A Fulbright, thanks to Kung Fu

By PATRICIA DONOVAN
News Services Editor

Thanks in part to the inspiration of actor and martial-arts superstar Bruce Lee, Nicholas Logue, a May graduate of the Department of Theatre and Dance, is one of only two graduating seniors or master's-degree candidates to receive a 2000-01 Fulbright fellowship to study and teach in China.

After years of preparation in Chinese martial arts, theater and culture, Nicholas Logue will spend the next 10 months at the Beijing China Drama University studying classical forms of Chinese theater, specifically the movement techniques of the Chinese opera. He also will teach courses in modern western drama to Chinese theater students.

In explaining his fascination with explications of "movement" in the Chinese culture, Logue notes that "the movement techniques utilized in Chinese drama are so strong that the execution of a single action may take several minutes to perform, and yet the audience is enraptured by the performer for every second.

"In essence, no moment exists that is not filled with physical presence and a magnitude of energy. Physical training that creates a presence this powerful is difficult to find in America."

Logue, who previously had studied the Chinese martial arts of Hong Quan, Jeet Kune Do and Judo, spent his fourth undergraduate year in China studying Mandarin Chinese, Long Hand Kung Fu, Taiji, sword technique and Bo staff technique. These, he says, have greatly facilitated his theater studies.

"I have often felt that the physical training offered to western actors is not nearly as strong as the vocal and text-based training," says Logue, son of Gerald Logue, vice chair of the Department of Medicine in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. "In the coming year, I hope to combine my two life-long interests and strengthen myself as an artist by gaining exposure to another physical theater tradition."

Logue says several childhood influences, including Bruce Lee and Asian pop cinema, provoked his interest in Asian culture and led to his boyhood study of Kung Fu. His fascination with the culture of that martial art was so great that at age 12 he attempted to "devour" massive texts on Chinese history in order to gain insight into the homeland of Kung Fu.

He continued his quest at UB where, as a theater and dance major, he enrolled in several classes that fed his craving for knowledge about China. In fact, by the end of his sophomore year, he had logged more credit hours in Chinese history, philosophy, literature and language than he had in theater.

Logue credits his academic success with the quality of his theater classes, particularly those that helped him become proficient in acting and physical theater, including mask technique. He also cites the encouragement of two of his UB mentors-Constantine Tung, associate professor of Chinese language, and Roger Desforges, associate professor of Chinese history, whom Logue calls "an amazing guy."

Upon his return to the United States, Logue will begin graduate study in Chinese theater at the University of Hawaii, which has a master-of-fine-arts program in Asian performance that he says is the best in the world.

"Ultimately, I would like to forge a new technique of acting that incorporates the strengths of both theater traditions," he says.

"Art has always been a method of social change," he adds, "and I'd like to use it to further peaceful understanding and international friendship between the People's Republic of China and the United States."

Fulbright program adviser Mark Ashwill says there is still time for students to apply for a Fulbright grant in the 2001-02 competition cycle for post-baccalaureate study or research abroad in academic fields, and for professional training in the creative and performing arts. The deadline for receipt of applications is Sept. 22.

For information on these and other Fulbright grants and fellowships, contact Ashwill at 645-2292, or via e-mail at ashwill@acsu.buffalo.edu. UB's Fulbright Program Web site address is http://wings.buffalo.edu/fulbright.