January 10, 2007:   About Merritt Baer

Merritt Baer is a senior, double majoring in Drama (acting emphasis) and Economics; he plans to pursue both fields in the future. This year Merritt is directing the Ram's Head Spring Musical, The Wild Party, and he will play the leading role of Jamie in his senior project The Last Five Years this coming spring. Previous Stanford credits include Company (Director), Kiss Me Kate (Fred/Petruchio), Caligula (Mauritus), The Castle (Builder). Other credits include Annie Get Your Gun (Frank Butler), The Mousetrap (Christopher Wren), Flowers for Algernon (Charlie), Women and Wallace (Wallace), and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Joseph).
 

December 15, 2006:   The Cherry Orchard Interview

Scene from The Cherry Orchard, 2007.

Rachel Anderson, a third-year PhD candidate in the Drama Department, recently directed an acclaimed production of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard in the new Roble Studio Theater. Selling out every performance, the production was considered a must-see event during the 2006-2007 Drama Department season. She has kindly offered to be interviewed for this blog. 

Merritt Baer: Congratulations on your excellent production of The Cherry Orchard. As someone knowledgeable in Russian and Russian culture, how do you think your background impacted your production?

Rachel Anderson: I think it made me all the more aware of the challenge of producing this play in the U.S. with American students, none of whom were very familiar with Russian culture. I tried to create a kind of necessary balance—to show respect for the culture and time that this play comes from, and also to allow the cast and myself to engage with the play on our own terms, through our own identities.

MB: Were there any other major influences in your work?

RA: I’m sure there are always many more than I’m aware of. I am endlessly impacted by the Chekhov-based acting work I did in Moscow. It was interesting to be an American transplanted in the definitive drama for another culture. I also really enjoy the film Vanya on 42nd Street; some of the acknowledgment of our rehearsal situation was definitely in there. Stanford’s Drama 210 class from my first year here at Stanford also really inspired me. The students put together some Chekhov scenes for their final class scenes, and I loved how alive and vibrant they were—with costumes borrowed from the costume shop and no technical support to speak of. It reminded me why I love Chekhov, the life isn’t in the STUFF, it’s in the people.

MB: In the program, it mentioned that the new translation was written by Stanford Lecturer Marina Brodskaya. What was it like having the translator is such close proximity?

RA: At first it made me nervous. Many people have very strongly held opinions about Chekhov’s plays: what they should like, what they mean, how different moments should be played. But as it turns out, Marina was an absolutely wonderful resource beyond the call of a translator. She came in and talked with the cast and helped to answer their questions about a world they didn’t fully understand. I learned a lot too.

MB: The Cherry Orchard has a cast of thirteen, a fairly large number of actors for a play. In that group, you seemingly cast a large percent of undergraduates. Was that deliberate?

RA: Yes, I knew from the moment I proposed this play to the Drama Department that I wanted to work with students. Partly because I’m a narrow-minded crotchety old graduate student; I know what Chekhov means to me but I had no idea if or how it would resonate with students. I wanted to see if Chekhov’s story intersected with the stories of a completely different population. I wanted to see if The Cherry Orchard, here and now, was an important story to tell. Also, I thought it would be neat to have students playing roles that were far too old for them. It may not be realistically appropriate, but that’s how actors (and maybe even spectators) learn. How do you solve the problem of playing a part that is so different from you, that draws upon a lifetime of experiences you’ve never had? It’s exciting to watch a twenty-year-old body try to become a seventy-year-old body; it reveals fascinating things about a character—the essentials of the character—that can sometimes be taken for granted.

MB: In your production, you played around with the concept of having the actors play themselves (actors) between the scenes where they played Russian characters. How did you choose to use this for your framework?

