St. Lawrence University’s Performance Arts Faculty Work, Study Abroad This Summer

July 3, 2013 - PRLog -- CANTON — Three of St. Lawrence University’s Department of Performance and Communication Arts instructors will be working, studying and presenting abroad during the month of July.

Ann Marie Gardinier Halstead, associate professor and co-chair of the department, Charles Pepiton, visiting assistant professor, and Matt Saltzberg, visiting assistant professor, will travel this month to Australia, Poland and Italy, respectively.

"My colleagues Matt Saltzberg and Charlie Pepiton will engage in creative scholarship while abroad this summer," Gardinier Halstead said. "Each will participate in a prestigious theater residency-training program. We are all fortunate to have such opportunities and to do fulfilling work that we truly enjoy. I think I speak for all of us when I say that we're excited to incorporate our international experiences into our fall courses. This is indeed one of the great joys of being an artist and a scholar."

Gardinier Halstead will travel to Queensland, Australia, for the international premiere of her play “Have You Filled a Bucket Today?” an adaptation of the award-winning books by Carol McCloud. The theatrical adaptation is a fun and effective way for schools and theater companies to address bullying. While in Australia, Gardinier Halstead will serve as playwright-in-residence, offering feedback to the cast and director. In addition, she will work with students and staff at St. Mary MacKillop School and participate in a community dialogue about bullying and prevention efforts. Gardinier Halstead presented in April on the topic of bullying prevention programming and the arts at the New York State Association for American University Women convention in Lake Placid.

"I am amazed and humbled by the response to my play so far," Gardinier Halstead said. "I look forward to seeing the script interpreted in a different cultural context when I attend the international premiere in Australia."

For information on the play, please visit http://www.bucketfillingplay.com.

Pepiton was selected as one of about 15 theater artists from around the world to participate this month in a physical theater residency at the historic forest base of the Grotowski Institute in Brzezinka, Poland. The Grotowski Institute was founded by Jerzy Grotowski, an influential theater director and innovator in actor training, to advance his work with theatrical and para-theatrical research. While in Poland, Pepiton will work alongside members of Studio Matejka, a physical theater research and performance ensemble that explores new methods of actor training. For more information about the Grotowski Institute and Studio Matejka, please visit http://www.grotowski-institute.art.pl.

Saltzberg will attend the La MaMa International Symposium for Directors in Umbria, Italy. The symposium will serve as a training program for professional directors, choreographers, and actors. Saltzberg will lead a workshop titled “Physical Dramaturgy: The Body Manifests Meaning,” which will feature his own teaching of Anne Bogart’s Composition Method in which the performer situates the body as a living, moving sculpture through expressive movement. Saltzberg will also participate in workshops, lectures, and demonstrations conducted by internationally renowned theater artists. Saltzberg will give a public teaching demonstration focused on his experiences in Italy at 2:00 p.m. Sept. 7 at St. Lawrence University's Griffiths Arts Center, room 109. For more information on the La MaMa symposium, visit http://lamama.org/programs/umbria/directorssymposium/.

For more information on St. Lawrence’s Department of Performance and Communication Arts, visit http://www.stlawu.edu/performance-and-communication-arts.

St. Lawrence University is a private, independent liberal arts institution of about 2,400 students. The educational opportunities at St. Lawrence inspire students and prepare them to be critical and creative thinkers, to find a compass for their lives and careers, and to pursue knowledge and understanding for the benefit of themselves, humanity and the planet. Through its focus on active engagement with ideas in and beyond the classroom, a St. Lawrence education leads students to make connections that transform lives and communities, from the local to the global.