 10:30 AM
Room AC103
Voiceovers:
What makes a good
voiceover? Do I have the right kind of voice? Alan Safier,
one of the busiest voiceover actors in Hollywood, takes you
through the ins and outs of the v/o trade. Participants will
have the opportunity to read, be coached and record actual
ad agency copy.
Fri.: 3:30 PM
Room AC104
, Sat.: 9:00 AM
Room AC103
Speech for the
Stage:
Focusing on
articulation and diction, breath control, accent reduction
and more. Participants are encouraged to bring pieces
to work on , particularly ones with heightened or
challenging language. (Think Shakespeare or Shaw).
Wear comfortable clothes.
Patricia
Randell leads the workshop.
Thur.:
10:30 AM
Room Anchor, Student Union.,
Morning Warm-up/Yoga
-- Open Hatha
class for all levels. Start your day with stretching, breath
awareness exercises, a variety of yoga poses and meditation.
Wear comfortable clothing. Bring yoga mat. Extras: socks,
long sleeves, towel, water. Workshop lead
by Susan Hyon.
Thurs.:
8:00 AM, Fri.8:00 AM, Sat.: 8:00 AM
Room FA101 Music Hall
The Art of Reinventing Yourself.
Are you an actor who wants to direct? A teacher who
wants to write? A writer who wants to produce?
This workshop will help you discover how to get out
of your own way and explore talents you never even knew you
had. Workshop lead by
Luke Yankee & Don Hill.
Sat.: 2:00 PM
Room FA114
On
Theatre in General and Show Business:
Theatre in
America:
In
politics the call is for "change!". How about the theatre?
What's around the bend? Gigi Bolt, former Director of Theatre for the National Endowment
for the Arts and Executive Director for Theatre
Communications Group will explore issues facing theatre in
America today with professional guest panelists, Michael
Pressman, Adam Bock, Jack Cummings, Jackson Bryer, Alice
Tuan, Brad Heberlee, Patricia Randell. Fri.:
3:30 PM Room AC200
The Art of Stage
Management:
Don Hill leads a
workshop on the organization and creativity of good Stage
Management. Fri.:
9:00 AM Board Room, Administration Building
Theater from a Costumer's Point of View
The
audience brings its own preconceptions of people and
clothing to every play they attend. Costume designers have
to approach theater from their own viewpoint, analyzing the
script for clues and hints as to what the characters should
wear. Sometimes that is easy, sometimes it is difficult,
depending upon the play and playwright (not to mention the
director and actors). Tips, observations and discussions
about the role of costuming in theater and playwriting.
Professional Designer Doug Spesert leads the workshop.
Thurs.: 2:00 PM Room AC104
Making a Career
in New York: Working
New York professionals discuss the current state of Showbiz
on the East Coast and how to seek work, find good training,
keep in practice and make a living while waiting for the
next job. Thurs.: 10:30 AM Room FA114
The Art of Reinventing Yourself.
Are you an actor who wants to direct? A teacher who
wants to write? A writer who wants to produce?
This workshop will help you discover how to get out
of your own way and explore talents you never even knew you
had. Workshop lead by
Luke Yankee & Don Hill. Sat.: 2:00 PM Room FA114
On
William Inge and the American Theatre:
All About
Inge:
Inge Biographer,
Ralph Voss, gives an informative talk on William Inge and on
the Inge Collection, the largest collection of Inge material
in the world. Thurs.: 3:30 PM, Fri.: 3:30 PM, Sat.: 3:30 PM.
Inge Collection, Academic Building Library.
Authors
Autograph:
Many of this
year’s guests have published books and plays which will be
on sale at the registration desk. Tables will be
set up for signings in the Fine Arts Building and Margaret Goheen Lobby. Friday: 12:00 PM. Public is welcome.
A
Conversation with our Playwright Honoree:
Christopher
Durang
will informally discuss his life and work in the American
Theatre. Fri.:
10:30 AM-11:45, Inge
Theatre, Fine Arts Bldg. Day Pass required for
admission.
Theatre in
America:
In
politics the call is for "change!". How about the theatre?
What's around the bend? Gigi Bolt, former Director of Theatre for the National Endowment
for the Arts and Executive Director for Theatre
Communications Group will explore issues facing theatre in
America today with professional guest panelists, Michael
Pressman, Adam Bock, Jack Cummings, Jackson Bryer, Alice
Tuan, Brad Heberlee, Patricia Randell. Fri.:
3:30 PM Room AC200
Reflections
on Inge:
Inge’s family,
collaborators, scholars and admirers tell us about the man
and reflect on his life, legacy and importance to the
American theatre.
Sat.:
9:00 AM Room CLC East
The ‘PICNIC’ Grounds: The Real Story Behind the Closing of
HOT SEPTEMBER, the musical version of William Inge’s PICNIC.
Walter Willison and Michele Pawk share the backstory
and insights into what contributed to the out-of-town
closing of a show that seemed a "sure-fire-hit" on Broadway.
Including a synopsis of the show as it was originally
written and musical highlights from the score [including two
songs which became Top 10 hits]. Featuring Paul Baker at
the piano, Broadway's Own Harvey Evans, and other Guest
Artists.
Fri.: 3:30
PM
Room FA101 Music Hall
William Inge: In Person
; A recreation of an intimate interview with William
Inge, as he visits Independence, Kansas, for one last time,
in 1971. Though the “visit” to ICC never took place, the
interviews did. The transcript has been compiled and adapted
from interviews Inge gave between 1970-71. Walter
Willison acts as “The Interviewer.” Jack Cummings portrays
Inge as he frankly comments on such topics as growing up in
Independence, teaching, the real life inspirations for his
characters, the theatre, personal and professional
relationships, and his private lifestyle choices.
Sat.: 10:30 AM Room FA114
The Scholars’
Conference:
Selected national scholars present papers on the works of
William Inge and our past honorees. Hosted by Conference
Chair, Jackson Bryer. Session 1: Fri.:
2:00-3:15PM. Session 2
Sat.: 2:00-3:15PM AC200
Lecture Hall, Academic Bldg.
Click here for Scholars Conference
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