by Letty Fregoso
Staff Writer
Starting next semester, students will have the opportunity to enroll in three theater courses taught by Steve Kent, who will replace Dr. David Flaten, professor of theatre arts, who will be on sabbatical.
According to Jane Dibbell, associate professor of theatre arts, Kent will teach Masters of the Drama and two sections of Acting Studio, as well as direct a production.
“Something we’ll look at will be Russian drama and at contemporary drama,” said Dibbell. “He’ll acquaint us with work being done across the country and will talk about where these companies have their roots and what inspiration these performer groups use.”
She said that Kent will have a different focus for his classes when they look at performance companies, such as the Urban Bush Women, the Traveling Jewish Theatre, Teatro Esperanza and the June Bug Project.
Besides looking at the performance groups, students enrolled will also study theorists Agosto Boal, Konstantin Stanislavsky, Joseph Chaikin and Bertoldt Brecht.
“Steve will also teach Acting Studio, in which students will learn Steve’s ‘method conscious acting,’” said Dibbell.
This is an original form of acting that Kent has put together.
Kent has taught at ULV in the past and was awarded part-time teacher of the year last year.
During the spring, Kent will direct “Approaching Simon,” a play based on the life of Simon Weil, a French political activist who lived during World War II.
“This play is written by Megan Terry, who is a contemporary American playwright and is best known for ‘Vietnam Rock,’” said Dibbell.
“I’m definitely taking his class,” said Isela Griffith, a senior theater major. “I’m really happy he’s teaching the whole semester.”
“We’re very excited he’s coming. Steve makes a significant difference in students lives,” said Dibbell.
“Many students who are not theater majors take his courses and have offered that the experience here changed their lives for the better,” said Dibbell.
She said that students listen to their intuitive voices and realize the power they have to take charge of their life after they have taken the courses.
Dibbell said Kent’s classes are well organized and have density of information. “The key thing,” she said, “is he keeps his students in the class, keeps them engaged in the present and energized.”
Currently, Kent is in Choteau, Mont., where he is directing a play, written by members of the community about their town’s history up to the present time.
Kent has taught and directed at USC for several years. He is also on the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Review Board, which funds artists of promise. Kent is politically active and has worked with nurses in the Aids ward at County-USC Hospital.
“He tends to work with artists who are politically thoughtful and who have an agenda at creating peace and justice,” said Dibbell.
Plans for creating a Steve Kent Institute are in the works, according to Dibbell. The Institute will offer courses in ‘conscious acting’ for graduate students in theater and those who can apply methods of acting in the workplace and in daily life.
Until then, students can take his classes in this upcoming semester.
“He has a joyful sense of humor and uses theatre as a celebration of the human spirit,” said Dibbell.
