PSC-CUNY Research Awards (Traditional A)
Control No: TRADA-42-229 Name : Willinger, David
Rank: Professor Address :
Tenured: Yes Telephone : College: CITY COLLEGE Email: Panel: Performing Arts
Performing Arts Discipline : Scholarship
Human Subject Use No
Animal Subject Use No
Supplementary Materials No
List of Supplementary Material
Department THEATER
Title of Proposed Project:
IVO VAN HOVE: A MAJOR THEATRE ARTIST AND HIS WORK
Brief Abstract This is a proposal for a major book-length retrospective study of Ivo Van Hove’s career as a
theatre director. It would take on his design innovations and his revolutionary approach to text and
theatrical ambiance as well as chart the relationships with specific theatres and theatre companies
of this, one of the most prominent theatre iconoclasts alive today. Van Hove is particularly
important in that he acts as one of the few long-time “bridges” between European and American
praxis. His career, in itself, represents a model of cross-fertilization, as he has brought European
radical interpretation of classics to America and American organic acting to Europe. This book, as
conceived would contain a generous number of images illustrating his productions and archive a
wide cross-section of critical and analytical responses that have engaged in the controversies his
work has engendered, as well as posit new, overarching hypotheses.
Relevant Publications PUBLICATIONS
& Scholarship BOOKS
A Maeterlinck Reader
(co-edited with Daniel Gerould) New York, Francophone Belgian Series, Peter Lang Publications,
2011
Translations of The Princess Maleine, Pelleas and Melisande, The Intruder, The Blind, The Death
of Tintagiles, and numerous essays, with an extensive historical and analytical introduction, 358
pp.
(Resulted from PSC-CUNY funding)
The Sacrament and Other Plays of Forbidden Love by Hugo Claus
Selinsgrove, Pa., Susquehanna University Press, 2007,
240 pp. Translations of Bride in the Morning, Sugar, and The Sacrament with an extensive
introduction.
[Resulted from PSC-CUNY funding]
Theatrical Gestures of Belgian Modernism New York, Peter Lang Publishers, Belgian Francophone Series, 2001, 210 pp.Reedition and reworking of 1987 volume; with an expanded introduction and addition of several plays.
[Resulted from PSC-CUNY funding]
Three Fin-de-Siècle Farces. New York, Peter Lang Publishers, Belgian Francophone Series,
1996, 230 pp.
Translation of Pan, Charles Van Lerberghe; The Miracle of Saint Anthony, Maurice Maeterlinck;
Miss Bullberg's Marriage by Frantz Fonson and Fernand Wicheler and introduction.
[Resulted from PSC-CUNY funding]
Friday.
Amsterdam, Uitgeverij Theatre and Film Books, Theatre in Translation Series,1993,
156 pp. Translated play by Hugo Claus (with Luk Truyts) and wrote introduction.
Ghelderode
Austin, Texas, Host Publications, 1990, 294 pp.
Edited, wrote introduction (41 pp.), and co-translated (with Gilbert Darbouze and Luc Deneulin)
The Siege of Ostend, The Actor Makes His Exit, and Transfiguration in the Circus.
[Resulted from PSC-CUNY funding]
Hugo Claus: Works for the Theatre
New York, CASTA, 1990, 197 pp.
Edited, wrote introduction (19 pp.), and co-translated (with Luc Deneulin and Luk Truyts) The Hair of the Dog, The Temptation, Serenade, and Friday.
[Resulted from PSC-CUNY funding]
A Theatre Anthology
Lanham, Maryland, University Press of America, 1990, 368 pp.
Edited (with Charles Gattnig) various plays and documents
Theatrical Gestures from the Belgian Avant-Garde New York, New York Literary Forum, 1987, 148 pp.
Edited, wrote introduction (33 pp.), and co-translated (with Luc Deneulin) eleven plays by Michel de Ghelderode, René Magritte, Clément Pansaers, Paul Joostens, Paul Nougé, Fernand Dumont,
Michel Seuphor, Georges Norge.
Andrea's Got Two Boyfriends
Original Play. New York, Dramatists Play Service, 1986, 38 pp.
