Alumna Nadia Foskolou ’08 Translates ‘The Viewpoint Book’ by Professor Anne Bogart and Tina Landau

Alumna Nadia Foskolou ’08 translates The Viewpoints Book by professor Anne Bogart and recent adjunct Tina Landau into Greek.

The Viewpoints is a technique of improvisation that grew out of the postmodern dance world. It was first articulated by choreographer Mary Overlie, who broke down the two dominant issues performers deal with—space and time—into six categories. Bogart and Landau expanded these notions and adapted them for actors to function together spontaneously and intuitively and to generate bold, theatrical work.

For over thirty years, Viewpoints education has captivated the imagination of choreographers, actors, directors, set designers, playwrights and writers. Although Viewpoints are taught around the world and used by countless theatrical artists in the rehearsal process, their theory and application have rarely been recorded. Foskolou’s translation refines the philosophy of Viewpoints, in Greek, and provides a step-by-step recipe for their use as a technique in both education and rehearsal. It’s a valuable resource for theater people but also for anyone interested in collaboration and the creative process, whether in art or business or in everyday life. 

In the forward of the Greek translation, Foskolou reflects, “What I realized during the 2-day MFA audition process, led by Anne Bogart, was that I had found myself immersed into a theatrical, and, more broadly speaking, artistic environment that I had never imagined could exist: in that world, every second counted, every person was creative, generous and significant, and every inch of the space surrounding us was filled with tremendous opportunity.” Foskolou continues, “As I was translating Anne and Tina’s written words into Greek, I re-heard their voices and re-lived those fast-paced, sleep-deprived, exhilarating moments, hours, days I experienced while training with them in the studios of Schapiro Hall on West 115th Street on the campus of Columbia University. The translation of their book is the result of the urgent need to share the rare experience but also of the duty to disseminate it as far as possible. Theatre is the art of the ephemeral.”

Foskolou is a New York–based theatre director, dramaturg and translator, also working in Athens, Greece. She currently serves as a Directing Mentor at Fordham University’s Theatre Department. She recently directed the world premiere of MANIFESTO: The Diaghilev Project. Next, she is directing Ivan Vyrypaev's Illusions at Roes Theatre in Athens.