From Hilary, Casting Intern
Now that we’re coming on tech for The Three Musketeers, I think its time to look around the rehearsal room with fresh eyes. If I had never seen this room or these people before, would I think them odd? You bet. Here’s a list of sights and sounds that have become normal for me…but maybe shouldn’t be.
One of our actors wears a Batman mask. He wears it so he can get practice dancing in a mask. You’d think I’d be surprised to see the Dark Knight at this particular shindig. (I’m not. Like I said, I’ve gotten used to weird).
Our stage manager neighs a lot. That’s because we are waiting for tech to add sound effects, but we still need to hear the sound of the horse Buttercup. I’ll be sad when she stops her delightful whinny.
Mesh and leather is totally a new trend. The men wear leather boots and sword belts, rehearsal capes, and workout clothes. Looks great.
Swords. Everywhere.
Showing posts with label In the Rehearsal Room. Show all posts
Showing posts with label In the Rehearsal Room. Show all posts
From the Rehearsal Room: Swords, Batman, and more
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Rehearsal: An Actor's Blog, Day 8
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In the Rehearsal Room
A daily rehearsal blog from actor Paul Stetler, playing Edgar in The Lady from Dubuque.
I seem to have fallen behind in my blogging again. Sorry. These last two weeks we’ve been working very hard on staging the show and trying to find the right balance of tone and style. This is a difficult show in that it’s a true ensemble piece. Most plays consist of two or three person scenes and, as actors, we get used to taking our cues off our scene partners. But the first act of “Dubuque” is an extended scene between six characters and everyone is equally involved. We all need to learn exactly what the other five actors are doing and saying throughout the entire act. Everyone is a part of the action and, for it to work well, we have to be in complete sync with each other. There’s a sort of musicality to the dialogue. I can only imagine this is how musicians must feel when their individual instruments come together to make something fuller and richer than their particular component. When it works, it’s pretty amazing. (But, boy-oh-boy, when we get off rhythm, it can be pretty stinky.)
Tomorrow, we begin technical rehearsals. Which means we get to move out of the rehearsal room and onto the Bagley Wright Stage. The next few days, as we accustom ourselves to the stage, our designers will be focusing lights and adding texture and detail to the set, costumes and props.
-Paul
I seem to have fallen behind in my blogging again. Sorry. These last two weeks we’ve been working very hard on staging the show and trying to find the right balance of tone and style. This is a difficult show in that it’s a true ensemble piece. Most plays consist of two or three person scenes and, as actors, we get used to taking our cues off our scene partners. But the first act of “Dubuque” is an extended scene between six characters and everyone is equally involved. We all need to learn exactly what the other five actors are doing and saying throughout the entire act. Everyone is a part of the action and, for it to work well, we have to be in complete sync with each other. There’s a sort of musicality to the dialogue. I can only imagine this is how musicians must feel when their individual instruments come together to make something fuller and richer than their particular component. When it works, it’s pretty amazing. (But, boy-oh-boy, when we get off rhythm, it can be pretty stinky.)
Tomorrow, we begin technical rehearsals. Which means we get to move out of the rehearsal room and onto the Bagley Wright Stage. The next few days, as we accustom ourselves to the stage, our designers will be focusing lights and adding texture and detail to the set, costumes and props.
-Paul
Rehearsal: An Actor's Blog, Day 7
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In the Rehearsal Room
A daily rehearsal blog from actor Paul Stetler, playing Edgar in The Lady from Dubuque.
Well, it’s been awhile, and I’m sorry for the delay between posts. I had family in town for the holidays and the time just sort of slipped by. I hope all who are reading this had an enjoyable holiday.
