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for the University of Virginia Excellence in Faculty Mentoring Award, 2008

A mentor? As an assistant professor, I knew the word but hadn’t considered the concept—or how it might apply to me. I tumbled into a conscious appreciation of mentoring only after reading research about benefits of being mentored. And that came five years later, here at U.Va. Only then, I realized that I had had a mentor during my time as a visiting assistant professor at Indiana University, where my intriguing, useful conversations with Professor Albert Valdman had not “just happened.” Though I had usually visited his office with factual questions, I had often stayed while Dr. Valdman imparted to this clueless colleague a wealth of information about the university, academia, and the then-new field of foreign-language acquisition. In my belated moment of epiphany, I understood that I had been a lucky neophyte: I had fallen upon a generous man who had helped me to invaluable understandings.

But, believing that graduate students and faculty should not have to trust to luck to start them on properly informed career paths, in 1990 I founded U.Va.’s Teaching Resource Center. And in 1992 I consciously built mentoring into the TRC’s Lilly/University Teaching Fellows Program. What assistant professors might not know to seek out, these Fellows, at least, would have a chance to learn from someone who knew the ropes. So I helped each Fellow find a congenial mentor; and, along with these selected senior faculty, I thought through how to advise most productively. What I and my TRC colleagues have learned over the past fifteen years, listening to mentors and those they counsel, has enriched all of the Center’s programs.

Over time, with the wisdom and experience of many colleagues giving emphasis and immediacy to what research suggests about the nature of mentoring, I’ve come to conclusions about how fine mentors function. A generosity of spirit is essential, shown as an interest in the well-being and advancement of others. This generosity manifests itself in strong listening skills, in being able—at least imaginatively—to “walk a mile in the shoes” of those they would counsel and to inquire from that vantage, asking questions which empower their mentees to think through problems for themselves. In this process, thought-inspiring questions may help those seeking advice to better see what really matters to them, not only what “common wisdom” values.

Effective mentors are open-minded, humbly aware that what’s worked well in their own experience may not be prescriptive for all. Instead, they’re enthusiastic about helping others strive toward their own chosen goals, no matter the appeal of such goals for the mentors. They allow those they guide space in which to grow. In mentoring faculty, that may even mean celebrating when a junior colleague finds that her happiness resides in an industry or administrative position, not in a traditional professorial role.

Superb mentors are energetic, focused, brave, yet diplomatic, able when necessary to tell hard truths in ways that never push insistently, never lead by the nose, but gently enlighten or persuade to a fuller reflection. Able mentors know that sometimes they serve best by facilitating quietly, helping colleagues make productive connections and find necessary resources.

Mentoring immensely satisfies me because I get such pleasure from seeing another’s growth and happiness, feeling that I had some part in helping it along. And the good mentoring process is no mere dispensing of fact or opinion gleaned from experience; it’s experience and empathy meeting inquiry and enthusiasm on a two-way street; it’s a shared search for betterment, attended by faith in a potential common good. It creates a community of trust in shared aims, shared powers. I have discovered so much from working with others. It enriches each day with new challenges, new perspectives, new solutions. That word that I once hardly considered—mentor—now signifies a role I hope to fill (and gratefully to grow from) whenever I can.

University Singers students who were coached by Claude-Michel Schönberg on “Do You Hear the People Sing?” and “On My Own” shared thoughts such as these:

Staten Longo, whom Claude-Michel Schönberg coached as she sang “On My Own” wrote:

Having the opportunity to perform “On My Own” for Mr. Schönberg and work with him was absolutely incredible.  I have never sung better than while he was directing me, and the difference to me was so clear.  Hearing both Mr. Schönberg and Mr. Boublil’s personal interpretations of their shows was both interesting and insightful, and I learned so much about performance and the creation process for some of my favorite musicals.  I will be forever grateful for this opportunity.

And one of her fellow USingers had this to say:

When Schönberg worked with Staten, you could tell just how passionate he was about the music and its meaning.  His entire body felt each note, each word, and I thought it was truly amazing that the music could still mean so much to him after years of hearing it day in and day out.  It never got old for him.

Students in the course “Les Misérables: From Page to Stage to Screen” answered the question,
“What did you learn from talking with and hearing from Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil?” Here are a few responses:

If I don’t take anything else from this experience today, I hope I remember the ardor for this work and what it represents that exuded from these men.

