Melanie Dreyer
Education:
MFA in Directing, Northwestern University,Chicago, IL 2000
MA in Drama, WashingtonUniversity, St. Louis, MO 1992
BA in Theatre and Music (cum laude), University of Denver, Denver, CO 1983
Professional Training:
Two-year conservatory program in Meisner Technique, O’Neill Studios, Kathryn Gately, NewYorkCity
Introduction to Experimental Theatre: Viewpoints and Rasaesthetics with Jennifer Ewing Pierce
Good-bye Stanislavski: Performance Styles in Contemporary Non-Realism, Matthew Maguire, St.Louis, MO
Webster Movement Institute, St. Louis, MO:
Commedia del’l Arte with Ed Damron and Vidisha Mallik
Period Movement: Medieval through Restoration with Jennifer Martin
Mask Characterization with Libby Appel
January Intensive Workshop, Shakespeare & Company, Lennox, MA
Advanced Scene Study for Professionals, Sydnie Grosberg, St. Louis, MO
Private speech instruction, Kathryn Maddux, New York City
Audition Technique, Philip Burton, New York City
Cold-Reading Seminar, Ed Stern, New York City
Employment:
2003-present Assistant Professor, Head of Undergraduate Performance Training, Master Teacher/Advisor of MFA in Performance Pedagogy, Department of Theater Arts, University of Pittsburgh
-Head of Undergraduate Performance Training
Tasks accomplished: complete reorganization of the acting curriculum, creation of the Performance Instructors Reference Manual (includes pedagogical goals for each acting level, advice on syllabus creation and lesson planning, and copious exercises for multiple situations), edited and published a new book for Introduction to Performance Classes entitled The Art of Performance, acquired permission from upper administration to extend classroom hours for performance classes from 2.5 hours to 4 hours per week.
Ongoing:teach five upper level performance courses per year, mentor/monitor 17-20 performance instructors per semester, offer an annual orientation/teaching workshop for performance instructors, observe 5-8 instructors in the classroom per semester and offer concise feedback, serve as advisor for all performance related situations interdepartmentally and for the general administration.
-Master Teacher/Advisor of MFA in Performance Pedagogy
Tasks accomplished: creation of concrete curriculum and pedagogical goals for the Pedagogy degree, development of a new course: Techniques in Performance Pedagogy
Ongoing: advisor to 2 Performance Pedagogy students per year, teach Techniques in Performance Pedagogy class every other year, primary advisor on selection committee for new students during application process.
2000-2003 Lecturer, Head of Undergraduate Performance Training, Master Teacher/Advisor of MFA in Performance Pedagogy, Department of Theater Arts, University of Pittsburgh: (see above)
1999-2000Staff Instructor for the Open Door Ensemble, Northlight Theatre
- Taught acting, voice and movement classes for the outreach program
1999-2000 Director of Performance for French Theatre Studies, Northwestern University
- Cast and directed scenes from plays studied in class, instructing students on appropriate acting/directing styles
1997-2000 Teaching Assistant, Department of Theatre, Northwestern University
-Supervised/mentored undergraduates in multiple production situations including Stage Management, Production Management, Scenic Construction, as well as serving as Teaching Assistant for Directing 1.
1993-1997Artist-in-Residence, Performing Arts Department, WashingtonUniversity, St. Louis
-Taught Acting I, II and III, Musical Theatre, directed five departmental productions, served on numerous committees.
1993-1997Co-Artistic Director, ShatterMask Theatre
-Fully participated in all artistic and managerial functions of running a small professional equity company, including: season selection, casting, hiring seasonal staff, production management, fund-raising, budgeting, payroll, board development and management, grant writing, strategic planning, directing, acting. Company in business for four years, produced three, three-show seasons, all under Equity SPT contract.
1990-1992Instructor, University College, Washington University, St. Louis
- Taught How to Audition as an evening course.
1989-1993Adjunct Faculty, Performing Arts Department, Washington University, St. Louis
- Taught Acting I and II.
Teaching Experience:
Undergraduate Courses:
Acting I - Open to majors and non-majors. Introduction to basic acting principles, work on relaxation, recognition of the inner impulse, talking and listening, identifying the needs of the character and an initial approach to a role.
Acting II – Advanced work on the emotional life and needs of a character, work on emotional availability under complex circumstances, utilizing obstacles, beginning work on physicalizing character choices, beginning work on comedy.
Acting III – Open to majors only. Advanced characterization, making specific physical and vocal choices in character development, beginning work on styles: Chekhov, Miller, Pinter, Beckett, Shephard, Mamet.
Acting IV – Work with period styles: Greeks, Shakespeare, Restoration Comedy, Farce. Examining the historical/social context of various periods of dramatic writing and learning to make informed physical, emotional and stylistic choices within this context.
Voice and Movement I – Introduction to physical and vocal use of the body in creating a character, relaxation technique, beginning vocal technique, gesture isolation, character development from a physical rather than a textual starting point.
Voice and Movement II – Examination of period styles of movement including Commedia dell’Arte, Shakespeare and Comedy of Manners.