Rehearsals are going well. It’s slow going, but we’ve roughly blocked the whole show and will spend the next two weeks trying to fill in the gaps and flesh things out. This play really is quite unsettling, I must say. I’m so curious as to how people will respond to it. Personally, I love how disturbing it gets (which should come as no surprise -- this is the man who brought us “The Goat”, after all) but ultimately find the story to be deeply moving. We blocked the scene in the second act where we knock Sam out, tie him up, and then proceed to make coffee and act as if nothing out of the ordinary has happened. It’s a truly bizarre and surreal moment but something about it gets to the heart of how we as a society can perform horrendous deeds and then act as if everything is just fine.
Anyway, we were given three days off for the Christmas holiday and are back in the saddle tomorrow. Looking forward to getting back to work.
-Paul
Well, it’s been awhile, and I’m sorry for the delay between posts. I had family in town for the holidays and the time just sort of slipped by. I hope all who are reading this had an enjoyable holiday.
Rehearsals are going well. It’s slow going, but we’ve roughly blocked the whole show and will spend the next two weeks trying to fill in the gaps and flesh things out. This play really is quite unsettling, I must say. I’m so curious as to how people will respond to it. Personally, I love how disturbing it gets (which should come as no surprise -- this is the man who brought us “The Goat”, after all) but ultimately find the story to be deeply moving. We blocked the scene in the second act where we knock Sam out, tie him up, and then proceed to make coffee and act as if nothing out of the ordinary has happened. It’s a truly bizarre and surreal moment but something about it gets to the heart of how we as a society can perform horrendous deeds and then act as if everything is just fine.
Anyway, we were given three days off for the Christmas holiday and are back in the saddle tomorrow. Looking forward to getting back to work.
-Paul
Rehearsal: An Actor's Blog, Day 6
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In the Rehearsal Room
A daily rehearsal blog from actor Paul Stetler, playing Edgar in The Lady from Dubuque.
We continued work on Act 1, finally getting to the end. Made some adjustments to our earlier work (as we’ll continue to do) and laid the groundwork for the rest of the scenes. I like my character more and more each day. Well, “like” may not be the right word. I’m enjoying playing this guy. There are complexities to his character that I find challenging to work on. The other characters make fun of Edgar for being subservient to Lucinda, his wife. He comes across, at first, as a bit of a milquetoast. But when the tone of the evening shifts, Edgar seems to find his voice and there’s a strength to him that begins to show itself.
-Paul
We continued work on Act 1, finally getting to the end. Made some adjustments to our earlier work (as we’ll continue to do) and laid the groundwork for the rest of the scenes. I like my character more and more each day. Well, “like” may not be the right word. I’m enjoying playing this guy. There are complexities to his character that I find challenging to work on. The other characters make fun of Edgar for being subservient to Lucinda, his wife. He comes across, at first, as a bit of a milquetoast. But when the tone of the evening shifts, Edgar seems to find his voice and there’s a strength to him that begins to show itself.
-Paul
Rehearsal: An Actor's Blog, Day 5
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In the Rehearsal Room
A daily rehearsal blog from actor Paul Stetler, playing Edgar in The Lady from Dubuque.
Our power is back on, thank God. Crazy couple of days.
Today we worked on the scene between Sam and Edgar, which was a lot of fun. I’ve never worked with Charlie Matthes before (actually, I’ve never worked with any of these actors – though I’ve seen both Hans and Kristin on numerous occasions and have always admired their work), and I enjoyed his enthusiasm and willingness to explore. He’s also very well-prepared as he is already off-book for most of his scenes.
David let us sort of “rough block” the scene on our own then he would make suggestions and adjustments as he felt needed. In this scene, my character, Edgar, expresses a moment of intense frustration towards Sam based on how he and Jo have mistreated Edgar’s wife Lucinda. Through all this, Sam is dealing with the fact that his wife is in the final stages of terminal cancer and so he has a great deal on his mind. It makes for a very interesting dynamic between the characters, and we tried it a few different ways before deciding on something we all agreed was in the right direction. After we finished, I was released, and Charlie and Carla worked with David on their scene that closes the act.
