Interview with Dramaturg Jim Seay

Jim Seay is a local theatre advocate who has been doing work in the arts for his entire adult life, aside from his work in the airforce. He has studied at ISU, and has worked on projects in California, to Washington D.C., and even in Dublin, Ireland. He has worked on TV shows, movies, and staged plays. In addition he has written 18 plays and a musical. Collectively, he has sixty-plus years of experience in acting, directing, producing, and writing for the stage. Now he works with LLCC as a dramaturg for their production of The Shadows of Edgar Allan Poe appearing at the Hoogland Center for the Arts.

To begin our conversation, I asked him what his role was, as a dramaturg.

Roy: So, to start us off, tell me, what exactly is the role of a dramaturg, and why is it so crucial to have one on the creative team of this production?

Seay: Well, actually, dramaturg’s a position that is not too well known in the United States. It’s been well used in Europe for many many years, but it is just beginning to be recognized in the [U.S.]. What a dramaturg basically does is [a creative team member] who does research and takes that effort off the director, and then helps the cast with their understanding of the role. It’s very important here because we are taking something not written for the theatre but is written as either prose or poetry, to be a stand alone sort of thing. The director, Mark, has taken [these] pieces and welded them into a single dramatic unit. Therefore it is necessary for the cast to understand not only the complete unit as a piece of theatre, but to understand the individual writings by Poe as well. Thanks to the internet and the World Wide Web and whathaveyou, a dramaturg no longer has to spend long hours in the stacks of the library, which is good, but… I am of an age when I feel kind of guilty doing it that way… Even though it is accessible to people with a computer and contact with the internet, I can do it and save people that much trouble. That is primarily my job as a dramaturg and why it is important.

Roy: If I heard you correctly, it sounds like you are saying you are a guiding force, to help make the text understood by the audience, as well as the cast and crew?

Seay: Well, if I understand your question, basically yes. Although I don’t have much control over the audience. That’s where the director and the cast and crew come in, their job is to communicate with the audience. My job is to just make certain everyone understands Poe. This is a fairly young cast and a lot of ‘em don’t know all of the words Poe uses. Some of [the words] are a bit antique, some of them are just obsolescent I guess one could say. Also to help them to understand the piece of poetry in itself, and some of his allusions. Like in The Raven it says “Ah distinctly I remember It was in the bleak December And each separate dying ember Wrought its ghost upon the floor.” Now these kids aren’t old enough to be around open fireplaces, most of ‘em if they do have fireplaces, they’re gas logs, and so they’ve not seen bits of a log pop out [of the fireplace] and that little bit of smoke come up from it as it goes out. I think this is one of the beautiful images of Poe, and I’m just using it as an example of something that I would try to make sure that a person understands. I am the behind the scene guy doing research. Had this been thirty years ago I would have been the behind the scenes guy who would have been buried in stacks [of books] at the library, making all kinds of notes with pencil and paper and having volumes of “forgotten lore” stacked around me.

Roy: What part of this production is most crucial, to you?

Seay: Well, as a dramaturg, the most crucial part is understanding. If I can get the cast to understand not  only the thing as a dramatic whole, but as different segments of Edgar Allan Poe, and his writing, why then to me that’s the essence of my job.

Roy: What is your favorite part of this job?

Seay: Oh… [Of dramaturgy in general] I guess the research. I just love knowledge for the sake of knowledge. And if I find out something I didn’t know in my efforts, which is always the case, to me that is a victory, something I like.

Roy: What do you hope the audience walks away from this production with?

Seay: Well I hope the audience walks away from the production with an understanding of the influence of Poe’s writing upon itself, and upon them, as an audience. You see Poe, in my estimation, Poe is one of the major American authors even though he’s kind of overlooked. Such people as T. S. Elliot referred to him as being a pre-pubescent adolescent… About the only American author I can think of who really appreciated Poe was Walt Whitman. And now you cross the pond, and it’s just the opposite. Charles Baudelaire discovered Poe and just thought Poe was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Baudelaire was probably a better poet than Poe, but he gives an awful lot of credit to Poe in Baudelaire’s own works. T.S. Elliot couldn’t stand him.

Roy: How long have you being doing theatre, or worked on things related to theatre?

