Week 5: Meet the Directors
For the final edition of "Behind the Curtain," we invite you to enjoy an interview with Robert Kwalick and Lisa Hirsch of the Theatre Department, as they share a bit about their backgrounds.
How long have you been at CSW?
Robert: This is my first year at CSW, but I have known about the school by its reputation and had eyes on it for almost a decade.
Lisa: This is my 29th year at CSW. Puppetry, design work, and political theatre are my focus.
How long have you been directing?
Robert: My first show was Hold Me in college in 1990, so that means almost 30 years!
Lisa: I've been designing and building shows since I was young. My "Capstone Project" in high school was a marionette performance that included a 5-piece orchestra).
Lisa: I've been designing and building shows since I was young. My "Capstone Project" in high school was a marionette performance that included a 5-piece orchestra).
What/who inspired you to work in theatre?
Robert: My parents had me take a theatre class that was held in a trailer with a fold-out stage in a barn in Thompson Park in Lincroft, NJ. I was nine and sick on the day of our performance. After, the director called my mother to see if I could perhaps be the changeling boy in a local college production. I was the only kid in a whole cast of college students. I would say that director and that cast were my first inspiration. Otherwise, I have Brookdale Community College to thank.
Lisa: I had the opportunity to see a lot of live theatre, dance, art, and music in NYC when I was growing up. Also, activism was a family occupation. I worked with a collective feminist theatre company that toured the Midwest. All of that served as my inspiration. I believe that important theatre continues to change our world for the better today.
Is there a show you could call your favorite (that you directed)?
Robert: A devised piece called E-Motion that was co-created by students and teachers and allowed participants to create their own silent, movement-based shorts that depicted a feeling through physical theatre. And The Odd Couple... And The Secret Garden... And RENT… and, of course, It Can’t Happen Here.
Do you have any experience with acting?
Robert: I have an MFA in Acting — musicals, comedies, dramas, classics — I dance too, although I don’t wear unitards anymore. Last year I was in four shows back-to-back at three different CT theaters. I played Father Flynn in Doubt, Murray Steinberg, the father of the bride, in It Shoulda Been You, and Dr. Spivey in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
Lisa: Sure, from activist street theatre to huge theatre houses!
Lisa: Sure, from activist street theatre to huge theatre houses!
What advice do you give to students who are hoping to pursue theater?
Robert: Although my older son is in a conservatory program and sings, dances, and acts daily, I generally recommend that people get as broad an education as possible so that they know the world, are literate and articulate, and have an awareness of cultures, popular culture, and current events. Also, I advise students to take ANY role at all, with grace and gratitude, to build a resume and a reputation.
Lisa: There are a plethora of opportunities out there.
Lisa: There are a plethora of opportunities out there.
Have you ever written a play?
Robert: Several, for Jewish Community Center teen groups — silly stuff
Lisa: I’ve co-written, written, and produced plays, puppet plays, feminist work, and children's theatre.
What is one thing you hope your students take away from their experience in this show?
Robert: I hope that they grow bigger than their former selves in terms of work ethic, people skills, self-confidence, knowledge of theatre art and process. That they are stretched and challenged, and that they have fun and feel like something greater than the sum of its parts. That was more than one thing…
Lisa: I hope students will take away how valuable and exciting collaboration is to create something bigger than the self.
What sort of person is going to love CSW’s production of Urinetown?
Robert: Lovers of musicals, people with a sense of humor, those who appreciate a little sarcasm, people who like a little politics mixed with their entertainment, and people who know well-trained talent when they see it (this is a very strong cast).
What is most challenging about this show?
Robert: The music is very complex and learning the harmonies is a challenge, but our new music director, Jeanne Segal, does amazing work with the students.
Lisa: Students in the design class grappled with the dark ideas in the play that are serious and had to find the humor and push the comedy.
Lisa: Students in the design class grappled with the dark ideas in the play that are serious and had to find the humor and push the comedy.
Why did you select this show?
Colin ’08 was in this show 10 years ago when he was a student at CSW. The content is both humorous and relevant. It also fits in very well with our social justice approach to education and to theatre.
What will audience members be pondering in the car as they drive home from this show?
Robert: The set, the costumes, the quality of the singing, the lighting, and the very palpable reality of climate change and impending water issues.
Lisa: I hope everyone will be wondering what the heck they just witnessed and have fun making sense of it!
What’s going to surprise people about this show?
Robert: There are students in the show who our audience has not seen perform before, so people will be awed and astounded to see their offspring, their students, or their classmates “sell it” on stage.
Lisa: Musical comedy can have depth.
Lisa: Musical comedy can have depth.
Who in the show is most like their character?
Robert: Well, we cast it thoughtfully and carefully and lots of people are playing roles for which they are perfect, but Harry ’19 IS Lockstock, for my money, and Carrie ’19 IS Hope as well.
Lisa: As Tom Stoppard said, "We're actors — we're the opposite of people!"
Lisa: As Tom Stoppard said, "We're actors — we're the opposite of people!"
What makes this production of Urinetown unique?
Robert: This is a student-driven, design-based, conceptual, fresh approach to scripted material. The lighting, costume, scenery, and staging are all unique to this production, as are the “value-added” enhancements suggested by cast, crew and the production team.
Name a moment from rehearsal that surprised you.
Robert: Matt Hooper, our choreographer, is a delight to see working with students. He can create dance pieces that fit the genre of the music, the level of skill of the performers, and the tone of the piece with tremendous mastery. Matt’s a BOSS and the speed with which he can get top-notch performances out of people is extraordinary.
What is something you would like to highlight about this process that I haven’t had an opportunity to write about?
Robert: Theatre educators work to create safe, non-threatening, inclusive environments in which students feel comfortable allowing themselves to be vulnerable and engage in full expression. Watching the unique group of students who have come together for a specific production grapple with becoming a functional, respectful, appreciative, and supportive ensemble within that context is, while sometimes fraught with challenges, a delight to behold. Students do the dance of getting to know one another and wade through the intricacies of personalities and egos to eventually come to a place of shared commitment. Herein lies the true pedagogical significance of an inclusive and well-supported theatre program.
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CSW—a gender-inclusive day and boarding school for grades 9-12—is a national leader in progressive education. We live out our values of inquiry-based learning, student agency, and embracing diverse perspectives in every aspect of our student experience. Young people come to CSW to learn how to learn and then put what they learn into action—essential skills they carry into their futures as doers, makers, innovators, leaders, and exceptional humans who do meaningful work in the world.