-Paul
Our power is back on, thank God. Crazy couple of days.
Today we worked on the scene between Sam and Edgar, which was a lot of fun. I’ve never worked with Charlie Matthes before (actually, I’ve never worked with any of these actors – though I’ve seen both Hans and Kristin on numerous occasions and have always admired their work), and I enjoyed his enthusiasm and willingness to explore. He’s also very well-prepared as he is already off-book for most of his scenes.
David let us sort of “rough block” the scene on our own then he would make suggestions and adjustments as he felt needed. In this scene, my character, Edgar, expresses a moment of intense frustration towards Sam based on how he and Jo have mistreated Edgar’s wife Lucinda. Through all this, Sam is dealing with the fact that his wife is in the final stages of terminal cancer and so he has a great deal on his mind. It makes for a very interesting dynamic between the characters, and we tried it a few different ways before deciding on something we all agreed was in the right direction. After we finished, I was released, and Charlie and Carla worked with David on their scene that closes the act.
-Paul
Rehearsal: An Actor's Blog, Day 4
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In the Rehearsal Room
A daily rehearsal blog from actor Paul Stetler, playing Edgar in The Lady from Dubuque.
Spent the day blocking Act One. It’s tough to stage because there are six people on stage almost the entire act. (The first act consists of three couples at the tail end of a cocktail party that Jo and Sam are hosting.) So there was a great deal of stopping and starting and going back and starting over, as David had to negotiate traffic patterns and keep the stage physically lively while still maintaining a sense of natural movement between the characters--Not to mention taking in all the suggestions and ideas we had to contribute, as well.
Still no power at home. If this keeps up, I may have to take a shower in one of the dressing rooms tomorrow.
-Paul
Spent the day blocking Act One. It’s tough to stage because there are six people on stage almost the entire act. (The first act consists of three couples at the tail end of a cocktail party that Jo and Sam are hosting.) So there was a great deal of stopping and starting and going back and starting over, as David had to negotiate traffic patterns and keep the stage physically lively while still maintaining a sense of natural movement between the characters--Not to mention taking in all the suggestions and ideas we had to contribute, as well.
Still no power at home. If this keeps up, I may have to take a shower in one of the dressing rooms tomorrow.
-Paul
Rehearsal: An Actor's Blog, Day 3
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In the Rehearsal Room
A daily rehearsal blog from actor Paul Stetler, playing Edgar in The Lady from Dubuque.
Well, I’m on “day two” of being without power at my house due to that wacky windstorm the other day. Makes coming to the theater even more enjoyable.
We’ve spent the past two days doing table work. Long discussions about the play and its very specific shifts from a sense of naturalism into a more stylistic presentation. (For example, Albee has characters occasionally “break free” from a scene and make a side comment to audience members, which the other characters are fully aware of.) These days really are quite helpful as it gives the cast a slight sense of each other and how they like to work. It also helps us develop a shared sense of what kind of experience we are hoping to create on stage.
One of the concerns discussed about “Dubuque” was how the cast should approach some of the many unpleasant things these characters say to each other. We began by trying to play it casual, as if this is just their way of giving each other hell. But the more we did that, the more mean-spirited and calculated some of the comments came across. We discovered that the less we “apologized” for these moments, the more we fully committed to them, the more captivating and even charismatic, they came across.
Some great discussions came out of these two days and I’m anxious to get out of our chairs and start putting it on stage. Tomorrow we begin staging Act One.
-Paul
Well, I’m on “day two” of being without power at my house due to that wacky windstorm the other day. Makes coming to the theater even more enjoyable.
We’ve spent the past two days doing table work. Long discussions about the play and its very specific shifts from a sense of naturalism into a more stylistic presentation. (For example, Albee has characters occasionally “break free” from a scene and make a side comment to audience members, which the other characters are fully aware of.) These days really are quite helpful as it gives the cast a slight sense of each other and how they like to work. It also helps us develop a shared sense of what kind of experience we are hoping to create on stage.