To hear how they feel that they are not at productions to enjoy their work, but to work hard to have other people learn from and be inspired by their musical is humbling. I left the conversation aspiring to one day feel as passionately about my future career as they do about theirs.

The two men were humble, saying that they do not constantly revel in the success of Les Misérables, but instead are touched every single time they see a group of people affected by their work. This speaks volumes to me. Humility of this sort is certainly one of Hugo’s favorable virtues in the novel. 

Claude-Michel Schönberg spoke a great deal about passion, and when I say spoke about it, I mean that his own passion for his work emanated from him the entire time; it was unmistakable and moving. I was struck by his assertion that we should do what we do because we physically cannot do anything else.

Speaking with Schönberg and Boublil definitely had an impact. . . . You truly have to be passionate, dedicated, and enthralled in your work in order for it to make it worth it.

Hearing Schönberg and Boublil tell me to work hard and follow my dreams was something that will never be matched.

There is something incredible and unique about the collaboration between geniuses. I don’t just mean the fruitful relationship between Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, though certainly we saw evidence of their close collaboration in our brief discussion in class. I am mostly thinking of their ability to communicate the “spirit” of the novel over 100 years after it was written . . . . Schönberg and Boublil reenergized this relatable novel for an entirely new generation, a generation that ponders and benefits from the ideas of freedom, justice and compassion that this story brings to the fore.

One of Claude-Michel Schönberg’s and Alain Boublil’s insights that I greatly appreciated was that they said that each character in the novel experiences Hugo’s major themes of sacrifice and redemption.  It would be wrong to overlook the darker characters of the Thénardiers or Javert, and to say that they do not at least encounter these themes in their interactions with the other characters; Hugo gives such detail and thought to his characters, so we similarly should give the characters the same attention when we read.    

I am still astounded that anyone could turn a 1400 page novel into a musical, without losing the spirit of the novel, and I will certainly read the novel even more critically after this enlightening conversation.

I found myself just in utter awe of these two men because they brought Hugo’s novel to life and made it accessible and understandable to people all around the world. Hearing Mr. Schönberg discuss the viewing in Tel Aviv, and their experience in Japan, and just mentioning all the different countries where Les Misérables productions have taken place made me realize that these two men were fathers of a piece of our culture that will live on for centuries to come.

I had not realized how important the story of Les Misérables is to the people of France. When they said how “At the End of the Day” was the first song in the French version because everyone in the audience would already know the prologue, I was completely astounded.

Both men definitely inspired me about life in general. However, the way that Schönberg spoke about music was simply indescribable. I could almost see the notes fall from his fingertips as he gestured and waxed on about different parts of different songs . . . . I don’t believe I have ever met a person who so embodies the way that music makes me feel. I wish I could express my thoughts through words half as clearly as he does through music.

I learned about life, creating, and changing lives while listening to them speak. Most poignant to me was the moment when Mr. Schönberg offhandedly mentioned that he would sit at the piano, plugging away at one piece, or one melody, for hours or days or weeks. He said, “It’s work.” And I stopped and thought about that. From the time I was young, well-intentioned people have told me, “Find what you love to do, and it won’t feel like work.” But I think that may be only partly true. What Mr. Schönberg and Mr. Boublil know is the real secret: that part of what is so satisfying about doing what you love can also be the most frustrating—it is work. What you love to do does not necessarily come easily, and that is comforting.

by Abby Deatherage
Published in the 2015 edition of Corks and Curls, the UVa Yearbook

1. “I Dreamed a Dream:” At their evening public conversation (complete with performances of their work from Les Misérables and Miss Saigon), Alain Boublil recalled first reading Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables and pulling out the French phrase that would become the lyrics of “I Dreamed a Dream.” Standing up, Claude-Michel Schönberg strode quickly to the piano onstage, sat down, and opened the keyboard. His fingers swiftly ran across the keys and he softly sang in French the opening lines of “I Dreamed a Dream” in French. Then, stopping abruptly, he stood up to the audience’s laughter and applause.

2. The University Singers Visit: During Mr. Schönberg’s visit to the University Singers’ class, the group was able to sing “Do You Hear the People Sing?” for him. Afterwards, Mr. Schönberg worked with them on the piece, helping them achieve his own unique vision of his composition with his characteristic musical intensity.

