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- Detailed Information
Laura L. Tesman
Department Chairperson and Professor
Theater
Location: 317 Whitehead Hall
Phone: 718.951.5666
Fax: 718.951.4226
Email:
Dr. Tesman is a director, writer, and collaborative theater maker. Her work has appeared in New York, regionally, and internationally. Her primary focus over the past several years has been developing international, interdisciplinary devised works combining live music/foley, embodied research/choreographed movement, object work, architecture, image, and text.
Her work engages the epic, the mythic, the surreal, the absurd, as a means to grapple with problems of gender, sexuality, equality, personal freedom, power structures, economy, the environment. An important aspect of her work is sustained and systematic commitment to "embodied" research and practice which places the body at the center of the investigation. She is deeply invested in explorations of the story-telling potential of the body (and bodies) in space and time.
She is the founding co-artistic director of Spleen Theatre, a member of Lincoln Center Directors Lab, and the directors' collaborative World Wide Lab.
Education:
Ph.D., University of Colorado - Boulder - 2001 (Theater)
M.A. in English and European Renaissance Drama, University of Warwick, England, Centre for the Study of the Renaissance - 1994 (Shakespeare, Women in the Renaissance)
Areas of Expertise:
Laura Tesman's research and teaching interests include female playwrights (both historical and contemporary), women's history, Shakespeare and his contemporaries, devising and collaborative creation (including ensemble and movement work), embodied practice, theater as social engagement, acting technique and directing.
Books and Publications
"Magnificent Chaos," SDC Journal (Journal of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society). Invited contributor. Winter 2015. (Books and Publications: Article (Other)) 2015
Creative Work
Director/ Co-Creator. Hymn to Liberty by Dionysios Solomos. Co-Created with Gene Gillette. Collaborative Team: Erato A. Kremmyda, Brian Freeland and Rosie McNamara. Spleen Theatre in collaboration with the Kavala-Philippi Festival, Kavala, Greece. July 2021. 2021
Director. Rhinoceros by Ionesco. Original translation by Heloise Wilson. Buchwald Theater, Brooklyn College Department of Theater. Production Suspended. 2020
Co-Director/Co-Creator. My Berlin. With Chang Nai Wen (Germany/Taiwan), Evan T. Cummings (U.S.), Annie Levy (U.S.), Evan Tsitsias (Canada), Eirini Patoura (Greece/France). Original site-specific performance devised with World Wide Lab (WWL) in collaboration with the Berlin-based intercultural performance group Sisyphos, der Flugelefant (SdF), Theater for the Young Audience (FELD), and more than 20 young refugee children (from over 15 countries - Syria, Kurdistan, Albania, Eritrea, Congo, to name just a few) who were participants in SdF's three-year program Young Mind Lab. The performative tour worked to connect the children to one another and the local community, to share something of their "homes" with a local German audience, and to explore those kinds of experiences, beyond words, that connect us to one another, no matter where we come from. FELD, Berlin, Germany. August 8-11, 2019. 2019
Director/Co-Creator. south of real: a migratory pattern. With Ryn Strong (US/Mexico), Anai González (Mexico), Kai Mue Fuerte (US/Mexico), Julio de la Calle (Mexico) and Carlos López Tavera (Mexico). Original performance with music devised with local and immigrant ensemble. The piece was a rumination on leaving and coming home, on migration/immigration, loss (personal loss, loss of mobility), aging, mother/daughter relationships, and self-discovery. Text by Ryn Strong. Posada Yolihuani, Pátzcuaro Mexico, May 30-June 2, 2019. 2019
Co-Director/ Co-Creator-Writer. Between Two Breaths. Original performance devised with World Wide Lab in collaboration with the Superior Theatre Festival and a diverse ensemble of local artists/individuals. Urban Abbey, Thunder Bay, ON Canada. July 27-29, 2018. 2018
Director. La Folie by Heloise Wilson. World Premiere. The Black Lady Theater, Brooklyn, NY. April 27-May 2, 2018. 2018
Director. Swastika by Elaine Romero. Performed as a part of NOT NORMAL: Art in Resistance Pop-Up Performance Series. Irondale Ensemble Project, Brooklyn, New York. March 10, 2017. 2017
