A few weeks ago, my work department was given homework. We were assigned to read a book titled The Dream Manager. I was a bit surprised, though silently excited to have the chance to read a book on company time.
In short, and according to the website, The Dream Manager is: "A business parable about how companies can achieve remarkable results by helping their employees fulfill their dreams."
Further, "Managing people is difficult. With disengagement and turnover on the rise, many managers are scratching their heads wondering what to do. It’s not that we don’t dream of being great managers, it’s just that we haven’t found a practical and efficient way to do it. Until now…
The fictional company in this remarkable book is grappling with real problems of high turnover and low morale--so the managers begin to investigate what really drives the employees. What they discover is that the key to motivation isn’t necessarily the promise of a bigger paycheck or title, but rather the fulfillment of crucial personal dreams. They also learned that people at every level need to be offered specific kinds of help and encouragement—or our dreams will forever remain just dreams as we grow dissatisfied with our lives and jobs.
Beginning with his important thought that a company can only become the-best-version-of-itself to the extent that its employees are becoming better-versions-of-themselves, Matthew Kelly explores the connection between the dreams we are chasing personally and the way we all engage at work. Tackling head-on the growing problem of employee disengagement, Kelly explores the dynamic collaboration that is unleashed when people work together to achieve company objectives and personal dreams.
The power of The Dream Manager is that simply becoming aware of the concept will change the way you manage and relate to people instantly and forever."
While I wasn't overly impressed with the book in regard to its aesthetics-- forced dialogue and an unsound plot for the fictional portion-- the message was simple: we all have dreams, personal and professional, and we owe it to ourselves to develop a plan in which to pursue those dreams.
In addition to reading this book, we were assigned to write our "top five dreams" for our work department. I probably put more effort into this than was necessary, as I quoted passages from the book, using proper citation and punctuation. I suppose that's just the English Major in me.
What do you want to get out of life? What do you want to pursue?
I'll let you ponder that for a few days before I present my list of dreams...
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Spring Season Tribute
The sports spring season at Disney is coming to an end. We had our last games of the season this week, and we're entering the tournaments next week.
On Monday, the "Swingers" (below) finished with a 2-8 record...
...but we had fun doing it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Most of us work together... and my coworkers are the best part of my work day.
Jeff, Jolyon, and Ricky (above) are ready to receive the ball. Sorta.
Jeff's arms (above) are crossed. Good thing I hit the ball straight. Once.
On Monday, the "Swingers" (below) finished with a 2-8 record...
...but we had fun doing it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~On Tuesday, my 6v6 volleyball team, the Serve-ivors, (below) in which I retained my Captain duties for the third season, completed the season with a record of 4-6.
Most of us work together... and my coworkers are the best part of my work day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And tonight, my 4v4 volleyball team, "Hey-O" (below), wrapped up the season with a 1-9 record.
We work a lot harder than our record indicates...
Jeff, Jolyon, and Ricky (above) are ready to receive the ball. Sorta.
Jeff's arms (above) are crossed. Good thing I hit the ball straight. Once.
Ah, now this one's more like it....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All in all, it was a great spring. It's anyone's game in the tournament, since our records are erased and everyone starts fresh. We'll see what happens!
On an unrelated note, for all the mothers out there-- happy Mother's Day! My mom is in town from Michigan for an extended weekend, and we're making the most of the time we have together, since we only see each other a few times a year. Send your own mother a card, or, if you're lucky enough to be in the same city, go visit her.
Until next time...
Thursday, May 1, 2008
My Favorite Writing Genre
I wrote this article three years ago to the date. Seems like a good reason to share it.How To Write Creative Nonfiction
Writer’s block. It happens to even the best writers. But one genre provides an easy escape from the mental headaches. When writing creative nonfiction, the writer must simply choose a personal experience, relay a theme, and mix in some characters, dialogue, and imagery.
Or maybe it’s not so simple.
“You have to find something that others relate to and find insight from it, but you also have to be original,” said Professor James Lang, an Assistant Professor of English at Assumption College. “Make a general appeal about your subject and then offer new insight.”
In addition to numerous literature courses, Lang teaches a creative nonfiction writing workshop to upperclassmen. An avid writer of the genre, Lang has recently published two nonfiction novels, as well as several shorter pieces.
Many writers remain confused about the essence of creative nonfiction, mainly because when used together, the words “creative” and “nonfiction” seem like oxymorons.
“Some [writers] are attracted by the word "creative" and think that because their prose is unusual or distinctive, and because the stories they are telling are true, that they are writing in the genre of creative nonfiction,” said Lee Gutkind, editor and founder of Creative Nonfiction Magazine. “Others, usually people with a journalistic background, are put off by the word "creative," maintaining that if it is creative, then it certainly can't be accurate, believable or ethical, which are the essences and anchors of nonfiction prose.”
According to Lang, the key to writing good creative nonfiction involves the use of multiple perspectives to convey a universal message. He says that creative nonfiction should not be merely a personal reflection on a subject.
Gutkind agreed. “Creative nonfiction should have a purpose and meaning beyond the experiences related by the writers,” he said. “Good essays embrace a larger audience. They strike a universal chord.”
That being said, good creative nonfiction should include characters, in addition to the narrator. And the inclusion of characters usually warrants the use of dialogue.
“I love using dialogue in my writing,” said Leandra Smollin, a senior English Major at Stonehill College. “It makes my stories more credible when the audience hears voices other than my own. Nobody wants to read an essay about love if the only source is from the brokenhearted narrator. How about the guy who broke the narrator’s heart? Maybe he had his reasons.”
Lang agreed. “Dialogue also gives the reader a visual and a nice break on the page,” he said. “Dialogue is easier to read than large blocks of text.”
According to Gutkind, creative nonfiction is a genre that encompasses all other forms of writing.
“Creative nonfiction heightens the whole concept and idea of essay writing,” he said in an introduction to his magazine’s web site. “It allows a writer to employ the diligence of a reporter, the shifting voices and viewpoints of a novelist, the refined wordplay of a poet and the analytical modes of the essayist.”
In order to master such a complex genre, Lang recommends including research on the topic.
“It gives the reader a sort of payoff for reading your piece,” Lang said. “It also gives the reader new insight they may have otherwise not known.”
For example, a writer who crafts a travel piece on his year abroad in Spain should consider including information about famous museums and architecture. The prospective reader may be interested in such aspects of Spanish culture.
