Hi,

Friday I got to listen to the this year’s College Collaboration Playwright Judith Leora speak with Shenandoah University students about the topic of hate speech vs. free speech for the beginning of the process of writing her play. Prior to Judith joining the conversation we had a few minutes for the students to ask questions about The Farm Theater. The third and final question was “What was your most profound moment working with The Farm Theater?”

My response was “Working with (faculty member) Scott Hudson.” It got the expected laugh. However, it is also true. It is profound to be able to work with friends, peers, and collaborators who are passionate about the development of new work, development of early career artists, and facilitating conversation on difficult topics through the theater. I then said that the profound part is watching the influence the students have on the development of the plays and the conversation that this process generates. It is true. Like most Q&A sessions the answer is geared toward the audience and the purpose you are addressing. We ran out of time and Judith was ready for conversation with the students.

While answering that questions I thought about many moments that were profound. The first college collaboration, where a student suggested that one of the characters in the play was queer. At the time the character was underdeveloped. The play was about the suicide of someone who was not out to his friends and family. That choice helped shape the character and influence the story.

Also, the student that suggested that talked about how empowering it was for her, a queer undergrad, to be able to play a character that reflected her experience in the world for the first time in her acting experience. During our second collaboration a student directly said to the playwright “I don’t like the main character.” The play was about sexual assault on a college campus and that comment helped shape not only the main character but the story line of the play. The influence student artists have on the stories are profound but what’s more profound to me is seeing the personal and artistic growth of the students when they recognize the value they contribute to the process.

Then I think about the dialogue that the productions inspire. When Birmingham Southern College first produced Jan Rosenberg’s play about body image and addiction there was a post show conversation facilitated by a local professional therapist/counselor. At the conversation a high school student in the audience said, “I’m worried about my friend. How can I help her?” – the production and respect of all involved created an experience and environment that allowed this young person ask for help for the first time.

Our current production of Erin Mallon’s play is about how our thoughts and emotional life effect our physical life. It’s primarily a comedy. I wasn’t sure what type of dialogue it would generate. At the end of our first post show conversation a woman, faculty member, stood up and said, “Thank you for this play. I have an autistic child and this production gave me a greater appreciation for her daily experience.”

I don’t want to limit my response to only the college collaboration project. One of the single most profound events in my theater career is writing and performing my solo show about suicide awareness. Since the original production, produced by The Farm Theater, I have been invited to present that show multiple times.

Each time after presenting the show people courageously share with me their experience with the issue of suicide. Most recently I performed the play at a high school in Kentucky and four students stayed afterward to talk with me. Each of them were clearly having a struggle with the issue. And they each asked me, separately, “Do you really think it helps to talk to someone?”

They were each told, for different reasons, not to talk about it.

It.

Their pain. Their struggle. Their lives.

The most profound moment working with The Farm Theater has been watching artists courageously share themselves in order to be seen, heard, and generate stories that allow the audiences to feel seen, heard, and valued in a way that they know they matter and are encouraged to share their stories.

Thank you.

Padraic

Hey all!

Erin Mallon here.

I’m not sure I can adequately express how happy I am to be one of Farm Theater’s playwrights for their College Collaboration Project this year and to be working with the students of Arkansas State University and Pellissippi State Community College. I am a writer though, so I suppose that’s the definition of my job, right? To adequately express things in words? Well, how’s this: I’m psyched. PSYCHED.

But, like, in a gentle way.

Which is new for me.

See, I’m accustomed to writing first drafts in less-than-30-days through a project I co-produce called The Brooklyn Generator. This approach is awesome because I don’t have time to second-guess myself. This approach is often horrifying though because I don’t have time for… well, much of anything!

So to have several months to let this new play percolate and grow feels like a real luxury. This is a slow burn of sorts when I’m used to theatrical grease fires. Each day I walk around pondering what the play may want to become and new images pop into my head. New characters visit me and delight me. Notebooks fill with potential scenes. Dialogue pops in my brain and plops itself into a file on my desktop labeled “College Collab Play.”

But before that all started happening, we kicked off the process with juicy discussions with each of our schools via videoconference.

Here are some of the topics we tackled:

• Does the mind create the body?
• What does the voice in your head say most often?
• How might a silent character express themselves onstage?
• What do you rarely if ever see in the theater?
• What is your relationship to exercise?
• What musical instruments do you play?
• Mary Oliver’s poem “Wild Geese”
• Louise Hay’s Mirror Exercise and seminal book “You Can Heal Your Life”

I’m so grateful to these thoughtful, openhearted students for sharing their stories with me. Because of them, I now sit here with approximately thirty pages of raw, seemingly unconnected writing that I have faith will expand and find its way into play form before July 1^st , when my first draft is due.