Director/ Writer. Io. Exploration of the Io myth through the texts of Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound, The Suppliant Women, and other fragments from Greek drama. Ancient Theater of Philippi. Kavala-Philippi Festival, Kavala, Greece. August 2017. 2017
Co-Director/Co-Adaptor-Writer. Kuafu. Devised with Jocelyn Yuchia Chang (Taiwan) and Francesco Meola (Italy). Further research/development and performance supported by ESP-1 Performing Arts Group and National Taiwan University for the Arts. Rehearsal and development September 22-October 13, 2016. Performed (in English) October 14, 2016. 2016
Co-Director/Co-Adaptor-Writer. Kuafu. Devised with Jocelyn Yuchia Chang (Taiwan) and Francesco Meola (Italy). Performed (in English) as a part of inAsia Cultural Association's Giornata inAsia Festival 2016. Istituto Agli Angeli, Verona, Italy. September 17, 2016. 2016
Co-Director/Co-Adaptor-Writer. Kuafu. Devised with Jocelyn Yuchia Chang (Taiwan) and Francesco Meola (Italy). Performed (in Italian) as a part of the SHERPA-TEATRO D'ALTUDINE series at Circolo Everest in Milan, Italy. March 11, 2016. 2016
Co-Director/Co-Creator. In Transit. Site-specific performance devised with World Wide Lab in collaboration with ESP-1 Performing Arts Group, the National Taiwan University of the Arts, and an ensemble/group of international artists (from Taiwan, China, Singapore, Greece, Italy, Canada, Israel, Germany, France, and the U.S.). Performed (in Chinese/Taiwanese/English/Greek) in the 451 Art Zone, Taipei, Taiwan. November 12-13, 2016.
2016
Co-Director/Co-Adaptor-Writer. Echo. With Chang Nai Wen (Germany/Taiwan), Evan Tsitsias (Canada/US) and an ensemble of Greek performers/designers. World Wide Lab: A Directors' Feast. Apollo Theater, Syros Greece. Research/Development Ocotober 2014-August 2015. Rehearsals August 20 - September 3. Performances September 4-7, 2015. 2015
Co-Director/Co-Adaptor-Writer. Kuafu. Devised with Jocelyn Yuchia Chang (Taiwan) and Francesco Meola (Italy). ESP-1 Performing Arts Group. Guling Street Theater, Taipei, Taiwan. Second stage of development December 2014-October 2015. Rehearsals October 15-December 6. Performances December 7-11, 2015. 2015
Co-Director/Co-Adaptor-Writer. Pinocchio. ESP-1 Performing Arts Group. Guling Street Theater, Taipei, Taiwan. Research/Development December 2014-October 2015. Rehearsals October 15-December 6. Performances December 7-11, 2015. 2015
Co-Director/Co-Adaptor-Writer. Kuafu. World Wide Lab: A Directors' Feast. Teatro Due, Rome, Italy. Research/Development October 2013-September 2014. Rehearsals September 13-October 6. Performances October 7-12, 2014. 2014
Director. Camino Real by Tennessee Williams. Brooklyn College Department of Theater, Mainstage Production. Whitman Theater, February 21-March 1, 2014. 2014
Co-director/adaptor, The Story of an Hour, by Kate Chopin. With Orly Noa Rabinyan (Israel) and Jocelyn Yuchia Chang (Taiwan). World Wide Lab: A Directors' Feast at Irondale Ensemble Project. Sept. 4-7. 2013
Director, Volupté. World Wide Lab: A Director's Feast. Irondale Center for the Arts. Brooklyn, N.Y., August. 2012
Director/Dramaturg/Producer, Nocturnal: Portrait of a New York Night in Nine Movements. New York International Fringe Festival. New Ohio Theatre. New York, August. 2012
Director/Producer, Anna Christie. Spleen Theatre. Waterfront Museum's Lehigh Valley Barge #79. Brooklyn, N.Y., September. 2012
Director, Nocturnal. Created by Pangaea Performance Ensemble. Brooklyn College. March. 2011
Director, Twelfth Night. Pangaea Performance Ensemble. Brooklyn College. December. 2011
Director/Playwright, Bound. Spleen Theatre. New York Theatre Workshop's 4th Street Theatre. New York, June. 2011
Director, Peas in a Pod and Stolen Car. Staged readings to benefit new play development. Abingdon Theatre Company. New York, February. 2010
Director, The Appearance of Desire (staged reading). The Actor's Playground Theater, Theaterlab. New York, December. 2010
Director, Ti-Jean and His Brothers, by Derek Walcott. Brooklyn College. April. 2010
Director, Ti-Jean and His Brothers. Pangaea Performance Ensemble. Czech Consulate's National Bohemian Hall. New York, June. 2010
Director, Revolutions, by Elaine Romero. Manhattan Theater Source. New York, September/October. 2009