Gutkind agreed. “Even the most personal essay is usually full of substantive detail about a subject that affects or concerns a writer and the people about whom he or she is writing,” he said in his Editor’s Corner in Issue 6 of Creative Nonfiction Magazine. “Read the books and essays of the most renowned nonfiction writers in this century and you will read about a writer engaged in a quest for information and discovery.”
But one of the most difficult aspects of writing creative nonfiction involves the use of imagery.
“You should try to appeal to as many senses as possible,” said Lang. “The goal is to make the reader feel as if they’re in that scene. The more senses you appeal to, the more the reader can put himself into that scene.”
Describe the sunrise. And in doing so, narrate the texture of the sand, the smell of the ocean, the sound of the waves. When done successfully, the reader will be right there, too.
Lang, like many creative nonfiction writers, finds inspiration when least expected. Recently, he played in a band with some friends in Charlie’s, the campus hangout at Assumptio College. Having never played in a rock band before, Lang was excited for the new opportunity, despite the fact that he would only be playing chords on a keyboard he borrowed from the college.
“I’m 35 and I had never done something like that,” said Lang. “Now I’m asking myself, ‘how will music have a place in my life?’”
Lang took his newfound experience and put it into writing. In a mere two hours, he crafted his latest piece of creative nonfiction— an essay titled “New Stories Yet to Tell.” As is the case with most inspiration for creative nonfiction, Lang struggled with how to get his point across.
“I told the story of music and paired it with a scene from Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ,” he said. “Hopefully in that juxtaposition I can make a main point.”
In his essay, Lang explores the idea that although it appears we have sucked our creative juices dry, we can’t foresee what new ideas the future holds.
“We all pick up new stories along the way, from the trip to Europe you took last summer to your conversation
with that talkative weirdo behind you in line at the grocery store,” Lang writes. “I believe that—whether we actually embark on these tales or not—some part of our human nature wants to believe that we always remain capable of living new stories, ones with no set endpoint. Some part of us wants to believe that we have not yet exhausted all of our possibilities.”
The same theory applies when writing creative nonfiction. The writer with the trained eye knows what to look for in everyday life. For college students, a conversation with an old friend from freshman year could spark an idea for an essay based on moving on, juxtaposed with the impending graduation day. For parents, a brutal day’s work could evolve onto the page as a story dealing with the sacrifices made to assure the positive aspects—one’s family—are cared for. The key is to remember that there is an audience.
“You have to try to get more than one perspective on an issue,” Lang said. “Share an experience and compare it with something else. The more looks you can get on a topic, the better. It helps [the piece] reach more people when you pull in as many examples as possible.”
Assumption College senior Andy Primeau, author of the humor column “Prime’s Time” in Assumption’s newspaper, Le Provocateur, feels the only way to reach the audience is to be truthful.
“You can't pander to your audience; you have to stay true to yourself,” he said. “Writing is only authentic and reasonable when there’s thought and care behind it, and the only way that'll ever happen is if you care about what you're writing about. And it has to be your voice; it can’t be a compilation of flowery words and things you looked up in a thesaurus.”
Choose a topic that the audience, whomever it may be, can relate to. If the audience is a reader for Trucker Weekly, chances are he doesn’t want to read about a woman’s competitive knitting experience. Include characters, dialogue, sensory images, and when possible, research. And most important, teach your audience a lesson.
“When I write creative nonfiction, I have an idea that I feel others can learn something of value from,” said Lang. “I feel that I can capture their imagination and change their life in some way. I can impact them even if I now know something I didn’t know before. That’s the goal for creative nonfiction.”
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Cat Calls
I'm sitting in bed with my laptop, perusing through my email inbox , half-watching the re-run of friends on TBS. This is my usual late-night routine, although sometimes I substitute the laptop and the television for a good book.
My cat, Socks, just crawled up my chest, nuzzling her face into my neck. I tried to get her to snuggle next to me, so that I could continue responding to a few emails. She became more aggressive, pushing her furry face into mine, then actually crawling onto my lap, placing her two front paws on my stomach, nose in my face. Her claws pinched me a bit, and I pushed her away.
I almost cried over her reaction to my shove: she rolled onto her back, four paws in the air, and cried. If you are a cat-owner, then you understand what I mean when I refer to a cat "crying." It's a sad, tiny meow that emerges from the sweet animal, in which she is trying to say, "Please don't ignore me. I just want to be loved."
I haven't had much time to myself lately, let alone have time for my two cats, Socks and Callie. Callie has found a new game to play in the middle of the night. She sits in the living r
oom and howls until I walk out and pick her up and bring her back to bed with me... or until I open the porch door and let her out for some fresh air. She won't stay in bed with me, though. She will start to climb on my nightstands, or worse, attempt to jump up onto the wall-shelvings above my head. I have tried simply shutting my bedroom door to drown out her cries. When I do this, she simply moves to the door, sits, and howls louder. This has been going on for a few weeks now, possibly longer. And I'm almost positive it's because she is feeling neglected.
My schedule the past few months? Work. Drive home. Change. Drive to (pick one: 4v4 volleyball game/6v6 volleyball game/volleyball practice/softball game). Post practice or game activity. Drive home. Shower. Make lunch for work. Iron clothes. Check email. Sleep. Repeat.
However, the sports season is winding down, for which I'm very thankful. I never thought I would reach the point where I actually just want to go home after work and sit on the couch for a few hours and do absolutely nothing. I'm on my last day of antibiotics, too. I was diagnosed with bronchitis over the weekend, which I'd had for almost 8 days before I made myself go see a doctor. Lesson learned: don't wait until it hurts to breathe to get checked out.
I'm feeling guilty about not spending time with my cats. They watch me rush from one activity to the next, without so much as a glance in their direction. And my weekends sometimes turn into overnight ventures, which means they are left alone even longer. I'm promising myself that in a few weeks, I will return my attention to them, making sure they are getting adequate attention and some fresh air. I feel horrible, knowing that I have probably taken on more than I should have this spring. The summer months will be more relaxing, and with a potential move approaching I will have a few roommates around for more cat-company.
(NOTE: The "potential move" is a whole blog in itself, and I'm sure I'll be writing about it in the near future. I'm just waiting to see how a few negotiations pan out before I get my hopes up in writing.)
