The Grappler - Winter 2024

WINTER 2024

THE GRAPPLER

THE DRAMATURGY ISSUE

TABLE OF CONTENTS A Note from the Editors Camille Pugliese and Liz Bazzoli

Identifyingt the Dramaturg as an Artist Katherine Shuert Dramaturgy Can Bridge the Media Literacy Gap… I Know It! Eva Strazek Working Outside Ember Sappington Dramaturging the Mess Liz Bazzoli Season Selection Dialogues Molly Sharfstein & Artemis Westover 2024-2025 Season Response Multiple Contributors TTS Production Coverage Is God Is Emily Townley Killing of a Gentleman Defender LeeAnne Nakamura

FALL 2023 / EARLY WINTER 2024

A NOTE FROM YOUR EDITORS CAMILLE PUGLIESE AND LIZ BAZZOLI

Hello Grapplers, And welcome back! We’re excited to return with this Winter 2024 edition of The Grappler, our second quarterly edition and third total publication of the year.

Our writers and editors have been back to the grindstone this quarter! This was our second round of brainstorming and editing workshops, and we are incredibly proud of the work that our team has produced over the past three months. Expanding on our Fall edition’s theme of what’s on the minds of young dramaturgs and theatre practitioners, this Winter Quarter edition is all about what we’re doing—the practice at hand, and how that may look for each of us.

In these pages, our writers share glimpses into their dramaturgical practices, what they wish people understood about dramaturgy, and their visions of dramaturgy’s potential at The Theatre School and beyond. In this edition, Kate Shuert and Eva Strazek each reflect on the (often unrecognized) importance of dramaturgical thinking across mediums and how their respective dramaturg identities have changed the way they engage with works. Artemis Westover and Molly Sharfstein, both members of TTS’ Season Selection Committee, shed light on the season selection process and their perspectives as dramaturgs. Liz Bazzoli sits down with Josie Moore and Joan Starkey to discuss how they married dramaturgy with comedy during this year’s Mess Fest. And finally, Ember Sappington shares her experience working as a dramaturg outside of The Theatre School, pointing towards a bright future outside of these conservatory doors.

On top of this edition’s articles, we are of course returning with our production reviews.

Dramaturgs Emily Townley and LeeAnne Nakamura bring you their thoughts on the Watts’ Is God Is and the Healy’s Killing of a Gentleman Defender, respectively.

A new and exciting addition this quarter is our season response. If you’ve followed The Grappler in the past, then you know it is an annual tradition of ours to release a group response to the season announcement. With the annual changes in the season announcement, it’s only fitting that we’ve also changed how we respond! We have therefore adjusted our typical response to include our team’s thoughts on the 20242025 season here, in our new publication format!

We thank our readers and contributors for their continued support of The Grappler. In the spirit of a community journal, we welcome any thoughts or discussion these pieces generate. We hope you enjoy!

IDENTIFYING THE DRAMATURG AS AN ARTIST

BY KATHERINE SHUERT

I’m a dramaturg.

Not everyone has the bandwidth to listen

What’s that?

to my monologuing in the same way as my

…

best friend, and I don’t expect them to. We

…

suit each other well in terms of shared

I’m an artist.

endurance for long, niche speeches on our relative interests. So, when our recent visit

I’ve come to accept that an essential part

to the MCA induced in me some deep

of my training as a dramaturg is explaining

introspection on my idea of the dramaturg

to people what dramaturgy is. It shouldn’t

as an artist, as my dramaturgy as art, she

be hard, but most of the time it’s to my

was more than willing to lend a listening

doctor, or my mom’s friend, or some new

ear as my revelations unfurled themselves.

person I’ve met at a party who wants to know what I’m studying. They’re not

My best friend, who is a passionate fiber

exactly strapping in for a five-minute

artist, requested this outing to see the Faith

answer and I don’t want to deliver one. But

Ringgold exhibit. We were both excited to

all the quippy one-line answers, the short

see Ringgold’s famous story quilts - quilted

definitions I’ve heard, have never

blankets in which she blends her work with

personally satisfied me.

painting, text, photography, and textiles, generating beautiful and intimate

I want to tell them simply that I’m an artist,

narratives. Her Change series latched onto

but I never do. I’m insecure. I know what I

me that day. I can’t stop thinking about it.

do is art– I just don’t know if everyone else does. It took me a long time to say that I’m an artist with confidence, but now I can swear that I am. It’s frustrating because what I do isn’t so elusive as it seems, but I don’t know how to tell others that.

I came to Change: Faith Ringgold’s Over

Too often I feel reduced to a glorified fact

100 lbs Weight Loss Performance Story

checker, the designated googler with a

Quilt (1986) about half way through the

fancy title, the one who watches and

exhibit. I stood in front of it for longer than

judges but never makes anything. I feel so

any piece I had previously encountered. I

removed, so pushed away. Unlike Faith

stared at the panels of handwritten text,

Ringgold’s quilts, no one sees what I make.

the photographic collages, the fabric

My art is largely invisible to the audience.

borders, and the neat stitching in which she had chronicled over 50 years of her

I’ve tried to come up with my own mini-

relationship to her own body. This first quilt

definition for dramaturgy, one that I can

became a series with the addition of two

relay with full satisfaction, one that says I

more quilts in 1988 and 1991, continuing her

am an artist, I do make things, I am

documentation and reflection. Change 2,

invested. One that says I’m inside the

the second installation in this series, is my

process. Because I am, I am buried so deep

favorite.

inside this art you can’t even see me. That is all to say, I haven’t gotten very far with my

Change 2, with all of its vibrant patterned

own quippy response. The draft, however, is

textiles, photographic portraits of Ringgold,

as follows:

and inscribed poetry, is more than just a quilt. It is a performance. In its original

DRAMATURGY IS THE ARTISTIC

conception, Ringgold would sing and rap

APPLICATION OF THE HOWS AND WHYS

the songs delicately written on the quilt,

OF THEATRE.

blending the physical documentation the quilt provides with oral traditions. Yet

I think it works broadly and specifically. On

somehow, even without Ringgold there,

any particular show I know I’ll be concerned

the quilt performs on its own. The quilt

with how we’re making this play and why

infuses the performance of Change 2 with

we’re making it that way, why we’re doing

Ringgold’s artistry: her imagery, her

it all.

aesthetic, her history that the viewer doesn’t get from the songs alone. It’s not

Ringgold answered a similar set of how’s

just a pamphlet of facts and pictures

and why’s with her quilts: how her body has

handed out to an audience, it’s a piece of

changed and how she has felt about it, why

art in its own right. It’s essential to the

she feels that way. She almost certainly

experience of Change 2.

asked herself a series of how’s and why’s when choosing the medium. How should I

I think that’s what has always been lost for

tell this story? Why should I tell it this way?

me in those one sentence versions of

When she asks and answers those

dramaturgy. They lack the art of it, the

questions in the process of creation, she is

creative generation involved, and the way it

an artist, so I must be one too.

is infused into theatre, not just paired alongside it.

I stated earlier that when I stood looking at her story quilts I saw dramaturgy. I don’t mean to imply that I saw her work as some intricate version of an actor packet, or program note, or any other of the concrete materials we dramaturgs typically provide. I saw what dramaturgy does for theatre. I saw how meaning was infused into a performance. I saw how the same things I do not only generated a magnificent work of art in the quilt, but also made the performance of Change 2 far more meaningful.

I may not make quilts that chronicle the

KATHERINE SHUERT (SHE/HER) IS A

how’s and why’s of every show, but I make

BFA 2 DRAMATURGY AND DRAMATIC

art for every play I work on. I stitch history

CRITICISM MAJOR FROM LOMBARD,

into scenes, I paint layers of meaning onto

ILLINOIS.

plots, and I scribble details and analysis along the borders of the play. My dramaturgical quilt covers the entire production, it is the production. It wraps around the audience’s shoulders and pulls them in. My art is not as visible as others, but it is felt just as strongly.