RA: Honestly, I chose it because it seemed the most honest and the most fun. Honest because yes, they were students and they were obviously themselves—there was no real illusion about the age of the actors, for example. Also, it really is fun to run around on stage and be yourself, or as close to yourself as you can be with hundreds of people watching you. It opens up possibilities, you can play and shout and talk about what’s happening to you RIGHT THAT MINUTE. It’s not supposed to be perfect. I really liked the idea of the audience seeing the play as a continuous rehearsal process, because that’s exactly what it was. With actors playing themselves and improvising between scenes, the play was able to continue to contend with its own evolution over time.

MB: There was also a lot of discussion about the fact that The Cherry Orchard is a more famous work than many of the plays produced by the Department. How do you think that plays with audience expectations, and do you think that’s an asset or hindrance?

RA: I’m not sure about that. Yes, many people came to see the play because they recognized it, but I don’t have a good sense of what the audience expected and whether or not they walked away satisfied. I’d have to conduct an extensive poll! Some people liked it and some didn’t, I’m sure about that. I imagine that because it was a well-known play, the audience was comfortable embracing it by walking through the door. What happened when they walked out the door, I can’t say. As I mentioned before, many people have strong opinions about Chekhov precisely because his work is so well known. That is a point that can generate discussion, which is a good thing.

MB: After directing a scene from The Seagull, and now with Cherry Orchard, you are quickly becoming the resident Chekhov expert. Why are you drawn to Chekhov’s works?

RA: I’m drawn to them because I think they say something about humanity and life that I find deeply meaningful. I couldn’t say exactly what that is without sounding horribly sentimental. I find great comfort in the fact that in Chekhov’s plays, dreadful things happen, characters experience horrible disappointments—but they still laugh and laugh. Which is a beautiful and terrible thing. His plays scratch the surface of how ridiculous it is to be human. We’re very happy and we cry, or we’re in the depths of despair and we laugh. We are very silly creatures.

MB: Well, thank you very much Rachel. The production was truly outstanding, and definitely a highlight during my time at Stanford.

RA: Thanks Merritt. I had a pretty great time with it, and I liked it too.

December 6, 2006:   Frenzy Interview

Amanda Felson, a senior who hopes to pursue a career in theater, recently performed the leading role in Ionesco’s Frenzy for Two, or More for the Drama Department’s 2006-2007 season. She has kindly offered to be interviewed about her experience for this blog.

George Wyhinny and Amanda Felson in Frenzy for Two, or More

Merritt Baer: Congratulations on your wonderful performance in Frenzy. Clearly you all worked incredibly hard to bring this production to the stage so quickly. How long was the process?
 
Amanda Felson: We had four weeks to rehearse and block the entire show, and we spent only a week and a half of that time using the script. 

MB: Wow. That’s a pretty short rehearsal period. 

AF: It was. And it was exhausting. Everybody worked extremely hard over a very short time period, and the work we did was grueling, physically and emotionally. But it was fun. We spent so much time together for those four weeks that we just clicked in this bizarre and delirious way that lent itself well to the spirit of the play. I think in hindsight that we just carried the chaos from the rehearsal room straight to the stage. 

MB: Can you tell me more about the approach that [director] Florentina Mocanu-Schendel used? 

AF:  Haha. It was exciting and terrifying. After an initial readthrough, we abandoned the script and dedicated more than half the rehearsal time to improvisation and movement work. We initially established and clarified our personal spaces: what was there; what wasn’t; what we did when we were alone; what we ate; how we slept. We then worked towards creating a physical vocabulary: using emotions and text as motivation for physical movement. One person might create a gesture that would resonate with the entire cast, and multiple characters would end up using it for the show. We created spaces where we felt sheltered from war: specifying who and what we would bring with us, and what we would do once inside. We imagined what it might feel like to die; shared personal experiences of warfare, feelings of helplessness and claustrophobia. By the time we added the script, everyone had a clear vision of the world we inhabited, the emotional baggage that came with it, and what we did to survive. I tend to approach acting cerebrally, and I think that having a concrete physical and emotional language to back the text really helped me sink into the character in the short space of time. 

