Gail Phaneuf - Theatre

Gail Phaneuf loves the 'Ah ha!' moments.

Those are the times when her students go from simply stringing sentences together to becoming full-fledged storytellers.

"Teaching script writing is exciting," exclaims Phaneuf. "It never ceases to amaze me when my students can take their writing to another level."

But one of her challenges is getting the group to focus on the fundamentals. Many of her students expect to come into class on day one and write movie scripts right away.

"That's great and I love movies. But if you can first write a really good scene or a really good short play with good characters and dialogue, interesting subjects and plots, the longer pieces will come naturally."

"You have to start by stripping away all of those formulaic tricks that will get you into the same old car chases and big screen explosions."

A lecturer in Curry's theatre program since 2006, Phaneuf stresses to her students on a daily basis the importance of not only writing creatively, but writing smart as well. Of course her students are exposed to acting, directing, producing and the like, but she believes that writing is the force that drives it all.

An award-winning playwright and director and native of Boston, Phaneuf began her theatre career while studying, of all things, engineering while an undergraduate and graduate student at another local college.

There she learned everything from the basics to running an entire theatre company from the late, great Angus Bailey, a staple of the Massachusetts theatre scene for over 40 years.

Due to a combination of being bitten by the directing bug and making a name for herself on the local theatre scene, Phaneuf decided to pursue a master's degree in teaching theatre at Emerson College. But the irony was that she came out of the program a stronger writer than anything else, which led to instant success.

"My thesis was a musical I wrote called 'Monsters', which was actually produced in Boston in 2006 and was a finalist for the Rod Parker Playwriting Award."

It was around this time that the director of Curry Theatre, Professor Debra Lee Garren, was becoming a fan of Phaneuf's work.

"We recruited Gail upon seeing 'Random Selection,' a brilliant, ten minute, one-act play she had written, which stole the show at the Boston Theatre Marathon," said Garren.

Phaneuf's list of awards also includes:

• Best Director - SMOKE by Dan Bancroft, Playwrights' Platform Summer Festival, 2009
• Best Play and Best Director - STOP REQUESTED - Playwrights' Platform Summer Festival, 2008
• Best Director - CHOICES - by Dan Bancroft, Playwrights' Platform Summer Festival, 2007
• Best Play - URBAN GARDENS - Playwrights' Platform Summer Festival, 2004
• Best Actress/Musical - FOLLIES - ARTA Award, 1990

Already in her fifth year with the college, Phaneuf has written and/or produced all of the Black Box shows and also staged a premiere of her very own musical, 'The Love Note' in spring 2009 on the Main Stage in Curry's Keith Auditorium.

Phaneuf brings real world experience to her students. Not only does she teach to them the elements of theatre and performance, but the program gives her students tools they can use in any profession they choose after Curry.

"Realistically, very few of my students go into theatre as a full-time career, but the lessons learned here at Curry continue to help them in their everyday life. They acquire skills like public speaking, PR, design, organization, meeting deadlines, and much more."

"They really get a sense of if you want anything done right that it needs to be an organized team effort."

Theatre students are expected to not only to write and act, but everyone in the company is encouraged to perform every task in the theatre, from working the box office, to building sets, to lighting and sound and everything in between.

"It really does build confidence. I see it every semester. I have witnessed students go from shy to the extreme to brilliant actors once they get on that stage. When students funnel their energy into something productive, it helps them focus and become more engaged."

Professor Garren testifies to the transformative effect that Curry Theatre, and Gail Phaneuf, has had on so many students.

"It is impressive to witness the works of the students Gail is teaching, the ongoing commitment she makes to their writing, and the opportunities she opens for them in the outside theatre world," added Garren.

In the Spring of 2010, Phaneuf directed Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter's "Betrayal" at the Boston Center for the Arts Calderwood Pavilion