4 Questions: Rohan Kulkarni

This article is part of our series 50 Years of Disruption, in celebration of the Department of Theatre’s 50th Anniversary. In it, we’ll ask each participant four questions about themselves and their time at York.

1. Who are you?

I’m Rohan Kulkarni (BA Honours Double Major Theatre & Political Science, 2014) and I like to think of myself as an all-round arts advocate with experience as a dramaturg, academic, arts administrator, public speaker, and instructor. After completing four years at York, I jumped straight into graduate studies (in Alberta no less) and soon found myself working for Edmonton Opera. Here, my daily tasks involve taking our artistic product beyond the stage and getting everyday people to actually care about the arts, be it theatre, music, dance, or opera. I initiate projects, seminars, performances, and collaborations between arts companies to reach new audiences, especially those belonging to diverse communities.

Overall, I just love talking passionately about the arts. Whether this involves lecturing on Butoh performance to my university class, writing grant proposals to get urban Indigenous kids interested in music, engaging in panel discussions about #MeToo in opera, or even hosting a talent show at a mall, I find fulfillment in it all.

2. What was your favourite moment during your time in the Theatre Department, and why?

In my second year Playwriting class, I wrote a short piece that featured Indian-Canadian characters. Immigrants, like me. Sharing these words with my classmates was a big deal, since up until that point in life my MO had been to assimilate as much as possible – to cause the least amount of disruption. But seeing everyone’s genuine interest in my story caused a switch to flip. I realized my perspective was unique and seldom heard, so I should share it more often!

3. What comment, quotation, statement, or action that a professor—or classmate—offered had the greatest impact on you?

Judith Rudakoff always talked about her philosophy of keeping things “flexible and hilarious”, which really articulates the core of my personality. I have quoted this mantra at every job, project, or class since then because it is so useful.

4. Is there a way you incorporate a particular aspect of your theatre training in your current work?

My York theatre training is pretty much omnipresent in my everyday work. I learned the basics of good, solid performance criticism and understood the importance of clear, accessible communication in many of my classes.

4 Questions: Amy Bowman

This article is part of our series 50 Years of Disruption, in celebration of the Department of Theatre’s 50th Anniversary. In it, we’ll ask each participant four questions about themselves and their time at York.

1. Who are you?

I’m Amy Bowman (BA Theatre Studies, 2013). I would presently describe myself as an occasional dramaturg, accidental stage manager, and emerging voice actor. I work at Pirate, an audio production and design house based in Toronto in Client Services and have been soaking up all I can about voice acting and audio production. Additionally, I have been the co-host and co-producer of Broken Picture Podcast, which reviews the very best and the very worst film can offer, since 2016. Our series finale will drop before the end of the year. Additionally, I was second assistant director on Night Owl (Rebekah Miskin), a web series that is making the festival rounds, including a screening at South by Southwest.

2. What was your favourite moment during your time in the Theatre Department, and why?

It’s hard to pick a favourite moment from York, but I have so many fond memories of the first piece I ever stage managed for PlayGround, called Dead Flag. I met some of my closest friends in that ensemble, and learned that I can, when needed, kind of pretend to be a stage manager, which has come in handy in other moments of my life. It was a brilliant mess of a piece, but I wouldn’t change a thing about where it lead me.

3. What comment, quotation, statement, or action that a professor—or classmate—offered had the greatest impact on you?

It’s hard to go through the Playwriting and Dramaturgy series of courses and not be profoundly changed by Judith Rudakoff’s motto: “flexible and hilarious”. I struggle with over-thinking everything and taking everything too seriously and when I stop, breathe, and think, “flexible and hilarious”, I feel like I immediately have a clearer head. It’s also a helpful approach when I’m about to try something (a voice audition, for example), because if you stay open to trying something that might seem a little outside the box, magic can happen. Or it’s a total disaster but then, hey, hilarious story!

4. Is there a way you incorporate a particular aspect of your theatre training in your current work?

My dramaturgy studies totally influenced how I approach work of any kind, be it office administration or on a film set. I hope I’m explaining this clearly, but when you work as a dramaturg with a number of different playwrights, you’re able to learn how to communicate effectively and efficiently with all kinds of people. Your brain learns to adapt to another’s way of thinking, essentially. Additionally, my goal in anything I do is to make the work the best it can be, and that means choosing the right idea for the job as opposed to advocating for my idea just because it’s mine. We’d be in a much better place if everyone thought like a dramaturg.

