Randy Gener | Charles University, Prague (original) (raw)

Books by Randy Gener

PROJECT SUMMARY ASSETS — ¾ of the book has already been written and/or transcribed CHALLENGES — ... more PROJECT SUMMARY
ASSETS — ¾ of the book has already been written and/or transcribed

CHALLENGES — To find funds and resources; To cut through my bullshit writing to achieve " Less is more "

TRUE GOAL — To complete a series of engaging travel narratives (as opposed to an academic book). To seek financial subsidy and peer-review support from U.S. universities and colleges, Warhol Foundation, USITT, visual-art foundations and angels in funding.

INTRODUCTION/ABSTRACT
Imagine, as you leaf through this sundry collage of words and images, an impressionistic composite. Picture a young artisan at once technically proficient and intuitively creative.

This storyteller must be so visually oriented as to have a strong flair for the theatrical, a detective who uncovers the clues that reveal the inner life of a play's characters and the exterior environment in which they live.

Imagine an inventor of made-up worlds so transparently constructed as to look and feel deeply real or symbolic or poetic or abstract — a communicator of clear ideas who somehow enhances the points of view of other dreamers involved in a project. If you can piece together all these facets, you will begin to discern a portrait of the stage designer as thinker.

This collection of essays on the subject of theatre and various forms of censorship gathers in an... more This collection of essays on the subject of theatre and various forms of censorship gathers in an original and stimulating manner the voices of academics, practitioners and artist-scholars. "Out of Silence" is an impassioned volume that focuses not only on governmental censorship, but also on the self-censorship of theatre artists in the process of theatre-making and performance

"In Defense of RUINED: Five Elements that Shape Lynn Nottage's Masterwork," Randy Gener's critica... more "In Defense of RUINED: Five Elements that Shape Lynn Nottage's Masterwork," Randy Gener's critical essay on Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer winning drama RUINED is published in "The Bedford Introduction to Drama" (Bedford/St. Martin's Press) Seventh Edition ©2013.

"Fifty-four chronologically arranged plays are illuminated by insightful commentaries and casebooks that enrich students’ contextual understanding and encourage critical thinking"

Co-editor of book collection gathering numerous essays as well as contributed an essay on Japanes... more Co-editor of book collection gathering numerous essays as well as contributed an essay on Japanese theater-maker Tadashi Suzuki. A compilation of the most significant and insightful essays, articles and interviews from American Theatre magazine’s first quarter century

Conference Presentations by Randy Gener

Are you hungry for a career in global news? Would you like to travel and report on some of the wo... more Are you hungry for a career in global news? Would you like to travel and report on some of the world's most important and exciting LGBT stories? Could you see yourself breaking international stories from a newsroom in London, Hong Kong, Boston, New York or Washington, D.C.? The "International Journalism Seminar on LGBT Issues and Story Coverage" puts forward and explores practical information and theoretical knowledge essential for a career in the demanding, ever-changing field. "My aim for the seminar is to emphasize opportunities and strategies for the LGBT Media here in the U.S. to cover international issues and human-rights concerns that affect LGBT communities around the world," says Randy Gener.

Documentary theater possesses a unique ability to respond to issues of pressing political import ... more Documentary theater possesses a unique ability to respond to issues of pressing political import and social justice, and provides a platform and voice for the dispossessed. At this international symposium and festival, Gener spoke at two panel discussions featuring artistic leaders, artists, and cultural and political experts from the United States and Europe. He moderated “Documentary Theater: Creative Approaches,” about the research, creative process and staging of documentary plays and their many forms. He spoke about policy and cultural diplomacy in “Documentary Theater: Implications for Policy and Post-Conflict Reconciliation."

Papers + Research by Randy Gener

From the start of my New York life, my mentors — the playwright/director/critic Eric Bentley and ... more From the start of my New York life, my mentors — the playwright/director/critic Eric Bentley and playwright/novelist/New Yorker essayist George W.S. Trow — instructed me to be a teaching artist who can zone in directly to the original texts and primary sources. Eric persuaded me to move beyond mere criticism. George taught me that, especially in the Theatre, no gain could be had if we do not put our brilliant thoughts and theories into real practice and dramatic action. That transversal marks the journey in this Curriculum Vitae before you.

American Theatre Magazine, May 1, 2006

Will the revived francophone scene change the face of contemporary French theatre? The Gallicized... more Will the revived francophone scene change the face of contemporary French theatre? The Gallicized establishment maintains a discourse and practice to keep at the margins the users of French outside continental France. In the European definition of a nation, citizenship can be granted a writer but national identity is a whole other matter.

American Theatre Magazine, Jan 1, 2008

"""Swedish Provocateur" | Dramatist Lars Norén is the theatrical lion whom Swedes most esteem—and... more """Swedish Provocateur" | Dramatist Lars Norén is the theatrical lion whom Swedes most esteem—and the enfant terrible about whom they are most hotly divided. The author of more than 50 plays, the 63-year-old writer-director is reputed to be the August Strindberg of the 20th century (a comparison he detests) and heir to the auteur mantle left behind by Ingmar Bergman in the 21st.

"Beyong Pippi Longstocking" | Besides encountering a concentrated dose of new Swedish theatre, the best reason to attend the Swedish Theatre Biennial is to take this Scandinavian country’s social, cultural and political pulse. The five-day event, organized by the Swedish Theatre Union (which doubles as the Swedish Center of the International Theatre Institute) and the host city (this time it was Örebro in
central Sweden), roves around every two years and samples local theatre from the different cities and muncipalities.""