3. Q&A in Professor Marva Barnett’s Classroom: Mr. Boublil and Mr. Schönberg answered questions from students who were reading the novel as a class. Questions fans of both the musical and the novel have long wondered about—characters’ shared melodies, Éponine’s change in character, and the creation of the song “Suddenly” for Tom Hooper’s 2012 film—were answered by the creators of the musical themselves!

4. Their Dedication to the Arts: Mr. Schönberg repeatedly states the importance of a passion for your craft, no matter what it is—music, dance, engineering, research. The way he puts it: “If you aren’t thinking about it for at least 2 hours every day, don’t do it.”

5. The Best is Yet to Come: In the evening public conversation, Mr. Schönberg and Mr. Boublil expressed their belief that “our best work is yet to come.” Otherwise, they ask, what is the point of continuing to work? Though the idea of something better than their huge hit, Les Misérables, seems incredible, their passion and drive for their work is a truly thoughtful and artistic way of looking at one’s passion.

1) What is the general story line of Les Mis?

After nineteen years on the chain gang—five years for stealing a loaf of bread and the rest for trying to escape—Jean Valjean finds that the ticket-of-leave he must display condemns him to be an outcast. Saved from hatred and bitterness by the Bishop of Digne’s kindness and sacrifice,  Valjean starts his life anew.  As he faces multiple moral challenges and triumphs over his lesser self, Valjean helps many others as wretched (misérable) as he once was and discovers the redemptive power of love.

More at the official website: http://www.lesmis.com/uk/about/synopsis/

2) What are Schönberg’s and Boublil’s professions? How are they each involved in making the story of Les Mis come to life? I believe the original story came from a novel written by a different person, but you may have to correct me on that!

Claude-Michel Schönberg is a composer.  Alain Boublil is a librettist, lyricist, and author.

They were inspired by Victor Hugo’s nineteenth-century epic novel Les Misérables to create the musical Les Mis (as it is fondly known around the world).  Alain Boublil tells how he was thrilled by seeing the British musical Oliver! and walked the streets of London for hours afterwards, imagining Gavroche, the young hero of the barricades in Les Misérables, singing on stage.

Boublil and Schönberg wrote the original musical in French, their native language.  It was a sell-out in its original 1980 Paris production, showing to a half million people in the large sports arena, the Palais des Sports, the only venue available at the time.

A couple of years later, British producer Cameron Mackintosh, amazed by the innovative brilliance of the music, worked with Schönberg and Boublil to bring the musical to the London stage, in English, in 1985.  That Barbican Theatre production was directed by the award-winning Trevor Nunn and his co-director, John Caird.

Their work has received probably over 100 awards, including Golden Globes®, Tony Awards®, Grammys®, and a British Olivier Award® for best musical.  Les Misérables—the world’s longest running musical—has won 76 international awards, played in 42 countries, in 330 cities, in 22 languages, and been enjoyed by over 70 million people.  Miss Saigon first ran in London for a decade and has since played in 300 cities in 15 different languages  and been seen by over 40 million people. 

3) What will Schönberg and Boublil talk about when they come to U.Va.? Will anyone else speak at the event?

On Tuesday evening, September 30, 6:30 pm, in Culbreth Theatre, they will talk about their careers in musical theater, their collaboration for over 46 years, their experiences writing and reinventing their most famous musicals:  Les Misérables and Miss Saigon.   They will share their thoughts on turning their stage musical into the 2012 film Les Misérables, directed by Oscar-winner Tom Hooper and starring Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, and Russell Crowe.  They will likely also tell us about what they are working on these days. 

I will orchestrate the Tuesday evening conversation with Mr. Schönberg and Mr. Boublil.

The University Singers, directed by Professor Michael Slon, will open the Tuesday evening event by singing a few songs from Les Misérables and Miss Saigon.   

During their multi-day visit, Mr. Schönberg and Mr. Boublil will also talk with students and faculty in these settings:

• Les Misérables: From Page to Stage to Screen, DRAM 3559
• London Study-Abroad students who saw Les Mis at Queen’s Theatre
• students who studied Les Misérables a year or two ago (in this course, for instance: http://news.virginia.edu/content/first-year-seminar-explores-why-les-mis-rables-remains-relevant)
• Arts Scholars
• Songwriting course students, MUSI 3370
• Masters of Fine Arts students in Drama
• University Singers

https://news.virginia.edu/content/creators-award-winning-les-mis-rables-take-center-stage-uva

4) Who do you expect to be in the audience? Students? Drama majors? Faculty and staff?

