#fadi skeiker

[exploringstyle]

Favorite Theatre Piece - Post #1

**CW: Discussion of Anti-Semitism, Nazi Regime

**Spoiler Alert for the current West End production of Cabaret

This summer, I studied abroad in London and experienced a ton of professional UK theatre. Among these pieces, one stuck out as my favorite experience in a theatre that I've ever had! This was the currently running West End production of Cabaret, at the Playhouse Theatre turned Kit Kat Klub. This production of Cabaret is like no other you've ever seen, with immediate full immersion into a gritty, sensual nightclub. There was a complimentary shot at the door, pre-show nightclub acts in every corner, multiple themed bars, and a stage setup that was fully in the round with three turntables!

Aside from the stunning fully immersive setup, I was really enamored with the way the show used theatrical devices and the intimacy of the set to create jaw dropping narrative moments. During the tense scene between Fräulein Schneider and Herr Schultz where they discuss their engagement-party-turned-Nazi-uprising, the Emcee entered with a bottle wrapped in glass. This gave the impression that this scene would end in a happy reconciliation of their relationship and a marriage. The Emcee raises his foot to smash the glass, and there's a blackout and the sound of smashed glass. You feel relieved! Everything will be alright between them, they'll still get their love story. Until the lights come back up. There's confetti everywhere. And a rock has been thrown through the window. An anti-semitic hate crime has occurred, shocking both characters and cementing the relationship's fate as dead. The confetti remains for the rest of the act, signifying the stain of the Nazi regime and the moment that the everything "breaks". This is the most stunning and heartbreaking moment I've ever seen onstage, and the rest of the production uses similar sensibilities and devices to its advantage.

#exploration of style #fadi skeiker #uarts #university of the arts #exploring style

[explorationofstyleblog]

Melodrama in Theatre

A melodrama is a work (usually dramatic) that uses exaggerated characters, events, and plot in order to get a strong emotional reaction from the people in the audience. Before the realism movement, melodrama was one of the most prevalent forms of storytelling on the stage: many operas and operettas are melodramas because of their overdramatic and expressive nature.

Characters in melodramas are often given specific stereotypes and archetypal roles: the sensitive hero, the mean villain, the persecuted heroine, the clown, the faithful friend, and the villains accomplice are all common stereotypes found in melodramas.

The dialogue found in melodramas is typically verbose and wordy with flowery and sentimental language used to get a reaction from audience members, focusing less on action and more on sentimentality. Conflicts found in melodrama typically focus and revolve around love, home life, family issues, and marriage with an outside source often serving as the catalyst for the conflict; whether it's a stereotypical aristocratic villain or a temptress.

#uarts #university of the arts #exploration of style #theatre #theatre style #style #fadi skeiker #melodrama

[jreyes-fordham-university]

What I have learned in the Fall semester in Theatre class given by Professor Fadi

In the theatre class taught by Professor Fadi Skeiker this fall semester, I learned the many aspects and important values that help make up what theatre is and how it is something we should all admire upon seeing it. The elements like The Story, The Acting, and The Visuals that make a play or film, and I have also been taught the Six parts of a tragedy according to Aristotle, which are Plot, Character, Thought, Diction, Sound, and Spectacle, which make a play, an act, and a film look alive when an actor takes on a role and gives life to the characters and the play itself. These parts allow the play to become what it is and make it enjoyable for an audience. Throughout this semester, I have been using these elements and six parts to make my plays with my classmates and learned from those plays as well to see and reflect what I and my classmates helped me make our play look alive to the rest of the class. I also learned how to witness these in other plays and films and how the elements of theatre and the six parts revolve around the theatre world. I learned the difference between film and theatre where films are recordings of people who acted the scenes at a time and are more casual than being in a theatre. In a theatre, people perform live in front of an audience. It is not the same or the same actors every time one sees it, and that is what makes theatre far different from a film since it is more professional and less casual since an audience will see the play only once and not be played the same when if they were to see it again. At the near end of the fall semester, when I learned the importance of the elements of theatre and the six aspects of a play, I was prepared to perform scenes from a play since I was applying these.

