tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90924179621315154572024-02-02T03:10:13.062-05:00All Things SageDavid Baeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03864017595450314539noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092417962131515457.post-78796559798681645192011-09-14T05:53:00.005-04:002011-09-14T06:30:22.669-04:00I teach to go to meetingsI used to think my job was to teach, but now I think I teach to go to meetings. The meetings begin at 8;00 or 9:00, are shoe-horned in between classes and don't stop until 5:00 or 5:30, but many things are eventually getting done. <br /><br />In General Education, we have combined a first-year Women's Studies course with English Composition. The collaboration of classes involves a Women's Studies and English teaching duo that further coordinates with another first-year course, in say, Nutrition, Psychology, Statistics or Climate Studies. The teachers and students in these courses make up a Living/Learning community, where we hope that by sharing curriculum and ideas, students will look for and find connections across disciplines. It involved a lot of planning, thus meetings.<br /><br />Our Russell Sage College Curriculum Committee approves new courses and the changes to existing courses. We meet once a week. Our goal for the year is to continue the overhaul of general education at Sage. We have had the current curriculum in place for over 15 years and while we have piloted new programs, we have yet to formally make major changes. Students now take a "Chinese menu" of courses--two from natural sciences, two from social sciences, four from humanities and various cross-cultural and capstone courses. Our charge now is to look at what skills we think all students should cross the stage with at graduation and use that for our foundation of courses. <br /><br />It only involves getting the input, buy-in and then approval of the entire Sage faculty. Simple, right? We'll see...after many more meeting.<br /><br />Our Theatre department's new Theatre Institute at Sage is shaping up plans for the year. Meetings are being held to discuss making the Institute a resource for the entire campus. NYSTI was a great resource for our department, but did not often collaborate with the wider Sage community. We think it is important to begin sharing resources and ideas with departments like Education and English, to integrate and appreciate each other's work. All it takes is meetings to get it done.<br /><br />So why am I blogging at 6:00 a.m.? I have one class and four meetings today. Add grading to that and maybe lunch and there won't be time for blogging later. I teach to meet.David Baeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03864017595450314539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092417962131515457.post-11761538878689809102011-09-02T07:01:00.002-04:002011-09-02T07:24:20.436-04:00So What Have I Missed...? (Part Two)Our Provost, Terry Weiner, calls it "zigging when everyone else is zagging." I'll explain. Over the years, Sage has had less and less new faculty put on tenure lines, with the number of tenured faculty dropping at the college. This fits with the national trend for colleges to jettison faculty tenure lines for more adjuncts, lecturers and on-line classes. These options can more cost effective, but also reduces the number of faculty available to advise, do committee work and simply keep the campus humming.
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<br />During the last three years, tenure has slowly been restored to Sage. After six years, I was put on a tenure line and in February (gratefully) received tenure. Each year the numbers of both new and old faculty put on tenure lines is increasing. At the last Board of Trustees meeting, the Board agreed to allow Sage to become a more tenure-driven institution, meaning that campus-wide, tenure lines may be available for all faculty. After this year, faculty who are not tenured will either be placed on tenure lines or become "Professors of the Practice". The POP will be on multi-year contracts, with more emphasis on teaching and service and less research requirements. This may be a preferable option for a long-serving, untenured faculty member who does not wish to go through the tenure review process.
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<br />I think that this is good news for Sage. It should strengthen faculty investment in the institution and puts out a strong message that faculty work is valued at Sage. It bucks a national trend and that's always interesting. One thing I know for sure is that I'm glad I don't have to go up for tenure again. David Baeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03864017595450314539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092417962131515457.post-68657615866213923302011-07-21T10:38:00.004-04:002011-07-21T11:45:32.842-04:00So What Have I Missed...? (Part One)Since last blogging I have bought a house and had a daughter--both activities seemed to occupy a lot of my spring semester. If I were a better blogger, what would I have reported?<div>
<br /></div><div><b>Middle States Re-accreditation</b></div><div><b>
<br /></b></div><div>When I got into academia, Middle States sounded like something from J.R.R. Tolkien--an underground world where an alternate society or civilization existed alongside our own. It turns out (alas) that Middle States refers to the academic accrediting body that visits Sage every ten years. It is not made up of gnomes or folklore folk, but a volunteer team of professors and administrators that examine every aspect of the college community. The volunteers read Sage's lengthy self-study and then meet to discuss the results. Meetings are held with faculty, students, administrators, coaches, committees, maintenance staff and trustees--no stone is left unturned. </div><div>
<br /></div><div>It is a high stakes effort to really look at institutional strengths and weaknesses and prove to the accrediting team that the college is capable of continued success. A large number of faculty and staff worked for nearly two years on the self-study, which is Dostoevsky-like in length and detail--a real saga of Sage history, past, present and projected-future. Those who wrote this tome deserve immediate tenure, year-long sabbaticals or at the very least, a steak dinner. Due to their efforts, Sage passed with many "commendations" and only a short list of "recommendations" and "collegial suggestions"--all of which are beginning to be addressed by the Sage community. </div><div>
<br /></div><div>I attended several of the meetings and learned how helpful it is to have total strangers both confirm what you already know and illuminate aspects you may not have thought about. The most ringing reminder from the committee was to continue investing in the women's college mission, where Sage's unique history sets us apart from other institutions. While many women's colleges continue to go co-ed, it will be interesting to see how this challenge is addressed at Sage.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>What else have I missed? Next blog...Tenure at Sage.</div><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8"><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8">David Baeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03864017595450314539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092417962131515457.post-43272380849935090062011-05-08T16:59:00.003-04:002011-05-08T17:51:30.374-04:00Happy (Sage) Mother's Day<span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span>A Mother's Day story about two of my favorite women of influence.<br /><br />From Giggle.com (story attached below if the link doesn't work)<br /><br /><a href="http://http//www.giggle.com/eng/specials/vote_portal.cfm">http://www.giggle.com/eng/specials/vote_portal.cfm</a><br /><br /><span class="field102449">Last year for Mother’s Day my daughter Eleanor, 1.5 at the time (with a little help from her father) gave me a Garmin Forerunner wristwatch, a running gadget that tracks distance, pace and time.<br /><br />A simple gift, but it meant so much more. Since having Eleanor in October 2008 I began running for the first time in my life. My first race was with her in tow, being pushed in her stroller. As Eleanor has grown in age, I have grown as a runner. To me it represents the strong women I have become as a mother and as a person. Running is hard, it takes dedication and time, and being able to balance life, work, motherhood, nursing and all the challenges that come with being a mother, have all been obstacles I have overcome.<br /><br />Eleanor, now 2.5 admires my running and racing. She comes to all of my races and cheers me on. It is a great chance for her to see men and women competing against each other, and for her to be exposed to women athletes. She is excited to run her first race (a kid’s mile) coming up this Thanksgiving, shortly after she turns 3. I want her to know that she can accomplish anything she puts her mind to, like I, her mother did when it came to running. The Garmin watch it gadget, but the strength and dedication are tools I can pass down to her for a lifetime of positivity.