The Unicorn Triumphant

You all have been very helpful in suggesting places and people for me to visit as part of my Theatre R&D Research Tour. My current rough itinerary is below. Please let me know if you are on the route and would like to meet (or know someone I should meet), or if I should adjust my route to meet you!

Aug 14: Depart Chicago to NYC

Aug 15: Arrive NYC

Aug 16: NYC – Mtg w/ Fr Jim Martin SJ of the LAByrinth Theater Company; 7pm: Jerusalem [I HAVE AN EXTRA TICKET - TAKEN!]

Aug 17: NYC – 8pm: War Horse with friend

Aug 18-19: NYC – Mtg w/ Keith Bunin (playwright, including my favourite play The World Over at Playwrights Horizons), Fr Bill Cain SJ (playwright, most recently Equivocation at Manhattan Theatre Club), Steven and/or Chris Cragin Day of Firebone Theatre, Fr George Drance SJ of Magis Theatre (& Jesuit Artist-in-Residence at Fordham), George Hunka of theatre minima, & Rob Weinert-Kendt of American Theatre magazine

Aug 20: NYC to Toronto

Aug 21-22: Toronto & Kitchener, Ontario: Mtg w/ John Franklin of Imago magazine & Alan Sapp and/or Kathleen Sheehy of Lost & Found Theatre

Aug 23: Toronto to Boston

Aug 24-25: Boston: Mtg w/ Fr Robert VerEecke SJ (Jesuit Artist-in-Residence at Boston College)

Aug 25-26: Boston to Chapel Hill, NC (via Baltimore)

Aug 27-28: Chapel Hill: Friend’s wedding

Aug 29: Chapel Hill to Asheville, NC

Aug 30: Asheville: Mtg w/ Scott Walters of CRADLEarts

Aug 31: Asheville to D.C.

Sept 1: D.C.: Mtg w/ Fr Peter John Cameron OP (playwright & founder of Blackfriars Repertory Theatre) & Fr Rick Curry SJ (founder of the National Theatre Workshop of the Handicapped)

Sept 2-4: D.C. to Gove, KS

Sept 4-5: Gove: Visiting 91-year-old grandfather at family farm

Sept 6-15: I’m not quite sure yet how I’m going to do this, but here are the spots I planned to visit during this time:

Austin, TX: Mtg w/ Travis Bedard of Cambiare Productions

Irvine & Los Angeles: Mtg w/ actors of Cornerstone Theater Company, actor Chad Glazener & friends, Fr Radmar Jao SJ (actor), Peter Senkbeil (professor of theatre, Concordia University; doctoral dissertation title: “Faith in Theatre: Professional Theatres Run by Christians in the United States and Canada and Their Strategies for Faith-Art Integration”), & Gabriel Voss (actor)

Vancouver: Mtg w/ Cheimanus Theatre Festival, Lois Dawson (stage manager), Ron Reed of Pacific Theatre

Chicago: Mtg w/ Dan Roche of the Bird & Baby Theatre Company, & returning my car to my sister.

Now I can’t drive and visit all of these places within the time allowed. I previously had an extended itinerary that went until almost the end of September, but I recently learned that I have to be at St Andrews by Sept 17 for orientation. So, I’ll either have to skip one or more of these stops and pick them up next time, or put in some flight time (if I can find some inexpensive deals on small budget airlines).

This itinerary is still rough; the only dates set in stone are the ones whose explanatory text is bolded. I’m still working on setting up dates with some of the above people. There are also some people I’m hoping to meet whom I haven’t yet contacted.

May I ask for your help in two areas?

1) Trip logistics: I’ll be making most, if not all, of the trip in my trusty little Toyota hatchback. Gas is expensive. If you could make a donation toward the cost of the trip by using the PayPal donation button on the right, I would appreciate it. Also, if I’m going to be in or passing through your area, and you’re willing to let me crash on your couch for the night, I would appreciate that, too. And hey, if you’d like to donate a plane ticket to one of the major metropolitan areas on the trip (especially one of the three I’ll have trouble visiting – Austin, Los Angeles, and Vancouver), you’d have my undying gratitude! Everyone who helps out in any way will receive a copy of the report I plan to compile about the trip, as well as an invitation to crash on my own couch at St Andrews. Which brings me to…

2) Interview questions: Most of these meetings are going to be somewhere between a casual chat and a formal interview. I have my own list of questions which I’ll be compiling, but if there is anything you’d like me to ask these folks, here’s your chance. Leave questions in the comments, or e-mail them to me. I’m speaking with three rough groupings of folks: members of religious orders involved in professional theatre, professional theatres informed by a Christian vision, and secular professional theatres which excel at building community. My plan is to record and compile these interviews into a single document covering the entire trip, which I will make available for free on this blog (and will send individual copies of to donors and interview subjects, including hard copies upon request).

Thanks for all your help and support, and thanks especially to the people who have agreed to meet with me during this trip. I’m looking forward to it!

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On a slightly-related note, I spoke with Liz Maxwell and Betsy McCall of the Art Monastery this week, to discuss setting up a chapter of ArtMonks at St Andrews. If you’re going to be within travelling distance of St Andrews over the next year and are interested in a monthly discussion group about art and monasticism, please contact me. If there’s enough interest, I plan to set up a preliminary meeting in September or October, to discuss the form the  group and its activities should take, including whether or not it should be an official ArtMonk chapter, an independent but allied organization, or something else altogether.