Ten minutes early is on time. An interview with Joe Carlson

Joseph Carlson, a third year MFA Candidate for Theatre Pedagogy, graduated with his BFA in Performance from VCU in 2008, after which he decided to pursue his MFA by working closely with Professor Dr. Tawnya Pettiford-Wates (known as Dr. T), whose technique, Ritual Poetic Drama, resonates greatly with him. As an undergraduate, he helped found the Shafer Alliance Laboratory Theatre (SALT) Board, which governs the use of our student theatre space, Newdick Theatre. Before the SALT Board was founded, students only had about six opportunities to be on stage each year; now they have over two dozen. Joe was the driving force behind the founding of Theatre in Battery Park, whose inaugural (free) production of Shakespeare’s As You Like It the past summer achieved its goal of making theatre accessible to everyone. On top of his already busy schedule, in November, he will play Vicomte de Valmont in the upcoming VCU mainstage production of Les Liasons Dangereuses. I recently spoke with Joe about his relationship with his mentor, Dr. T, his graduate thesis and his other upcoming projects, as well as how he handles being so busy.

You have worked with Dr. T many times in the time you’ve been in this department. What is your relationship with her and how has it evolved over the years?Y

At first she was a myth to me, a woman whose reputation far preceded her. Then she was my director, then teacher, then mentor, and guide, a collaborator. Now I regard her as my friend who has taught me what it means to cover my ground, and that knowledge isn’t yours until you give it away.

You’re a very active member of the community. As well as participating in local productions, you also helped spearhead Richmond’s only current outdoor theatre company, Theatre in Battery Park. Give us a brief history of the inception of Theatre in Battery Park and how working in the community has influenced your work here on campus.

Well I’m gonna flip that. Work on campus is what got me interested in work in the community at large. A VCU alum and I along with a few others began S.A.L.T. and it was that successful initiative that was part of my desire to be a generator of community oriented projects. It began by facilitating opportunity for students, or as we said, championing student theatre, and it has grown into a mighty generative theatrical force that provides hundreds of opportunities every semester. I’m just blown away by how new board members continue to enhance the organization.

From there I became interested in site-specific productions that brought theatre “to the people.” I literally see theaters just about anywhere I look. When I directed a production of The Zoo Story in Monroe Park at the beginning of my Junior year, my hope was to bring theatre out into a public sphere. To say: Here it is! It happens! It can be good! It’s vital, it’s relevant. Monroe park was the perfect place, because it’s all about this intense psychological battle over possession of a bench which translates into territorial claims over a piece of public land. Also it’s a place heavily populated by members of the homeless community, and I wanted to give them access to art by bringing it to their space as an offering. Theatre has this incredible ability to bring people from all walks of life into a common experience. That’s its power, and it can teach us new things about one another and provide an arena for dialogue with people we may not otherwise engage with in our ordinary day to day. That’s why theatre is extra-ordinary!

Fast forward to last December when I’m dog sitting Dr. T’s beautiful boxer, and one of my kindred spirits, Ali. We’re going for a run late at night, he’s doing more running than I am, I’m more sauntering around this big empty park. Suddenly I was struck by the awesome potential, and magnificent beauty of the space. In my mind’s eye I saw hundreds of people sprawled out on blankets, kids riding high on their parents shoulders, picnic baskets and lawn chairs. I knew I wanted to make theatre happen there. So I started running my mouth, which is what I tend to do when I get excited about something. Low and behold a lot of other people thought it was a good idea. I mean A LOT. The whole company was really fortunate to receive a great deal of support from Keith Martin the Managing director of the Richmond Ballet, John Bryan and company at Culture Works, Richard Taliafero, Battery Park’s supervisor, Ginnie Marrow and crew from Friends of Battery park, and so many others that helped offer vital support outside of the artistic process. Oh, and an incredible cast of 13 as well as a professional New York based director, award winning costumers, and musicians that agreed to work for no money! They were down for the mission and the cause! Theatre is not a luxury, it is a necessity, and they all shared that belief. Of course they did get paid because we received an Innovative Projects Grant for the production and raised enough money through donations and concessions to financially be in the black! But who really profited were the citizens of the North Side, and Richmonders at large whose misconceptions about that ‘side of town’ were shattered.

The thing is Theatre has the power to transform. We took an unloved corner of a neglected space and transformed it for a few evenings into a beautiful theatre. I still go for runs down in the park, and that same corner is still in pristine condition. No more broken beer bottles and trash-bags. We helped changed how that space was perceived, we showed members of the community one of a hundred possibilities as to what it could be, and now they have plans to renovate that section of the park and are thinking about some form of an amphitheatre.

Besides Liaisons, what other projects are you working on / looking forward to?
 
Shot a police training video - that paid well - wherein I was a cigarette peddler in a NY train station but really it was at Main St. Station, which goes to show that there are opportunities to work here in Richmond.  You just have to be vigilant, tenacious, and always make good on your name and on your word.

I have some work lined up with Synetic Theatre in DC including acting, instructing, and directing/devising Children’s shows for their Classika branch. I’m also trying to book a gig at The Forum Theatre on Chuck Mee’s bobrauschenburgsamerica, hoping to devise some stunningly beautiful physical theatre next semester while I’m working on my thesis. Oh! And a full-length independent feature film that stars myself and a bunch of radical VCU alums. It’s entitled Anti-Heroes, directed by Joseph Weindell, and will be screened at the Byrd Theater in January - for free!. Free except of course delicious popcorn, bubbly fountain drinks, and smuggled candy. Also, I’m sure there are a dozen other things that will happen.

You are reputedly one of the busiest people in the department. Between all your projects, classes, and thesis, how do you manage your time successfully?
Step by step, inch by inch, day by day; keep breathing - it’s the most important part. Remember It’s never that there’s not enough time, it’s what you do with the time you have. Go ahead and get overwhelmed, it’s part of the fun, and know that work is love made visible. Ten minutes early is on time. Also keep calendars, appointments, deadlines, and promises. Lastly, learn to nap any and everywhere.

Andrew Donnelly and Joe Carlson in The Grapes of Wrath