Until then, I’m going to make the most of these next 2.5 months by soaking up more opportunities to learn from these wonderful students , trusting the process and enjoying the slow burn.

Keep you posted!

xo

Erin

 

 

 

 

hey,

Last week Matthew Hallock, Chair of the Theater Department at Centre College, and I were invited to talk with Rose Bruford College in England about the College Collaboration Project. Rose Bruford has an exchange program with Centre and was interested in sharing with their students the value of developing a new script with the intent of generating a conversation thru the process.

Matthew and I facilitated a class for two days and we were part of a panel talking about play development. The panel also included Rick St. Peter from Clemson University andReginald Edmund, founder of Black Lives, Black Words. Reggie has produced Black Lives, Black Words across the US, which premiered in Chicago, July 2015. It is an ongoing international project that explores the black diaspora’s experiences in some of the largest multicultural cities in the world, Chicago, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Toronto and London. Over sixty Black writers from the UK, USA, and Canada have written short plays to address Black issues today.  It is a ‘pop up’ model of art – at major theater institutions.

What I value the most about the College Collaboration is the long conversation that the year and a half long process of developing the play offers all involved. Sitting on the panel next to Reggie, a self defined ‘cultural terrorist’, talking about creating these events was fascinating. Both programs were inspiring conversation through plays, empowering  participants, and they were different models for getting worked produced. They both use your voice thru the development of art to spark conversation, representation, and change. Listening to the Rock N Roll model of the one night only event of Black Lives, Black Words model – I thought that’s cool! 

It is a model that is being used a lot now by new theater companies. The ten minute play or the monologue on a theme. Or the Poetry slam or hip hop theater. It’s exciting. Inspiring – and gets a lot of people creating. The energy is fantastic. And it builds community.

Talking about how the college collaboration develops a play over a year and a half thru the contribution of multiple communities felt important. But it also felt a little less exciting. Less cool. Less immediate.

One of the primary goals of The Farm is to create access for all who may not have a link to the established pipelines of support in our industry.  Sitting in that discussion – everyone on the panel was valued but I also felt part of the establishment. What I felt in the discussion was interest, but also a strong sense of immediacy, urgency, and impatience. A feeling of ‘now’ – I want to do it ‘now’. I want to know how to do it ‘now’. I want to know that my career will work out ‘now’.

Throughout our stay, I realized that that they are doing it now, they all are beginning their careers now, they are all learning now. It’s already happening. We’re in the mix together – right now.

Two students asked questions that stood out. One – “What would you tell your younger self, if you were in the audience listening to this discussion?” and I had thought about it recently, so I answered first “You’re going to live. All the worrying about survival and money, rent, and food is important but don’t let it stop you from doing what you want to do in your life because you’re going to live. You will make sure of that – so I want to encourage you to move beyond thinking about survival and thinking about thriving. Because you’re going to live.”

The other said, “students are always told to take a risk. How can you do that – and what stops you from doing it?” Matthew answered this one brilliantly. And I hope I represent it well, but he said, you’re already doing it just by asking the question here in front of a room full of people. Also, the thing that stops us is that we think that we’re impostors and that someone will find out. We’re not real artists. Someone else is an artist. Who are we to want to express our imaginings, or our thoughts and feelings? And we need to know you’re not a fraud, and that feeling doesn’t go away, but you’re not a fraud and by not letting that thought stop you – you will take a risk that will get to discover something wonderful you didn’t know was in you.

He said something like that. It resonated. Take the risk. You’re not a fraud. I want to see what’s possible and we won’t know if we don’t try.

The second day Matthew and I spent working thru Micheline’s script #Love95times with the students. They loved it. They thought it was nuanced and relevant – and true to their experience. They brought out details and nuance that are in the text that we hadn’t heard before. They were engaged and recognized how having a conversation through the development of a text that is specifically about their age group reflecting their experience is empowering. At the end of the day they had a lot of questions about play development and the best ways to go about it – and they were thinking long-term. And they wanted to participate in this program with their school. That was gratifying. Once we were in the work – I remembered, whether one night, one class, or multiple productions, the act of revolution is giving people a voice – and making sure they are heard.

It was great to be part of the conversation for those two days and I look forward to continuing the discussion.

Talk soon.

Padraic

Abigail Riggs

Class of 2021

What was the experience like for you to work on a new play?

It was incredible getting to work on a new show! Personally, I felt as though it gave me the freedom to portray Dove how I felt that they should be without any outside influence. I’ll often look at scenes from shows to help with inspiration and see how they are done, but for this show, I had to rely entirely on personal experiences and other research to truly create and become this unique character.
Why is it important for a character such as Dove to be represented in the play?

