For his body of work and his commitment to the dramatic arts actor, director, teacher, and playwright Andre Gregory received the 2005 Dickinson College Arts Award on Jan. 25 2005.
Andre Gregory's list of credits is long and varied from the creation of the Manhattan Project, one of the leading avant-garde theaters, to his work with legendary directors like Woody Allen and Martin Scorsese, and the 1981 film "My Dinner with Andre," directed by Louis Malle, which became one of the two or three films that launched the American independent film movement. In that film Gregory details his career highs and lows, his world travels, his fascination with "The Little Prince" and the time he ate dirt. Playing opposite is Wallace Shawn, who co-wrote the movie and who, like the audience, is a rapt listener. Gregory's more than 30-year friendship with Wallace Shawn began with his production of Shawn's "Our Late Night." Malle, Shawn, and Gregory also worked on the hugely successful film "Vanya on 42nd Street. As a director, Gregory has been an important force in the American theater for nearly 40 years. He was the founder of the Seattle Repertory Theatre, the LA Inner City Cultural Center and the Philadelphia Theatre of Living Arts. In the late 1960s, he created the Manhattan Project. His legendary production of "Alice in Wonderland" played in New York for seven years and toured the United States, Europe and the Middle East. As an actor, Gregory has performed in a dozen Hollywood films, including "The Last Temptation of Christ," "Celebrity" and "Bonfire of the Vanities." As an acting teacher, he has conducted workshops at universities across the country as well as in Paris, Berlin, Tehran, Jerusalem and New Delhi.
As part the Arts Award programming, a staged reading of Gregory's play "Bone Songs" was performed by a cast of professional actors in Mathers Theatre. The play is a kaleidoscopic carousel of scenes, songs, soliloquies and stories that is a poetic and poignant theatrical voyage into the mysteries of life through reflections on love and loss. While there have been other readings and workshops of Gregory's "Bone Songs," the performance at Dickinson was the first to use a movement theater approach with design and music elements. Karen Lordi, associate professor of theatre and director of "Bone Songs," explained that "Gregory was chosen for this honor because his contributions to the world of theater and film are many. I was thrilled that my students and I would have a chance to interact with him and I knew that the surrounding community would relish this opportunity just as much. The two days of events in celebration of his accomplishments gave the entire community a chance to know Andre Gregory first-hand through his works and words, which are heartfelt and insightful,"
Click here for photographs and more information on the award ceremony, the production of "Bone Songs" and other Arts Award events.
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Dickinson's Arts Award honors an individual or group who has made an outstanding contribution to the creative or performing arts. Past recipients in Theatre and Dance have included actress Dame Judith Anderson, director and founder of Arena Stage Zelda Fichandler, the Pennsylvania Ballet, playwright David Mamet, choreographer Twyla Tharp, and actress Julie Harris. Click here for a complete list of the recipients of the Dickinson College Arts Award.
