this world of yes
Theatre Work of Chris Woodworth
"yes is a world
& in this world of
yes live
(skilfully curled)
all worlds"
—e. e. cummings "love is a place"
Chris Woodworth
Theatre is a "world of yes" in which all other worlds are possible. I borrow this phrase from a passage in the poem "love is a place" by e. e. cummings.
love is a place
& through this place of
love move
(with brightness of peace)
all places
yes is a world
& in this world of
yes live
(skilfully curled)
all worlds
Betwixt and Between
Where are the opportunities to luxuriate in the betwixt and between, to find the moments when, as Marvin Carlson evocatively writes, theatre “oscillates between the fleeting present and the stillness of infinity”?
I make theatre in the land of lakes and landfills, from a very small city surrounded by farms, parks, and far too much poverty. I drive through this region, overcome by the splendor of the geography while also gripped with terror at what is ahead for this overheated world. Desiccated trees puncture verdant forests like rows of rotten teeth. Sometimes I can’t see the forest for the (dead) trees. But then the tentacles of Parthenocissus quinquefolia snake up the wooden skeletons, burning red. Out of the ashes of the Ash tree, Virginia Creeper rises. To me, that is the complexity of hope—loss and life; grief and growth; ruin and resoluteness. My work exhumes the wreckage, giving air and light.
Archival Topography
For several decades, my primary identity in theatre was as a theatre historian and director. In recent years I have shifted to playwriting. I write plays of archival topography, weaving together historical artifacts with the distinct contours of contemporary rural landscapes. History and directing are the ignition and fuel for my playwriting. The “stuff” of history—texts, sites, fragments—sparks a new play. The theatricality of directing translates that “stuff” to the stage. Grappling with themes like guns, climate disasters, or suicide, my plays inhabit a shaky terrain between certainties. My writing presents muddled figures who try, fail, and ultimately find their way to the architectures of community.
The Possibility of Theatre
In his essay “On Stage Movement” in the book Master Teachers of Theatre, Jewel Walker asks “What is the possibility of theatre?” This question guides my work as a Professor of Theatre at Hobart & William Smith Colleges in Geneva, NY. Pedagogy, practice, and scholarship are equally integral components of my role as a theatre educator, artist, and scholar. This website showcases some of my work as a director, playwright, and scholar, roles that are inextricably tied to my teaching.
Omnia sol temperat, absens in remota
(the sun warms everything, even when I am far away)
"Omnia Sol (Let Your Heart Be Staid)" is a piece of choral music by Z. Randall Stroope, inspired by a passage from "Carmina Burana." In his description of "Omnia Sol," the composer suggests that "omnia sol" or "everywhere light" is a metaphor for the kinship we have with others, even if we are no longer in each other's presence. I see my work in the theatre as facilitating that sense of "omnia sol" or "everywhere light" through my collaborations with other artists, mentoring of students, and the impact of my work upon audiences. Although the work of the theatre is fleeting and ephemeral, the traces it leaves behind can be indelibly marked on our lives.