An Anthology of Contemporary Belgian Plays, 1972-1980
Troy, N.Y., Whitston Publishing Co., 1984, 724 pp.
Edited, wrote introductions, and co-translated (with Luc Deneulin and Luk Truyts) ten plays by
Hugo Claus, Ivo Van Hove, Lucienne Staessart, René Kalisky, Jean Louvet, Jean Sigrid.
[Resulted from PSC-CUNY funding]
Articles in Journals and Entries from Books
"Some Notes on Belgian Directors in New York," Contemporary Theatre Review, Summer, 2010.
"Georges Linze, Unique Playwright of Futurist Theatre in Belgium: How Futurist Was It?," Avant-
Garde Theatre, Brussels, VUB Press, 2011.
Book Review of Serge Goriely's Le Théâtre de René Kalisky: Tragique et ludique dans la réprésentation de l’histoire by Serge Goriely, Textyles, Fall, 2010.
"Arne Sierens: Abstractionist of the Rough Theatre," Plays, International, London, England,
November, 2009.
"A Renascence in Belgian Theatre," Western European Stages, Summer, 2009.
Entries on Belgian Survey and Authors: Eduardo Machado, Larry Kramer, Len Jenkin, Hugo
Claus, René Kalisky, Paul Willems, Columbia University Encyclopedia of Modern Drama, 2007.
“Traduire Ghelderode en Anglais,” Papagaie, 2004.
“Three Plays and an Opera,” Western European Stages, 2004.
“Paul Willems: Figure of Transition and Intersection in the Belgian Dramatic Tradition,” Paul
Willems, l’Enchanteur, Daniel Friedman and Fabrice Van de Kerckhove, eds. Peter Lang,
Francophone Belgian Series, 2002.
“Jean Louvet et le cul de sac américain,” Altérnatives Théâtrales, 2001.
“Tam-Tam, Analysis of a Controversial, but Underestimated Work,” Lettres ou...ne pas Lettres:
Mélanges pour Roland Beyen, ed., Lieven Tack, Archives du Futur, Louvain, 2001.
“Overview of Contemporary Belgian Theatre,” Western European Stages, Spring, 2001.
Book Review of La Correspondance de Michel de Ghelderode, Tomes V and VI by Roland Beyen,
Modern Drama, in prospect.
Book Review of The Crommelynck Mystery and The Theatre of Fernand Crommelynck, both by
Alain Piette and Bert Cardullo, Modern Drama, Spring, 2000
“Chronique d’un traducteur américain du théâtre belge”, Le Carnet et les Instants,Brussels, Sept.-
Nov., 1999.
“Five Approaches to Theatre in Belgium,” Western European Stages, Spring, 1999.
"The Abnormal Talent: Larry Kramer's Electro-Shock Treatment for the World Theatre," We Must
Love One Another or Die: The Life and Legacy of Larry Kramer, Larry Mass, ed.Cassell
Publishers, 1997. Paperback version by St. Martin’s Press, 1999.
Review of Adrienne Kennedy's Funnyhouse of a Negro and Movies Stars, Theatre Journal, May,
1996.
"The Unwitting Avant-Garde Exchange Between Belgium and America throughout the Twentieth Century," Unwitting Influences in Theatre, Dina Hellemans and Ronald Geerts, eds., V.U.B. Press,
1996, pp. 11-30.
“Michel de Ghelderode et Hugo Claus: deux dramaturges se reflètent,” Michel de Ghelderode...
Trente ans après, Rodica Lascu-Pop and Rodica Baconsky,eds., Clusium, Cluj, Romania, 1995, pp. 109-116.
Review of three books about Michel de Ghelderode, Modern Drama, Summer, 1994, pp. 367-369.
"Richard, Vanya, and James," Western European Stages Special Dutch Issue, Spring, 1994.
Guest Co-editor of Special Issue.
Interview with Geraardjan Rijnders, Western European Stages Special Dutch Issue, Spring, 1994.
Eduardo Machado Entry, Critical Survey of Drama, Pasadena, Calif., Salem Press, 1993, pp.
