Directors Lab West Connects: Anne Bogart and Jessica Hanna (ASL-interpreted)

Directors Lab West presented Directors Lab West Connects: Anne Bogart and Jessica Hanna livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Sunday 24 May 2020 at 8 a.m. HST (Honolulu, UTC-10) / 10 a.m. AKDT (Juneau, UTC-8) / 11 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 1 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 2 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4) / 19:00 BST (London, UTC+1) / 20:00 CEST (Berlin, UTC+2).

Join us for a conversation between American theatre and opera director Anne Bogart, who is currently one of the Artistic Directors of SITI Company, and Los Angeles-based director/producer Jessica Hanna.

 

Randee Trabitz: Hello, I'm Randee Trabitz, and, looking for my script, hold on. I'm one of the producers at Directors Lab West, an all-volunteer-run organization that every May produces an eight-day intensive full of workshops, panels, master classes, and more for emerging and mid-career directors and choreographers from all over the world. Refusing to be thwarted in this our 21st year, we chose to mark the lab with our "Directors Lab West Connects" and have been overwhelmed by your response and thoughtful questions. So welcome to day two of eight days of conversations crafted for and by theatre directors and choreographers livestreamed by our partners at HowlRound to their website and to our Directors Lab West Facebook page where you can join the chat, tell us who you are and where you're tuning in from and ask questions for the Q&A following our speakers' conversation. Thank you to Robert Cardoza for providing ASL interpretation, and I would like to introduce our speakers. I'm going to start with Jessica Hanna while we wait for Anne Bogart to Zoom in. I think we're having a few technical difficulties. Jess is a Los Angeles-based director/producer. She's a member of The Kilroys and a cofounder of Bootleg Theater and sits on the board of SITI Company. Jess, welcome.

Jessica Hanna: Hello.

Randee: Hello, so I think there's so much to talk about, and we can begin with maybe some of the conversations and questions from our robust registration. There's a lot of questions, and I know you have trained with SITI company and worked with Anne in the past, as have so many of our viewers. So I thought I'd jump right in and talk about space, and which I know is a large part of Viewpoints and how you might be re-conceiving the notion of space under quarantine, having meetings over Zoom, remote teaching, et cetera.

Jess: Well, lots of new frames to work in right?

Randee: Oh, yes.

Jess: Yeah, it's really, it's very interesting. I am, been thinking a lot about the tools that I have and trying, because there's an overwhelming sense of “I don't know,” right? “I don't know how to do this, I don't know, this is a whole new forum, I don't know. How do I take what I do and put it in here?” So trying, when those moments of anxiety about the I don't know, I've been trying to tap into the fact that I don't know is a sweet spot for me as a director and that I do have a lot of skills actually to deal with “I don't know.” There's a strange headspace right now because everything is “I don't know,” so it's like we're swimming in a sea of I don't know, so how do, what, you know, it's so overwhelming, but then to remember, like, oh, I have, I do have ways that I can deal with this or ways that I can find a way through or in, 'cause through seems far right now.

Randee: Yeah.

Jess: And also, I mean, the language of, that I use in a room or that I use when training, I mean, all of those, that language is super applicable right now and also like unveiling. You know, duration means something entirely new to me now, where you know, or I mean repetition, all of these things that I have in my toolbox have a new, or I'm looking at them through a new lens because of this world of I don't know. And I'm finding that helpful and reassuring as I go into these different spaces, 'cause they are spaces. I mean, that's an interesting way to think about it, too, because, you know, we say virtual space, but at the same time, I'm physically living in this space, right? So how do I function both physically and also on this new frame, right? So those that, yeah, I've had a couple of experiences so far with working like a reading or workshopping on Zoom, and it is an interesting thing to meet artists where they are, which is in their own space, right? So then having that conversation or knowing that that's where they are and trying not to deny that that's where we are but to embrace it seems to be helpful. It's making me have to articulate verbally in a way that I often rely on sound effects and physicality to figure out meanings and find my way through, and that is still possible for me in my space, but in terms of conveying in the communication, it's made me have to really figure out how, be specific with my words, be thoughtful, take my time. Oh, and the other thing is to embrace that it's gonna be awkward.

Randee: Yeah.

Jess: That also I found in a couple of my experiences so far, those moments of like, ooh, this is, you know, not what I want, this is not how it usually goes, to embrace the--

Randee: I love what you're saying about embracing the I don't know when I have to say, a large portion of the questions, not just for this panel but throughout the week, have been akin to what's the future, you know?

Jess: Right, right.

Randee: Where nobody knows, and of anybody, artists live in that world, so--

Jess: Yep. No, it's very true.

Randee: Yeah.

Jess: And I mean, you can speak to, you know, one of the, something that I took from Anne's, in one of Anne's books, in "A Director Prepares," she talks about when you don't know as a director, to put yourself into action. Put yourself into into something, move towards the stage is what she actually, you know, like from the back of the house, move. In the movement, you'll find something, whether it's right or wrong, who knows, but you'll find something to have that feeling of I don't know maybe dissipate a little bit or like let's figure this out. So what is that action in this space? What is that moving towards the stage? Like, I have to find new ways to do that in this kind of communication, which is more difficult at times, you know, but also sometimes get physical, actually. But also in terms of so what is that that is action? So what are actions I can take that are beyond physical? What are the actions I can take in terms of the, what I'm doing to not just communicate with artists but to, in the creation process or in the beginning stages, what are the actions I can take to support the artists that I would be working with in a room but now we're separated, but what am I actually, like, can I be a good dramaturg? I mean, I'm really been cracking those skills out in terms of my conversations with playwrights.

Randee: Are you finding this more a time for development, for introspection, or? I mean, this is something we as a community have been talking about a lot, this need to create material immediately and put it out there.

Jess: Yeah.

Randee: Or do you feel permission to say this is a moment of repose, this is a moment of what Sheldon called yesterday stillness, which I love.

Jess: I love that, too.

Randee: To kind of really reorder and understand that maybe there is a shift going on, and we might not have any answers.

Jess: Yes!

Randee: Great!

Jess: No, this place of, a playwright friend, Maya Macdonald, she said to me, "Invest in the pause." And that phrase has been resounding, and also I'm using it to remind myself because I do have, I mean, we all have those moments of like, "Oh, all the projects that I could be doing "or I've always talked about," or "Now I have the time," we say, "but my brain can't focus." Or, you know, "There's too much from the outside world "that I'm thinking about or that is building up in me" or whatever that is. So the thing I love about "invest in the pause" is that there's a space, there's a space for, there is a space in that phrase for writing the next opus. There's also a space in that phrase for staring at the wall.

Randee: Yeah.

Jess: You know? I mean, whatever that point is for you right now I think is the right choice because it is so I don't know and there aren't going to be answers for some time.

Randee: Yeah.

Jess: So again, looking at our skills of duration and being able to, being able to have, to build our own, maybe investing also in our own what we need to carry on the marathon.

Randee: Yeah.

Jess: You know? That's the, what are those, what are the things that I need to build up inside of myself or I need to cultivate, you know, in order to get to wherever that is. We don't know at this point how far it is, but we know it's far, right? But that doesn't mean stop, and that's the other thing I like about that phrase is the pause as opposed to stop.

