Monday, January 26, 2009
"Cabaret" Audience Response
Check out what audience members are saying about Cabaret. Cabaret is now playing until February 8th. Call the box office at (617) 923-8487, or visit www.newrep.org to buy your tickets today!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
1-17-2009 Table Reading
Last night we had a table reading of The Devil’s Own Game in preparation for the New Voices @ New Rep staged reading on February 9th. This play was one of my main projects last season when New Rep hosted me in a National New Play Network Emerging Playwright Residency.
I had a round table reading of an earlier version of it at an NNPN event hosted by the Lark Play Development Center in NYC last March as part of that same residency. That event did quite a bit to develop my conception of the play.
The play itself sort of takes up where most versions of the Faust story leave off. With Faust in hell. And wanting out. What this play is really about is the promise of the present moment and the nature of knowledge. It also explores themes of jealousy and loyalty, corruption, and hope. Much of my theatre life is movement oriented, so I like to think of myself as a very physical writer. I feel that this comes across well in this script.
The table reading was facilitated by Bridget O’Leary, New Rep’s artistic associate, who also read one of the roles that evening. Meg Taintor, who will be directing the reading, was there, as well as two thirds of the cast I’ll have on the day itself, Zillah Glory and Jennifer O’Connor. I’m really excited about my cast. Both actresses gave strong readings and were really great casting choices.
The purpose of a table reading is to help the playwright see what rewrites and adjustments need to be made. I learned a lot about what I want to do with my script before my New Voices reading, both from hearing the play and from the feedback I got from the people in the room.
I look forward to having an audience for this in a couple weeks and learning more!
I had a round table reading of an earlier version of it at an NNPN event hosted by the Lark Play Development Center in NYC last March as part of that same residency. That event did quite a bit to develop my conception of the play.
The play itself sort of takes up where most versions of the Faust story leave off. With Faust in hell. And wanting out. What this play is really about is the promise of the present moment and the nature of knowledge. It also explores themes of jealousy and loyalty, corruption, and hope. Much of my theatre life is movement oriented, so I like to think of myself as a very physical writer. I feel that this comes across well in this script.
The table reading was facilitated by Bridget O’Leary, New Rep’s artistic associate, who also read one of the roles that evening. Meg Taintor, who will be directing the reading, was there, as well as two thirds of the cast I’ll have on the day itself, Zillah Glory and Jennifer O’Connor. I’m really excited about my cast. Both actresses gave strong readings and were really great casting choices.
The purpose of a table reading is to help the playwright see what rewrites and adjustments need to be made. I learned a lot about what I want to do with my script before my New Voices reading, both from hearing the play and from the feedback I got from the people in the room.
I look forward to having an audience for this in a couple weeks and learning more!
1-15-2009 OPENING NIGHT!
We are open! Many final things were ironed out in tech and previews (during which I was too busy working on the show to blog much) and now the final product is up and running.
Rick got a standing ovation for his curtain speech, which was another touching Boston theatre moment.
I had a great time with this cast and production team and look forward to working with everyone again in future productions. My next two New Rep projects are a staged reading of my play, The Devil’s Own Game next month as part of New Voices @ New Rep, and composing the violence for Fool for Love, directed by Bridget Kathleen O’Leary which will go up at Downstage @ New Rep in March.
Rick got a standing ovation for his curtain speech, which was another touching Boston theatre moment.
I had a great time with this cast and production team and look forward to working with everyone again in future productions. My next two New Rep projects are a staged reading of my play, The Devil’s Own Game next month as part of New Voices @ New Rep, and composing the violence for Fool for Love, directed by Bridget Kathleen O’Leary which will go up at Downstage @ New Rep in March.
1-13-2009 Goodbye Rick
Last night much of the Boston theatre community came to the Arsenal Center for a surprise sendoff party for Rick. It remained a surprise almost up until the party itself.
Though we’re all sad to see Rick & Co. go, I have to say it was really amazing to see that much of the theatre community come out for this event.
Though we’re all sad to see Rick & Co. go, I have to say it was really amazing to see that much of the theatre community come out for this event.
1-7-2009 A Cool Dialect Detail
I was talking about the dialect work in this show with Aimee Doherty (our Sally Bowles) and she mentioned that she actually has to learn two different British accents. One is the upper class accent that Sally maintains as a pretense, and the other is the lower class accent that comes out in times of emotional stress and which is the one she comes by honestly.
I should also point out that many of us are in danger of being stuck in German accents for quite some time. Ja.
I should also point out that many of us are in danger of being stuck in German accents for quite some time. Ja.
1-4-2009-- Kicklines
We had our first stumble through today. There was far less stumbling than anyone might have expected.
I was thinking today about the kickline numbers since we saw quite a bit of work on them recently. Kicklines were one of two elements that were part of the “Americanization” of popular entertainment of the time (the other being Jazz). The appeal of the kickline in that cultural context was the military precision. Not to kid myself or anyone else, there was of course an erotic aspect to it, but what attracted so much commentary was its resemblance to military drill.
A bit of history trivia: though the kickline was perceived as being very American and modern, the first dance company of note that performed in this style was British.
