Moment Work: Tectonic Theater Project's Process of Devising Theater

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Moment Work is an impassioned argument for moving beyond the stale conventions of realism and naturalism that modern theater has been stuck in for more than a century. Twenty years ago MoisUs Kaufman and the members of his Tectonic Theater Project set out to find an art form that speaks to us today, that uses new forms to express new ideas. Rather than thinking of theater as merely in service to a text, they wanted to find ways to fully exploit all the other elements of the stage in creating a play--making use of the narrative potential of space, light, sound, props, costumes, and an infinite variety of other theatrical elements. The technique they developed to do this is called Moment Work, in which they build a play by first constructing Moments, or units of theatrical time. The technique has led to the creation of startlingly moving and affecting works--ranging from Gross Indecency and The Laramie Project to 33 Variations and I Am My Own Wife--has been used in restaging classic plays, and has inspired theater artists around the world.Moment Work is an impassioned argument for moving beyond the stale conventions of realism and naturalism that modern theater has been stuck in for more than a century. Twenty years ago MoisUs Kaufman and the members of his Tectonic Theater Project set out to find an art form that speaks to us today, that uses new forms to express new ideas. Rather than thinking of theater as merely in service to a text, they wanted to find ways to fully exploit all the other elements of the stage in creating a play--making use of the narrative potential of space, light, sound, props, costumes, and an infinite variety of other theatrical elements. The technique they developed to do this is called Moment Work, in which they build a play by first constructing Moments, or units of theatrical time. The technique has led to the creation of startlingly moving and affecting works--ranging from Gross Indecency and The Laramie Project to 33 Variations and I Am My Own Wife--has been used in restaging classic plays, and has inspired theater artists around the world.
MOIS S KAUFMAN is the founder and artistic director of Tectonic Theater Project, a theater company based in New York City. His 1997 play Gross Indecency- The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde was named one of the best plays of the year by Time, Newsday, the New York Post, The Advocate, and The New York Times. With Tectonic he has directed works by Samuel Beckett, Tennessee Williams, Benjamin Britten, and others, and created new works including The Laramie Project and 33 Variations. He is the recipient of the 1997 Joe A. Callaway Award for excellence in the craft of stage direction. In 2016, President Obama awarded Kaufman a 2015 National Medal of Arts for his powerful contributions to American theater.

BARBARA PITTS MCADAMS was an actor/dramaturg for The Laramie Project, and has been a Tectonic teaching artist and Moment Work champion ever since. A California native who migrated to the Pacific Northwest, Barb graduated with distinction from the Clark Honors College at University of Oregon, under the mentorship of Dr. Robert Barton. A longtime resident of New York City, she helped launch New Georges, paving the way for women theater artists. She now splits her time between New York City and a lake cabin upstate.