Fall 2005 - The New School

Fall 2005
Dear Alumni and Friends:
An awakening. This is how many of our students
describe The New School for Drama.
Not long after I arrived this summer, I sent an email blast to our current students and asked
them to describe the school for me in one word. I wrote directly to them, and they replied directly
to me. While not every reply was positive and not every student participated, I was very encouraged by the overall response.
My goal is to add to that list of words: Clarity. Stability. Collaboration. Production.
Professional. Criteria. This year we are introducing gradual and thoughtful changes to
the curriculum that I believe move us toward owning
those words and more.
A series of three main stage productions by our
students this fall is the first new project [for details
see p. 6]. These productions will be directed by
professional directors and will give our students
essential practical experience. Equally important is
the fact that we held auditions for these plays. This
is a significant step in establishing professional criteria
as a fundamental component of training. In our
interactions with each other, student-to-student,
student-to-teacher, and teacher-to-student, we must
realize recognized standards and speak the universal
language of theater.
That language is not developed at the expense of
Bob LuPone
individuality, but as the foundation for it. The goal
of the MFA program is to prepare students for the industry so that they understand the art
form and are able to express their unique voices.
Beyond that, I hope to foster critical engagement with the context of the arts. I want to
ask vital questions: Why are we drawn to this profession? What is the relevance of our work
to society at large? Where is the theater headed in an increasingly competitive environment?
The drama school is fortunate to be part of The New School, where discussions of this
kind take place in a range of disciplines and media every day. I look forward to a year of
collaborative, creative work that prepares artists to discover and rediscover what is human
about art.
©2005 Don Hamerman
©2004 Don Perdue
I N N O VAT I V E . C H A L L E N G I N G . H U M B L I N G .
Bob Kerrey
From the President
I A M P L E A S E D T O S H A R E some exciting news
with you. This summer, New School University
changed its name to The New School.
The decision to change the university’s name
is the fitting conclusion to a two-year, comprehensive study that many of you participated in,
called Project Mirror. One thing we learned
from the study is that most of the world knows
us as The New School. We also confirmed that
the world knows that we are a university, so we
do not need to keep the word “university” in
our name. Most important, we found that The
New School is the name that best captures who
we are. It invokes our heritage and reinforces
our reputation for innovation.
Our eight schools are keeping the signature
elements of their names, but they are being
linked more visibly to The New School. The
new graphic logo aims to capture the vibrant
and kinetic energy that distinguishes The New
School as a whole. We hope you’ll agree that
the design ties the schools into the larger university and celebrates them individually. Each
school
is distinctive. Each is also stronger for its
connection with the larger university.
Bob LuPone
continued on page 2
continued from page 1
As many of you already know, the university has decided not to renew its
contractual relationship with The Actors Studio. Effective in June, the name
of the school changed to The New School for Drama. Bob LuPone—working closely with interim assistant director Paul Rudd and a talented faculty
led by department chairs Elinor Renfield, Frank Pugliese, and Ron
Leibman—
is making a sharply positive impact on the school. His professional experience, commitment to collaboration and exchange, and passionate belief in
the relevance and importance of theater are charting the school’s course.
The MFA training is incorporating new paradigms. Enhanced professional
development will better serve our students and alumni. New programs that
bring growth potential are under development. I am excited about the future
of The New School for Drama, and I am confident that the school will
enrich and be enriched by the rest of the university.
The New School was founded on strong convictions. We began as a
place that would embrace debate, safeguard intellectual and artistic freedom, and reinvent what it means to be a university. We remain true to our
origin. This vibrant community is dedicated to rigorous academic inquiry,
creative expression, and active citizenship. Our shared goal is to educate
people who expect to make a difference in the world.
The changes to the university’s name and the names of the schools will
help us communicate more effectively with external audiences. We will
continue to embrace the strengths of each school and, at the same time,
we will project a more integrated image of this extraordinary university –
The New School.
Sincerely,
Bob Kerrey
President
For more information on Project Mirror, see
identity.newschool.edu
ALUMNA PROFILE
Kerry-Jayne Wilson: Not Just the Luck of the Irish
Shortly before graduation, Kerry-Jayne was
cast in The Flea’s production of Work. Over the
summer, she performed in Match Me by her
drama school classmate Aurin Squire as part of
the New York International Fringe Festival.
