Brian, As they say, "well, of course."
My father was a classroom teacher as was my mother. They made meditations out of lessons and danced the dance with each new group of students who came into the room. There is also something very wonderful about the process of sharing the great works with groups of students. Performance, however, is a different matter. Classes in performance are different. They are combination private and small class structures, that are based upon repetition. Opening the throat and heart of a soul is a great privilege and honor. It is always thrilling and revealing of both that human and myself. But that is different from the work on the Art which is concerned with confronting and mirroring the most profound truths in new contexts. To tread the path beyond understanding into knowing means that you have to have the courage to be Cassandra. Keith's "commodes" appeared on the heads of a Japanese performing troupe at LaMama Theater after we had done our Flamenco Gypsy Carmen in 1994. It seemed that people were much more accepting of Japanese Actors wearing commodes over their heads then they were of believing that Gypsies were real, that Carmen had anything to do with the climate that justified the Holocaust and that many of the world's greatest artists were secret Gypsies and would have died had Hitler caught them. I'm a good researcher. I had ample scholarly historical help including working with the Linguist that the NYTimes quotes the most, about Gypsies,. A man who is a Gypsy himself and the representative to the UN, but that didn't keep people from wanting to know why I would open that unopened can of worms. Some were actually jealous while others were guilty. It was like I was asking for reparations when all I was doing was studying the material and making rather obvious conclusions about character and the history of the subject. Conclusions that Bizet himself had taken his lumps on in the 19th century. Well all of this is to say that performance goes beyond college work. That the art I do is professional and that the teaching I do is with professionals who must deal with artistic issues in their lives that are post graduate. It is not time limited and it is very expensive. Often I have to negotiate and contribute to the projects and people that I believe in even after I have collected my fee. There is no such thing as security and retirement funds are out of the question. The government called today from the VA Hospital and wanted to know my employment status. They had no idea what I was talking about. That is often the situation. So, you either accept it and do the work or you quit. I have chosen to do the former and am not sorry although I may be if I have another heart issue or my spouse begins to have trouble. I suspect we may be required to take the old path of the Elders which is romantic but not very nice. I don't believe in this government or system. It has never worked for me or my art or my wife's art. We often create works from nothing and for little to no money, that costs hundreds to a thousand hours and makes little but artistic praise for it. My experience of this society is that it is filled with people who care more for a bargain then what the product happens to be and that is not my way. I don't understand or approve of it but I do live here and will continue since it is my home and my identity. My experience of Europeans is that they care little for either. But you, as some others on this list, are certainly the exception to that rule. You seem to have the same joy and enthusiasm of my parents who taught exceptional children in the middle of the worst Toxic Waste dump in America. A place where they never knew if the earth would open up and swallow them from one moment to the next nor whether the anger and blue feeling was real or simple lead poisoning. There students moved in 12 years from the 15% in the nation to the 88%. We need that and I applaud it when I meet one. You have my applause. Ray Evans Harrell, artistic director The Magic Circle Opera Repertory Ensemble, Inc. [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----- Original Message ----- From: Brian McAndrews <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, February 21, 2002 5:21 PM Subject: Re: Friendship, Cohesion and the workplace > At 3:56 PM -0500 2002/02/21, Ray Evans Harrell wrote: > >Well, the reason we do it is because we get garbage from "economies of > >scale" and teaching in a school condemns us to teaching the same four years > >over and over until our brains are dead. > > Hi Ray, > Teaching in a school doesn't have to be like that if you approach it > as an art form. With this approach there is no such thing as the same > four years. Actually each day is a new adventure. Being in a class > with 30 students and 'Death of a Salesman' or the film 'El Norte' > keeps me alive. I have not met a student who doesn't love stories. My > own children over and over begged me for 'one more story before we go > sleep' Do you know how many times I have read 'Curious George'? > Perhaps it was because I loved that story when I was little (and > still do). I could relate to George and the trouble his curiosity > caused him. I learned about understanding, gentleness, compassion and > forgiveness from the Man with the yellow hat. It is a 'Prodigal Son' > story.Stories show us how to live. They in-form us.You know that > well, Ray. Your people had tremendous memories because of your oral > tradition. The wisdom of your elders continues to be passed on > through you. > > Everyday I get to read and explore with students some of the greatest > stories ever written or told or filmed or sung. Imagine what happens > when a student connects strongly with Biff or Happy and how they > relate to their dad, Willie Loman.They give me powerful stories that > they have written to read and respond to. They bring in music and > lyrics they have copied out like 'Jeremy' by Pearl Jam: > > > > Jeremy - Pearl Jam > > > > at home > > drawing pictures > > of mountain tops > > with him on top > > lemin yellow sun > > arms raised in a V > > dead lay in pools of maroon below > > daddy didn't give attention > > to the fact that mommy didn't care > > king jeremy the wicked > > ruled his world > > Jeremy spoke in class today > > Jeremy spoke in class today > > clearly I remember > > pickin' on the boy > > seemed a harmless little fuck > > but we unleashed a lion > > gnashed his teeth > > and bit the recessed lady's breast > > how could I forget > > he hit me with a surprise left > > my jaw left hurtin > > dropped wide open > > just like the day > > like the day I heard > > > > daddy didn't give affection > > and the boy was something mommy wouldn't wear > > king Jeremy the wicked > > ruled his world > > Jeremy spoke in class today > > Jeremy spoke in class today > > try to forget this... > > try to erase this... > > from the blackboard > > > > > and we listen to it and discuss why Jeremy blew his head off in > front of his class. I know you think rock and roll only numbs the > brain and kids often do listen to it for that effect because of > their pain or boredom. But that song can also be used to liberate > them just like Arthur Miller's play does. An artful teacher is needed > here as well. > > Take care, > Brian > > -- > ************************************************** > * Brian McAndrews, Practicum Coordinator * > * Faculty of Education, Queen's University * > * Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6 * > * FAX:(613) 533-6596 Phone (613) 533-6000x74937* > * e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * > * "Education is not the filling of a pail, * > * but the lighting of a fire. * > * W.B.Yeats * > * * > ************************************************** >