Seay: WIth exception of the time I was in the airforce, my entire adult life. I would say.. 60 years. I have done work in central Illinois, in Washington D.C., Dublin, Ireland, California… I’ve got rather extensive credits on stage mostly, and some work on televisions, and some work in the motion pictures although I don’t like doing motion pictures. I don’t have a feeling of… completeness in it… Everything is driven by the production end of it, rather than the artistic end of it, at least that’s how I feel. I can be in a movie... and I have no feeling of fulfillment from it. I much prefer the stage. I like doing something as a whole, not as bits and pieces. And also, like most actors, and indeed directors, I feed off the audience. [That circuit between the audience and the actors] is the reason theatre is still here. With technology these days, there is no reason that the theatre’s touch still exists. Yet it goes back to the time of Thespius. Aside from acting and directing, I have also been a critic and a playwright. I wrote for non-professional theatre, and the high school, that sort of things. I have written about 18 plays and musicals.

If you would like to know more about Seay’s writing, he recommends his play and musical “How The West Was Fun.” His publisher is Samuel French.

The Physics of "Imaginary" Props By August Roy

The Physics of "Imaginary" Props 

An Exploration of Mime and the Actor

By August G. Roy

Props are those lovely things actors use on the stage. This can be a book, a sword, a plate, a bottle, or a goblet. As actors, props are often very difficult. The show can easily be consumed by too many props, and the production could end by being a show about props. That isn't something we want to happen, is it? Nope! So what do we do? We mime. This leads to many other problems, some of which are harder to face than learning how to use "concrete" props, rather than "imaginary" or "mimed" props. 

You probably think of the scary clown-like guy in black and white face paint, gloves, striped shirt paired with black pants doing the "Crap, I can't talk and I am stuck in a box!" or "Look at me! I am pulling on a rope!" and it kinda gave you the willies, yes? Me too. No offense to anyone who is living a successful life as a mime. Yay, for you!!! 

We as actors have learned some amazing things from mimes. We have learned how to fix a point in space and remember it, we have learned to leave that spot, come back to it after a few hours, and remember exactly where we left it. We have learned how to turn that spot, that tiny fleck in space, into a plane... into a cube with properties of weight, texture, and malleability... After we master these techniques, we move onto other things... like building ropes, and walls... but also building temperature into our objects. One of the first experiments I did as an actor exploring these techniques was picturing my favorite mug with my favorite hot beverage in my hand, learning how it felt, smelled, and tasted even though the mug and the beverage did not exist.

Those beginning steps help give us as actors the ability to do things like mime props in a large scale production when there are too many complex pieces to try to use real props, as in this show. Sometimes there are too many parts to a show to add any little bits. When we use fabric, as we do, it is tricky to monitor placement of props on the stage and not create a larger safety hazard. 

Tonight, actors worked on the physics involved with beverages and how to toast with mimed glasses. The creative staff and actors who have study these techniques gave the other ensemble members a crash course in miming techniques. Luckily, we are a full-service theatre program, and we use real props to train actors to use mimed props. Below is one of our actors learning how to stand up and toast with a full glass.

Photo Documentation Of Our work with Fabric, Light, and Movement

Remember when we posted about how working with fabric as an actor is a HUGE pain, SO difficult to learn, and INFURIATING to adapt to? Well, here are some of the fruits of our labor! Look at how it floats and glides. We think it is worth the work to have such grace on the stage!

Here is a lovely selection of bits from the last two weeks of our rehearsal. Pieces in these photos include Tell-Tale Heart, Cask, The Raven, Bells, Masque, Annabel Lee, and finally Pit and the Pendulum.

Our lighting design student, Tim, is doing a great job with the lights! Assistant director Shannon has been so helpful with the fabric. And, of course, the actors are showing up and doing stuff. Great job everyone! Keep it up as we enter the final weeks before we get to the location!

What is art? Why Does it matter? by August Roy

What Is Art? Why Does It Matter?

An Interview With Mark Hardiman

By August Roy

I am the PRM intern on this production, as part of my coursework in the Serving Up Art class, taught by Tom Irwin for the Liberal Studies program at UIS. Over the course of the semester, I have been asked many times what art is, what it means, why it is important to the community, and why I chose art as an important factor in my own life. Myself and the other students in the course are being called to answer questions like "How can art affect a community?" "How can art change lives?" "Can art change perspectives, or affect an individual's view of the world?" I decided this would be a good interview topic for my supervisor and long-time director and artist.

Roy: What is art in your opinion?