Introduction to Musical Theater – Admittance to class by audition only. Preparing and delivering an audition, acting a song, characterization, ensemble and chorus work.
How to Audition – Choosing and preparing monologues, successful cold readings, marketing strategies: unions, headshots and resumes, agents, beginning on-camera technique.
Directing I – How to read a play and develop a point of view, working with associative images, basic staging technique, coaching actors, communicating with designers, how to read a ground plan.
Meisner Technique – Work with the exercise sequence developed by Sanford Meisner to develop talking and listening skills, reality of doing, actively engaging the imagination to access emotional life, working organically moment to moment.
Graduate Courses:
Techniques in Performance Pedagogy – Examination of philosophies of approach, alternative teaching methods, the most common methods of training being used in contemporary acting, voice and movement training, as well as an interrogation of the variety of pedagogical problems that face the teacher of performance.
Graduate Directing – An advanced directing class open to graduate students and exceptional undergraduates only. A rigorous examination of the craft specific skills required by a director including using text analysis and research to find a story to tell, utilizing abstraction and imagery in design and performance, how to negotiate the design process, blocking effectively according to space constraints, tools for working with actors, conducting effective auditions, maximizing rehearsal time, negotiating technical rehearsals and previews. A qualification and assessment tool for students in the Ph.D. program wishing to take the directing option.
Courses Taught in the Professional Arena:
How to Audition, Voice & Movement for the Actor, An Introduction to the Meisner Technique
Other Teaching Experience:
Coordinator of and primary coach for the Irene Ryan Acting Competitors – Washington University and University of Pittsburgh
Academic lecture technique coach for the Teaching Center – Washington University
Private Coaching for Actors
Private Coaching for Academic Lecturers
Instructor for Gifted Drama Program – School District 65, Evanston, IL
Guest Drama Instructor – North Shore Country Day School, Evanston, IL
Workshops/Seminars:
“Translation or Transference? The function of language in storytelling across cultures,” a performance workshop for the international theatre festival "Experimenta 6 Teatro" hosted by El Rayo Misterio, in Rosario, Argentina. December 2003.
“Issues in International Collaboration,” moderator of a panel examining issues encountered in the creation of the collaborative dance piece Noto by Japan’s Nibroll and America’s Attack Theatre. Part of the national conference “Towards a Moder Japanese Theatre Revisited” at the University of Pittsburgh, September 2003.
“German-Language Theater in English Translation: A Modest Presence in the US,” Panel discussion sponsored by the Goethe-Institut Chicago, May 2000
“Gender in Performance,” Lecture on gender differences in public speaking for the Washington University Medical School, April 1997
“Performance Techniques in the Classroom,” Brown Bag Lunch for the Teaching Center, Washington University, January 1997
“Performance Techniques for Contemporary Non-Realism,” Jeffrey Jones Co-Presenter
Association for Theatre in Higher Education National Conference, New York City, August 1996
“Performance Techniques for Contemporary Non-Realism,” Mac Wellman/Jeffrey Jones Co-Presenters, presented as a part of SHATTER THE MASK/STAGE THE DREAM – Association for Theatre in Higher Education Pre-Conference Symposium at Stoneybrook, New York, June 1996
Awards and Honors:
Center for Latin American Studies, December 2003
Grant from the University of Pittsburgh to travel to Rosario Argentina to present a workshop at international theatre festival “Experimenta 6 Teatro.” $350.
Department of Russian and Eastern European Studies, December 2003
Grant from the University of Pittsburgh to finance research into study and exchange opportunities at the Vakhatangov Institute (Russian Drama School) in Moscow. $1,500
Hewlett Small Grants Program, September 2003
Grant from the University of Pittsburgh to finance research into study and exchange opportunities at the Vakhatangov Institute (Russian Drama School) in Moscow. $2,500.
Hewlett Small Grants Program, October 2000
Grant from the University of Pittsburgh to finance participation in the International New Plays Festival hosted by the Schaubühne Berlin in November 2000. $2,500.
John J. McCloy Fellowship in Art, May 2000
Grant from the American Council on Germany for support of research into the impact of the economics of reunification on cultural programming in Berlin. $4,200 plus travel expenses.
Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD), Summer 1999
Grant from the German Academic Exchange Service for an eight week intensive course in German language study, conducted in Dresden Germany, June-July 1999. Full tuition waiver, housing and $1100 remuneration.
Chicago Drama League, 1999
Grant to travel to Germany and begin research on the cultural differences between German and American training and practice. $3000.
Academic Service:
Chairperson: Acting Curriculum Committee, Artist/Teacher Committee, Classroom Furniture Committee, Graduating Senior Dinner and Awards Banquet Committee
Member: Lab Selection Committee, Grading Policy Committee, Hewlett Grant Selection Committee, Designer Search Committee, Orientation Package Committee, Play Selection Committee, Teaching Colloquium Committee, Awards Committee
Other: Independent acting and directing projects advisor, URTA and MFA application and audition process advisor
Professional Service:
Artistic Consultant for “Five Days of Gemuetlichkeit,” a festival of new German plays, held at the Public Theatre in New York City in collaboration with Labyrinth Theatre Company.
