Arts | 9/27/07

Media Credit: Patrick Smith [Click to enlarge]

Towson University senior Robert Selman was first introduced to the genius of David Ives back in high school when he directed Ives' play "All in the Timing."

Little did Selman know that a few years later he would be directing the same play, this time at Towson.

"I've had this play in my databank for probably six or seven years," Selman said. "I found it my sophomore year of high school."

Frequent visitors to the Center for the Arts have surely seen Selman around before. The theater major is highly involved in all aspects of the arts, from acting to his greater passion, which is directing. He recently performed in "Angels in America" at the Center of the Arts last April.

During his early college years, Selman had the script for "All in the Timing" on his mind frequently. When the chance came for him to have a go at directing the play, he jumped at it. Selman could think of no better way of honoring Ives, one of his idols.

"It's not typically students who want to direct a show," Selman said, noting that an extended proposal process was necessary in order to produce the play. He submitted an outline that included how he interprets the play and his vision for it that would eventually be approved by his teachers, taking almost three months to complete.

"It's almost as if writing a grant proposal for a professional production," Selman said.

In Selman's version of "All in the Timing," he made some changes to the work. Originally, the play was written with six independent scenes, however Selman chose to select the four that depict real life scenarios the most.

"They're the four that I find most captivating," he said. "They speak to me the most as an artist.

The first of the four, "The Universal Language," focuses on a woman who reads an article in the newspaper about a new universal language, called "Unamunda."

The language promises to unite all the people of the world. After learning "Unamunda," the woman later discovers that the universal language is really a con game.

Continued...

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