Art is representative of its time ... I guess. ;)

As I prepare for my classes this week, I came across this little nugget, which has given me some food for thought: “As art a reflection of the society in which it was created, a playwright’s words reflect the societal viewpoints and the circumstances of the time and period when the works are first created.”  While I agree with this to an extent, I am also reminded of the idea that themes often present themselves throughout history, and therefore we get the impression that history repeats itself. While this allow plays from different eras to have similar themes, it also allows themes from different eras to be consistently relatable and give the feeling of being “present tense.”  For example, why do we see so many plays about revenge?  Perhaps because, as a people, we’ve never learned our lesson about the metaphysical destructive potential of vengeful actions ... but I’m just spitballing, here.

Really, what I wanted to convey with this column is to illustrate my fascination at how themes tend to present themselves throughout history, but can still be relatable to new generations throughout history as well.  This came to my attention last week at Sheridan College while I was teaching Theatrical Backgrounds, which is the Dramatic Literature and History course.  This year, I have one student in the course, so we meet as an independent study.

In our meeting last week, we were discussing the classic Greek Tragedy “Medea.”  As a refresher, this play is about the sorceress Medea, who is accompanies the fabled hero Jason throughout a good portion of his journey, and engineered many of his successes, mainly because of her love of him.  When he marries another woman for political gain, her heartbreak drives her to a madness that culminates in the deaths of not only Jason’s wife and father, but Medea also murders her own children herself.

In further reminder, Greek Tragic heroes - or heroines in this case - all carry a tragic flaw, which is a human misgiving that leads to the character’s downfall.  An audience watching should recognize the flaw, and hopefully learn to correct this said flaw.

So, as I discussed this with my student, we tried to identify Medea’s tragic flaw, which could be argued to be her love of Jason.  And, truly representative of her generation, my student said that Medea broke the “golden rule: never date a ****boy.”  Having an inclination of what she meant, but still showing my age, I looked the term up in the Urban Dictionary, and found this definition: “.... [a] boy who is into strictly sexual relationships; he will lead a girl on and let her down ... Boys like this will pretend to genuinely care about the girl but always fail to prove the supposed affection.”

While I laughed heartily, it pleased me beyond measure to know that a student can truly extrapolate a profound truth about her current reality and circumstances upon reading ancient texts.  Of course, upon thinking about this later, I realized that the current generation sees a story like this through these particular lenses, to the point where there is actually an unspoken code with a “golden rule” understood about such circumstances.

I think about this as I look at the world and how it is interpreted by the youngest generation of adults.  Women like Ms. Wyoming, Beck Bridger, who I worked with this summer in “Master Class;” women who have remarkable things to say, remarkable stories to tell, and profound perspectives to share.  A playwright writing in this time MUST take these perspectives into account to truly capture the voice of the time and period.

In the end, though, it’s somewhat bittersweet that ancient works can still be relevant: sweet that current readers can connect to them, and bitter that the tragic flaws have apparently not inspired better behavior in the populace.  I guess we dramatists still have our work cut out for us.

I’ll see you at intermission.

A Dream Fulfilled

Years ago, I saw a play that changed my life.  I was attending a college trip to a larger city, the goal of which was to see several professional productions in a weekend.  This was 1999, and the play was Terrence McNally’s “Master Class,” the title still freshly abuzz in the theatre world for having won the Tony Award for Best Play just three years prior.  I went in hoping that the play would live up to the hype.  I left the play, having fully experienced a word I had just learned in my theatre studies, and had come to love: “Catharsis.”  Here I am, 19 years later, fulfilling an oath I swore to myself that I would do that play someday.

“Master Class” is inspired by the series of master classes that opera legend Maria Callas taught at Juilliard in the early 1970s.  As an audience, you will get to experience what we hope will be an adequate representation of being in one of those classes.  Ambitious singers from all over the world attended these master classes, hoping to extract something of the magic that made Madame Callas arguably the most famous opera singer of all time.