Kerry-Jayne says that at the simplest level, her
career goals are “like any other actor’s: to work in
any medium, to get paid for it, and to be affected
by the work, with the full motley array of emotions.” Depending on whether she finds work
in New York or London, she may return to
Northern Ireland to launch a school in Belfast.
She established the Above Ground Theatre
Ensemble with classmates in the MFA program,
and she would like to recruit them as visiting
artists. Kerry-Jayne says, “There is a real need to
regenerate theatre in the North after the inertia
created by the Troubles.”
©2004 Leslie Hassler
is focused
on sharpening her artistic tools and launching
her career. With her peers from the class of
2005, she stands on the threshold of the
professional world.
A native of Northern Ireland, Kerry-Jayne
spent five years in the National Youth Theatre
in London and had the opportunity to perform
in major European theater venues including the
Edinburgh Festival. She also received 16 years
of training in Speech and Drama – something
Kerry-Jayne calls “a very Irish thing to do” –
which involves taking part in festivals across
the country telling stories, poetry and drama.
Considered one of the top students in the
acting program, while at The New School
Kerry-Jayne was awarded the Liberace Foundation
Scholarship and a scholarship funded by former
board member Dasha Epstein. She is also one of
five women who received a housing stipend
supported by a grant from the LCU Foundation.
K E R RY - JAY N E W I L S O N ( A C T I N G )
Kerry-Jayne Wilson
FAC U LT Y C O N V E R S AT I O N
©2005 Don Hamerman
Christopher Shinn: From a Writer’s Perspective
AS A TEENAGER, CHRISTOPHER SHINN won a statewide playwriting competition.
That early success launched an extraordinary career. His plays include Four,
Where Do We Live, What Didn’t Happen, The Coming World, and Other People.
They have been premiered at the Royal Court, Playwrights Horizons, Manhattan
Theatre Club, and the Vineyard Theatre. • Shinn is a member of New Dramatists,
the Dramatists Guild, Vineyard Theatre Community of Artists, and New York Theatre
Workshop’s Usual Suspects. He has studied writing with Tony Kushner, David
Greenspan, Maria Irene Fornes, Michael Cunningham, Richard Howard, John
Dias, and Jessica Hagedorn. This fall, he begins his second year of teaching
in the playwriting program.
Christopher Shinn
Q: WHAT ARE YOUR PRIMARY TEACHING GOALS?
I believe you make better writers by making better thinkers. So in addition
to reading plays and work-shopping each other’s work, students in my
class explore philosophy, psychology, critical methodologies, poetry, and
politics. I believe in examining the problems and potentials of storytelling
from a variety of perspectives. It can be dangerous, though, to escape too
far into the intellect, so I also try to speak honestly, in simple, felt language, about the work we read together. Storytelling is as visceral and
emotional as it is thoughtful and idea driven. This dialectic informs the
goal of my class, which is to create big thinkers with big hearts.
Q: WHAT MUST A WRITER HAVE IN HIS OR HER PORTFOLIO
TO GET WORK?
Good, honest, truthful work.
Q: WHAT ARE THE STRONG POINTS OF THIS WRITING PROGRAM?
Frank Pugliese, the department chair, comes to the program as a doer, not
just a theoretician. Theatre is irreducibly practical, and Frank understands
the importance of stressing the concrete, the actual, the possible. Frank
has pragmatic goals for the writers—he wants to create an atmosphere that
supports good, solid work that students can go out into the world with.
The teachers include some of the most significant American playwrights
working today.
Q: WHAT PROJECTS ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?
I am equally proud of every play I’ve written, but my proudest moment in
the theatre came when I directed the American premiere of my play Where
Do We Live at the Vineyard Theatre.
Q: HOW DOES THE SCHOOL’S COLLABORATIVE APPROACH MATTER
TO THE WRITING STUDENTS?
One of the hardest things to teach playwrights is the art of collaboration.
This skill is at least as important as the skill of writing. In some ways it’s
more so: a writer can have a brilliant play, but if she gets into a rehearsal
room without understanding how to articulate herself to her director or
her actors, she’s going to be in big trouble. The school’s insistence that
playwriting students study acting and work closely with actors and directors means that they will learn how to collaborate by trial-and-error, the
best way to learn this elusive and in many ways unteachable skill.
