IN THE NEWS
 
Wabash Professor Awaits Release of New Book
First appeared: Wabash College Online (http://www.wabash.edu/kane/newsevents/releases/2001/05/fisher.html), May 31, 2001
 
CRAWFORDSVILLE, IN — Wabash College Professor of Theater Jim Fisher has published a good number of books and plays over the course of his career. In fact, Fisher has published so much that you'd think that the anticipation of a book's release would no longer have the magical impact that it does for writers anxious to see their work in print.
But in this case, Fisher is very excited about the release of his latest book, "The Theater of Tony Kushner: Living Past Hope," published by Routledge and set to be released June 12.
 
Fisher's book is the first complete study of Kushner's work, and covers all of the Pulitzer Prize winning playwright's full-length, one-act, and adapted works.
"I just love the imagination of his plays, and I think that's what connected me to his work," says Fisher, who first met Kushner when he visited Wabash for a lecture in 1995. At the time, Kushner was in the midst of wild excitement about touring productions of his epic two-part play, "Angels in America," which previously had won both the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Awards for best drama.
 
It was also a time of wild controversy about the content and politics of "Angels," which many critics called the most gripping and political American play of all time.
Fisher and Kushner have been in regular contact since that time, and a friendship blossomed. Years later Fisher was asked to write an encyclopedic entry on Kushner, a 15,000-word piece, which required Fisher to look at Kushner's entire body of work, including a great number of unpublished essays and plays. "That meant that I had to ask him to lend me some of the manuscripts and he was extremely generous in that," recalls Fisher. "He seemed to be very comfortable about sharing this stuff with me, and that trust made the book possible."
 
A member of the Wabash theater department for more than 20 years, Fisher has been acting and directing for more than 30 years. But he admits to being a bit disappointed in American drama. "American theater seems to have an aversion to politics," he says. "The political debate within American drama is so rare, whereas it's so commonplace with English drama. What I like about Kushner is that he merges the two; he takes the American tradition of family-oriented drama and personal lives of the characters, and mixes it with the political, which is more European than American."
 
Fisher's book covers literally all of Kushner's work, from his early "A Bright Room Called Day" through "Angels" and its controversies, to essays, adaptations, one-act plays, and current projects which include screenplays and political activism. "I have been reminded about the power of theater; about how much a really great piece of theater means to people. A good piece of theater can outrage people, but it can also fulfill their lives. Theater has the power to soften hard hearts," says Fisher.
 
There has long been speculation that "Angels" would be made into a motion picture, but several previous attempts never materialized. HBO has purchased the rights to produce a film version of the film, and has tabbed Mike Nichols as director.
 
While Fisher's book is a scholarly work, he has tried very hard to make it readable for any audience. His goal for writing the book was simple, "that it would be an interesting read that would make you want to read the plays and see them performed." Copies of Fisher's book can be obtained through Routledge at www.routledge-ny.com.
Fisher has previously written books on Al Jolson, Spencer Tracy, Eddie Cantor, and the history of commedia dell'arte on the modern stage. In October, he will discuss his book in the keynote address at the Indiana English Educators Conference in Indianapolis.

Fisher Publishes Kushner Biography
by Johnny Warren
Staff Reporter
First appeared: The Bachelor (http://bachelor.wabash.edu/issues/110/11/News/fisher.asp), April 12, 2001
 
 
Wabash Theater Professor James Fisher has written a new book entitled "The Theater of Tony Kushner Living Past Hope." The book is the first complete study of Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Tony Kushner's work, including all full-length, one-act, and adapted works. The book is being published by Routledge of New York City and should be available in May 2001.
 
Tony Kushner emerged as a pre-eminent playwright with the two-play epic "Angels in America" in the early 1990's. Professor Fisher's interest in Kushner's work intensified with a visit of Kushner to Wabash in 1995, when he gave a public lecture. The two kept in contact after the visit and became friends. In October 1996, the Wabash Theater Department staged the Indiana premier of "Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches," amid protest from some members of the College and the Crawfordsville community. The play was a portrait of American life in the Reagan era and it raised serious, complicated questions about American society in regards to issues such as morality, sexuality, and politics. Fisher stated that Kushner "was very supportive during the controversy."
 
Fisher has been a professor at Wabash since 1978, and declared that "I've never done a play in my life that didn't bother someone in some way, but I can't say I anticipated the controversy. We were sticking our neck out in a theatrical sort of way." Fisher stated that Kushner's play "Angels" has attained classic status, because it "captured the moment of the late 1980's. His plays are big social, political works, which is great, because a lot of American Drama has been minimalist."
 
Fisher has taught Theater half-courses on Kushner, most recently this past Fall semester. As for which he prefers most, teaching or writing, Fisher remarked "I have a great interest in the scholarly side of things, but I essentially think of myself as a director." Fisher's goal for his new book is that it "might encourage some people to look more carefully at Kushner's works."
 
Professor Fisher has previously published books on Al Jolson, Spencer Tracy, Eddie Cantor, and the history of commedia dell'arte on the modern stage. He is currently working on a book on Gay Dramatists since Stonewall.

Jim Fisher Named Research Scholar
by Jeremy Hopkinson
Staff Reporter
First appeared: The Bachelor (http://bachelor.wabash.edu/issues/105/13/News/fisher.asp), December 10, 1998
 
Theater professor James Fisher has been named the McLain-McTurnan-Arnold Research Scholar for the 1999-2000 academic year. The faculty grant is awarded to provide a member of the Wabash faculty one semester without college duties to dedicate their time to a project of scholarly merit. The McLain-McTurnan-Arnold Research Scholarship Committee annually reviews the projects which are submitted and then selects one member of the faculty based upon their avenue of research. This year's committee was chaired by Classics Professors David Kubiak and includes Professors Bob Olsen and Carl Thompson.
 
Fisher is currently working toward the completion of a volume about a significant figure in the field of drama, Edward Gordon Craig, British actor, theatrical designer and director. The book is titled, Before the Theory: The Early Theatrical Productions of Edward Gordon Craig (1900-1906). Fisher stated that while material has been published about the later work of Craig's life, information about much of his earlier history is not available. Fisher has gained permission to access Craig's diaries and has been in contact with his son in the hunt for primary evidence. Fisher's argument is that the initial productions which Craig directed in England in the first six years of the century set the stage for the theory which he would later set down on paper. Throughout these intial few years of Craig's directing career, his mother, the legendary Ellen Terry helped to bankroll his theatrical endeavors.
These early productions were notable influences because such notable authors and as William Butler Yeats, George Bernard Shaw and Max Biernbaum frequented his productions.
After 1906, Craig fell under heavy criticism about the impracticality of his ideas about the potential of the stage for new and innovative modes of expression. Rejected, Craig moved to the Continent in the hopes of finding greater acceptance of his ideas elsewhere, while Craig was able later to return to directing, it was not until after he had experienced many years without the ability to work the field of his passion. It was due to this unfortunate lack, argues Fisher, that Craig directed his energies theory.
 
During his life, Craig published on the order of 25 books and hundreds of articles on the subject of dramatic theory. "Other directors who did many more productions than Craig did not turn out to be nearly as influential as Craig because of the ephemeral nature of drama," said Fisher.
 
This is the second such scholarship that Fisher has been awarded. The first Research Scholarship was granted during the 1987-88 academic year.