[anexplorationofstyle]

Welcome!

This is a blog of the variety of theatrical styles discussed and discovered in the Exploration of Style class at the University of the Arts taught by Fadi Skeiker in fall 2020.

Feel free to take a look around, ask me questions, comment. If you want to share something you see, please contact me!

#exploration of style #fadi skeiker #university of the arts #theater

[migrantdramaturgies]

New books by MDN members

We are thrilled to share two new book publications from two of our board members, Prof. Yana Meerzon and Dr Fadi Skeiker.

Yana’s book Performance, Subjectivity, and Cosmopolitanism (2020) is available to purchase through Palgrave here.

This book looks at the connection between contemporary theatre practices and cosmopolitanism, a philosophical condition of social behaviour based on our responsibility, respect, and healthy curiosity to the other. Advocating for cosmopolitanism has become a necessity in a world defined by global wars, mass migration, and rise of nationalism. Using empathy, affect, and telling personal stories of displacement through embodied encounter between the actor and their audience, performance arts can serve as a training ground for this social behavior. In the centre of this encounter is a new cosmopolitan: a person of divided origins and cultural heritage, someone who speaks many languages and claims different countries as their place of belonging. The book examines how European and North American theatres stage this divided subjectivity: both from within, the way we tell stories about ourselves to others, and from without, through the stories the others tell about us. 

Fadi’s book, Syrian Refugees, Applied Theater, Workshop Facilitation, and Stories: While They Were Waiting (2021) is available for purchase here.

This book analyzes and theorizes the efficacy of using applied theater as a tool to address refugee issues of displacement, trauma, adjustment, and psychological well-being, in addition to split community belonging.

Fadi Skeiker connects refugee narratives to the themes of imagination, home, gender, and conservatism, among others. Each chapter outlines the author’s applied theater practice, as a Syrian, with and for Syrian refugees in the countries of Jordan, Germany, and the United States.

This book will be of great interest to scholars, students, and practitioners of applied theater studies and refugee studies.

Congratulations Yana and Fadi!

#migration #theatre #applied theatre #performance

[a-a-k-directs]

Welcome!

Hello! My name is Ava (She/her) and I’m a sophomore Directing, Playwriting, and Production Major. This is my blog for Directing class taught by Fadi Skeiker at the University of the Arts. This page will be filled with projects, promotions, and inside updates on the rehearsal processes! I love children’s theater and movement. Stay tuned for more to come! <3 

#theatre #directing #uarts #movement

[robyndirecttv-blog]

Introduction

HI! I’m Robyn! This is a Tumblr blog for my directing three class. Taught and advised by Fadi Skeiker! Follow me on my directing three journey! 

[treystheaterwebsite-blog]

Press Release

Catastrophe, written by Samuel Beckett, directed by Trey Krause.

A Director prepares the Protagonist of his play for opening night with the help of his Assistant and his designer, Luke. In his goal to create the perfect catastrophe for his audience, he dictates power and authority over those that work for him and squashes any attempt at expression from others. Creating a miniature society of his own, the Director rules over his subjects as they try to survive in their own way under his reign.

2:30, April 17th

University of the Arts, 320 S. Broad St (room 603), Philadelphia, PA

This performance is part of a showcase of short plays produced in the Directing III course and supervised by Fadi Skeiker at the DPP program in The University of the Arts.

For press inquiries, contact Trey directly at [phone] or at [email protected].

[jdr22299]

Final Project for Directing III

This is a semester long project as part of a larger play festival of absurdist works, specifically Samuel Beckett. 

Fadi Skeiker is producing this project through the University of the Arts Directing III course, for higher level Directing, Playwriting, and Production students in the undergraduate BFA degree program.