The first time I read through Never Have I Ever, I was immediately in awe of Dove: I’ve never had the opportunity to play a nonbinary character before! Although the world as a whole is becoming more progressive, it can still be challenging to find good LGBTQ+ representation in media, especially transgender characters (and specifically ones that fall outside of the binary). While Never Have I Ever focuses primarily on eating disorders and body image, there’s something delightful about having a trans character that’s very comfortable with who they are. LGBTQ+ characters can still be in shows without being the forefront, and I strongly believe that casual representation like that is extremely important in normalizing LGBTQ+ people.
What will you take away from this experience that you’ll bring with you in life or your next play?

I’d definitely like to bring some of Dove’s “I-don’t-give-a-fuck” attitude into my own life! They’re such a bright character who is unabashedly themself, which I really admire. As for future performances, I want to be sure take the time to explore a character’s gender and sexuality (and encourage other people to do the same). It’s an incredibly important part of who someone is and I don’t think it should be ignored or avoided.

IN THE COTTON was invited to be presented at KCACTF Region II and Morgan McGuire was invited to attend the Festival to be a respondent to the New Plays presented by students. Here is an interview with Morgan about the experience.

What was the experience like to be in the theater while 700 college students watched IN THE COTTON?

It was interesting, in the sense that, it’s a boost for the ego to hear a mass of people responding to something that you made. When it gets parsed down to other levels there are other thoughts I have about the spaces I think my work is intended for or how space can change a play. Because I think it definitely changed how the play was internalized by the audience, which shifted some of my intentions. And I think for me I have never intended my plays to be performed in spaces that large… because in a sense they become less personally confrontational.

I don’t think I’ve ever written a play in which I did not want the audience to leave in an extreme state of discomfort with themselves and the people around them. When you’re laughing with almost one thousand other people you don’t have to think about yourself. You get to lull yourself into a sense of security to the point that you’ll boo and hiss at a character that if you really thought about it you’re probably more like than you’re willing to admit. And rarely do I offer myself or the audience that level of emotional catharsis. Because honestly, in these topics I don’t feel like we are deserving of it. Emotional catharsis around certain issues, apparently is something I believe to be earned by a society, not necessarily a given. Probably because people like to give themselves a catharsis and then—you know—they like to then pretend like that changes a thing and then they never do any work.

So sure my ego responded with “this is exciting” but the deeper parts of me responded with “this is a disaster”. But those thoughts are about preference and intention, and whether or not any of that is important to anyone besides me, is debatable.

The goal was to develop the plays thru three productions. Did this additional presentation of the play confirm in you that the play was close to completion and ready to be produced outside of a developmental setting?

Is a play ever done? Sure, I feel like it’s done in the sense that I don’t feel like people need me in the room anymore to make sense of the play/characters. Do I ever feel like a play doesn’t need work? No.

Did you feel the students saw themselves in the play and felt connected to the conversation you created through the play?

Oh that feels like such a question for them… Maybe they lied to me to spare my feelings. But yeah. It sounds like they really felt like they could relate and also in the process definitely took ownership of the characters they were playing. Some of them expressed that they would have strong feelings to see anyone else play that part.

You were invited to respond to student playwrights presenting their work. How was that experience for you?

My brain is not large enough for that space. I was so impressed by my fellow responders… Because you watch all of the plays in one sitting and then give feedback. They were so organized and articulate with their note taking and I was… less so, one could say. But it was really encouraging to see so many people with really beautiful plays exploring so many themes I feel are important And was a really great example of what happens when an organization actually engages in issues of representation. I was able to see so many under represented experiences in these plays. And that was honestly, probably, the most exciting because it reminded me of the vitality and necessity of theatre and storytelling. I was changed by these stories and learned things emotionally and intellectually that I hadn’t known before. And I’m sad I haven’t seen stories like these before. It was pretty powerful.

As a playwright – what, if anything, will you carry with you from KCACTF?

To encounter so many young people who are excited about what theatre can do and be in the world was inspiring to me. I can often get bogged down in the work of making theatre and eventually it actually comes down to some weird alchemy or magic and the students seemed to have a balance of both. And it was a good reminder to believe in the good of what I do.

Hi,

This past weekend Morgan McGuire’s IN THE COTTON was performed, by a team made up of students from Howard, Prince George, and Carroll Community Colleges in Maryland, as part of the The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival at Indiana University in Indiana, PA.

I am thrilled.