Yes, all of these, and also people from the community. Live Arts Theatre will perform Les Misérables this December and January, so community interest may be especially high this fall.

5) What is your title? How are you involved with this event?

Professor.  I teach in the Drama Department.

I initiated and organized these events.  I invited Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil to visit U.Va. to talk with students and faculty working on Les Misérables and in music and theater.  In June I met Claude-Michel Schönberg when he graciously accepted my request to talk with him about my current book project.  I am exploring what Victor Hugo and Les Misérables tell us about living a life of conscience and love.  Victor Hugo put much of himself into the novel, and the artists who have reinvented his story in this world-renowned musical can share great insights about it.

6) Where did the idea for this event come from?

In early June when composer Claude-Michel Schönberg and I were talking about our experiences with Les Misérables, he was interested to learn that I teach Victor Hugo’s novel in conjunction with the musical.  He offered to come to U.Va., and I found the co-sponsors (see below for list).  He is interested in talking and working with students.

7) What is the cost of tickets?

Free, but all the tickets are currently claimed.  Any tickets not picked up by 6:15 pm on Tuesday will be given to people in the standby line.

8) When will this event happen and where?

Tuesday, September 30, 2014, 6:30 p.m., Culbreth Theatre

It is important to acknowledge the co-sponsors:  the Office of the Provost & the Vice Provost for the Arts, the Department of Drama, the Department of Music, the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, the Institute of the Humanities and Global Cultures, and the Center for Global Inquiry and Innovation.

9) What do you expect to come out of this event?

• Inspiration for my Les Misérables students to engage even more deeply with the universal themes in Hugo story, whether in the novel, on stage, or on screen
• Inspiration and perhaps practical suggestions for music students interested in songwriting
• Insights into musical theater for interested students
• Rich conversations among all participants about the power of the arts to touch us deeply and improve our lives.
• Enhanced connections between UVa and Live Arts Theatre

WUVA (92.7 FM) is a Country-formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Charlottesville, Virginia.

By Bethany Kattwinkel

This semester, I had the incredible opportunity to take Marva Barnett’s class “Les Misérables: From Page to Stage to Screen.” Without a doubt, this has been one of the most rewarding classes I have taken at UVa. I came into the class as a fan of the musical and the 2012 film thinking I already knew a lot about Les Misérables, but boy, was I wrong!

When asked about this class, third year fellow student Hannah Bornhofen said, “Best class. Engaging. Intellectual. Exciting. Thought-provoking.” I could not agree more.

We spent the semester asking many questions. Perhaps the biggest one for me was: 

Why is this novel considered so “great”?

In the preface of the novel, Hugo explains:  “So long as there shall exist, by reason of law and custom, a social condemnation which, in the face of civilization, artificially creates a hell on earth, and complicates with human fatality a destiny that is divine… so long as ignorance and misery remain on earth, there should be a need for books such as this.

I loved getting to see the power of literature so evident in this book that has endured and affected people across the world for so many years.

Reading the book gave me a whole new perspective on the story. I could talk about interesting differences between the book and the musical all day.

Discussions in class brought to light some really fascinating questions. There were many strong opinions about whether students would consider themselves “Team Marius” or absolutely hated Marius. Why does Javert kill himself? What are Hugo’s views about progress? What is the role of religion in the story? How is the portrayal of Cosette different in the musical/films versions of Les Misérables than in the novel? (My group decided to do our final project addressing this topic.)

At the end of September, the original French composer of the musical Claude-Michel Schönberg and lyricist Alain Boublil visited our class for a question and answer session. It was an out-of-this-world experience to be sitting in the same room as these two unbelievably talented men. What stuck with me the most from our conversation was the extraordinary sense of passion we could see in how they talked about their work. Schönberg said beautifully, “We did it because we loved it, had a passion for it, and it was the only thing we could do.”

On Friday, December 5, I went to the Charlottesville Live Arts production of Les Misérablesdowntown, which was a fabulous way to top off a great semester. 

This production has the best Javert I have ever seen. Usually, I do not pay as much attention to Javert, but after reading the novel and examining the character more, I really appreciate how well this actor captures the nature of his character. He also has an incredible voice and sings his songs with beauty and precision.