</span><br /><br />--Victoria BaeckerDavid Baeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03864017595450314539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092417962131515457.post-50239774229840203702011-03-22T14:42:00.005-04:002011-03-22T15:08:46.129-04:00Hello (New) Theatre Institute!The creation of the Theatre Institute at Sage has been well-covered by local media, including this very paper:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2011/03/03/news/doc4d6e922eb12d0599082500.txt?viewmode=fullstory">http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2011/03/03/news/doc4d6e922eb12d0599082500.txt?viewmode=fullstory</a><br /><br />To add to that news, it is good to report that work on the endeavor continues well. An open house over the weekend yielded a great number of parents, students and teachers interested in the program's offerings. The Saturday training school will begin next week with a stage combat camp to run during the April spring break. Auditions were held last week for two touring productions that will go into local schools during May and June. Finally, an advisory committee has been organized to help the Institute plan for the future.<br /><br />All good news for now. Look for the opening of <span style="font-style: italic;">Seussical</span> next week, which will be playing through the middle of April with morning school performances. <br /><br />In a world where nothing seems to happen too quickly, the good will and support behind the Theatre Institute at Sage has been a sudden pleasure.David Baeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03864017595450314539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092417962131515457.post-10470587575046432792011-02-15T08:40:00.005-05:002011-02-15T09:33:51.376-05:00The Heiress Collaborative<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje_ttk0CKIB2BW-VYRAKEezPaMHyxsa4MO1MHjcWp2aAu4vw8-WprnSPJKjRFykKJN1qdOpLAt36NWX9vK1ZUMn3GybuX-lhEmSbVZnlJkTaq7bbDIOGTUv6AW8wa6o15HjfMeuwvOe3I/s1600/HeiressPoster.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 259px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje_ttk0CKIB2BW-VYRAKEezPaMHyxsa4MO1MHjcWp2aAu4vw8-WprnSPJKjRFykKJN1qdOpLAt36NWX9vK1ZUMn3GybuX-lhEmSbVZnlJkTaq7bbDIOGTUv6AW8wa6o15HjfMeuwvOe3I/s400/HeiressPoster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573924251433101794" border="0" /></a>Do you ever get tired of the sound of your own voice? I know that students get tired of mine. It's often when I close my mouth and allow the students their say that some very exciting learning begins to happen. Swallowing my pride, I decided to apply the same principle to directing and turned over the responsibility to the cast of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Heiress</span>.<br /><br />I did hedge my bets a bit, casting myself in the production so that I still get an occasional say. The process is new to me and imperfect, but we are finding our groove. The cast began with an entire week of discussion around the table, analyzing the text and characters to the point where we were nearly all on the same page. Together we also trimmed the script to keep its length under two hours. We are working on a three-quarters thrust stage, so each cast member is an "extra eye" on the seven scenes of the play, working with me to make sure that the staging reads to all members of the audience. Administratively, the cast worked with an artist on the poster design and put together a youtube video promoting the play. We are also collectively responsible for running lights and sound, assisting with costume changes and load-in of all physical aspects of a show, like a self-contained unit.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Heiress</span> is a perfect play for this experiment. It has a cast of nine, which usually gives us just enough people working behind the scenes while others are onstage. Were it a musical or more complexly structured piece, the collaboration may not work, but <span style="font-style: italic;">The Heiress</span> is relatively simple and straight-forward. It has only a single set and two acts and falls into that category of play where it seems that people just stand around talking. It's definitely a challenge making that type of play seem active and the students are learning a lot about storytelling.<br /><br />Leaders are definitely emerging on all fronts. Several people have stepped forward as strong directors, while others enjoy the more administrative and technical aspects. All are pulling double duty as actors, which for me has been personally stressful. As a director, your brain is wired to analyze and control the action, but as an actor you must let go and just allow yourself to be in the moment. It's not a comfortable combination, a tightrope of sorts, but a situation that I am definitely learning from. Sometimes the collective voice feels like too many cooks in the kitchen, while at other times it yields some very fresh results. Again, it is a tightrope walk for us all and one of the first situations where I find myself giving notes to (and getting notes from) others actors.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Heiress</span> opens Wednesday, February 23 - Sunday, February 22. For more information, go to www.sage.edu/capa.David Baeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03864017595450314539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092417962131515457.post-54441662826087124602011-02-03T09:04:00.004-05:002011-02-03T17:02:51.963-05:00Snow Days at SageTrue confession--teachers love snow days as much as any student. If you don't have to be shoveling your driveway or raking your roof, then sitting around in pajamas and drinking hot chocolate beats teaching a class--occasionally.<br /><br />Like everything else in the world, a good beginning begets a good end. The trouble with all of the snow days <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">front loaded</span> into the semester is that it has been hard settling into a groove. It can take two weeks just to learn student names, establish the tone of the course and get everyone headed in the right direction. A semester that begins in fits and starts really feels like it hasn't started at all. I'm still a foreigner in a classroom of strangers.<br /><br />Not to say anything of meetings postponed, guest lectures canceled and work groups that still haven't worked. I am on a committee that hasn't yet met this semester, but we are communicating on an e-mail thread that is surely threatening a Guinness record. Reply all...reply all...reply all. Finally, despite the dedicated work of the facilities crew, it is extremely difficult to park on campus. Just the thought of going to work is daunting.<br /><br />So, if the time off been in February, I wouldn't feel as disjointed, but I guess you take your <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">jammies</span> and hot chocolate when you can get it.David Baeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03864017595450314539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092417962131515457.post-16410042219928526922011-01-09T04:55:00.003-05:002011-01-09T05:52:41.891-05:00Sage in LondonAs mentioned by fellow blogger Bob Goepfert, Sage is in London. Our department is offering "Arts Immersion", a course that sends students to shows, concerts and museums all over the city. The students have really committed themselves to seeing everything. For instance, yesterday two students did a Thames River ride, the Tower of London, St. Paul's Cathedral, Greenwich and a show at the National Theatre. Those attractions alone could be enough for one trip, but that is how zealously students have approached their trip.<br /><br />Every student has shared different highlights. The Crown Jewels have been a favorite. Our show at Shakespeare's Globe has had many mentions and the visit Westminster Abbey is way up there. The shopping on Oxford Street, Regent Street and Portobello Road has been popular. Students have been quick to note the bloody, lurid history that makes its way into most attractions. Ancient murders, tortures and ghosts are very salable to tourists in the 21st century.<br /><br />As for myself, I have been gorging on theatre. London is a mecca for, if not quality theatre, then quantity theatre, with diverse options. Some highlights and lowlights are:<br /><ul><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Hamlet</span>--Slick, imaginative Shakespeare set in a modern day surveillance state. This production is part of NT Live and will be broadcast in the U.S.</li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">King Lear</span>--Stark, clear production with a beautiful, heroic performance by Derek Jacobi. Again, this will be part of NT Live--don't miss it.