Naming Spaces by Tori Sampson ('17)

On & Off York Street N EWS FROM YALE SCHO OL O F DR AMA

Naming Spaces: Honoring YSD Faculty and Friends On May 8, 2018, a special Naming Spaces ceremony was held at the Yale Rep to rename several sites on our YSD campus in honor of faculty members and visiting artists who made extraordinary contributions to the School of Drama.

As Tori Sampson ’17 reflects, the profound impact that these men and women had on our students is well deserving of this recognition, which will now become a permanent part of the Yale School of Drama lexicon.

My first time visiting YSD was in February of 2014 to interview for a spot in the playwriting class of 2017. I was simultaneously full of excitement and nerves.

As we walked the campus for my tour, first-year playwright Brendan Pelsue ’16 described each building, the classes that took place inside, and a little bit of his-

August Wilson were produced? I think that’ll calm me.” I had learned Mr. Wilson’s name only three years prior, when I found myself utterly hypnotized by his words in a production of Fences. It was while my body levitated, lifted by the powerful, unapologetic, African American poetry the actors spoke, that I knew

Honorees and Renamed Locations: Laurie Beechman The Laurie Beechman Center for Theatrical Sound Design and Music at 205 Park Street Carmen de Lavallade (Former Faculty) The Carmen de Lavallade Room at 149 York, Room 221 María Irene Fornés The Maria Irene Fornés Studio at 305 Crown Street, Room 10

Harry Kondoleon ’81 The Harry Kondoleon Studio at 217 Park Street, Room 101

Scott Robertson ’91 The Scott Robertson Computer Lab at 205 Park Street, Room B04

Ming Cho Lee (Former Faculty) The Ming Cho Lee Room at 205 Park Street, Room 102

Wendy J. Wasserstein ’76 The Wendy Wasserstein Room at 149 York, Room 107

Arthur Pepine (Former Faculty) The Arthur Pepine Access Ramp at 222 York Street, University Theatre

August Wilson Litt.D. ’88 The August Wilson Lounge at 1120 Chapel Street in the Yale Repertory Theatre

Julie Harris ’47, DFAH ’07 The Julie Harris Room at 149 York, Room 109

tory about the architecture, significant events or people to have marked the space, or another crumb of information just as fascinating.

Not all tours are this thorough, but I struck gold because Brendan is just a really smart guy who knows a little about everything.

Anyway, while he’s busy educating me, I’m barely keeping my anxiety contained.

Brendan stops talking, turns to me and says something like, “Your interview will be fine, but what can I do to ease your mind?”

“Can you take me to where the plays of 18

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my life was changed. My eyes had been opened to an activated form of life study.

A senior sociology major, I left the theater with one question on my mind: How do I write plays?

I googled August Wilson, discovered he’d written a cycle of work and that a number of those plays premiered at a place called Yale Repertory Theatre. As my research deepened, I absorbed the relationship between the Rep and Yale School of Drama. The names of Lynn Nottage ’89 (Former Faculty), Cristina Anderson ’11, and Tarell Alvin McCraney ’07 (Faculty) became familiar

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photos by courtney jamison ’18

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faces, and those faces mirrored my own.

As August did, with their voices, they each widened the breadth of what black storytelling sounded like. And in doing so, offered me an example, work to obsess over and names to prove their existence and contribution to this space. All of which would be pivotal lynchpins in my audacious act of applying to the program.

Today, I was standing inside Yale Repertory Theatre, my nervous energy begging to be immediately soothed. To my disappointment, that didn’t happen. And once again, Brendan could sense this.

“Let me take you somewhere else.”

“This room,” he says, turning the metal knob of the wooden door, “is ‘Crown Up,’ where August rehearsed his plays.”

For many minutes, I silently walked every inch of that room, took in the smell, the sound and accepted the warmth it thrust upon me.

I felt it. I felt Fences, Piano Lesson, and

Seven Guitars. I felt laughter, joy, triumph, discovery, and legacy in that room. I felt the presence of the man whose work changed the lives of so many people, including mine.