Some of the other characters who really stand out to me are Eponine and Cosette, who both convey the nature of their characters impeccably well and have lovely voices.

I was hesitant about the small theater feel of the space, but I love the way they utilize the black box theater.

Overall, this is a really wonderful show. Some show times are sold out, but the play will be running until January 10. 

Originally posted at The Odyssey Online:

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/les-mis-rables-thoughts-class-charlottesville-live-arts-production

September 22, 2014
by Robert Hull

Set against the backdrop of 19^th-century France, “Les Misérables” – whether in the form of a novel, film or musical – tells an enthralling tale of love, sacrifice and redemption, a universal and timeless story lit with passion at every turn.

On Christmas Day 2012, yet another film version of “Les Misérables” opened in movie theaters across the United States: the first film version of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg’s award-winning stage musical of the same name.

The movie set a record for the highest opening-day gross for a musical film. It garnered eight Academy Award nominations and won three, including Best Supporting Actress for Anne Hathaway.

Such fervor for Victor Hugo’s classic French novel isn’t surprising. Since 1897, there have been more than 50 films based on Hugo’s novel – not counting animated versions.

Even more amazing, since lyricist Boublil and composer Schönberg’s “Les Misérables” musical opened in Paris in 1980, it has been seen by more than 70 million people. The longest-running musical worldwide, it will celebrate its 35^th anniversary next year. It has received more than 100 major awards.

Schönberg and Boublil will share their experience and creative insights with students, faculty, staff and the Charlottesville community on Sept. 30 at 6:30 p.m. at the Culbreth Theatre on the Arts Grounds of the University of Virginia.

Tickets are sold out, but ticketholders must claim their tickets and their seats by 6:15; any unclaimed tickets will be released to patrons in the standby line. Doors open at 6 p.m. Free parking is available after 5 p.m. in the Culbreth Road Parking Garage.

The University Singers – under the direction of Michael Slon, assistant professor and director of the choral programs in the McIntire Department of Music – will open the program by performing several Boublil and Schönberg songs from “Les Misérables” and another Schönberg-Boublil collaboration, “Miss Saigon,” including “Do You Hear the People Sing?” and “At the End of the Day.”

Marva Barnett, professor in U.Va.’s Department of Drama, will lead the discussion with Schönberg and Boublil, who will discuss the world of musical theater and the process of composing the music and writing the libretto for “Les Misérables.”

Schönberg – a record producer, actor, singer, songwriter and musical theater composer – is best known for his collaborations with Boublil, a musical theater lyricist and librettist, author and producer. Their other major works together include   the rock opera “La Révolution Française” (1973), “Martin Guerre” (1996), “The Pirate Queen” (2006) and “Marguerite” (2008). Both raised in France, they now live and work in the English-speaking world.

Barnett’s primary research centers on Hugo. She edited “Victor Hugo on Things That Matter,” a reader that highlights Hugo’s ideas and their contemporary relevance, and has taught a first-year University Seminar, “Interpreting Les Misérables,” that explores the universal themes of the novel and musical.

“When I told Claude-Michel in June that I had taught Hugo’s novel in conjunction with the musical several times, he asked whether I would like him to come to U.Va.,” Barnett said. “He then invited Alain Boublil to join him.

“Claude-Michel has told me several times that his primary purpose in coming to U.Va. is ‘for the students.’”

For a book project about the novel’s continued relevance, Barnett is exploring with the musical’s creative artists how they make Hugo’s story come alive in performance.

“Insights from conversations with artists who saw Hugo’s ‘Les Misérables’ as their ‘bible’ enhance my book, which explores how Jean Valjean’s multiple moral challenges and triumphs can enlighten us today,” she said. “Hugo put much of himself into his timeless, inspirational characters.”

While at U.Va., Schönberg and Boublil will meet with students and faculty in various courses and groups to discuss their composition and libretto-writing experiences as well as their musical theater careers.

“There will be a variety of conversations with the students – all the way from details about how the musical came to fruition to acting in musical theater to songwriting,” Barnett said.

The visit is co-sponsored by the Office of the Provost, the Vice Provost for the Arts, the Department of Drama, the Department of Music, the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, the Institute of the Humanities and Global Cultures and the Center for Global Inquiry and Initiative.

MEDIA CONTACT

Robert Hull

Media Relations AssociateOffice of University Communications

roberthull5@gmail.com 434-989-1745