</li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Men Should Weep</span>--A neglected feminist classic from 1937 that looks at the effects of poverty on a family living in the slums of Glasgow. Heart-breaking and surprisingly funny.<br /></li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Oliver!</span>--An eye-poppingly, sumptuous production that covers serious flaws in the material. A terrific performance by Griff Rhys-Jones as Fagin.</li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Fela!</span>--A musical that looks at corruption in Nigeria through the concept of a nightclub show by activist musician, Fela Kuti. Part of NT Live.</li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Seasons Greetings</span>--A bleak sitcom of the Christmas we have all suffered through with our families. </li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">The Master Builder</span>--An arty production that is both overblown and underwhelming at the same time. Some of it is the play, which is later, more obscure Ibsen, but it could still benefit from more heart and less mind.</li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">The Invisible Man</span>--An all-around good time with amazingly clever illusions that had to work close-up.</li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Hansel and Gretel</span>--A dark opera with a cooler full of dead children. Chilling and fun.</li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Winter Wassail</span>--A presentation of ancient songs and spoken word at the Globe Theatre to ring out the old and ring in the new. A very fresh way to bring on 2011.<br /></li></ul>Other mentions include: <span style="font-style: italic;">The Country Girl</span> (dull), <span style="font-style: italic;">The Rivals</span> (lazy) and <span style="font-style: italic;">Deathtrap</span> (a guilty pleasure that soon wears thin).<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">War Horse</span> gets its own mention because it does what the best theatre should do. It presents the human condition through imagination and complete trust in the audience. In it, we see the best and worst of ourselves and the horrors and the love all around us. The play is a simple children's story, but works on many levels, appealing to many demographics. The stagecraft is rudimentary and ingenious all at the same time. When it comes to New York next month, don't miss it.<br /><br />Seeing so much good work leaves you jonesing for your next fix. I don't know when that will be, but have enjoyed taking advantage of the theatre London has to offer.David Baeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03864017595450314539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092417962131515457.post-46095936148626736542010-12-23T09:04:00.005-05:002010-12-23T10:04:59.305-05:00More Bits and Pieces1. I took several students to the NYSTI board meeting at the Capitol yesterday. Aside from the disappointing outcome, we discussed what, if anything, was learned from watching our public servants in action. One of the students was frustrated that Larry Schwartz, who Governor Paterson handpicked as Chairman of the NYSTI board, referred to Artistic Director David Bunce's remarks as 'drama'.<br /><br />Whenever someone who works in the theatre asserts themselves, rationally or not, their behavior is dismissed as 'drama'. When used this way, the word both ignores anything meaningful that was presented and subtly derides the profession as practiced. I don't like it, though I suppose I'm being dramatic.<br /><br />If a politician asserts herself, it can dismissed as 'rhetoric'. Could a supermodel's complaints be seen as 'posturing'? A doctor may have 'poor bedside manner'. A policeman? A minister?<br /><br />2. Grades are in, the college is closed for the holidays and plans are being laid for the next semester. <br /><ul><li>Sage's new Dean of Education, Lori Quigley, has put together a great lecture series that I will be looking forward to, beginning with Tom Porter, author and Mohawk Indian Chief.</li><li>Dr. David Salomon in the English Department will be bring British Poet Laurate, Carol Ann Duffy, to campus in April.<br /></li><li> Our Creative and Performing Arts Department will be producing <span style="font-style: italic;">The Heiress </span>and<span style="font-style: italic;"> Seussical.</span> <br /></li></ul>More to come on all of that...<br /><br />3. Happy Holidays to all. It can be a tough time of the year, but I hope everyone finds comfort in family and looking forward to the future. It's funny...I look forward to Christmas all year long and then get within two days of it and am not sure my mind, body or spirit will hold out. Still, I'm going to make it. Best wishes for 2011.David Baeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03864017595450314539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092417962131515457.post-35150325110112704322010-12-11T14:04:00.009-05:002010-12-11T17:39:05.319-05:00The State and the ArtsI spoke with Senator Roy McDonald at the Troy Farmers' Market today and discussed my concerns about the imminent closing of NYSTI and how it will affect Sage. Understandably, he explained the financial disaster that our state is now in and how he is in triage mode--helping to fund essential services like health, safety and education.<br /><br />Of course, I take some exception to word "essential", but if I were to call the arts "essential to the human spirit" it would probably necessitate a collective eye-roll from my readership. Still, in my mind no two human services are alike or without their worth--comparing an art gallery to well-baby clinic is like comparing paintings to babies. I can't imagine a world without either.<br /><br />The senator told me that these are hard times and that 900 state employees are being laid off. I replied that 15 of them work at NYSTI. He also gently explained that he doesn't understand artists and academics, but that he has to live in a real world with serious troubles. I am aware that is code for something, but as both an artist and academic, am probably not equipped to understand it. I have heard Rush Limbaugh say similar things on his radio show, as if artists and academics live in some alternate universe where rising gas prices, devastating taxes and the chaotic state of our government doesn't affect us. If only I could live in that rarefied world.<br /><br />I guess I admire Senator's forthrightness, but would still like to live in a country where the arts mattered more to our government officials. FDR understood that providing employment to artists during the Great Depression <span style="font-style: italic;">was</span> essential to the nation's spirit. Winston Churchill knew it was important to keep theatres open during the attacks on London in WWII. Both of these great leaders lived in scarier times than we do now. Even Lyndon Johnson observed that, "...the arts and humanities get the basement." Ask anyone at SUNY Albany in Theatre or Foreign Languages if that is true.<br /><br />Speaking of London, I am about to take 20 students to study theatre there for two weeks. Their government-supported arts are affordable and of excellent quality, which makes the UK an <span style="font-style: italic;">essential</span> destination spot and their arts an <span style="font-style: italic;">essential</span> economic force. Can you imagine a London without the National Theatre or the Royal Shakespeare Company?<br /><br />Maybe the NYSTI ship has sailed (though I hope not), but when this recession is over, we will still have hospitals, firemen, unions and a state government for all. I doubt that the arts will have fared as well. The cuts in funding by Mayor Jerry Jennings to Park Playhouse, Capital Repertory Theatre and other companies are appalling and will certainly cripple one of the organizations this year. Whether our leaders see it or not, artists pay bills, provide service, vote, live and die in this country. When a politician says that they support the little guy, they should know that includes artists.<br /><br />To quote playwright Arthur Miller (eye-roll everyone), "Attention, attention must be paid."David Baeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03864017595450314539noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092417962131515457.post-57767712440176137492010-12-02T21:07:00.004-05:002010-12-02T22:01:33.284-05:00NYSTI's A Christmas CarolBlogging continues to take a backseat to directing. I have been working on NYSTI's production of <span style="font-style: italic;">A Christmas Caro</span><span style="font-style: italic;">l</span> and my extra time has been at a premium.