TheatreFest 2016 is just around the corner and there are over a dozen Special Guest Artists lined up to meet you in Dallas this January! In September our committee surveyed members and we learned that you overwhelming prefer to have a diverse group of teaching artists to help you hone your craft, so we have worked hard to deliver some really special guest artists who will share their expertise and methods, and help inspire us in 2016!
I would like to thank our committee, Gary Cooper, Joan Lazarus, and Cynthia Sorelle for their work on this committee and their help as we continue to organize a stellar line up of guests for us this year.
Below is a partial list of Special Guests with their bios! Please read through to learn about these generous and dedicated teaching artists that are so excited to be a part of TheatreFest 2016 this January! We will release more guest names in the coming weeks leading up the TheatreFest. We are so excited to be able to get together in January and celebrate Theatre Education in our state!
See you soon!
Best regards,
Jackie deMontmollin
Special Guest Committee Chair
THERESA REBECK is a widely produced playwright throughout the United States and abroad. New York productions of her work include Dead Accounts at the Music Box Theatre; Seminar at the Golden Theatre; Mauritius at the Biltmore Theatre in a Manhattan Theater Club Production; The Scene, The Water’s Edge, Loose Knit, The Family of Mann and Spike Heels at Second Stage; Bad Dates, The Butterfly Collection and Our House at Playwrights Horizons; The Understudy at the Laura Pels Theater in a Roundabout Theatre Company production; and View of the Dome at New York Theatre Workshop. Omnium Gatherum (co-written, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2003) was featured at the Humana Festival, and had a commercial run at the Variety Arts Theatre. Her newest work, Poor Behavior premiered at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles in 2011. Dead Accounts, commissioned by the Cincinnati Playhouse, premiered January 2012. Seminar continues to run on Broadway.
In television, Ms. Rebeck has written for Dream On, Brooklyn Bridge, L.A. Law, American Dreamer, Maximum Bob, First Wave, and Third Watch. She was the creator of the NBC drama Smash. She has been a writer/producer for Canterbury’s Law, Smith, Law and Order:Criminal Intent and NYPD Blue. Her produced feature films include Harriet the Spy, Gossip, and the independent features Sunday on the Rocks andSeducing Charlie Barker, an adaptation of her play, The Scene. Awards include the Mystery Writer’s of America’s Edgar Award, the Writer’s Guild of America award for Episodic Drama, the Hispanic Images Imagen Award, and the Peabody, all for her work on NYPD Blue. She has won the National Theatre Conference Award (for The Family of Mann), and was awarded the William Inge New Voices Playwriting Award in 2003 for The Bells. Mauritius was originally produced at Boston’s Huntington Theatre, where it received the 2007 IRNE Award for Best New Play as well as the Eliot Norton Award. She has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize (Ominium Gatherum, co-written). Other awards include the PEN/Laura Pels Foundation Award, the Athena Film Festival Award, an Alex Award, a Lilly Award and in 2011 she was named one of the 150 Fearless Women in the World by Newsweek.
Ms. Rebeck is originally from Cincinnati and holds an MFA in Playwrighting and a PhD. in Victorian Melodrama, both from Brandeis University. She is a proud board member of the Dramatists Guild, a Contributing Editor to the Harvard Review, an Associate Artist of the Roundabout Theatre Company, a Playwright Adviser and Board Member of the LARK and and has taught at Brandeis University and Columbia University. She is currently a Distinguished Professor of Theatre at The University of Houston, School of Theatre & Dance.
