InterArts Training - Recital Series






		The only program of its kind on the West Coast.

	Recital Series

	Purpose Programs Recital Format Eligibility Sample Programs

	PURPOSE
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	The end-of-term Recitals serve to provide all students connected to the Actors’ Training Project with an opportunity to put new skills into practice under professional conditions in the presence of colleagues and the like-minded. The Recitals are formal in the sense that you are presenting the most polished possible version of each piece you do, for the purposes of 1) dignifying your efforts to master something difficult, and 2) gaining performance experience towards making or enriching your future contribution to the performing arts professions. The Recitals are informal, though, in several senses. For example, they take place in our usual classroom, mostly making use of what’s there for sets. They are not advertised to the paying public; they are not frequented by agents. Videotaping is done strictly a là "home movies." Finally, a certain amount of loopy humor (mirth, levity) is in evidence to help us celebrate a term well done. Since the Recitals take place three times a year, each one concluding four months of continuous work for the group students, the occasions are designed to be both educational (look what we can do!) and festive (we did it!). The Recital Series has produced some exciting collaborations with teachers both local and from around the country.

	PROGRAMS
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	The Recital Series programs are the end result of a four-month investigation my students and I have made into a specific performance idea or textual problem. Our presentations interweave theatre history and theoretical concerns with dramatic literature and an inquiry into acting techniques. Each program is made up of a provocative mix of materials: scenes, poems and monologues, often from the widest—wildest—possible spectrum of periods and styles We have averaged three Recitals per year since 1985, each with a different theme and fully directed.

	RECITAL FORMAT
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	Typically, our audience is asked to join us for the full class period. The first half of the evening is an open dress rehearsal. This gives our observers a chance to see a little of how we work. We also encourage their questions and comments, so that we can make last minute adjustments; this functions similarly to an "out-of-town tryout" in the professional theatre. After we’ve worked through the pieces, we take a short break to mingle, snack and prepare. When we re-convene, we proceed through our program from beginning to end without interruption. The program includes everything which was just rehearsed, as well as surprises for audience and performers alike! The awarding of certificates completes both the term of study and the Recital evening.

	ELIGIBILITY
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	Everyone who is working or has worked with any of the wider InterArts Training "contingents" is eligible to participate in the Recitals. This includes students of the Actors’ Training Project, Voice Training Project, FUNdaMENTALS Body Project, Wednesday Night Workshops, as well as alumni and past students.

	SAMPLE PROGRAMS
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	April 2001
	April Recital: The Languages of Spring

	Part 1. Spring: The Alien and the Dead

	1. "Axtherastical," by Guy de Cointet, d. 1999? [Two readings] 2. "Part IV. Thoughts Out of Season" From the poem Vade Mecum in The Face of Creation, by David Wiley, pub. 1996.

	Part 2. Shakespeare’s Language in Love

	3. From Act III scene iii from Shakespeare’s As You Like It 4. Sonnet 29, by William Shakespeare, d. 1616

	Part 3. The Spring Thing

	Three Spring poems from Collected Poems, by e.e. cummings, pub. 1923 5. No. 30 6. No. 75 7. No. 283 Finale: a spoken collage of great verses and comments about Spring From Plutarch to Whitman
	December 2000
	Spirit of Christmas Present; Lessons of Classrooms Past

	1. Introductory Remarks: "let it go," by e.e. cummings, 1944 2. From The Would-Be Gentleman, by Moliere, 1670 3. Stanza 1: "The Angel’s Song," Edmund Hamilton Sears, 1850 4. Based on The School for Stars: Grotesque Parody in One Act, by Nikolai Evreinov, 1911 5. Stanza 2: "The Angel’s Song" 6. Based on Once in a Lifetime, by Kaufman and Hart, 1930 7. Stanza 3: "The Angel’s Song" 8. From The Lesson, by Ionesco, 1951 9. Stanza 4: "The Angel’s Song" 10. "if everything happens that can’t be done," by e.e. cummings, 1944 11. Stanza 5: "the Angel’s Song" 12. Bad Christmas Jokes Finale: "little tree," by e.e. cummings, 1925
	November 2000
	From Classical to Contemporary: Some Comic Intersections

	COMIC INTERSECTION #1

	1. Selection from Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, 1602/1604 2. Transposed Hamlet, by Kenneth Koch, 1987