Media/Press Coverage by Randy Gener

The New York Daily News, Sep 9, 2008

Sirirus XM Satellite Radio

Randy Gener was a guest on SIRIUS XM Satellie Radio's "Pia Lindström Presents." This exclusive w... more Randy Gener was a guest on SIRIUS XM Satellie Radio's "Pia Lindström Presents." This exclusive weekly interview show, hosted by the veteran movie and theater critic, is where you'll hear from literary lions, movie critics, publishers, lyricists, authors, slam poets and friends -- the fascinating people who put words on paper. "Pia Lindström Presents" airs Mondays at 11:00 pm ET and replay Wednesdays at 3:00 pm ET and Sundays at 7:30 pm. ET.

Rappler.com, Jun 11, 2013

Talks by Randy Gener

Teaching Documents | Performance Design by Randy Gener

American Theatre, Jan 1, 2009

Profile article. Jean-Guy Lecat's guiding hand can be gleaned in the construction of Teatro Azul ... more Profile article. Jean-Guy Lecat's guiding hand can be gleaned in the construction of Teatro Azul de Almada in Lisbon, the building of the New Young Vic in London, the major renovation of the historic Abbey Theatre in Dublin, the remaking of the Naves del Antiguo Matadero into a performing arts space in Madrid — and now the construction of Theatre for a New Audience's new home at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center in Brooklyn.

Prior to the Polonsky Shakespeare Center, Lecat was known in New York for transforming a literally crumbling 1904 space, two blocks from the Brooklyn Academy of Music into the BAM Harvey Theater. The Harvey was built specifically to house Peter Brook’s nine-hour production of "The Mahabharata" and his subsequent "The Cherry Orchard." Lecat's hand also hewed Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theatre and La MaMa's Ellen Stewart Theatre (formerly the Annex).

PROJECT SUMMARY ASSETS — ¾ of the book has already been written and/or transcribed CHALLENGES — ... more PROJECT SUMMARY
ASSETS — ¾ of the book has already been written and/or transcribed

CHALLENGES — To find funds and resources; To cut through my bullshit writing to achieve " Less is more "

"Fifty-four chronologically arranged plays are illuminated by insightful commentaries and casebooks that enrich students’ contextual understanding and encourage critical thinking"

American Theatre Magazine, May 1, 2006

American Theatre Magazine, Jan 1, 2008

American Theatre, Jan 1, 2009

American Theatre magazine, Sep 1, 2007

Drawing comparisons between different countries—indeed, debating the effectiveness of environment... more Drawing comparisons between different countries—indeed, debating the effectiveness of environmentally styled displays versus traditional assemblies of the detritus of the production process (models, renderings, plans, sketches)—is an endless parlor game at the Prague Quadrennial. Should honors have gone to exhibits that were conceived as thematic environments or mood installations? Is it not more relevant (and more instructive) for national exhibits to deliver the news, as imaginatively as possible, about the new state of affairs, based on a documentary sampling of four years’ worth of the best and most innovative designs? Given that the experience of a live performance can never be recreated in an exhibit, how can curators and exhibitors truthfully and evocatively re-present the contributions that a design has made to a particular production?

Theatre Design & Technology, Sep 1, 2011

"What does it mean to be a risk-taking performancemaker in the U.S. today? Considering the predom... more "What does it mean to be a risk-taking performancemaker in the U.S. today? Considering the predominantly text-based works that define the American theatre, can we find works that hew closer to this new magpie philosophy called “performance design”? Design is becoming more site-specific, [more oriented toward] performance spaces over large scenic treatments which seem gratuitous, another form of Wall Street’s conspicuous consumption and frankly are not affordable. Even in the commercial theatre, heavy spectacles are failing. There is a generational shift that is happening. The basic structure of musicals and other forms are changing to reflect the audience’s
appreciation for complex performance modalities. The country
is focused on large shifts—demographically, politically, culturally, and socially."

TD&T | Theatre Design & Technology, Sep 1, 2007

If the Chicago director Mary Zimmerman had her druthers, Estonia would have won a gold medal for ... more If the Chicago director Mary Zimmerman had her druthers, Estonia would have won a gold medal for best realization of a production at the 2007 Prague Quadrennial. Instead, she was overruled, and this coveted prize for best scenic design was shared this year by Germany (for its 2005 Macbeth at Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus) and South Africa (for designer/director Brett Bailey's medEia). The lone director among PQ 2007's eleven-member jury, Zimmerman had advocated for Estonia because its video-installation display-three screens showing Theatre NO99's 2006 production of Alfred Jarry's King Ubu, staged by designer Ene-Liis Semper and co-director Tiit Ojasoo-offered a complete sense of what was actually performed by twelve actors and two camera operators on an abandoned Soviet military airfeld on the west coast of that European country. "On three screens, you basically saw the whole show," Zimmerman said. "The cameras, video screens and camera men were clearly part of the show. The fi lm showed people from the very beginning, arriv-germany PRAGUE PHOTO BY RICHARD FINKELSTEIN

PROJECT SUMMARY By Randy Gener ASSETS — ¾ of the book has already been written and/or transcribe... more PROJECT SUMMARY By Randy Gener

ASSETS — ¾ of the book has already been written and/or transcribed

CHALLENGES — To find funds and resources; To cut through my bullshit writing to achieve “Less is more”

TRUE GOAL — To complete a series of engaging travel narratives (as opposed to an academic book)