<br /><br />There has been a strange energy during this rehearsal period, probably due to the fact that NYSTI is not named in the upcoming state budget and is now running out of funds. <span style="font-style: italic;">A Christmas Carol</span> could very well be the organization's final production. Since the departure of Patricia Snyder in April, over the half of NYSTI's staff has left or retired. Though their workforce is downsized and those remaining are covering many jobs, I have been impressed with the staff's adaptability. NYSTI has had to grow leaner and meaner. Change has empowered the company members and it is sad that their rebirth coincides with their being on life support.<br /><br />The future seems bleak, though there are bright moments. An intern-organized talent show fundraiser sold out the Meader Little Theatre last weekend and may be repeated later in the month. A group of concerned citizens has formed to begin fundraising efforts for the company. Finally, The Record has graciously offered to profile the show in a three-part series leading up to the official opening on Sunday. <br /><br />What does NYSTI's possible demise mean to Russell Sage College? In a word, much. The company has been generous with both shared materials, teaching and opportunities for our students. Because of NYSTI's training, Sage is able to turn out highly skilled and competent theatre professionals. Indeed, several alums have been hired to work on <span style="font-style: italic;">A Christmas Carol</span>, plus we have twelve current students onstage and behind the scenes. Access to a company like this is a great learning experience for our majors and Sage is committed to maintaining professional theatre opportunities on our campus. At best, I hope it will be NYSTI. At the very least, I hope it will be NYSTI in another form (probably minus the NYS).<br /><br />For now, we have <span style="font-style: italic;">A Christmas Carol</span> and I can't wait to see the special magic that the school audiences will bring to tomorrow's performance. It's that energy--honest, unjaded and bright-- that will be missing in Capital Region if NYSTI folds.David Baeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03864017595450314539noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092417962131515457.post-74364396459961538282010-11-08T23:09:00.004-05:002010-11-09T08:13:28.782-05:00When Theatre Overlaps (or from Vietnams to the Victorians)I have been a bad blogger lately--overcommitted, as usual. I am opening <span style="font-style: italic;">A Piece of My Heart</span> for the Sage Veterans Week 2010 on Thursday and have began today rehearsing NYSTI's production of <span style="font-style: italic;">A Christmas Carol</span> which opens in December. This week of overlap involves twelve-hour days of straight rehearsal, but on a snowy morning in November, who would want to be doing anything else?<br /><br />Other events for the Veterans Week 2010 can be found on the website: www.sage.edu/veterans. The scope, ambition and creativity of the week really serves to show what Sage does best: collaborating with each other and the community to produce quality artistic, therapeutic and educational offerings.<br /><br />When I get back to directing one play, I will get back to blogging. There is a lot to say about NYSTI and <span style="font-style: italic;">A Christmas Carol</span>. Like the Dickens' tale, let's hope that the past, present and future align to bring the company the salvation it deserves. More on that later.<br /><br />Do come see <span style="font-style: italic;">A Piece of My Heart</span> this weekend. Mention that you read about it on my blog and you are eligible for five dollars tickets. Call 244 - 2248 to reserve seats. I hope to see you there.David Baeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03864017595450314539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092417962131515457.post-5386498984471318172010-10-20T22:49:00.005-04:002010-10-22T10:18:08.872-04:00The Feminist Play"I'm not a feminist, but..." are words that you hear often at Russell Sage College. I expected something different from a women's institution, but when you teach you have to meet the students where they are and begin from that point. My colleague Leigh Strimbeck knows this well and explores these issues with honesty and theatricality. Her "devised" theatre production (created by her and the cast) of MIRROR MIRROR looked at body image and the media and WAITING FOR JOE used Beckett's framework to examine cyberbullying.<br /><br />I just got back from a preview of her latest creation, appropriately titled "I'M NOT A FEMINIST, BUT..." The play looks at the question, why do young women reject feminism as a label, though desire equality with men on every level? It is a paradox that often leaves me scratching my head, though I have to remember that I am an approaching middle-aged white male who, statistically, will make more money than women and deal with less gender discrimination in my career. So who am I know to know about this question?<br /><br />The evening is a vaudeville of songs, skits and dances that addresses different points of view on the same topic. A series of interviews with women ages 20 - 60 captures the ebb and flow of the feminist movement, a now-you-see-me, now-you-don't panorama. The "Feminists Gone Wild" have a man-dog on a leash and a roving eye for straight girls. "Ghosts of Feminists Past" examines the three waves of the feminism and the spiritual linkage of Alice Paul and Betty Friedan to women of today. My personal favorite number is performed by a scowling troupe of tap dancers to "Mother of Pearl" by Nellie McKay. The comic lyric refrain of "feminists don't have a sense of humor" plays dissonantly against the angry, frustrated dance that never blossoms into joy. It makes me feel sad to watch it.<br /><br />I suppose that in-between place is where these students live, somewhere in the middle of being told what they should be and wanting just "to be". We ask our students to be "Women of Influence" at Russell Sage College and maybe they struggle with not wanting to appear too assertive, too unladylike or even, too bright. It is an understandable dilemma when our media floats words like man-hater, femi-Nazi and makes other gender distinctions daily about our female politicians, sports figures and business leaders. That is why I am proud that Leigh and our students are looking at the topic and deciding what to do with the word. How do we honor the past and move towards a non-issue?<br /><br />Call 244- 2248 for tickets and information.David Baeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03864017595450314539noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092417962131515457.post-42006629073320921262010-10-06T16:49:00.002-04:002010-10-06T16:53:08.666-04:00SAT No More<span style="font-family: arial;"><span style=";font-size:12;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">REPRINTED COURTESY OF SAGE COMMUNICATIONS</span><br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;font-family:";font-size:12;" >THE SAGE COLLEGES DROP TESTING REQUIREMENT</span> <p style="line-height: normal; margin-top: 12px; margin-bottom: 12px; font-family: arial;font-family:'Trebuchet MS',Verdana,sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span style=";font-size:12;" >By a wide margin, the faculty of The Sage Colleges on Friday voted to no longer require standardized testing for their undergraduate applicants to Russell Sage College and the Sage College of Albany. This change will be effective immediately. </span></p> <p style="line-height: normal; margin-top: 12px; margin-bottom: 12px; font-family: arial;font-family:'Trebuchet MS',Verdana,sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span style=";font-size:12;" >“This is in keeping with the faculty’s view of a Sage education,” said Dr. Terry Weiner, Sage’s provost. “We believe our educational philosophy and practices should be reflected in our admissions policies.<span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"> </span></span></p> <p style="line-height: normal; margin-top: 12px; margin-bottom: 12px; font-family: arial;font-family:'Trebuchet MS',Verdana,sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span style=";font-size:12;" >“</span><span style=";font-size:12;" >The SAT continues to be a less reliable predictor of first year performance or success in college compared to high school GPA and class rank. Our own studies at Sage have confirmed this. We continue to rely on our assessment of the whole record as the best way to assess students ready for Sage,” according to Weiner. “In this time of economic distress students should not have to choose between expensive cram courses or tutoring for these tests, or worry about losing ground in the competition for college admission.”<br /><br /></span><span style=";font-size:12;color:black;" lang="EN" >Bob Schaeffer, Public Education Director of FairTest notes that “Fortunately, more and more colleges have recognized the folly of fixating on the narrow, often biased, information provided by standardized tests and moved toward test-optional admissions.” Surveys by FairTest show that schools that have made standardized tests optional are widely pleased with the results. Many report their applicant pools and enrolled classes have become more diverse without any loss in academic quality.