One of the assignments to my class was to read Jean Rosenthal's chapter on Collaboration from her book The Magic of Light. Then also read the Robert Wierzel interview in Live Design on how he collaborates with Bill T. Jones. We were struck by how the notion of collaboration has evolved over the past 30 years. I loved the following paragraph from the Robert Wierzel interview: What I ask him is, "Bill, what is this piece about, what is your starting image?" And he'll usually say, "Do you know this music?" Bill has always had a very raw theatricality as part of his aesthetic tempered by a clean, classical sense of structure. He knows the art world and how refined and structured the art world is and yet how chaotic the theatre world is. He kind of puts those two together, kind of high art and low art, if you will. There's always a tension or dynamic that's happening. What is the starting image, he asks. The answer he gets is: it sounds like this. Twenty years ago I'd have thought this a form of arrogance or felt that someone was jerking me around. Today, I feel this is exactly the right answer. All too often I get the information that does me no good. I've learned to press for what I need. Telling me that, "it is about the Salem Witch Trial", for example, means nothing. I'll ask, is that really what you are exploring? The clue given immediately makes me begin guessing.... Is it about religious extremes? Oppression of women? Oppression of witchcraft? Persecution? The dynamics of power? The tension when death is on the line? History being repeated today? As you can see, the clue given can take me in too many directions. I need clues along the lines of the abstract idea -- tension, conflict, cooperation, support, anger, pain, joy. I need the thesaurus words for introspection and presentation to be led on how my lights can support this dance. We need our choreographers to lead us. I don't want to hear, "I imagined a down pool to open the piece." I'd rather hear, "It opens with a feeling of isolation." The difference being that I can do what I do best. I may come up with a down pool since I am being lead by the sense of isolation. But I may solve it in ways the choreographer had not imagined yet serves even better. Isolation could be a thin band of light for both sides of the stage -- or maybe ten other choices to explore. Choreographers have to have a take on what they are wrestling with: be it strictly movement based or concept driven. The inspiration for a piece is interesting yet for me to do my job I need the commentary on the subject. To read the Rober Wierzel interview, click here.