Randee: Yeah, I think that's right because I think if you're working a lot, which I know we both have been for the past few years, you kind of don't think of yourself often as a creator as so much as like a generator of, I have to keep moving forward, I have to meet a deadline, I have to get through a rehearsal, I have to prepare a class, on and on, and this feels like a moment of really stopping to think of, to rethink of yourself as what do I want to say, you know?

Jess: Yes, yeah.

Randee: What's important to really create, which is an opportunity, I think. Directors particularly who are not, you know, kingmakers and take assignments as they come are not necessarily in control of that. So it feels like a moment of great power to me, which I think is--

Jess: Oh, I agree, I mean I think the possibilities, this moment of possibility is amazing. It is horrific that it comes out of tragedy, and it is also a positive. There is, I have hope because of the way that we are all, I mean, I feel like the accessibility that we have between it has exponentially increased, both for artists to talk to each other but also to see each other's work in a way. And no, it's never the same as being there live, trust me. I love live theatre. It's one of my favorite things to make. It's also one of my favorite things to do and watch. So when I, as I say these things, it is not that anything is a replacement for--

Randee: Right.

Jess: You know, it is a, if nothing else, it's reminding me or making me cherish more the things that, when I do miss things, I'm putting them into this thing of like remember that, remember that for when you get back into a room. Remember that when you're sitting in an audience again, because we will be.

Randee: Right.

Jess: So how to bring this, these, this--

Randee: Experience?

Jess: Awakening?

Randee: Right.

Jess: I don't know, yeah, no, it's like, I mean, it's a, I don't have quite the right word for it, again, trying to be articulate in this place of like, ooh, what is this? But 'cause some words ring really true today, and tomorrow they might be a little different because of this sea change, right? And we still don't, haven't been able to put our feet down yet, which I think is okay. I mean, there's that, you know, that wonderful thing about, another image that's been in my head quite a bit is that moment in the chrysalis where the caterpillar goes to goo, right, and you don't know what it's going to be? This, we're kind of in a moment of this. It's very unexpected and forced on us, but you know, what could we be, what kind of, I mean, what kind of butterfly? Maybe not even a butterfly.

Randee: Right.

Jess: You know? Maybe it's gonna be something even more glorious, who knows? But we have that if, what you're saying, too, about aligning ourselves with our beliefs. This seems to be a time in terms of our art aligning with our beliefs, also people becoming more aware and invigorated by their communities in terms of what is, how do I want to include my community, how do I want to serve my community? I think artists, I mean, we're, speaking of the tragedy and the grief that is a part of this whole event, artists are gonna be, we are and will be very important to the processing for society of this giant collective grief. I mean, that--

Randee: Absolutely.

Jess: That "New York Times" cover today, I mean, just whew.

Randee: Yeah.

Jess: Blessings on all of their hearts, I mean, but how, you know, and not to say that we all have to make art about corona, I mean, I don't know. I mean, I personally, I get how to like, I don't necessarily want us to go see a play about someone's stuck in an apartment like me, you know what I mean? But at the same time, those ideas, those thoughts about what we are contemplating in this place of isolation, those could be--

Randee: Have you--

Jess: Helpful in the art.

Randee: Have you thought, I'm wondering, I've been thinking about this a lot and it's also a big projection, but how this experience is going to change our relationship to our audience once we are back? I mean, what you said about community, I understand absolutely, but I think not just the artists and what we've been going through and what we wanna create, but what our community, our audience might be feeling or open to seeing, or are they seeing with different eyes now that in a funny way this kind of Zoom platform is oddly more intimate than sitting in the back of a large house? You know, you're right up in everybody's face. So it's an interesting thought about how our relationship to the audience will change.

Jess: Mm-hmm, yeah, I mean, I don't know. I don't know in certain levels in terms of how this will in terms of audience with the work. I think the accessibility of the work that is coming through this, through online in terms of audience growth and participation, I think that is really exciting. And I think one of the questions I, or one of the questions I hope we keep in mind or as we move forward is how, what are the things that are resounding with this audience that we have all of a sudden been able to reach in a different way?

Randee: Yeah.

Jess: And so what are, what is being able to look towards the audience for what they're looking for but also like what are, how do we reflect them back to themselves, which is what our job as artists is, so acknowledging the fact that our audience has expanded in a way, I mean, in a national, international way just in terms of reach because of online. So then how do we keep who all those people are in mind as we move forward with the stories we wanna tell and also the people who we wanna see telling them? You know, I mean--

Randee: I've been seeing so many models of projections of theatres trying to reopen with social distancing and outdoor theatres with little boxes where people go, and I thought to myself often, as well in preparation for this panel today, it looks like the audience is participating in a Viewpoints exercise. You know, because now their space has been defined and they're getting into it and the amount of space they're given and how they can explore it, and I thought, "That's so interesting. "Now the audience is having a very theatrical experience "as participants just by coming into the space." It's changing the way we think about space, which I think is fascinating. I think it's fascinating for people with your training and Anne's, you know, to explore that in a, I don't know if it makes it naturally more, just naturally immersive or if there will be a lot more immersive theatre for the audience to share their experiences as well. I would not be surprised.

Jess: Oh yeah, oh yeah, I mean there are, I know that there are folks making immersive experiences right now that you can participate, you know, you get pieces of through social media or through some other form of the online, and you are participating, you know, as in your world, but you're still participating as a group. And there's some kind of, there is something about the collective experience that is still, that is part of theatre that is still happening. It's just happening very widespread and you can't, we don't get the feedback. I mean, that's the other thing that's so interesting about doing work online is that part of, we're not getting the immediate feedback, the live vibe between, you know? Anne actually has this thing about the mirror neurons, right, that the mirror neurons are part of what crackle when we're sitting in a dark theatre, and we're all crackling together, right? And then the recent research about--

Randee: The heartbeat.

Jess: Hearts beating together, right?

Randee: Yeah.

Jess: So that's part of like, again, those moments where I'm like, "Oh, this is one of the things. "Put this in the list of things I'm going to be grateful for "when I get to sit in the theatre again." At the same time, how is that, could that be happening right now and I just am not, I'm just not in the vicinity of it?

Randee: Right.

Jess: Physically?

Randee: Right.

Jess: You know?

Randee: Is it an invisible reaction, right.

Jess: Yeah, yeah.

Randee: Yeah.

Jess: But I mean, it's interesting to see people having collective or having opinion. I'm seeing stuff online about plays that people like see the National Theatre Live. Like, I've seen a lotta people talking about "Streetcar," 'cause they put that one up this week.

Randee: Right.

Jess: And, you know, that, so then there's a there's a collective conversation happening between, that's literally across the world as opposed to the one that you don't, I mean, a very rarefied and sometimes, you know, elitist version of an audience, right, because of the access. So now all of a sudden we have access into those conversations that are happening about theatre that I love, and I love seeing these conversations happening amongst people who wouldn't necessarily even talk about theatre, you know? But they're, so there is something happening that I think it's going to help the possibilities, you know, in terms of what we're, or reinforce the possibilities, give more fertilizer to that.

