|
100 SAINTS YOU
SHOULD KNOW AT
STEPPENWOLF |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| JULY 11, 2006 |
|
For the last two weeks I have been in rehearsal at Steppenwolf, directing a play called 100 Saints you Should Know, by Kate Fodor, who wrote the wonderful Hannah and Martin that was such a success at TimeLine theatre some years ago. The play is one of three in the First Look Festival, a unique rehearsal and performance experience, which allows theatre aficionados into the experience of producing new work. They come to rehearsals and watch the play as it progresses from page to stage. It has been an exciting, and for me as an artist, satisfying experience which has proven to be less intrusive than one might imagine and actually has been gratifying interacting with the “First Look 101-ers” as we call them.
I was worried about their presence at first, that they would offer opinions at the wrong and tender time for the actors or the playwright, that the actors would start “performing” before they were ready and artificially move past the important steps in the gestation process of building a production, jumping over discovery to results. That doesn’t seem to have happened and I am both relieved and intrigued by the process.
Our first week was spent reading and talking about the play. The first two days were at the table asking questions and getting answers about Kate’s take on the play, the characters and the tone. At the end of day two we start to put the play roughly on its feet, letting the dialogue be our guide. By Sunday we have walked through the entire play and have it sketched out, creating the blueprint for our play, from which in the coming weeks we will refine and adjust our work to match the discoveries rehearsal will reveal.
The cast is terrific, hardworking and inventive. They ask intelligent probing questions, make brave choices, struggle with lines, forget where we walked the last time we did the scene, all the frustrating, and delightful challenges that happen in the rehearsal process.
Kate spent the two days of the July 4th weekend doing some rewrites and came back with a streamlined scene for the first act in which Colleen, Matthew’s mother, expresses her frustration at the mystery that is her son who is a priest and then accuses Theresa of having inappropriate designs on him. It gives the scene some tension and works its way up to conflict, which is short-circuited as we move on to the next scene. It's leaner and more pointed, which energizes the act. I was excited to work on it. And I think the cast is very happy with the change.
In week two we work on the scenes, and by Sunday we walk through the play to see where we are. Kate and Rosie Forrest, my dramaturg and associate here at Northlight, give me feedback on the work and we will incorporate their invaluable feedback. We met for breakfast on our day off at Nookies II on Halsted and I highly recommend their incredible breakfasts (just a sidebar, but you must try it).
In the coming week we will try to go through the play each day using Kate and Rosie's notes and continuing our exploration, working on scenes in the first half of our day, and then running it in the second half. It can be a frustrating experience since lines are rocky and business is rough, but being an actor, I always feel that getting a run on the play will help smart actors learn the topography of the play and help them sculpt their journeys. I am always mindful of their psyche. I love actors. Because I am one, I understand their process, their frustrations, their joys, and the little victories they cherish in the painful process of becoming someone else. It is a privilege to witness their work.
On to week three! On Friday our designers will come to watch, and next Monday we will be in tech. It goes so fast, and there is never enough time to get all you want to accomplish under your belt. All too soon our audience will join us, though we need them to fill out our cast, as they are our missing link. They fill out the circle of the artistic conversation.
Well, off to work!
More Anon!
Beej
Pictured: K.K. Dodds, John Hoogenakker, Kelly O'Sullivan, Bryce Pegelow and Mary Ann Thebus |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2006/07 SEASON
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
........................... |
|
|
|
|
|
2005/06 SEASON
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
........................... |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
