The English and Communication departments hired notable four-time national touring director Kevin Leary to teach a Theatre Workshop course and direct Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House in the spring.
The director, Kevin Leary, said the course will cover a wide variety of theatre skills. According to Leary, students will be involved in acting, design, directing, arts management, stage management, theatre history, “and whatever else we need to cover to produce” A Doll’s House. Leary says the Theatre Workshop will be, “an immersive course in producing and making theatre.”
Douglas Gaerte, professor of Communication, said Leary will be directing Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House” as a way to give students a “broader theatre experience”. According to Leary, “‘A Doll’s House’ reflects the story of a woman who confronts the social structure of her day, and upon not liking what she sees, sets out to change it.” Leary said that with recent women’s rights issues, the play will give us a “flash point to talk about these issues”, but will do so free of political bias.
Leary wrote, “I am anxious to dig into the story and provide the description of humanity, to raise the mirror in front of our collected audience, and begin anew the discussion of how we treat people in our society.”
Susan Bruxvoort Lipscomb, professor of English, said the schedule for the course is planned tentatively. Interviews for those applying to the class are planned for October 16th. The planned audition date for the play is November 30, with performances planned between February 5 and 7.
According to Gaerte, Leary is a professional director at the University of Buffalo. Leary said that he has been involved in theatre for 25 years and participated in local and regional productions, as well as acting in a national tour in high school.
James Wardwell, professor of English, said the workshop had been taught a number of years ago by former professor Bruce Brenneman. After Brenneman retired, Wardwell said the course was taught by part-time help, but was eventually suspended. Gaerte said the attempt to bring the theatre course back began last year, and that the Van Gordon endowment provided the funds needed to hire Leary.
“I just think theatre is great for an academic institution,” said Wardwell. “It’s an opportunity for us, as a community, to explore significant issues and relationships in a serious manner.”