Randee: Yeah, I've been thinking a lot about intimate theatre, which I love. I love being able to actually see every face in the room. But the fact that this is a global pandemic, you know, it's very much changing my ideas of local and small and what that is, you know? And I, here's a, unless you have a comment on that, I'm gonna throw a question at you from our--

Jess: Okay.

Randee: From our Facebook room.

Jess: From our Facebook room.

Randee: "I'd love to know thoughts about creating "smaller theatre events with limited audience "in intimate nontraditional spaces like galleries, "rehearsal studios, and livestreaming the event "to a broader audience." So that's exactly what we're talking about is--

Jess: Yeah!

Randee: Making intimate theatre for a larger global audience.

Jess: Absolutely, I'll say honestly, this is something that I think has already been, this is something that people were talking about, right, or trying. I know there was a company in New York that does streaming. I'm working with a group that we're working on a Twitch channel that would then support artists that we will then get to a space, the idea there, but looking at how can we use this new technology, right, to both in terms of creation, in terms of like having rehearsals and things like that but also how can we include our audience in process possibly, you know? And then is that a way to get people excited, want to, you know, are we doing long-form process that will then, for a year, that will then lead into a space? I'm really excited, I think, you know, this again, I don't know, but I think we will get into smaller spaces first, outdoor spaces obviously first. So this conversation between art in terms of galleries and ways that you can have that crossover and then also have it streamed out so that it is accessible to everyone, I mean, that to me does not sound like a bad thing in terms of getting people interested until we can get into a space together again, you know? These are all things that are part of live theatre. We're just gonna do pieces of them at a time.

Randee: And obviously, I mean, so many generous companies have been making their archives and their filmed-live productions available during the virus.

Jess: Yeah.

Randee: And so many people have been able to see work that they never would've seen, which i think is extraordinary. It's not the same, ever. But--

Jess: Totally.

Randee: It is theatre, it is theatre. And I think particularly if you watch it live with other people at the same time, it does create a little bit more of an experience as opposed to, yeah, I saw that too last week, you know, so--

Jess: Sure, yeah, I had the extraordinary experience of watching a Greg Wohead piece online as part of the Gift Festival UK, and you know, it was a durational piece, long, like 15 hours, and so I could dip in and out, you know, which I would've been able to do and walk in and out if I wanted, you know, in a physical space, but you know, dip in and out, and there was a moment where I found myself laughing at something, sitting in my kitchen.

Randee: Yeah.

Jess: And that also, like, that gave it another level for me in terms of what, in terms of how I was taking in the art, you know? And it's, I think it's fascinating. Like, I wanna, I mean, I find it all very positive, you know?

Randee: Yeah, yeah, I love this question, so I'm gonna throw it to you even though-- Even though I know that it's intended for Anne.

Jess: Oh, oh!

Randee: But it's, but there were so many, but you can do it. There were so many versions of this same question, and they're all about career development, and they're all about what would you tell your 20-year-old self, what's the one piece of advice you wish you had heard, what what tips or what challenges did you face particularly as a young woman coming up, and what helped you in your mindset to continue on to break through if you feel you've broken through but that gave you the courage to continue? And then there's a corollary at the end, but I'm gonna let you talk about that.

Jess: Okay, in my 20s, I wish, all right, I guess I wish I would've had more belief in myself and my impulses and my instincts at 20. And I think that's true of 20s in general. I think that's proves extra true for women. It's a, I mean, I personally was very lucky in that I didn't experience much like door shutting in my face because I'm a non-cis male, but I definitely think that a lot of it is, it was in my head, and you know. Yeah, I guess that's the thing. I would've said, "Hey, Jess, you can do this," you know, in some form or another, and I mean, still say that to myself, but you know. But back then, I think in terms of where my trajectory was like as I was very like, what, where is my place in this world? I know I want to make theatre. I know I want to, this is what I love, but how do I fit into this world? And yeah, I mean, one of the things I think that I try to do as much as possible is to mentor or offer space for people to try and fail with me, and I wish I had had more opportunities like that at a younger age. I did get them, I would say, in my 30s, but if that had happened in my 20s, I think that would've, I don't know, well, who knows. But that's what I really would've, I mean, I think that kind of support to go for it.

Randee: Absolutely.

Jess: You know?

Randee: And certainly a generational difference between my generation and those coming up now is there was an attitude that there was room for one woman at a time.

Jess: Right, right.

Randee: And now I think for women to be supportive of each other, to kick the door open, to mentor other young women, and to realize, it's kind of if you look at the presenters on this panel, it's very female heavy, and those just happen to be the people, you know? So there's a sea change coming.

Jess: Yeah, I think that, you know, and the more that we all can, like you say, I mean, the each one pull one, the turning to each other and making sure that the, you know, it's not just opening the door. It's not just pulling back the chair. It's literally like here's the table, and like, oh, and here's some food to eat and I'd love to hear what you have to say, you know, and what do you think, or how do we make this better? So doing, you know, hoping for that for myself but then turning and being like, "Okay, I'm gonna do that for as many people as I can" because that's also, again, how we're going to change this landscape, you know?

Randee: And what would you say to new directors who are trying to learn their craft now during this time? They will forever be the Zoom generation or the, you know, I came up during COVID. It's gonna mark people in time, I think, the experience.

Jess: Well, how to think of that as more of a badge of honor as opposed to something that was, you know? I mean, yes, it's been foisted upon you, and this is, you know, on so many levels this is terrible. But so how can you make that thing that is going to define, quote, unquote, this generation, how can you make that something positive and good and help to move the culture forward? I mean, that seemed, it seems like there's gonna be, I mean, there's stuff that I'm gonna have to, I mean, I'm learning at the same time as there's gonna be ways that minds that are younger and more adept at technology, period, than myself are gonna do amazing, innovative things, are doing amazing, innovative things, you know? I don't know if, did you get to, did we talk about this? Did you get to see the Peter Kuo-directed "In Love and Warcraft" that he did with the ACT MFAs? There was a, you had to RSVP--

Randee: I missed it, but I've heard, I've seen--

Jess: It was a private--

Randee: Yeah.

Jess: But the way that he directed, I mean, and literally, and like, it wasn't like, oh, no, this is directed. This was choreographed, blocked, worked on, I mean, the script was worked on, the scenes were there, you know? And was it live, no, it was not live, and it was not that, but it was so exciting to see someone using their directing skills to help tell the story in this medium.

Randee: Absolutely.

Jess: And that is absolutely possible. It gave me a lot of hope, and you know, it also gave me, you know, it's just like, oh, and also the reality that that's a lotta work. And it's a lotta work that it like, you know, I don't wanna! Because that's not how we do it!

Randee: Right.

Jess: But you know, it was pretty revelatory. And so we're gonna have to, maybe they're, you know, I'm gonna have to work outside my box. I'm gonna have to work harder in certain ways. I gonna, like I said, I'm gonna have to feel awkward, and that is not what I wanted to be feeling at this place in my career.

Randee: Right.

Jess: But that's what it is.