I’ve assembled quite the crew for this one.  For the first of what Maria jokes are her “victims,” we have Miss Wyoming hopeful Becky Bridger, who has just spent two years enhancing her musical craft in Los Angeles.  Next is fan favorite Dan Cole; notably, we’ve seen him recently as one of the outstanding ensemble members of “The Musical of Musicals: The Musical.”  Finally, we have Trident mainstay Jennifer Reed, who many may remember from her performances in “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” and as one of the ensemble members of our production last summer “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised].”

But, stepping into the main role of Maria Callas (“La Divina”) is the incomparable Mary Jo Johnson.  To be honest, this is a project that Mary Jo and I have talked about for years.  Evidently, we had both had a similar experience of seeing the play, and thinking, “Ooooh ... I wanna do that.”  This is quite the role, as I would estimate about 80% of the play’s lines belong to Maria, but the role is much more intimidating than just an exercise in memory.

The real challenge of this play will be to enter Maria’s mind, which the audience actually does at a few key points in the play.  The play has something of a magic realism to it, which allows the audience to transcend the seemingly fragile film of reality, and see the inner workings of one of the greatest artists of the Twentieth Century.

For those of you intimidated by the subject of opera study, worry not.  The play is as much about opera as “Million Dollar Baby” is about boxing.

Trident will present “Master Class” at the WYO Theater during the last weekend in June, and the first weekend in July.  We hope to see you there!

And, as always, I’ll see you at intermission!

An Academic Opportunity

For the now come-and-gone holiday season, I was gifted something particularly exciting.  Most of my recent additions to this column come from my position as the artistic and managing director of Trident Theatre, but I am afforded the chance to expand beyond just that position every now and then.  This spring at Sheridan College, I will be teaching THEA 1000: Introduction to Theatre; a foundational course in theatre, open to any and all who wish to enhance her/his theatrical prowess.

On the surface, the course obviously explores the basics of theatre.  Of course, attendees can expect to gain a better understanding of the skeletal structures of how the art form has developed in America.  But, beyond that, the course offers an enhanced perspective on theatre as a collaborative effort, which can therefore amplify theatre viewing in the future.  My goal is to give you the tools to become your own armchair coach, but in the realm of theatre.

Think of it like this: when I teach to students, I usually recommend that they become a fan of a team sport, as it broadens their potential as a theatre artist.  Certainly, in every sport there are standout players, but each of those is only as successful as the team around them.  The pitcher that throws a no-hitter is only as good as the team that applies the right amount of fielding pressure. The strategic quarterback is only as good as the offensive line that leaves the opportunistic holes in the defense.  The triple-double point guard is only as good as the power forward that slams down the alley-oop pass.

In my opinion, this is the same in theatre.  While we have artists like Lin-Manuel Miranda and Sutton Foster (look those names up - they’ll certainly show up in course work this semester), those artists are only as good as the teams that help them set up their works.  I often use the following analogy when describing this concept as it relates to the stage.  Let’s say a performer is about to give the most inspirational or heartbreaking or gut-wrenching monologue or song, and that performance will define the art form for the next generation.  This performer only has one shot at perfecting this, and the time is now.  But, imagine that the light board operator didn’t turn on the lights at the right time.  Or, imagine that a stage hand didn’t open the curtain at the correct moment.  Or, imagine if the performer’s stage partner had tried to steal the show right before this moment.  In all of these instances, the influential performer is only as good as the team that helped create that opportunity, and without their contributions, the performance is not as successful.

That’s what I aim to help my students discover this semester.  Beyond just the bare bones of theatre and its history, I aim to offer my students a deeper understanding of the collaborative efforts just behind the facade of the performances seen on stage.  A look at the playbook, if you will.

The class begins on Wednesday, January 17th, and will take place every Monday and Wednesday at 5:15p on the Sheridan College Campus.  If you’re interested, please contact the college on how to proceed.  We have this extraordinary learning institution in our community, and any course is a great value for the low price you’ll pay.

Thanks for listening, and I hope to see you in class!