i love these guys

i love these guys, a photo by directorebeccer on Flickr.

Viola Spolin

I'm reading Viola Spolin's Theatre Games for the Classroom for the first time, though like most of us theatre folk & teaching artists, I'm familiar with some of her ideas and many of her games. It's delightful to read her conviction that the audience completes the theatre, and the passion with which she invites children to engage with the audience in their performances. Inspiring and grounding, and a lovely reminder that kids have the capacity for a great many things... more so when we expect much of them and haven't yet squashed their creativity or frightened them away from the stage.

In a related vein, Anne Bogart's December blog entry at siti.org is a reminder that expectations have an effect on others and on our own experience; she states expectations "create" experience. She concludes that we are each responsible for the impactful expectations that we have, and dedicates herself to challenging her own expectations... good advice for artists, directors or collaborators, and teachers.

Great food for thought as I embark on a spring filled with teaching.

Heroine Part 2

One of the many wonderful things about this talk is how quickly MZ switches topics, which seems to be in direct relation to the profundity of what she has said immediately before the topic switch.

And the fact that she seems to almost choke up, finally, on her final phrase. Because it means that much. Thank you, Mary.

CIW TALK: Poetry: Mary Zimmerman on Vimeo

It's also such an amazing articulation of why, despite my love for and fascination with site specific performance, I will never give up on theatre in a room. Proscenia I can do without, but the empty space, never. It's too rich with possibility, and focus on the phenomenon of body/ies in space.

Having lovely Black Friday conversations on this topic -- and the essence of theatricality -- today, for which I am infinitely grateful and inspired. Lots of thanksgiving this Thanksgiving.

Hero. Heroine. Heroperson.

Let's call this the first in an occasional series on my theatrical heroes:

Patsy Rodenburg: Why I do theater | Video on TED.com

With many thanks to JEH for turning me on to this particular Ted Talk.

Works By Women San Francisco

It's here!

http://worksbywomensf.wordpress.com

I'm excited to follow this blog, and pleased to have been asked to contribute from time to time. More on that when it happens. For now, enjoy the spotlight on "theatrical work written, directed, designed, performed and produced by women in the San Francisco Bay Area."