Winner of Outstanding Production Concept award, Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival
Listen to the radio piece Middlebury Magazine did on Jay's work with the students.
Read the Middlebury Campus article on the development process
Read the Middlebury Campus review of the production.
Watch a work sample of the production.
Summary
Suffering from tuberculosis, Moliere begins writing what will be his final play: The Imaginary Invalid. Based on the ensemble work of Jacques Lecoq, this new production is an exploration of the tragedy of Molière's final hours, the comedy of his very last oeuvre, and the ironic parallel of two realities that crash together in an explosion of macaronic Latin, disease, love, lazzi, and death. Adapted and directed by Jay Dunn in collaboration with students at Middlebury College.
Education
This production served as the Middlebury Theatre Department's, and its students', introduction to a devised theatre process. Rehearsals consisted of 1/3 training in the Lecoq pedagogy and 2/3 rehearsing the show. In allowing students the freedom to improvise within rehearsals, much of their material found its way into the final script. The goal of this production was to give students a feeling of mutual ownership of the play, a sense that that they did not just contribute as actors, but as writers and choreographers, as well.
Interested in bringing this show to your program or learning more about the devised program Jay has created for Undergrad Theatre Programs? Email Jay Dunn for more information.
PR Materials design (by Jay Dunn)
