From King
Kong to Koko: Primate Dramas Explored
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Erika
Rundle
(photo by Donna Cote) |
This fall,
assistant professor of theatre arts Erika Rundle and nine Mount
Holyoke seniors are probing the boundary between theatre
and science. Rundle’s seminar, Primate Dramas: Kinship
and the Evolutionary Stage, also the title of a book she is currently
writing, explores how human and nonhuman primate relations have
been dramatized throughout the twentieth century, merging dramatic
theory with evolutionary theory and, in the process, shedding
light on both.
Rundle, who
joined the Mount Holyoke faculty this autumn, coined the term “primate dramas” to describe
the research she began while studying for her doctorate at the
Yale School of
Drama. An interest in language acquisition led Rundle to Koko,
a domesticated gorilla who has learned to use more than 1,000 signs
to communicate with human beings and other signing apes, and who
understands more than 2,000 words of spoken English. Koko even
acts out mini-dramas based on stories that have been read to her.
“This
is revolutionary!” Rundle said. “What does it
mean for a nonhuman to have these abilities? If you don’t
need to be human to use signs, we need to devise some new understandings
of the human condition, and what it means to perform. We also
need to consider seriously the ethical implications of interspecies
communication.”
In her seminar,
students read plays and view popular films from King Kong to
National Geographic videos
that dramatize
the work
of primatologists Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey. Rundle leads
participants through a jungle of dramatic theory, theater
history, and evolutionary
theory. The “intense and interesting discussions,” according
to Jen Shaw ’06, “span everything from the philosophy
of ‘being human’ to the latest pop culture reference
to primates someone saw on TV.” Said Marty Seeger ’06, “I
got to lead a discussion on Tarzan. How often do you get
to do that in class?”
Erin Beckwith ’06
appreciates the opportunity to discuss such a hairy issue as
the human
condition with a tight-knit group
of seniors. She also values her professor’s commitment
to students. During a discussion of Eugene O’Neill’s
The Hairy Ape, said Beckwith, “Erika showed us pictures
of the Wooster Group’s production and then offered
to take us all to see their newest play in New York City
the next weekend.”
In addition
to the senior seminar, this fall Rundle is teaching a twentieth-century
world
theatre history course.
Next year,
Rundle will teach an introduction to performance studies
and a new, yearlong
course in world theatre history. “I teach theatre
history as a genealogy,” Rundle said. “Every
movement takes something from the movement that came
before it. In order to understand
avant-garde theatre, you must understand classical Greek
theatre.” The
new theatre history course, part of a restructuring of
the theatre curriculum, will provide a critical foundation
for students. “We’re
trying to create a common knowledge base and vocabulary,” Rundle
said.
Also on the
drawing board is a first-year seminar Rundle is developing together
with professor of theatre
arts
Roger Babb.
The seminar
looks at the concept of “performance” from
the perspective of a wide range of disciplines, including
engineering, biology,
sociology, music, anthropology, and theatre. Guest speakers
drawn from the College community will explore what “performance” means
in each of their disciplines. “It’s an introduction
to a wide variety of academic fields through the lens
of performance, and a way for new students to get excited
about what MHC has to
offer,” Rundle said.
“Mount
Holyoke is a great environment for scholars in the sciences and
humanities to work together and create some common
ground,” said
Rundle, who is thrilled to have taken up her new
post.
Prior to Mount
Holyoke, Rundle taught at Yale University and Dartmouth College.
She has published in Theater
and Performing Arts Journal,
and is the recipient of a Mellon Foundation Fellowship
and a Beinecke Fellowship in support of her research.
Rundle also
works
as a dramaturg,
translator, and performer, collaborating regularly
with two
New York theatre companies: Waxfactory and the
Hourglass Group. Her
translation of Marie Ndiaye's award-winning play
Hilda, directed by Carey Perloff, will be part
of the Act
French Festival
this fall in New York. Rundle is currently translating
another play
by Ndiaye, Papa doit manger, commissioned by the
Play Company and slated for a reading next month.
Dramaturg
It!
According to Erika Rundle, “dramaturgy” can
be a mysterious term. Rundle, who will teach a seminar
on the subject this spring, has worked as
a freelance dramaturg for the last ten years, collaborating with a variety
of artists from small theatre companies in New York, to major regional theatres,
to experimental video artists.
“Every
production needs something different,” Rundle said.
Dramaturgs don’t just interpret the work of dead
playwrights; they also work with living playwrights. In
the development of a dramatic work, for example, the writer
may confer with a dramaturg on structure and characterization.
The dramaturg also helps design staged readings and creates
a framework within which the audience can offer feedback.
Regional
theatres employ dramaturgs, who play a major role not only
in research and development but also in audience education,
offering public lectures, directing pre- and post-play
discussions, and writing program notes. They may also help
select the season.
The
once-arcane term, coined by G.E. Lessing in eighteenth-century
Germany,
even crops up in casual conversation, Rundle said. “People
will say, ‘I’ve got this problem—can
you dramaturg it for me?’” |
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