1996-97 "Indiana Theater Person of the Year"
Professor Fisher Named Theater Person of the Year
- article from The Wabash Magazine
It was a "standout year for theater at Wabash College," according to depratment chairman Jim Fisher, and it appears the department's amazing momentum will continue through next year as well. In October, Fisher will be presented the Indiana Theater Association's "Indiana Theater Person of the Year" award for his many contributions to college and university theater in the state.
The award is given upon recognition of outstanding service to all levels of Indiana Theater, and will be presented during ITA's annual meeting at DePauw this October. "This award is certainly a nice pat on the back by the people who know what I do and what it takes to do it, which is a very nice honor, indeed," says Fisher.
A New Jersey native who will begin his 20th year at Wabash this fall, Fisher thinks the growing strength and reputation of Wabash's theater department had much to do with his recognition by the ITA.
"Certainly, Angels in America
drew the most public attention last year, but overall we produced
three large-scale plays and pulled them off remarkably. Michael
Abbott re-made Lysistrata and enjoyed wonderful reviews.
Dwight Watson did a very difficult Eurpoean classic (The Visit)
and did so with the wonderful work of our student designer, Marc
Doshi '97. It really was a year that raised my respect for our
students; I'm just amazed at how they accepted the challenges
and pulled off such difficult shows with flying colors."
Fisher directed Angels in America,
Part I: Millennium Approaches, which received a four-star
review from the Indianapolis Star newspaper. All four performances
were sold out, and the Wabash production drew crowds from all
over the midwest.
"I think all of us in the department
are coming off this year exhausted, but feeling a real sense of
accomplishment." Fisher explains. "It's not easy to
be in the arts here at Wabash; there are a lot of hurdles you
have to clear because our work is always on the platform. While
that makes you visible, which is good, you can also take a beating.
That was my concern about Angels - that outside people
would come into our theater and judge our student production."
The sense of gratification and perhaps
the ITA award itself came because those who have seen the growth
of Wabash's theater department understand the distance that has
been traveled.
"If you can measure up to the demands
of The Visit, Angels in America and Lysistrata,
"Fisher says, "you can do the run of the mill stuff
with no trouble. That's what gives me a sense of pride in what
our students have accomplished."
Former WLB resident named 'Indiana Theatre Person of the Year'
James Fisher, formerly of West Long Branch
resident and currently Professor of Theater at Wabash College,
was recently named "Indiana Theatre Person of the Year"
for 1996-97 by the Indiana Theatre Association, an award given
to "particular individuals who have contributed to the cooperative
development of theatre at all levels within the state of Indiana."
This prestigious award has been given periodically since 1979.
Fisher was born in Long Branch and attended Monmouth College where
he was a Speech/Drama major (Class of 1973). He is the eldest
son of Federal Court Judge and Mrs. Clarkson S. Fisher, Sr. of
West Long Branch.
Fisher has been on the faculty at Wabash
College since 1978. Following his undergraduate work at Monmouth,
he completed his Master of Fine Arts degree at the University
of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1976. Fisher will receive the
"Indiana Theatre Person of the Year" award at the annual
Indiana TheatreWorks Conference which will be held at DePauw University
on October 4.
Among Fisher's other awards are the McLain/McTurnan/Amold's
Research Scholar at Wabash College for 1987-88, which permitted
him a semester-long leave-of-absence to complete work on a book
entitled The Theater of Yesterday and Tomorrow: Commedia dell'arte
on the Modern Stage, which was published by the Edwin Mellen
Press in 1992. Another book Beyond the Theory: The Early Production
of Edward Gordon Craig (1900-1906) will also be published
by Mellen. Fisher has also published books on Al Jolson, Spencer
Tracy, and Eddie Cantor. Also for Greenwood, Fisher is completing
manuscripts for two Research and Production Sourcebooks on Eugene
O'Neill and Stephen Sondheim. Fisher received a Research Award
from The Society for Theatre Research (London) in 1992, and he
was named a Public Humanities Fellow by the Indiana Humanities
Council in 1991. He has published numerous articles, book reviews,
and theater reviews in journals and periodicals.
In 1990, Fisher curated an exhibition,
"The History of Clowning from Commedia dell'arte to Present,"
for the Actors Theatre of Louisville "Classics in Context"
Festival. Fisher was also named a Six-Month Fellow by the Newberry
Library for 1992-93. At the Newberry, he co-taught a seminar course,
"The Dialogue with Progress," and guided students in
research projects while pursuing his own research interests.
Fisher has had extensive professional
experience in the theater. He has directed and acted in nearly
150 theatre productions. He recently directed one of the first
college productions ever of Tony Kushner's Pulitizer Prize-winning
drama, Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches,"
which was compared favorably to the Broadway production by a reviewer
for The Chronicle of Higher Education.
A native of West Long Branch, New Jersey, Fisher married Dana Kay Warner, an actress and artist, in 1977. They have two children, Daniel Clarkson and Anna Kathleen.
Wabash faculty member chosen for statewide award
James Fisher, head of the theater department
at Wabash College in Crawfordsville has been selected Indiana
Theatre Person of the Year by the Indiana Theatre Association
for the 1997-97 season.
The award, given periodically since 1979
is designed to honor "particular individuals who have contributed
to the cooperative development of theatre at all levels within
the state of Indiana."
Fisher has been on the faculty at Wabash
since 1978. A prolific author and theater scholar, he has published
books on Al Jolson, Spencer Tracy, Eddie Cantor, the theory of
Commedia dell'arte, the modern stage and the early productions
of Edward Gordon Craig.
In 1990, he curated an exhibit, The
History of Clowning from Commedia dell'arte to the present, for
the Actor's Theater of Louisville's Classic in Context Festival.
He also was named a Six-Month Fellow of the Newberry Library in
1992-93.
He has extensive professional experience,
having directed or acted in nearly 150 theatrical productions
in New Jersey, Indiana, North Carolina, Tennessee, Pennsylvania
and elsewhere.
Last October he stage the Indiana premiere
of Tony Kushner's Pulitizer Prize-winning drama Angels in America,
Part One: Millennium Approaches at Wabash, that brought a
flurry of protests from alumni who objected to the play's homosexual
theme. But the production, which opened without a hitch, was praised
by critics and became an audience favorite.
Fisher will receive his award at the annual Indiana TheaterWorks Conference at DePauw University in October.