</span><span style=";font-size:12;" ></span></p> <p style="line-height: normal; margin-top: 12px; margin-bottom: 12px; font-family: arial;font-family:'Trebuchet MS',Verdana,sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span style=";font-size:12;" > Sage already utilizes a “holistic” approach to student evaluation: academic preparation – rigor and achievement – is the most important factor followed by recommendations and students’ personal profiles.</span></p> <p style="line-height: normal; margin-top: 12px; margin-bottom: 12px; font-family: arial;font-family:'Trebuchet MS',Verdana,sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span style=";font-size:12;" > “Our approach to selecting students is very similar to the way students choose a college: we look at many factors, keep in mind a student’s background and interests, and assess the match between that student and Sage. No one factor is a ‘driver,’ it is the sum of the whole,” according to Sage’s vice president Dan Lundquist. “If a student wants to submit test scores we will be happy to receive them, just as we want to learn about their accomplishments and goals. But if a student doesn’t submit scores we won’t assume anything, just as if they don’t tell us about a hobby. We don’t guess about what’s <i>not in</i> the application, we focus on <i>what’s in</i> an application.”</span></p>David Baeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03864017595450314539noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092417962131515457.post-90725996293829162102010-09-29T12:41:00.003-04:002010-09-29T13:16:41.786-04:00Bits and Pieces1. I attended a great reading last night by Elizabeth Brundage, a novelist and creative writing instructor at Sage. Her new book, <span style="font-style: italic;">A Stranger Like You,</span> looks at power and gender in Hollywood. I got a very dark sense of the story from her reading, which also weaves terrorism and the stoning of women into the plot. It also uses the elusive "second person" narrative, which I hadn't been exposed to since English 101.<br /><br />I went to the reading last night because I have to miss author Nicholson Baker, who is speaking at Sage next week. For more information on that reading, go to: <br /><br />http://www.sage.edu/newsevents/events/?event_id=280087&date=2010-10-07&view=monthly<br /><br />2. <span style="font-style: italic;">Peter Pan</span> has opened and is playing to packed, enthusiastic houses. I am attending this weekend, but only barely got a ticket myself. The musical has been extended by one showing and will now close on October 8. For more information on <span style="font-style: italic;">Peter Pan</span>, go to:<br /><br />http://www.sage.edu/newsevents/events/?event_id=281036&date=2010-10-01&view=monthly<br /><br />While I'm on the topic of theatre, NYSTI opens <span style="font-style: italic;">The Miracle Worker</span> on campus this weekend. It features the talents of several Sage students and alums, plus the NYSTI directing debut of friend, John Romeo. It is an amazing story about the power of education to make a difference in the lives of others--don't miss it.<br /><br />3. I'm preparing a talk on "Assertive Communication" to present for the New York State Bar Association in October. I feel very confident about spreading the message of assertive communication, but what is embarrassing to me is that I don't always practice it. Where do you lie on the scale of communicators: the passive communicator, the aggressive communicator or that dreaded combination of both, the passive-aggressive communicator?<br /><br />I am certainly learning as much about myself doing this research as I am going to teach to others.<br /><br />More later...David Baeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03864017595450314539noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092417962131515457.post-67190328872458972542010-09-16T08:39:00.006-04:002010-09-16T10:59:14.419-04:00Celebrating Constitution DayBack to blogging. I'm beginning to discover what my students must feel like with rehearsals, classes, meetings and then, a paper to write on top of it all. Blogging was easier when school was not in session, but Sage is now into its third week of classes and beginning to pick up steam. Very soon, freshman students will be collectively hit with the enormity of their work load (so will faculty) as the honeymoon period is almost over and assignments begin to pile up.<br /><br />Before the blitz begins, our entire first year class met yesterday for a Constitution Day town hall meeting. Organized by the English department, the Living-Learning communities and the WORLD (Women Owning Responsibility for Learning and Doing) program, the meeting is an opportunity to acquaint students with specific aspects of the Constitution, then to have an open microphone session for them to discuss those aspects with an experts panel of faculty. Yesterday's panel included Provost Terry Weiner, and Dr. Stephen Schechter and Dr. Pamela Katz, from History, Law and Government. The event was moderated by English department Chair, Dr. David Salomon.<br /><br />The discussion focused on the 14th Amendment, which covers the rights of all citizens born in the U.S. The students turned out to be very curious about illegal immigration and why the government has failed to adequately enforce it's own laws. Some of the highlights of the student discussion included:<br /><ul><li>The physical act of rounding up 11 million illegal immigrants and sending them back home would be a disaster of epic proportions.</li><li>Information about immigration policy and amnesty proposals put forth by George Bush, John McCain and President Obama.</li><li>An idea to eliminate closed borders all together and re-appropriate enforcement funds to education, health and fighting terrorism.</li><li>That government should punish the powerful businesses that employ illegal immigrants and not the disadvantaged individuals themselves. </li></ul>There were of course no easy answers. One student wisely said she would vote with candidates who addressed the problems humanely and realistically, allowing for the problems we have already allowed to escalate. Another topic of discussion focused on free speech and flag, Koran and book burning. It was generally agreed that if we live in country with free speech laws, then there will occasionally be things we don't want to hear, or see set on fire.<br /><br />Two representatives from the New York Times Reading Program (another first year initiative) were in attendance and impressed with Sage's town hall approach to Constitution Day, raising provocative issues then allowing students free expression. My colleague in WORLD, Dr. Sybillyn Jennings, calls it the "pedagogy of voice", that is, giving the students a place to speak aloud the ideas that they are developing. Without too much horn tooting, it is something we do well at Sage.David Baeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03864017595450314539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092417962131515457.post-13333020781284331122010-08-31T09:14:00.006-04:002010-08-31T10:18:56.946-04:00Peter Pan on Page and Stage<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5Cbaeckd%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><link rel="themeData" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5Cbaeckd%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx"><link rel="colorSchemeMapping" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5Cbaeckd%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> 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table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" >Peter Pan is coming! The Creative and Performing Arts Department will present the classic musical September 24 - October 3. Rehearsals are now into their second week, there are upward of forty theatre majors and children from the community involved, and yes, they will fly. The production is being directed by Professor Michael Musial, Chair of the department.</p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" >Hearing the music and the excitement around the department got me thinking about the Peter Pan phenomenon. The story celebrated it's centennial several years ago and with a major new 360 video production now touring the West Coast and aiming for ours, it only seems to be gaining in popularity.</p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" >To get at the "why", I spoke with Dr. Tonya Moutray, who is an Assistant Professor of English at Sage. Dr. Moutray did her doctoral work in English Literature, studying all-female communities in eighteen- and nineteen-century British literature. She has also pursued scholarship on J.M. Barrie and <span style="font-style: italic;">Peter Pan</span>.
