M.A. (2003)
Director of Studies, Jamaica School of Drama
"Performance Studies has helped me considerably to relocate my work as a liberatory agent of knowledge production, within the context of the colonial legacies of identity, race, gender and the discursive and non discursive tools of empowerment. The wide embrace of 'Performance' has allowed for a revolutionary interrogation of history, politics, performance traditions and the conventional western notions of theater. The breadth of theoretical analysis and interaction with my peers, from other cultures has provided me with enriching critical tools and a language for incisive articulation and shaping of my own praxis."
Eugene has over 28 years of experience as a teacher, educational director, designer and cultural administrator. He attended the Jamaica School of Drama and received an M.A. in Directing from Brooklyn College (CUNY), where his thesis project included research on the Guyanes novelist, Wilson Harris. After graudating in May, Eugene will return home as Director of Studies at the Jamaica School of Drama, a position he has held since 1994. His educational productions have included The Cherry Orchard, A Streetcar Named Desire, An Echo in the Bone, Playboy of the West Indies in Jamaica and Waiting for Godot at Brooklyn College.
Eugene describes his time in the department as influential on both current and future work: "My intention during the year of study in the Masters Program was to re-examine my own pedagogical work as well as my political strategies as as theatre director, within the context of the cultural politics of the Caribbean. The demise of theatre as a political tool since the collapse of nationalism and the intervening tentacles of corporate capitalism in the region, has made this quest for the re-examination of the creative strategy of the cultural worker, very urgent indeed."
In addition to to his work as an educator and set designer, Eugene has been active internationally as a professional theater director. Past productions have included Arawak Gold (Ward Theatre, Kingston), Whiplash (Winter Garden Theatre, Toronto), One of My Songs (Harquail Theatre, Grand Cayman), and The Fallen Angel (Jamaican and European Tour). Eugene was honored as Best Director in 1992 at the Actor Boy Awards and he also received the Silver Musgrave Medal for Excellence in Drama Education in 2001.