4 Questions: Paul Halferty

This article is part of our series 50 Years of Disruption, in celebration of the Department of Theatre’s 50th Anniversary. In it, we’ll ask each participant four questions about themselves and their time at York.

1. Who are you?

Paul Halferty (BFA 1998) I am a theatre historian and a queer theatre and performance studies scholar. I’m Assistant Professor in Drama Studies in the School of English Dram and Film at University College Dublin, where I am also the director of the UCD Centre for Canadian Studies. Before returning to graduate school, I taught acting at the Randolph Academy for The Performing Arts in Toronto, and was assistant producer to Sherrie Johnson at da da kamera and the Six Stages Festival, also in Toronto. I went on to complete my doctorate at the Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies at the University of Toronto in 2014, and moved to Dublin to take my post at UCD the same year. I have taught at York University, the University of Toronto, and at Brock University, mainly in the areas of theatre history, acting, and gender and sexual diversity studies. I was member of Buddies in Bad Times Theatre’s board of directors from 2007 until the end of 2013, serving as its president from 2008 to 2012. In addition to my academic research, I work professionally as a dramaturge.

2. What was your favourite moment during your time in the Theatre Department, and why?

Rather than a favourite moment, I have favourite moments that took place as part of my first year Theatre Survey course. On a number of Mondays that year, our TA Kym Bird (who is now a professor at York) organized theatre visits to Canadian Stage. Kym, myself and a few peers (Charles Pavis, Sarah Popoff, Rosemary Rowe, among them) would meet early on Monday mornings at the Canadian Stage box office to get pay-what-you-can tickets for the students in our tutorial. Of course we had a marvelous time at the plays themselves, and discussing them together in tutorial the following week, but it was waiting in line that we all got to know one another. As banal as it may sound, waiting in line talking, learning, and making friendships that exist until this day are my favourite moments.

3. What comment, quotation, statement, or action that a professor—or classmate—offered had the greatest impact on you?

In third year, my directing class attended the “Why Theatre?” conference at the University of Toronto. A masterclass was given by the German theatre director Andrea Breth. Before beginning the class, she told the audience that if they planned to leave the session early, they should just leave now. To me, they’ve been words to live by.

4. Is there a way you incorporate a particular aspect of your theatre training in your current work?

My views about theatre and teaching were formed by my time at York, and, as a result, I incorporate more than I really say. York has shaped the teacher, scholar and person that I am today.

4 Questions: Julia Pileggi

This article is part of our series 50 Years of Disruption, in celebration of the Department of Theatre’s 50th Anniversary. In it, we’ll ask each participant four questions about themselves and their time at York.

1. Who are you?

I’m Julia Pileggi (BA Honours Theatre Studies: Creative Ensemble 2009). I am a published writer, touring spoken word poet, interdisciplinary creator, and educator. I have featured my poetry nationally and internationally in theatres, art galleries, cafes, high schools, at burlesque shows, poetry slams, writing/music festivals, and fundraisers, with appearances on radio programs and podcasts. I facilitate poetry writing workshops with Wordplay, and have represented Vancouver competitively as a member of two slam teams at the National Poetry Slam and The Canadian Festival of Spoken Word. In 2017 I ranked in the top ten at the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam and released a poetry chapbook. I’m also co-founder (with fellow Yorkie, Sasha Singer-Wilson) of the on-going writing project www.thesefiveminutes.com, through which we host readings, writing groups, and writer’s workouts across Canada.

In my page and stage poetry I give voice to themes including self-worth, relationships, family, and (more times than intended) food.

After leaving York, I pursued acting and dramaturgy. I then graduated from The Second City Conservatory program in Toronto, added voice over and directing to my list, and landed the role of Co-Host on BBC America’s TV Series Million Dollar Critic. I moved to Vancouver in 2015 where I met spoken word, and began to collaborate with artists on a variety of creative projects.

