2008 Woodie Awards
Behind the scenes with Brian Tivnan
Shelly Bryan
Issue date: 2/18/05 Section: News Stories
- Page 1 of 9 next >
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 for the upcoming Romeo and Juliet which will 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.
"Tivnan 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."
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."
It's not uncommon to find Assumption's Theater Director conducting play rehearsals in odd locations, such as for the upcoming Romeo and Juliet which will 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.
"Tivnan 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."
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."