Director, The Learned Ladies, by Molière. Brooklyn College. February/March. 2009
Director/Dramaturg, Majestic County, by Elaine Romero. Development and Staged Reading. The Orchard Project. Hunter, N.Y., June. 2009
Director, Carrying the Torch, by Dee Covington. Curious Theatre Company's Denver Stories. Denver, May. 2008
Director, Playboy of the Western World, by J.M. Synge. THEATREWORKS. Colorado Springs, Colo., April/May. 2008
Co-director, 365 DAYS/365 PLAYS, by Suzan-Lori Parks. Week 10. THEATREWORKS. Colorado Springs, Colo., January. 2007
Director, Caucasian Chalk Circle, by Bertolt Brecht. THEATREWORKS. Colorado Springs, Colo., April. 2007
Playwright, Gaga Galleria. Curious Theatre Company's Denver Stories. Denver, May. 2007
Actor, Christine in Dancing at Lughnasa, by Brian Friel; directed by Kelly Walters. Starbar Players, Lon Chaney Theatre. Colorado Springs, Colo., April/May. 2006
Assistant director/movement coach/dramaturg, I Am My Own Wife, by Doug Wright. Directed by Christy Montour-Larsen. Curious Theatre Company. Denver, September/October. 2006
Director, Metamorphoses, by Mary Zimmerman. THEATREWORKS. Colorado Springs, Colo., April. Nominated for PAPAA's Best Theatre Production/Best Director Award. 2006
Awards, Honors and Fellowships
Project Grant. Secured a PSC-CUNY Project Grant. Project Title: "Perdita, Or The Alchemy of Valor" to develop original play. 2017-2018. (Grants and Fellowships) 2018
Project Grant. Secured a PSC-CUNY Project Grant. Project Title: "World Wide Lab: Going Global" to support travel to Rome, Italy for the 2014 lab. 2014-2015. (Grants and Fellowships) 2015
Travel Grant. Received a Claire and Leonard Tow Faculty Travel Grant. 2014-2015. (Grants and Fellowships) 2015
Subsidized Residency at Irondale Ensemble Project, New York. World Wide Lab: A Director's Feast. (Grants and Fellowships) 2013
Theatre Communications Group Global Connections IN the LAB grant to support World Wide Lab: A Directors' Feast. (Grants and Fellowships) 2013
PSC-CUNY Grant, to support "WORLD WIDE LAB: A Director's Feast." August. (Grants and Fellowships) 2012
Residency at Irondale Ensemble Project, New York. World Wide Lab: A Director's Feast. (Grants and Fellowships) 2012
Diversity Projects Development Fund grant, for the ensemble development of the original play Nocturnal. (Grants and Fellowships) 2011
Member, Lincoln Center Directors Lab. (Awards and Honors) 2010
New Faculty Fund Grant, for rehearsal space to continue the development of "Bound." (Grants and Fellowships) 2010
PSC-CUNY Grant, for "Bound: Continued Support Towards Production." (Grants and Fellowships) 2010
Diversity Projects Development Fund grant, to develop an original piece of theater with an ensemble of artists, "Exploring Diversity Through Devised Performance." (Grants and Fellowships) 2009
New Faculty Fund grant, for the purchase of research materials and rental of rehearsal space for "Pandora Bound: Research Toward an Original Script/Adaptation." (Grants and Fellowships) 2009
PSC-CUNY Grant, for "Pandora Bound: Devising & Producing an Original Script/Adaptation." (Grants and Fellowships) 2009
Awarded Alliance for Colorado Theatre Higher Education Educator of the Year 2007. Presented at the Denver Center for Performing Arts, Sept. 7. (Awards and Honors) 2007
Research Activities
Ongoing development, with World Wide Lab directors, of a series of collaborative, site/community-specific projects around the themes of trauma and healing. 2018
Research and development of original play Perdita, or The Alchemy of Valor. 2018
Research and development of Io. Exploration of the Io myth through the texts of Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound, The Suppliant Women, and other fragments from Greek drama for the Kavala-Philippi Festival in Kavala, Greece. August 2017. 2017
Continued research and development of Kuafu with collaborators Jocelyn Yuchia Chang and Francesco Meola for future productions in Europe, Asia and the US. 2017
Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums
"Dramaturgy as an Act of Revolution." Panel / Invited Talk with Ioli Andreadi, Caitlin Saylor Stephens and Aris Asproulis. The Tank. April 23, 2022. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2022
