Daniel Bird Tobin
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Summer Youth Theatre

The Odyssey - 2019
Robin Hood - 2018

Lawrence Arts Center

Directed by Daniel Bird Tobin

Written by Will Averill

For the past two summers I've had the pleasure of directing for Summer Youth Theatre at the Lawrence Arts Center in Lawrence, KS. It has been wonderful being their Resident Artist two years in a row, creating fantastic and fun shows with and for youth.
Picture

Production Photos


The Trials of Robin Hood - Director's Note

At the end of the day, I fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. If that makes me an outlaw, so be it. I’ve been called worse.
--Angela Parkhurst, Forget Me Not

Growing up my family owned three movies on VHS: Twister, for some strange reason Adam Sandler’s Waterboy, and the Disney version of Robin Hood. 20? 30? I’m not sure how many times I must have watched that movie. I was enamored. Robin Hood’s spirit, pluck, and ethos stuck with me even from that early age.
I was a gangster when I was young. I had a Robin Hood mentality and tended to always want to support the weak against the strong, but sometimes it was cohesive and I really needed to fall in love with the power of education to find the right venue to express my rage. I still have a righteous indignation at injustice, no matter what form it takes.
--Cornel West
Since then, I’ve had the chance to grow up and see the many perspectives people have about the Robin Hood story and what it means for society, for wealth, and for humanity (even if he was played by a fox in the Disney movie). This is a play about those perspectives and how our location impacts how we see. I hope you have fun and enjoy.
I'm no Robin Hood, I enjoy making the money.
--Carl Icahn

Robin Hood - Inspiration

Odyssey - Inspiration


The Odyssey - Director's Note

Tell me about a complicated man.
    --The Odyssey Book 1, Line 1
With these words, Emily Wilson opens her thrilling translation of The Odyssey. She ends her translator’s note by saying the following:
There is a stranger outside your house. He is old, ragged, and dirty. He is tired. He has been wandering, homeless for a long time, perhaps many years. Invite him inside. You do not know his name. He may be a thief. He may be a murderer. He may be a god. He may remind you of your husband, your father, or yourself. Do not ask questions. Wait. Let him sit on a comfortable chair and warm himself beside your fire. Bring him some food, the best you have, and a cup of wine. Let him eat and drink until he is satisfied. Be patient. When he is finished, he will tell his story. Listen carefully. It may not be as you expect. 
While our version may fall more on the side of the comic than the political, tragic, or epic, I invite you to carry Wilson’s words with you and later today, tomorrow, or a year from now to ask her questions.
...tell the old story for our modern times. 
Find the beginning. 

        --The Odyssey Book 1 Lines 10-11
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  • Home
  • Communicating Science
  • Directing & Dramaturgy
    • About
    • Macbeth
    • Angels in America
    • Summer Youth Theatre
    • The Tempestuous and Tessellated Tens
    • Addison & the Black Hole
    • Conference of the Birds
    • on display
    • [De/As]cending
    • Out of Many
  • Performing
    • About
    • An Iliad
    • Conqueror of the Western Marches
    • Macbeth
    • Out of Many
  • Teaching
  • Contact & CV