DRAMATURGY CAN BRIDGE THE MEDIA LITERACY GAP… I KNOW IT!

BY EVA STRAZEK

As Professor Rachel Shteir let us know in

Of course, we always take into account how

our first-ever Dramaturgy I class: a play is

any play functions under a 2024 lens, and

not a coat– meaning no piece of media that

how we can respect and support the script

one consumes will align with one’s

without creating harm– but, for the most

personal values, likes, and preferences to an

part, we are taught to meet the characters

absolute T. As dramaturgs, we are trained

where they are. They are not part of our

to check our biases at the door– we must

society– they are fully consumed by the

always find something we like about the

world of the play and the playwright’s point

play, or at the very least, something we find

of view.

important, urgent, or integral. We don’t analyze text through the eyes of our world– we are trained to see the world of the play as separate from ours.

Lately, I’ve become aware of how my

Even I am not exempt from this– the more

growing knowledge of dramaturgical

often I use social media, the more often I

analysis affects the way I consume media–

find myself acting slightly judgemental

and I think it’s had a rather positive impact.

towards those praising a book that left a

In many ways, our generation is marked by

bad taste in my mouth. Too much time

popular culture and media consumption.

away from face-to-face conversation and collaboration can sap any humanity from

We were the first generation to grow up

discussions around media, and lead to

with phones in our hands, with computers

incredibly black-and-white, “good” or “bad”,

in our houses– even if it happened to be an

and slightly puritanical thinking.

ancient Dell set-up knocking on death’s door.

Off the top of my head, I think of the discourse surrounding the movie Ladybird

Early and repeated exposure to the

as an example. When the movie came out

internet, in my opinion, has limited many of

in 2017, it gained instant popularity, and

our critical thinking abilities surrounding

valid criticism abounded. Important

media– especially media that contains

conversations were had about the specific

complex characters, and themes. Only half

female experience Ladybird portrays– it

a century ago, there were few media

zeros in on a specific version of

critics– their reviews got around by writing,

womanhood– one that is undeniably white

or word of mouth. Now, folks can criticize

and working class. Although I experienced

anything and everything in five minutes or

my coming-of-age in a similar vein to

less by producing a strongly-worded tweet,

Ladybird, I was still able to understand and

post, or comment. With this development,

empathize with the valid criticism– that this

valid and productive media criticism has

movie might not be as relatable to all

been overshadowed by critiques that lack

demographics as it was to me.

nuance.

But a few years after the film’s release, the In my opinion, most internet discourse

discourse about Ladybird started to veer off

around media creates problems, as

the course of healthy criticism. Many took

opposed to solving them. Though social

to Twitter and TikTok, expressing their

media has become a powerful tool for

disdain for the titular character and how

communication and collaboration, heavy

she treats her parents, siblings, and friends,

personalization of algorithms can create an

throughout the film. Communities on the

echo chamber. It becomes very easy for

internet began condemning the film,

frequent social media users to fall into a

implying that watching and endorsing the

trap of moralizing opinions that should be

film was immoral, due to Ladybird being a

taken at face value.

problematic character. I don’t deny that– Ladybird is incredibly problematic throughout the film. But the condemnation of Ladybird made me realize something about internet discourse– much of what Gen Z labels as “critical thoughts” lack media literacy and nuance.

Thus, I go back to Dramaturgy I, and I think

Even though I don’t necessarily respect

about the world of the film. That is the first

David Mamet as a person, I respect the play

mistake that social media critics make

as a work– I can see that he wrote this play

when condemning Ladybird– they fail to

as a warming sign– warning society of a

actualize the world of the play and meet

shift that he, himself was not immune to, as

the characters where they are. The movie is

capitalism reaches it’s late stages.

a period piece and period pieces will, usually, depict outdated behaviors.

In any right– Mamet created these

Ladybird is a lost, selfish, annoying, and

characters from a specific point of view. He

problematic teenager. She is certainly not

wanted the audience to witness the

supposed to be a model character for how

corrupt and hateful behavior of these men

all young women should act. Greta Gerwig

and, in turn, assess their own relationship

intended to depict a coming-of-age story

with capitalism. If characters don’t behave

from a specific point of view, as all

in conniving ways onstage, how is the

filmmakers, playwrights, and artists do. As a

message of the play ever going to get

dramaturg, I know how to find and

across? If we condemn Glengary as

investigate that point of view immediately.

immoral, just because the characters

Social media creates an environment

behave terribly,are we not missing the

where that point of view is often not

point of the play entirely?

acknowledged.

Instead of being concerned about flawed I think back to reading Glengarry Glen

characters, characters with bad intentions,

Ross for the first time, a mere few months

and characters that threaten our idea of

ago, and encountering a slur against my

social consciousness, we consumers of

ethnicity staring me dead in the face,

media– need to check our biases at the

among frequent rude, distasteful, and

door. This film is not a coat. This book is not

problematic remarks. I’ll admit that, a few

a coat. This TV show? Not a coat. It won’t

years ago, I would have had a slightly

appeal to everyone, but that does not

different reaction to the language used in

mean it’s inherently sadistic and

the play.

reprehensible.

Now, as a budding dramaturg, I assessed

Along with checking our biases, we must

the text critically and realized that the

accept nuance. Media is meant to depict

language used in Glengary is integral to

life, characters are meant to depict people,

building the world of the play. Much like

and people are full of nuances,

Ladybird, the men in Glengary are not

complexities, and contradictions. Criticism

supposed to be good people– not at all.

must come from a place of understanding–

They are men trapped by the system of

understanding the world of the art and the

capitalism, deluded into thinking the only

artist’s point of view–and must not come

way out is to get slimier and slimier.

from a place of concern for one’s own

Funnily enough– David Mamet, the play’s

personal likes and dislikes.

author, is now one of the slimiest of them all– nowadays, you can find him spouting right-wing rhetoric whenever he gets the chance.

Along with checking our biases, we must

The way I consume media has been heavily

accept nuance. Media is meant to depict

impacted by my budding career as a

life, characters are meant to depict people,

dramaturg, and I think much of my

and people are full of nuances,

generation could benefit from this type of

complexities, and contradictions. Criticism

education. Of course, it’s impossible to put

must come from a place of understanding–

every Gen-Z social media user in a

understanding the world of the art and the

Dramaturgy class, but more education in

artist’s point of view–and must not come

media literacy could be integral to

from a place of concern for one’s own

promoting healthy criticism, as opposed to

personal likes and dislikes.

meaningless, puritanical condemnations of anything that makes an audience slightly uncomfortable.

EVA STRAZEK (SHE/HER) IS A BFA2 DRAMATURGY & DRAMATIC CRITICISM MAJOR FROM LAKEWOOD, OHIO

WORKING OUTSIDE

BY EMBER SAPPINGTON

“Now, if we can just get this show to be

The story of Joan’s life that I based the

half as entertaining as that dramaturgy

retelling on hours of digging through the

presentation, then we’ll be good to go.”

accounts we have of her life. I’d done the research mostly on my own; a series of

These are words that I never thought I

meetings with my mentor scheduled by

would hear in a TTS rehearsal room.

simple emails, with no one CC’d punctuated this period. We’d talk through

Which makes sense.

our progress and cross things off of the list that the directors had given us to look into.

Because I didn’t hear them in a TTS rehearsal room. I heard them after my first ever professional dramaturgy presentation at a nonprofit theatre company.

It was after I’d given a 40-minute spiel about Joan of Arc’s entire life story in the style of an episode of Drunk History. I’d done so while sitting in an audience seat, reading notes from my computer, and calling out to the actors sprawled across the stage.

THE CAST OF JOAN AND THE FIRE MARCHES INTO BATTLE, PHOTO BY TRAPDOOR THEATRE.