"Political Spark, Collaborative Combustion and Resilient Practice: Using Devising to Address the Urgent Social Issues of Our Time." Workshop Presentation in Collaboration with Professor Jolie Tong (Drew University). Association for Theater in Higher Education Virtual Conference. July 23, 2020. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2020
"Embodying Action." Invited Talk/ Workshop. Superior Theatre Festival. July 29, 2018. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2018
"Unearthing Myth." Invited Talk/ Workshop with Jocelyn Yuchia Chang. Superior Theatre Festival. July 26, 2018. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2018
"Devising Io: Open Rehearsals for the International Ancient Drama Workshop." Participants apply to observe the full developmental process of Io for the 60th Anniversary of the Philippi Festival in Krinides, Kavala, Greece. July 20-August 10, 2017. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2017
"Devising Kuafu: Excavating Character from the Soil of Myth." National Taipei University for the Arts. October 18, 2016. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2016
"Archeology of Devising." Eight week seminar and workshop on the process of devising. National Taiwan University for the Arts. October 20-December 8, 2015. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2015
"The Working Artist: Inside Inter-Cultural Collaboration." Invited Talk. National Taiwan University for the Arts. November 13, 2015. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2015
"Improvising and Collaboration in the Classroom" workshop. Center for Teaching, Brooklyn College. Nov. 30. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2009
"Letting the Right Brain In: Pathways to Creative Thinking Through Improvisation and Collaboration" panel. Faculty Day. Brooklyn College. May 20. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2009
"Rooted in Yoga: Risking the Self in Writing and Performance" workshop. Association for Theatre in Higher Education. New York, Aug. 10. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2009
"Teaching and Artistic Collaboration" roundtable. Association for Theatre in Higher Education. New York, Aug. 9. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2009
Professional Leadership
COACHE Task Force 2019-2020. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2019
Program head, B.A. in Theater, 2008-present. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2019
Undergraduate Deputy Chair, Department of Theater, 2008-present. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2019
Member Director/Planning Committee, WorldWideLab: A Directors Feast. Research, planning and proposal writing (space residencies and grants) for annual international events in New York (Irondale Center 2012, 2013); Rome Italy (Teatro Due 2014); Syros, Greece (Apollon Theatre 2015); Taipei, Taiwan (2016); Thunder Bay, ON, Canada (2018). 2011-Present. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2018
Co-chair, Outcomes and Assessment Committee, Department of Theater, Brooklyn College, 2013-15. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2015
Artistic director, Pangaea Performance Ensemble. An ensemble of professional and student artists at Brooklyn College dedicated to collaborative, intercultural, interdisciplinary performance. 2009-present. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2012
Brooklyn College representative to the CUNY-wide collaboration with the Theater Development Fund (TDF) Bridging Education and Theater (BEAT) Program. Mentoring and Internship committees. 2011-present. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2012
Chairwoman, Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, Department of Theater, 2008-12. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2012
Member, City University of New York Office of Academic Affairs Academic Advisement Study Group. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2012
Co-artistic Director, Spleen Theatre, a professional company dedicated to producing vital, blood- pumping theatre. 2011-present. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2011
Other Professional Activities
Associate Member, Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC). 2015 to Present. 2018
Residency, Watermill Center. Members of WorldWideLab, an international director's collective, were invited to the Watermill Center to develop plans for an annual international Directors Feast. October. 2011