As a freshman, Fred Ulrich '98 appeared on the cover of the July 1995 magazine in his eighteenth-century costume for The Servant of Two Masters.
Although he has not acted since, he is involved in theater at Union
as a director. Last year he fulfilled a personal goal when he directed a Mountebanks production of Six Degrees of Separation. That
play student-produced, student-directed, and student-acted-was a perfect example of the Mountebanks at their best.
Ulrich says the Mountebanks work to build theater and acting at Union. “Our goal for now is to do more theater-more small theater, informal theater, and free theater,” he says.
Through the Mountebanks, students who don't want to be theatre majors can become involved in all aspects of theatre, he explains, and their more informal performances and workshops balance productions of the Performing Arts Department.
Ulrich enjoys bringing different types of theater to Union and uses his leadership role as co-moderator of Mountebanks to “push the boundaries of a bit.” His desires have translated into non-traditional pieces that allow many students to enjoy theater and become involved, whether on stage, behind the scenes, or in the audience.
For example, during the fall term the Mountebanks presented a night of scenes in the actor's studio in the Yulman Theater. Ulrich directed a scene from Married Bliss by Mark O'Donnell, which parodied relationships and communication. “I wanted to do something simple and lighthearted that people would laugh at,” says Ulrich. Indeed, there was lots of laughter as the audience enjoyed his scene.
But Ulrich not only wanted to entertain-he wanted to teach. He says that he chose to do this scene not only because it was fun, but also because it offered some first-year students the opportunity to become involved in theater and learn a bit more about acting.
He sees Mountebanks, at its best, as “bringing out the talent of students that want to do theater,” expanding the concept of acting and directing while bringing great theater to Union audiences.
Whether directing, acting, hanging lights, or just hanging out, Emilia Teasdale '97 is rarely far from Yulman Theater.
Teasdale is a Mountebank, thriving on the student productions that allow for informal theater and student direction. But she is also a theater major and devotes much time to Performing Arts Department productions, which are usually significantly larger than the Mountebanks' smaller shows.
As an aspiring director, Teasdale thrives on the chance to become involved in so much theater-and such diverse theater.
Last fall, she had the chance to enjoy two very different perspectives on theater-at the same time.
As assistant director to guest director Helena Binder in Paul Shaffer's Equus, she helped to manage “big” theater. Just two days after Equus closed, Teasdale was on stage in a Mountebank night of scenes, A Night of All That Stuff, playing the character of Roberta in a scene from John Patrick Shanley's Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, which Deborah Lief '99 directed.
Teasdale chose to be part of both productions because she wanted to be involved in theater as much as possible. Equus gave her with the opportunity to work with a woman director, something she had never done before, and A Night of All
That Stuff allowed her to work with her friends and support Mountebanks.
In preparing for the Mountebanks night of scenes, she solidified
her character-a lonely, divorced woman-when she settled on her Long Island accent. “With acting, I think the accent does it for me,”
she says. “As soon as I got a grasp of what this woman sounded like it, it flowed for me.”
Directing, not acting, though, is what Teasdale says she enjoys most. “I'm a control freak,” she says. “When you're an actor, you have to give up a lot of control.” Directing allows her to control the actors and the production-and take responsibility for its success or failure.
This term, she's taking great responsibility, directing a staged reading of Part I of Angels in America. Fittingly, this is a Mountebanks production-student directed and produced.
The word “Mountebank” literally means “mount-on-bench” and dates back to sixteenth-century Italy. It describes a traveler who, from a bench or platform, entertains his audience with stories, tricks, and songs in hopes that they might purchase pills, balsams, charms, and quick medicines. Traditionally, a Mountebank wanders, and Union's Mountebanks have often traveled from space to space, performing wherever they might find a spot, whether it was in the lunchroom or Jackson's Garden.
Founded in 1912, the Mountebanks claim to be the oldest continually-operating student theater organization in the country. Student theater actually began at Union in 1801 when a group of students petitioned the Board of Trustees for “permission to present a tragedy or comedy in College Hall,” located at the corner of Erie Boulevard and Union Street. There is no record if the play was ever produced.
Working with lights in Hanna Hall
The Mountebank's first theatre and director
Edward Carrol '27 left Union after graduation only to return the following year. A Mountebank for four years, he returned to Union to direct the group after he received a master's degree in English literature and drama from Columbia University. Under Carrol's leadership, the Mountebanks petitioned for a proper space in which to produce theater, and in January, 1929, President Frank Parker Day and the trustees offered them a $5,000 loan to build their theater.