Currently, I have Socks on my right side and Callie on my left... both asleep and content with the company I am offerring them. But as soon as I drift to sleep, Socks will become restless and start wandering the apartment... and Callie will begin her incessant howling at the moon.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Peace & Happiness
"Often people attempt to live their lives backwards; they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want, so they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then do what you need to do, in order to have what you want." ~Margaret Young
Luke stopped by my office today to pick up some more of his mail (his address change still hasn't gone through) and his tennis racket, which has been in the trunk of my car for months. He actually stepped out of his work truck to talk to me this time, as opposed to remaining in his vehicle with his sunglasses on.
I was surprised at the ease of the conversation. We joked around about silly things that had been happening in our lives. We touched upon a few of his upsetting work issues and I shared with him my elation over my house-hunting discoveries.
It was comforting.
Standing next to him, as he casually leaned against his truck, I felt like I was chatting with an old friend. I had to catch myself a few times, remembering that I was talking to my ex, and not one of my girlfriends. I stifled a smile, at that point; I was finally at peace.
But, at the same time, I felt sorry for him. I feel like I have made so much progress, personally and professionally, throughout the years that I have known him... and he is still in the same juncture in his life that he was when I met him. He's unhappy with his current job. He's trying to finish his Bachelor's Degree. He doesn't have a place of his own. He's not financially secure. He doesn't like his current geographic location. And he's almost 30.
I'm not saying this makes Luke a bad person, because he certainly isn't. He is a good man with a big heart and a loving family. Talking to him today simply reiterated the ways we had silently gone in different directions over the years, neither of us having the relationship maturity, at the time, to recognize such fundamental differences in lifestyles. We always wanted different things from life; we both thought the other would compromise down the road... and that is never a healthy outlook to have.
Our conversations today further emphasized my current state of happiness. And I do truly believe he will make someone happy someday. But before then, I hope he can become happy with himself, and find a place in this life where he can achieve that happiness.
Happiness. I love my life. I'm surrounded by so much beauty and love... my family, my friends, my coworkers.... and Jolyon.
Jolyon. He's that guy. He is the guy who will meet your best friend, in the middle of the night, at an IHOP, because she has no one else to turn to. He is the guy who will buy you duct tape, because you mentioned, in passing, that your soccer cleats were falling apart. He is the guy who cuts out craft store coupons for you because he knows how much you like scrapbooking. He is the guy who tells you to go back to sleep, while he tends to the howling cat in the living room in the middle of the night.
He is the guy who, upon remembering that it's been one "official" month of togetherness, drives across town just to kiss you goodnight and wish you a happy anniversary.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
A Tribute To Brian Tivnan
As part of my college minor-- Theater & Television Arts-- I took a class called "The Theater Experience." I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I enrolled.
The class was held in the basement, underneath the campus dining hall. It was a dark, cold setting for a class, though apparently this was the location for all the acting and theater classes on campus. The desks were arranged in a circle around the room, leaving a large performance space in the middle.
The class, about 35 of us, all seniors except for myself (I was a junior at the time), kicked off with some improv activities. One by one, we were called to the center of the room, and given a situation to improvise in front of everyone. Those who went before me were funny and flawless; they clearly had acting experience, and had worked with our professor/acting coach before.
I was terrified. My previous acting experience? 'Jane' in my 4th grade production of "The Phantom of the Music Room"and' Kid Number Five' in "A Christmas Carol " in 8th grade.
Fortunately, I didn't have to partake in the improv on the first day. He only called up about half the class at random. Afterwards, he introduced himself as Brian Tivnan, acting coach and director. I then found out that our class meetings on Tuesday would be held in the basement, focusing on improv and monologues.... and the Thursday class meetings would be held in the campus center in the dance hall, where we would have dance class.
Dance class? I definitely didn't recall reading that in the class description during enrollment. Apparently we were going to learn several hip-hop routines from a professional choreographer, and then part of our final exam would be based on an interpretive dance that we would perform to the public.
Interpretive dance. Holy hell.
Fastforwarding. I ended up loving this class. It became my favorite class of my junior year. In four months, I went from being terrified to look stupid in front of my peers, to making 35 people laugh outloud over an improv skit, to performing a ten minute dramatic monologue in front of 70+ people at the end of the semester. I had become a strong actress, though I wasn't acting. I was merely expressing a part of myself that I had never uncovered before. The stories that I told in class and in rehearsals were stories of my life; my life was my theater experience.
And the dancing? I actually wasn't horrible. And, I must admit, 90 minutes of dancing as opposed to 90 minutes of some of the other courses I had to take for my degree... well, it could have been worse.
I credit Brian Tivnan for curing my public speaking phobia. He just has this way of getting to your core, eliminating your insecurities, and drawing out your inner self. For my Magazine Writing Workshop, I wrote a feature on the man who touches the lives of many on a daily basis, while existing in a cold basement on a small, college campus.
I'm sharing that article here. I may go back and edit it someday, as I wrote it in February of 2004. But for now.... enjoy.
****************************************************************************
Look Closer: Behind the Scenes with Brian Tivnan
It’s 4:00 p.m. on a Wednesday afternoon at Assumption College. Brian Tivnan stands in the Atrium of the Testa Science Building. His students surround him, adorned in authentic Renaissance attire. Whether they practice sword fighting today or simply rehearse their lines, one thing is clear: today they will be inspired.
It’s not uncommon to find Assumption’s Theater Director conducting play rehearsals in odd locations, such as the upcoming Romeo and Juliet to be performed in the Atrium of the science building. Without a theater on campus to call his own, Tivnan resorts to his own creative ingenuity to bring his productions to life.
“My value to this college is that I can run a theater,” Tivnan said. “I can create something out of nothing, which is basically what we have [at Assumption], and the administration knows this. But I’m very resourceful; I can fill that gap.”
At Assumption, Tivnan lives a claustrophobic’s worst nightmare. He can be found beneath Taylor Dining Hall, in an office that could double as a storage closet.
“The theater department is this room here,” Tivnan said, motioning to the walls around him. “Theater has a very quiet presence on this campus, which is why I like to do productions that are eventful; for example, performing Romeo and Juliet in the Atrium. We’re not using traditional spaces.”
Senior John Plough credits Tivnan with the ability to create art when the resources are lacking.
“Brian is an extremely talented, compassionate, and dedicated artist who is surviving in an environment not exactly receptive to the Arts,” said Plough. “He is the nomad professor, working out of a cave in the basement of Taylor, and sharing space in the Media Center for his classes. When he puts on a show, half the struggle is securing a venue. But Brian is a magician at transforming spaces into performance areas. The Athletic Department complains about the state of the football field - and it's a valid concern - but Brian doesn't even have a home to complain about.”