One of the concerns discussed about “Dubuque” was how the cast should approach some of the many unpleasant things these characters say to each other. We began by trying to play it casual, as if this is just their way of giving each other hell. But the more we did that, the more mean-spirited and calculated some of the comments came across. We discovered that the less we “apologized” for these moments, the more we fully committed to them, the more captivating and even charismatic, they came across.
Some great discussions came out of these two days and I’m anxious to get out of our chairs and start putting it on stage. Tomorrow we begin staging Act One.
-Paul
Rehearsal: An Actor's Blog, Day 2
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In the Rehearsal Room
A daily rehearsal blog from actor Paul Stetler, playing Edgar in The Lady from Dubuque.
A fairly easy day today. I had a costume fitting with Beth which went well. She and David have decided to set the play within the time that it was written, 1979. There was some talk about updating it to today but there are certain references in the script (Nixon, the cold war) that are specific to that era. That said, Beth is taking pains not to let the costumes overwhelm the play. The late '70s and early '80s had some wild clothing styles and I agree with her that it would be a disservice to this play if the audience is presented with a wild array of bell-bottoms, platform shoes and paisley shirts. With Edgar, we looked at wool slacks, a turtleneck shirt and tweed sport coat. Looked pretty cool.
Rehearsal-wise, David met with each cast member separately to discuss the play and develop a shared approach as to how we want to portray our characters. It was also a chance to get to know David a little bit, both as a director and as a person, and get a sense of how he likes to work. I’ve heard wonderful things about his directing style…how well he communicates with actors…and if today is any indication, I feel truly fortunate for the opportunity to work with him.
One of the challenges in this play is that Albee only gives so much information as to who these people are in relation to one another. We know Jo and Lucinda went to college together. We know Edgar and Lucinda only live a few blocks away. We know Fred has been married three times and that this group has been getting together to socialize for many years. What we don’t know is how the couples met each other, how long each has been married, what they do for a living, what part of the country they live in, or why there is such tension between Jo and Lucinda (and Sam and Edgar). And these are important facets for us as actors to agree upon and build into our shared histories if we are to come across naturally. So, today was a chance for David to see what we have been thinking, individually, about these matters and tomorrow we’ll meet again as a group and try to nail down a specific history (or histories) that we can all use in our preparation.
After rehearsal, some of the Board members (as well as some donors) threw a little wine and cheese reception for us in the green room. A very nice way of saying “welcome aboard”. It’s great to be back at the Rep.
-Paul
A fairly easy day today. I had a costume fitting with Beth which went well. She and David have decided to set the play within the time that it was written, 1979. There was some talk about updating it to today but there are certain references in the script (Nixon, the cold war) that are specific to that era. That said, Beth is taking pains not to let the costumes overwhelm the play. The late '70s and early '80s had some wild clothing styles and I agree with her that it would be a disservice to this play if the audience is presented with a wild array of bell-bottoms, platform shoes and paisley shirts. With Edgar, we looked at wool slacks, a turtleneck shirt and tweed sport coat. Looked pretty cool.
Rehearsal-wise, David met with each cast member separately to discuss the play and develop a shared approach as to how we want to portray our characters. It was also a chance to get to know David a little bit, both as a director and as a person, and get a sense of how he likes to work. I’ve heard wonderful things about his directing style…how well he communicates with actors…and if today is any indication, I feel truly fortunate for the opportunity to work with him.
One of the challenges in this play is that Albee only gives so much information as to who these people are in relation to one another. We know Jo and Lucinda went to college together. We know Edgar and Lucinda only live a few blocks away. We know Fred has been married three times and that this group has been getting together to socialize for many years. What we don’t know is how the couples met each other, how long each has been married, what they do for a living, what part of the country they live in, or why there is such tension between Jo and Lucinda (and Sam and Edgar). And these are important facets for us as actors to agree upon and build into our shared histories if we are to come across naturally. So, today was a chance for David to see what we have been thinking, individually, about these matters and tomorrow we’ll meet again as a group and try to nail down a specific history (or histories) that we can all use in our preparation.