Artistic Consultant for International New Plays Festival at the Schaubuehne Berlin in Berlin, Germany. Advised on cultural issues related to the production of American plays in German translation. November 200.
Artistic Consultant for Play Station, a new plays festival sponsored by German Theatre Abroad in Duesseldorf, Germany. Served on the script selection committee and provided directing services for staged reading of contemporary German plays. All activities conducted in German. May 2001.
Professional Directing Credits:
Woman from the Past, Roland Schimmelpfennig, - 2004, German Theatre Abroad, staged reading at the Public Theatre in New York in association with Labyrinth Theatre Company.
This is Our Youth, Kenneth Lonergan, - 2004, Bare BonesTheatre
The Arabian Night, Roland Schimmelpfennig, translation by Melanie Dreyer – 2003, Quantum Theatre
She Stoops to Conquer, Oliver Goldsmith – 2002, Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theater
Package Deal, Chuck Lippitz – 1999, Northlight Theatre, Open Door Ensemble
The Genie, Barbara Kaplan – 1998, Northlight Theatre, Open Door Ensemble
The Love Talker, Deborah Pryor -- 1996, ShatterMask Theatre
Beyond Therapy (excerpts), Christopher Durang -- 1995, ShatterMask Theatre
Split, Michael Weller -- 1995, ShatterMask Theatre
Old Times, Harold Pinter -- 1994, ShatterMask Theatre
Dreams of Baby, Mary Lathrop -- 1994, ShatterMask Theatre
The Middle Kingdom, Howard Korder - 1993, ShatterMask Theatre
Assistant Directing Credits:
Boy Gets Girl, Rebecca Gilman, Assistant to Michael Maggio – 2000, The Goodman Theatre
Floyd Collins, Tina Landau/Adam Guettel, Assistant to Tina Landau – 1999, The Goodman Theatre
Taking Sides, Ronald Harwood, Assistant to Ina Marlowe -- 1998, Organic Theatre Company
Academic Directing Credits:
Mother Courage and Her Children, Bertolt Brecht, translation by Melanie Dreyer – 2003, University of Pittsburgh
Ballad Hunter, Jenny Laird – 2002, University of Pittsburgh
Learned Ladies, Moliere – 2002, University of Pittsburgh
Silent Spring (premiere), Lynne Connor and Attilio Favorini – 2001, University of Pittsburgh
Der Ozeanflug, Bertolt Brecht – 1999, Northwestern University (Rehearsals and performances conducted in German)
Vieux Carre, Tennessee Williams – 1999, Northwestern University
Measure for Measure, William Shakespeare – 1998, Northwestern University
The Physician in Spite of Himself / The Imaginary Cuckold, Moliere -- 1998, Northwestern University
Action, Sam Shepard -- 1997, Northwestern University
Cabaret, John Kander, Fred Ebb, Joe Masteroff -- 1997, Washington University
The Servant of Two Masters, Carlo Goldoni -- 1995, Washington University
The Endless Adventures of M.C. Kat, Jeffrey Jones -- 1994, Washington University
Regional Finalist and National Honorary Mention in the American College Theatre Festival Play Competition.
Blue Moon Rising (premiere), James Nicholson -- 1993, Washington University
Coyote Ugly, Lynn Siefert -- 1991, Washington University
Management:
Co-Artistic Director, ShatterMask Theatre, St. Louis, MO 1993-1997 – A small equity theatre company offering audiences members new perspectives on the theatrical experience
Company Manager, Pink Champagne, St. Louis, MO 1988-1991 – Professional vocal trio specializing in music from the 1930’s and 40’s.
Company Manager, Triple Sec, New York City, 1984-1986 - Professional vocal trio specializing in music from the 1930’s and 40’s.
Professional Acting Roles: (representative list)
Mrs. Allonby – A Woman of No Importance, Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre Co.
Gilda -- Design for Living, ShatterMask Theatre
Yvonne -- Sunday in the Park with George, Theatre Factory St. Louis
Corinna -- The House of Blue Leaves, Dangerous Visions Productions, St. Louis
Chelsea - On Golden Pond, Summerfun Theatre, New Jersey
Annie -- The Real Thing, Summerfun Theatre, New Jersey
Brooke - Noises Off, Summerfun Theatre, New Jersey
Vera -- Ten Little Indians, LaramieSummerstock, Wyoming
Lily Belle - The Curious Savage, LaramieSummerstock, Wyoming
Catherine -- Pippin, Theatre on the Square, Colorado
Guenevere -- Camelot, Theatre on the Square, Colorado
Translations (from German to English):
Woman of No Importance by Roland Schimmelpfennig, 2004
Lustgarten by Sabine Harbeke, 2004
Mother Courage by Bertolt Brecht, 2003
Arabian Night (Die Arabische Nacht) by Roland Schimmelfennig, 2002
The Ocean Flight (Der Ozeanflug) by Bertolt Brecht, 1999
Professional Artistic Affiliations:
Member of the International Studies Faculty, specific affiliations with Western European Studies and Latin American Studies, University of Pittsburgh
Actor’s Equity Association (AEA)
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA)
Languages:
Read, write, speak and translate German.