KAREN KOHLHAAS is a cofounder of the Atlantic Theatre Company. Karen has directed many Atlantic mainstages as well as for the New York Shakespeare/Public Theatre, ARS Nova, St. Luke’s Theatre, Naked Angels, Ensemble Studio Theatre, New York Live Arts, IRT, Culture Project, Alley Theatre Houston, Menagerie Theatre Cambridge, UK and the Practical Theatre in Sydney. Karen is a Senior Teacher in Atlantic’s NYU and Conservatory programs, and teaches her own advanced acting, directing, monologue and audition classes. She guest teaches in the UK and internationally and is developing teacher training programs for her monologue technique. She’s the author/creator of three books and a DVD on her unique approach to rehearsing monologue auditions, including a teacher’s manual. Her website www.art-and-audition.com. She is currently directing a documentary, “Tennessee Williams in the Mississippi Delta: The Love of Things Irreconcilable” (www.TennWmsDelta.com)
Workshop:
Fearless Audition Technique
Using her original method Karen will teach how to prepare for a stellar audition.
Special Guest Michael Benjamin Washington of 30 Rock
MICHAEL BENJAMIN WASHINGTON is best known as Donald Jordan on the NBC hit 30 Rock. Stage credits include Mamma Mia! (Directed by Phyllida Lloyd, original Broadway company); the 2005 revival of La Cage Aux Folles (dir: Kathleen Marshall/Nonesuch Records). La Jolla Playhouse: The Wiz (Tinman-dir: Des McAnuff); Memphis (Gator-dir: Christopher Ashley); Letters to Obama (playwright-reading); Blueprints to Freedom (playwright.Bayard-dir: Phylicia Rashad). He is an alumnus of the National Young Arts Foundation and served on the Writing Adjudication panel where he co-wrote the Foundation’s gala this winter under the direction of Bill T. Jones. He is a Presidential Scholar of the Arts and teaches YoungArts Master class workshops in Los Angeles. Training: B.F.A. –New York University-Tisch School of the Arts. Two time national champion for National Forensic League. Member: The Broadway Inspirational Voices.
Workshop:
Continuing the Legacy
From the journals of all the directors he has worked with over 20 years as a professional actor, Mr. Michael Benjamin Washington will give insight as to how he continues the legacy of their teachings.
Special Guest Barry Busby, Associate Choreographer Honeymoon in Vegas
BARRY BUSBY is the Associate Broadway Choreographer to Denis Jones. Associate Credits include: Honeymoon in Vegas (Broadway/Asst. Chor.) Dallas Theatre Center’s Pre-Broadway run of Moonshine: That Hee Haw Musical, Pre-Broadway run of Holiday Inn (Goodspeed), Piece of My Heart (Off-Broadway Signature NYC), Johnny Baseball (Williamstown), White Christmas (Zach Scott Theatre), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Papermill), My Fair Lady (International tour-Singapore), Chicago, Grease, Spamalot (MUNY), Disaster! (Triad NYC), Legally Blonde (NCT), Workshops: Moonshine, Holiday Inn, Sugar Babies. Performing credits include: Broadway’s Honeymoon in Vegas (Dance Capt.), 1st National Tour/Detroit productions of White Christmas, Chicago, Buddy!, Oklahoma! w/Kelli O’Hara, Swing!, Urinetown, Hairspray, Meet me in St. Louis, Hello Dolly! w/Rachel York. Upcoming: Barry returns to Broadway with Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn! Barry is proud to be a native Texan!
Workshop:
Musical Theatre Choreography
A workshop that will explore how to create choreography for a wide range of skill sets while telling the story through the movement.
Special Guest Lake Simons, Puppetry Associate for Warhorse
LAKE SIMONS is an artist specializing in devising theatre productions that utilize movement and puppetry. Lake served as puppetry associate for both the Broadway production of War Horse and the national tour. She has created over a dozen original productions as well as collaborated on multiple theatre projects as a puppet designer and director. Over the last sixteen years Lake as been a guest director and designer at Hip Pocket Theatre in Fort Worth, Texas. Lake was nominated for a 2014 Doris Duke Impact Award and has been awarded six Jim Henson Foundation Grants for her original puppetry productions. She holds theatre degrees from University of North Carolina School of The Arts, and Ecole Internationale de Theatre Jacques Lecoq in Paris, France. www.lakesimons.com
Workshop:
Puppetry and Movement
We will explore how the puppeteer brings the puppet to life and how to create the illusion of weight and space.