I was thinking today about the kickline numbers since we saw quite a bit of work on them recently. Kicklines were one of two elements that were part of the “Americanization” of popular entertainment of the time (the other being Jazz). The appeal of the kickline in that cultural context was the military precision. Not to kid myself or anyone else, there was of course an erotic aspect to it, but what attracted so much commentary was its resemblance to military drill.
A bit of history trivia: though the kickline was perceived as being very American and modern, the first dance company of note that performed in this style was British.
1-3-2009 Staging the Beat Down
Today I staged the big fight in the Kit Kat Club. It begins with a conflict between Ernst and Cliff, and ends with Cliff being attacked by the Nazi guards I described in an earlier entry.
It’s important in fight scenes that the integration of my work with the director’s be seamless. Ideally it should be difficult to determine exactly where one begins and the other ends. To that end, I concentrate a lot on how personal conflicts escalate into physical confrontations. In this case there is an argument between Cliff and Ernst which eventually makes Cliff snap and punch Ernst. Much of this was already set by Rick of course, but I made some modifications with the actors both in the interest of sight lines and to make the escalation into a physical blow make dramatic sense. The technique I used for the punch itself is a variant of what is commonly referred to as “ The John Wayne Punch.” It’s a pretty big move that’s visible and effective from nearly any angle, and also works well in isolation from other techniques as the sort of thing that might come of an emotional outburst.
A bit of detailing: after the punch lands David plays that he hurt his fist punching Ernst. This is a pretty realistic moment as most people would not be able to punch a solid surface without sustaining some pain. There is also the character moment of disbelief over his own actions. Cliff goes to comfort Ernst and is rebuked, and at that moment is ambushed from behind by the two guards.
An ambush from behind is a delicate thing on stage. The cues need to be very specific in order to keep everything both safe and believable. It is also usually the case that the actor who is playing the victim is the one who is in fact actually in control of the action.
We used a variety of techniques in the beat down (another technical term), Here we replicate both impact techniques (punches and kicks), and pain compliance moves (exactly what they sound like). Because this fight happens in a very specific dramatic context, Ernst is a participant. He does not strike Cliff, but the guards offer him the opportunity. He lifts a handkerchief to his mouth which comes back bloody (a prop placed there by Rick) and motions the guards to finish Cliff off. I won’t go into a play by play just now as you should come see the show, but it is important to remember that at their best, stage fights are designed with the rest of the production in mind as a way to help move the story forward.
This beating is a slow and somewhat methodical one. This is as much a political display of power as anything else. A regular patron of an establishment is being beaten at the establishment in full view of the other patrons, and no one dares interfere. They drag him out by his hair in full view of those same patrons and still, no one lifts a finger. People are discomforted, people cannot watch, the band stops playing for a moment, but no one interferes. This lack of interference is a powerful indication of where the culture has gotten to at that point. We said at the first rehearsal that we were looking at the thin veneer of civilization. At that point in the play it is barely there anymore.
It’s important in fight scenes that the integration of my work with the director’s be seamless. Ideally it should be difficult to determine exactly where one begins and the other ends. To that end, I concentrate a lot on how personal conflicts escalate into physical confrontations. In this case there is an argument between Cliff and Ernst which eventually makes Cliff snap and punch Ernst. Much of this was already set by Rick of course, but I made some modifications with the actors both in the interest of sight lines and to make the escalation into a physical blow make dramatic sense. The technique I used for the punch itself is a variant of what is commonly referred to as “ The John Wayne Punch.” It’s a pretty big move that’s visible and effective from nearly any angle, and also works well in isolation from other techniques as the sort of thing that might come of an emotional outburst.
A bit of detailing: after the punch lands David plays that he hurt his fist punching Ernst. This is a pretty realistic moment as most people would not be able to punch a solid surface without sustaining some pain. There is also the character moment of disbelief over his own actions. Cliff goes to comfort Ernst and is rebuked, and at that moment is ambushed from behind by the two guards.
An ambush from behind is a delicate thing on stage. The cues need to be very specific in order to keep everything both safe and believable. It is also usually the case that the actor who is playing the victim is the one who is in fact actually in control of the action.
We used a variety of techniques in the beat down (another technical term), Here we replicate both impact techniques (punches and kicks), and pain compliance moves (exactly what they sound like). Because this fight happens in a very specific dramatic context, Ernst is a participant. He does not strike Cliff, but the guards offer him the opportunity. He lifts a handkerchief to his mouth which comes back bloody (a prop placed there by Rick) and motions the guards to finish Cliff off. I won’t go into a play by play just now as you should come see the show, but it is important to remember that at their best, stage fights are designed with the rest of the production in mind as a way to help move the story forward.
This beating is a slow and somewhat methodical one. This is as much a political display of power as anything else. A regular patron of an establishment is being beaten at the establishment in full view of the other patrons, and no one dares interfere. They drag him out by his hair in full view of those same patrons and still, no one lifts a finger. People are discomforted, people cannot watch, the band stops playing for a moment, but no one interferes. This lack of interference is a powerful indication of where the culture has gotten to at that point. We said at the first rehearsal that we were looking at the thin veneer of civilization. At that point in the play it is barely there anymore.