What we compiled was just insight into the

The information I provided became a

world of the play. There was no tiptoeing

toolbox of knowledge and facts that the

around theoretical objections or critical

actors used to craft their characters and

essays. There was no packet. There was no

make choices about how they fit into the

three-part presentation to a room of

world of the play and the specific story we

designers who weren’t sure how to interact

were using the play to tell.

with us. It felt like I was working for Brecht, but maybe a version of Brecht that also

When a dramaturg at The Theatre School

cared about the thoughts in my brain, not

finally gets to take their first dramaturgy

just his own vision for what the creatives

class, they’ll read many pieces about what

needed to know.

dramaturgy can look like but rarely does a TTS process ever come close to those

The director told me in our one and only

readings. We read about Brecht who

meeting before the first day of rehearsal,

valued his dramaturgs as an extension of

“Yeah, the stuff on this list I put together,

himself, whom he gave pages-long lists of

but you guys are the experts, so whatever

facts to find, events to research, and

you think would be helpful I’m sure we’ll

theories to explore.

need.”

We read about Kenneth Tynan and his idea You guys are the experts.

that a dramaturg, or in his words a

You guys are the experts.

“dramaturgist”, was “a resident theatre

WHATEVER YOU THINK WOULD BE

critic concerned with the artistic evolution

HELPFUL I’M SURE WE’LL NEED?!

of actors, plays, and performance, and by the idea of refining the public’s dramatic

What I would come to learn is that they

tastes,” (Dramaturgy: a Revolution in

weren’t kidding about needing us either.

Theatre). What I have found dramaturgy to

Every day I came in they would say, “Oh

be about at TTS is something quite

good! Ember’s here! We’ve got questions!”

different. Often, it is about negotiating

And what’s more, I would answer the

space, and your right as a dramaturg to

questions as they came up in the text. The

take up said space.

director and actors would work through a scene, and then when the question arose,

It starts in the design meetings, when

they would give me the space to talk about

you’re asked to do the impossible on the

history and catholicism and folklore. And

second day: present the actor packet. This

then listen to me talking. And then respond

is where the institutional

to my talking.

misunderstanding of what a dramaturg does and how exactly they do it begins to

I’ve never been in a theatrical space where

show up. Naturally, given that production

so much intent was put into every single

meetings usually commence quite close to

movement and every single detail.The

the season announcement, and that

ensemble treated each and every line and

dramaturgy packets only reach completion

each and every word within those lines like

the week before the first rehearsal, there is

a case that needed to be cracked. And I was

never a presentation of the actor packet at

always and without exception a central

this production meeting.

part of unlocking the world of the play as we created it.

Instead, I have found that this is the best

As the wise Kristin Idaszak once said, “There

time to explain who I am, why I’m there,

are no dramaturgical emergencies.” Or

and how my job works. No other position

“dramaturgencies” if you will. And that is

has to do this, but I’ve found that if I don’t

true; if there is something wrong with a

take the time to do this there is a general

design choice that makes an element of

confusion about my presence in the room.

the show discordant with the rest of the show, no one is going to die. If an actor is

And this is not any one person’s fault. To

making choices that don’t fit with the story

start, there are always people in the room,

of the show, no one is in mortal peril. And

especially designers, who know what

yet…

dramaturgy is and are excited that we are there. But the reality is, most of the time,

If there’s something theoretically unsound,

most people don’t know. And that’s ok. It’s

shouldn’t the team know? If there’s some

highly likely that they’ve never run into a

bit of history that was influencing the

dramaturg if this is their first mainstage

playwright, shouldn’t the actors be

production. However, it does feel strange to

informed? If the theme is being a bit

need to educate my peers about what I do

fumbled shouldn’t someone step in to

when I myself am still learning.

gently ask questions about it in such a way as not to offend anyone but to also, at the

There’s also the issue of the pace of all of

same time, course-correct the show? My

this. The likelihood of being able to talk

answer to that is yeah, I do think all of these

with the director and each of the designers

issues are also important, but in a different

individually before production meetings

way. They are not keeping the show from

start is slim to none. In The Theatre School,

being physically dangerous or unsafe, but

everyone is busy all of the time. giving

they are the keys to unlocking its

feedback on designs or visions of the show

excellence.

once the machine that is the production schedule is in motion feels sacrilegious. It is

I’ve been working as a grant writer at Trap

in this moment, unless you really want to

Door for a mere matter of weeks. It’s very

put up a fight, which I have done before,

exciting, I’m doing the thing we all set out

when dramaturgy heads to the bottom of

to do when we entered TTS: I’m starting my

the list of priorities.

career making money by making art happen. It’s a dream come true made

This, I believe, is the main issue that

possible by the insistence on excellence by

dramaturgy students face: we’re not

Rachel Shteir, the head of our program, by

building a set, we’re not making clothes,

professors like Matt Randle-Bent, Kristin

we’re not composing sound; our work (if

Idaszak, and Neena Arndt, and by the trial

done well) should be undetectable. But

by fire that is production practice for

because it is invisible does that mean it is

dramaturgs at this school. But there is an

less important?

eye-opening perspective on the business of

Many people would hesitate to say it out

making art happen that I’ve been given by

loud, but their actions communicate that

working at Trap that I haven’t received

their answer, or rather the answer that our

anywhere else: “The goal is to thrive, not

institution’s culture forces them to give, is

just to survive.”

yes.

And that’s what it is. When I’m out working at professional theatre companies like Trap Door, Invictus, or Gwydion, I’m there because these companies have made a commitment to chasing excellence. They want their productions to be as close to perfect as possible. Professional companies create art not from the crouched stance of survival, but instead from a posture of thriving. They know that the art they make helps and enriches their communities, and they are devoted to creating not just what

THE CAST OF JOAN AND THE FIRE MARCHES INTO BATTLE, PHOTO BY

is possible or achievable or safe, but rather

NANA WILL PLAY APRIL 11 – MAY 18, 2024. MANAGING DIRECTOR

what is imaginative, inspiring, and

TEAM UP AGAIN TO DIRECT THIS REIMAGINATION, FIRST PRODUCED

challenging. To bring a dramaturg into

TICKETS: $30 WITH 2-FOR-1 ADMISSION ON THURSDAYS. TICKETS ARE

your space should be an invitation to be

HTTPS://TRAPDOOR.TICKETLEAP.COM/NANA/ OR BY CALLING (773)

pushed to your limits and to be challenged.

TRAPDOOR THEATRE. NICOLE WIESNER AND RESIDENT CHOREOGRAPHER MIGUEL LONG AT TRAP DOOR IN 2002.

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE AT 384-0494.

EMBER SAPPINGTON (SHE/HER) IS A BFA 4 DRAMATURGY & DRAMATIC CRITICISM MAJOR FROM WEST BRANCH, MICHIGAN

DRAMATURGING THE MESS Dramaturgy may have an image issue.

BY LIZ BAZZOLI

Yet, in lieu of this explaining, I fear that dramaturgy may become synonymous

Listening to the observations and

with a type of cold, creatively-removed

frustrations of my dramaturg peers, many

intellectualism, hence the institutional

of which are elaborated upon in this

isolation.

publication, I see a trend of isolationism.

Dramaturgs feel neither seen nor heard

The key to dramaturgical advocacy no

and they struggle to articulate their

doubt lies in cross-discipline collaboration.

positions within the Theatre School’s

What discipline could better dispel any

production ecosystem.

kind of negative impressions of dramaturgy than Comedy Arts?

What is it that makes us feel alienated, and how can we ensure a future of

This past quarter, BFA4 Theatre Arts

dramaturgical incorporation? Compared to

student Josie Moore (they/them) and BFA3

other disciplines, dramaturgy seems to

Dramaturgy student Joan Starkey

possess an outsized burden of explanation.

(they/she) collaborated as dramaturgs for

There almost comes a point in the process

TTS’ annual comedy festival, Mess Fest. I sat

where the dramaturg must define herself

down with both of them to talk about the

for the room.

process.