	COMIC INTERSECTION #2

	3. Selection from A Doll’s House, Act I, by Henrik Ibsen, 1878 4. Same selection, inspired by the work of Robert Wilson, director from the 1970’s performance fringe

	COMIC INTERSECTION #3

	5. Selection from The Would-Be Gentleman, by Moli¿re, 1670 6. Selection from The Lesson, by Eug¿ne Ionesco, 1951 Finale: little tree, by e.e. cummings, 1925
	August 2000
	Abstract Centuries: 20 Rhythms

	PART I: TRADITIONAL

	1. Ta-Ka-Di-Mi, based on Indian rhythm exercises 2. A Shaman Climbs Up The Sky, Siberian shamanic song-poem 3. Hills, by Wassily Kandinsky, from his shamanic poem cycle, Sounds, 1912 4. Death Rites I, Gabon Pygmy poem 5. Why?, by Wassily Kandinsky, from Sounds, 1912 6. Some Things, by Wassily Kandinsky, from Sounds, 1912

	Part II: CLASSICAL

	7. Hamlet (soliloquoy), selection from Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, 1602/1604 8. Transposed Hamlet, by Kenneth Koch, 1987 9. Faust (to Mephistopholes), selection from Faust, by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, pub. 1808 10. Faust (to Mephistopholes), selection from Dr. Faustus Lights the Lights, by Gertrude Stein, 1949 11. How To Make A Dadaist Poem, by Tristan Tzara (d. 1963) Instant Hamlet, by Max Gill, 2000 Instant Faust, by Peggy De Coursey, 2000 Instant Tzara, by Kattt Sammon, 2000

	Part III: EARLY MODERN

	12. Selection from Ursonate, by Kurt Schwitters, 1923 13. [Four Variations on the Rhythm of Love] Tragical Comedy of Punch and Judy, pub. 1860 Pastoral Play, by Kurt Schwitters, 1923 Dramatic Scene, by Kurt Schwitters, 1922 Alternation of Character, by Arnaldo Corradini [Gina] and Bruno Corra, 1915 14. [The Futurist Rhythm] To Understand Weeping, by Giacomo Balla, 1916 Disconcerted States of Mind, by Giacomo Balla, 1916 Colors: Abstract Theatrical Synthesis, by Fortunato Depero, 1916

	Part IV: EARLY CONTEMPORARY

	15. Selection from Actmusikspectakle V, by Michael Peppe, 1984 16. Selection from As I Was Saying, by Sheldon Frank, 1978 17. Space-Time, by Harriet Zines, 1979 18. Your Hands, by Yoko Ono, 1986 19. Shiranakatta (I Didn’t Know), by Yoko Ono, 1986 20. Based on The Title, by Rosemarie Castoro, 1975
	April 2000
	(Yankee) Dada Dollhouse Doodles

	Introduction to Rhythm Work
	Reading 1st Part of Act Ii of Ibsen’s A Dollhouse, 1879
	1. Rhythm Treatment 2. Spring, by Kandinsky, 1912-13 3. Twinkle Twinkle, by Lewis Carroll,1865

	Introduction to Commedia Work
	Reading 2nd Part of A Dollhouse, Ii
	4. Commedia Treatment 5. Adventure, by Kandinsky, 1912-13 6. Twinkle Twinkle, Carroll

	Introduction to Robert Wilson Work
	Reading 3rd Part of A Dollhouse, Ii
	7. Robert Wilson Treatment 8. Reading from T.E. Hulme’s trench diary, Feb. 10, 1915 9. Reading from Sonata, by Kurt Schwitters, 1923 10. Twinkle Twinkle, Carroll

	Introduction to Instant Poetry, especially How to Make a Dadaist Poem, by Tristan Tzara (d. 1963)
	Reading 4th Part of A Dollhouse, Ii
	11. Instant Poetry Treatment 12. Reading from Talking About Legs, by Alfred Lichtenstein, c. 1913 13. Twinkle Twinkle, Carroll 14. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, traditional
	December 1999
	Actor’s Training Project: Christmas Meditations 1999

	PART I: SLOUCHING TOWARDS HADES

	1. "To be, or not to be," Hamlet’s IIIi speech from Shakespeare’s HAMLET Based on John Gielgud’s version from his "Ages of Man" readings, 1958 2. "There is a willow," Gertrude’s IVvi speech from HAMLET Based on Eileen Herlie’s Gertrude for Burton’s Hamlet, 1964 3. "Little Red Riding Hamlet" From ONE THOUSAND AVANT-GARDE PLAYS, by Kenneth Koch, 1988

