Professionalism

Phrases We Should Work to Eliminate

List of queer, black playwrights. Add Mfoniso Udofia, Lydia Diamond, Christina Anderson, Colman Domingo, 

List of Queer Black Playwrights
List of Must-Read Black Plays

Kristin Linklater, author of Freeing the Natural Voice and iconic educator whose work was taught and practiced throughout the world, died Friday, June 5th, 2020.

Mary Overlie, originator of the Six Viewpoints, died on the same day. Although Anne Bogart and Tina Landau further developed the system, The Viewpoints are principles of movement that were conceived by Overlie as an improvisational framework for generating choreography and theatrical staging. These principles, which are widely taught and practiced, allow choreographers, directors, and actors to share a vocabulary in their collaborative processes. 

I first learned the Linklater Technique as an undergraduate and I cannot honestly say it had the transformative impact on me that it seems to have on other young actors. But that's precisely what I appreciate about it - it systematizes the practice of vocalization in simple terms, essentially demystifying the process by which the vocal mechanism functions. 

My first substantial experience with viewpoints occurred several years later as a graduate student. I believe that some educators attempted to teach me at least some of the viewpoints prior to that, but not with any practical clarity that I was able to draw upon in my own work. As a graduate student, however, I was rigorously put through my paces by a guest director who trained at SITI Company who incorporated viewpoints in every collaborative process she facilitated. It was also then that I learned there are a total of fourteen viewpoints, eight of which were later added by Bogart.