By Nancy Raskauskas
gAZETTE-tIMES rEPORTER | Posted: Monday, November 12, 2007 12:00 am
During a recent rehearsal at the Corvallis High School Theater for the play "Life of Galileo," new drama teacher Eric-Michael MacCionnaith yells out, "Focus!" and about 40 students scattered around the stage, rafters and wings respond in unison: "Check!"
It's time to get down to business.
MacCionnaith and the group of students from Corvallis High School and Crescent Valley High School have had only four precious weeks of rehearsals to pull off a tricky technical piece by legendary avant-garde director Bertolt Brecht, a playwright most famous for "The Threepenny Opera."
Brecht penned "Galileo" in 1945, in the style of epic theater, which generally includes a montage of scenes and non-traditional staging. Brecht was both a playwright and a theoretician and the focus of his play is less about the historical character of Galileo, and more about encouraging the audience to adopt an attitude of wonder that provokes discussion.
"There is a lot of direct engagement with the audience," said MacCionnaith.
"Part of Brecht's philosophy is that he thinks audiences should go to the theater to think about particular issues, and if the audience ends up getting emotionally involved with the characters, they are less likely to think about what is going on. So he uses a lot of techniques to keep the audience from commiserating with the characters. You don't develop empathy," MacCionnaith explained.
Those techniques include multiple actors playing the same role, screen projections, live video feeds from backstage and actors changing costumes, not in the wings, but in the auditorium, in full view of the audience.
"All the theatrical elements are laid bare. There's no magic of the theater that goes on. You get to see how everything is done," said MacCionnaith.
The idea to do such a difficult piece may seem farfetched for a high-school play, but from MacCionnaith's perspective, it's a no-brainer.
"These kids are super high performing as far as theater goes, they're really advanced both in technical theater, such as all the rigging and lighting, as well as their interests and the kind of things they want to work on," he said.
"'Galileo' deals with social issues, academic freedom and it has some really tough parts," said MacCionnaith.
"They totally latched on to that with their teeth and their claws. They were totally interested in that," he said of the students that auditioned for they play.
MacCionnaith said his primary focus when choosing a play is finding things that will give the students room to grow, "so that they have triumphs and challenges as they go through."
He also values student's requests. "I actually asked them when I first got here, for suggestions. I said, 'Name the top two plays that you want to do before you die, or graduate, whatever comes first.' They have a huge input into what I suggest to the administration," MacCionnaith said.
"Of course you always have to worry about budgets, but my primary focus is what do these kids need from an education standpoint," he said.
MacCionnaith just started his position at CHS this fall, replacing former drama teacher Erin Walcon, who now teaches in London.
"Eric runs things differently, but it's a good different," said CHS student and assistant director Emily Robinson.
"He had a big legacy to follow; Erin Walcon was a very-loved drama teacher and there was a lot of discussion about how anybody would ever step in and fill her shoes. He has done a good job of stepping in and connecting with these kids and honoring her," said theater manager Elizabeth Wyatt.
"It couldn't have been a more smooth transition. He's the perfect person for the job," she added.
MacCionnaith already feels at home in his new position, and has a wealth of experience to share with his students.
He holds degrees in drama and psychology from the University of Tennessee, and he's just wrapping up a doctorate in drama from the University of Oregon. At UO, he directed multiple plays, worked in design and taught drama classes.
Although his academic focus is Irish theater, he considers himself more of a generalist than most and relishes the opportunity to work in a high-school setting where he can direct, design and teach all in the same day. He also teaches English at CHS.
This is his first position teaching in a public school, but he has worked with youth theater programs since 1994, such as the Renegade Theater Project in Eugene, which he and his wife Katie organized during school breaks.
Already, MacCionnaith feels at home in Corvallis and can't say enough about the privilege of working and spending time with enthusiastic young actors.
"The theater-program kids spend a lot of time together. It's a very tight-knit group. Which is good, because if you trust the people you're on stage with, you're going to have a much better performance," said MacCionnaith.
"I work very hard to develop that kind of atmosphere for them, so they know that I'm here to help them out with whatever," he said.
at a glance
"Galileo," 7:30 p.m., Nov. 15-17, a joint-CV/CHS production at the Corvallis High School Theater. Play by Bertolt Brecht, translated by Charles Laughton. Admission: $8 for adults, $5 for students, available at Grass Roots Books & Music and www.corvallistheaters.com.