<br /></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" >DB: <span style="font-style: italic;">What interests you personally about </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Peter Pan</span><span style="font-style: italic;">?</span> </p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" >TM: <span style="font-style: italic;">I became personally interested in the story once I started analyzing gender roles. As a boy’s adventure tale, I did not find it appealing as a child or a young adult. </span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Peter is fascinating because he is a bit evil, I think. His naiveté is a front that allows him to do what he wants. Cocksure and narcissistic, Peter is primarily focused on his own pleasures, whether dueling with Captain Hook or creating imaginary adventures with his animal friends and the lost boys. I have written about the Freudian subtext implicit in Peter’s psychosexual developmental history which indicates that he is incapable of forming strong attachments to other people. That part of him is broken.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic;">While Peter never has to assume adult responsibilities, Wendy grows up. I find her narrative tragic. The Disney film and, indeed, Barrie’s text, relegates Wendy to the role of housekeeper and mother in Neverland, struggling to keep Peter’s interest from Tiger Lily and the Mermaids. I find Wendy’s struggle indicative of the roles many women continued to inhabit into the 1950s. Wendy’s decision to go home, to grow up, and to create another life is laudable; however, that she allows her daughter and then grand-daughter to “spring-clean” Peter’s home in Neverland only furthers a cycle of abandonment and loss.</span>
<br />
<br />DB: <span style="font-style: italic;">What should I know about Pan/Barrie that I can't find in Wikipedia?</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" >TM: <span style="font-style: italic;">Wikipedia doesn’t address “why” Barrie’s play (and later, novel) became such a cultural phenomenon in the first half of the twentieth-century. Peter Pan is not merely a magical character whose wily adventures entertain audiences; his story is also about loss and abandonment. Peter reports that he left home as an infant. When he tried to return, his mother had put bars on the window and a new baby had replaced him. In the end, Peter decides to forgo the Darlings’ invitation to live with them, leaving Wendy behind. British audiences in the teens and twenties were drawn to the idea that literature can preserve childhood. They likely took this tale to heart after the atrocities of WWI. Thousands of young men lost their lives, never to return home again. If he is one of these “lost boys,” Peter can’t return really, because he is dead. </span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia; font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal">Another historical backdrop to this story involves colonial expansion. In spite of signs that Great Britain’s colonial endeavors were failing in the interwar years, plenty of sons, husbands and fathers took off for the colonies, many of them leaving families behind. Neverland is a kind of colonial outpost with its own native population. One chapter of the book is entitled “The Great White Father,” a reference to Peter’s role in Neverland. </p> <p style="font-family: georgia; font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal">The other major reason, I think, that Peter Pan has had an impact culturally, is that his sexual orientation is ambiguous. Traditionally, women and girls have played the character of Peter in stage productions, furthering this ambiguity. While he performs boys’ roles, he prefers, ultimately, to be in the male company of the Lost Boys rather than in a nuclear family. While his sexual orientation may be in question, the fact that he never grows up means that his representation can suggest all sorts of cultural anxieties about deviant sexuality without giving anything away. Certainly in the wake of the Oscar Wilde trials, the public found a “safe” receptacle for these anxieties in the figure of Peter, a boy saved from the tragedy of having to face the afflictions of the adult world. Indeed, as I argue, the figure of Peter Pan pops up in a variety of other fictions by writers such as W. Somerset Maugham and Evelyn Waugh, both of whom were homosexual and, like Barrie, made boyhood into a kind of fetish.</p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal" face="georgia">DB: <span style="font-style: italic;">How has the message of the story changed over the century? 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priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; 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mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal" face="georgia">TM: <span style="font-style: italic;">I think the multiple film spin-offs have kept the tale alive for many American children while watering down some of the central concerns of the narrative: What normative roles are young men supposed to take on in contemporary society? Remember, Peter does not want to go to school or take on a profession. Why isn’t Wendy as free to choose a life of adventure? What is she sacrificing and gaining? The question now is how to make the tale “new”; how to keep it relevant in contemporary society. I think that current readers may forget about its historical backdrop and the array of cultural anxieties that made the play and novel resonate so powerfully.</span>
<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" >My thanks to Dr. Moutray for her insights.</span><span style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" > I will continue to blog about Peter Pan as our Sage production approaches. </span>
<br /></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"></p>David Baeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03864017595450314539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092417962131515457.post-4114290294201845112010-08-20T09:09:00.006-04:002010-08-20T10:11:47.611-04:00Good News at Sage<span style=";font-family:";font-size:11;" >From the world of good news, the Sage community was informed yesterday that Russell Sage College has moved into the first tier (rank 131) of “Best National Liberal Arts Colleges” as ranked by <i style="">U.S. News and World Report</i>, 2011 Best Colleges. Sage College of Albany was included in “Best Regional University (North)" and Russell Sage College was also listed in a feature of “A+ Schools for B Students,” touting schools where students with potential grow and thrive.<br /><br /></span><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 13.3333px;font-family:";font-size:16px;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:11;" >Sage also appeared in <i style="">Forbes’</i> America’s Best Colleges report published earlier this month. In the listing of the 600 best colleges in the U.S., Russell Sage College is listed at number 408. (SUNY Albany is listed at 410)</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 13.3333px;font-family:";font-size:16px;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:11;" >The criteria for selection are important gauges of how we are doing our work. For instance, according to<span style="font-style: italic;"> Forbes</span>, the ranking is designed to help undergraduate students evaluate things that many believe are important criteria when selecting a college:</span></p> <ul><li><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10;" >Do students enjoy their classes and overall academic experience?</span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10;" ></span></li><li><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10;" >Do graduates succeed well in their occupations after college?</span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10;" ><br /></span></li><li><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10;" >Do most students graduate in a timely fashion, typically four years?</span></li><li><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10;" >Do students incur massive debts while in schools?<br /></span></li><li><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10;" >Do students succeed in distinguishing themselves academically?”</span></li></ul> <p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 13.3333px;font-family:";font-size:16px;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:11;" >Happily, we do these things well--but I could have told you that. I don't how the news of our rankings will be disseminated, but with luck, it should help with recruitment and fund raising in the coming year.<br /></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 13.3333px;font-family:";font-size:16px;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:11;" >Best wishes to all those beginning school in the coming week. If you're in academia--Happy New Year!<br /></span></p><span style=";font-family:";font-size:11;" ></span>David Baeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03864017595450314539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092417962131515457.post-15009738979402335452010-08-13T14:03:00.004-04:002010-08-13T14:35:11.949-04:00Directing Santa FeYou know you've been teaching for a long time when a former student calls you up and offers you work. So has been the case with me and blogging has had to take a backseat for a few weeks. <br /><br />Samara Neely-Cohen, a former student of mine from a summer camp in Colorado, is in her second year as Founding Artistic Director of the Santa Fe Theatre Festival. Samara has always been in my top-ten of favorite students--wickedly smart, talented and wise beyond her years, Samara is on her way to making her mark on the world. She has now put together two seasons of challenging plays that employ the talents of theatre artists from New York, Los Angeles and Santa Fe. It is a passionate, ambitious company, probably still finding its identity, but grounded in practicality with plenty of long-term goals. The season opened last night and if the enthusiasm of the audience is any indication, this Santa Fe company is here for the long haul.