"Theory in Practice": Presentations and a Performance by the Stanford Theater Laboratory

The Stanford Drama Department Presents:

"Theory in Practice":

Presentations, and a Performance

by the Stanford Theater Laboratory

Saturday, Oct. 18, 2-6pm: Presentations

Sunday, Oct. 19, 2pm: Performance of Othello by William Shakespeare

Michael Hunter will speak on his continuing work on the plays of Ronald Firbank, whose theatrical work is virtually unknown. The talk will address the interplay between research and practice in the workshop and rehearsal phases of the work, and will include the presentation of a scene from his staging-in-progress of Firbank's Princess Zubaroff.

Kyle Gillette and Rachel Joseph will speak about the process of creating a work in and aboout our home, memory, about the relationship between space, the objects in that space, and thought. They will discuss their interest in early naturalism and how a new naturalism may focus not only on sifting through theatrical materials to express another reality but also on letting the reality of materials framed by theater express themselves. The presentation will include recent video work.

James Lyons: "The critical issue of my work this summer was considering the question of what constitutes presence in the theater or, perhaps more accurately, what presence in the theater constitutes. I explored the actor's presence as it relates to and differs from the technologically produced image of the actor. The components of the phenomenon I will address are the following: first, the body and voice of the actor used to construct an image of a dramatic figure; second, the dramatic figure produced by the actor's work; and finally the image produced in the spectator's consciousness that mediates the perception of the body of the actor as actor and the body of the actor as fictional persona."

Elizabeth Nordt will speak about the perrformance aspects of Huelga de Dolores?a student union in Guatemale. Huelga constitutes a frame to analyza the relationship bewteen aesthetics and politics as the two are inextricablly intertwined in the public spectacles created annuallly by Huelga. Her presentation will introduce Huelga as the subject of ongoing research for her dissertation.

Kris Salata will present and discuss his translation of a significant, and previously untranslated, lecture by Polish theatre director Jerzy Grotowski. At a meeting with directors and actors at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City on February 22, 1969, Grotowski gave a spontaneous speech summarizing his work in the theatre of productions. He took Stanislavski's model as a point of reference, treating it as crystal-clear and well-understood professionalism in theatre. His talk was recorded, and later transcribed and published in a Polish theatre journal. Salata says, "I find this speech, and now text, the most insightful analysis of practical work in contemporary theatre, and the most useful tool for a theorist-practicioner."

About The Stanford Theater Laboratory

Now in its second year, the Stanford Theater Laboratory was established by doctoral students of Stanford University's Department of Drama to foster the integration of practical and scholarly theater research within the framework of a collaborative community. In keeping with the vision of an integral, mutually enriching relationship between artistic practice, scholarship, and pedagogy, throughout the summer of 2003 the graduate-directed Theater Laboratory brought together theatre production, practical workshops in acting and directorial method, and colloquia devoted to the relationship between research and directorial practice. Theory in Practice showcases aspects of the summer's work, and provides a forum for the presentation of continued theoretical theatrical research.