Hardiman: That is an interesting question. I think... I think art is what happens when an artist makes a choice. Now you bring up an interesting point. It must be an artist who makes the decision, that is when art is made. Not just any person, but an artist. I don't think it matters what kind of art, be it sculpture, painting, architecture, or my chosen field, theatre. Art could be an artist standing on top of a mountain and throwing a rock off a cliff, but not a rock falling off a cliff of its own accord, because there was no artist making a choice.

Roy: Why does art matter?

Hardiman: Hamlet says, "..to hold, as 'twere, a mirror up to nature; to show virtue her own feature, scorn her own image..." I think art tells our stories. Art is created by artists who make choices  Audience members, specific to theatre, but applicable across the board, relate to art through what they know, through their own perspectives and experiences. Each experience of the art is different,  unique and personal.

Roy: So what does that mean for how art can impact an audience? Do you think that art can change perspectives, perhaps even inspire social change?

Hardiman: I think that art can make a change, but it works slowly over time. It is the water on the stone. There are historic art pieces that have caused riots, Waiting for Lefty is one of them Art often serves as a trigger. Ibsen’s A Dolls House inspired the popularization of the feminist sensibility in ways that had not been done before. Boal and Valedez created theatre that inspired change through education. Brecht arguably did the same thing.

For further insights on Waiting for Lefty, wait no longer, a review of the play is here, reference to the riot that broke out after its first performance is here  A gripping article about A Doll's House, including relevancy then and now, and here.  For a better understanding of Ibsen, try here.  For more information on Boal try this,  Brecht try this.  For information on the contributions of Louis Valdez see the site for Teatro Campesino. See Hamlet, Act III Scene ii, for the full speech Hardiman quoted in our interview.

Acting and Fabric

Acting, Movement and Fabric

Perspectives on Process

by August Roy

“I want fabric to move like actors and actors to move like fabric, ” said Director Mark Hardiman at a recent rehearsal.

He continued, “Fabric is useful to the theatre in so many ways, Not only do we make costumes out of it, use it in our set designs, but we can completely substitute fabric for walls, doors, and veils between worlds. Most of Poe’s pieces deal with the permeable, or sometimes impermeable, barrier between the worlds of the living and and the dead, the veils, awake and dreaming. For this project we are using enormous pieces of fabric 55’ by 6’ wide. Fabric in this quantity has a way of moving that suits this piece really well. It wants to move in a continuous and languid way in a free float or a lash. It cannot be rushed recklessly but must be guided in continuous and structured ways.” Hardiman adopts the actions in his body as he speaks, illustrating the moving fabric with his arms, hands, and body. “This is not to say that it cannot move quickly, but it wants careful consideration in doing so.  We are structuring the actors’ movements in a way that mirrors the nature on consistency of our primary scenic element. Our goal is to have the complete piece reflecting a structured control, where movements are considered carefully and form the physical sinews of this piece writhing between worlds.”

All of Hardiman’s notes taken into consideration, fabric is incredibly hard to work with as an actor. Having been an actor working with it myself, once upon a time, I know how frustrating it can be. Fabric on a stage is slick when stepped upon, and can be a major safety hazard when, tripped on, tangled in, and caught by unintentionally. If dealt with inappropriately, this can even be hazard for an audience member. An actor has to be constantly aware of, without trying to be in control of, the fabric. And the fabric is always right. The fabric will do what it wants, when it wants, and will never do exactly the same thing at exactly the same time every night, reliably. Thus, improvising is crucial, and being able to say “yes… and” to the fabric when it decides to do what it will, is an absolutely necessary skill. Another great skill for an actor working with fabric is soft focus. Being able to see everything at once without focusing on any one particular section or moment, but being able to adjust to the whole. This allows an actor to gauge what changes will have to be made when working with the fabric, but also to maintain focus on their character and the actions on the stage. All of this adds pressure to the critical thinking that is required to be an active and present actor in a production.

New Press Release!

Blog and social media offer behind the scenes look at upcoming world premiere of “The Shadows of Edgar Allan Poe”

SPRINGFIELD – Lincoln Land Community College (LLCC) Theatre is offering a behind the scenes look at developing the world premiere piece of theatre, “The Shadows of Edgar Allan Poe,” under the direction of Mark Hardiman, professor of theatre. The production runs Dec. 5-7 at the Hoogland Center for the Arts.

Former LLCC theatre student August Roy, winner of departmental honors in 2013 and now a student in the “Serving Up Art” class at the University of Illinois-Springfield, is documenting the process through photos, interviews and posts to the new LLCC Theatre blog, llcctheatre.blogspot.com, as well as atfacebook.com/LLCCTheatre.