<br /><br />I was brought in as a replacement director for <span style="font-style: italic;">Danny and the Deep Blue Sea</span>, by John Patrick Shanley. It is a gritty and lyrical play--a sort of precursor to his screenplay, <span style="font-style: italic;">Moonstruck</span>. With less than two weeks of rehearsal (and Samara in the cast) we are readying for our opening tonight. The production has the added bonus of a visit from Mr. Shanley for a gala event next weekend. I will be back in Troy and have to miss that excitement, but told the cast that if Mr. Shanley likes the production, to tell him that I'm brilliant and if doesn't like it, explain that I was only the replacement director.<br /><br />Whatever happens, I will cherish this experience of working as colleagues with someone who I started teaching when she at 16. I've really been able to see the educational process come full circle here in Santa Fe, where things I taught Samara were learned, utilized and now, are being taught by her.<br /><br />www.santafetheatrefestival.orgDavid Baeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03864017595450314539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092417962131515457.post-38704453195766551072010-07-24T22:40:00.004-04:002010-07-25T00:31:12.172-04:00O'Neill VisitedI made a check mark today off my Theatrical Bucket List and visited playwright Eugene O'Neill's birthplace in New London, Connecticut. O'Neill is the only American playwright to win the Nobel Prize; he also won four Pulitzer Prizes for Drama. His writing--dreamy, dark and intensely personal--changed American Theatre from a melodramatic frolic to unhinged reality.<br /><br />Monte Cristo Cottage was the summer home of the O'Neill family. It was so named for <span style="font-style: italic;">The Count of Monte Cristo</span> and the acting role that earned O'Neill's father his fortune<span style="font-style: italic;"></span>. O'Neill based two plays upon the setting of the summer home: a sentimental valentine to the American family, <span style="font-style: italic;">Ah, Wilderness!</span>, and his sorrowful autobiographical nightmare, <span style="font-style: italic;">Long Day's Journey into Night.</span> The home definitely lives in the world of the latter play.<br /><br />To a theatre nerd, the day couldn't have been much better. I was joined by my friend Jefferson, another O'Neill affectionato. Our tour began at the home's front hedge, from where you can almost imagine the character of James Tyrone, Sr., calling out merrily to neighbors while his resentful son Jamie toils with the pruning shears. The docents pointed out all the renovation shortcuts that O'Neill took making the home look elegant, further reinforcing the dramatized miserliness of Tyrone. The "spare room" upstairs (next to Eugene's) where mother Ellen/Mary retreated to indulge in her morphine addiction was locked and used for storage. This was disappointing, but left to my imagination the secrets and shame that happened on the other side of the door. Finally, the summer room, which O'Neill describes so specifically in his stage directions, is dark and cheerless, no place for a family of depressed addicts to spend the day.<br /><br />After Monte Cristo Cottage, we went two blocks down Pequot Avenue to gaze at the actual lighthouse O'Neill used to evoke the mournful and lonely fog that fills the family's home. I asked the docent if there was still a watering hole in New London where the O'Neill men would have drank. She sent me to to the Dutch Tavern, which lives down a hidden, narrow street by the harbour. The Dutch Tavern was a great way to end the day in New London. The wood paneling inside was dark with beaded varnish and the mirrors behind the bar were clouded with age. There was rough wide plank floorboards, a painted tin ceiling and antique card tables. The barkeeper told us proudly it was the only bar still operating in New London that was patronized by O'Neill. The ambiance proved it and we drank a few pints to the playwright's memory. <br /> <br />Coincidentally, I teach <span style="font-style: italic;">Long Day's Journey into Night</span> in an interdisciplinary theatre and history course alongside Professor Andor Skotnes. While I might take a day discussing O'Neill and the play's characters, Andor really brings them to life, filling the class in on how history got them to where they are. Potato famines, Irish discrimination and morphine use for female "hysteria" are topics that make the autobiographical play seem even more real. History brings depth to any subject and O'Neill's history of his family--loving, haunted and ultimately helpless, lives still at Monte Cristo Cottage.David Baeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03864017595450314539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092417962131515457.post-57085097811444701902010-07-13T21:15:00.004-04:002010-07-13T22:37:26.766-04:00Theatre for CiviliansI recently finishing teaching a Sage After Work course on persuasive speaking. The make up of the class was very broad. No theatre people, but an accountant for the state, a registered nurse, two IT professionals, an account executive for Pitney Bowes and assorted nine to fivers looking to improve their communication skills.<br /><br />The students studied rhetorical devices by Shakespeare and Aristotle, plus made up a few devices of their own. With the help of youtube, we analyzed persuasive performances in films like <span style="font-style: italic;">Network, A Few Good Men </span><span><span>and</span></span><span style="font-style: italic;"> V for Vendetta</span><span>. We also analyzed historical speeches ("I Have a Dream" and "The Gettysburg Address" and speeches from literature (<span style="font-style: italic;">To Kill a Mockingbird, Inherit the Wind</span>).<br /><br />Finally, we spoke. Then we spoke some more. We ended up speaking a lot.<br /><br />Columbia University recently hosted 50 fellows from the World Economic Forum for a week of </span>"...voice, breathing, rhetoric and improvisation." The New York Times article on the event describes student resistance to such activities as "tapping their buttocks" to release tension and learning to use "the entire body and not just words" to express themselves. <br /><br />I have had similar experiences training speakers, like those in the Sage After Work class. When a human being takes a breath, they prove their mortality, express vulnerability and build confidence all at the same time. More often than not however, breath is the first thing to go when public speaking. Now, imagine telling someone who has taken years of breathing for granted that, "I'd like to see you breathing more!" Their eyes roll, there is perhaps an impertinent sniff and a short, unproductive breath that moves the shoulders more than fills the diaphragm.<br /><br />This is the challenge and delight of teaching theatre skills to civilians. When working on these skills we are doing no less than recreating ourselves to be genuine, believable human beings, not waxworks or pod people. This takes time and this is why we train. Learning to be comfortable in possibly uncomfortable situations. Using breath to relax and knock down the walls that obscure our aura. Speaking colorful rhetoric to awaken the ears of sleepy, unfocused listeners. Trusting the body to work for us, not against us.<br /><br />According to the article, the students at Columbia ended up doing well. The students at Sage did too. They wrote and performed final speeches that were passionately expressed on meaningful topics. This is the reward of working with students who may never appear onstage, but use new skills to bring authenticity and theatricality to everyday situations.<br /><br />http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/10/theater/10acting.html?_r=1&th&emc=thDavid Baeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03864017595450314539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092417962131515457.post-75563688825279993312010-07-08T06:14:00.001-04:002010-07-08T09:22:11.392-04:00Buchman CoolMy faculty office is on the second floor of the Schacht Fine Arts Center. Abrasives wizard Elmer Schacht gave the generous gift towards this building, but for some reason his beneficence did not extend to the air conditioning. Schacht is an inferno this week. <div>
<br /></div><div>To escape the blaze, I have moved to a "satellite office" across campus. Buchman Pavilion was built in 2001 with lead gift from Natalie Buchman. Constructed in an age much closer to the apocalypse, Buchman Pavilion is swimming in air conditioning. The room has a gracious, open ambiance, a centerpiece glass dome surrounded by columns and the Russell Sage College seal jig-saw puzzled into the tile floor. There is a scattering of sofas, tables and chairs, with a convenient coffee bar serving Starbucks.</div><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8"><div>