2. What was your favourite moment during your time in the Theatre Department, and why?

My most valued experience was performing the second pass of my solo mask in 2nd year Creative Ensemble. Tasked with assembling various sources along with our own writing to discuss an issue we faced in the 21st century, my instructor, Mark Wilson, deemed my first pass about body image “too easy for me” and “not the underlying issue”. I was outraged and disagreed, but I scrapped it anyway and forced myself to dig deeper. I ended up performing an incredibly vulnerable piece about my fears around being an inadequate woman (something I still touch on in my poetry today). It was raw and playful and funny and honest. I remember Peter McKinnon laughing really hard which was a feat unto itself. I felt alive and at home on stage. After all that, Mark still wouldn’t give me a better grade—technically it wasn’t a “second” pass since I created a whole new piece. I learned to take risks in revealing myself despite the expectations, rules, rubric, or judgement.

3. What comment, quotation, statement, or action that a professor—or classmate—offered had the greatest impact on you?

Three things stick out. 1) I was worried about receiving critique on a scene in third year playwriting as Judith Rudakoff isn’t one to sugar coat. She took a moment and then all she said was, “It’s really funny.” She helped me believe I was capable. It meant everything to me. 2) My fourth year acting instructor, Melee Hutton, told me I was like an M&M: a hard shell on the outside but a soft, gooey mess on the inside. I was desperate for someone to see me for who I was and she did. It unlocked my ongoing quest for shared vulnerability on stage. 3) Something I consider almost daily is Mark Wilson saying, “Open their mouths with laughter, then shove the truth down.”

4. Is there a way you incorporate a particular aspect of your theatre training in your current work?

I use physical and vocal warm ups all the time—God bless the roll-down. I connect easily with audiences because of the exercises we did to practice taking in the room, and letting ourselves be seen. When I give coaching or feedback, I’m always calling upon my critical eye (deeply honed in second year Creative Ensemble) where we learned to speak our minds, and give constructive and positive notes by using “what worked for me was”. And thanks to Judith, I still use “There Are Stories About” to get my writing going, and the four elements in my character discovery both on the page and on stage.

4 Questions: Foster Freed

This article is part of our series 50 Years of Disruption, in celebration of the Department of Theatre’s 50th Anniversary. In it, we’ll ask each participant four questions about themselves and their time at York.

1. Who are you?

Foster Freed (BA Honours, Theatre Studies, 1976) I’ll begin by acknowledging a nagging foreboding: that not every reader of this profile will find themselves agreeing that I am an entirely appropriate candidate for inclusion in a group of alleged “disruptors”. For that matter, I am not myself entirely convinced that I belong in such a group, although there is no denying that I have been quite adept, over the years, at “disrupting” other folks’ expectations of the path my life would likely take. Those who knew me when I entered McGill as a Maths/Physics major in 1968, would not likely have imagined—when I finally managed to earn a bachelor’s degree eight years later—that it would be from a University Theatre Department. In much the same way it is safe to speculate—had my York Theatre graduating class been polled at the time, and had that poll queried as to which of their fellow graduates was least likely to end up spending the bulk of their professional life as a Minister with the United Church of Canada—surely the name of this “Bertholt Brecht-worshipping” radical would have appeared at or near the top of most such lists, including my own. Nevertheless: there you have it! Having entered into a period of spiritual restlessness during my final couple of years at York, this “comfortably secular Jew” unexpectedly found himself on a trajectory that “uncomfortably” led to his baptism late in 1980, his admission to the United Church of Canada the following year, entry to the M.Div. programme at Vancouver School of Theology in 1986, followed by graduation and Ordination in the Spring of 1990. After a three-year stint with a congregation in Northern Ontario (Hornepayne), I have served out the rest of my ministry on Vancouver Island. Whether any of that qualifies as disruptive likely depends upon one’s willingness to credit the impact and implications of the marginalization the Church-in-Canada has experienced in my lifetime, a Canada in which scarcely ten-percent of the population is likely to attend Christian worship on any given Sunday. What cannot be denied, however, is the extent to which my four years at York continues to shape the work I do—in ways expected and in ways surprising—as a preacher, as a designer-of and presider-at weekly worship, as a small-group facilitator and as a pastoral-care provider. More on that below!

2. What was your favourite moment during your time in the Theatre Department, and why?

I am going to share two such “moments”.