What brought you to Mess Fest? Did

[JM]: I think the biggest piece of insight

you have any expectations going into it?

was to let the comedians come to you.

Give super concrete examples about what

Joan Starkey [JS]:

you can do and make yourself as available

I've been, kind of, somehow adjacent to the

as possible, but ultimately give them the

comedy program since my freshman year.

autonomy to decide how they want to

I stage managed for some of their 408 stuff

work with you because otherwise you're

[and] some of their improv. I always

gonna be doing so much work and getting

thought what they were doing was super

no response if you're like putting

cool. I loved the freedom that their

yourselves upon them.

program gave them, and I liked the challenge of it. I love their random frenetic

[JS]: Instead of chasing people down, we

energy and I wanted to see how

got the wonderful experience of working

dramaturgy could fit into that.

with people who wanted to work with us.

Josie Moore [JM]:

In a standard production practice there

I never really saw myself infiltrating the

are production meetings and design

Comedy Arts sphere until very recently. I

meetings for what's going to be one

became really good friends with Kenna

complete show. But you were working

Bartlett, who is also adjacent to the

on different sorts of short-form shows

Comedy Arts program. It was spring of last

with their own individual needs and

year and she shoots me a text and is like,

questions. Could you go more into how

‘We're thinking of bringing some

you activated the material? What was

dramaturgs onto the student lead team to

the approach to that?

dramaturg the festival. Would that be of interest to you?’ And I knew that I had an

[JM]: The system that we set up was one-

open fall quarter, and I was like, ‘Sure, yeah,

on-one meetings. [Comedians] would

maybe, like, I don't know.’ Why not? I just

come to us and we would have a

started working as a dramaturg last year.

conversation about what they wanted to

Cool. I've done that. What else can I do?

work on and the current state of their shows. We used the initial meeting notes,

I understand that you had the

documents, that we had for each show,

opportunity to sit down with Josephine

and from that we were able to identify

Clarke, the dramaturg for the first Mess

things for the dramaturgs to do. And then

Fest back in 2021. What advice did she

we were able to check in on those things.

give both of you?

So, for example, one of the comedians, Eli Carey, wrote a play called Boy Village.

[JM]: We were all on the Prague study abroad trip last summer. One evening,

She was one of the early people who came

Josephine briefed us on her do’s and don’ts

to us being like, ‘I would love eyes on this.’

—what worked, what didn’t.

So she sent us her script, we looked at it, we gave some notes, and then [we were]

[JS]: That initial notes document from

able to go to some later rehearsals and

Josephine became a kind of bible.

give them notes as well. It was so nice that we were able to closely collaborate on a textual level and a rehearsal level with what these people were doing.

It's so much more similar to what we would

He would read us a line and we would kind

call a traditional theater process than I

of workshop different ways to tell it and it

think we thought. A lot of our work was

was just a very collaborative way to throw

convincing the comedians that what they

ideas out. So, it wasn't so much of like,

do every day is dramaturgy, and that we

we're marking ‘This isn't funny, this isn't

have much more in common than we

funny, like fix, fix, fix.’ It's more of like, ‘How

don't.

can we really achieve the comedy goal that you're looking for in this moment?’ They

But when it came to things like a sketch

have such poignant ideas of what their

show, we got to be a lot more creative with

work will be. Our job is just to get them

the way that we collaborated. There was a

there.

drag show, the Jules Astaire Variety Hour, where we went into their first rehearsal,

[JM] I have a background in performance

gave a presentation about the history of

studies, and I took a class on performance

drag and Chicago drag specifically, [giving]

of humor and why certain comedy works

examples of the wide variety of what drag

and so I think that background was

looks like and kind of workshop[ping] some

helpful, but also so much of it is just like a

characters with them on that first day.

gut feeling. So much of it is like, ‘You reacted to this, why did you react that

You're talking about reviewing scripts

way?’

for performances and I'm curious because I feel like the sort of pressure of

[JS] A lot of the work we did was

‘it needs to be funny’ is an application of

affirmative. So much of what we received

dramaturgy that I don't think we get a

was, like, so fully realized as it was, and so

lot of experience with when doing

wonderfully funny already. And we just got

straight plays. How did you work

to say, ‘You're doing a really good job.’

through the whole humor and comedy

We're, like, ‘This and these points are really

aspect of all of it?

fantastic in the way that you lay out this comedy.’ Affirming them was a real joy. I

[JS] An example I think of is a show, Big

think that's, it's so important also as a

Joe's Stand Up Showcase, which was

dramaturg to not just tell everyone what

hosted by Joseph Walsdorf. He played this

they're doing wrong, but to tell everyone

1950s comedy club owner. Very seedy, very

what they're doing right. Especially in

anti-censorship. And his whole concept

comedy, like we're, we're working to create

was fighting the sanitation of comedy and

a joyous festival.

putting up something that is kind of Dirty.

Now, you've talked about this, but I'm Since he hosted the show, he didn't quite

curious, Josie, I know you're working on

have a stand-up set, but he wanted us to

Hurricane Diane, and Joan, you have

be able to draw a thread through his

another year of dramaturgy production

hosting in between each act and, like, the

practices. I'm curious how you think this

story of the entire show. So we were able

experience will inform or change your

to help him with that, but we were also

practice in the future.

able to help him on a line level; he would be like, ‘Does this joke work?

[JM] I mean it's all about how you continue

[JS] It was truly brilliant, and it makes me so

to communicate with people. How you

excited that this is the work that young

continue to level with people. Instead of

people are doing. And it is so, like

being the one that's holding all of the

uninhibited, and unashamed, and WACKY.

knowledge, being, like, how are you

Capital W, Wacky. Their whole thing is

finding out This, how are you finding out

about like, identifying the line, identifying

These Things together?

the line of comedy, and then pushing right up against it.

I spent a lot of time looking at just how we communicate with each other, even in the

[JM] It totally like, transcends just the text

executive team, and I felt like a lot of my

analysis work that I think as a dramaturg

practice was also paying attention to those

you become so comfortable and familiar

conversations.How are we all talking to

with. And then it's like, okay, now you have

each other? And also, just embodying this,

no text. You actually have no text and that's

like, relaxed approach. [Dramaturgy] can

the point. That is like the fundamental

be professional and have levity. Like, you

point of improv. Um, make it work. And we

know, we're still here to work. But we can

did. And it did. And it worked. And it was

also be here to play, too. So much of Mess

awesome.

Fest is just like, reaching out to someone who you've never met before. And being like, ‘let's talk about your show right now.’

We've got 30 minutes, we're sitting on the

LIZ BAZZOLI (HE/THEY) IS A BFA4 DRAMATURGY & DRAMATIC CRITICISM MAJOR FROM CLEVELAND, OHIO

floor of an acting lab, let's go.

THE SEASON SELECTION DIALOGUES

BY ARTEMIS WESTOVER & MOLLY SHARFSTEIN

We are both students on the season selection committee. Artemis, in their role as a Literary Manager for the Database of Equity and Inclusion, has sat on the committee for three years.

Molly is a first-time theatre studies representative on the committee. We came together out of a shared frustration with the committee’s methods and a desire to see change.

Mission: “The Theatre School trains students to the highest level of professional skill and artistry in an inclusive and diverse conservatory setting.”

Vision: (Excerpt) We will produce public programs and performances that challenge, entertain, and stimulate the imagination.

We will foster cross-disciplinary collaboration to further student understanding and appreciation for every aspect of theatre work.

This is not an exposé. Dramaturgs are connectors—connecting context and story; story and ensemble; and context, story, ensemble, and audience. Connectivity bleeds through all areas of a theatre, and season selection involves finding the stories that meld with the theatre’s connective tissue.