English Professor Becky Dibiasio agreed.
“Brian does a terrific job, both with the theater program and as a member of the community here,” she said. “He has tremendous energy and creativity and a really positive outlook. It would be easy for a director to be daunted by the challenges of staging plays on a campus without a stage, but he really seems to enjoy the challenge of finding performance spaces.”
Tivnan’s love for the theater began well before his arrival at Assumption in 2000. Tired of his longtime role as a probation officer, he started getting into theater when he was 27 years old.
“I was a probation officer for seven years and I was bored out of my mind,” Tivnan said. “I needed another outlet—so I turned to acting.”
He enrolled in acting courses at Foothills Theater in Worcester, MA, where he grew up. According to its web site, the Foothills Theatre School “focuses on developing the creative talents of each individual by teaching the skills and techniques all performers must possess in order to be a valuable member of an ensemble.” At Foothills, Tivnan learned varied techniques used to train actors around the world.
“I was completely turned on by the whole thing,” Tivnan said. “It never occurred to me that [acting] was one of the things I could do, or even wanted to do.”
Tivnan’s first onstage role was in a musical called Babes in Arms, which starred Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland.
“I was in the last five minutes of the show,” said Tivnan. “I remember being back stage, practicing my few lines all through the first act, and most of the second act. The whole time I was just waiting to go onstage and I was limp; I was so nervous. And then the [curtain] opened… and it was like I belonged.”
Tivnan’s first leading role was in a musical called Pippin, even though he had never sung before. But once he started taking voice lessons, he began to like his voice.
“It was nice,” Tivnan joked. “It was kind of raw. But I got great reviews.” He claimed that it was at that moment when he realized he wanted to be involved in theater for the rest of his life.
As an aspiring actor, Tivnan ventured to New York City in 1981. His first job was as a singing waiter in a restaurant. However, Tivnan noted his talent did not get him this job.
“The owner of the restaurant was a cop, and I told him how I had been a probation officer,” he said. “I guess we bonded in that sense. So, for the first six months, I sang for my supper and took acting classes.”
After a lot of hard work, 29 year-old Tivnan landed his first role in a New York City production, The Fantastics. Though it wasn’t Broadway, “it was in Westchester County, and that was good enough for me,” he said. Tivnan also added that playing the role of an 18 year-old “was great for my ego.”
Unfortunately, the day before his first rehearsal for The Fantastics, Tivnan grew very ill. Having been living on the floor of his kitchen in a studio apartment, he was hospitalized with hepatitis from bad shrimp.
“Here I was with my first job in New York City, my first paying acting job, and I couldn’t get off the floor,” he said. “But at least I was living on the floor next to John Lennon’s house.”
Despite his good humor about his illness, Tivnan decided to leave New York City when he was informed that missing rehearsals would result in his not being able to perform. He took his sickness as a sign.
“I learned that I just wasn’t ready,” Tivnan said. “My acting skills just weren’t proficient enough.” He noticed that at his various auditions, there were many people more talented than he was, and even they weren’t being chosen. Dispatched from the hospital, and knowing that he needed more training, Tivnan packed his bags and left New York.
His friend recommended that he go to the Trinity Repertory Theater in Providence, RI. According to its web site, “the Trinity Repertory Company has been considered one of the most respected regional theaters in the country. It balances world premiere, contemporary, and classic works, for a total annual audience of over 185,000.”
“It changed my life,” Tivnan said, recalling his experience at Trinity. “They taught me to be serious, since we did theater stuff all day and all night. They taught me the process of how one becomes trained as an actor.”
Tivnan credits the Trinity Theater Company for his ability to teach and direct at Assumption. His source of inspiration is Adrian Hall, who taught at Trinity. Tivnan watched his manner of directing and his teaching style for three years.
“[Adrian] taught me that acting is a craft, a process,” Tivnan said. “You do it because you want to do the work, and you want to be good at what you do. Some students get very frustrated with it because they want me to put the steps on the blackboard and give them handouts. But you just can’t teach acting in a traditional, academic manner.”
At the Trinity Repertory Company, Tivnan learned that a person who studies acting should not focus on gaining fame or fortune. He feels that if a person is good, then someone will eventually recognize him or her.
“My daughter, Claire, often tells me, ‘Daddy, I want to be famous,’” he said. “And I respond to her, ‘Well, then do something really well so people will think you’re famous. Do it really well, and do it for its own sake. Not because you want to be famous.’”
After three years at Trinity, Tivnan returned to Worcester and opened up his own theater for the city. He ran the Worcester Forum Theater for 14 years, where he was involved with everything from acting to producing to designing various sets.
“I’ve been able to make a career— a life’s work— out of [the Forum Theater],” Tivnan said. “I wasn’t in New York City, but in a way, this was better. I’ve always been in control of my own destiny, whereas actors in New York are at the mercy of everyone except themselves. Acting is a deadly profession. Be your own boss. Create your own work.”
Tivnan calls one particular experience with the Forum Theater the “zenith of my professional career.” In 1996, he created a summer long production of West Side Story using 40 inner city kids from Worcester.
“These were real kids,” he said. “We trained them for acting, singing, and dancing for a six month period,” he said. “We had Puerto Ricans for the gangs and we even involved the Worcester Police Department, where I asked the Worcester Chief of Police to play Sargent. Krupke.” Using Worcester natives worked extremely well for Tivnan, especially since the personal backgrounds of the kids mirrored the premise of West Side Story.
Tivnan’s production of West Side Story received a lot of press. 60 Minutes aired a story about Tivnan’s involvement in the Worcester Community. While trying to put the play together, Tivnan had film crews following him around and was interviewed during his spare time.
Additionally, Hollywood producers called Tivnan, in which one in particular said to him, “We want to buy the rights to your life! We want to make a movie about what you’re doing.”
“I laughed at first; it was kind of silly,” Tivnan said. “But then I realized they were serious. They wanted to do a kind of Stand By Me, or a Mr. Holland’s Opus.”
After speaking with a producer from International Creative Management, Inc., Tivnan was flown to LA to meet with one if their producers. According to its web site, ICM “represents creative and technical talent in the fields of motion pictures, television, publishing, music, comedy, commercials, new media and live theater.”