	PART II: MOPING TOWARDS EXCELLENCE

	4. "There is a willow" Based on Julie Christie’s version for Branagh’s film Hamlet, 1996 5. "There is a willow" Based on Dame Judi Dench’s version for Branagh’s BBC Radio Hamlet, 1992 6. "Team Hamlet," by Kenneth Koch

	PART III: LURCHING TOWARDS CLARITY

	7. "Transposed Hamlet," by Kenneth Koch 8. "There is a willow" Based on Glenn Close’s version for Mel Gibson’s Hamlet, 1990 9. "To be, or not to be" Based on Burton’s version in the HAMLET directed by John Gielgud, 1964 10. "’Tis Pity She’s the Merry Wife of Henry VI (Part I): An All-Purpose Coarse Play," Act I. In THE ART OF COARSE ACTING, by Michael Green, 1981
	December 1998
	Refuge For a Mad Parrot or The Twelve Days of What?

	Introduction to Part I: A Comic Interlude
	PART I The Dark: Madness

	1. From "Silence," Harold Pinter, 1969 2. "He Thinks of His Past Greatness When a Part of the Constellations of Heaven," W.B. Yeats, d. 1939 3. "Under the Drier," Ann Maker, 1945 4. From "The Lady From the Sea," Act II, Henrik Ibsen, 1888 5. "Adult Orgasm Escapes From the Zoo," Dario Fo and Franca Rame, 1977 6. "The Thief of Always," Diane Ackerman, 1998 7. "From a Year of My Life," Excerpts 13 and 14, Haiku Master Issa, 1819

	Introduction to Part II: A Musical Interlude ("A Holiday Song")"
	PART II The Light: Refuge

	8. "The Twelve Thank-you Notes of Christmas," Author Unknown 9. "To Juan at the Winter Solstice," Robert Graves, b.1895 10. From "The Cherry Orchard," Act I, Anton Chekhov, 1903 11. From "Ondine," Act I, Jean Giraudoux, 1939 12. From "Once in a Lifetime," Act Iii, Kaufman and Hart, 1930 13. From "The Flies," Act IIii, Jean-Paul Sartre, 1946
	August 1997
	Nonsense or Sense: scenes and selections

	1. "Negative Act," by Corra and Settimelli (1915) [also: Three Actors’ Training Project variations of "Negative Act" (1997)] 2. "Wheel," by Jun Takami (d. 1965) 3. The Seven Mysteries of Life: an Exploration in Science and Philosophy, by Guy Murchie (1978) 4. "Education," by Angelo Rognoni (1917) 5. "Angel Street," Ii and Iiii, by Patrick Hamilton (1942) 6. "Faces with the Infinite," by Corra and Settimelli (1915) 7. Laurencia in "Fuente Ovejuna," Iii, by Lope de Vega (d. 1635) 8. Correspondence from David wiley, painter and poet (1997) 9. "This is Just to Say," by William Carlos williams (d. 1963) 10. "I Could See the Smallest things," in What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, by Raymond Carver (1974)
	April 1997
	The Theatre For Meaning: scenes and selections

	1. "Myris: Alexandris, A.D. 340," by C.P. Cavafy (1929) 2. "Dover Beach," by Matthew Arnold (1867) 3. "House of Loss," by cate Gable (1992) 4. "Footfalls," by Samuel Beckett (1976) 5. First Player in ‘Hamlet," Iiii, by Shakespeare (1604/5) 6. Froggy in "Don’t Look Now," by Kenneth Patchen (1958) 7. Man’s Search for Meaning: From Death Camp to Existentialism, by Viktor Frankel (1962) 8. Jannings in "Ride Across Lake Constance," by Peter Handke (1976) 9. Jack Nicholson, from an interview 10. Sabina in "The Skin of Our Teeth," by Thornton Wilder (1942) 11. "There is Strength in Knowing," by Emily Dickinson (d. 1886) 12. Tillie in "The Effect of Gamma Rays…" by Paul Zindel (1971) 13. Jinny in "The Waves," by Virginia Woolf (1931) 14. "Gracias a la Vida" (Thanks to Life), Anonymous 15. "Four Lives," by Kenneth Koch (1988)
	April 1996
	"The Method" in America: scenes

	1. "The Mound Builders," by Lanford Wilson 2. "Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean," by Ed Graczyk 3. "Sally and Marsha," by Sybille Pearson