After rehearsal, some of the Board members (as well as some donors) threw a little wine and cheese reception for us in the green room. A very nice way of saying “welcome aboard”. It’s great to be back at the Rep.
-Paul
Rehearsal: An Actor's Blog, Day 1
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In the Rehearsal Room
A daily rehearsal blog from actor Paul Stetler, playing Edgar in The Lady from Dubuque.
First day of rehearsals for Edward Albee’s “The Lady From Dubuque”. It’s been a couple years since I last acted at the Rep and I couldn’t be more excited about being a part of this amazing play. I think I’m one of the privileged few to have actually done this play since it premiered and, inexplicably, disappeared in the early '80s. I played Sam in a graduate school production during my years at Penn State. (This time I get to play Edgar.)
I must admit that I am a sucker for first rehearsals and I have eagerly been looking forward to this one. There’s a wonderful sense of anticipation as the director, actors, stage managers, designers, staff and technicians begin the process of bringing a play to life.
We began the morning with a “meet-n-greet” in the rotunda where our director (and Seattle Rep artistic director) David Esbjornson spoke to us all about his vision of the play, showed us a model of the marvelous set design (by John Arnone), and shared a few very humorous anecdotes recounting some of his conversations with Mr. Albee (whom he has worked with on a number of occasions) about this play. Our costume designer, Beth Clancy, then spoke briefly about her ideas for costuming the show. (She is committed to getting to know the individual actor…getting a slight sense of their personality, as well as their input…before making any decisions. A refreshing and welcome approach.)
After a short break, we moved into the rehearsal hall and had an informal reading of the play. David encouraged us to make strong choices but also to keep it simple and not try to push for any results which, to my mind, is a great way to approach first read-thrus.
Our cast is a mix of local actors…Kristin Flanders, Hans Altweis, myself, and the newly arrived Chelsea Rives…and out-of-town actors…Carla Harting, Charlie Matthes, Frank X, and our illustrious Lady from Dubuque, Myra Carter. I’m a big fan of Kristen’s work and thrilled for the opportunity to work with her. And Hans, who has worked regularly at the Rep over the years, and I are good friends (and next door neighbors, which will make our commute from Rainier Beach a little more lively). Our other cast members I only met today but, based on the read-thru, I can already tell they’re an extremely talented group of actors. We are especially privileged to have Ms. Carter, an American theater icon and frequent collaborator of Mr. Albee’s, amongst us. Rounding off the group is our stage manager, Elisabeth Farwell.
I look forward to sharing with you a bit of our creative process through this “rehearsal blog”. I hope it will prove to be an informative peek into what it takes to make a particular play…in this case, a little known gem from America’s greatest playwright…come to life.
More to come.
-Paul
First day of rehearsals for Edward Albee’s “The Lady From Dubuque”. It’s been a couple years since I last acted at the Rep and I couldn’t be more excited about being a part of this amazing play. I think I’m one of the privileged few to have actually done this play since it premiered and, inexplicably, disappeared in the early '80s. I played Sam in a graduate school production during my years at Penn State. (This time I get to play Edgar.)
I must admit that I am a sucker for first rehearsals and I have eagerly been looking forward to this one. There’s a wonderful sense of anticipation as the director, actors, stage managers, designers, staff and technicians begin the process of bringing a play to life.
We began the morning with a “meet-n-greet” in the rotunda where our director (and Seattle Rep artistic director) David Esbjornson spoke to us all about his vision of the play, showed us a model of the marvelous set design (by John Arnone), and shared a few very humorous anecdotes recounting some of his conversations with Mr. Albee (whom he has worked with on a number of occasions) about this play. Our costume designer, Beth Clancy, then spoke briefly about her ideas for costuming the show. (She is committed to getting to know the individual actor…getting a slight sense of their personality, as well as their input…before making any decisions. A refreshing and welcome approach.)