Q: WHAT PROJECTS ARE YOU WORKING ON NOW?
My play On the Mountain opened last season at Playwrights Horizons. I
am writing a musical with David H. Turner, as well as plays for the Royal
Court, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Hartford Stage, and the Mark
Taper Forum.
“ Mr. Shinn writes with a highly polished
eloquence. But it is, above all, his focus
on the indefinable ‘something’ that makes
him a playwright to cherish.”
— Ben Brantley, The New York Times
THE NEW SCHOOL FOR DRAMA THANKS THE
FOLLOWING DONORS, WHO MADE GIFTS OF $1,000
OR MORE DURING 2004-2005
AKMK Productions, Inc.
The Jack and Mimi Leviton Amsterdam Foundation
Stephen and Sharon Baum
Dasha Epstein
Joseph B. Goldsmith
Barbara and Harry Gould, Jr.
Jonathan N. Grayer
Ronald S. Guttman
Jane Harmon Associates
Joan and George Hornig
Betty Jacobs
Kaplan, Inc.
Ronald J. Kastner
Richard L. Kauffman and Ellen Jewett
Dwight E. Lee
LCU Foundation
Liberace Foundation for the Performing and Creative Arts
James Lipton
The White Barn Theatre Foundation
Kate Roosevelt Whitney
Mortimer B. Zuckerman
BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE NEW SCHOOL 2005-2006
PHOTOS by Don Hamerman. CLOCKWISE from top left:
Interim Director and Acting teacher Robert LuPone challenges a student in a classroom exercise.
Students warm up in the outdoor courtyard in preparation for Alexander class.
With a gentle touch, Alexander instructor Cynthia Reynolds makes a slight adjustment.
Acting Chair Ron Leibman listens attentively as a student and her scene partner identify their objectives.
Freeing the natural voice takes dedication, concentration and daily practice.
Directing Chair Elinor Renfield drives a supportive point home during a feedback session in Process Lab.
Philip Scaturro, Chair
Henry H. Arnhold
Arnold H. Aronson, Vice Chair
Diane P. Baker
Peggy Brim Bewkes
Franci J. Blassberg
Richard J. Bressler
Robert E. Denham
Beth Rudin DeWoody
Strachan Donnelley
Douglas D. Durst
Walter A. Eberstadt
Jason Flom
Michael J. Fuchs
Nancy A. Garvey
Michael E. Gellert, Vice Chair
Paul A. Gould
Jonathan N. Grayer
Susan U. Halpern
Jane D. Hartley
William E. Havemeyer, Vice Chair
William H. Hayden
George W. Haywood
Robert F. Hoerle
Sheila C. Johnson
Michael J. Johnston
Richard L. Kauffman
Bob Kerrey
Eugene M. Lang
Bevis Longstreth
Robert B. Millard, Treasurer
Robert H. Mundheim
Eileen Naughton
Jonathan Newcomb
Nancy B. Peretsman, Vice Chair
Richard Reiss
Ramon J. Rodriguez
Joshua Sapan
Bernard L. Schwartz
Mrs. James C. Slaughter
Lorie A. Slutsky
Malcolm B. Smith
William J. Snipes
Elliot Stein
Julien J. Studley, Vice Chair
Stephen Swid
Tomio Taki
John L. Tishman, Vice Chair
George Walker, Vice Chair
Lilian Shiao-Yen Wu
William D. Zabel
LIFE TRUSTEES
Adrian W. DeWind
Malcolm Klein
ALUMNI NOTE
Class of 1997
Class of 2002
EISA DAVIS is a winner of the 2004
Helen Merrill Award.
performed lead roles in Zero Hour:
The Last Hour of Flight 11, a tribute to the
crew of the first plane to hit the World Trade
Center, for Discovery Channel/History
Television; in an episode of Forensic Factor
for Discovery Channel; in Alumni Theatre’s
Problem Child; and in The Mousetrap. Irene
also performed Moving at the Speed of Life,
a one-woman show in the Toronto Fringe
Festival.