Randee: But I think historically we've gone through at least, you know, kicking and screaming in terms of accepting new technologies before, you know?

Jess: Absolutely.

Randee: So I mean, when computer boards came into the booth and no longer was it a connection between the operator, it was just go, go, go--

Jess: Right.

Randee: It was an adjustment. So you know, I think we're all capable of moving forward, and I agree with you that those people that have grown up with a digital universe at their fingertips are probably more capable certainly than I am--

Jess: Yeah.

Randee: And making the adjustment. Lots of questions about commerce and--

Jess: Sure.

Randee: Yeah, so not just about how do we get paid as artists, but interestingly, you know, should we be wary about making work that we're just giving it away? Have we started to devalue ourselves by loading things free up onto the web? And this concern about, I think it's an interesting one, obviously artists have to survive and make a living, but I'm also concerned about devaluing what our contribution actually is.

Jess: Ooh, this is a hard one because I wanna say, I mean, I have personal beliefs or personal ways that I follow, but at the same time, I don't wanna deny any artists that like, oh, don't, you shouldn't be putting that up there, or don't, you know. It's like, I mean, every again, invest in the pause. Everyone's gonna be having their own take on this.

Randee: Right.

Jess: I do think we do need to be careful about in terms of ownership, especially in terms of playwrights, and be very respectful of playwrights and their rights and their stories, I mean their plays, but to be hopefully in conversation with those playwrights about what we, how we can find some kind of either, I don't know, happy medium maybe, but also maybe there's something about like this, the play that we were going to be working on, we're gonna put that over here because want it to be live, we want it to be in this space. That's what we want this to be. And to like run for like, "I gotta put something up," that feels like I would I would question that energy in terms of like what is the why of why you need to do that so quickly fast maybe without having everyone, all of the artists working in mind. And I understand that rush need, oh, but maybe there's a moment of, hey, let's just maybe quiet it down a little bit and let's look at why we wanna tell this story. Is there another way to tell this story in this medium that is, that would work in tandem with the play? Is there, you know, like, I think there are a lot of possibilities but being respectful of all of the artists involved and especially when it comes to the commerce part of this. And I know that we're all looking for ways to support ourselves and find ways to make it to however long this is till we can get back into a room, right? So I would also encourage everybody to look at what their skills are and how else we can use them in terms of commerce. And not to say that you're not gonna to make money as a director ever again, but there's this period of time where you do something else for a little while while you keep cultivating and working with artists and things like that, but the idea of being able to support yourself by making theatre is just not happening right now. And I think to acknowledge that and to mourn it and at the same time not get bogged down and lost in that place and finding, yeah, go, please.

Randee: No, no, well I'm trying to, oh my god, I think Anne is here, fantastic. Let me quickly, I see her name. I'm looking for her face.

Jess: Let’s see.

Randee: But while she's coming in, I want to, hi, Anne. We're so delighted that you're here. Theatre and opera director Anne Bogart, professor at Columbia University, and co-artistic director of the SITI Company as well as author of five invaluable books on directing viewpoints, theory, and the practice of making theatre. I'm gonna get outta here quick so you can have a conversation with Jess and share your thoughts with us, and I'll be back at the end. I think we've had enough questions. We wanna hear what you have to say.

Anne: But wait, let me ask you, I have a question. This starts in 15 minutes, right?

Randee: No, I think our international time warp has messed us up. We are live right now.

Anne: And how long have you been live?

Randee: Since our 11 o'clock, so the last hour.

Anne: Which is?

Randee: 35 minutes ago or so.

Anne: Oh, no, that's, I'm so sorry!

Randee: It's okay, we were--

Anne: I thought I was actually 19 minutes early.

Randee: I think everyone will be delighted to have you stay for as long as you can stay, so--

Anne: What have you been talking about?

Jess: So many things.

Randee: So many things.

Jess: Well we talked a little, we covered a lot of the, or we talked about some of the, we took some of the questions from, that were in the RSVP responses. So let's see, we've talked about, we've talked about being in a sea of I don't know and knowing that we have some tools to get us through that because we're directors and I don't know is exciting. We've talked about being in these spaces and what some of the, some of our, the way that we have, tools we have and things we have been able to use and not use, what our feelings are about being in these spaces. What else have we talked about? We talked about being a woman and coming up.

Randee: Yeah.

Jess: And what some of the advice that I would've given myself back in the day, which was to believe in myself. Totally, and then also about mentoring and bringing, and opening up spaces for other people. We talked about the accessibility that is now happening because of this new medium.

Anne: I missed all the great subjects! I have to say--

Jess: We can go over it again.

Anne: To whoever is listening, I'm really, really sorry. I was looking forward to this, and I thought I was so early.

Jess: We can take a little more time, I think, so--

Randee: I think we're fine on the other end. I'll double-check that and cue you if there's a problem, but I think there's--

Anne: I really apologize. I'm not sure, I thought we had worked it out that it was eight o'clock London time.

Randee: Seven o'clock London. Well, I think it's a perfect indication of how--

Jess: West Coast.

Randee: This is a new platform for all of us, and we're gonna have some glitches. So we're delighted you're here.

Jess: Oh, it looks like we do have a, we don't have a hard out at noon.

Randee: No.

Jess: So we can keep talking if you'd like.

Randee: We have as much time as you like.

Anne: Okay. But I probably will apologize five more times, 'cause-- I mean, I have been on Zoom a lot. It hasn't been, I haven't been, it's not that it's new software or anything for me, so--

Jess: No, it's not that. I think it's the time difference, for sure. I mean, I think we have to, we had a glitch on the West Coast versus, what are you on, GMT?

Anne: Yes.

Jess: Yes, yeah.

Randee: Yeah, well, we're delighted you're here, Anne, and please, I'm gonna let you chat with Jess a little bit.

Anne: Well, thank you. And I'll do my best to make up for it.

Randee: I’m not worried at all.

Jess: Well, do you wanna talk about this space that we're all in right now in terms of how we work in these new frames that we are in?