Not only did being in “Crown Up” offer me tranquility, but it offered the gifts of strength, confidence and assurance that this place had a history of supporting and championing diverse voices and that maybe they could do the same for mine.

Being in this space was magical.

On our way out, I asked Brendan if the history of “Crown Up” was widely known amongst the student body. It was the first time that day he didn’t know the answer.

As a student at YSD, I discovered the answer was, in fact, no. But when the opportunity presented itself to pass on the knowledge, I told anyone who’d listen.

So, when James Bundy ’95 (Dean) assembled an all-school meeting in April

01 Constanza Romero ’88 representing her husband, August Wilson Litt.D. ’88, at the Naming Space event.

02 Lisa Zenni ’90 and her daughter Drew representing honoree Scott Robertson ’91 at the Naming Spaces event.

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(continued)

photos by courtney jamison ’18

Naming Spaces: Honoring YSD Faculty and Friends

03 03 Lucas Wittmann (left), Christine Kondoleon, and Federic Wittmann representing honoree Harry Kondoleon ’81 at the Naming Spaces event.

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of 2016, opening the floor for student questions and comments, I asked the question that’d been on my heart for two years: Is it possible to rename “Crown Up” to “The August Wilson Rehearsal Room?”

And to my delight, another student not only supported this idea, but also upped the ante by suggesting that more spaces be renamed after people who’ve significantly contributed to this community.

An energetic dialogue ignited as folks began suggesting more names and spaces. At some point the chatter simmered and James responded with something like, “I don’t see why not.” It was in this school-wide discussion that I became aware of my own blinders.

As more names spilled from students’ mouths, I realized how little I’d known about

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María Irene Fornés, Ming Cho Lee (Former Faculty), or Julie Harris ’47, DFAH ’07, but that these people greatly impacted the trajectory landing my classmates and colleagues in this place.

A vision was created amongst everyone in that room. A vision that would uplift people whose legacies are profoundly felt in the spaces they blessed not only with their artistry but also their personhood. A vision that would honor the historic diversity of YSD/YRT—because with our history lies power.

There is power in knowing that someone with a shared identity not only claimed space here but also contributed to making it better.

There is power in honoring the names of

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people who empower others.

That was the vision.

Weeks later, the Naming Spaces Working Group was formed. This included James, Catherine María Rodríguez ’18, DFA cand., Matthew Suttor (Faculty), Ellen Lange (Staff), and myself. Over the next 18 months or so, this group—along with the support of the larger EDI working group—meticulously formed the mission, ideals, and unifying qualities that would stand as the foundation for how we’d move forward with both the names and spaces in question. It didn’t take long for us to agree that this was truly a community endeavor and that all YSD/YRT family members’ voices (past and present) should be heard. An extremely effective survey, created

by Matthew, became accessible on the YSD homepage. Soon the suggestions rolled in.

Once the candidates were presented to the larger group and agreed upon, the process was handed over to the deans as they would ultimately make the final decision.

And what a decision it was!

To Laurie Beechman, Carmen de Lavallade, María Irene Fornés, Julie Harris, Harry Kondoleon, Ming Cho Lee, Arthur Pepine, Scott Robertson, Wendy Wasserstein, and August Wilson—the ten honorees of newly named spaces: Your dedication to Yale School of Drama and Yale Repertory Theatre has traveled generations to impact numerous lives in the most profound way, shape, form, and fashion.

And for that we thank and honor you.

When we walk into these newly named Yale spaces we know that…

You fill us with warmth.

That You are proof of a history we refuse to forget.

That Because of you, we know we are possible That You are magic.

— Tori Sampson ’17

Snapshot This fall, Professor Emerita of Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism Elinor Fuchs (Former Faculty) was recognized with the American Society for Theatre Research Distinguished Scholar award, ASTR’s highest. She also received the Association for Theatre in Higher Education’s top award last summer in Boston. Called the “Career Achievement in Academic Theatre” award, it reflects ATHE’s membership’s role in both scholarship and practice. Elinor has the distinction of being both the only person who has received these awards in the same year and the first woman who has won both! Photo courtesy of Elinor Fuchs.

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