糖心传媒

The spring production We Don糖心传媒檛 Live on Mars Yet never started out as your typical theater production. It糖心传媒檚 what糖心传媒檚 called a devised work 糖心传媒� a new approach for the University of Rochester糖心传媒檚

糖心传媒淎 devised work means different things to different people,糖心传媒� says Talya Chalef, a South African-Australian interdisciplinary artist who was commissioned by the theater program to develop this premiere work in collaboration with Rochester students. 糖心传媒淵ou糖心传媒檙e essentially a playwright and a theater maker,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淏ut you糖心传媒檙e also a performer.糖心传媒�

During 糖心传媒渞ehearsals,糖心传媒� Chalef presents the students with materials researched beforehand and takes the students through a series of workshops where they might write, or create movements, games, and songs, or even use puppets, as a way to express what糖心传媒檚 in the materials. 糖心传媒淵ou sit down collectively as a group and look at what you have. Then you start to script, and then you sequence it, and then it becomes a conversation,糖心传媒� she says.

糖心传媒淭his is probably one of the coolest things I糖心传媒檝e ever done,糖心传媒� says Matalin Collins 糖心传媒�19. In the beginning, the environmental studies major, who糖心传媒檚 been part of past productions at Todd Theater, admits she was nervous about not having a solid script as the ensemble began to meet. But as time went by, she saw the value in bringing people together to generate ideas and create something new. 糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檝e learned a lot about myself and about creating art and theater,糖心传媒� she says.

When Chalef first came to Rochester, she had no idea what the final piece would be. But the director and artist, now based in Brooklyn, New York, knew she wanted the work to be connected to social justice.

糖心传媒淭here is so much going on right now, it糖心传媒檚 quite easy to get overwhelmed,糖心传媒� says Chalef, who spent time last fall at the local Rochester archives and online to learn about the city.

As she learned of Rochester糖心传媒檚 status as a sanctuary city糖心传媒攁s well as its large population of refugees糖心传媒攊t got her wondering about the idea of home and what home means in the context of today糖心传媒檚 political climate. 糖心传媒淚 wanted to explore what it means for the past and what it means for Rochester and its past 糖心传媒� who糖心传媒檚 been here and who糖心传媒檚 immigrated here. What糖心传媒檚 the make-up of the city?

糖心传媒淚 gave the students the task of going through the materials and going through the motions of the play we糖心传媒檝e put together. We asked: 糖心传媒榃hat does this mean? What is the function of this part in the play? What is it asking the audience to think about? Why put these things together?糖心传媒� We talked about the best way to tell a story, and how to be a maker instead of just being a performer,糖心传媒� Chalef explains.

糖心传媒淚t opened up this world of creativity,糖心传媒� says theater major Sammi Richardson 糖心传媒�19.聽 糖心传媒淚 wasn糖心传媒檛 aware that this city had so much rich history,糖心传媒� she says, reflecting on the newspaper articles she read from the early 1880s and 1900s. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 creates a whole story in your brain of the place that you live and the space that you occupy. I糖心传媒檝e learned so much about where we live and the people who are from here.”

What should the audience expect to see? 糖心传媒淭he script is images, words, and movements,糖心传媒� says Chalef. 糖心传媒淭here are songs. This is a very musical team.糖心传媒�

Nigel Maister, the Russell and Ruth Peck Artistic Director of the International Theatre Program, says Chalef糖心传媒檚 approach is especially suited to getting students invested in the issues the performance raises.

糖心传媒淲hile it糖心传媒檚 important to engage the students with topics of social justice and refugees at this critical time, it糖心传媒檚 equally important that the students themselves are invested in these topics,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淎nd there糖心传媒檚 no better way to do that than by giving them ownership of the work they糖心传媒檙e doing. A devised work is a very exciting and challenging way of doing that. It offers a different kind of theatrical experience to them.糖心传媒