Anne: Yeah, I will talk about what's been on my mind mostly, and I know, Jessica, you heard me talk about this the other day, which is that when we first were shut in, which is a significant thing for all of us theatre people because what we do is we deal with social systems, and suddenly we're isolated from one another. And at the beginning, I was very frustrated with the amount of publication that was happening online, the amount of, you know, coronavirus dances and readings and this and that, and I kept thinking, you know, it feels like self-expression to me, and that's not really what the theatre's about. And it wasn't until a few weeks into it when I was discussing this with with Tina Landau, and she said, "No, no, no, you're wrong "because actually everything that's happening "is great because it's a form of mourning. "This is how people are mourning." And so I realized she was right, but I do wanna take apart a little bit what my frustration was, is that I'm so uninterested in self-expression, and I think as a country, we are obsessed with the signature, the original vision, the you know, having something to sell, the branding, et cetera, and yet the theatre is something that is really not self-expression. It's actually, if anything it's eulogy. It's actually giving voice to dead people. It's looking back and remembering and actually allowing them to enter into us and to speak through us, and so certainly there's a frustration in not being able to be together sharing space this way. But I started thinking about it, and I started thinking about prisoner-of-war camps and how in Vietnam and during the Second World War in China and in Japan, the American prisoners of war figured out a system of tapping where they would be separated and enforcement, enforced not to actually speak to one another. And so they figured out a very elaborate way of tapping to one another, either through the walls or against the pipes, and they figured out elaborate messaging systems that would go from one cell to another. And I thought, ultimately, that is interesting because it's one person trying to reach out to another or a group of people trying to stay together amidst horrifying circumstances. And I started looking at the output that was online of people dealing with the shoddy and coronavirus COVID issue, and I noticed there was a difference between that sense of tapping, like, are you there, do you hear me and I have something to say than just kind of showing off or we're gonna do a reading because we're doing a reading, we just have to keep going. So although I think Tina was right in saying it's all a form of mourning, I think in these particular moments, we need to actually use the stop, use the energy of the stop as when you have the brakes on and the accelerator on at the same time, and be ready to move, which we're gonna have to move with great alacrity and great ingenuity and great sense of innovation because to get back to one another is going to require us all to engineer new ways of being together. But that notion of tapping was really helpful. In other words, I think this event is important, which is why I'm so horrified at being 40 minutes late, as I thought 20 minutes early. But I do feel, I'm looking at Jessica right now and sort of tapping at her, and can we talk about something of substance, can we can we communicate to one another? I don't know, Jessica, are you feeling that also in your home?

Jess: Yeah, I mean, yes, I do in terms of, and it's also something about the intention of the tapping in terms of what you're speaking of, 'cause there is something, the survival that is implied in the tapping?

Anne: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jess: That I think I see that energy from people in terms of what's coming out.

Anne: So it's important to have something to say when you're tapping. You've gotta have something to communicate, something useful for others, not just to expose yourself. And so I was thinking lately about, you know, something I actually heard Robert Brustein say, the amazing Bob Brustein who's getting quite old right now, but he wrote a lot of books that are hard to read and wrote one that is too easy to read. He wrote one to young actors that is just ridiculous. Anyway, but I adore him, and he founded Yale Rep and ART, et cetera, and said at one point, and I thought it was something wise, he said, "To do theatre, you need three things. "You need passion, you need to have something to say, "and you need to have technique." And I thought, "That's really useful," and it made me think of like a three-legged milk stool, you know, that if one of the legs is missing, the whole enterprise falls over. So that's interesting now, thinking about how we communicate with one another in this interim liminal space before we are allowed to be back together in full glory of gathering. But yes, we have passion, I definitely feel that. I can feel it coming across the Internet. We definitely have things to say, there's a lot to say. But what we don't necessarily have is the technique, is the new techniques in a sense that can help us join with one another, the new techniques that we're awkwardly learning to use right now to be able to tap. We have to figure out a code in this tapping.

Jess: Yeah.

Anne: And I also think that probably when we are released from this prison of sequestration, it won't be easy. We won't be able to play by the same rules for a while, and we won't be able to use the same techniques for a while. So we'll have to go through a very awkward phase of attempting to connect with one another and to find the new techniques, to find the new techniques in order to do so. And perhaps when we can gather together again in the glorious way that theatre allows, perhaps we'll have new tools that we could bring to play, you know?

Jess: Can you speak, 'cause I said earlier that we have to be comfortable being awkward, or that's one, 'cause I have found this in my dealings with this new medium to be awkward in a creation sense or in a communication sense in terms of the rehearsal room. How are you finding in terms of like how is it to revel in the awkwardness, to--

Anne: Well, it's not only awkwardness, it's also uncertainty, that we have more uncertainty. There was a beautiful article in "The New York Times" today. It was actually an editorial about how human beings don't actually have a clue, and to ask experts to predict what the future is is ridiculous right now. We will figure it out. The experts will be able to move, and we'll be able to move in the right moment, but to say I want a guarantee of how it's going to be, there's nothing, that's not possible, and we should stop expecting it.

Jess: Right.

Anne: But what we do need to do is to learn to be more comfortable with uncertainty, to learn what the neuroscientists have been saying for the last 20 years, which is, you actually have very little to do with controlling your life or the world around you. You think you do, but in fact, you just nodded, thinking now that you nodded 'cause you agree, but you nodded and then you agreed. You know, that's what we're learning from neuroscience, which is interesting in the theatre, certainly, in terms of behavior. So certainly there is the embrace of uncertainty, but there's also the, as you say, the awkwardness. And I'll tell you what's happening with SITI Company right now, which is interesting. We're involved in something called Work/Space. It's something we've been doing for a number of years as we work on different projects at the same time. And as soon as we, we were in Minneapolis performing "The Bacchae." We had just opened it, big production. It was gonna have a nice, long run, and then the next thing we were gonna do is to go to Singapore for another long six weeks to work on the "Three Sisters" there, and then we were gonna go to Saratoga. Well, like everybody else, all of that was pulled out beneath us. And through the genius of our staff, Michelle Preston and her staff at SITI Company, who figured out a way to make applications very quickly to the various funding organizations that are dealing with the fallout from COVID, we are able to keep the actors on salary through June, through May into June once we were shut down from Minneapolis and people came home. And so we are five days a week on Zoom and trying to figure out what training means, and all of us feeling rather stupid to be standing in your living room on your stupid carpet trying to do stomping or trying to do Viewpoints on the, or trying to rehearse a play. And it feels sometimes, as you said, awkward. It feels, is this necessary, but we're trying. We're trying to find out what it is that is necessary, how to connect with one another, how to stay connected, how to rehearse a play, how to be together, how to be together well in the way that we're able to do in a room together, but what now? So it is, Jessica, completely awkward.

Jess: How are you fighting through your frustrations? I mean in terms of, I mean, I know that a lot of us are trying to figure out how to, is it about, is about just stick with it, keep trying? I mean, you know, what are some of the ways that you are finding to support your fortitude to keep going?

Anne: Well, frustration is an interesting fuel 'cause it's not just because of COVID that we're frustrated. We have frustrations at every step. That's part of our lives. That's what part of making art in the United States or anywhere is very, very difficult. So with frustration, you can do one of two things. You can either discharge, which means complain, or you store the frustration. And again, this is not just in this moment. You compress it. You don't let it make you sick, 'cause it could make you sick. You say, this is interesting fuel, and you wait, and it doubles its energy, and then at the right moment, you express in the right form. You tap correctly, you tap audibly, that's hearable to others. And so I don't think we should think of frustration just in this particular situation, that all circumstances have a degree of frustration. I do think that probably after we start moving out of our homes and try to work together, I think it will feel in some ways socially what the Eastern Europe felt politically. In other words, there will be many, many rules that aren't political but that are social that we have to live up to that are very frustrating. I mean, just distance is frustrating, frustrating with dealing with people who don't respect distance, you know? So that frustration is going to escalate, so we bloody well, I'm here in London, so I say things like bloody well, we bloody well should figure out how to handle the frustration and treat it as a gift of energy and not let it injure you but let it become a useful tool and not to think it's just because we're stuck in our houses. That's not correct, so.

Jess: Yeah, it's definitely shining, it's shining a light on things that were already there, for sure, in a new--

Anne: Yeah, yeah.