Class of 1998
appeared in several SAG short films:
Curtains directed by Isabel Galvan, Cymbals
directed by Johannes Brinkmann, Motherly
directed by Kiran Pallegadda, and Flower for
the Dead directed by Hoover Garrett.
MJ KARMI
CHERYL LILKO
see Class of 2002
GIA MCGINLEY appeared in the West Coast
premiere of James Christy’s Never Tell at The
Elephant Theatre in Hollywood, California.
Class of 1999
ROBIN REESE is a tenure-track assistant professor
in Theater Arts at Penn State University,
Altoona.
Class of 2000
screenplay High End
was a semi-finalist in the Jury of Peers
Screenwriting Contest.
TOM CAVANAUGH’S
BRADLEY COOPER recently appeared in the
feature film The Wedding Crashers and
will be seen this fall in the new FOX
comedy Kitchen Confidential.
COLLEEN (CARROLL) DEVEER appeared in The
Vineyard Playhouse’s summer production
of Romeo and Juliet.
Class of 2001
appeared in the independent
horror film Seventy-Five.
IRENE CARL
SHELAGH CARTER’S short film, rifting/blue, has
been nominated for Best Experimental Short
at Canada’s Golden Sheaf Awards, where it
also was selected by Telefilm Canada for preselection at Cannes. This honor is shared with
CHERYL LILKO (Class of 1998), who wrote the
original narrative.
BRONWEN COLEMAN recently signed on to play
opposite Phillip Seymour Hoffman in the
feature film Capote as “Barbara,” a role based
on real-life socialite Babe Paley. Her solo
show Mrs. Barry’s Marriage was part of the
terraNOVA ONE Solo Arts Festival.
directed At the End of the Day
as part of the Minnesota Fringe Festival in
Minneapolis.
DANIEL ELLIS
play The Onion: First Date
was produced as part of the South Carolina
Slam Festival. As an actor, Laura finished primary filming on the mocumentary Harvey
and appeared in Top Ten at The Sanford
Meisner Theater and in the workshop production of Eugene at Manhattan Theatre
Source.
LAURA MILBERGER’S
Class of 2003
was awarded first place in the
East West Players’ “Got Laughs?” AsianAmerican Comic Play Competition. The winning play, Celestial Motions, will also receive a
staged reading in Los Angeles. Her short play
The Some of All Parts was featured in Pan
Theater’s First Annual San Francisco Ten
Minute Play Festival. See also Class of 2005.
MRINALINI KAMATH
VIJAY MATHEW received a year-long Van Lier
Directing Fellowship/Residency at Second
Stage in New York City.
is the Associate Show Director at
EPCOT, Walt Disney World, Florida.
STEVE WILSON
Class of 2004
JAMIE ROGERS appeared as “Lois” in Tony
Kushner’s Angels in America at Noho Arts
Center in North Hollywood, California.
directed Nichol Alexander’s
Beyond Reason at Blue Heron Arts Center,
New York City, with TRACEE CHIMO, JOSH
PETERS, and DOUG DARWIN.
KIRI SIMRING
Class of 2005
ADEEL AKHTAR and KERRY-JAYNE WILSON performed
with The Flea Theatre as members of its
resident company, The Bats, in Work.
Both CARLA CHING and MRINALINI KAMATH (Class
of 2003) had plays read as part of Summer
Shorts Festival at HERE Arts Center in New
York City. Carla’s reading was directed by
LLOYD SUH (Class of 2001).
AUSTIN BASIS
TRACI HOVEL appeared on a segment of The
View on ABC entitled “Bad Etiquette –
What Not to Say,” and as “Mrs. Jackson”
on an episode of Hope and Faith.
VICTORIA HARDER KING directed the original
opera Sundance as part of the Cazenovia
Counterpoint Summer Series-Society for
New Music in Syracuse, NY.
POLLY LEE appeared in Anton Dudley’s Slag
Heap at off-Broadway’s Cherry Lane Theatre.
LLOYD SUH
see Class of 2005.
play AmeriKan Mine
was selected for the Samuel French Off-Off
Broadway Festival at the American Theatre
of Actors. His one-act A Play About a Guitar,
directed by Dennis Wayne Gleason, was a
semi-finalist in the Strawberry One-Act
Festival.