“We have devised this piece through collaborative methods, framing the staging of the works of Poe through discussion, debate and experimentation of the company,” says Hardiman. “The resultant piece pushes the boundaries of performance and is the kind of theatre seldom seen. We felt it important to share the process with our audience in an effort to introduce them to this fresh kind of theatrical adventure.”

“This is such a great connection between all these institutions – LLCC, UIS and the Hoogland Center for the Arts,” says Roy. “This kind of synergy is exactly what the ‘Serving Up Art’ class is about.” 

LLCC’s theatre program’s mission is to embrace and engage its community through curriculum and programs that advance theatre, arts and the community of theatre artists.

Questions may be directed to mark.hardiman@llcc.edu or by calling 217.786.4942.

Acting, Movement and Fabric Perspectives on Process by August Roy

Acting, Movement and Fabric

Perspectives on Process

by August Roy

“I want fabric to move like actors and actors to move like fabric, ” said Director Mark Hardiman at a recent rehearsal.

He continued, “Fabric is useful to the theatre in so many ways, Not only do we make costumes out of it, use it in our set designs, but we can completely substitute fabric for walls, doors, and veils between worlds. Most of Poe’s pieces deal with the permeable, or sometimes impermeable, barrier between the worlds of the living and and the dead, the veils, awake and dreaming. For this project we are using enormous pieces of fabric 55’ by 6’ wide. Fabric in this quantity has a way of moving that suits this piece really well. It wants to move in a continuous and languid way in a free float or a lash. It cannot be rushed recklessly but must be guided in continuous and structured ways.” Hardiman adopts the actions in his body as he speaks, illustrating the moving fabric with his arms, hands, and body. “This is not to say that it cannot move quickly, but it wants careful consideration in doing so.  We are structuring the actors’ movements in a way that mirrors the nature on consistency of our primary scenic element. Our goal is to have the complete piece reflecting a structured control, where movements are considered carefully and form the physical sinews of this piece writhing between worlds.”

All of Hardiman’s notes taken into consideration, fabric is incredibly hard to work with as an actor. Having been an actor working with it myself, once upon a time, I know how frustrating it can be. Fabric on a stage is slick when stepped upon, and can be a major safety hazard when, tripped on, tangled in, and caught by unintentionally. If dealt with inappropriately, this can even be hazard for an audience member. An actor has to be constantly aware of, without trying to be in control of, the fabric. And the fabric is always right. The fabric will do what it wants, when it wants, and will never do exactly the same thing at exactly the same time every night, reliably. Thus, improvising is crucial, and being able to say “yes… and” to the fabric when it decides to do what it will, is an absolutely necessary skill. Another great skill for an actor working with fabric is soft focus. Being able to see everything at once without focusing on any one particular section or moment, but being able to adjust to the whole. This allows an actor to gauge what changes will have to be made when working with the fabric, but also to maintain focus on their character and the actions on the stage. All of this adds pressure to the critical thinking that is required to be an active and present actor in a production.

The company working a sequence in which the veils between life and death are illustrated, in the foreground a sea is created using waves of fabric.

Video segment

We have talked about fabric many times in this blog. Here is a very short clip of what we are doing with it. This will give you a brief glimpse at some staging and music we have for the show. The clip is so short because we don't want to spoil the show for you! We want you to come see the finished product!

After you watch this video, could you please leave us a comment below? Share your first impression of the piece, despite the how short the clip is. Perhaps what the sound reminded you of, or what the fabric movement looks like to you? We want to know what you think!

Photos of Fabric In Action

We posted previously about what fabric is like for actors to work with, as well as some of the benefits of using fabric. Specifically, we had some sketches demonstrating what light can do when projected on a figure, and casting a shadow on the fabric to create a split-screen effect. Below are some photographs from out Tell-Tale Heart rehearsal to give you a clearer picture.

Ensemble member Rose works while Christian, Judy, and Kenideigh create another scene, this one of murder.

Kenideigh menacing Judy, and Judy menacing Kenideigh as Brandon holds the fabric taut.

The impending death of the old man (Christian) with the vulture's eye.

The death of the murderer (Rose).

In this shot, we have a contrast of light, as compared to the last shot. Which looks more ominous to you?

The deaths of others on execution day (Kenideigh and Judy).

This is one of my favorites, just because it give you, the casual (or not so casual) observer a good view of the fabric, the shadows, the light source, as well as the figures behind the fabric.