Special Guest Alvaro Saar Rios, author of Luchadora!
ALVARO SAAR RIOS’ plays have been performed in New York City, Hawaii, Milwaukee, and all over Texas. His recent play Luchadora! Received its world premiere at First Stage (WI) and is published by Dramatic Publishing. Other plays include Seguin: Unsung Texican Hero, Bienvenidos a Milwaukee/Welcome to Milwaukee, and The Mole Hill Stories, a bilingual adaptation of Lois Ehlert’s children’s books. Rios holds an MFA in Writing for the Stage and Screen from Northwestern University. He has received commissions from many theatres including Houston Grand Opera, First Stage, The Alley Theatre, and Honolulu Theatre for Youth. Originally from Texas, Rios currently lives in Milwaukee and is an Assistant Professor of Playwriting at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Workshop Title
Adapting a Folktake into a play
Learn how to adapt a play from a folktale. No playwriting experience is necessary.
Special Guest Julia Perlowski of the National Teacher Corps
JULIA PERLOWSKI is a member National Teacher Corps for the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C. Her training in teaching the works of Shakespeare and other literatures in dynamic ways stems from a National Endowment of Humanities grant received in the summer of 2006, which enabled her to train at the Folger for a month with instructors and scholars from all over the country. She received a fellowship to the GLOBE in 2008 where her skills were strengthened. Julia currently presents Shakespeare workshops for the Folger at the National Council Teachers of English, the American Alliance for Theatre Educators, the Florida Association for Theatre Educators annual conference as well as to teachers in Gujarat India, Karakow, Stockholm and St. Lucia. In 2010, Julia received the Reba R. Robinson Award from the Children’s Theatre Foundation in partnership with the American Alliance of Theatre and Education. Given biennially, this prize recognizes a secondary school teacher for outstanding achievement in, and commitment to, teen theatre.
Julia has been a Drama, Reading and English instructor at Pompano Beach High School in South Florida for the past 10 years and is currently Director of Theatre Programs at Parthum Middle School in Lawrence, Massachusetts where she is contributing to a successful experiment in education reform under Receiver Jeffrey Riley.
Title: Image Theatre as a tool for Actors and Directors
In this session, participants learn to use theatre games to connect students’ and actors’ lives the lives of characters in dramatic text. We will also learn how to harness the tools of Boal-based Image Theatre to deepen understanding of dramatic text.
MICHAEL BENJAMIN WASHINGTON is best known as Donald Jordan on the NBC hit 30 Rock. Stage credits include Mamma Mia! (Directed by Phyllida Lloyd, original Broadway company); the 2005 revival of La Cage Aux Folles (dir: Kathleen Marshall/Nonesuch Records). La Jolla Playhouse: The Wiz (Tinman-dir: Des McAnuff); Memphis (Gator-dir: Christopher Ashley); Letters to Obama (playwright-reading); Blueprints to Freedom (playwright.Bayard-dir: Phylicia Rashad). He is an alumnus of the National Young Arts Foundation and served on the Writing Adjudication panel where he co-wrote the Foundation’s gala this winter under the direction of Bill T. Jones. He is a Presidential Scholar of the Arts and teaches YoungArts Master class workshops in Los Angeles. Training: B.F.A. –New York University-Tisch School of the Arts. Two time national champion for National Forensic League. Member: The Broadway Inspirational Voices.
Workshop:
Continuing the Legacy
From the journals of all the directors he has worked with over 20 years as a professional actor, Mr. Michael Benjamin Washington will give insight as to how he continues the legacy of their teachings.
