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An Offbeat Method to Learn Drama

Terry John Converse, right, during an acting session in India. Photo by The New Indian Express.
Terry John Converse, right, during an acting session in India. Photo by The New Indian Express.

A group of theatre students in Thycaud, India, sat in the sweltering summer heat, under a huge tree, and threw sharp words at each other as part of a drama workshop. The day’s guest was Terry John Converse, WSU emeritus professor of theatre, who specializes in acting with “neutral mask.”

Converse arrived in the city after journeying through Kolkata, Darjeeling, Varanasi, Jaipur, and many other places in India. Last year, he was in Kochi at Lokadharmi Centre for Theatre Training, Research and Performance for a Fulbright program on learning the mass acting technique.

“There is a step-by-step process for teaching acting in a group. Everyone gets involved in it,” said Converse. Now 68, he has a 30-year-academic experience in theatre, which he finds “helps to keep him young.”

Read more about it in The New Indian Express

Anthropology Student to Direct V-Day Play

Randi Beardslee, a sophomore studying anthropology, will direct the 2013 benefit production of “The Vagina Monologues,” on Feb. 21-23 in the Jones Theater in Daggy Hall.

The award-winning play dives into the mystery, heartbreak, wisdom and outrage of women’s experiences with issues such as menstruation, rape, incest and battery. Based on interviews with more than 200 women, the end result has been described as “hilarious” and “empowering.”

“The show has many funny, light-hearted monologues,” said Randi Beardslee, WSU sophomore anthropology major and director of the production. “It brings women together to sympathize, empathize, mourn and, most importantly, celebrate.”

The show is sponsored by V-Day WSU, a registered student organization affiliated with Health and Wellness Services that raises awareness to end violence against women and girls. The production contributes to the average of $8,000 V-Day WSU raises each year. The majority of the proceeds are donated to Alternatives to Violence of the Palouse.

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