1524-1533.
Hugo Claus Entry, International Dictionary of the Theatre, London, St. James Press, 1993.
"Developing a Concert for the Spoken Voice: Solo Voyages," Intersecting Boundaries: The
Theatre of Adrienne Kennedy, Lois More Overbeck and Paul Bryant-Jackson, eds., Minneapolis,
University of Minnesota Press,1993, pp. 224-230.
The Weight of the Snow, translation of play by Paul Willems, Four Plays of Paul Willems: Dreams and Reflections, Suzanne Burgoyne, ed., New York, Garland, 1992.
"Blauwe Maandag Compagnie," Western European Stages, Vol. 2, no. 3, Spring, 1991. Reprinted
(in Dutch) in Flemish Theatre Yearbook, 1989-90 (Brussels), pp. 39-46.
"A Spin Through the Flemish Theatre Scene," Western European Stages, Vol. 2, no. 3, Spring,
1991, pp. 47-48.
"The Best of Times and the Worst of Times: Jérome Savary's Midsummer Night's Dream," Western European Stages, vol. 2, no. 2, Fall, 1990, pp. 25-26.
Michel de Ghelderode Entry, European Writers: The Twentieth Century, George Stade, ed., Vol.
11, NewYork, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1990, pp. 2113-2141.
"Introducing Hugo Claus" Western European Stages, vol. 2, no. 1, Spring, 1990, pp. 45-48.
"Hugo Claus' The Temptation and Christian Mysticism," Sacred Theatre, Daniel Gerould, Bettina
Knapp, and Jane House, eds., New York, 1989, pp. 59-70.
"The Pseudo-Dramas of Paul Joostens," Symposium, vol. XLII, no. 3, Fall, 1988, pp. 261-272.
"Maeterlinck's Legacy: Recent Developments in Belgian Playwriting," European Studies Journal,
1988, pp. 387-394.
"Social Contexts and Aesthetic Modes of Political Theatre in Belgium," Political Theatre Today,
Jane House, ed., New York, Institute on Western Europe,1988, pp. 32-48.
"L'homme qui avait le soleil dans sa poche et la pluie belge," Textyles, no. 2, Jan.,1987, pp. 18-
20.
"Bert André, Mainstay of the Flemish Theatre," The Drama Review, vol. 29, no. 4, Winter, 1985, pp. 39-46.
"Van Hove's Disease Germs," The Drama Review, vol. 27, no.1, Spring, 1983, pp. 93-97.
"Jean Louvet, écrivain au soleil," Textes pour Didascalies, appended to the play, L'homme qui avait le soleil dans sa poche by Jean Louvet, Jan., 1982, pp.69-71.
"Tiedrie: A Bric-à-Brac Theatre in Antwerp," International Theatre, 1982.
Entries on American Collaborative Drama and Belgian Playwrights: Hugo Claus,René Kalisky,
Jean Louvet, Jean Sigrid, and revised Ghelderode entry,Encyclopedia of World Drama, 2nd ed.,
New York, McGraw-Hill, 1981.
"Van Hove's Geruchten," The Drama Review, vol. 25, no. 2, Summer, 1981, pp. 116-118.
"An Actor's Approach to the Study of Plays," Insight, 1978, pp. 23-27.
DIRECTING AND WRITING FOR THE THEATRE AND FILM
Directing and Writing for Film:
Lunatics, Lovers, and Actors
Wrote and co-directed feature-length fiction film, Released 2009. Has shown at Lower East Side
Festival for the Arts, New Hope Film Festival, Harlem International Film Festival, and has been selected by United Kingdom Gay Film Festival and Heart of England Film Festival.
Take the Bridge
Co-wrote the scenario with Sergio Castilla who directed (released 2007).
