NewsUpper SchoolStudent LifeServiceAcademicsFine Arts
Fine Arts Booster Club sponsors theatre workshop
Jan 9, 2006 10:21 AM
By Tannika King - Faculty
Actor, writer and director Kyle Hatley visited Darlington Jan. 13 and 14 to present a workshop to theater students in preparation for next month’s production of “The Wizard of Oz.”
“The effect of the workshop was to take the old text and find something relevant in it for today’s audience and then build a new text around that discovery,” said Hatley. “The excercise was extremely hands on: text and music, old text and the layers of adaptation into new text. I used Greek text – Aristophanes’ “Lysistrata” – and the investigation was an experiment on using that old text to discover, manipulate and reveal relevant themes within for today’s audiences. I love the idea of pointing ahead with sufficient past knowledge and education used as ammunition to make brave assumptions, hypotheses and/or predictions.”
Hatley lives in Chicago and holds a Bachelor of Arts in theatre from Rhodes College. He has worked as the script supervisor, assistant dramaturg and assistant director for Moises Kaufman (“Laramie Project,” “Gross Indecency,” “I Am My Own Wife”) in his world premiere adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ “One Arm” at the Steppenwolf Theatre. He has also been seen in readings of new works at the Steppenwolf Theatre, and is currently performing as an actor in a workshop of a new play by Eric Rosen (“Dreamboy,” Winesberg Ohio,” “Whitman”) with About Face Theatre, where he serves as volunteer literary manager. Two of Hatley’s plays have had readings around the city, and he is currently working on adaptations of Robert Cormier’s “The Chocolate War” and Aristophanes’ “Lysistrata” and “The Frogs” in preparation for performances for the McCoy Theatre’s 2006-07 season. This month, he will direct “Oliver” at Desoto Family Theatre. As an actor, Hatley played most recently as The Visitor in Steve Martin’s “Picasso At The Lapin Agile” with Noble Fool Theatricals. Additionally, his television and film credits include “Prison Break,” “As The World Turns,” Randy Cherry in “Independent ‘B’ Movie” and Mark in “The Break Up.”
The workshops were funded by the Darlington’s Fine Arts Booster Club.
“It is important for the students to be exposed to as many different theatrical views and experiences as possible, and I am more than thankful to the Fine Arts Booster Club for making this possible by offering to help bring Kyle Hatley to Darlington,” said Morgan McCrary, Upper School drama teacher. “The more diverse the students’ experience, the better they will be able to handle auditioning for and working with different theater groups, either professionally or simply on a community level. Also, they are used to understanding a play as it is written and performing it, so this workshop provided a nice contrast by introducing the process of finding the core of an older play – the questions that make it stick with us even in today’s world – and creating a new play that makes those questions more accessible to everyone.”
“The effect of the workshop was to take the old text and find something relevant in it for today’s audience and then build a new text around that discovery,” said Hatley. “The excercise was extremely hands on: text and music, old text and the layers of adaptation into new text. I used Greek text – Aristophanes’ “Lysistrata” – and the investigation was an experiment on using that old text to discover, manipulate and reveal relevant themes within for today’s audiences. I love the idea of pointing ahead with sufficient past knowledge and education used as ammunition to make brave assumptions, hypotheses and/or predictions.”
Hatley lives in Chicago and holds a Bachelor of Arts in theatre from Rhodes College. He has worked as the script supervisor, assistant dramaturg and assistant director for Moises Kaufman (“Laramie Project,” “Gross Indecency,” “I Am My Own Wife”) in his world premiere adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ “One Arm” at the Steppenwolf Theatre. He has also been seen in readings of new works at the Steppenwolf Theatre, and is currently performing as an actor in a workshop of a new play by Eric Rosen (“Dreamboy,” Winesberg Ohio,” “Whitman”) with About Face Theatre, where he serves as volunteer literary manager. Two of Hatley’s plays have had readings around the city, and he is currently working on adaptations of Robert Cormier’s “The Chocolate War” and Aristophanes’ “Lysistrata” and “The Frogs” in preparation for performances for the McCoy Theatre’s 2006-07 season. This month, he will direct “Oliver” at Desoto Family Theatre. As an actor, Hatley played most recently as The Visitor in Steve Martin’s “Picasso At The Lapin Agile” with Noble Fool Theatricals. Additionally, his television and film credits include “Prison Break,” “As The World Turns,” Randy Cherry in “Independent ‘B’ Movie” and Mark in “The Break Up.”
The workshops were funded by the Darlington’s Fine Arts Booster Club.
“It is important for the students to be exposed to as many different theatrical views and experiences as possible, and I am more than thankful to the Fine Arts Booster Club for making this possible by offering to help bring Kyle Hatley to Darlington,” said Morgan McCrary, Upper School drama teacher. “The more diverse the students’ experience, the better they will be able to handle auditioning for and working with different theater groups, either professionally or simply on a community level. Also, they are used to understanding a play as it is written and performing it, so this workshop provided a nice contrast by introducing the process of finding the core of an older play – the questions that make it stick with us even in today’s world – and creating a new play that makes those questions more accessible to everyone.”