Date: 10 April 2019

Location: 201 S Broad Street

Time: 3:15pm

[uartscollegeofperformingart-blog]

FADI DRUM SOLO!!! Professor Fadi Skeiker (Directing, Playwriting + Production Program) is in the foreground on the orange bucket 😎 #repost @uarts_cpa . . . CPA Dean Marc Dicciani leads staff/faculty in a lunchtime Rumble session!! 💀🛢🥁 Are you a student interested in joining the UArts Bucket Drum Ensemble, RUMBLE?! Contact Charlie Heim to learn more: [email protected] . . . @universityofthearts #uarts #theplaceofchoice . . . 📷 @katdaddy87_ . . . #drummer #bucketdrummer #music #lunch #lunchbreak

#repost #theplaceofchoice #music #uarts #bucketdrummer #drummer #lunch #lunchbreak

[kfloyd273-blog]

My name is Kirstie Floyd and I am a rising Senior at the University of the Arts. There, I study directing, playwriting and production (theater). Although my initial focus is playwriting, I am currently having a love affair with dramaturgy. Dramaturgy is (as described by dictionary.com) the art and technique of the theatre. That definition is cool, but I like to think of it as the guts of the play. Or, if you think of the beats or scenes as patterns, dramaturgy can be the thread that connects them all. Most importantly, a dramaturg can/should be the translator between the director’s vision and the audience.

Deepening my understanding of scripts and theatrical performance through dramaturgy has helped me with my writing. I have an understanding on implementing themes, different styles, how to convey mood, tone and aesthetic through my script. In other words, I’ve learned how to write scripts in such a way that they serve as blueprints with my intended production in mind. My only problem now is having to reel it in and not put too many ingredients in the pot.

With that being said, I think it’s safe to say that I have a literary brain. I think in terms of themes, motifs, characters, colors, pinterest boards and brain maps. You’d think that with that level detail I’d be able to direct, right? Wrong. Despite being able to dissect and analyze a script, I struggle with thinking in 3-D, in terms of bodies in space. In directing I, I was able to conceal this because my instructor then was really adamant about us having a clear groundplan, So I made sure my foreground, midground and background were concise - I even rented furniture and props from my school’s prop+furniture storage. Considering that I got an A-, I guess it’s safe to say that my groundplan was pretty good. The acting was serviceable, but you could tell I needed more rehearsal time. 

This past Spring, I have been studying directing (the third level) with Dr. Fadi Skeiker. In his class, we read a selection of articles and watched videos. More times than not, the videos and articles correlated. For example, after reading Ann Bogart’s essay on violence, we watched a performance by the Living Theater that explored the military industrial complex of the West. Most of our time in class was spent discussing theory and doing small exercises. I thrived in these conversations because as a literary person, I LOVE theory. You’d be surprised at how much dramaturgy is actually putting theory into practice, or at least being conscious of it during a production. Where I fell short, however, was conducting my own rehearsals outside of class. 

In this course, we had to direct a piece that was at least 10 minutes, but no longer than 20. We were encouraged to pick a short play from Mixed Doubles because they were simple and only required two actors. Unfortunately, finding actors in any institution for student-driven work is difficult, and my school was no exception. We had just finished a large, ambitious new musical festival while simultaneously opening a large play with a cast of 30+. Not to mention, the script I chose, Dislocations by Cornelius Fortune, is racially specific; so my options for casting were already limited. But I managed to make it work, sorta.

#Kirstie Floyd #TheUniversityOfTheArts #TheBrindSchoolOfTheatreArts #DirectingIII #Dr.FadiSkeiker

[exploringstyle]

Biomechanics - Installation and Post #9

Biomechanics was a performance style inspired by writings on Commedia Dell'arte, Kabuki, Clowning. All of these styles that Biomechanics are derived from share the same goal of telling a story with the body. Biomechanical actors focus wholly on their bodies in performance. They train rigorously to erase their personalities, and focus on using their bodies as vessels to tell stories. Biomechanical acting is also incredibly dependent upon the actors physical abilities.

My installation on biomechanics focuses heavily on this idea of actors erasing their personalities to become storytelling vessels. The piece of visual art in the corner reads "The body as a vessel", with tiny tattoos across the body that demand you to "Tell a story." An actor stands in the corner, next to the visual art. She faces away from the piece, in an effort to erase her humanhood in order to become a blank storytelling vessel.