Molly [M] Dramaturgs analyze text, but we

MFA directors’ pitches interspersed the

also investigate connective breaks in

season, and the graduating MFA actors had

processes and institutionally. Dramaturgy is

a show specifically written for them. MFA

questioning to form a full picture. After TTS’

directors publicly pitched their plays, and

season announcement, students often

students gathered for a spectacular

question why TTS chose certain plays. As a

announcement in the lobby. Season

dramaturg and the theatre studies student

announcement was a community event

representative, I was curious about missed

with limited initial perspectives; now, the

connections—how the disjunction between

dean sends an email with plays chosen via

student needs, the planned seasons, and

committee. TTS mirrored a larger recent

season selection-based classes occurs.

movement in theatres, where committees,

What is disconnected, and how can

teams, and taskforces replaced small

everything click together?

groups and individuals.

Artemis [A]: My opinion is that we are

Department chairs, Playworks AD, and self-

dealing with an institutional problem at the

nominated/faculty-selected student reps

highest level. The disconnection comes

from each department, and managers

from our inability to adjust our process to

from the Litereary Database of Equity and

better fit the ever-changing needs of the

Inclusion make up oue committee. This

student body; the support beams of the tts

year, we did not have a DT student rep, and

system actively prohibit this adjustment. To

present performance faculty shifted.

be clear I do not think that this is the fault of any member of the staff or the faculty

[A]: This made consistent progress difficult.

past or present. No one person's actions led

We rarely have all the necessary pieces to

to this problem. Similarly, no one person's

make any decisions. Someone is always not

actions can fix this problem, no one

there, doesn't know the answer, or needs

committee, and no one Dean. Dean

confirmation from someone outside of the

Martine is without question the best thing

committee. We are trusted with the task of

that has happened to the theatre school at

creating the season but there is a

least in my 4 years. It is because of her

pervading sense that we cannot decide

leadership that I believe that this institution

anything on our own.

will have a shot at making positive change.

The Season Selection Experience Context: The Beforetimes

[M]: Both this season and the ‘25-26 season

[M]: Before the 2021-2022 school year, three

discussion started with, “What if we used

people selected the season—including

TTS spaces in different ways? In the old

John Culbert (the previous dean), Lisa

building, people were making theatre

Portes, and Damon Kiely.

everywhere.”

Early discussions feel explosive,

It might be a less frustrating experience if I

passionately exploring what our theme

felt that these logistical issues were the

means and what we can make. We will do

main roadblock to making real progress in

what students want, we will break out of

how we produce theatre at the theatre

restrictive and antiquated structures to

school. But after three years I can say with

create the most theatrical and most

certainty that there are much larger

creative season. We will do a show in the

barriers involved, barriers that are much

yellow stairs. We will make a play with

harder to see and as such much harder to

dramaturgy-playwright collaboration. We

remove.

will use our theme (in next years’ case, who were we/who are we becoming, Radically

How does an idea move through the

Weird in the following) to break

committee?

boundaries.

[M]: There are no plays by women of color in our mainstage season next year, though

Every committee member is supposed to

ESPs are technically included with

read a play a week and come in ready to

mainstage plays. Issues stem from season

discuss (which happens at the beginning of

selection’s sysiphisean structure—that’s

the process), and we initially started with a

some dramaturgy. In one of the meetings

notes document that fell out of use after

after our initial rights acquisition, a play by

the first batch of plays. After reading, we

a Korean woman was in the “who are we

meet and break down plot, what we like,

now” ESP slot. As student rep, part of my

and issues. As weeks progress, conversation

job is checking in with my peers about

devolves. We discuss plays that disappear

their interests and needs. The theatre

despite viability and then reappear later

studies students I talked to were thrilled

(either shirking previous discussion about

about the possibility of a supported show

their problems or suddenly having new

by a Korean woman playwright.

issues), people throw new titles in lastminute and argue against plays they have

The committee pointed out that it did not

not read, faculty are unclear about student

have enough parts for our acting pool—

needs, students are unclear about other

instead of referring to the mission and

departments and their capabilities, and

looking for a different play by a woman of

focus narrows. We are given a deadline for

color (which I repeatedly advocated for—in

selection, but nobody facilitates to make

the realm of my position, I said that

sure we meet the deadline. This is not what

students should be represented not only

dramaturgs learn in Civic Dramaturgy

onstage but in the people writing stories.)

They quickly moved to replace it with a

[A]: The logistical chaos of the meetings is

play by a white male faculty member

frustrating. In three years of using this

instead. The most recent ESP2 (rights

committee model, we have not been able

pending) came from conversations with

to figure out how best to work together.

students working at LDEI about the

This is in large part due to the pace of the

season’s lack of diversity and an adamant

season. We have no time to really figure out

email to the dean/committee that we

what system we want to build because we

cannot have a season without any plays by

must pick scripts because it takes months

women of color.

to acquire the rights (if we even get them) and designers have deadlines months in advance, before dramaturgs, assistant directors, or actors are chosen. .

This conversation happened because season

When I applied to the theatre studies

selection does not check the mission and

student representative position, I believed

specific student needs when deliberating,

this was the work I would be doing—

instead focusing on actor demographics

reading scripts (that everyone else on the

(which are not equivalent to needs—learning

committee would also read), collaboratively

goals and interests for productions are

evaluating them against TTS’s mission, and

primarily discussed for D/T and theatre

assessing their viability and relevancy for

studies, while performance highlights

students in all departments.

racial/gender makeup).

What comes next?

We are trained for this:

[M]: Season Selection’s connectivity

[A] : When we talk about the theoretical

degenerates because it is not grounded in

process of season selection in multiple

the Civic Dramaturgical structure. Rather

classes it is often in the context of what it

than being a collective process towards a

would mean to do a certain play here and

mission- and needs-oriented goal, it is an

now, whether in TTS, Chicago, or just in the

individual process towards an unclear end.

present moment. Often these conversations

Season selection loses its radical spark the

largely concern the themes of the plays and

further they stray into personal taste,

their cultural/political/ social relevance to the

faculty privilege, and logistical bureaucracy,

time and place we are focusing on. When I

away from the theme, mission, and student

joined the season selection committee in

suggestions.

2021, I knew there would be other factors to contend with in the conversations. I was no

[A]: One of the best things that I have

longer in a theoretical setting and things like

gotten out of my time on this committee is

budget and schedules had to play a much

that I have been able to see a side of

larger role.

running this building that most students do not get to see. And because of that, I

[M]: In Civic Dramaturgy, dramaturgs learn

know a fair amount of roadblocks we

about season programming. We discuss

encounter stem from our relationship with

mission- and specific community-aligned

greater DePaul. The budget is absolutely an

season selection, and that institutional

issue. DePaul clearly doesn't value the arts

dramaturgs analyze productions based on

and humanities as much as it values lining

their service to each.

the pocketbooks of its board members. But this cannot be a reason for us to throw up

We saw plays, analyzed them against their

our hands and continue doing as we’ve

theatre’s mission, location, and stated

always done, meanwhile, our season and

demographics, and then pitched a play for

our curriculum dwindles.

production at the theatre that actually aligns with all of them. We also discussed

There is something we are bumping up

community’s role in season selection—

against that is preventing our

civically-engaged theatre connects with

conversations from becoming actualized.

specific groups of people and addresses their

People have good ideas, we are given good

needs (for example, theatres for adults with

scripts, people generally get along. And yet

families should have accessible childcare;

we continue to hit a wall.

plays produced in theatre-less communities can be conversational and provide resources for making theatre).

How can TTS institutionally support imagination? To me, that is the issue. Every member of the season selection committee is a wonderful artist with so many amazing ideas. At all levels there is a true desire to do things differently. To make stranger, bigger, more diverse, and more inclusive theatre.

What boggles me is how getting all these big wonderful imaginations in the room results in having the same back-and-forth argument for weeks in a row. How many amazing titles have been pushed aside because of the grueling pre-production process, or how after 10 years in the new building no one has figured out how to do a performance on the yellow stairs despite

I'm trying quite hard not to make this article just a place for me to complain. I want to offer something. I want to shout from the top of the yellow stairs “Free your creativity from the shackles of policy!”. I haven't done that. But I have heard offers made in these meetings by students and faculty. I have made offers. I’ll say it again, this group of people genuinely desires change and to create a school environment that allows students to explore and create with wild abandon.