Shortly thereafter, the students built a portmanteau theater in Hanna Hall in Washburn Hall, which expanded to include four dressing rooms, a greenroom,
a coatroom, and a workshop (which caught fire in 1938 and was rescued by President Dixon Ryan Fox, among others). Perhaps one of the first plays in the new theater was X=O by John Drinkwater.
With a director to oversee all Mountebanks productions, the group took a new direction. Three Mountebanks plays were done each year, and Carrot ended the use of local women to portray female roles in each of
the plays. Indeed, he convinced quite a number of young men to don dresses on stage (notice the bridesmaids in this 1932 photo of the Mountebanks production of Gilbert and Sullivan's Trial by Jury.)
George DiCenzo '62 as a Roman officer, 1962
The Mountebanks performed in Hanna Hall for a number of years, and students took play production classes through the English Department. When Washburn Hall was slated for demolition in the early 1960s to make room for expansion of Schaffer Library, the theater moved to the now-vacated Nott Memorial, and a new era of theater began at Union.
A Bold Stroke for a Wife
The first student performance of which there is a record is the 1804 freshman class play, A Bold Strike for a Wife, by Mrs. Centlivre. In 1934, Edward Carrol '27 revived it, and once again local actresses joined the Mountebanks on stage.
Carrol's Scrapbooks
Carrol's s Scrap books Carrol's scrapbooks, which are now housed in the College archives, document the early history of the Mountebanks and also Carrol's devotion to theater at Union. He was director, stage designer, and acting coach, and his audition notes and scene sketches make note of nearly every stage of production.
Theatre in the Nott Memorial
With the demolition of Washburn Hall, the theater moved into the Nott Memorial, which offered an opportunity for unorthodox theater designs-and innovative theater. The great flexibility of the theater-in-the-round allowed directors and actors to experiment with the
audience performer relationship, and it was in the Nott that the first real theater classes were held at
Union.
In addition, students in play production classes had an opportunity to work in the theater-in-the-round, helping to build unique sets that catapulted the audience into the center of the action.
In the 1970s, Union established a full-fledged theater program, and Yale Drama School graduates Barry Smith and Charles Steckler were hired to run it. They offered classes in acting, directing, improvisation, and stage and lighting design, and became involved with the Mountebanks, often directing Mountebanks productions.
Backstage in Hanna Hall
Into the Yulman Theatre
While the Nott Memorial offered an opportunity for imaginative theater, it simply was not a theater, and when the
they perform at Springfest on library field this spring.
and scene sketches make note of nearly every stage of production.
College determined that it was time to restore the Nott
Memorial, the Mountebanks were to find a new home-in the new Yulman Theater. There, the Mountebanks
can end their wandering-that is, until they perform at Springfest on library field this spring.
TO STUDENTS IN PROFESSOR SCOTT SCULLION'S “RELIGION IN THE PAGAN WORLD” CLASS, ASTROLOGY AND ALCHEMY WOULD BE CONSIDERED RELIGIOUS PHENOMENA. OR, AS SCULLION PUTS IT, “IMAGINATIVE CONSTRUCTS IN A PAGAN WORLD.”
ASTROLOGY AND ALCHEMY ARE JUST ONE SMALL PART OF THE COURSE, WHICH EXPLORES
CULTS IN GREECE AND ROME FROM THE PREHISTORIC TIME OF HUNTERS AND GATHERERS THROUGH THE CLASSICAL PERIOD TO 'THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
BUT SCULLIONS TEACHING OF ASTROLOGY AND ALCHEMY PROVIDES AN INTERESTING LOOK AT WHAT “RELIGION IN THE PAGAN WORLD” IS ALL ABOUT.
IN HIS LECTURE, SCULLION MOVES BEYOND MERELY EXAMINING THE “RELIGION” AND LOOKS AT WHY THESE CULTS WERE POPULAR. HE PUSHES HIS STUDENT'S 'TO DO MORE THAN STUDY THE PRINCIPLES OF A RELIGION; HE WANTS THEM TO
ABSORB THE LIVES OF THE ANCIENT PEOPLE AND UNDERSTAND THE ROLE OF RELIGION IN THEIR COMMUNITIES.
“TODAY, WE'RE INCLINED TO DISMISS ASTROLOGY AS HOCUS-POCUS:' HE SAYS. “IN FACT, THOUGH, THE
ANCIENTS VIEWED IT AS SCIENCE.”
