A Sea-Change

Moving right along...

Christmas with our family. Libby and I lead a BU Theatre excursion course to London over J-term (a two and a half week long January Interim). We introduce students to the world of professional theatre in London and Stratford, see 10 shows, eat some amazing Neapolitan pizza, and we come back. We return and (three days later!) I collaborate with the Interactive Media Department to emcee and coach my students to perform in Rock Show--an interactive rock and roll show wherein 18 of my students play iconic rock stars from Stephen Tyler to Pink to Tina Turner. More than 1200 students attended the event. It was an enormous hit!

Check out some great footage the IM folks created:
http://www.bradley.edu/inthespotlight/story/?id=121618
I'm the one with the Russell Brand-ish dialect and the heroin-addict-like eye make-up (Libby's design).

From there, it's right into rehearsals for Moliere's THE LEARNED LADIES. It just doesn't stop. I am aching for time with my family. The production is extremely strong, some of the best work yet from many students. I miss my family...

My lottery ticket pays off! Sort of. I get an e-mail from Brenda DeVita saying that she sees possible opportunity for me as an assistant director. She wants to know if I'm interested and if she should go fishing to see if one of the directors is interested in having an assistant. But, because APT focuses on maximum impact for the artistic process and product by using its budget very responsibly, there won't be a budget line item for assistant directors because there has never been one. There is not budget room to create a new paid position. I would be volunteering for six weeks.

If I threw in for this, I would be putting my money where my mouth is when I teach my career prep students that sometimes you work to learn, not to be paid.

Further, since AD is an unpaid position, I would have to pay for my own housing... That's housing for my family. There's no way I'm going for six weeks without them.

Is this a test? Am I a fool? I have bills to pay! Mouths to feed! Libby reminds me of the enormity of the opportunity and I say YES! I am married to an amazing woman. We agree that we will figure it out somehow. God has always taken care of us.

OK. The ante has been upped. How will I afford this? We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. It's possible that there won't even be any desire for assistants. We'll wait and see.

In the meantime, our department enters into an exciting partnership with the Theatre departments of Loyola University of Chicago and Western Illinois University to create a three-university Shakespeare festival in spring 2012. Each school will create a production that will tour to the other institutions. The whole fest tours from Loyola to Bradley to Western over three weekends in February and March 2012. Bradley Theatre will create a production of THE TEMPEST. Love that play. Further discussions reveal that what was said months before as a passing comment from George Brown, my department chair, is going to happen: I will be working alongside my students by playing Prospero for our production. George and I spoke about making sure that the arrangement was the best one for our program, that I was not taking a role away from a student, but that we were creating an opportunity for the students to work alongside me and learn as actors have for hundreds of years--in the apprentice method. We searched our hearts and agreed that the idea was a good one. Prospero it is.

A few weeks later, I get a call while I'm in Chicago with some students--Brenda DeVita wants to talk with me about being involved with a production in the second half of the summer! We catch each other by e-mail and I am asked to submit a description of my movement training and experience. This could be amazing! A truly great company is interested in me joining their community! I send in my e-mail and wait to hear.

The answer comes...no movement work, BUT...

I am offered the opportunity to serve as assistant director to James Bohnen, founding artistic director of Chicago's excellent and award-winning Remy Bumppo Theatre Company, member of SSDC (now SDC--the director and choreographer union), and 15 year veteran director at APT! Will I take it? Let me see...Yes. YES! YES!!!!!

It gets better.

The production on which I will assist Mr. Bohnen: THE TEMPEST. Yes, THE TEMPEST.

I know. I still can't believe it.

We are going to Spring Green, Wisconsin for six weeks. How will we pay for it? You'll have to read my next post to learn that, dear reader.

As for me, I'll be spending a year in the storm.