Overview and Sabbatical Objectives

Sabbatical Report

2007 Dr. John Blondell

Overview and Sabbatical Objectives

This report provides a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the impact of my 2007 sabbatical, and thank the college for its continuing support of my professional work as a stage director. My 2007 sabbatical was both culmination and launching pad in that I was able to bring several strands of my work to completion, and also develop new projects that continue to bear fruit to this day. Please accept this report as partial fulfillment of the various requirements of that sabbatical. The oral report of my 2007 sabbatical was presented in late April or early May 2010.

My 2007 sabbatical proposal states the following goals and objectives:

1. Visit, explore, and perform in several international theatre festivals during the summer and fall of 2007.

2. Continue to develop contacts in Poland and Finland, and extend contacts into England, Sweden, Ireland, Spain, and China.

3. Scout companies, artists, and festivals for inclusion in the 2008 Lit Moon World Shakespeare Festival.

4. Extend, expand, refine, and develop my awareness of modern European performance, and the methods and techniques related to contemporary theatrical directing, festival management, contemporary European theatrical practice, and the theory and practice of the contemporary stage. Begin Exploration of the theatre in China, resulting from the opportunity to play Hamlet at the National Theatre Company of China in November 2007.

5. Write two articles, one on Teatr Modjeska from Legnica, Poland, intended for publication in Slavic and East European Performance Journal; and one that surveys the Fall Festival in Madrid, intended for publication in Western European Stages Journal.

Completed Sabbatical Activities

Most of the proposal’s stated goals were achieved. In fact, the only goal left unachieved is goal 5, which relates to two writing projects. From May to December 2007, I realized the following projects.

In May and June, 2007, I developed, produced, and directed for the Midnight Sun Festival, a mini-festival of contemporary Finnish plays, the first festival of Finnish plays ever in the US and the first Finnish play staged by a US professional theatre company. The festival included two fully staged plays, one directed by myself with an American cast, and another directed by a Finnish colleague, with a Finnish and American cast; two staged readings; and a Finnish film. The festival received two 2007 Independent Theatre Awards: one for Amber Angelo, for her performance in For Sheer Love of Me, and one for myself, for directing Queen C. This festival led directly to an invitation to direct for the Tampere Teatteri in Tampere, Finland. In 2010, I created a Lit Moon/TT co-production of The Wonderful Adventures of Nils, staged initially in Santa Barbara and then in Tampere, late in 2010. I received a 2010 Independent Theatre Award for Directing, and it played 32 times in Tampere during late 2010 and early 2011. Though dates and projects have yet to be determined, I have been invited back to Tampere sometime in the near future.

The sabbatical’s second main project included a European tour to festivals in Poland, Montenegro, and Macedonia, which we accomplished in September of 2007. The tour involved the creation of a new piece, entitled The Wedding, which was commissioned by Teatr Modjeska, in Legnica, Poland, for inclusion in their international festival “The City,” a festival of world premiere, site specific performances, or pieces created expressly for non-theatre spaces. Based on the Nikolai Gogol play of the same name, we created a pop musical, which played in the Summer Theatre in the Park, premiering on September 13th, and playing again on the 14th. (The Wedding played in Santa Barbara on four subsequent occasions, including two Lit Moon World Theater Festivals.) Following “The City” festival, we played Shakespeare’s The Tempest at the Festival of Alternative Theatre in Kotor and Podgorica, Montenegro; and the Young Open Theatre Festival in Skopje, Macedonia, appearing with companies from Italy, Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary, Bulgaria, and England.

Following Macedonia, my family and I stayed in Central Europe, spending a week in Ohrid, Macedonia; a week in Sofia, Bulgaria; several days in Belgrade, Serbia; and three and a half weeks in Hungary, including a week in Budapest.

Upon our return to Santa Barbara, we created a new piece based on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol called “Humbug!” A (Lit Moon) Christmas Carol. The show premiered in December 2007, and we played it during the Christmas season in 2008 and 2009.

Ensuing and Ongoing

The sabbatical was a great catalyst for ensuing work, the impact of which can be felt to this day. In one way or another, the following projects were direct consequences of my 2007 sabbatical.

The 2008 Lit Moon World Shakespeare Festival included the Marjanishvilli State Drama Theatre from Tbilisi, Georgia, who we met at “The City” Festival in Poland, in their first visit to the United States.
While in Macedonia, I met Dejan Projkovski, artistic director of the Young Open Theatre Festival, and now the artistic director of the National Theatre in Skopje. In 2009, Dejan and I started interACT, a network of theatres, festivals, and individuals created to develop intercultural co-productions together. The purpose of the network is to use theatre as lingua franca in an effort to develop mutual understanding between the artists and audiences of various and varying cultural and artistic backgrounds.
Also in Macedonia, I met Blagoj Micevksi, now the director of the National Theatre of Macedonia in Bitola. In 2009, I was invited to develop a show entitled An American Tune, which played in Bitola during August of that year.
My experiences with interACT, and in Eastern and Central Europe, led directly to an invitation to direct a play for Globe to Globe Festival, produced by Shakespeare’s Globe, London. As part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad, in anticipation of the London Olympics, Shakespeare’s Globe is creating a festival that includes all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays, staged in 37 different languages. As part of this festival, three different Balkan companies will stage the Henry VI trilogy. The National Theatre of Serbia (Belgrade) will stage part 1; the National Theatre of Albania (Tirana) will stage part 2; and I will direct part 3 for the National Theatre of Macedonia in Bitola. In addition, I have been invited to stage plays for the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble in Los Angeles (2012) and the National Theatre of Albania (2013).

The Final Word

In short, the sabbatical yielded the following results in directing and producing: three new, fully-staged pieces (Queen C, The Wedding, and “Humbug!”); one Independent Theatre Award (Queen C for Directing);one international festival (Midnight Sun Festival); and one international tour (Poland, Macedonia, and Montenegro). These projects, in turn, led to directing invitations (An American Tune, The Wonderful Adventures of Nils (2010 Independent Theatre Award for Directing), and Henry VI Part 3); future projects (Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, National Theatre of Albania); and co-founding the interACT Theatre Network (President, 2009-2011). In addition, I enjoyed fruitful, fulfilling, and fun family time with Vicki, Nicholas, William, and Simon, as we toured through Central and Eastern Europe, swam in Lake Ohrid, walked the streets of Sofia, Kotor, Pecz, Podgorica, Skopje, Legnica, London, Budapest, and Belgrade (the Bad Boy of the Balkans), and spent long lazy days reading, playing backyard soccer, and cooking in Southern Hungary.

The events and activities of my 2007 sabbatical were truly transformational. They continue to bear fruit, in teaching and directing, both at home and abroad. I am deeply grateful for the myriad ways that Westmont supports my artistic career. I often tell people that my career would have looked completely different if it weren’t for my connection to Westmont. I have, indeed, grown a great deal during my nearly 25-year tenure at this institution, though it is also a fact that Westmont has grown me.

I am fortunate to do this work at Westmont, and am grateful for the support of the college, and the love and encouragement of my wife, Vicki. In fact, none of this would be possible without her generosity and selflessness. I am vastly blessed, and am immensely grateful for what has transpired and what is on the horizon.