These issues are shared by theatres throught the country. TTS shifted to the committee model in 2020, when the theatre world attempted to reconcile with hierarchical power structures.

that the possibility of that as a performance

ARTEMIS WESTOVER (THEY/THEM) IS

space has been a major talking point on

A BFA 4 DRAMATURGY & DRAMATIC

admission tours.

CRITICISM MAJOR

Truly the idea of staging something on those stairs played a major role in my decision to attend TTS. I am trying not to feel bitter at the fact that I never got the chance to.

MOLLY SHARFSTEIN (ANY PRONOUNS) IS A BFA 3 THEATRE ARTS MAJOR, WITH A CONCENTRATION IN DIRECTING, FROM SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA

THE 2024-2025 SEASON Last year, we called on The Theatre School to do better. Students noticed a crucial lack of diversity in the playwrights selected for the current season. After our ‘23-’24 Season Response was published, we were delighted to see that Aleshea Harris’s Is God Is took our WT2 slot.

There is notably more diversity in this season. Still, there are no plays written by women of color. We echo the sentiment from last year that every Theatre School student deserves to have their identity reflected by the playwrights and stories we feature on our stages.

The 2024-2025 season is different. For the first time, our season is tied together with a theme.

It is “Who we were. Who we are. Where we are going.” Each quarter is one segmement of this idea-- plays that reflect TTS’s past (Fall), present (Winter), and future (Spring). The new form of season planning is exciting!

The Season Announcement also features ESP titles which include Lysistrata, an unofficial ESP 2, and a Climate Change Festival for ESP 3. We’re very interested in seeing how a festival will come together in one of our ESP rooms.

These are exciting times!

WT 1 ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL

BY CAMILLE PUGLIESE

In my last four years at The Theatre School,

Gone are the days where we’d find

I’ve seen Shakespeare presented in a

directors discussing their vision for the play,

variety of ways. My first year there was As

which makes me wonder how All's Well

You Like It, filmed outside as a result of

That Ends Well will manifest itself on the

Covid restrictions. My second year was a

Watts stage next year. I’m craving a vision,

feminist, Gen-Z take on Much Ado About

or at least an explanation.

Nothing, which was followed by an inventive, devised take on the Henry IV pt. I

All’s Well That Ends Well has a lot of plot. In

in my third year. This year, I’m eager to

the most simple summary, we meet

watch A Midsummer Night’s Dream which

Helena who comes from a less than noble

has been adapted into a 90-minute Theatre

upbringing, as she pines for Bertram who

for Young Audiences cut. That brings me to

wants nothing to do with her. He says he

the first production in The Watt’s for the

will only marry her if she is pregnant with

2024-2025 season; William Shakespeare’s

his child– which would cause quite a ruckus

All’s Well That Ends Well.

in Elizabethan times. After a clever ruse and some well-meaning deception, Helana

Aside from Shakespeare being what ties

does become pregnant with his child. In

the first four plays together, each of the

the end, like in classic Shakespearean

previous plays has a very specific vision– we

comedy style, we end with the wedding of

essentially knew what they would possibly

Bertram and Helena!

look like before they ever landed on stage.

It’s morally dubious, to put it lightly. This

Will it attempt to solve any 17th century

will certainly be an exciting dramaturgical

problems, or will we see it brought to life for

inquiry about how we stage Shakespeare

a 2024 audience?

today. I’m not of the camp who thinks we should pack away work that could potentially be problematic, so I am eager to see what treatment this play gets.

P1 LITTLE WOMEN ADAPTED BY MARISHA CHAMBERLAIN

BY EMBER SAPPINGTON

One of the last spoken lines in Marisha

The version of the story that has been

Chamberlain’s 1996 adaptation of Louisa

chosen for next season leaves the sisters

May Alcott’s Little Women is given to us by

married to discussing plot driving talking

a man. The grandfather of a freshly rejected

points rather than having any meaningful

Laurie gives us his verdict on Jo March, “I

conversations about their sisterly bonds

thought she’d accept him. Girls are a

and how they feel about becoming adult

mystery.” While the playwright allows

women. It also functions to make the

Father to give a response, “Who can say?

struggles that the girls face with this

She knows her own mind,” I still don’t

transitional moment in their lives trivial and

appreciate what ending on this note does

quickly dismissed. The character most

to the text.

deeply wounded by this fact is Jo.

The one act version of this story cuts off

Famously, Jo is challenged by the loss of

after the Father of the March family returns

her direct family unit and the expectations

from war. Before this point, the play, which

of being a lady. Because she isn’t a lady, she

has been segmented into 5 scenes within

asserts, and she doesn’t want to be

its only 48 page length has taken us on a

married. In her own words, she’s happy as

careening tour of Little Women’s greatest

she is and she loves her liberty too well. To

hits: Christmas without father, Amy throws

Chamberlain's credit many lines in which

Jo’s manuscript in the fire, Beth dies, Meg

Jo expresses her unwillingness to conform

gets engaged while Jo rejects Laurie, and

remain.

father returns in time for Christmas.

MEG: Now that you’re tall, Jo, now that While Chamberlain is trying to make sure

you’re tall and turn up your hair, you must

her version tells the audience what

remember that you are a lady.

happened, her writing misses why we still care 155 years after Alcott published the tale. Little Women is a story about sisterhood and blossoming into womanhood, whether one wants to or not.

Jo: I’m not! And if turning up my hair

The epitome of this issue can be found in

makes me one—there! (shakes out hair). In

the closing lines. Jo’s vision for her life and

the beginning you’re just a young creature

her place in a family seem like a symptom

and you hardly know you’re a girl and

of childish immaturity rather than an

you’re so busy learning to walk and run…

authentic choice. This adaptation leaves me

And suddenly they tell you, not that you’re

wishing that even just a few of the hallmark

grown, but that you’re a lady and you’d

scenes of Louisa May Alcott’s novel had

best be still so someone will pick out out

been cut leaving room for a more in depth

and claim you, like a doll from a toy shop

thematic exploration of what it means to

shelf.

be a sister and what it means to leave your girlhood behind.

These lines fall victim to the brutal pace of the play. These expressions that have so

Is this haberdashery of classic Little Women

endeared Jo to her readers, especially

vignettes really the version of this story we

young queer readers experiencing a similar

want to introduce young viewers to for the

discomfort, play as naive and are seemingly

first time?

dismissed by her loved ones.

W2 LOTTERY DAY

BY IKE HOLTER

BY LAURA RODRIGUEZ SIERRA

Ultraviolence is a word I have tattooed on

TTS alumn Ike Holter’s Lottery Day will be

my left wrist. It is a word that reminds me

produced at The Theatre School at DePaul

of the circular nature extreme violence lives

University in the 2024-25 season. The play

through. Without violence, there is no

was commissioned by The Goodman

concept of peace. Without violence, there

Theatre in 2017 and continued revisions

would be no life, for the act of birth is a

into 2019 making its World Premiere during

violent process; without violence there

the Spring Season.

would be no growth; without violence, countries and cities and life as we know it

Officially set in 2019 in Rightlynd, a fictional

would not be; without violence, what is

sector of Chicago, Mallory, the matriarch of

theatre? But as we know, violence is also

the neighborhood and main character of

death and pain and darkness. In our

the play invites ten “New Friends. Old

ultraviolent world, and more specifically,

Family. Followers and leaders and sisters

our ultraviolent city of red stars and silver

and brothers and homies and haters and

and brick buildings, how do we come to

frenemies and fakers,” to her large house

accept the inevitability of suffering?

for a September cookout celebration.

Lottery Day is a play of ultraviolence, but not with blood. It is a play that exhibits the violence of change.

