 
James Bundy says great plays are almost always about "people who misbehave." |
ability to change lives
Theater by nature flies in the face of the things most valued by today's culture, yet it still has the power to "change the world," contends James Bundy, dean-designate at the School of Drama and director-designate of the Yale Repertory Theatre.
Bundy stepped into the spotlight March 21 to announce the Yale Rep's 2002-2003 season line-up. His talk at the New Theatre, housed within the School of Art at 1156 Chapel St., was his first public appearance on campus since being tapped for his Yale posts. He is currently at the Great Lakes Theater Festival in Cleveland, where he has served as artistic director since 1998.
"We live in a culture that increasingly values the tried and true, virtual connections, speed and ease of use and civility," said Bundy. "The theatre, however, seemingly defies all of these important criteria."
Instead of the tried and true, theater thrives on surprise, he noted, adding, "[E]very theater event is in some respect a 'whodunit' -- you have to stay to the end to find out what the last moment is: no surprise equals no joy."
Furthermore, he pointed out, "The connections in the theater are not virtual, they are real and kinetic: to the actors who are different from night to night, to the seat neighbor crinkling a candy wrapper, to our own physical response to the work, whether it is laughter or tears."
Getting to and from a theatrical event can be a time-consuming and "challenging" process, admits Bundy. "And as for civility, while we may all fervently hope that our neighbors turn off their cell phones ... none of us really wants to see a play about civil people. Great plays are about people who misbehave almost all of the time. ..."
People go to the theater, Bundy asserted, "Because we know that in a moment, an hour, or two hours, a play can change our lives, and by changing our lives, may also change the world. ... [A]nd we know that all of us share the power of change in the theater, in the presence of language, ideas, action, music, spectacle and sheer humanity -- we share that power in the theater with greater efficacy than in any endeavor outside of politics."
In announcing the plays the Yale Rep will stage during his first year as director, Bundy noted that the works "have everything to do with the way we live today. ... [T]hey celebrate and challenge our nature while weighing essential human questions. ..."
He promised that Rep audiences "will experience a dizzying range of theatrical invention and emotionality -- an infinite number of potential transformations."
Bundy concluded: "I can hardly wait to begin the process with you, and I look forward to sharing time and joy with you at the Yale Repertory Theatre."
The following is a brief look at the Yale Rep's 2002-2003 season line-up:
"Medea/Macbeth/Cinderella" adapted and directed by Bill Rauch and Tracy Young from the texts by Euripides, William Shakespeare, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The Yale Rep production will be the world premiere of a new version weaving together three classic plays. The work will feature choreography by Sabrina Peck.
"Breath, Boom" by Kia Corthron; directed by Michael John Garcés. The work follows the fortunes of a girl gang leader named Prix over 14 years, from the streets of New York City to a juvenile reformatory to jail and back again.
"Fighting Words" by Sunil Thomas Kuruvilla; directed by Liz Diamond, assistant professor and resident director at the School of Drama. The story focuses on three women left behind in the Welsh town of Merthyr when boxer Johnny Owen leaves to compete for the bantamweight world championship in Los Angeles.
"The Taming of the Shrew" by William Shakespeare; directed by Mark Lamos. This classic comedy of the sexes pits the willful Kate against the equally stubborn Petruchio. The play will be staged as it originally was in Shakespeare's time, with an all-male company of actors, yet will be set in the modern Latino world and combine elements of new media, such as video and documentary art.
"The Psychic Life of Savages" by Amy Freed; directed by James Bundy. This production will mark the New England premiere of the satiric work about four poets and the demons that rule the artists and their love lives.
A sixth production will be announced shortly. Dates and specific venues for each production, as well as subscription and single ticket information, will also be announced shortly.
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