Wednesday, April 29, 1998
A little from their friends
THEATER: The students behind ‘Jack or The Submission’ and ‘A la
Porte’ at UCLA’s Little Theater look to lighting designers, alumni
and the French consulate to aid their repertory
By Terry Tang
Daily Bruin Contributor
Although staging a new work is rare for a directing student,
Wendy Goldberg could not resist the opportunity when approached
with catalogues of scripts from an unlikely source – the French
Consulate.
A third-year directing student, Goldberg will showcase "A La
Porte," a new work written by Jean-Gabriel Nordmann. Opening today
at MacGowan Hall’s Little Theater, the play also serves as
Goldberg’s thesis project.
Although the Master of Fine Arts candidate feels some pressure
knowing that faculty members will be in the audience judging her
work, much of the anxiety stems from directing a play which has
never been performed in the United States.
"The play’s had three weeks of performance in Paris. Other than
that, this is the only other production that’s ever been done. So,
when you work on something so new, you never know if it’s gonna
hold up in the end," Goldberg says. "I think people that know it’s
a new work come to it in that spirit and know that they may or may
not agree with it, may or may not love it, but it’s completely
fresh."
Through an established relationship between the university and
the French Consulate, Goldberg was able to get access to the script
of "A La Porte." The organization also paid for playwright Nordmann
to be in residence at UCLA and participate in the rehearsal
process. By the time he came, the play was already four weeks into
rehearsals. However, Nordmann’s belated arrival actually helped
Goldberg in their collaboration.
"He really gave me free rein, in a sense, to look at his play,"
Goldberg explains. "I had more questions because I had been working
on it for a very long time at that point."
Another person Goldberg communicated with by fax was the
translator, Roberta Levitow, a UCLA alumna living in Paris, who is
fluent in both English and French. Since "A La Porte" had only been
produced once in Paris, the translation was all Goldberg had to
work with.
"A La Porte," or "At the Door," centers on a woman who
ostracizes herself within her apartment in order to reassess her
life. The recluse hires a doorman to field the questions from
family, friends and curious onlookers who try to see her.
Throughout the comedic and tragic moments of the play, the woman’s
character remains in question as the audience sees a variety of
characters knock on her door.
"As the action gets more complicated, it sort of reflects how
the action in her life became really complicated," Goldberg says.
"It starts sort of simple and mysterious, but then it builds in
complexity and gets all these people. It gets very serious in
certain sections, and we can see how she could get fed up with
these people quite easily."
Emma Cramp, a fourth-year theater student who plays one of the
recluse’s girlfriends, agrees that empathy for the woman comes not
so much from dialogue, but more through the characters’
actions.
"It was challenging because you had to be even more specific
than you would, say, in a character-driven play," Cramp says. "And
Wendy is good about giving you a lot of room to explore as well.
She doesn’t hold your hand."
Working with a cast consisting entirely of undergraduates was
something Goldberg enjoyed immensely. In her experience, the
younger actors seem to come to every rehearsal energized and eager
to try new tricks.
"They’re sorta like sponges, absorbing all these different
pieces of information with their professors, with directors they’re
working with. And as opposed to closing down to say ‘I’ll just do
it this way,’ they seem to be taking it all in and finding a method
that works for them," Goldberg says.
The respect seems to be mutual.
"The best thing about (Goldberg’s) rehearsal process is the
amount of fun we have. I’ve been in shows sometimes where it
becomes too much like a job and becomes too serious," says Tyler
Moore, a fourth-year theater student who plays the doorman.
Goldberg, who came straight to the directing program after
earning undergraduate degrees both in theater and comparative
literature at the University of Michigan, originally wanted to
act.
However, after taking a directing class during her freshman
year, she found directing combined her interests in acting,
literature and story telling. At UCLA, Goldberg has learned about
significant differences between narrating for theater and narrating
for film, a medium she will never rule out.
"You can’t, at any other university, get a really good stage
education and have glimpses and experiences in film and
television," Goldberg points out. "And because the school is one
cohesive whole, I’ve had some wonderful experiences in
cinematography classes, became really interested in cinematography
and actually made two short films while I’ve been here."
After finishing production for her M.F.A. degree, Goldberg will
leave the sunny skies of Los Angeles for New York City. She was
accepted into the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab, a
three-week pilot program where aspiring directors will learn from
more mature veterans through a series of workshops. Still, Goldberg
credits her time at UCLA for preparing her to move forward in the
world of directing.
"Just being in an environment where you’re given this and have
to make it happen, that’s been the best part of being here,"
Goldberg says.
THEATER: "A La Porte" opens at 8 p.m. in the Little Theater and
runs in repertory with "Jack or The Submission" through May 9.
Admission is $15, $10 and $7 for students. For more information,
call (310) 825-2101.
AELIA KHAN
"A la Porte" is a new play by French playwright Jean-Gabriel
Nordmann.