Four-hundred dollars worth of meat, five

This play is an immense undertaking that

pies, three chocolate cakes, two shopping

requires a great deal of care for ensemble

carts of liquor, mixers, and fireworks, along

work and detailed set design. For The

with epic mixtapes, a pink statue/bong,

Theatre School, artists will be challenged to

borrowed fancy spoons, one shining gun,

create a space of coexistence between the

and one fat wad of cash make up this

intimacy a backyard party allows and the

grand Chicago barbecue. The play throws

vastness that Lottery Day covers regarding

you into a whirl of the tail end of

textual content, moving bodies, and the

summertime, where booze flows freely,

abundance of physical elements. Each

odd, old, new, and acquainted relationships

character is a representation of Chicagoan

are suspended to embrace the chaos of

community members. Much of the

conversations, senseless jokes, freeing

characters’ stories are left to the

screams, booming music, and room is

imagination of the ensemble and audience;

made for the reality of immense loss and

however, whatever is revealed of the people

the ghosts of lives and lost dreams.

are clear signifiers of people we have passed while crossing the many streets of

Mallory decides to plan a celebration, the

Chicago; perhaps for some, a few

purpose of the celebration remains

characters may be people we know, once

unknown to the audience for the majority

knew, once were, will become, or currently

of the play, yet there are hints planted to

are.

suggest that immense pain lurks around this super summer bash. Mallory, upon her

Lottery Day is truly a Chicago family story

throne in the backyard, holds a gun. It

that tackles the complicated nature of

becomes a statement of power and control.

gentrification. Where there is growth there

The gun is not used to harm bodies, but its

is simultaneous death; where homes were

known threat to kill and destroy life paints

once filled with families, new buildings

the passing moments with violent tension.

sprout, and where the characters once lived

Voices speak over each other, prose and

and recall many firsts, they now find

poetry collide, there is music and ad lib

themselves removed from a past they

verse, snarky comments, inside jokes,

loved and also hold accountable for their

storytelling and unspoken pasts.

wounds. I hope that creators in The Theatre

Conversational heft and textual rhythm

school’s production of Lottery Day will take

saturate the undiagnosed reason of stress

advantage of Ike Holter’s summertime play!

that adds to the underbelly of the plot's

It is fun, heavy, beautifully violent,

ultimate climax.

dramatically rich, musical, and proudly Chicago.

HD 2 RIDE THE CYCLONE

BY JACOB RICHMAND AND BROOKE MAXELL

BY EVA STRAZEK

Two years after the Phantom of the

In the year-and-a-half I’ve been here, I’ve

Auditorium graced the Merle Reskin

learned that The Theater School lends itself

Theater with his ferocious, month-and-half-

to surrealist fun pretty well. This project will

long haunt– another beloved cult musical

be no easy undertaking, but the

has made its way onto a Theater School

unmistakable awe and beauty of this show,

stage.

when executed strongly– presents itself as an enticing reward.

Ride The Cyclone tells the story of the St. Cassian Chamber Choir, a group of six

Ride the Cyclone has undergone many

teens held captive in purgatory after being

script alterations since its first-ever

killed suddenly in a roller-coaster accident.

prototype performance in 2008– but,

A defunct fortune-telling machine invites

through it all, always manages to maintain

them all to play a devious game, with the

its witty and sarcastic charm. Though the

winner being given the chance to live

premise is gruesome, the absurd, comedic

again. The choir is swept into a whirlwind of

moments within the script create a perfect

a competition– each teen is given one shot

balance between dark and light. With a

to illustrate their deepest desires, genuine

unique cast of ensemble characters, it

dreams, and everything they wished to

offers up multiple perspectives on life and

achieve before their untimely deaths.

death– and when the curtain falls, encourages you to contemplate your own.

In only an hour and a half, this absurd, dark comedy manages to comment on life,

Next winter, the Cyclone takes off in the

death, individuality, adolescence, and so

Healy. As a long-time fan of this hilarious,

much more. Each song in the show falls

beautiful piece of theater– I am certainly

into a different musical genre and requires

ready to ride!

a wildly different style of performance. Ride the Cyclone is not your typical musical–not in the slightest.

P3 CHRONICLES OF THE KALEIDOSCOPE VISITORS

BY OMER ABBAS SALEM This is an interesting one!

BY LIZ BAZZOLI

A product of the 2021 Cunningham Commission for Youth Theatre, The Chronicles of the Kaleidoscope Visitors will finally make its mainstage debut this 20242025 season.

The play, which comes from local

These titular Kaleidoscope visitors must

playwright and actor Omer Abbas Salem,

also grapple with the pressure of

takes place on the mystical remote island

assimilation, as the island’s inhabitants

of Kaleidoscope. Cold and unforgiving,

initially welcome neither their appearance

Kaleidoscope houses only one family at a

nor their seemingly supernatural qualities.

time whose term on the island only ends

There is a clear allegory at work here–likely

after the successful harvest of 100 fields of

more there than just one–but I find myself

crops. This is where we find protagonist

wondering if such an eccentric,

Sister Fibonacci and her family at the play’s

otherworldly conceit is necessary to convey

start, desperately trying to eke out their

a message that I think might rather benefit

term in the desolate landscape. But, when

from humanization.

the arrival of two strange creatures with inexplicable powers disrupts the family’s

That being said, I am excited to see another

standard operations, Kaleidoscope

Cunningham Commission work come to

becomes a little less desolate.

the Merle Reskin stage. Not only is it a gesture of DePaul’s relationship with

There is something charmingly bizarre

Chicago’s greater theatre community, but I

about this play, so much so that I am a bit

also think that this play presents a lot of

confuddled with how exactly to describe it

opportunities for exploration and

or rate my anticipation for it. At times

experimentation for students across

poignant, at other times high-handed, it’s a

disciplines. Directing and dramaturgy have

little hard to read on a cursory glance. A

rich material to explore further. Actors have

2021 statement from Broadway World

the opportunity to experiment with a new

claims that Salem took inspiration for the

type of character altogether. Designers will

play from a narrative podcast in which two

need to envision a world out-of-place and

children travel back in time to 12th-century

out-of-time which– if productions like Las

England, challenged with the question of

Wavys or A Wrinkle in Time are any proof–

whether or not to assimilate to their new

should yield beautiful results.

setting. This same dynamic manifests in The Chronicles of the Kaleidoscope Visitors only with an arctic village replacing a 12thcentury Woolpit and two green creatures with magical powers substituting the children.

IS GOD IS “God don’t want nothin’ but blood.”

BY EMILY TOWNLEY

What is absent in this story is the sisters growing from that past. It manifests itself in

A chilling statement uttered by Racine, the

violent ways. And yet, while this isn’t a

bolder, more vengeful twin, after she

criticism of this specific production, if this is

commits the first murder: with blood

a play about black womanhood, I can’t help

dripping from the white sock in her hand,

but wonder why it chooses to depict the

she stands over the dead body. Anaia, the

trauma or violence that may come with

meeker, quieter twin, stares at the corpse in

being a black woman, but omits the joy or

disbelief. The girls, having traveled cross

love.

country to commit patricide on behalf of their dying mother, whom they refer to as

If anything, Is God Is a horror story. Tropes

“God,” come to a crossroads: do they

found in famous movies pop up here; the

continue their vengeful quest or cease

creepy twins (a la The Shining) or the “Final

killing? They enter their father’s house,

Girl” (think Halloween or Alien), for

choosing the former. At the Watts Theatre,

example. Of course, there are no spirits or

Aleshea Harris’s Is God Is, reminiscent of a

demons that the girls are trying to escape.

Greek tragedy, examines what it means to

The horror is more subtle; is it possible to

confront an ugly past.

escape the legacy of our forefathers?