Jess: And seeing them in a new way.

Anne: And the other thing is, you know, and I think it's gonna be very difficult, but the things that we're failing are going to fail, and the things that we're succeeding are going to succeed. That's terrifying on a political level because I'm terrified that the rich get richer or the poor get poorer because that was happening very successfully for some people is going to intensify. That's what we have to fight against. But I do think that there are certain aspects of the theatre that that were struggling and that we're gonna have to reinvent. Probably the biggest, I'm thinking of a word in German, the biggest sacrifice in a sense will be the large regional theatres because I think commercial theatre will kick its way back into existence. Small theatres, the ones who are smart and the ones who are thinking fast and are being innovative will be okay because they can go from an office of 10 to an office of two pretty easily, but they're used to doing that. So not to say there's not gonna be a lot of sacrifice in the small-theatre world, but I think the really big regional theatres are gonna have a lot of trouble because they are, they've been swollen to a point that many are run by their marketing directors anyway rather than the artists and you know, that whole history of that. So it's gonna be very difficult for I think the larger theatres.

Jess: That’s true.

Anne: I sort of got off track of what we were talking about, but--

Jess: That’s okay, we'll come back around. Well, this thing of being able to, the possible, we were talking, I love the possibilities of this moment and the fact that we, that the landscape of the theatrical ecosystem is, I mean, it's devastating and also the place, we are in this place of change. And so how are we as artists who create and are usually, kind of, we're looking for support from institutions, is there another way that we can reach out maybe more horizontally to each other in terms of how we support each other and make our work going forward?

Anne: Well, that's already happening. It's happening right now as we're speaking. It's happening, because I was impressed because Randee sent me a lot of the questions which are amazing and serious questions and very thoughtful questions. I think we are reaching out to each other. I think we're reaching bigger audiences than we've ever had before because we're actually using the Internet in new ways. We're certainly using Zoom and discovering other tools to do that so, we're actually intensifying social distance. Actually, I think social distancing is a misnomer. It should be physical distancing.

Jess: Physical distancing.

Anne: But there is a great deal of social intimacy--

Jess: Agree with that.

Anne: Happening right now and a great deal of what you call horizontality more than ever. I remember first when, when I was first confronted with having to, say, teach classes at Columbia on Zoom, I was horrified. I think, this is never gonna work, but somehow, I'm not saying I was able to teach directing necessarily on Zoom. The students, the directing students made jokes about yeah, we're gonna be doing everything with puppets now, right, on tables. But what did happen is a deeper communication, a deeper dedication to one another, a feeling, I feel very much both for SITI Company and also for my students, I need to be there for them. I'm also on the board of, the executive board of SDC, and it's been an extraordinary honor to be with this group of people who have all come together and made a hundred committees because there's now thousands of directors out of work suddenly, and suddenly we have to organize, and we have to think in new ways, and we have to think about what safety means returning. We have to think about how to use the media. We have to think about the fact that a lot of regional theatres, as I say, are suffering and they want to actually take old material and broadcast it, and they're calling a lot of directors and saying, "I'd like to use this video "from your production in 2015, can I do that?" And you wanna say, "Yeah," but you also know that it's a video that was taken by one camera at the back of the house because Equity doesn't approve of shooting a performance, and all the actors look like little blurs and the sound system is horrible. Is that what we want to show to audiences around the country? Wouldn't that turn people off rather than get people excited?

Jess: Right.

Anne: I mean, it's not like it was like the National Theatre or the Met Opera, you know, where we have like six cameras. So what, the questions that are coming up now are really key and vital to all directors, and so we have to talk to each other. We have to use a collective brain. And I think my puppy's about, you're gonna meet Mabel.

Jess: Oh!

Anne: My puppy, come on up here, c'mon, c'mon, say hello, c'mon, whoo! This is Mabel, she's a puppy.

Jess: Aw, hi, Mabel, aw!

Anne: She wants to say hello.

Jess: Yes, oh!

Anne: Boy, being with a puppy during this time is such a wonderful thing because a puppy's just there and there and there and always there and there again, just very present.

Jess: Yeah.

Anne: Hey, I have a treat for you, go, go eat this treat. Oh, she wants to eat it up here, okay.

Jess: Exactly, watch me eat the treat . She will perform for us now.

Anne: Yeah, yeah.

Jess: Welcome visitors, you know? I mean, that's again, in this, we have a moment of, these moments of live--

Anne: Yeah.

Jess: On a screen--

Anne: Yeah.

Jess: Is also very interesting to me because it's a very, very, you know, no, it's not live theatre, but there is something happening that's live, so let's, I mean--

Anne: Well, you know what it is, Jessica? It's very simply, we're sharing time, sharing space in a very, very different way, in a virtual way, but we are sharing time for those who are present in this moment. It's different when you get a video that was shot a few days ago and look at it again and it feels more archival, but to be here, I'm looking at you, and Zoom has really improved over Skype, I have to say. I'm seeing you smile, I feel better.

Jess: Right.

Anne: That painting behind you is making me a little giddy.

Jess: Yes!

Anne: And maybe I'm thinking of drugs or something, I don't know. So I think it's we do share time, space is a problem.

Jess: Yes.

Anne: But time, definitely.

Jess: I love that, I hadn't, actually, honestly I hadn't put it together like that, but I, yeah, I love that because there are these, I do have these moments of feeling the collective still, of being in an audience even though I'm not necessarily in the same room with people. The conversations that people are having about theatre that either, sometimes like theatre that I've seen in the past, like "The Encounter," Simon McBurney from Complicite, they put that up this week, and so then to be able to hear people having conversations about a play that I saw a couple, three years ago and was deeply moved by, you know, and I get to watch it again in a different way, which is also interesting. But then also that there is this conversation about art that I'm very excited about because it seems, again, the accessibility, the way that people are able to get to these, theatre that they wouldn't have been able to get to both in a space, financially, all of those things, that is causing a collective group experience in some form or another, which is--

Anne: Yep.

Jess: I’m feeling that is major part of theatre right now.

Anne: It is, and it's a huge part, you know? It's about sharing in a sense with one another. It's about social systems. But the one thing that's missing and we're not very good at yet, and lord knows if we should become good at it, is to make something that is really formidable. Like you hope when you work on a play, you're creating an experience that just shakes and that the audience has to actually handle themselves to come to it and to join it and to use their imagination. That we haven't quite figured out, so I think we've got we've had an acceleration in social, the opposite of social distancing is we have social interactions happening and intra-actions as well, but what we haven't figured out how to do is to build things and to build these works of art, to put it simply, you know?

Jess: If, well, if you--

Anne: And the question is, do we need to, I mean, we're gonna be out of Zoom at some point, what are we taking with us certainly? But do we need to create something on Zoom? Is that, or online, is that what we do? Isn't that what other people do? I mean, it's a question, isn't it?

Jess: Yes.

Anne: I don't know if you, what your thoughts about that is or are.