After a short break, we moved into the rehearsal hall and had an informal reading of the play. David encouraged us to make strong choices but also to keep it simple and not try to push for any results which, to my mind, is a great way to approach first read-thrus.
Our cast is a mix of local actors…Kristin Flanders, Hans Altweis, myself, and the newly arrived Chelsea Rives…and out-of-town actors…Carla Harting, Charlie Matthes, Frank X, and our illustrious Lady from Dubuque, Myra Carter. I’m a big fan of Kristen’s work and thrilled for the opportunity to work with her. And Hans, who has worked regularly at the Rep over the years, and I are good friends (and next door neighbors, which will make our commute from Rainier Beach a little more lively). Our other cast members I only met today but, based on the read-thru, I can already tell they’re an extremely talented group of actors. We are especially privileged to have Ms. Carter, an American theater icon and frequent collaborator of Mr. Albee’s, amongst us. Rounding off the group is our stage manager, Elisabeth Farwell.
I look forward to sharing with you a bit of our creative process through this “rehearsal blog”. I hope it will prove to be an informative peek into what it takes to make a particular play…in this case, a little known gem from America’s greatest playwright…come to life.
More to come.
-Paul
Actorly introductions
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In the Rehearsal Room
From Joanna Horowitz, Communications Department
Now that we're just starting to get to know each other, build the bonds of our friendship, I'm going to throw a wrench in it all and bring in someone new. Blog readers, meet Paul Morgan Stetler. Paul is playing Edgar in The Lady from Dubuque, and has promised daily postings about his experience in the rehearsal hall. Since I actually have to do work sometimes that doesn't involve hanging out with the cast and watching them work, this is good news for you because you're going to be able to follow the rehearsal process from start to finish.
Paul is returning to Seattle Rep where he played Richard Robin in Lisa Loomer's Living Out and Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet, both directed by Sharon Ott. Most recent roles include Leontes in The Winter's Tale and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing at Seattle Shakespeare Company; Paul Verrall in Born Yesterday (directed by Warner Shook) at both ACT Theatre in Seattle and South Coast Repertory Theatre in California, Daniel Webster in The Devil and Daniel Webster at Seattle Children's Theatre, and Louis Slotin in Paul Mullin's Louis Slotin Sonata...The Empty Space Theatre's critically lauded (and, sadly, final) production. He is a graduate of Penn State University.
I'll post a picture of him as soon as I can dig one up.
Now that we're just starting to get to know each other, build the bonds of our friendship, I'm going to throw a wrench in it all and bring in someone new. Blog readers, meet Paul Morgan Stetler. Paul is playing Edgar in The Lady from Dubuque, and has promised daily postings about his experience in the rehearsal hall. Since I actually have to do work sometimes that doesn't involve hanging out with the cast and watching them work, this is good news for you because you're going to be able to follow the rehearsal process from start to finish.
Paul is returning to Seattle Rep where he played Richard Robin in Lisa Loomer's Living Out and Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet, both directed by Sharon Ott. Most recent roles include Leontes in The Winter's Tale and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing at Seattle Shakespeare Company; Paul Verrall in Born Yesterday (directed by Warner Shook) at both ACT Theatre in Seattle and South Coast Repertory Theatre in California, Daniel Webster in The Devil and Daniel Webster at Seattle Children's Theatre, and Louis Slotin in Paul Mullin's Louis Slotin Sonata...The Empty Space Theatre's critically lauded (and, sadly, final) production. He is a graduate of Penn State University.
I'll post a picture of him as soon as I can dig one up.
