UP Mindanao students were inspired to think of creating a theater or dramatics group following an interactive session titled “From Page to Stage: Elements of Performance” facilitated by US-based theater artist and novelist Mr. Christopher Conner at the UP Mindanao Audio-Visual Room on February 19, 2025. In the photo above, the students asked Mr. Conner’s contact information which he provided, saying that he would respond anytime.
At the start of the session, Mr. Conner gave a brief introduction to the drama and its timeless stories and human qualities which he traced from the ancient Greeks to current theater productions and movies. He advised them to view the great plays both past and present available online. “In this day and age you are so fortunate to have access to the wealth of drama worldwide,” he said. He pointed out the current wave of Filipino performers in major international productions and named some. “There has never been a better time for Filipinos on the world stages,” he said.
In the interactive session, students with previous play experiences volunteered on-stage and, with Mr. Conner’s coaching, recalled their plays’ stories and their characters’ needs. From these needs, the players found direction for their actions and emotions.
Instructor Assoc. Prof. Genevieve Quintero, in her introduction, said Mr. Conner holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from New York University and a Masters in Counseling Psychology from McKendree University. In theater, he has directed student productions of the Greek dramas The Orestia and The Bacchae, the playwright Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus, Oscar Wilde’s Salome, and Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Titus Andronicus. As a novelist, he has published five books based on his YouTube series “Prep School Blues.” His upcoming novel, I Fell in Love with a Mexican Vampire, will be published later this year. He currently resides in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, but has travelled widely abroad and in the Philippines.
Mr. Conner’s first visit to UP Mindanao was on February 4, 2025, in the company of Dr. Cosme Cagas, his grandfather and founder of the UP Medical Alumni Society in America, that supports the upcoming UP Mindanao medicine program.
Upon discovering Mr. Conner’s skills, College of Humanities and Social Sciences dean Prof. Jhoanna Lynn Cruz invited him to give a session for the BA English constituents and other interested parties. Department of Humanities Instructor Liane Suelan and the Comparative Literature 114 class organized the event with promotion by the UP Mindanao Literary Society.
The photos below show more of the event.
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The emcees open the event.
Assoc. Prof. Genevieve Quintero gives the Introduction of the Speaker. Dr. Cosme Cagas is at the front row, left.
Mr. Christopher Conner gives the performance coaching with the various student players.
Student players try the dramatic scene.
Dean Jhoanna Lynn Cruz thanks Mr. Conner in her Closing Remarks
At the certificate awarding are (left-right) Mr. Liane Suelan, Mr. Conner, Dean Cruz, and A/Prof. Quintero.
The event participants pose for the documentation.