New Beginnings
Preston’s blog has been taken over (if only momentarily) by his new artistic associate…Bryan Conger…that’s me! I want to thank him for giving me the opportunity to introduce myself to all you bloggers and to give some thoughts on my first two months here at Triad Stage. I have been fortunate enough to call Greensboro home for the last three years while in the MFA directing program at UNCG. I have been fascinated and delighted by the vibrancy of the arts in the city. At the center of that community has been Triad Stage. As an audience member I have been entertained, challenged, and engaged by the work on stage. So when I was asked to join the Triad Stage family I was filled with joy and excitement. As Triad Stage finishes our first decade and celebrates our accomplishments, we also look forward to the next ten seasons and I am happy to be a part of that.
The last two months have been an adjustment as I have begun to shape my position here at Triad Stage. I am primarily a director so I will definitely be able to utilize those skills this coming season. I am directing The Mystery of Irma Vep and Tick…Tick…Boom in the UpStage Cabaret and I will re-mount A Christmas Carol on the MainStage. I have already begun work on Irma Vep and am currently in design meetings with my design team. Collaboration is my favorite part of working in the theater. I love sitting around a table and talking about a play and working with creative people to bring it from the page to the stage. I am constantly looking at how I can evolve as an artist. I do this by learning from others. Each experience allows me to benefit from the knowledge and expertise of my collaborators. For Irma Vep we are going to transform the UpStage Cabaret into something that has never been seen in the space before. I am very excited about our plans and can’t wait to begin rehearsals tomorrow. I am also excited about the UpStage Cabaret season and all the events we have planned this season. It is definitely going to be the place to be on Elm Street!!!
Another part my new job has been being the dramaturg for our production of Dial “M” for Murder. When I was getting my undergrad degree I took a class in dramaturgy and I remember my professor telling us that dramaturgs served as a bridge between the text and everyone else including the director, the designers, the actors and the audience. As a director I have always placed an emphasis on dramaturgy as part of my pre-production work but this is the first time that I have functioned only in the role of dramaturg. I have enjoyed immersing myself in the world of 1950s London and genre of mystery thrillers. It is so exhilarating to watch the words you have read for so long be taken and brought to life by the actors and shaped by the director. I thought it might be hard to be in rehearsal and to play just the role of dramaturg. But it has been great to be there and to be resource for the actors and director. I have enjoyed this process very much because I think it reflects what Triad Stage does best and that is to take a classic piece of theatre and re-imagine and re-invent it for a modern day audience. This is not your typical production of Dial “M” for Murder. Preston, the designers, and the actors have been peeling away layer after layer to expose the truths in this piece, so much so that the question becomes not who or how but why. This fascinates me because I am always interested in why we do the things we do and what makes us tick. We just finished my favorite part of the process: tech and previews. This is when everything comes together and we finally get to add that one missing character the audience. It is hard to describe the synergy that happens when theater artists get together to make a play happen. I can just tell you that it is why I keep coming back and enjoying each and every day. The past two months have been a learning experience and I am excited to continue my growth as an artist here at Triad Stage. I hope to see many of you at theater and if you see me, please stop and say hi!
Preston’s blog has been taken over (if only momentarily) by his new artistic associate…Bryan Conger…that’s me! I want to thank him for giving me the opportunity to introduce myself to all you bloggers and to give some thoughts on my first two months here at Triad Stage. I have been fortunate enough to call Greensboro home for the last three years while in the MFA directing program at UNCG. I have been fascinated and delighted by the vibrancy of the arts in the city. At the center of that community has been Triad Stage. As an audience member I have been entertained, challenged, and engaged by the work on stage. So when I was asked to join the Triad Stage family I was filled with joy and excitement. As Triad Stage finishes our first decade and celebrates our accomplishments, we also look forward to the next ten seasons and I am happy to be a part of that.
The last two months have been an adjustment as I have begun to shape my position here at Triad Stage. I am primarily a director so I will definitely be able to utilize those skills this coming season. I am directing The Mystery of Irma Vep and Tick…Tick…Boom in the UpStage Cabaret and I will re-mount A Christmas Carol on the MainStage. I have already begun work on Irma Vep and am currently in design meetings with my design team. Collaboration is my favorite part of working in the theater. I love sitting around a table and talking about a play and working with creative people to bring it from the page to the stage. I am constantly looking at how I can evolve as an artist. I do this by learning from others. Each experience allows me to benefit from the knowledge and expertise of my collaborators. For Irma Vep we are going to transform the UpStage Cabaret into something that has never been seen in the space before. I am very excited about our plans and can’t wait to begin rehearsals tomorrow. I am also excited about the UpStage Cabaret season and all the events we have planned this season. It is definitely going to be the place to be on Elm Street!!!
Another part my new job has been being the dramaturg for our production of Dial “M” for Murder. When I was getting my undergrad degree I took a class in dramaturgy and I remember my professor telling us that dramaturgs served as a bridge between the text and everyone else including the director, the designers, the actors and the audience. As a director I have always placed an emphasis on dramaturgy as part of my pre-production work but this is the first time that I have functioned only in the role of dramaturg. I have enjoyed immersing myself in the world of 1950s London and genre of mystery thrillers. It is so exhilarating to watch the words you have read for so long be taken and brought to life by the actors and shaped by the director. I thought it might be hard to be in rehearsal and to play just the role of dramaturg. But it has been great to be there and to be resource for the actors and director. I have enjoyed this process very much because I think it reflects what Triad Stage does best and that is to take a classic piece of theatre and re-imagine and re-invent it for a modern day audience. This is not your typical production of Dial “M” for Murder. Preston, the designers, and the actors have been peeling away layer after layer to expose the truths in this piece, so much so that the question becomes not who or how but why. This fascinates me because I am always interested in why we do the things we do and what makes us tick. We just finished my favorite part of the process: tech and previews. This is when everything comes together and we finally get to add that one missing character the audience. It is hard to describe the synergy that happens when theater artists get together to make a play happen. I can just tell you that it is why I keep coming back and enjoying each and every day. The past two months have been a learning experience and I am excited to continue my growth as an artist here at Triad Stage. I hope to see many of you at theater and if you see me, please stop and say hi!
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