MB: How would you say the experience compared to other Stanford productions you have been a part of? 

AF: Well, I was lucky to work with an awesome cast: everyone had a great eccentric sense of humor that worked well with the show and made rehearsals very entertaining. I’ve worked with some wonderful directors at Stanford, and all my acting experiences have been very positive. But I think that Florentina really pushed me that extra mile by helping me reconnect to my impulses. Frenzy was the closest I have come to feeling like I inhabited a character; that there was something coherent and truthful behind the movements, words, and emotions. And that came from the direction, the rehearsal process, and the cast dynamic. I am grateful to have had that experience. 

MB: How did you struggle or thrive as an actress in the incredibly surreal environment that Ionesco has created? 

AF: I understood Frenzy’s absurdity as an expression of wartime chaos. Granted, when you deconstruct individual lines, they seem ridiculous and nonsensical, and that can be very intimidating. But at the same time I saw so many people in the relationship between the two protagonists: my parents; my friends; my own interactions with the people I love. When you’re surrounded by chaos and danger; when you’re completely at the mercy of something so much greater than you, I think a natural human response is to connect with the people you love, who validate your existence, be that with outward tenderness or animosity. “She” spends the entire play attacking her husband because by getting him to retaliate it reminds her that she is alive; that she matters. I don’t think that the absurdity was a barrier to the underlying emotions, it was just another way of channeling them. 

MB: Well, your portrayal of “She” was incredibly grounded and compelling. 

AF: Thank you very much.  

MB: Are there any other productions you’re working on this year? 

AF: I am writing a solo performance for my senior project which goes up at the end of spring quarter. I don’t want to say too much, because it’s still a work in progress, but I’m excited! 

MB: Thanks so much for your time, and congratulations again on a great performance.

November 27, 2006:   Curtain Up!

On October 25, the 2006-2007 Drama Department season kicked off with a new one-woman play written and performed by Anna Deavere Smith. The former Ann O’Day Maples Chair in the Arts and Professor in the Drama Department, Smith has become famous for her plays that have been termed as journalistic theater or “docu-dramas.” She interviews subjects for her play, and then she performs her interviews verbatim, creating a piece of theatre that intersects reality and art. Her most famous plays include Fires in the Mirror, chronicling the 1991 Crown Heights Riots, and Twilight Los Angeles 1992, which grew from the 1992 LA riots. As an actress, her supporting role in The West Wing brought her name to households worldwide.  

Let Me Down Easy, Smith’s latest work, was performed as a workshop performance on her path to a New York berth at The Public Theater next season. The play, about the resilience and fragility of the human body, allowed Smith to transform into about twenty different characters, each sharing their beautiful, hysterical, or heart-breaking stories. As the piece was still in its workshop phase, Smith offered a talk-back session after each performance to offer insight into her process. Between her performances, she met with students to discuss their projects and offer feedback/advice. As per the performance itself, many audience members were deeply moved by Smith’s detailed characterizations. Perfectly situated in the beautiful and intimate new Roble Studio Theater, Smith used the thrust stage to great effect, interacting with audience members on all three sides. Her meticulous research allowed her to breathe life into a multitude of unique characters. 

As has clearly been a concerted effort in the past few years, Smith’s presence in the Drama Department, was yet another opportunity for students to connect with and learn from distinguished theater professionals.  

November 6, 2006:   Saved by the Bell…or For Whom the Bell Tolls…

At a first-rate academic institution like Stanford, classes are integral to becoming a drama major. As an acting focus, my experience has been slightly different from my peers in directing, playwrighting, or design, but many of the core classes are overlapped by each concentration.