Professional Theatre Directing:
Full-Scale Productions:
At Ambassador Theatre, Washington, D.C.:
Under the Shadow of Wings (an evening of two one-acts -- The Death of Tintagiles by Maurice
Maeterlinck and
Karna and Kunti by Rabindranath Tagore)
At Theater for the New City:
Job’s Passion by Hanoch Levin
Secret Agent adapted from Joseph Conrad’s novel
Minus One by Gyavira Lasana
The Open Gate musical adapted from Isaac B. Singer’s novel, The Manor
The Trail of Tears original work from the historical record
Jim the Lionhearted by René Kalisky (my translation)
Master and Margarita Jean-Claude Van Itallie’s adaptation from Bulgakov
Bombing the Cradle original Work about the Gulf War
Caprichos self-authored, based on Goya’s etchings
He Saw His Reflection by Miranda McDermott
Heart is a Lonely Hunter adapted from Carson McCullers’s novel
Don Juan in NYC by Eduardo Machado
At La Mama ETC:
The Wound adapted from Paul Willems’s novel
Frida y Diego original work
Malcolm’s Time original work
Andrea’s Got Two Boyfriends original work
At The Laurie Beecham Theatre:
The Terrorist by Howard Pflanzer
At HERE:
Ghost Sonata by August Strindberg
At Avalon Repertory Theatre:
The Diviners by Jim Ward
At Interarttheatre:
Solo Voyages by Adrienne Kennedy
For Citirep:
Diary of Lights by Adrienne Kennedy
At the Cubiculo:
The Temptation by Hugo Claus (my translation)
At Hartley House Theatre:
That Time by Samuel Beckett
Blockheads by Michel De Ghelderode (my translation)
Blue Woman on Black Bed original work
Secrets of Successful Runners original work
A Month in the Country by Ivan Turgenev
Piet Bouteille by Michel De Ghelderode
The Stranger adaptation of Albert Camus’ novel
Lord Halewyn by Michel De Ghelderode
The Terror of Suspension by Albert Bermel
At New York Theater Ensemble:
Don Juan by Molière
’Tis Pity She’s a Whore by John Ford
At One-Act Repertory Company:
The Exception and the Rule by Bertolt Brecht
Workshop:
Participated with Joseph Chaikin as co-writer/director of his ongoing Disabilities Workshop Project at the New York Shakespeare Festival.
Staged Readings:
At Blue Heron Arts Center:
If Truth Were Known by Judi Komaki
At Aaron Davis Hall (New Works Series):
Godmother by Gyavira Lasana
At New York Shakespeare Festival:
The Brass Ring by Orson Welles
At Chelsea Drama Center:
Mixed Doubles by Miklos Vamos
For Italian Theatre Festival:
Love and Magic in Mama’s Kitchen by Lina Wertmüller
Original Writing for the Theatre
(wrote and directed) at Theater for the New City The Trail of Tears: A Drama from the Historical Record (with Peggy Dean)
Caprichos
Bombing the Cradle (with Mahmood Karimi-Hakak) at LaMama ETC.
Frida y Diego
Malcolm’s Time
Andrea’s Got Two Boyfriends
The latter work has been subsequently performed at the Julian Theatre, San Francisco, the Los
Angeles Actors’ Unit (as a long-run hit), the Yale Cabaret, and many amateur theatres across the country every year. It garnered a Drama-Logue Award and is published by Dramatists Play
Service. It has even been performed in Poland in translation. at Hartley House Theater
Secrets of Successful Runners
Blue Woman on Black Bed
Dramatic Adaptations
Secret Agent (based on Joseph Conrad’s novel, performed at Theater for the New City)
The Open Gate (a musical based on I.B. Singer’s novel; music by Arthur Abrams, performed at
Theater for the New City)
Casterbridge (a musical based on Thomas Hardy’s novel; music by Christopher Beste)
Leopold II (an opera based on the life of the Belgian king; music by Hellmuth Dusedau)
Heart is a Lonely Hunter (celebrated production of Carson McCuller’s novel, self-directed, performed 2 years in succession at Theater for the New City)
