The SUNY Oswego Theatre Department hosted a transformative experience last weekend when the award-winning Tectonic Theater Project was on campus to share their devising method called Moment Work with students.
The company’s trademark technique has fostered Tectonic’s landmark plays including the 2024 Play Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize "Here There Are Blueberries," and the sentinel play "The Laramie Project," which SUNY Oswego will produce this fall in Tyler Hall’s Waterman Theatre from Oct. 16 to 20.
The long-form workshop culminated in a public showing of the students' work on Sunday, Sept. 1. Over 40 participating students, across campus disciplines, gained exclusive insight into the creative process that shaped some of the most groundbreaking productions in recent theatrical history.
Theatre major Ian Katz attended the workshop and touched on the company’s innovative approach.
“As a theatre student, this experience opened the door for me to a new strategy for making theatre and I hadn’t encountered that from more traditional settings," Katz said. "This workshop has inspired me to explore a whole new world of theatre making that was never on my radar before.”
“The moment work process that the artists’ shared was empowering for each student, no matter their focus, because it created a deeper sense of ownership and investment in how theatrical narratives can be made,” added Tori Evanchick, another attending theatre major.
“It was such a treat to have this opportunity for the students during the first week of classes," said Krystal Kennel, chair of the Theatre Department. "It provided a creative environment to welcome over a dozen first-year students into our theatre community and it offered returning students a chance to explore styles of theatre-making that aren’t typically covered in our standard curriculum.”
The partnership between SUNY Oswego Theatre and Tectonic Theater Project will continue into the fall semester when the head writer for The Laramie Project and chair of Tectonic’s Moment Work Institute, Leigh Fondakowski, visits as a guest speaker at a community talkback after SUNY Oswego’s performance of "The Laramie Project" on Friday, Oct. 18. Fondakowski will also join the cast and production team for a rehearsal prior to the show’s opening.
This partnership, training session and hosting of the guest artists were all supported in part by the Student Arts Fee, administered by ARTSwego, and by the SUNY Oswego Theatre Department.
- For more information about the Tectonic Theater Project, visit www.tectonictheaterproject.org.
- For more about Moment Work, visit www.momentwork.org.
- For more information about SUNY Oswego Theatre, visit www.oswego.edu/theatre.
- To reserve your ticket for "The Laramie Project," visit https://oswego.universitytickets.com.
-- Submitted by the Theatre Department