John Dillon
Fall 2005 Evaluation
The genesis of this class came from a passionate letter written by our theatre graduate students last winter. They very much wanted more opportunities to work together as a group and I thought a class where they could collaborate together on a common project could address that desire. In addition, I wanted to explore a myth or legend that had provocative themes and an inherent theatricality and would also give students the chance to explore cultures and cultural assumptions that might be outside their previous experience. I choose the Japanese creation myth because it also gave us an opportunity to study aspects of one of the world’s richest theatrical traditions. Combining sessions of Collective Creation and Graduate Seminar, we were able to have master teachers provide hands-on training in areas such as Noh, Kabuki, Bunraku as well as the experimental methods created in modern Japan in the Suzuki technique and Butoh. We also studied aspects of traditional Japanese culture that would have impact on our understanding of the Kojiki and Nihongi, including Japanese tea ceremony. I was heartened by how quickly the first goal of the class was achieved. The graduate students, new and returning instantly bonded and worked harmoniously together. In fact, so intense was this collective spirit that I shifted some of our objectives in mid-semester to allow students more freedom in creating text and ways of staging it than originally envisioned. It was gratifying to see the passion the students were pouring into the project, passion that was best served by giving them a freer reign in the class . . . Gary’s interest in both Japanese culture and Asian martial arts made our work on the Kojiki a perfect fit for him. As a result, he always threw himself into our work, proving a generous and hard-working team player that is unfailingly willing to go the extra mile. I knew he would be a valuable member of our acting company, but I was also pleased to see how eagerly he applied himself to writing assignments as well, creating some original work full of strong images. He has some key acting assignments for our spring work and I’m eager to see the results. And Amlin Gray, who worked with students on their writing projects, adds: Gary wrote a number of texts for the project, drawing often on his own exposure to Japan during his sojourn there. They have great energy of attack and bristle with inventive anachronism.
Submitted on 1/3/2006
Spring 2006 Evaluation
For the spring semester, Collective Creation moved from investigation into rehearsal and performance. Sharing actors, space and limited time, the class broke into smaller groups and began work on the texts that had been written previously. Gary took on some of the biggest acting assignments of anyone in our project. As usual with Gary, he did so with high spirits and willingness to work hard. His two most challenging assignments were the alcoholic son in Andrew Iron’s “Purification” and in the wheeler-dealer in Neil Knox’s section of “Light.” His accomplishment in “Purification” was particularly impressive. His given circumstances required inebriation but he had to enter into some complex psychological interactions with his father, played by Rene Magliaccio. And the flow of it was interrupted with some very interesting ritualistic sections, which, while fascinating, required the actors to keep a sharp focus. As usual, Gary gave his all and achieved much. Neil’s piece was challenging, too. Here he worked alongside Lindsay Doleshal to give specificity to Neil’s abstract text. Because Gary has so much energy and is a generous performer, he can allow himself to be general in his work. His struggle in “Light,” then, was to find a concrete reality to play throughout the full piece and he wasn’t always completely successful in doing this. Meanwhile, he also put in some useful work in the “Death” sequence too as one of the important party guests. Once again, his generosity and his ability to work quickly and hard were greatly valued.
Submitted on 5/1/2006
Personal Reaction
Collective Creation + Grad Students = Watch out. John created this class based on feedback from previous grad students. The idea was great the outcome was far removed from the original plan. Why? Like most things there were many reasons.
Ego. An unwillingness to try. A lack of interest in the material. No set timetable or hierarchy. Again, there were so many reasons.
From the beginning John introduced everyone to a world most of us knew nothing about – Japanese theater. This was oddly enough an asset and a detriment. I was extremely excited to learn about the history, the techniques, the puppets and so on, but others are not as interested in Japan as I. And so, throughout the semester we were introduced to friends of John that were happy to share with us their culture. Some things included: a tea ceremony, a puppet presentation, and multiple workshops with on movement (with fans and masks as well).
I loved it. Sadly the single show idea did not happen and instead a variety show is what everyone saw just before spring break.
Individual talents took to the stage instead of a unified experience as had been intended. If this is done again, which I believe it will in 07-08, a selected script should be used. My War Music experience in Acting the Poetic Text was amazing because of the collective creation that took place during rehearsals.
It will be a strange year 07-08 because it is my last official year in the grad program. Will I be in the class? How will it be done? Things will be interesting if nothing else.