I arrived at York as a second-year Theatre Studies student in the Fall of 1973. The following Fall, John Juliani arrived on campus—under the auspices of the Theatre Department—to launch a two-year master’s degree Programme with a primary emphasis on performance. In the Fall of 1975, John and his company were invited to participate in a fringe-theatre festival being held in the Polish city of Wroclaw, home to Jerzy Grotowski’s renowned “Teatr Laboratorium”. John’s funding permitted him to bring along one additional student; on Don Rubin’s recommendation, I was invited to be that student, tagging along as a sort of “critic/dramaturge-on-the-fly”. It was a remarkable and at times turbulent month, involving not only time-spent at the festival itself—where we gained exposure to a remarkable array of experimental theatre companies from around the world—but also a subsequent “tour” of Poland, offering performances at a handful of stops along the way. Given the highly improvisational nature of the work offered by John’s company, there were even times during that hectic month when the line between my role as “critic-observer” and an unexpected role as “fringe performer” grew increasingly thin. All-in-all, an unforgettable experience.

The second “moment” involves the fact that—upon my graduation in 1976—I remained on the York campus for an extra 12 months. Why? For the previous two years, I had been a fixture inside the office of the Canadian Theatre Review, one of a handful of students who worked with Don Rubin, founding editor of the Review. Beginning in the Fall of ’76, Don spent a 12-month sabbatical in Europe; given that this was long before the advent of the internet, he needed someone to serve as CTR’s Managing Editor, and I was the fortunate designate! Of the four issues I helped to “birth”, I am especially “proud” of an issue devoted to the theme of “Homosexuality and the Theatre”, an issue in which Eric Bentley served as Guest Editor. Recall that in 1976 and 1977, bathhouse raids were still a common occurrence in Toronto; indeed, the notorious “Operation Soap” would not take place for another five years! The experience of working on that particular issue of the Review—including hosting a panel discussion that was published as part of the issue—was both challenging and rewarding. Given the way in which questions surrounding human sexuality have impacted the United Church of Canada over the past 40 years, working on that issue turned out to be a remarkably important and formative experience.

3. What comment, quotation, statement, or action that a professor—or classmate—offered had the greatest impact on you?

I imperfectly recall—no doubt he’ll correct me if I get it entirely wrong—an anecdote Don Rubin shared with our Theatre Criticism class. Speaking of those occasions when he was approached in a theatre lobby—on the way out after a production and asked what he thought of the production—he would sometimes reply: “I won’t know until I write my review.” That has actually been exceptionally helpful to me as someone who writes something in the order of 45 sermons a year which (at roughly four pages per sermon) works out to between five and six thousand pages over the course of a 30-year ministry career. Experience has taught me the truth of Don’s quip and, in the process, taught me to respect the process of writing: not merely as a way of expressing one’s thoughts, but as a revelatory process in which one’s thoughts can best be permitted to crystallize.

4. Is there a way you incorporate a particular aspect of your theatre training in your current work?

That’s the really funny and ironic question, because the surprising answer is that it has been helpful in every conceivable way. When I first entered seminary in 1986, there was a tiny part of me that regretted not having attained my undergraduate degree in a more “relevant” field: philosophy, theology or even political science. Within the first month, however, it became clear that my undergraduate degree in theatre was more useful than any other course I conceivably could have taken. The exegetical work I do week-by-week as I ponder a scripture passage, has close parallels to the exegetical work actors, directors, designers and theatre critics need to do in order to engage a script. The small groups I facilitate—both study groups and support groups—draw heavily upon the experiences with human interaction that was part of my training as someone with a key interest in directing. And since weekly worship involves at least some degree of “public performance”, I know that my time at the York Theatre Department has been beneficial in that regard, as well. Whenever a young person, including two of my own four, expresses an interest in studying theatre, I am always confident—regardless of the career path they will eventually follow—that their studies will prove to be of great and abiding benefit. That certainly proved itself true for me.

4 Questions: Dave Deveau

This article is part of our series 50 Years of Disruption, in celebration of the Department of Theatre’s 50th Anniversary. In it, we’ll ask each participant four questions about themselves and their time at York.