Meeting and Greeting
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In the Rehearsal Room
From Joanna Horowitz, Communications Department
I’ve just come out of the first rehearsal of The Lady from Dubuque by Edward Albee, which was kicked off by the traditional meet-and-greet and design presentation that start every show we do here at the Rep. We all eat bagels, drink coffee, and check out the hot new faces in the building (read: actors). After a half an hour or so of schmoozing and face stuffing, the director talks about the show. In this case, Seattle Rep Artistic Director David Esbjornson is directing. Sometimes the playwright is here for the meet and greet—Edward Albee was not, but we learned he’ll be here for previews and opening, which for us theatre geeks is like saying Santa’s coming and bringing presents for a full week of joy.
Sometimes the whole design team for the show is here as well, but this was a pretty low key meet and greet, and David and costume designer Beth Clancy were the only ones here. No, matter, David had plenty to say about the script and the take his team has on it. First, some background:
Albee wrote the play in 1979, about (on the surface) a group of 30-something friends, one of whom is dying. A mysterious woman shows up claiming to be the dying woman's (Jo) mother, which some believe is true and others think is ridiculous.
The play opened on Broadway in 1980 and closed just three weeks later because audiences at the time weren't sure what to make of it: most likely they weren't too keen on the play's metaphor about living in a society of denial. It's been very scarcely performed since then.
I was kind of wary when I heard this at the beginning of the season: "Ok, if it's rarely performed, isn't that for a reason?" But, not the case. The play is brilliant: tight, impeccable, biting dialogue, fascinating characters, and actually quite funny. It seems like perhaps theatre going audiences just weren't able to connect with Albee for a good part of the '80s and '90s--the self examination thing, the denial thing. Now that we, as a society, are more willing to question ourselves and the world we live in, Albee's plays have a new resonance.
David talked a lot about his choice to make this a "period" piece, by keeping it set in 1979 (although Beth promised no distracting bellbottoms or platform shoes). Edward has tinkered around with updating some Nixon references to Bush references, but the plan for now if to keep the play as written: at the height of the Cold War.
I’ve just come out of the first rehearsal of The Lady from Dubuque by Edward Albee, which was kicked off by the traditional meet-and-greet and design presentation that start every show we do here at the Rep. We all eat bagels, drink coffee, and check out the hot new faces in the building (read: actors). After a half an hour or so of schmoozing and face stuffing, the director talks about the show. In this case, Seattle Rep Artistic Director David Esbjornson is directing. Sometimes the playwright is here for the meet and greet—Edward Albee was not, but we learned he’ll be here for previews and opening, which for us theatre geeks is like saying Santa’s coming and bringing presents for a full week of joy.
Sometimes the whole design team for the show is here as well, but this was a pretty low key meet and greet, and David and costume designer Beth Clancy were the only ones here. No, matter, David had plenty to say about the script and the take his team has on it. First, some background:
Albee wrote the play in 1979, about (on the surface) a group of 30-something friends, one of whom is dying. A mysterious woman shows up claiming to be the dying woman's (Jo) mother, which some believe is true and others think is ridiculous.
The play opened on Broadway in 1980 and closed just three weeks later because audiences at the time weren't sure what to make of it: most likely they weren't too keen on the play's metaphor about living in a society of denial. It's been very scarcely performed since then.
I was kind of wary when I heard this at the beginning of the season: "Ok, if it's rarely performed, isn't that for a reason?" But, not the case. The play is brilliant: tight, impeccable, biting dialogue, fascinating characters, and actually quite funny. It seems like perhaps theatre going audiences just weren't able to connect with Albee for a good part of the '80s and '90s--the self examination thing, the denial thing. Now that we, as a society, are more willing to question ourselves and the world we live in, Albee's plays have a new resonance.
David talked a lot about his choice to make this a "period" piece, by keeping it set in 1979 (although Beth promised no distracting bellbottoms or platform shoes). Edward has tinkered around with updating some Nixon references to Bush references, but the plan for now if to keep the play as written: at the height of the Cold War.
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