Tivnan was offered a yearlong contract, $300,000, and the chance to be the “consulting director” for the movie ICM wanted to make about Tivnan’s life. In the end, however, the movie didn’t get made, due to a legal issue with the people who own the rights to West Side Story.
“But it was still the zenith of my professional career,” he said. “And I can truthfully say that I had an agent in the most powerful Hollywood agency at ICM.”
After bringing the Forum Theater’s budget from $5,000 to $400,000, Tivnan became burnt out. In the fall of 2000, the Assumption administration asked him to fill in at the College because the Theater Director, Maurice Plasse, had fallen ill.
“Two days before they had asked me to come to Assumption, I had bought a restaurant in Worcester,” Tivnan said. “I always had this fantasy that I was going to have this little Bed-and-Breakfast, or a little coffee shop. I bought this place and ran it all by myself. Except I didn’t know how to cook, and I made no money. But I had fun.”
Tivnan visited Plasse at his house after accepting the position to teach at Assumption.
“He was dying,” Tivnan said. “He wanted to talk about how to run the theater. When I left his house, he shook my hand, and said that he felt good. ‘The theater is in good hands,’ he told me. And I really think he meant it.” Tivnan added that Plasse died shortly after this conversation.
Tivnan understood and respected that Plasse was from a different era of theater.
“[Plasse] was into the era of pretending, whereas I come from the school of truthful teaching,” he said. “Nowadays, if you want a character with a big nose, you don’t pile on the makeup to create it. You go out and find the guy with the big nose. After all, the one thing the audience must do is believe you. If they don’t believe you, then you’ve lost them.”
During his first semester at Assumption, Tivnan ran his restaurant in the morning, and taught classes and directed the play, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, in the evening.
“We had to do the performance in the Maison conference room because there was no theater,” said Tivnan. “I had a small space to work with, so we did ‘theater in the round,’ which had never been done. It was like my ‘hello! I’m here at Assumption!’”
To bring his professional acting experience into the classroom, Tivnan follows the philosophy of David Mamet. Mamet, a famous American playwright and screen writer, won the Pulitzer prize in Drama in 1992 for his play Glengary Glen Ross. Mamet also wrote the play Oleana, which Brian directed at Assumption this past fall.
“David says three things: ‘you have to know who you are. You have to know where you are. And you have to know what you want, or have, to do,” Tivnan quoted, “ ‘and you have to do everything in your power to do it. And you have to know how you feel about it. And that’s acting.’”
These three items form the foundation for Assumption’s course “The Theater Experience,” which Tivnan teaches each spring.
“I call it ‘Every Picture Tells a Story',” Tivnan said of Mamet’s philosophy. “You create something that’s yours, and you are a part of it.”
For the past four years, Tivnan has begun his semester in Theater Experience by having his students create sculptures— using themselves— to answer the following three questions: How do you see yourself? How do you think others see you? And how do you want to be seen? To answer each question, each student must strike a particular pose, which Tivnan then photographs for later reference.
“After my students complete the Theater Experience course, I like to believe that they leave thinking to themselves, ‘Wow, my life is interesting, and I have the power to tell my stories in interesting ways. I don’t have to pretend to be someone else,’” Tivnan said.
Tivnan believes that a director has to continually give his students scenes to perform, and demand that the students follow Mamet’s philosophy of knowing who you are, where you are, and how you feel about it.
“He always says, ‘Stop ‘acting.’ Be truthful,’” said Senior Sarah Gower, one of Tivnan’s students. “We listen to Brian because he proves himself to be an incredible director every night. He gives up his weekends, his nights, his mornings, in order to hold rehearsals whenever the college student actors are available. He has the ability to teach people to listen to one another and be honest on stage.”
Plough, who is currently doing productions at Foothills Theater, attributes his success to Tivnan’s directorial style.
“Brian has been one of the most supportive people I have ever known,” Plough said. “He has this rare quality of being able to make someone feel as if they can do anything. Along with my parents, it has been Brian's belief in me that has enabled me to achieve much more than I ever thought possible. He can take a person— no matter what their skills and talents are— and work with them at their level. And at their pace.”
Jennifer Agbay, a choreographer and dance instructor, has worked with Tivnan over the past four years. She has choreographed two of the school’s musicals—Guys and Dolls and Footloose— and has worked side-by-side with Tivnan in the Theater Experience course.
“Brian fosters an environment where his co-workers and performers can learn as well as collaborate openly and he welcomes the blend of many artistic points of view,” she said. “One intangible of working with Brian is his ability to convey his intended direction for a piece in such a way that the choreography seems to come naturally. He has shown me that all things are possible, as long as you have the will and the passion.”
One of Tivnan’s most memorable Assumption productions is The Boys Next Door from the fall of 2003. Tivnan saw one version of the production at Fitchburg State College. According to Tivnan, the Fitchburg students didn’t perform it from a truthful standpoint.
“They were doing too much ‘pretending,’ which in the end was disrespectful,” he said.
To prepare AC students for the role of playing mentally retarded adults, Tivnan took his cast dancing at Shabooms on nights that were open only to individuals with mental retardation.
“These guys rock; these people dance,” Tivnan said. “I took my students so they could go down there and just observe. They dance. They sing. They’re just like us. There’s no pretending needed. How do you play someone who limps? You limp.”
In addition, this past fall’s production of Oleana proved very successful.
“I've seen the play twice and I enjoyed the audience interaction with the actors and director in the "talk back" at the end of the play,” said English Professor Becky Dibiasio. “It is a controversial play and all of us are challenged by the subject matter. By setting it in a college classroom, Brian heightened the tensions between both characters and actors, the subject matter, and the audience.”
On many occasions, Tivnan likes to have Assumption professors use the productions in their disciplines. For example, Oleana deals with many religious, gender, social, and legal standpoints, all of which could be grounds for a class discussion.
“I try to engage the audiences beyond just coming to watch a play,” Tivnan said. “I’ve often had post-performance forums where the audience can talk to the cast and experts talk about the issue. In Oleana, the audience reaction was strong, because they sided with one or the other.”
Dibiasio participated in one of the post-performance forums.
“On the night that I attended, the audience included several people who are not Assumption students or staff, and some students from other Consortium colleges,” she said. “I encouraged my students to attend and I used the performance as a means of getting first year students to write about interactive learning, so I benefited from the play as well.”
