NewsSubscribe

In Stages, over the past few months, we have been sharing interviews and stories told from the perspective of the guest artists and industry professionals that we brought together as collaborators on the UMass Spring 2016 production of Collidescope 2.0. We wanted to wrap-up this coverage by sharing the perspective of some of our UMass undergraduate and graduate students who had the opportunity to work with these professionals on this production. Below are interviews and excerpts compiled by members of Collidescope's dramaturgical team, Gaven Trinidad and Priscilla Page, as well as MFA Directing student, Mary Corinne Miller.

Jennifer Onopa, Collidescope Assistant Director & Graduate MFA Directing student

Q: What was your role in the process as the Assistant Director?

A: As the assistant director I had multiple, shifting responsibilities.  I taught the actors the choreography from the original show with some movement modifications as requested by Ping and Talvin.  I supported Talvin with tracking the evolution of the staging and rehearsal of some of the new scenes for this version, including "Campus Unrest" and "Contraband," (the Angeline Palmer story).  I helped Ping with some movement coaching for the actors, and I took extensive notes for Ping during the tech rehearsal process.

Q: How was this process different from other productions you worked on?
A: I have worked as a performer in shows with two directors, but I have never been part of the directing team for a show with co-directors.  I learned so much from Ping and Talvin about communication with a co-director, and balancing and supporting the various voices involved in the collaborative process.  Both Talvin and Ping are very rigorous in their own processes.  Talvin's work is imbued with a tremendous knowledge of history that informs his creative process, and Ping works with extreme precision with the actors, particularly regarding movement.

Q: As a graduate student, how did you feel that this experience helped you to prepare for the professional world?
A: This experience helped me to better understand how directors work with designers leading up to and during the tech rehearsal process.  Because the technical elements on this show were complex, observing the communication and negotiation between all of the design collaborators was very useful for my professional preparation.  Additionally, witnessing how Ping and Talvin organized and made decisions about rehearsal time was very helpful.

Q: What was your favorite part of the process?
A: The collective work on Collidescope was a fast and intensive process and the dramatic material was challenging.  Some of my favorite parts of the process were watching Talvin rally the actors with artistic pep talks before or during rehearsals, and watching the moments when Ping would show his feisty sense of humor with the actors during his rehearsals.  They were both very attentive to building and maintaining the sense of the ensemble throughout the process, which was crucial to making the show work.

Gaven Trinidad, Collidescope Assistant Dramaturg & Graduate MFA Dramaturgy student

Q: What was your role in the process as the Assistant Dramaturg?
A: As Assistant Dramaturg, I took the lead on creating the dramaturgical resources that were available to the public as well as working with Ping and Talvin directly in the rehearsal room and working with the actors to help them to  understand the historical groundings for each scene. I also assisted with fact checking and assuring the accuracy of the details for the projections and story-telling on stage.

Q: How was this process different from other productions you worked on?
A: Dramaturgically I have worked on literary pieces as well as devised movement pieces and I loved that this was a marriage of the two. There was so much history involved, but there was a vocabulary of movement, which comes from Ping’s style of theater. This was also my first time working with two directors at the same time, but what made that so easy was that they were both readily available and open to suggestions.

Q: As a graduate student, how did you feel that this experience helped you to prepare for the professional world?
A: It reaffirmed my understanding of the definition of collaboration and what it means to find a sense of family and unity across all sectors involved in the creation of the show in that everyone involved is equal and vital to process. As a graduate student it helped me to see that I have to trust myself in my aesthetic and my intelligence and everything that I bring to the table. To trust my instincts and not be afraid to fail since it takes many experiments to find something that works.

Q: What was your favorite part of the process?
A: For me it was very meaningful that a lot of the cast members involved were students of color and students for whom this was their Mainstage show or first show here at UMass. It was wonderful to see them honing their skills as artists and gaining an understanding that art can be socially conscious and can have an impact on people from many different backgrounds.

UMass undergraduate students describe their experiences working on Collidescope with Talvin Wilks and Ping Chong

Tanya Stockler
Working with Talvin and Ping has been really interesting. As a theater student at UMass, where we focus on action/objective work, their approach is refreshingly unique. I really love how specific they are in their vision and what they want to see on stage, all the while still leaving plenty of room for actors to make our own choices. I've already learned so much from both of them, they really are fueling our passions with their own. Working with them has been such a fulfilling process, I hope to be a part of more theater for social justice in the future. Theater really can make a difference; this show embodies that.

Uno Servida
From the very first practice, Ping and Talvin made me feel like they were part of the cast and not just two well-known, respected guest directors bringing their Collidescope piece to another college university. They're both so down to earth and passionate about their work, but they're also two talented directors with two different styles of directing. Ping loves to experiment with staging and character movement whereas Talvin likes to play and explore with finding each character's emotional side.

Lily Flippatos
Working with Ping and Talvin has been an extremely fulfilling and enriching experience. As a young artist still in the process of shaping my craft, it has been an honor to be a part of an environment of learning, safety, community, collaboration. They are wonderfully open and kind people, who have not only taught us an invaluable amount about the important material we are putting on stage, but who truly care about each of our individual perspectives, and are more than willing to listen to what we have to bring to the table.