Vassar Drama Department and Experimental Theatre

May 2021 Newsletter

website: drama.vassar.edu

A message from Professor and Chair, Shona Tucker:

We are almost there!! I was just reviewing an assignment for one of my classes and my eye caught the phrase: “Keep It Simple” and I thought “hmph, ain't that the truth.” I know I was referring when I wrote it to a part of the assignment that can seem gnarly and confusing but if you “keep it simple”, and break it down into smaller units, the work becomes not only doable, but perhaps even pleasurable. And I thought what if we adopted that philosophy for life. If we could all just “keep it simple”, we could manage it all or at least have a fighting chance. SO, let's do that right now, let’s keep it simple. Let’s break things down into five doable chunks for our summer.

First small unit—let’s celebrate that we made it y’all (when I’m tired, the Southerner comes out—even in the writing). Drama Department, we are in the last hurrahs of May and we made it through one of the most challenging years in U.S. history. We have been vigilant and agile. We have persevered and achieved.

And now –second small unit—we graduate! Seniors, we are so proud of you and the work you have created and the people that you have sculpted yourselves into. For each one of you that I have had the privilege of getting to work with, I have been impressed by your creativity. And I have faith that you will change the landscape of our future. I look forward to it.

To my colleague, Gabrielle Cody who also graduates from this college into the broader Life University, thank you for your grace, your brilliance, your warm smile and all the amazing scholars you have launched into the world. I toss my figurative hat into the air to celebrate you!

Third small unit—we REST. If I could mandate it, I would order each and every one that reads this letter to take two weeks after June 5^th and just sleep, eat, sit near water or binge watch TV. If nothing else, slow your pace by stopping mid walk and breathe in and out three times in a row.

Fourth small unit—we heal. We heal whatever aches, dramas, pains, confusions that are occupying our focus. And lastly if we do the things above, we will be ready to create. We will be at peace and at a patient level to connect with that inner fire and generate art.

That’s the summer I wish for you, my colleagues, my collaborators—that you acknowledge the journey, celebrate the achievements, rest, heal and create with renewed passion. Have a pleasurable creative summer all. I know I will.

A pandemic year of productions in review. Congratulations, stay well!
photos by Parker Fairfield '24

Professor Tucker joined the Philipstown Depot Stage in Garrison, NY.

THE FREEDOM PROJECT

Streamed online
http://www.philipstowndepottheatre.org/

Two plays, written decades apart but bound by themes of justice and civil rights, presented back-to-back by the Putnam Theatre Alliance.

His Honor, the Mayor written in 1940 by Orson Welles, focuses on a small-town mayor who finds himself caught in a deep tension within the community when he looks to defend the rights of a fascist group that wants to hold a public meeting against the will of many of townspeople who want to stop it from taking place.
The Secrets Secrets of Wonderland County a new play by Garrison’s own John Leonard Pielmeier follows Alice who in an attempt to help effect change in her community gets lost in a twirl of bureaucratic machinations seemingly trying to keep someone like her out.

ALUMNI NEWS

Emily Drossell '19 and George Luton '19 are thrilled to present an afternoon of original musical theatre in the CyberTank Variety Show on May 18th at 4PM EDT presented by The Tank NYC. You can watch the show for free on The Tank's YouTube channel or Facebook.

A message from Drama Major Jacob Ettkin '21

I came to Vassar wanting to be a drama therapist because I didn’t think I was good enough to be a theatre maker. I remember sitting on the Martel stage for my first 102 class riddled with anxiety, steeped in imposter syndrome, bombarded by a cacophony of doubtful and indecisive voices. Four years and 14 or so credits later, I still don’t know if I’m good enough to make it. But I have the boldness to try.

To the faculty and staff: Thank you for showing me the kind of theatre maker I want to be. Thank you for exposing me to theatre that has fundamentally shaped who I am as a human being. Thank you for teaching me the importance of honesty, integrity, kindness, communication, and fidelity. I’m so excited to see how this department changes and grows over the next few years.

To my fellow seniors/dramaturgical pirates: not only did we survive Sources, but we survived the drama major! Be it walking back from class or rehearsal, chatting on a train ride to the city, or late-night conversations writing papers together, it brings me much joy to remember the moments we’ve spent together. It’s been a privilege to live and work with you all, and I’m so excited to see what we do, be it theatre-related or not. While the thought of reunion is absolutely terrifying, I’ll be excited to see you all there, whatever rasa you’re savoring 10 years from now.

So that’s it. We did our time. Our visit to this small planet has come to a close. I’ll invoke the words of Elinor Fuchs once more and invite us to squint our eyes. Mold your experience of the past four years into a small planet, small enough so that you can see it in one glance. Look carefully, take note of the things that stand out. The memories, the textures, the trials and tribulations, the joys. Take a good look, and hang on to it for as long as you can.