Jess: I have similar thoughts, or 'cause I think, I'm very curious about this for process. I am wary of it about in terms of production for like a paying audience. I have been able, I have seen a couple of, I guess, produced for Zoom, but they were private, and they were exciting and I learned a lot. But I don't know that I'm really excited about making, trying to translate a theatre production to this forum. I am curious about how we can continue to create in this place that will then get us to a space. I think, I mean, I know that like companies that have been using technology and been able to over, in the past, I mean, were already doing this because they had members in other countries. Like you say, this is better than Skype, so we're already, you know, we're moving forward in that, but there are a number of pieces out there that were created via this medium. We would go and we'd see them in a theatre. They weren't necessarily meant to be seen like this. And then there are also, I mean, then there's also just the use of this technology within a piece, I mean, the way that cameras have been started to be used on stage as, oh, what is her name, the wonderful director, they had at REDCAT.

Anne: Marianne Weems.

Jess: Yes, I think that's right, yeah, so like how do--

Anne: And The Builders Association, yeah.

Jess: In how you bring those elements that we have already started to try to develop and use and how to bring these into, I mean, I don't, we will be probably forever talking about the boxes, right? The boxes will become part of our language of expression in some form another, whether it be in the theatre or on television or wherever that goes. This is not, I mean, we are all using this frame in such a way that it's not going to just disappear, you know?

Anne: Yeah, you know, there's a book that was written like at least 10 years ago by Thomas Friedman, who's a writer/editorialist, and it was called "The Lexus and the Olive Tree," and I find it very, I found it instructive then, and right now I'm thinking about it again. And the Lexus means like the car the Lexus, and the olive tree means ancient culture. And he said, and this is 10 years ago or more, and he said, you know, "We're living in a world "where people are going to extremes, "either to all technology, the Lexus, "or fundamentalism, to ancient religion, "to the olive tree, which can be very restrictive." And his point was that both of them, you lose your soul, you lose something, and that his theory is is that the balance between the Lexus technology and the olive tree or ancient culture needs to be brought together. At the time, he said, "You know where it's happening "the best in the world?" He said, "The South of France. "You have these incredible countryside and then you have a high-speed train running through it," you know? I started thinking of that in terms of the theatre is that I'm thinking of certain artists who have embraced technology so much that the art went down the drain hole, that suddenly it feels so distant, you know, and so I think you can go too far into technology. And I've always thought but at the same time, you don't wanna deny technology, you don't wanna deny that there are amazing sound system possibilities or amazing lighting possibilities, you know, all this technology and now certainly the technology of Zoom, but I think the healthy thing is to find a balance. So I know the way I've worked for years is that I always was aware that if there was gonna be really, really high-tech sound, I needed to have a stage that was basically a platform, a wooden platform. Or if I was gonna do something that involved something scenically complicated, I had to really simplify and make acoustic the other elements. And so I think that might be instructive as we move out of isolation to say, what have I learned technically? How can I use it but also bring back the meat, you know, the wood, the ancient part of what the theatre is, you know, the incarnate experience? And I think that will make the most successful theatre, if you know what I mean.

Jess: I do, I love that idea, the balance, yeah, finding that balance.

Anne: Yeah, so you actually have to be conscious of how you choose—

Jess: Right.

Anne: As we leave these platforms and start standing together, being together, what do you keep and then how do you start to balance the ancient side of the theatre, in a sense.

Randee: I’m back.

Jess: Already?

Randee: You guys are awesome. I just thought, and especially because of--

Anne: I'm not awesome, I'm an hour late.

Randee: No, but let's have a moment of acknowledging Robert, our ASL interpreter.

Jess: Robert!

Randee: Who's done way more than he bargained for. I just have a couple of hot questions off the Facebook page, and hopefully we can scooch those in. I think we have a few minutes left. One is vis-a-vis what you were just talking about, and there's questions from "How do we create theatre "in this new space without devaluing design elements?" You know, this is our first time as Directors Lab going outside of our usual small cloistered audience, and so we have a lot of people from all different facets of the theatre world tuning in, obviously, including a lighting designer in this case, who feels a little left out of the conversation, understandably so, and I'm just curious what you think about—

Anne: Well, first of all, it's a great question, whether it comes from a director or a lighting designer, and all great questions have the same answer. So would you ask the question again? And I'm gonna give you the answer.

Randee: Awesome! "How do we create theatre in this new space "without devaluing design elements, "or is my work right as a lighting designer--"

Anne: The answer is, so that's a great question, the answer is, exactly, you have to ask the question. If you don't ask it, then you're in trouble. Who knows, we're gonna find out how to make that work, but you have to ask the question.

Jess: Yeah.

Anne: You know, it's how do we work together again, how do we use what it is we can do. So that question is more valuable than any answer I could possibly give.

Randee: Awesome, and this last, one more before we're gonna go to our final question that we're asking all of our panelists this week, I'm just curious about your, your take on being part of the academic world at this moment. And I know that you're still teaching at Columbia, and I'm teaching as well, and I feel like there is, especially for the incoming class who are looking forward to at least a semester if not a year of remote learning in theatre, a kind of acknowledgment or ethical conversation that I'm not hearing yet about training for something that is looking precarious in terms of their futures.

Anne: Well, a couple of things, because I teach directing, it's a little different for actors, but because I teach directing, I revel in my own graduate training, which was performance studies. It wasn't actually called it then. I went to NYU and got an MA which was then a two-year program in what was then called theatre history and criticism, and it was the best preparation for being a director I can imagine. So I don't think that we're not gonna be together for the entire year. I do think we're gonna be on Zoom for the first semester. So what Brian Kulick, who's, or I co-run the directing program, the graduate directing program at Columbia, what we're gonna do is take the first semester to basically give a performance studies approach to theatre, and it will be all super academic. I'm gonna teach a course I've never taught before called the History of Directing, and I better start working on it. And it's going to be, I think, fantastic, and I hope to give the students everything that I was able to get from my own graduate studies, and what that was was an appetite for study. In other words, in two years I couldn't possibly read. It was a program that was then run by Richard Schechner and Ted Hoffman and Brooks McNamara, you know, these amazing people, and so it was about the anthropology, sociology in relationship to theatre as opposed to, you know, the strongest line on stage is a diagonal.

Randee: Right.

Anne: I make a joke often, "The strongest line on stage is diagonal. "Poof, you have your MFA." If there's some way I can, that Brian and I, and Brian is much more of a brilliant, brilliant academic than I am, but is to spend a serious and rigorous semester and concentrate on academic study, on historical study, on rigorous theoretical study and then in the spring, when I believe we will be back, I think that's gonna happen, is to do a lotta production, like enough talk, enough study, enough writing, enough reading, let's get it on the boards. We've never done that before. Usually we try to over the course of their two years of training and then their one year of no training but making theses and internships, we usually sort of weave all that through and very carefully make sure that by the time they're finished, they have that background. But we're gonna stuff it all in. The other thing that really surprised me, and I don't know if you've found that with your students, is the students who are now moving into their second year and the incoming students for the most part are so relieved they're not in the job market. They're so happy to be in school and relieved to actually have this time of grace, and that's another way of looking at it. And I realized, I thought, oh, right, I get that. It is a special time for them, and I think that you have to if you're gonna go into this kind of study and teaching, you have to think that way. You have to say, I'm gonna line myself up so that it's working for me and for the world in general, for my usefulness in the world rather than against it.

