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From Issue #14, Fall
2006
RT
for Seasoned Citizens
RT
Success Stories!
by
Gordon Bigalke
Greetings! From the world of RT!
What a great world RT is! For enjoyment, for learning, for spreading
the word of our discipline in a most enjoyable way. As I promised, I
would like to report to you on a couple of programs that are using RT
and how they are progressing.
First, from Professor Monica
Bergers at the University of Iowa. Professor Bergers has taken what
we in RT have to give and made it a huge success in her classroom. What
follows is direct quote from her report.
"In my sophomore literature
class, we used RT as a means of drawing together what we'd learned all
semester. I asked the students to form groups of 4 or 5, with each group
writing an RT act using different short stories or plays we'd read,
in order to re-interpret the texts. The results were positive! Not only
did the students like crafting and working as a team on an act, but
they were using literature to play, something we should all remember
to do. An example: one group took a character from Faulkner's novel
LIGHT IN AUGUST, which is pretty intense and heavy with issues of race
and class, and used him as contrast character in a reenactment of a
youthful story of romantic longing, 'A&P'. The challenge was very
humorous and brought up common themes in both texts that weren't necessarily
apparent. I think we all learned to see things a little differently,
and my students seemed to enjoy the friendships they made while doing
RT. Thanks for your advice! I think other instructors would benefit
from this technique, because it's so unexpected and gets students thinking
differently about texts that might seem otherwise unappealing to them."
Professor Bergers, we are proud
of you and your students! If anyone would like more information they
can contact me at the email address below and I will be glad to follow
up.
Next I would like to turn to Nancy
Studebaker at the Niles, Michigan Public Library. If you remember
last year our troupe (The Recyclables) traveled to Niles to help them
start their own troupe. Here’s Nancy’s recent communication.
"Our troupe is still meeting
on a regular basis- twice a month. There are about a dozen people who
come on a fairly regular basis. (Though seldom all ay once, so we average
about six or seven at our meetings.) Conrad Rader- our adult services
department head- is leading the troupe. We recently (finally) named
our group - Library Voices. We have only had a couple of performances.
We performed with the local theatre group - Four Flags Players- during
their Christmas Revue last year. I'd say we are still finding our niche.
We will be performing next month during the
library's annual Local History and Genealogy Day. We'll be doing pieces
by local authors including the well known - Ring Lardner and the locally
beloved Jean Ducey."
As you can see RT is not some old,
musty, unappealing theater exercise. It is vibrant and growing on a
daily basis. The constant demand and opportunities for performers in
RT is endless. If we can assist you or answer any questions you might
have, please contact us through our webpage: www.baycityplayers.com,
or email: gbigal@chartermi.net.
What a great life, this! Come participate.
Gordy Bigalke, “Recyclables” of the Bay City Players.
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