Independent Study season is well underway here at The College of Wooster.† In the theater and dance department, seniors are gearing up for this weekend’s I.S. productions.† The productions, featuring Lindsay Phillips, Jacqueline Komos, Nina Takas, George Myatt and Owen Reynolds, began on Wednesday and will run through tomorrow evening.
Phillips, whose production aired on Wednesday and will be performed again on Friday, focused her I.S. on reducing and deconstructing Igor Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring.”† The piece entitled, “The Regular Season,” analyzes the storyline associated with the score, exploring the interrelationship between community, worship and self-sacrifice.
Although Phillips looked forward to her performance with excitement, she admits that she likes the rehearsal process far more than the performances.† “It’s really hard for me to present dances to an audience ó I’ve always likened it to sending your child to his or her first day of school: you know nothing bad will happen to them and you’re only a phone call away, but you’re still a little concerned that they’re going to get bullied at recess,” said Phillips.
Phillips continued, “I spend a lot of time putting movement onto my dancers and then asking myself, ëcan I do better?’ So I’ll edit parts here and there and slowly the piece gets closer to what I initially envisioned.”
In addition to the creative component, which Phillips is now presenting, she also keeps a personal dance journal where she records and depicts her rehearsal and choreographic thoughts.
Komos created a devised performance called “Kuvugurura.” Based upon her recent visit to Rwanda, Komos conducted a performance ethnography exploring the Rwandan Genocide of 1994.† A mixed-media performance, the piece encompasses aspects of dance, narrative and film.†† The production focuses specifically on an individual survivor of the genocide ó Immaculee Ilibagiza.† The piece features Jasmine Vereen ’13 as Ilibagiza and also opened on Wednesday.† The piece will air again for a last time tonight.
Komos commented that although the content of her I.S. has been very difficult and emotionally draining at times it was well worth the effort.
“I am beginning to truly understand who I am and what is important in life,” she said. Throughout the process Komos not only learned a lot about Ilibagiza but also from her struggle.
“Immaculee’s witness of love and forgiveness has truly transformed my worldview and how I view others, myself and God.† I hope to share this with other in ëKuvugurura’,” she said.
Takacs’ I.S. production, “Terminus” involves acting in three different scenes, from “Sweeny Todd,” “Terminus,” and “Our Town.”† In producing each of these different scenes Takacs applied acting methods in order to see how one’s technique or approach to acting may or may not change the overall production.
Takacs commented that a main component of her I.S. has been to develop a working definition of “theatricality.” A word that has been highly debated since the inception of realism in the nineteenth century ó the definition of theatricality comes in many different forms.† “Some suggest that theatricality has to do with spectacle, showiness or melodrama, while others say that it is a fraudulent representation of reality that perpetuates dishonesty and is detrimental to society,” said Takacs.
Myatt’s piece, entitled “The Electric Current,” is an investigative performance that explores how gender is performative and how sexuality is fluid.† The performance is composed of three scenes from three different plays, “Take Me Out” by Richard Greenberg, “Angels in America, Part I” by Tony Kushner and “Cloud Nine” by Caryl Churchill.
Myatt indicated that he chose these plays with the hopes of challenging the cultural understanding of gender and sexuality in Western society.† “It’s going to be a shocking performance, meaning I want the audience to think more about how we construct identities based on gender and sexuality and how those spectrum of identities can become invisible and oppressed,” he said.
Reynolds is performing an original story previously composed in his Feminism and Theater Class with Dr. Season Ellison Ph.D last spring. Since its organization, Reynolds has continued to adapt the work for the stage.† The composition was written to echo ancient storytelling techniques focusing on the Alaskan narrative. In exploring these early styles of performance in juxtaposition with the contemporary and spectacular aspects of performance Reynolds hopes to discern if the audience will receive the production differently depending on how the story is told.
Phillips, Komos and Reynolds’ pieces will all be showing tonight at 8:15 p.m. while Takacs and Myatt’s pieces will be showing tomorrow evening at 8:15 p.m.. Tickets are free for students and are available for purchase at the Freedlander box office.† With limited seating the theater and dance department encourages students to purchase tickets in advance.† Saturday’s performers also encourage audience members to stay after the productions’ conclusion for a brief talk-back session.