Tivnan notes the rewards of teaching theater. He has seen many of his students come into class petrified to perform an assignment. He watches them overcome their emotions, and watching them succeed is his greatest reward.
“Last year I had a student, basketball player O McGee-Sharp, stand up in class to defend his grade,” Tivnan said. “He apologized to the class for being late to rehearsals, and then he said, ‘I never knew how good I would feel, how powerful this feeling could be to be on stage…’ And he started to cry. Right there in front of the class. And it was beautiful.”
Tivnan plans to move AC Theater to its next level. He has proposed an upper-level course called Performing Shakespeare, which he hopes to see in the department next year. In addition, the English Department is currently conducting interviews for a new faculty member for the English and Theater Department.
“We have the talent here,” Tivnan said. “It’d be nice to get to the point where people choose to come to Assumption because of its [theater] offerings. I want to bring visibility to AC and allow the talent here to shine.”
Tivnan’s determination and inspiration have not gone unnoticed.
“This campus, and much of the growth and happiness I've enjoyed at Assumption, owes so much to Brian's perseverance and vision,” said Plough. “I have yet to meet a student who didn't have a good experience in one of his plays or one of his classes. And that's a testament to an unassuming man who keeps plugging along, teaching and mentoring with as much or as little support as he gets in return. I have been blessed with many good teachers in my life. But I am certain I will remember Brian long after most of my school memories fade.”
The class was held in the basement, underneath the campus dining hall. It was a dark, cold setting for a class, though apparently this was the location for all the acting and theater classes on campus. The desks were arranged in a circle around the room, leaving a large performance space in the middle.
The class, about 35 of us, all seniors except for myself (I was a junior at the time), kicked off with some improv activities. One by one, we were called to the center of the room, and given a situation to improvise in front of everyone. Those who went before me were funny and flawless; they clearly had acting experience, and had worked with our professor/acting coach before.
I was terrified. My previous acting experience? 'Jane' in my 4th grade production of "The Phantom of the Music Room"and' Kid Number Five' in "A Christmas Carol " in 8th grade.
Fortunately, I didn't have to partake in the improv on the first day. He only called up about half the class at random. Afterwards, he introduced himself as Brian Tivnan, acting coach and director. I then found out that our class meetings on Tuesday would be held in the basement, focusing on improv and monologues.... and the Thursday class meetings would be held in the campus center in the dance hall, where we would have dance class.
Dance class? I definitely didn't recall reading that in the class description during enrollment. Apparently we were going to learn several hip-hop routines from a professional choreographer, and then part of our final exam would be based on an interpretive dance that we would perform to the public.
Interpretive dance. Holy hell.
Fastforwarding. I ended up loving this class. It became my favorite class of my junior year. In four months, I went from being terrified to look stupid in front of my peers, to making 35 people laugh outloud over an improv skit, to performing a ten minute dramatic monologue in front of 70+ people at the end of the semester. I had become a strong actress, though I wasn't acting. I was merely expressing a part of myself that I had never uncovered before. The stories that I told in class and in rehearsals were stories of my life; my life was my theater experience.
And the dancing? I actually wasn't horrible. And, I must admit, 90 minutes of dancing as opposed to 90 minutes of some of the other courses I had to take for my degree... well, it could have been worse.
I credit Brian Tivnan for curing my public speaking phobia. He just has this way of getting to your core, eliminating your insecurities, and drawing out your inner self. For my Magazine Writing Workshop, I wrote a feature on the man who touches the lives of many on a daily basis, while existing in a cold basement on a small, college campus.
I'm sharing that article here. I may go back and edit it someday, as I wrote it in February of 2004. But for now.... enjoy.
****************************************************************************
Look Closer: Behind the Scenes with Brian Tivnan
It’s 4:00 p.m. on a Wednesday afternoon at Assumption College. Brian Tivnan stands in the Atrium of the Testa Science Building. His students surround him, adorned in authentic Renaissance attire. Whether they practice sword fighting today or simply rehearse their lines, one thing is clear: today they will be inspired.
It’s not uncommon to find Assumption’s Theater Director conducting play rehearsals in odd locations, such as the upcoming Romeo and Juliet to be performed in the Atrium of the science building. Without a theater on campus to call his own, Tivnan resorts to his own creative ingenuity to bring his productions to life.
“My value to this college is that I can run a theater,” Tivnan said. “I can create something out of nothing, which is basically what we have [at Assumption], and the administration knows this. But I’m very resourceful; I can fill that gap.”
At Assumption, Tivnan lives a claustrophobic’s worst nightmare. He can be found beneath Taylor Dining Hall, in an office that could double as a storage closet.
“The theater department is this room here,” Tivnan said, motioning to the walls around him. “Theater has a very quiet presence on this campus, which is why I like to do productions that are eventful; for example, performing Romeo and Juliet in the Atrium. We’re not using traditional spaces.”
Senior John Plough credits Tivnan with the ability to create art when the resources are lacking.
“Brian is an extremely talented, compassionate, and dedicated artist who is surviving in an environment not exactly receptive to the Arts,” said Plough. “He is the nomad professor, working out of a cave in the basement of Taylor, and sharing space in the Media Center for his classes. When he puts on a show, half the struggle is securing a venue. But Brian is a magician at transforming spaces into performance areas. The Athletic Department complains about the state of the football field - and it's a valid concern - but Brian doesn't even have a home to complain about.”
English Professor Becky Dibiasio agreed.
“Brian does a terrific job, both with the theater program and as a member of the community here,” she said. “He has tremendous energy and creativity and a really positive outlook. It would be easy for a director to be daunted by the challenges of staging plays on a campus without a stage, but he really seems to enjoy the challenge of finding performance spaces.”
Tivnan’s love for the theater began well before his arrival at Assumption in 2000. Tired of his longtime role as a probation officer, he started getting into theater when he was 27 years old.
“I was a probation officer for seven years and I was bored out of my mind,” Tivnan said. “I needed another outlet—so I turned to acting.”
He enrolled in acting courses at Foothills Theater in Worcester, MA, where he grew up. According to its web site, the Foothills Theatre School “focuses on developing the creative talents of each individual by teaching the skills and techniques all performers must possess in order to be a valuable member of an ensemble.” At Foothills, Tivnan learned varied techniques used to train actors around the world.
“I was completely turned on by the whole thing,” Tivnan said. “It never occurred to me that [acting] was one of the things I could do, or even wanted to do.”
Tivnan’s first onstage role was in a musical called Babes in Arms, which starred Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland.