Randee: That’s great, that's helpful. It's very humbling this whole time to be a teacher especially.

Anne: Oh, yeah, it is.

Randee: And in my case, so many of my students are straddling the job market while they're in school and you know, in small multi-generational homes, and it's a balancing act for them to find a quiet space with good broadband to stay in school. So there's a lot of balls in the air, you know?

Anne: Those are real obstacles. I mean, the financial obstacles are so huge.

Randee: Huge.

Anne: Huge.

Randee: Huge, yeah.

Anne: It's made me as the, I feel more responsible to the students than ever. I mean, we're keeping in touch all summer long, which I never usually do, you know? We need to be there for each other, I think.

Randee: Yeah, no, and they’re—

Anne: And then what's important is they need to know that we're gonna do this together, and I mean that in general in the field. It's not that, it's not like, oh, you young people have to figure it out. It's, no, we're gonna get in the trenches, and we're gonna all figure it out together. We're gonna figure out how to move forward, so.

Randee: Yeah, I agree with you. It's been a balancing act between being a therapist sometimes in the classroom, you know, and the compassion and still trying to push forward to get something of value out of the subject, so.

Anne: Yeah, yeah.

Randee: I’m gonna ask you our stock last question if I can find it in my multiple scripts here.

Anne: It can't be that stock then, can it?

Randee: And I think I actually wrote it, but it's been an unexpected morning. So in closing, could you briefly share something you've learned or discovered during this quarantine period that you plan to incorporate in your practice as an artist, and whoever--

Anne: Jessica, do you wanna go first or me?

Jess: I’ll go first.

Anne: Okay.

Jess: I think this, I would like to, I hope to take forward this accessibility to my community, to my fellow artists, the conversation that is happening because of that accessibility. I'm really hoping that we don't, once I move into spaces or that those actual, like the actual walls don't become walls of communicating in terms of my awareness and my curiosity about the whole landscape and the whole community. That's what I hope, I think.

Randee: Right on.

Anne: Good. I would say, I would say to myself when this is changing, I'm not gonna say when we're back 'cause I think we'll never be back, is to say what I've learned is to slow the fuck down. We've been going faster and faster over the last 30, 40 years. The pulse and the time signature of our world has sped up to a place that is inhuman and inhumane, and I would just want to repeat, slow the fuck down.

Randee: I’m printing T-shirts as we speak.

Anne: Slow the fuck down. That would be a great T-shirt!

Randee: It really would be.

Jess: Slow the fuck down.

Randee: That’s perfect. Anne Bogart on tempo, slow the fuck down. Thank you so much, and thank you, Jess, and especially thank you, Robert, you've been awesome.

[Anne makes an exasperated face.]

Jess: [Laughing.] Anne.

Anne: Can I just once again say I'm so sorry about this time screw-up? I feel terrible.

Randee: It’s actually, I think our viewers got double for their money, which was free anyway, so it all worked out, and we're delighted. We also want to acknowledge our long-standing partners at Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, the Pasadena Playhouse, Boston Court Pasadena. We look forward to reuniting with them next year. We hope you'll join us again tomorrow for an amazing conversation between Ann James and Carly Weckstein who will be discussing Using Intimacy Direction to Create a Culture of Consent Post-COVID. Thank you for being with us today, and we hope this conversation sparks a whole lot more. Farewell, thank you, guys.

Anne: Sorry!

Jess: No!

Randee: No, you're great. Don't you worry. And video out, mute out, here we go.

This conversation is presented as part of Directors Lab West Connects, an 8-day series of livestreamed conversations and Q&As crafted for and by theater directors and choreographers that will reflect upon, explore, and inspire paths forward in the transformed and transforming nature of live theater. Curated to reflect a wide range of topics, each session will feature speakers sharing their unique perspectives for 30 minutes, followed by a live moderated 15-minute Q&A.

RSVP for this conversation, read speaker bios, and submit questions ahead of time at directorslabwest.com.

Directors Lab West Connects will be livestreaming on howlround.tv and on the Directors Lab West Facebook page, where viewers can engage with peers and ask additional questions in the chat. Each session will be archived on both HowlRound and Directors Lab West’s website.

The full Directors Lab West Connects schedule of conversations is:

Saturday 23 May 2020
Anne Cattaneo and Sheldon Epps: A Discussion of Institutional Perspectives, Connections, and Support

Sunday 24 May 2020
Anne Bogart and Jessica Hanna: A Conversation about Creative Practice and the Shifting Landscape

Monday 25 May 2020
Ann James and Carly D. Weckstein: Using Intimacy Direction to Create a Culture of Consent Post-COVID

Tuesday 26 May 2020
Laurel Lawson and Diana Wyenn: Disability and Equity as Creative Forces

Wednesday 27 May 2020
Daniela Atiencia, Gianna Formicone, and Makiko Shibuya: Global Perspectives from DLW’s International Alumni

Thursday 28 May 2020
Scarlett Kim and Mattie Barber-Bockelman: Reimagining Liveness and Connection for Virtual Space

Friday 20 May 2020
Luis Alfaro and Laurie Woolery: Reflections on “Remote” Teaching and Community Engagement

Saturday 30 May 2020
Sabra Williams and Laura Karlin: The Power of the Arts — Theater and Dance in Systems-Impacted Communities

ACCESSIBILITY

• ASL Interpretation will be available on both the HowlRound and Directors Lab West Facebook livestreams.
• Closed captioning and ASL Interpretation will be provided on the archived video on both the Directors Lab West and HowlRound websites.

See the other archived videos that belong to the Directors Lab West Connects livestream series.

ABOUT DIRECTORS LAB WEST

Founded in 2000, Directors Lab West brings together dedicated emerging and mid-career theatre directors and choreographers together with master artists for an eight-day long intensive filled with workshops, conversations, panels, and symposia enabling them to inspire each other to dream and create the future of American Theatre. Now entering its third decade, the Lab's alumni network is comprised of over 600 theater artists from all over the world. Directors Lab West is presented with artistic partners in Pasadena and Los Angeles and is supported by the Stage Directors & Choreographers Society. www.directorslabwest.com

Directors Lab West Connects is produced by Che’Rae Adams, Douglas Clayton, Ernest Figueroa, Martin Jago, Cindy Marie Jenkins, Randee Trabitz, and Diana Wyenn, with additional support from Emily Claeys and Reena Dutt.

About HowlRound TV

HowlRound TV is a global, commons-based peer produced, open access livestreaming and video archive project stewarded by the nonprofit HowlRound. HowlRound TV is a free and shared resource for live conversations and performances relevant to the world's performing arts and cultural fields. Its mission is to break geographic isolation, promote resource sharing, and to develop our knowledge commons collectively. Participate in a community of peer organizations revolutionizing the flow of information, knowledge, and access in our field by becoming a producer and co-producing with us. Learn more by going to our participate page. For any other queries, email tv@howlround.com, or call Vijay Mathew at +1 917.686.3185 Signal/WhatsApp. View the video archive of past events.