#exploration of style #exploring style #fadi skeiker

[explorationofstyleblog]

Installation - Realism

Realism is a movement in theatre that strives to be as realistic and as close to life as possible. It began as a way to include political philosophy, evolution, and human observation into a scene dominated by melodramas. The movement began with the purpose to better mankind as opposed to simply be entertaining. By using realistic and natural language, minimal spectacle, and usually simple lighting, realism was able to become a direct observation of human behavior on a stage. The goal of this theatre movement was to create a snapshot of real life; a look into something that could actually happen to someone, only in a theatre setting. Much of the time, the plots of these plays were day-to-day moments and ordinary scenarios that most audience members could personally relate to, whether it was something similar to the events of their own lives or the lives around them. Other movements and subsequent styles eventually sprung from the works of realism, like naturalism and independent theatre. Though these are fairly similar to realism, they are different in the fundamentals that make them up. Examples of this style include Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen and many of Anton Chekhov's works. In modern entertainment, many films and television shows have adopted the style of realism.

My installation is made up of everything that I use in my space as a stage manager. I set everything up as early as I could before a rehearsal and left it for people to observe. Each piece is placed in a way that I would actually place it were I truly there and working. I tried to make it as close to my actual setup as possible while also making it look nice and especially organized in the way that realism tends to shape realistic scenarios into a piece of art.

#university of the arts #uarts #exploration of style #style #realism #theatre #theatre style #installation #fadi #fadi skeiker

[joshuadavisfarner]

Living Theater Video Response

Joshua Farner

The University of the Arts

The Brind School of Theater Arts

Directing III

Supervisor: Dr. Fadi Skeiker

The Living Theatre video we watched last class showed a performance they had done that was extremely visceral and also breathtaking. I have heard about the living theatre but I had never really looked into their work, but after seeing their performance I had many questions of course. For example, I was wondering how the company created their piece, was it collaborative? How did they decide on what everyone was going to do when it all just seemed very sporadic and improvised? It’s hard to tell if they improvised anything because even though everything they did seemed random, it also seemed very controlled and when in action, purposeful. I also thought about Bogarts chapter on violence and felt that I facould understand what she meant by using the word and how theatre can seem violent. I personally didn’t agree with a lot of my classmates on how the word choice was wrong of her to use, I just think that a lot of them have become hypersensitive to the thought of violence but at the end of the day, it’s really just a word. In the video, however, I could see how theatre can seem violent because it’s so full of emotion and the actors are very involved so even the smallest action they do can seem extremely intrusive and somewhat disturbing.

Although the type of theatre we saw last class wasn’t exactly the kind of theatre I am looking to create, I do think it’s very important to at least be aware of this type and I do still think very highly of it and respect the actors and other practitioners that partake in it.

[dantegreenportfolio-blog]

The Sure Thing. Final Clip. 

University of the Arts 

Ira Brind School of Theater

Directing III Suervisor: Fadi Skeiker 

[migrantdramaturgies]

Board members

Project Lead

Dr Szabolcs Musca

Project Coordinator

Olivia Lamont Bishop (Royal Holloway, University of London)

Board members

Prof. Vicky Angelaki (Mid Sweden University)

Dr Ana Bigotte Vieira (BUALA/ University of Lisbon)

Prof. Maria João Brilhante (University of Lisbon)

Dr Bernadette Cochrane (University of Queensland, Australia)

Dr Graça Corrêa (ArtCom/ University of Lisbon)

Dr Emma Cox (Royal Holloway University of London)

Dr Marco Galea (University of Malta)

Prof. Julius Heinicke (University of Hildesheim, Germany)

Dr Alison Jeffers (University of Manchester, UK)

Dr Katja Krebs (University of Bristol, UK)

Prof. Yana Meerzon (University of Ottawa, Canada)

Dr Onur Suzan Nobrega (Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany)

Prof. Alexis Nuselovici (FMSH Paris/ University of Aix-Marseille, France)

Dr Roxane Paire ( Academie de Grenoble, France)

Dr Stéphane Resche (Université Paris-Est Créteil, France)

Dr Fadi Skeiker (University of the Arts Philadelphia, USA)

Dr Ioana Szeman-Ureche (University of Roehampton, UK)

Dr Ida Tolgensbakk (Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Norway)