<br /></div><div>The space is cleverly designed to connect three or four buildings--Sage Hall (a dormitory with a bistro grill), the classrooms of Gurley and Walker Halls and even the back of Bush Memorial. This officially makes Buchman a hub through which you must pass, a central location for coffee, dining, seeing others and being seen. Additionally, it faces a walking mall over what used to be Ferry Street, before the underpass. A vista of glass opens the possibility for even more people watching as Sage employees pass on the mall between First and Second Street--into the library, into the copy center, into Science Hall and out of public safety.</div><meta charset="utf-8"><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8"><div>
<br /></div><div>It's a wonder I can get any work done in Buchman at all.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>A friend of mine noted that college campuses can be intimidating to "civilians" who may feel that dining halls, academic theatres and lecture spaces are hard to find, that the overabundant energy of youth can create a microcosm crowding out interested seniors and others. If so, this is a shame. Buildings like Buchman Pavilion have a lot to offer in a community like Troy. Coffee and pastries for ladies who lunch, a respite for frazzled clerks from the courthouse and a comfortable rendezvous spot for those who need one. </div><div>
<br /></div><div>Today, I blog, I chat, I eat and I drink, in comfort. Thank you, Natalie Buchman.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Post Script: Maxine, my canine office mate and friend, passed away on July 2.</div>David Baeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03864017595450314539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092417962131515457.post-25065118686438873632010-07-01T08:46:00.000-04:002010-07-01T09:30:22.001-04:00MaxineI went away to visit family for a week and returned with a vicious head cold that has had me in bed for three days. My mind and body have not really been at Sage, but I still wanted to offer some thoughts.<br /><br />To keep this entry Sage-related, I have to say that I'm worrying about the health of my office mate. She was diagnosed with bladder cancer in December and, as the prognosis promised, is not getting any better. I haven't mentioned that my office mate is an eleven year old Scottie dog named Maxine. I have had the privilege of bringing Maxine to work with me nearly every day for eight years. She greets every student at my door, snoozes on the couch while I teach and begs food from me when I eat at my desk. It a routinized life that seems to suit us both.<br /><br />Maxine is a great mascot for each production I direct. She attends all rehearsals, but sits quietly while the cast works. When the humans go on a ten minute break, she goes to work--howling greetings, pattering around the stage floor, basking in the enjoyment of the company. Maxine is a real show dog, toe nails for tap shoes and a slick black coat.<br /><br />I'm not sure I have an identity on campus without Maxine on lead. She gets all the greetings and I get the crumbs. I'm somewhat shy, so am very comfortable with this set-up. Maxine, my platonic wing-dog. It's been this way for eight years and we've fallen into a "Marley and Me" type of existence. Unfortunately, we all know how that story ends. This is where my mind is today. For now, I'm grateful for Maxine's time on the job and the friendly world she's opened up to me just by taking me along.David Baeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03864017595450314539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092417962131515457.post-6668044454738718072010-06-17T22:54:00.000-04:002010-06-19T13:50:32.848-04:00Defender Boot CampI'm spending a week away from the Sage campus and am up the hill at RPI, where I'm on faculty for the Basic Trial Skills Program with the New York State Defenders Association. The program pairs experienced trial attorneys with communications coaches to teach public defenders about both trial and client-centered practice.<br /><br />This is my third summer with the lawyers and I learn as much about acting from them as I did from my best theatre professors. More than that, I learn why public defenders desperately need such a program. Most are in counties or practices that have them overtaxed with clients and under-resourced for the work they are expected to do. Under such circumstances, the idea that we are "humans defending humans" can go out the window and our state defense practice can turn into a machine. This week endeavours to teach active listening, empathy and trial advocacy to amazing young lawyers who take back new skills to the damaged system within which they practice.<br /><br />This "lawyer boot camp" is the brainchild of Jonathan Gradess, Executive Director of NYSDA. Jonathan is a mastermind at pedagogy, team-building and the timetable. He is simply one of the best leaders I've ever known. The week is a continual process of fine-tuning, to get the program to the highest caliber it can be. Jonathan enlists amazing trial attorneys and communications coaches from the Capital Region, New York State and beyond. Cessie the mitigator is from Troy; Jamie the retired P.D. is from Chicago. Joy the acting teacher is from Los Angeles; Henderson the trial attorney is from North Carolina. And the list goes on, all professionals who give a lot of time and energy to training our next generation of public defenders.<br /><br />By the end of the week, the students have picked mock juries, delivered opening and closing statements, practiced cross examination and direct, plus listened to lectures, practiced in communications labs and participated in group discussions. The twelve-hour days are exhausting, but the commitment is inspiring. They all go home tomorrow, hopefully energized and changed for the better. I'll be in my acting classroom this year, maybe staging horrific dramas like they see everyday in real life. Knowing their stories and their struggles deepens my understanding of the human condition when presenting it. In that way, an artist can be a public defender. Call it understanding at an arm's length.David Baeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03864017595450314539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092417962131515457.post-72577682293498559642010-06-11T11:42:00.000-04:002010-06-11T12:13:12.187-04:00Transparency at SageAfter a week of fairly gloomy news in my house, I wasn't surprised to open the Times Union today and read that Moody's had downgraded Sage's long-term debt rating. Sometimes you have one of those bad weeks and this news was just par for the course. However, the fact that it wasn't surprising to me is also a tribute to the administration at the Sage Colleges. Our leadership has been committed to transparency on an ongoing basis, so little information that was in the article was news to me. Someone once told me, "the devil you know is better than the devil you don't." In my eight years with the institution, the financial news at Sage has rarely been good. We all personally know what this stress and frustration feels like, perhaps having struggles with a household budget or simply because we live in New York State. What I admire about our administration is their willingness to be open about money issues, the steps being taken to correct problems and even regularly seeking advice of employees. There is comfort in shared knowledge.<br /><br />Sage has had many triumphs recently, including both good news in admissions and development. On a faculty level, I work with many happy students (I wish there were many more) who love their experience at Sage. Students are expected to complete high levels of research, performance and scholarship before graduating and they rise to that challenge. Their attitude and accomplishments reflect well on our commitment to their learning and I wish a Moody's rating could show that, too.<br /><br />I am now serving on a task force to redesign the first year curriculum. Our work has been very ambitious, making great steps towards developing a more focused and creative course of study for freshmen. The efforts will reinforce our already excellent retention rate, but also help our students to see themselves as part of a global learning community. This comes from the use of shared texts in core classes, including <span style="font-style: italic;">The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World</span>, by Joni Seager; and <span style="font-style: italic;">Half the Sky</span>, by Nicholas Kristof and Sherry WuDunn. It also comes from placing students in Living Learning Communities, where they share a common living space and a core of common freshmen classes. What is exciting to me is when, through classes like English 101, Nutrition 101 or Physics 101, students see knowledge and ideas being shared across many disciplines. We are breaking down learning silos at Sage and developing students who will think both broader and deeper.<br /><br />Still, the Moody's rating is a reminder of work yet to be done. I don't think Sage has ever figured out its "unclear niche", which encompasses two colleges, both co-ed and single-sex, and a graduate school, having different programs offered on each campus, in two cities separated by one river. It is a puzzle that, while it fits in theory, doesn't create a clear picture. Until that puzzle is figured out, we can't count on admissions to be the driving revenue source of our institution. Also, cosmically, Sage is simply in need of a break, some piece of luck that will help to move the institution on to the next level. I know we create our own luck, so I am hoping that the strong work being done to shore up the financial and academic picture at Sage will allow that cosmic magic to happen--soon.David Baeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03864017595450314539noreply@blogger.com0