BARRY BUSBY is the Associate Broadway Choreographer to Denis Jones. Associate Credits include: Honeymoon in Vegas (Broadway/Asst. Chor.) Dallas Theatre Center’s Pre-Broadway run of Moonshine: That Hee Haw Musical, Pre-Broadway run of Holiday Inn (Goodspeed), Piece of My Heart (Off-Broadway Signature NYC), Johnny Baseball (Williamstown), White Christmas (Zach Scott Theatre), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Papermill), My Fair Lady (International tour-Singapore), Chicago, Grease, Spamalot (MUNY), Disaster! (Triad NYC), Legally Blonde (NCT), Workshops: Moonshine, Holiday Inn, Sugar Babies. Performing credits include: Broadway’s Honeymoon in Vegas (Dance Capt.), 1st National Tour/Detroit productions of White Christmas, Chicago, Buddy!, Oklahoma! w/Kelli O’Hara, Swing!, Urinetown, Hairspray, Meet me in St. Louis, Hello Dolly! w/Rachel York. Upcoming: Barry returns to Broadway with Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn! Barry is proud to be a native Texan!
Workshop:
Musical Theatre Choreography
A workshop that will explore how to create choreography for a wide range of skill sets while telling the story through the movement.
LAKE SIMONS is an artist specializing in devising theatre productions that utilize movement and puppetry. Lake served as puppetry associate for both the Broadway production of War Horse and the national tour. She has created over a dozen original productions as well as collaborated on multiple theatre projects as a puppet designer and director. Over the last sixteen years Lake as been a guest director and designer at Hip Pocket Theatre in Fort Worth, Texas. Lake was nominated for a 2014 Doris Duke Impact Award and has been awarded six Jim Henson Foundation Grants for her original puppetry productions. She holds theatre degrees from University of North Carolina School of The Arts, and Ecole Internationale de Theatre Jacques Lecoq in Paris, France. www.lakesimons.com
Workshop:
Puppetry and Movement
We will explore how the puppeteer brings the puppet to life and how to create the illusion of weight and space.
ALVARO SAAR RIOS’ plays have been performed in New York City, Hawaii, Milwaukee, and all over Texas. His recent play Luchadora! Received its world premiere at First Stage (WI) and is published by Dramatic Publishing. Other plays include Seguin: Unsung Texican Hero, Bienvenidos a Milwaukee/Welcome to Milwaukee, and The Mole Hill Stories, a bilingual adaptation of Lois Ehlert’s children’s books. Rios holds an MFA in Writing for the Stage and Screen from Northwestern University. He has received commissions from many theatres including Houston Grand Opera, First Stage, The Alley Theatre, and Honolulu Theatre for Youth. Originally from Texas, Rios currently lives in Milwaukee and is an Assistant Professor of Playwriting at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Workshop Title
Adapting a Folktake into a play
Learn how to adapt a play from a folktale. No playwriting experience is necessary.
JULIA PERLOWSKI is a member National Teacher Corps for the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C. Her training in teaching the works of Shakespeare and other literatures in dynamic ways stems from a National Endowment of Humanities grant received in the summer of 2006, which enabled her to train at the Folger for a month with instructors and scholars from all over the country. She received a fellowship to the GLOBE in 2008 where her skills were strengthened. Julia currently presents Shakespeare workshops for the Folger at the National Council Teachers of English, the American Alliance for Theatre Educators, the Florida Association for Theatre Educators annual conference as well as to teachers in Gujarat India, Karakow, Stockholm and St. Lucia. In 2010, Julia received the Reba R. Robinson Award from the Children’s Theatre Foundation in partnership with the American Alliance of Theatre and Education. Given biennially, this prize recognizes a secondary school teacher for outstanding achievement in, and commitment to, teen theatre.
Julia has been a Drama, Reading and English instructor at Pompano Beach High School in South Florida for the past 10 years and is currently Director of Theatre Programs at Parthum Middle School in Lawrence, Massachusetts where she is contributing to a successful experiment in education reform under Receiver Jeffrey Riley.
Title: Image Theatre as a tool for Actors and Directors
In this session, participants learn to use theatre games to connect students’ and actors’ lives the lives of characters in dramatic text. We will also learn how to harness the tools of Boal-based Image Theatre to deepen understanding of dramatic text.
No comments:
Post a Comment