Professor inspires cast of “˜Merry Wives’

Courtesy of Paul Wagar Paul Wagar is directing
"Merry Wives of Windsor," playing this weekend.

By Ken Ruda
Daily Bruin Contributor
[email protected]

UCLA theater professor Paul Wagar practices what he teaches by
continuing work outside the classroom and bringing many of his
students along with him.

Currently, Wagar teaches voice and speech at UCLA’s School
of Theater, Film and Television and is directing the Ark
Theatre’s “Merry Wives of Windsor” with many UCLA
undergraduate, graduate and graduated students at the NoHo Actors
Studio in North Hollywood through June 2.

Teaching and working with students is nothing new to Wagar, as
he has had an extensive career to date. Wagar came to UCLA after a
long career in theater, directing the likes of the Royal
Shakespeare Company in London, and with the Pulse Theater in
Washington, D.C.

He also taught at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia,
where he first became a voice and speech teacher and worked on
shows.

His current artistic endeavors range from running the Ark
Theatre Company, which he co-founded, to developing a pilot for
HBO.

But in the end, what he greatly values is watching and nurturing
the growth of his students and performers in the classroom and on
stage.

“It’s a wonderful, fulfilling feeling watching
people grow,” Wagar said.

Where others might overlook the talent under their noses, Wagar
makes a point of using the performers and artists that he educates
and fraternizes with on campus.

Instead of auditioning new actors, Wagar often asks a familiar
student to work with him on a project if he or she is right for the
position.

Sean McDonell, a fifth-year theater student performing in
“Merry Wives of Windsor” and a member of the Ark
Theatre Company, said that Wagar is an excellent teacher and
director.

“He makes voice work, which can be tedious at times, come
alive by showing us how it connects to the text and the
character,” McDonell said.

Wagar emphasizes bringing in his particular knowledge of
accents, pronunciations and classical text analysis to any artistic
piece he works on.

“There is a huge teaching element to directing anything
classical,” Wagar said. “It’s far too common that
actors haven’t been properly trained on how to connect with
classical texts, especially when they are in verse. To discuss and
understand the text is part of the rehearsal process.”

Wagar insists on this high level of knowledge and intimacy with
every text, but just because the work is intense and emotionally
taxing doesn’t mean the plays always must be. Previous to
working on “Merry Wives of Windsor,” Wagar worked on
another Shakespeare play, “The Merchant of Venice.”

“I wanted to work on something with less heavy themes
after working on “˜Merchant.’ Plus, I wanted to do a
play that would create some roles for middle-aged women who
don’t always have roles available to them.”

Currently at the Ark Theatre Company there are approximately 11
members from UCLA who are working with Wagar on “Merry
Wives.” One of them is Les Miller, a film school graduate
student and assistant director and production designer for this
production.

“It’s a labor of love,” Miller said about the
play. “We learn from each other. There’s no stars, just
true ensemble work.”

Miller said that lines in “Merry Wives” were edited
and modernized for today’s audiences.

“We tried to find modern equivalences to the references
without breaking the rhythm or feel of the text,” said
Miller.

Wagar has a bit of a mission when it comes to playwrights such
as Shakespeare and modern audiences who say they just don’t
like it.

“It’s my mission to expose people who say they
don’t enjoy Shakespeare to a well done production where the
director, actors and crew all build from and understand the
text,” Wagar said.

“People who believe that Shakespeare is arcane or
confusing just might never have seen a good performance of the
plays as is sometimes unfortunately the case.”

THEATER: “Merry Wives of Windsor” plays at the NoHo
Actors Studio in North Hollywood this weekend. For tickets, call
(323)-969-1707.