This project started about three years ago when Bill Gillet reached out to me about the Maryland schools participating in The Farm Theater’s College Collaboration Project. At the KCACTF Region II in 2014 Bill talked with Scott Hudson about the program. Scott shared with him the experience he and his Ashland University students had working with The Farm. Ashland was our first school to participate. We had a second year of the program lined up. But it was very new. Bill reached out to me and wanted to see if we’d be willing to alter the model. Instead of the play being developed by three different schools independently – he offered three schools in Maryland collaborating together to develop the play. By working together, the vision was that the cast would come from all three schools, the design elements would stay the same; like the text and performances they would evolve with each production. The schools individually may not be able produce a production on their own that would be invited to present at the Festival. However, if the three schools combined their resources they could create something that would be of a caliber that could warrant an invitation.

Another shift in the program was suggested. Instead of having the writer picked the theme of the play, Bill brought a theme to the Farm: Race. It was right after the protests in Baltimore immediately following the death of Freddie Gray. Most of this is written about in an article in the Baltimore Sun. 

However, what was not discussed in the article is that initially there was a different writer for the program. It was someone that was involved with social advocacy thru theater – participating in protests and working with arts groups that actively seeking change and discourse regarding issues of race.  They were being workshopped a lot but had not been produced. After being asked to participate in this program they were then offered multiple opportunities: a production, a writing mentorship, and graduate school acceptance. The writer declared that they wanted to and were committed to this project.

When the first draft of the play arrived it was an interesting intellectual investigation of class, capitalism, and art with an ethnically diverse cast of characters. However, the ethnicity of the roles excluded some students from the schools from being able to participate as actors and included ethnicities that were not represented on the campuses in the theater department and would make it incredibly difficult to cast. The play did not take place or have any geographical reference to Maryland. Not a requirement but the students did not feel like their experience was reflected in the script. To the schools credit, they committed fully to trying to be able to achieve the play.

What I enjoy the most about this program is that through the development of the script, the process benefits everyone involved: writer, departments, students, and communities. As the process progressed it became clear, as everyone worked to make this experiment work, that the only one that was going to fully benefit from this process was the writer. And honestly, not really because the play couldn’t be fully achieved.

A decision had to be made.

We decided to find a different writer. To develop a new play.

Morgan was on my radar because of a her play, The Red Room, that was presented in a very exciting production that summer. A mutual friend of ours told me that Morgan was writing a play about race. I read the draft. It was fascinating. I asked Morgan if we could meet to talk about her writing a new play for this program. In our meeting Morgan, without hesitation, rattled off her knowledge and thoughts on the issue, including referencing a book that specifically speaks to the history of race issues in Baltimore. It was clear she was the right person for the project.

I am so grateful that the schools still had trust in The Farm to make this recommendation and for our mutual commitment to make the project valuable for everyone involved.

Morgan went down for three days to work with students that were cast and begin to write a draft that would begin rehearsals for a production in…thirteen days. Thirteen days – and there was a draft that reflected the students experience with the issue at hand, their voices could be heard in the characters, and Morgan had created a context for the story that was in line with her interests and could create opportunities for growth and education for the students as they began to work on the play.

The choice to make the change was not about creating a production that was strong enough to be able to present at the KCACTF. The decision was to create a process that would be beneficial and exciting for all involved. It was clear immediately that it was the right decision. The students’ enthusiasm for the play and Morgan was palpable when I visited Carroll Community Campus to see the first production.  With each production: the cast got stronger, the design elements were refined, the script got tighter. After the Howard production – the production was invited to be presented at the KCACTF.

 

Morgan was invited to attend the KCACTF to be a respondent to students participating in the playwriting program. After the performance at Festival Morgan was invited on stage and was acknowledged with a standing ovation from the seven hundred students in the audience. Most importantly, the schools were recognized for their excellent work, their vision, and the value of collaboration.

I am so proud of everyone and grateful for their commitment to the process!  Congratulations on the product you created!

Talk with you soon.

Padraic

 

 

 

 

Hi,

Yesterday the Birmingham Southern College’s ensemble presented the play for Sara Hoover, who works with the counseling center on campus and is a family counseling specialist. Below are a few bullet points of some of the discussion raised in the meeting with the theatre students yesterday after their performance.