The Stranger (based on Albert Camus’s novel, performed at Hartley House Theater)
The Counterfeiters (based on André Gide’s novel)
The Story of Martin Chuzzlewit (based on Charles Dickens’s novel, performed at City College)
The Dead Girls (based on Jorge Ibárguëngoitía’s novel, performed at City College)
Teiresias and the Idiot (a musical based on a mythic structure, performed at Hartley House Theater)
College Directing:
At The City College of New York:
¿De Dónde? by Mary Gallagher
Anything Goes by Cole Porter
The Italian Straw Hat by Eugène Labiche
Bang-Bang, You’re Dead, compendium of scenes about war
The Story of Martin Chuzzlewit, adapted from the novel by Charles Dickens
Summerfolk, by Maxim Gorky
Rhinoceros by Eugène Ionesco
Little Shop of Horrors by Howard Mencken
The Wiz by Charlie Smalls
The Wound adapted from the novel by Paul Willems
Turandot, by Carlo Gozzi
Look Homeward Angel by Ketti Frings
King Stag by Carlo Gozzi
Lorenzaccio by Alfred De Musset
Caprichos, original work based on Goya’s etchings
Heavenly Words, Ramòn Del Valle Inclán
Fabiola by Eduardo Machado
Enemies by Maxim Gorky
You Can’t Take it With You by Kauffman and Hart
The Backward Anthology by Zoe Walker
Love’s the Best Doctor by Molière
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare
Tales from Vienna Woods by Odön Von Hórvath
No Place to Be Somebody by Charles Gordone Spring’s Awakening by Frank Wedekind
The Ballad of the Dead Girls adapted from the novel by Jorge Ibárguëngoitía
At Westchester Community College:
Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen
The Time of Your Life by William Saroyan
The Life and Times of Billie the Kid by Michael Ondaatje
At Herbert Lehman College:
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum by Stephen Sondheim
The Stranger, adapted from the novel by Albert Camus
Guernica by Fernando Arrabal
Architruc by Robert Pinget
Lovers by Brian Friel
The Entertainer by John Osborne
Education
Institution Degree Year(s) Discipline
Lehman College BA 1972 Theatre
Lehman College MA 1975 Theatre
CUNY Graduate Center Ph.D. 1980 Theatre
Other Current & Past Funding (last 5 years)
Period Title Amount Funding Source 2008 A MAETERLINCK READER $3,000.00 PSC-CUNY
THE SACRAMENT and Other Plays of Forbidden Love by Hugo 2005 $3,400.00 PSC-CUNY Claus
1987 Grant to develop World Arts Course at CCNY $110,000.00 NEH
1985 Award for translation of Hugo Claus's THE TEMPTATION $1,000.00 The Translation Center
2004 Grant to adapt and direct Joseph Conrad's SECRET AGENT $3,400.00 PSC-CUNY
2000 Fellowship Award $6,000.00 Simon R. Rifkind Center
Grant for translation and study of Victor Hugo's LUCRECE 2000 $2,700.00 PSC-CUNY BORGIA
1999 Theatre Grant $1,000.00 Jerome Foundation
1998 Theatre Grant $1,000.00 Jerome Foundation
1990 Research Fellowship $6,500.00 Fulbright Foundation
2001 Prix du Rayonnement a l'Etranger $3,500.00 Belgian Ministry of Culture
2003 Grant for directing MINUS ONE $4,500.00 NEA
1991 Travel to Collections Grant $750.00 NEH
1988 The Pseudo Dramas of Paul Joostens $3,200.00 PSC-CUNY
Attachments
Description File Name File Size Date Attached print
Project PSC-CUNY_Prop2011. 1/14/2011 12:44:16 41984 Description doc PM
Budgets
Description Requested Amount
0 Summer Salary (Principal Investigator) 0 Fringe Benefit Expense 0
0 0 Research Staff Fringe Benefit Expense 0 MTA Payroll Tax
0 0 Clerical Staff Fringe Benefit Expense 0 MTA Payroll Tax
0 General Office Supplies/Xeroxing 0 0
0 Research Supplies 0 0
0 Domestic Travel 0 0
0 Independent Contractors 0 0
0 Payment to Subjects 0 0
0 Laboratory Fees 0 0
0 Equipment 0 0
0 Manuscript Preparation/ Publication Costs 0 0
3500.00 Foreign Travel 3500.00 0
Total 3500.00