“I was in the last five minutes of the show,” said Tivnan. “I remember being back stage, practicing my few lines all through the first act, and most of the second act. The whole time I was just waiting to go onstage and I was limp; I was so nervous. And then the [curtain] opened… and it was like I belonged.”
Tivnan’s first leading role was in a musical called Pippin, even though he had never sung before. But once he started taking voice lessons, he began to like his voice.
“It was nice,” Tivnan joked. “It was kind of raw. But I got great reviews.” He claimed that it was at that moment when he realized he wanted to be involved in theater for the rest of his life.
As an aspiring actor, Tivnan ventured to New York City in 1981. His first job was as a singing waiter in a restaurant. However, Tivnan noted his talent did not get him this job.
“The owner of the restaurant was a cop, and I told him how I had been a probation officer,” he said. “I guess we bonded in that sense. So, for the first six months, I sang for my supper and took acting classes.”
After a lot of hard work, 29 year-old Tivnan landed his first role in a New York City production, The Fantastics. Though it wasn’t Broadway, “it was in Westchester County, and that was good enough for me,” he said. Tivnan also added that playing the role of an 18 year-old “was great for my ego.”
Unfortunately, the day before his first rehearsal for The Fantastics, Tivnan grew very ill. Having been living on the floor of his kitchen in a studio apartment, he was hospitalized with hepatitis from bad shrimp.
“Here I was with my first job in New York City, my first paying acting job, and I couldn’t get off the floor,” he said. “But at least I was living on the floor next to John Lennon’s house.”
Despite his good humor about his illness, Tivnan decided to leave New York City when he was informed that missing rehearsals would result in his not being able to perform. He took his sickness as a sign.
“I learned that I just wasn’t ready,” Tivnan said. “My acting skills just weren’t proficient enough.” He noticed that at his various auditions, there were many people more talented than he was, and even they weren’t being chosen. Dispatched from the hospital, and knowing that he needed more training, Tivnan packed his bags and left New York.
His friend recommended that he go to the Trinity Repertory Theater in Providence, RI. According to its web site, “the Trinity Repertory Company has been considered one of the most respected regional theaters in the country. It balances world premiere, contemporary, and classic works, for a total annual audience of over 185,000.”
“It changed my life,” Tivnan said, recalling his experience at Trinity. “They taught me to be serious, since we did theater stuff all day and all night. They taught me the process of how one becomes trained as an actor.”
Tivnan credits the Trinity Theater Company for his ability to teach and direct at Assumption. His source of inspiration is Adrian Hall, who taught at Trinity. Tivnan watched his manner of directing and his teaching style for three years.
“[Adrian] taught me that acting is a craft, a process,” Tivnan said. “You do it because you want to do the work, and you want to be good at what you do. Some students get very frustrated with it because they want me to put the steps on the blackboard and give them handouts. But you just can’t teach acting in a traditional, academic manner.”
At the Trinity Repertory Company, Tivnan learned that a person who studies acting should not focus on gaining fame or fortune. He feels that if a person is good, then someone will eventually recognize him or her.
“My daughter, Claire, often tells me, ‘Daddy, I want to be famous,’” he said. “And I respond to her, ‘Well, then do something really well so people will think you’re famous. Do it really well, and do it for its own sake. Not because you want to be famous.’”
After three years at Trinity, Tivnan returned to Worcester and opened up his own theater for the city. He ran the Worcester Forum Theater for 14 years, where he was involved with everything from acting to producing to designing various sets.
“I’ve been able to make a career— a life’s work— out of [the Forum Theater],” Tivnan said. “I wasn’t in New York City, but in a way, this was better. I’ve always been in control of my own destiny, whereas actors in New York are at the mercy of everyone except themselves. Acting is a deadly profession. Be your own boss. Create your own work.”
Tivnan calls one particular experience with the Forum Theater the “zenith of my professional career.” In 1996, he created a summer long production of West Side Story using 40 inner city kids from Worcester.
“These were real kids,” he said. “We trained them for acting, singing, and dancing for a six month period,” he said. “We had Puerto Ricans for the gangs and we even involved the Worcester Police Department, where I asked the Worcester Chief of Police to play Sargent. Krupke.” Using Worcester natives worked extremely well for Tivnan, especially since the personal backgrounds of the kids mirrored the premise of West Side Story.
Tivnan’s production of West Side Story received a lot of press. 60 Minutes aired a story about Tivnan’s involvement in the Worcester Community. While trying to put the play together, Tivnan had film crews following him around and was interviewed during his spare time.
Additionally, Hollywood producers called Tivnan, in which one in particular said to him, “We want to buy the rights to your life! We want to make a movie about what you’re doing.”
“I laughed at first; it was kind of silly,” Tivnan said. “But then I realized they were serious. They wanted to do a kind of Stand By Me, or a Mr. Holland’s Opus.”
After speaking with a producer from International Creative Management, Inc., Tivnan was flown to LA to meet with one if their producers. According to its web site, ICM “represents creative and technical talent in the fields of motion pictures, television, publishing, music, comedy, commercials, new media and live theater.”
Tivnan was offered a yearlong contract, $300,000, and the chance to be the “consulting director” for the movie ICM wanted to make about Tivnan’s life. In the end, however, the movie didn’t get made, due to a legal issue with the people who own the rights to West Side Story.
“But it was still the zenith of my professional career,” he said. “And I can truthfully say that I had an agent in the most powerful Hollywood agency at ICM.”
After bringing the Forum Theater’s budget from $5,000 to $400,000, Tivnan became burnt out. In the fall of 2000, the Assumption administration asked him to fill in at the College because the Theater Director, Maurice Plasse, had fallen ill.
“Two days before they had asked me to come to Assumption, I had bought a restaurant in Worcester,” Tivnan said. “I always had this fantasy that I was going to have this little Bed-and-Breakfast, or a little coffee shop. I bought this place and ran it all by myself. Except I didn’t know how to cook, and I made no money. But I had fun.”
Tivnan visited Plasse at his house after accepting the position to teach at Assumption.
“He was dying,” Tivnan said. “He wanted to talk about how to run the theater. When I left his house, he shook my hand, and said that he felt good. ‘The theater is in good hands,’ he told me. And I really think he meant it.” Tivnan added that Plasse died shortly after this conversation.
Tivnan understood and respected that Plasse was from a different era of theater.