HE EXPLAINS THE COMPLEXITY OF THIS SCIENCE AND EXPLORES THE ROLE OF ASTROLOGY IN 'THE LIVES OF THE ANCIENT GREEKS AND ROMANS. “WHAT'S THE BASIC FUNCTION OF THIS WHOLE ASTROLOGICAL REALM?” HE ASKS. TO THE ANCIENTS, ASTROLOGY WAS FAR DIFFERENT FROM THE HOROSCOPES IN 'THE DAILY PAPERS OF TODAY. IN THEIR INCREASINGLY URBANIZED, ALIENATED WORLD, HE EXPLAINS, THE OPPORTUNITY TO VIEW ONE'S SELF: AS UNIQUE AND SPECIAL “THROUGH
ASTROLOGY WAS VERY ATTRACTIVE. “IT GAVE ORDER TO CHAOS;' HE SAYS.
THE ALCHEMISTS, WHO HOPED 'TO TRANSMUTE BASE SUBSTANCES INTO SILVER AND GOLD, ALSO WERE SEARCHING FOR THE ELIXIR OF LIFE AND SOUGHT TO PERFECT THE SOUL
BY THROWING THEMSELVES INTO ONLY ONE THING. SCULLION SAYS THAT THE ALCHEMISTS BELIEVED THAT IF YOU LEARN ONE THING TOTALLY, YOU WILL LEARN EVERYTHING ABOUT YOURSELF BY CHANNELING YOUR ENERGY. LIKE ASTROLOGY, THIS PROVIDED A SENSIBLE SYSTEM FOR SOME PEOPLE TO LIVE BY, ESPECIALLY DURING 'THE TUMULTUOUS TIMES OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
FINALLY, MAKING THE LINK TO 'TODAY OBVIOUS, SCULLION ASKS, “SO WHAT IS 'THE WAY TO BECOME WISE, TO BECOME ONE WITH 'THE UNIVERSE?” THE
STUDENTS ARE PENSIVE, AND NO ONE IS WILLING TO VOICE HIS OR HER ANSWER. BUT THE QUESTIONS LEAVE THEM THINKING-THINKING MORE THAN JUST ABOUT ANCIENT RELIGIONS. AND 'THAT'S WHAT SCULLION HOPES TO DO WITH THIS CLASS.
Talking with Professor Scott Scullion about his course on religion in the pagan world quickly becomes a conversation about the discipline of classics and his feelings about its importance as a part of liberal education.
Q: How did you become interested in the classics?
When I was going into high school, I wanted to take Latin. But the principal decided that there wouldn't be enough students for Latin to be a going concern by grade twelve. He decided to get rid of Latin altogether, starting by not offering the introductory level.
So, that year, I happened to take a geography course that was directly across the hall from Mr. Smith, who was teaching Latin to an upper-level class. I sat near the door, and since Mr. Smith had a very histrionic style of teaching, usually I could hear much of his lecture from my seat in geography.
I soon became fascinated with what he was doing, so I just introduced myself one day and told him that I was one of the people who hadn't been able to take Latin and Greek. He
offered to teach me on the weekend. I went to his house on Saturdays, and he started me on his own Greek course, and later on Latin.
When I went to the university, I thought that I'd be an English major, but I soon discovered that the Greek and Latin courses fascinated me far more. I often say that studying your own language and your own culture is like kissing your sister. The real opportunity to expand your mind, your tastes, and your tolerance is to study something removed in the linguistic family and, ideally, removed in time. These ancient pre-Christian cultures and their languages and great literatures
exercised an attraction I couldn't resist.
Q: What courses do you teach?
I've taught introductory and upper-level classes in Latin and Greek language as well as “Survey of Ancient Epic,” “Greek and Roman Comedy and Romance,” “Greek and Roman Tragedy,” “Religion in the Pagan World,” and a seminar titled “Individual, Community, and Divinity in Ancient Literature.” The last looks at the Hebrew Bible, New Testament, and a couple of Greek works from the point of view of examining special problems connected with literature that has become canonized as part of the central religion of the culture.
Q: What do you hope students will gain from your courses?
I hope that they gain habits of mind-an increased capacity for thinking critically and independently about linguistic and cultural issues and, in general, developing their logical faculties.
Of course, different sorts of courses do this in different ways. In Latin or Greek language courses, students learn from struggling over time with difficult, highly inflected languages that force them to deal with complex yet coherent systems. They learn to find their way with relative ease; they also
learn how to find their way around in any complex system in a relatively straightforward way.
With the courses that we teach in translation, in which we look at the content rather than the verbal form, students work, in a way, more directly in concepts.
Q: Such as?
People tend to think of the Greek and Roman authors and cultures as the beginningthe fountainhead-of so-called Western tradition.
