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| The Race is Run, Time for Lunch |
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| Elizabeth the Marathoner |
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Ms. Elizabeth Amos B.A. M.A. (Dramaturg) Carolyn, Elizabeth, Grandpa, Linda & John 
Dear
hiring team at Soul Pepper Theatre Company:
My
name is Elizabeth Amos and I am writing to express my interest in the position
of Producing/ Research Assistant. I am a 26-year old dramaturg based
between Boston, New York, and at home in the Toronto area. Over the last few
years I have been following the rebuilding of leadership at Soulpepper with
great interest. I am excited about the possibilities for productive and
radically inclusive work that I read about being part of the company’s future,
as it sounds like the path forward for Soulpepper closely aligns with my own
values when it comes to responsibly making and responsibly presenting theatre. Creating,
presenting, and even consuming theatre is never passive, it is always doing something
to its participants, and that is what I try to keep most prominent in my mind
when I engage in research for a production or auxiliary theatre materials.
I am
an experienced researcher both in production and more academic contexts. In my
years as first a graduate student and later a staff member at the American
Repertory Theater I had the opportunity to develop my research skills through a
variety of projects including, but not limited to: production research,
creation of dramaturgical packets, and coordination of experts and consultants
for a variety of musicals, plays, and dance pieces; online resources for
audiences; interviews and articles for A.R.T.’s in-house publication (writing
samples available upon request); community outreach research; new script
discovery and evaluation; and video interviews with artists for archival and
marketing purposes. I further developed my production research skills by
dramaturging the Alanis Morissette musical Jagged Little Pill, first at
its premier at the A.R.T. and then again when it opened on Broadway last
season.
Though
my work on the upcoming Broadway revival of 1776 has been postponed by
the pandemic, early research inquiries for the show have me asking the kinds of
research questions that I feel align with the projects it seems Soulpepper is
preparing to launch this fall. As co-dramaturg of the production – which is
focused on the telling of the familiar events of the American Revolution with
enlightening sensitivity to the histories that are too often left out of that
narrative – my current focus when doing research that looks back is finally
meeting what has always been my focus in contemporary storytelling, namely,
exposing structures of discrimination. In early March, we ran a 2-week online workshop
of 1776 using Zoom. The workshop’s online format meant that research and
discussion had more room to breathe than in a typical, time-pressured rehearsal
process; the experience was rejuvenating as a dramaturg and researcher and
reinvigorated my sense of active purpose in the role of production research.
My
aptitude for more scholarship-based research has also been proven. Apart from
academic research over the course of my life as a student, I have also worked
for several years as a research assistant for Professor Karen Fricker. Primarily
focused on the field of theatre criticism, my research for Karen has also
included assistance on her forthcoming book on Canadian director, Robert
Lepage. This work often includes detailed and exhaustive compilations of dates,
histories, and facts, and has greatly helped me fine tune my ability to
efficiently sort through and organize information, as well as develop excellent
time management skills. These skills, in addition to my experience working in
fast-paced theatre environments where multi-tasking and the ability to
constantly prioritize tasks are invaluable, would seem to make me well-suited
to meet the responsibilities of a Producing/ Research Assistant.
I
would love to be considered for this position. I believe I am extremely
qualified, and would be able to contribute valuable work to your organization,
but I also feel the job would be an opportunity for me to deepen my education
of the somewhat new frontier of online theatre programming and reconnect with
my Canadian theatre roots after several years spent south of the border. The
next year is so ripe with possibility for innovation in form, content, and
message in North American theatre, and I hope I can participate in it as a
member of Soulpepper’s team.
Dramatic Arts graduating student writes about her experiences at Brock University Hello future DART students (and those still deciding): My name is Elizabeth and I am a graduating student from the Dramatic Arts program at Brock University. I know you are all facing the important decision of where to go for school next year and wanted to write you all and let you know a bit about why I chose Brock, and the amazing opportunities I’ve had as a result. After my invitational experience at Brock I knew it was the place for me. I left the invitational convinced that this would be a program in which I would be valued and appreciated for what I had to offer as an individual. I also got the feeling that this would be a program focused on building community rather than competition. I was right; DART is filled with some of the most supportive people I have ever worked with — professors and peers alike. The ability to get a truly well-rounded theatrical education was one of the most important factors in my decision. Although I was in the performance concentration and therefore had plenty of studio classes and performance opportunities, I benefitted the most from being exposed to all aspects of theatrical production and study. Crew courses gave me an appreciation for those who work backstage, as well as valuable skills that performers may need when starting their own small companies; critical theory and theatre history courses gave me a strong foundation of theatrical knowledge that I continuously draw on; directing and devising courses allowed my to develop who I want to be as an artist; and a theatre criticism course with Prof. Karen Fricker — who is also the Toronto Star’s new theatre critic — allowed me to discover a passion I was able to further as a writer and editor for dartcritcs.com. That passion for theatre criticism began my interests in writing and dramaturgy, interests that I am now pursuing in graduate studies at Harvard University and the American Repertory Theater Institute — indicative, I believe, of the quality of education and scope of opportunities DART offers its students. If you have a theatre-related interest you want to explore, Brock is the place to do it. In my time here I have acted in numerous MainStage and student-run productions, directed a one act play and assistant directed last year’s Fall MainStage, coordinated five seasons of the GimmeTwo short scene festival, attended classes at the Stratford and Shaw festivals, learned technical skills ranging from designing lighting plots to building sets, been employed by the university as a stage hand and as a theatre critic, and am currently working as a summer intern at the Shaw Festival. (I write a blog for DART students about this experience which you can find at shawandtell.wordpress.com). I believe that this program offers students the support and resources to achieve and experience anything they desire. DART is a program that allows you to pursue your interests with instructors who not only are some of the best in the business, but who respect and build lasting friendships with their students. This is a program to explore and gain confidence in new interests in a safe and encouraging environment. Even better, that environment is now gorgeous and better equipped than ever thanks to the recent move to the brand new arts building. I hope that you seriously consider the Dramatic Arts program at Brock. This program made all the difference in allowing me to become a confident and competent artist, and I know that my future is brighter because of the decision I made when I was in your place. Please feel free to email me with any questions you may have about the program, I will be so happy to hear from you and will help in any way I can. Hope to see you on (or behind) the DART stage in the coming years! Best of luck, Elizabeth Amos |
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