“[Plasse] was into the era of pretending, whereas I come from the school of truthful teaching,” he said. “Nowadays, if you want a character with a big nose, you don’t pile on the makeup to create it. You go out and find the guy with the big nose. After all, the one thing the audience must do is believe you. If they don’t believe you, then you’ve lost them.”
During his first semester at Assumption, Tivnan ran his restaurant in the morning, and taught classes and directed the play, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, in the evening.
“We had to do the performance in the Maison conference room because there was no theater,” said Tivnan. “I had a small space to work with, so we did ‘theater in the round,’ which had never been done. It was like my ‘hello! I’m here at Assumption!’”
To bring his professional acting experience into the classroom, Tivnan follows the philosophy of David Mamet. Mamet, a famous American playwright and screen writer, won the Pulitzer prize in Drama in 1992 for his play Glengary Glen Ross. Mamet also wrote the play Oleana, which Brian directed at Assumption this past fall.
“David says three things: ‘you have to know who you are. You have to know where you are. And you have to know what you want, or have, to do,” Tivnan quoted, “ ‘and you have to do everything in your power to do it. And you have to know how you feel about it. And that’s acting.’”
These three items form the foundation for Assumption’s course “The Theater Experience,” which Tivnan teaches each spring.
“I call it ‘Every Picture Tells a Story',” Tivnan said of Mamet’s philosophy. “You create something that’s yours, and you are a part of it.”
For the past four years, Tivnan has begun his semester in Theater Experience by having his students create sculptures— using themselves— to answer the following three questions: How do you see yourself? How do you think others see you? And how do you want to be seen? To answer each question, each student must strike a particular pose, which Tivnan then photographs for later reference.
“After my students complete the Theater Experience course, I like to believe that they leave thinking to themselves, ‘Wow, my life is interesting, and I have the power to tell my stories in interesting ways. I don’t have to pretend to be someone else,’” Tivnan said.
Tivnan believes that a director has to continually give his students scenes to perform, and demand that the students follow Mamet’s philosophy of knowing who you are, where you are, and how you feel about it.
“He always says, ‘Stop ‘acting.’ Be truthful,’” said Senior Sarah Gower, one of Tivnan’s students. “We listen to Brian because he proves himself to be an incredible director every night. He gives up his weekends, his nights, his mornings, in order to hold rehearsals whenever the college student actors are available. He has the ability to teach people to listen to one another and be honest on stage.”
Plough, who is currently doing productions at Foothills Theater, attributes his success to Tivnan’s directorial style.
“Brian has been one of the most supportive people I have ever known,” Plough said. “He has this rare quality of being able to make someone feel as if they can do anything. Along with my parents, it has been Brian's belief in me that has enabled me to achieve much more than I ever thought possible. He can take a person— no matter what their skills and talents are— and work with them at their level. And at their pace.”
Jennifer Agbay, a choreographer and dance instructor, has worked with Tivnan over the past four years. She has choreographed two of the school’s musicals—Guys and Dolls and Footloose— and has worked side-by-side with Tivnan in the Theater Experience course.
“Brian fosters an environment where his co-workers and performers can learn as well as collaborate openly and he welcomes the blend of many artistic points of view,” she said. “One intangible of working with Brian is his ability to convey his intended direction for a piece in such a way that the choreography seems to come naturally. He has shown me that all things are possible, as long as you have the will and the passion.”
One of Tivnan’s most memorable Assumption productions is The Boys Next Door from the fall of 2003. Tivnan saw one version of the production at Fitchburg State College. According to Tivnan, the Fitchburg students didn’t perform it from a truthful standpoint.
“They were doing too much ‘pretending,’ which in the end was disrespectful,” he said.
To prepare AC students for the role of playing mentally retarded adults, Tivnan took his cast dancing at Shabooms on nights that were open only to individuals with mental retardation.
“These guys rock; these people dance,” Tivnan said. “I took my students so they could go down there and just observe. They dance. They sing. They’re just like us. There’s no pretending needed. How do you play someone who limps? You limp.”
In addition, this past fall’s production of Oleana proved very successful.
“I've seen the play twice and I enjoyed the audience interaction with the actors and director in the "talk back" at the end of the play,” said English Professor Becky Dibiasio. “It is a controversial play and all of us are challenged by the subject matter. By setting it in a college classroom, Brian heightened the tensions between both characters and actors, the subject matter, and the audience.”
On many occasions, Tivnan likes to have Assumption professors use the productions in their disciplines. For example, Oleana deals with many religious, gender, social, and legal standpoints, all of which could be grounds for a class discussion.
“I try to engage the audiences beyond just coming to watch a play,” Tivnan said. “I’ve often had post-performance forums where the audience can talk to the cast and experts talk about the issue. In Oleana, the audience reaction was strong, because they sided with one or the other.”
Dibiasio participated in one of the post-performance forums.
“On the night that I attended, the audience included several people who are not Assumption students or staff, and some students from other Consortium colleges,” she said. “I encouraged my students to attend and I used the performance as a means of getting first year students to write about interactive learning, so I benefited from the play as well.”
Tivnan notes the rewards of teaching theater. He has seen many of his students come into class petrified to perform an assignment. He watches them overcome their emotions, and watching them succeed is his greatest reward.
“Last year I had a student, basketball player O McGee-Sharp, stand up in class to defend his grade,” Tivnan said. “He apologized to the class for being late to rehearsals, and then he said, ‘I never knew how good I would feel, how powerful this feeling could be to be on stage…’ And he started to cry. Right there in front of the class. And it was beautiful.”
Tivnan plans to move AC Theater to its next level. He has proposed an upper-level course called Performing Shakespeare, which he hopes to see in the department next year. In addition, the English Department is currently conducting interviews for a new faculty member for the English and Theater Department.
“We have the talent here,” Tivnan said. “It’d be nice to get to the point where people choose to come to Assumption because of its [theater] offerings. I want to bring visibility to AC and allow the talent here to shine.”
Tivnan’s determination and inspiration have not gone unnoticed.
“This campus, and much of the growth and happiness I've enjoyed at Assumption, owes so much to Brian's perseverance and vision,” said Plough. “I have yet to meet a student who didn't have a good experience in one of his plays or one of his classes. And that's a testament to an unassuming man who keeps plugging along, teaching and mentoring with as much or as little support as he gets in return. I have been blessed with many good teachers in my life. But I am certain I will remember Brian long after most of my school memories fade.”
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