Enthusiastically,

Jacob

Special Guest Artist spoke to the Drama students and offered a campus wide virtual event:
CAMPUS WIDE VIRTUAL EVENT:
DeLanna Studi, Cherokee performance artist and activist, will perform an online version of her original play, AND SO WE WALKED
DeLanna Studi, award-winning Cherokee performance artist and activist has written AND SO WE WALKED: An Artist’s Journey Along the Trail of Tears, a frank, heartwarming and inspiring story about a contemporary Cherokee woman and her father who embark on an incredible 900-mile journey along the Trail of Tears to truly understand her own identity and the conflicts of her nation. The play recounts the six-week journey, which retraced the path her great-great grandparents took in the 1830s during the forced relocation of 17,000 Cherokee from their homelands. AND SO WE WALKED is a powerful, multifaceted dramatic memoir that draws on extraordinary interviews, historical research, and the artist’s personal experience to convey the complexities and conflicts with which the Cherokee wrestle.
Sponsored by the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, the American Studies Program, the Dean of the Faculty Office, the Creative Arts Across Disciplines Initiative, with support from the Helen Forster Novy 1928 Fund.

Happy Retirement Professor Cody!
Thank you for 33 years of excellence and your valuable contributions to the Drama Department.

About: Gabrielle H. Cody is a Professor in the Department of Drama at Vassar College where she has taught since 1992. She received her MFA in Directing from the University of Minnesota, and a Doctorate in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism from Yale University. She concentrates her areas of teaching in dramatic literature, theory, and criticism, and performance studies. Cody is the author of Impossible Performances: Duras As Dramatist (NYU, New Foundations), the editor of Hardcore From the Heart: Annie Sprinkle Solo (Continuum), and the co-editor of Re:Direction, A Theoretical and Practical Guide (Routledge). She is also the co-General Editor along with Evert Sprinchorn, of The Columbia Encyclopedia of Modern Drama, (Columbia University Press) and the editor of Reading Contemporary Performance: Theatricality Across Genres with Meiling Cheng.

GUEST ARTIST Q&A WITH DRAMA STUDENTS MAY 21, 2021:
Clare Barron is a playwright and actor from Wenatchee, Washington. Her plays include You Got Older, which received its world premiere with Page 73 and will appear at Steppenwolf in 2018 (Obie Award for Playwriting, Drama Desk Nomination for Outstanding Play, Kilroys List, and Susan Smith Blackburn finalist);  I’ll Never Love Again (The Bushwick Starr, NYTimes & Time Out Critics’ Picks); Baby Screams Miracle (Woolly Mammoth, Clubbed Thumb); and Dance Nation, which appeared at Playwrights Horizons in 2018 and won the Relentless Award established in honor of Philip Seymour Hoffman and the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. She is also the recipient of a Whiting Award, the Page 73 Playwriting Fellowship and the Paula Vogel Award at the Vineyard

ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE 2021-2022 PRODUCTION SEASON

The Experimental Theatre of Vassar College

Congratulations to all Senior Project Teams!

We are very excited to work on your projects next academic year.

FALL 2021 Productions

MERCURY by Steve Yockey

Senior Project Members:

Director: Frances Rippy '22

Actors: Jasper Beckmen'22 & Eli Wassertzug '22

Performing: October 2021

Special arrangements made through APA Agency

METAMORPHOSES by Mary Zimmerman

Senior Project Members:

Director: Abigail Klipfel'22

Stage Manager: Merrick Rubinstein'22

Scenic Designer/Dramaturge: Chelsea Sheldon'22

Lighting Designer: Harmony Lindstrom'22

Costume Designer: Bella Granlund'22

Sound Design: Noah Hornick'22

Actors: Sarah Walker'22, Ben Gillard'22, Elliot Hoke'22, Doruk Evcim'22

Performing: November 2021

Special arrangements made through Bret Adams agency, Ltd.

OUR DEAR DEAD DRUG LORD by Alexis Scheer

Senior Project Members:

Director Sarah Berry Pierce'22

Stage Manager Jessie Marasco'22

Actor: Lucy Postal'22

Performing December 2021

Special arrangements made through ICM Partners

Spring 2022 Productions

Paola Castaneda* VEN A COMER

Performing: TBA

THE STEERMAN NEW PLAY FESTIVAL

featuring original plays by:

Hileena Channell*

Gabriella Kimbrough*

Eric Murphy*

Charles Mangan*

Performing: March 24th-26th & March 30-April 2nd, 2022

Phineas Hilliard* SOLO PLAY

Performing: TBA

SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE

^{In collaboration with the Department of Music}

Directed by Christopher Grabowski and Drew Minter

Greg Calidonna ‘22 - Music Director (Thesis in Music)

Senior Project members:

Amanda Montgomery*

Angelique Rodriguez*

special arrangements made through MTI

* Indicates Drama Senior Project members.

All dates are subject to change.

A tribute to alumna Barbara Rose class of 1931. Thank you to her grandson, Jonathan Dowell for sharing these photos. Ms Rose Rest in Peace.

Copyright © *Vassar Drama Department, All rights reserved.
Email: boxoffice@vassar.edu
Website: drama.vassar.edu

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124 Raymond Ave, Poughkeepsie, NY 12604, Vogelstein Center for Drama and Film (VCDF)

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