But there are many important qualifications that have to be made here. For me, the most important is that they form part of the Western tradition largely because of the way they were received and interpreted by the Christian West-that is to say, the ways in which people in subsequent centuries read them. In fact, in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the tendency among scholars has been to try to free ourselves of traditional ways of regarding pagan antiquity and to try to see the Greeks and Romans as they were, as opposed to comfortably sitting back and seeing them through the spectacles of Western Christian tradition.
When you try to do that, it's soon obvious that in very basic ways their views about many things are radically different. It's one thing to look at, for example, Greek mythology from the point of view of its allegorization and usage as poetic equipment by Western poets and thinkers and theologians. But it
is another thing to look at it from the point of view of a polytheistic religion whose notions of ethics, in many ways, couldn't be more radically different from the Christian tradition.
Q: And that leap is what you try to get your students to make?
I try to help them think themselves into the sandals, I suppose, of the ancient Greeks and Romans. I want them to try to feel how the world looked to the ancients and to understand what sorts of assumptions they made about it, and to try to feel the ways in which the ancients' philosophical, religious, and literary approaches to the world were, in their own terms, perfectly coherent and satisfying.
Having done this, I hope my students will make the comparison with our own various ways of looking at the world today. If they have succeeded in feeling the internal coherence and appeal of these ways of life, then that should help them understand some of the assumptions and ways of thinking they've been brought up with.
Q: So examining the past can help the examination of the present.
I want students to understand that often our ways of thinking and points of view are more or less unexamined. The best way of becoming capable of examining them-which
doesn't mean, of course, to subvert them-is to think your way into the way of life of people who lived and thought quite differently in many ways.
It is possible in this way to gain real insight into the degree to which philosophical, scientific, and religious views about the world are the result of some kind of coherent imaginative vision that works for people, as opposed to a set of absolute and universal values that come from some unidentified, authoritative source.
Q: How, then, do you get students to this level of understanding?
Once I've gotten them, or they've gotten themselves, to the point where they begin to feel the appeal of the polytheistic society, they begin to see that different constructs and different ideologies will have varying success depending on the circumstances in a given place at a given time. I think that the habit of mind that I try to inculcate in them in looking at specific religious phenomena by implication leads them to do some thinking of their own about how religion in general works.
Q: How does studying the classics fit into liberal education?
“Liberal” education, after all, is a Roman word that means an education in being free. One of the key aspects in being free is the capacity to bring into consciousness latent assumptions, presuppositions, and prejudices that our upbringing left dormant in us. It allows us to question and understand whether and how they fit into a coherent intellectual and spiritual context.
Studying similar but different peoples is one of the best ways of doing that. It helps students to understand that the cultural envelope in which they live is one way of looking at the world-but not the only con
ceivable way.
The point isn't, of course, in any way to lead them to devalue that tradition. In fact, their sense of the value of their own cultural tradition may very well be reinforced by the process of looking at these other ways of life.
But they should understand that their culture is not a given -that it had to be made, and that the making of a cultural tradition is a constant process of activity and creativity, not a passive process of leaning back and having it spoon-fed to you. In the long term, I think that it is most important that students learn that every day we are creating a society, every day we are creating and exercising modes of thought, and that process only happens from an active involvement and a selfconscious involvement -and there's a real danger in accepting such things passively.
Q: So the agenda, if you will, is more than just the content of the course.
Obviously, in my courses, like any course at the College, I hope there's a fascination and interest in the content. Beyond that, students should be developing habits of thought and skills that they can carry away and apply to new content.
There is no sense, ever, in isolating people for four years just to cram their brains with content. What you want to help emerge are people who will have the intellectual skills-and, if you like, the spiritual skills-to be interested in and capable of dealing with new areas of content. Above all, you want people who are able to approach, assimilate, and create things on their own because they've learned to love doing it, not because someone is giving them an assignment or a grade.
Established during the College's Bicentennial year, the Fitz Hugh Ludlow Society recognizes and encourages recent alumni who demonstrate exceptional leadership and allegiance for Union through support of the Annual Fund and through involvement in the life of the College. Alumni who have not celebrated their tenth ReUnion can join the Fitz Hugh Ludlow Society by making an annual gift of $100 times the number of years since their graduation. New members are:
Kenton R. Chase '96, Southbridge, Mass.
Grant W. Gagnier '96, Williamstown, Mass.
Dana C. Wasserman '95, Armonk, N.Y.
Patrick A. DiCerbo '88, Latham, N.Y.
Interested? Call Elisabeth Bischoff-0rmsbee, director of annual giving, at
(518) 388-6174 or on e-mail at bischofe@alice.union.edu.
