Survival is Art to Art is Survival (Nancy Kim)

Transcribed from paper.

College Life:

Originally, Nancy Kim started out as an English literature major at University of Toronto. She did, however, take a class on the introduction to drama that led her to volunteer for Macbeth which was directed by Robert Lepage (a visionary of theatre amongst other things). After this production, she decided to follow her passions and take an undergraduate degree in theatre. At U of T, she had to balance the practical aspects of theatre and the theoretical. Even though she knew she wasn't interested in acting, she had to study breath, voice and movement. Only after trying everything - lighting, publicizing, acting - did she understand that she wanted to pursue a career in managing and producing.


The Berliner Ensemble:

She was exposed to the directing style of Herbert Aulshock. The directing styles of this man is/was completely different from what we are exposed to today. He is not an actor's director. Rather than having different actors come at different times to practice different scenes, he would perfect the first scene before moving on to the next. Even if you weren't in the play till the 6th scene, you would have to attend, absorb how everything comes together, and how the process goes. At the end, you would really go over the play once before finally presenting it to an audience.


Good Soul of Szechuan:

• Takes a while to simultaneously physicalize and vocalize the character.
• Go further than the norm.
• Compare yourself to the best of the best - strive to be the best.
• Wings -> houses = creative idea (multi-purpose set)
• But could have done so much more with the set.
• Reason for everything on the set.
• Wang's shack/Water -> does nothing more than create a look.

General Notes:

• LePage started his career with directing music videos and producing concerts. Because of his previous experiences with technology, he infuses technology with theatre.
• Robert Wilson -> attack and impact
• Focuses on a very minute moment...
• Importance of stillness
• So much movement in stillness.
• Watermill => from 9-5, the actors had to walk across a room the size of the DL.
• This got rid of all unncessary movement.
• Jacques Lecoq taught Nancy Kim's acting instructor
• He is not a nice man. You had to come to rehearsal (if you took one of his classes) ready to be torn apart.
• He forces you to examine yourself and raise your own standards.
• INTENTIONAL Movement
• Line by line => intention is paired with action
• Must have a reason for everything you are doing on stage.
• Purposeful action
• Subtext
• Edit out the unreasoned.