Notes from Sara Hoover:
The scene performed raised various underlying themes including: (and this is not all-inclusive)

· Assumptions – about who would have an eating disorder and who would not – (examples of “only women have eating disorders” vs the applause of others who exercise to the extreme to be 0% body fat –particularly men. – we discussed the media’s influence on this and its impact. We discussed how early it starts – (middle school was a HUGE part of the discussion of when one begins typically to really feel the awkwardness in life and how powerful words are).
· Focusing on someone’s appearance in general to determine if they are “ok” or not
· How to feel comfortable in one’s own skin
· Self-care – knowing one must take care of self before looking after another person in any way
· What’s behind the behavior of “Ariel” – she’s seen as a monster in some ways but in reality, what was it in her life and family history that impacted who she has become? And the character of “Phillipe” and how we all know someone like him – who wants to exploit the vulnerabilities of other yet it’s due to his own insecurity
· Gender identity – biases and stereotypes
· Alcohol consumption with the intent of getting so drunk one throws up/purges and/or passes out
· Addiction in families and the impact of it in students’ lives here
· Bullying – through showing embarrassing videos/photos of others – social media and face-to-face comments/attacks
· Acting out of “concern” yet coming across to someone struggling as a police officer or interrogator – rather than a comforting friend who wants to be of support.
· Objectification of others
· Bigotry
· Self – image
· Body-dysmorphia and body image in general
· How to ask for help – — and why is it so difficult?
· Being intentional with our words with one another – even with our closest friends
· How no one really knows what’s going on with another person fully unless they are in their skin – so the assumptions that we can “harass” through “funny” comments is problematic – and oftentimes is a trigger for the person of something very painful

These are just a few of the topics we discussed. When I asked how can we address these issues more effectively beyond the production? I LOVED the answer that seemed to be the consensus of the group:

“We need to do this type of thing in groups with each other all over campus – (not having a faculty/staff or other outside speaker/adult professional come in) – but within our own groups, peer to peer having meaningful discussions about the problems we have and see.” One idea came up that all parties be suspended one night per month or so and have Greek Life and other groups that are in place have a topic of conversation within their own membership that night. “How cool would it be to have the same topic of conversation going on in small groups all over campus at the same time? “

End of notes

I hope it helps to shape activities on campus. The goal of the College Collaboration Project is to have the same topic of conversation going in communities all over the country at the same time through the development of a play. I’m so grateful for all involved in the program willing to do the work of putting on the play and seriously examining the issues Jan’s text brings to the surface.

Thank you!

Padraic

Name: Megan Pecot
Class of: 2018

What is the experience like to direct the first production of a new play?

It is very exciting to be able to work on a new play. This is not only the first production of Never Have I Ever, but my first time directing! I’ve learned so much already. Since this is a new play, we are completely on our own to create the world of the play. The actors are discovering their characters within the new script and it’s been amazing to see them bring the characters to life on stage for the first time. It feels much more personal, since there is no reference to look back to. On top of that, all of the technical designers are having the chance to create the first designs for the play – costumes, set, lights, and sound. I am so grateful I’ve been given the chance to guide and shape this production for the first time.

What is the value of being in contact with the playwright, Jan Rosenberg, during the process?

It’s extremely valuable to be able to talk with Jan Rosenberg. I had the experience of meeting her in NYC to help in the development of the play with The Farm Theater. That gave me a lot of insight into the world of the play. Since then, as we started the process of putting on the show at Birmingham-Southern College, I’ve contacted her with my own questions about characters, as well as questions from the actors. The whole process has been very collaborative and has helped me be more confident in my directing. It’s nice to know she is just an email away. I can’t wait for her to see it – I’m very proud of the work the company has been doing.

What has been useful in the process to connect your ensemble to the theme of the play, the issues addressed, as well as the personality of the play?

I think the most useful thing has been bringing in eating disorder councilors and specialists to talk to the company. It really gives everyone more insight into the issues of addictive behavior, specifically eating disorders. Once the actors have the concrete research, they can integrate that better into the stories of their characters. The cast and I did a lot of discussion early on in our process – I asked them all to bring in “biographies” and we discussed them as a group. This was useful – as it allowed them to flesh out their own relationships with the other characters as well as connect to their own. They also know they have access to councilors on campus. They understand how serious the issues addressed in the play are – but they have become such a strong ensemble and they play off each other for the funny moments as well.

As a director, and as you shape the telling of the story – what is the experience you hope the audience has with the play?

I hope that it really opens the audience members eyes to the scale of the issues addressed. It’s not just Anorexia and Bulimia that are addressed in the play – but many unhealthy addictive behaviors. It’s important to be aware of them. The media is awful in portraying many of these behaviors as “healthy”, when they are not. Additionally, I hope the play expands people’s knowledge of eating disorders and gives way for discussions about them. This is not a dancer’s disease – eating disorders can affect anyone. I think it’s extremely important for the audience to learn that truth – and I hope this show leads them to it. I believe that theatre is one of the best ways to bring up these topics. Jan Rosenberg has created an incredible script and I hope we can expand people’s knowledge on these topics and have honest conversations by sharing this play.