YODA: outdoor plays have we will

The Yale theater community will be getting a breath of fresh air this spring. Literally.

On Fri., Apr. 21, a production of Thornton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth will be performed—not in the Stiles Little Theater or Nick Chapel, but in a courtyard behind SSS. And, as this production sees the natural light of day (or dark of night), it will mark the completion of a semester's work by the new and innovative Yale College Outdoor Dramatic Association (YODA). Created and headed by Dan Squadron, CC '02, and Josh Kriegman, CC '02, YODA is the first group to attempt to institutionalize outdoor theater at Yale. The idea was born earlier this semester, when Squadron and Kriegman began discussing ideas for a production of Wilder's play and ran headlong into the oft-bemoaned problem of theater space. "We knew that we wanted to do a show, and we didn't just want to scramble for Nick Chapel," Squadron said. "When the outdoor idea hit us, it was like `the moment.' It just spiraled."

CAYTE PUSHKAREVA/YH Dan Squadron, CC '02, and Josh Kriegman, CC '02, in their new 'outer space.'

And spiral it did. When they described their idea to others, Squadron and Kriegman discovered a level of interest that surprised them. Accordingly, their vision quickly grew. Far from a one-time fix for an individual space dilemma, they see the start of YODA as ushering in an exciting new trend for Yale theater. "The experience of outdoor theater is a more shared experience because the environment is such an important part of what happens—and the audience becomes a part of that environment," Squadron said. "Plus, it's just a really beautiful surrounding."

In The Skin of Our Teeth, "the margins of the stage will be ambiguous," Squadron said. "Areas that people might not think are the stage will suddenly emerge as pieces of the play's world." In addition, Squadron and Kriegman see YODA's vision of outdoor theater as offering benefits to the community in a more practical and concrete way. "As far as we know, the space has never been used by any group for anything," Kriegman said. "We are christening a new theater space at Yale, a full semester before the new space which Yale College has promised will be available."

The outdoor space, as described by Kriegman, is "the large, enclosed and beautiful courtyard behind SSS. [It] offers almost endless possibilities for large-scale theater productions." He and Squadron hit on the courtyard soon after they initiated their search for an outdoor venue, and since have had enthusiastic cooperation from the Philip Greene, the Dean of Student Organizations, in securing it.

This new concept of theater space at Yale is a prospect that excites the larger theater community. In fact, another outdoor show, Love's Labour's Lost, directed by Brian Mullin, DC '01, is planned for this spring. The two productions are a combined impetus for shifting the spotlight onto outdoor theater.

While Mullin's show is separate from YODA, Kriegman and Squadron do hope to expand after their own premier presentation. "The idea is for YODA to produce a large outdoor `mainstage' show each spring," Kriegman said. "We would also hopefully produce several smaller shows during the course of the year."

Squadron added, "Our plans are very tentative, but we are hoping to put up a fall show next year, possibly in Calhoun or another college courtyard, and then have the year-end big show, which will have its established space." At last, outdoor theater at Yale will have an identity after years of anonymity. In response to the long-standing indoor tradition, Squadron said, "It's hard to start something new. Maybe people before have been daunted by that. This is certainly a project."

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