Trevor Rueger, Verbatim

trevor rueger

Trevor has been an actor, director, writer and dramaturg for over 20 years. As an actor he’s performed in most cities and towns in the province. As a director, his work has been seen on most of the stages in Calgary. Trevor has 5 produced TYA plays to his credit and currently works for Alberta Playwrights' Network as their Resident Dramaturg. He is also an ensemble member of Dirty Laundry (Calgary’s live, improvised soap opera) and plays drums for Calgary cover band PopeDaddy. He holds a BFA in Drama from the U of C and the door open for senior citizens.

1. What’s on your mind these days (in 10 syllables or less)?

fundraising

2. You were recently appointed acting executive director of Alberta Playwrights Network, what do you see the next few months holding for the organization?

We’ll continue the current programming that we offer, but we are always looking for new and innovative things we can bring to our membership.

3. How would you describe the Calgary theatre scene?

Vibrant, alive, diverse and with something for everyone.

4. What role do dramaturges play in the theatre community? What would our theatre landscape look like without dramaturges?

Some would say a necessary role and others would say a role of necessary evil. However if you got rid of all the dramaturges, once and for all, that role would be taken on by someone else in the process. The theatre is a collaborative and subjective art and the moment a conversation takes place about meaning, context and story…look out, it’s DRAMATURGY!!! It can’t be avoided and so would you rather have that conversation with a person that has trained and honed their senses in this regard, or would you rather put your work up in front of an audience and get their reaction. The best work a dramaturge can do for a writer is to be a conduit to the audience and act on behalf of their understanding of the writer’s intentions.

5. When in your career were you disappointed?

Disappointed – I don’t know. Disappointed to me seems to speak of some past event that you can’t change. I’ve been hurt, angered, jealous, embarrassed (among many other things) all of which I’ve learned from and try not to repeat.

6. I’ve had the chance to see your work as a director, actor, and dramaturge; how does wearing these different hats inform one another?  (if that makes sense)

To me, it’s all about defending the text of the writer. As a director, your job is to discover the writer’s vision, themes, style, tone and story and realize that onstage. As a dramaturge, you need to be able to help develop the writer’s vision, themes, style, tone and story, so that when the play falls into the hands of a director, the director can discover what the writer intended. As an actor, it’s your job to discover the character and how they fit into the writer’s vision, themes, style, tone and story so that you can help the director realize the writer’s vision. When I speak as a dramaturge, I often question a writer from an actor’s or director’s standpoint. When I speak as a director, I speak to the actors from my acting experience and knowledge, which sometimes leads to a conversation about the structure of the words from a dramaturgical perspective.  When I speak as an actor, my choices are all informed with the knowledge of a director and a dramaturge. I believe though that your primary focus should be the job you were hired to do. If I’m an actor, I act. I don’t direct or dramaturge. But I never take those tools out of my tool box. If I’m helping my brother build a house, I don’t take the pipe wrench out of my toolbox and leave it at home because we are putting up drywall today. But just because I’ve brought my pipe wrench, I’m not there to tell the plumber how to plumb.

7. How can we attract new audience members to the theatre?

Grab them by the hand and walk them into the theatre.  I think sometimes we spend so much time concerning ourselves with whether an audience is going to like it, we forget to go and get the audience.

8. What are three plays we should all read?

Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller

Captives of the faceless drummer, George Ryga

Waiting for Godot, Samuel Beckett

9. What’s a great Calgary theatre memory?

The very first Betty Mitchell Awards. I looked around the room, heard the laughter as we poked fun at ourselves and realized what a great theatre community we have in Calgary.

10. What’s your dream gig?

Drum Tech for Neil Peart.

Comments

[Issac Makez]

Would you be thinking about exchanging links?

[quantum healing, zero point en]

I truly enjoyed Verb Theatre » Trevor Rueger, Verbatim. Today, it has emerged which quantum healing is perhaps work in better and also under certain circumstances where massage is contraindicated.

[Tyson Mike T]

Wow! Its like you read my mind! You seem to know a lot about this, just like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you could do with some images to drive the content home a bit, but other than that, this is helpful blog post. A wonderful read. I will definitely revisit again.