1. Who are you?

Dave Deveau (BFA Creative Ensemble/Playwriting, 2005). I am an award-winning Vancouver-based playwright. My plays have been produced across North America and in Europe. My primary focus is on intelligent work for young people. I have four plays for young audiences that have toured extensively over the past seven years through Green Thumb Theatre, Roseneath Theatre, Young People’s Theatre, To Be Determined Theatre and nephesh theatre (Israel), and am currently developing two more. I received my first TYA commission from Toronto’s Theatre Direct while still doing my undergrad at York. In fact, I used a play I produced in playGround to get my foot in the door. Never underestimate the work you are doing right now as being powerful stepping stones to an amazing future career. In total my plays have been nominated for 4 Doras and 21 Jessies (Vancouver professional theatre awards). I am the Playwright in Residence for Vancouver’s Zee Zee Theatre, founded by my husband Cameron Mackenzie, which is mandated to amplify the voices of those on the margins. I’m currently working on new plays for the Arts Club, Belfry Theatre, Zee Zee Theatre, Vancouver International Children’s Festival, Green Thumb, and Nashville Children’s Theatre.

2. What was your favourite moment during your time in the Theatre Department, and why?

In all honesty, taking Peter McKinnon’s Professional Aspects of Theatre and having to write my first Canada Council grant as an assignment. You will spend you life writing grants as a theatre maker, and I’ve become quite good at it, in part thanks to that early introduction to the often-daunting task. That and the time I spent at the helm of playGround.

3. What comment, quotation, statement, or action that a professor—or classmate—offered had the greatest impact on you?

I had a life changing experience in the three years of Creative Ensemble—it instilled a rigour and flexibility to work with artists who have different vantage points/practice. I left a term early as I felt I had been gifted with all I needed: more powerful than discovering what you want to do, is probably discovering what you don’t want to do, and it became clear to me that I did not want to further pursue acting, especially as my commitment to playwriting cemented itself. I would not be a playwright (and dramaturg) today without the continuous support and diligence of Judith Rudakoff. Her class continuously reminded me that I was pursuing the write path and that I should be undeterred and unwavering in my determination to pursue it.

4. Is there a way you incorporate a particular aspect of your theatre training in your current work?

I continue to use playwriting exercises that Judith taught me in my own practice as well as the playwriting teaching I do. “This is a story about” should be a tool in every playwright’s belt, whether senior or emerging.

4 Questions: Chris Dupuis

This article is part of our series 50 Years of Disruption, in celebration of the Department of Theatre’s 50th Anniversary. In it, we’ll ask each participant four questions about themselves and their time at York.

1. Who are you?

I’m Chris Dupuis (BFA Directing and Playwriting 2000). After I finished at York, I started working with a company called bluemouth inc.; a collective who make site-specific interdisciplinary performance. Along with that, I spent a two years as an intern at Buddies in Bad Times. At that point, Buddies didn’t have an emerging artist program (no one did) so I created a program for myself, working with a number of different directors and playwrights. Not long after this, I mostly left theatre, and started working as a visual artist primarily with video art and interactive performance. In the last five years, I’ve shifted back to working with performance again (primary dance) and also started working as a curator, presenting film screenings and exhibitions. Through all of that, I’ve also worked as an arts journalist for various magazines and websites.

2. What was your favourite moment during your time in the Theatre Department, and why?

The moment right after we did the first performance of my fourth year show (a piece called RAW, about three friends living in residence together), there was interlude of quiet calm where I was able to look at the work and think, “Okay, maybe I actually learned something here”.

3. What comment, quotation, statement, or action that a professor—or classmate—offered had the greatest impact on you?

There was so much that I took in over those four years, artistically, intellectually, and personally, that it’s hard to locate a single moment that had the greatest impact. But if I had to isolate one thing, it would probably be a comment John Mayberry made (I think during a production meeting):

“If everyone around you is being an asshole, maybe it’s you.”

In nearly every aspect of my practice, I’ve worked in collaborative or collective processes and so being able to have a functional relationship with the other people in the room is key. Having a sensitivity to your own mood swings, triggers, and biases (as well as those of the people you’re working with) is critical in being able to navigate those spaces successfully.

4. Is there a way you incorporate a particular aspect of your theatre training in your current work?

The playwriting courses I took with Judith Rudakoff were foundational to my development as a writer; I probably wouldn’t be a writer today if I hadn’t taken those classes. The design classes I took with Shawn Kerwin were also instrumental in shaping how I thought about space. I often say to students that if you want to be a director, take a stage design course. You’ll learn more about blocking there than you would in any scene study class. And the drawing classes we took were also incredibly useful. I think any artist, no matter what medium you’re working in, should take some drawing. There’s nothing better for teaching you how to see.