The 120’s:
Current acting students must take the 120 series (Fundamentals, Movement, and Voice). These courses make up the acting core, and are taught by invigorating instructors like Kay Kostopoulos, Jeffrey Bihr, and Amy Freed. Scenework is often the emphasis in these classes, focusing on both modern and classic texts. For those with previous acting experience, this is a great place to start your major, and it will give you prime access to some of the most endearing and encouraging instructors at Stanford. While Jeffrey Bihr is a relatively recent addition to the acting staff, I have worked extensively with both Amy Freed and Kay Kostopoulos, and I would wholeheartedly recommend their classes to anyone with even the faintest interest in theater. Kay is an incredible director, actress, and singer who I have seen motivate students to perform scenes with the utmost honesty and beauty. Amy is a Pulitzer Prize finalist, whose plays are performed in New York and around the country (probably world), and Amy’s excitement and immense theatrical knowledge make her classes a laboratory for both great theater and great fun.

The 160’s:
Four of these courses must be taken by all drama students, each course focused on a unique perspective of dramatic literature. Course titles include Rush Rehm’s “Performance and Politics,”Alice Rayner’s “Performance and the Text,”Harry Elam’s “Performance and America,” as well as theater history courses that change lecturers each year. Not all of these courses are offered every year, so prepare early, and seek out the courses that interest you (especially if you plan on going abroad). These courses are a great way to forge relationships with tenured professors in the department, and obviously to form a basis of theatrical knowledge for your education. Such plays canvas the spectrum of drama, including Oedipus Rex, Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Waiting for Godot, Raisin in the Sun, Doll House, Fences, Angels in America, The Balcony, Glass Menagerie, and Hedda Gabler.

Electives:
The department also offers a broad array of elective classes including “Improvisation,” “The Craft of Comedy,” “Makeup for the Stage,” and “Stage Management Techniques.” These classes offer great insight into the different theatrical skills, often better preparing students for performance. As a student who is currently taking Connie Strayer’s “Makeup for the Stage,” I can say with the utmost sincerity that it is one of the most transformative and enlightening classes I have found at Stanford, helping the actor physically transform himself into a role. When I took Alison Duxbury’s “Stage Management Techniques” last spring, I found myself filled with newfound appreciation for stage managers and newly equipped with the skills to become one myself. Each of these classes has their place in the department curriculum, and if a given class doesn’t pertain to your interests, it will most certainly afford you a deeper insight into the work of your fellow artists.

Crew and Performance:
All drama students are required to fulfill a certain amount of crew and performance credits during their undergraduate career. Hopefully, using the tools built in the classes in the department, your time working onstage or offstage will be more engaging and meaningful.

Certainly in the few paragraphs above, I have barely begun to scrape at the list of courses offered by the department. Please think of it as a mere sampling of the opportunities you can find in The Bulletin.

October 18, 2006:   The Basics

My name is Merritt Baer, and I have spent the past three and a half years as a drama major with an acting focus. The past few years have been filled with incredible memories, from my first step into Amy Freed’s Drama 120: The Fundamentals of Acting, to appearing in multiple department productions, from interning on a Public Theater workshop in the Roble Theater, to beginning to prepare my senior project for this coming June. The Stanford Department of Drama focuses its attention closely to dramatic theory, and in turn, offers students an incomparable study in drama’s academic pursuits. It also offers a full season of productions, directed by faculty and grad students.

However, at Stanford, there are also a number of student groups that are devoted to theater. Ram’s Head, Stanford’s oldest and largest student theater group, performs three productions each year: Gaieties, a student-written musical extravaganza that pokes fun of Stanford traditions and our Cal rivalry, Original Winter One-Acts, an evening of original student-written plays, and the Spring Musical, a Broadway-style musical (this year Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party). Another student theater group is Stanford Shakespeare Society, which auditions each fall for a spot in Stanford’s only repertory theater company. Each season they put up one abridged workshop and two full productions from the Bard. This year’s free selections include Measure for Measure and Macbeth. Other student theater groups include The Savoyards (a Gilbert and Sullivan company), Stage One, and dorm productions. Essentially, between the many drama department-sponsored productions, there are many more productions available for all types of theatrical interests.

My next post will discuss some of the classes offered in the drama department…