JOHN PATRICK BRAY’S
appeared as Harriet Tubman
in the TheatreWorks/USA production of
Freedom Train and in episodes of Saturday
Night Live, Sex and the City, and As the World
Turns. She performed at Caroline’s Comedy
Club in New York City, and she teaches
drama at PS 86 in Jamaica, Queens.
ELIZABETH JUNE
DON ZOLIDIS was awarded this year’s Princess
Grace Award for Playwriting.
Calling All Alumni
Do you have news to share? Are you working on a new project? Celebrating your marriage or the
birth of a child? Email Robert Hoyt, Director of Professional Development, at [email protected].
Moving? Please update your contact information at [email protected]. Stay in touch to receive
alerts about upcoming events and opportunities to network with other alumni and professionals in
theater, TV, and film.
ANGIE HARRELL completed a successful run in
Tennessee William’s Summer and Smoke in
Atlanta and taught at the Teen World project
at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta.
is shooting a feature-length film,
Children Lost, written by AURIN SQUIRE and starring actors WAYNE ASBURY, MARANDA KOSTEN, FATIMA
QUANDER, and JAMIE RAMSBURG from the Class
of 2005; and actors SARA MICHELLE BICKWEAT,
and JESSICA HAWRYS from the Class of 2006.
AMY HEMPHILL
has joined the Actors Theatre
of Louisville for a ten-month residency and is
working on their play festival season and the
Humana Festival.
GRANT KRETCHIK
short play Below 14th was
selected as a finalist in the Samuel French
Short Play Competition. The play was directed by JAMIE RAMSBURG with ELBA-SETTE CAMARA
and GRAY STEVENSON.
LAURA ROHRMAN’S
play Match Me, directed
by DENYSE OWENS with NIKETA CALAME,
KERRY-JAYNE WILSON, WAYNE ASBURY and
KEISHA ZOLLAR was part of The New York
International Fringe Festival.
AURIN SQUIRE’S
55 West 13th Street
New York, NY 10011
PRESORTED
FIRST-CLASS MAIL
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
NEW YORK, NY
PERMIT NO. 3409
NEWS | Fall 2005
Kathy Yacullo, Editor
Robert Hoyt, Writer
www.drama.newschool.edu
Fall Schedule
MAIN STAGE AT THE NEW SCHOOL FOR DRAMA
Life During Wartime | October 20-23
TBA | December 15-18
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY KEITH REDDIN
DIRECTED BY OBIE AWARD WINNER ERICA SCHMIDT
This absurdist dark comedy questions the possibility of safety in a dangerous world. The play begins with Tommy being initiated into the hard
sell tactics of a home security company by his boss, Heinrich. On his
first assignment, Tommy meets Gale, a divorced mother with whom
he immediately falls in love. Tommy soon learns that the company is
involved in a scam … Moving in and out of the action of the play is
the spirit of John Calvin, the 16th century religious leader who preached
that our sense of futility and hopeless despair is the result of Original Sin.
For our final presentation of the fall season, director Erica Schmidt
will helm a new, exciting, and creative production. Working collaboratively with a company of actors on an existing text, Schmidt and
The New School for Drama promise an event of engaging, provocative
theatre that is not to be missed.
Performances are at 8:00 p.m.
The Miracle Worker | November 3-6
WRITTEN BY WILLIAM GIBSON AND DIRECTED BY ELLIE RENFIELD
The Miracle Worker is a dramatic exploration of persistence and love,
based on the true story of two lifelong friends. Young Helen Keller,
blind, deaf, and mute from a childhood illness, cannot communicate
and is out of control. Her family is desperate for help after six years of
attempted treatment and no cure. To their rescue comes Annie Sullivan,
a “half-blind Yankee schoolgirl.” Annie has her work cut out for her as
she battles Helen’s silence and darkness, not to mention Southern conventions and skeptics. Arthur Penn, who directed the original production on Broadway as well as the film, will consult on the production.
Tickets are $10; Available through Ticket Central at 212.279.4200
The New School for Drama
151 Bank Street, Floor 3
New York, NY 10014
MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW!
THE NEW SCHOOL FOR DRAMA ONE-ACT PLAY FESTIVAL
February 16-April 29, 2006