Especially if that legacy is steeped in

The design elements caught my eye. Pink

trauma and pain, like Racine’s and Anaia’s.

and green were ever-present. Whether

After all, what fate is more terrifying than

through the lights, the projections, or the

becoming your parents?

costumes, the designers ensured that these two hues stayed on stage. I

The end of some horror stories, in all the

eventually began associating the colors

blood, chaos, and tragedy, yields a

with the twins’ parents. When she was not

semblance of hope. Anaia stands alone. Her

on stage, “God’s” silhouette appeared

mother, father, and sister are all dead, and

projected on a green screen. Later in the

each perished at each other’s hands. On

play, the father walks out in a bright pink

paper this sounds tragic. For the “Final Girl”,

costume, making his grand entrance after

Anaia, her family’s complete annihilation

a long build-up.

allows her to come to terms with her family’s past, but also gives her a chance to

Physically or not, the parents are always

be the parent to her unborn child that her

there. The scars on Racine and Anaia’s

parents weren’t to her.

bodies remind them that their father almost killed them. The parents' actions (or

A bloody, bittersweet ending for a bloody,

lack thereof), words, and presence follow

violent, but mesmerizing show.

the girls, almost like ghosts.

EMILY TOWNLEY (SHE/HER) IS A BFA4 DRAMATURGY & DRAMATIC CRITICISM MAJOR FROM THE DC AREA.

KILLING OF A GENTLEMAN DEFENENDER

BY LEEANNE NAKAMURA

Documentary or metaphorical. Past or

Martin’s exploration of his two selves,

present. Martin or Martín. Killing of a

Martin (Mar-tin) and Martín (Mahr-teen),

Gentleman Defender, written and directed

fascinated me. When the audience

by Carlos Murillo, presents the audience

watches Martin meet the six teens he will

with these, this, or that, A or B, options. But

work with for the first time, he introduces

as these characters face situations sharing

himself as Martín while Holly introduces

a striking resemblance to ones in our world,

him as Martin. Ricardo, one of the teens,

Killing of a Gentleman Defender

quickly questions him “You Martin or

demonstrates the inadequacies of such

Martín?”

binary choices.

This led me to wonder which half, or self, The plot is complicated. Martin, a Chicago-

accepted Holly’s offer and which half will

based, Colombian playwright, receives a

direct these teens? Is it the same

commission from Holly, a Chicago theatre

Martin/Martín and what, if any, differences

employee, to work with a group of teens

exist between the two? A person’s name

from the South and West sides of Chicago.

holds power, and for some, pronunciation

His task: create a play addressing the issues

may connect them to their family history.

these teens face daily. Acknowledging the

Martin tells Holly of his Colombian heritage

privileges he enjoys as a white-passing man

in the second act, but Martin refers to

living on the North side, Martin hesitates

himself as “Martín” earlier. Based on the few

about his ability to work with these teens.

pieces of background information the

When thinking of his own children, and

audience receives, code-switching seems

how the compensation would cover their

like a regular part of Martin’s life. I

private school tuition, the idea of keeping

wondered if Martin does not care how

them safe from the potential dangers

others pronounce his name because

they’d face at public schools, motivates

“Martin” became the normalized

Martin to accept the offer.

pronunciation.

Following this idea of thematic binaries, the

By contrast, I wondered if the reason lies in

play’s events also exist in a binary style, as

his past, specifically in his desire to distance

half of the play takes place in a Chicago

himself from the time he spent in Colombia

Parks District Gym-turned-rehearsal space,

during his childhood. Murillo never gives a

while the other half takes place in Martin’s

clear answer. But, pulling on this thread of

mind. Through reflections and a dream

where he referred to himself as

sequence weaving its way throughout the

Martin/Martín and under what

second act, the audience learns why Martin

circumstances kept me invested in Martin’s

decides to write for his commission a play

self-discoveries over the rehearsal process.

about Colombian soccer player, Andrés Escobar, and Colombia’s participation in the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

The six actors who brought the teen

When I could not identify the framing of a

characters to life captured the

scene, it would take me out of the play's

awkwardness and over-enthusiasm of

story since I became distracted by trying to

teens attempting to act for the first time.

figure out the stakes.

These actors incorporated into their performances the quirks and innocent

After the death of their lead actor, Ricardo,

inexperience of teens implementing their

Martin discusses with the teens how they

understanding of acting into practice, with

want to proceed with their upcoming

little moments of personal flair or

performance. They decide to take turns

encouragement between characters.

talking about what Ricky meant to them.

Outside of rehearsals, the six performers

Martin comments how “Definitely no

captured the resistant nature of these

metaphors” found their way into this piece

teens as they attempt to exist within their

because the “Thing about metaphors? Do

own identity in a system built against them.

they really shine a light on reality? Or is

Killing of a Gentleman Defender’s use of a

reality just fine shining a light on itself.”

play within a play structure allows the actors to explore how their character

It’s an interesting question to pose after the

connects with the topics addressed in

last two and half hours concentrated on

Martin’s play and perhaps their desire to

such a metaphor. With a topic as sensitive

create a performance that will convey the

and complex as gun violence, I cannot say if

parallels of Andrés Escobar’s life and

stories tackling this topic should use a

violence in Chicago.

documentary or metaphorical approach. I understood the metaphor between

However, when transitions between

violence in Chicago and the death of

rehearsals and the moments that inspired

Andrés Escobar. I would also argue it

a scene blurred, the lack of a clear

worked because the examples from the

delineation between an actor playing their

teens’ play carry the weight and the reality

teen character and their historical roles

of the world around them.

confused me. Towards the beginning of the play, Andrés talks with his fiancé, Pamela,

On the other hand, I can understand the

over the phone. She comforts him by

argument for literal depictions of violence

sending a hug and a kiss, which establishes

since the audience cannot deny such an

a sense of intimacy even though thousands

event as only happening in the play’s world.

of miles separate them. Later in the play,

The aftermath of such a tragedy should

you could argue I am watching the

linger beyond the end of the play, or rather,

teenagers as they embrace their roles with

audience members should take the story

the skills they developed.

and those feelings with them as they leave.

Killing of a Gentleman Defender attempts

But, twenty minutes into the play, after just hearing Ricardo monotonously recite his lines or Sandra emphasizing each line with an exaggerated gesture, I feel like I am watching actors deliver this tender scene rather than their characters.

this, but still I left dissatisfied.

Initially, Martin and the teens oppose the

Killing of a Gentleman Defender switches

idea of literal depictions of violence

stances too late in its story, making me

because “If you live on a block where

question why I then watched almost an

shooting is an everyday occurrence – would

entire play demonstrating how metaphors

you want to...see a play about kids getting

can tackle these issues with urgency and

shot?” The metaphor this group attempted

directness. If I am supposed to understand

to create broke though the moment they

reality does a better job of addressing

lost one of their members. However, with

reality than metaphor, show me. But

such a quick turnaround between Ricky’s

perhaps, I should not force this play to exist

death, the decision about what they will

on one side of a binary. Documentary,

perform, and the end of the play, the switch

metaphorical, or something in between,

to present a documentary style play feels

Killing of a Gentleman Defender makes its

forced.

point by capturing the heartbreak of learning another teenager, with a future of

Throughout the play, Martin includes the

possibilities in their hands, and one the

audience while he introspects on events in

audience perhaps became close to, lost

the rehearsal room. Therefore, the absence

their life to gun violence.

of hearing Martin work through his thoughts during this scene likely

LEEANNE NAKAMURA (SHE/HER) IS A

contributed to why this switch felt so

BFA 3 DRAMATURGY & DRAMATIC

abrupt to me. I could reasonably infer

CRITICISM MAJOR FROM LAGUNA

Martin’s feelings during this moment, but

NIGUEL, CALIFORNIA

every person responds to grief in a different way. I wish Martin let the audience into his mind again as he processes Ricky’s death and the decision to move from a metaphorical play to a documentary one.

Special thanks to: LeeAnne Nakamura & Katherine Shuert, Associate Editors Rachel Shteir, Supervising Editor Martine Kei Green-Rogers, Dean of The Theatre School