By Christian Fernandez
In the MBU Shakespeare and Performance Program, first year students are required to take the spring class REN 531: Performance of Language. The class challenges students by having them produce and perform an early modern play, taking on the responsibilities of production and acting roles. Typically, Dr. Matthew Davies and Professor Doreen Bechtol teach the class, serving as directors for the show. Yet, with Dr. Davies on sabbatical for the spring 2018 semester, the class needed another director.
Enter Kate Eastwood Norris. Norris, an actor who has formerly performed for the American Shakespeare Center, is in the program completing her M.F.A.. When she joined the program, Dr. Paul Menzer asked if she would be interested in joining Doreen as director and teacher of the Performance of Language class. “It was a slam dunk,” Norris said, “Doreen and I have been friends for twenty years. We had previously acted together at the ASC, but this was our first time directing together.”
While Norris loves teaching, she is only interested in directing within class contexts. Noris joked, “As an unofficial rule, I have problems with authority, so I do not like to be an authority figure…part of the reason I came back to school was because of my frustration with directors.” However, Norris’ hesitance with directing does not affect her passion for teaching. “A teacher,” Norris explained. “Is a guide rather than someone who tells you what to do…it entails fewer commands than when one is a director. I do not want to be a director unless I am a teacher at the same time.” Prior to the Performance of Language class, Norris directed a few pieces within the context of a class, such as students in her clown classes and third graders in a summer camp production of King Lear. Professionally, Norris had served as an assistant director on several productions. However, her role in the class required the most “directory” responsibility of all her previous opportunities. Ironically, Norris found herself at times becoming the type of director she had previously resented. “I definitely had moments when I thought ‘Oh my goodness, I would hate me as an actor.’” At times, she admitted she focused on being the director and “forgot to be the teacher.” Yet, Norris came to understand and appreciate “moments where you have to get up and say ‘Do this!’”
Norris’ biggest challenges were having to adapt to the class’s established structure and figuring out how to get the best out of each cast member. The class mostly maintained the same structure it had in previous years, which meant Norris did not have much involvement in creating the syllabus. “I had to step in for Dr. Davies and learn how to teach certain things in a certain order.” As for working with the cast, Norris said “Often, there were people who came in tired and had trouble getting into character. I had to figure out how to be sympathetic yet demanding. There is a current trend in education towards the comfort of the student, so teaching theater is difficult because it is a practice that often involves feeling vulnerable and stretching yourself.”
Despite these challenges, the production was a success and Norris fondly looks back on all she help create and learned in the process. “This made me a better teacher and an actor. I learned how to put what I wanted into words, and doing that made me understand those desires better. From Doreen, I learned patience and useful language to address problems. I cannot stress enough how fun it was. I was so happy and proud, and it felt so good.”