12-31-2008--Captains and Dancing
We decided that Maurice Parent will be my fight captain. That means his job will be to run fight calls and maintain both the safety and integrity of composition of the fight choreography. I’m really happy about this choice as he is an actor with a great sense of movement who will be great about making sure that everyone is being specific in all their work. He is not in any of the fights himself, which is often an advantage for this position as it lets him concentrate on what the actors in the fights are doing without worrying about his own choreography.
Fight calls, for those who don’t know, are special mini rehearsals held before each run or performance in which the fights are done twice; once just marked out and once at performance speed. Fight calls are essential for safety and also maintain the specificity of the choreography. I often describe stage combat as a combination of sleight of hand and ballroom dance rather than being any sort of martial art. Many of the moves are counter intuitive and it’s important that the performers practice them in order to maintain an effective illusion.
Earlier in the process Annie Kerins was appointed the dance captain. She is responsible for maintaining the dance choreography throughout the show. It’s a fairly large job in a production like this, and there will be rehearsals where she’ll be running dance numbers in Kelli Edward's, the choreographer, absence. I had a look at her book of dance notation and it was interesting to see how different numbers were notated according to the way in which they were choreographed, meaning that if a sequence was counted out according to the music then the moves would be similarly spelled out whereas if Kelli set moves according to word sequences they would be spelled out that way.
A great thing about the choreography in this production is that Kelli is finding unconventional ways to use conventional dance vocabulary. Since much of this musical is a show within a show, what she is doing works especially well in this context. There are a lot of complex structures she is creating using almost the entire company where each dancer is moving in time with the rest, and then they break into another structure where each dancer or group of dancers have very individual moves before rejoining the group.
Speaking of dance, today we were short two cast members because they were performing in First Night so Adrienne and I got to stand in for them for part of a dance composition rehearsal. That was all kinds of fun. We did a part of “The Telephone Dance” in which Kelli had progressions of structural changes in the choreography going from synchronized to individual movements. It was important that there were stand ins for the choreography as the timing of the changes has to be precise. It was a lot of fun. And I got to work out a funktastic upsidedown lift and spin sequence with Michele DeLuca that her partner will learn when he comes back (funktastic is of course a technical choreography term that is still missing from the majority of textbooks).
Happy New Year everyone!
Fight calls, for those who don’t know, are special mini rehearsals held before each run or performance in which the fights are done twice; once just marked out and once at performance speed. Fight calls are essential for safety and also maintain the specificity of the choreography. I often describe stage combat as a combination of sleight of hand and ballroom dance rather than being any sort of martial art. Many of the moves are counter intuitive and it’s important that the performers practice them in order to maintain an effective illusion.
Earlier in the process Annie Kerins was appointed the dance captain. She is responsible for maintaining the dance choreography throughout the show. It’s a fairly large job in a production like this, and there will be rehearsals where she’ll be running dance numbers in Kelli Edward's, the choreographer, absence. I had a look at her book of dance notation and it was interesting to see how different numbers were notated according to the way in which they were choreographed, meaning that if a sequence was counted out according to the music then the moves would be similarly spelled out whereas if Kelli set moves according to word sequences they would be spelled out that way.
A great thing about the choreography in this production is that Kelli is finding unconventional ways to use conventional dance vocabulary. Since much of this musical is a show within a show, what she is doing works especially well in this context. There are a lot of complex structures she is creating using almost the entire company where each dancer is moving in time with the rest, and then they break into another structure where each dancer or group of dancers have very individual moves before rejoining the group.
Speaking of dance, today we were short two cast members because they were performing in First Night so Adrienne and I got to stand in for them for part of a dance composition rehearsal. That was all kinds of fun. We did a part of “The Telephone Dance” in which Kelli had progressions of structural changes in the choreography going from synchronized to individual movements. It was important that there were stand ins for the choreography as the timing of the changes has to be precise. It was a lot of fun. And I got to work out a funktastic upsidedown lift and spin sequence with Michele DeLuca that her partner will learn when he comes back (funktastic is of course a technical choreography term that is still missing from the majority of textbooks).
Happy New Year everyone!
12-30-08 – Staging Nazi Scenes
One of the things we worked on today was the song “I Don’t Care Much,” in which the Emcee will appear bruised and with his arm in a sling and there will be Nazi guards in the club. This is also the scene that will include the biggest fight in the show, which I’ll choreograph later in the process.
One thing we’re working on in this scene is the placement of the guards. We tried a few variants. The first was Nazi guard would stand at attention on either side of the Emcee scanning the club. The sense of threat this created was interesting, but the option we decided on (which you’ll see in the production itself) is that the guards are off duty, sitting at tables in the club, drinking with everyone else, and being rowdy. And that their rowdiness would be an obvious problem that no one else in the club would do anything about. This was a very different sort of threat and made more sense for what we were doing with the rest of the scene.
Something that really struck me about the character work in this play is the way Paul Giragos is approaching the character of Ernst. Cabaret is popular enough musical that I don’t think I’m spoiling it for anybody reading this if I reveal that Ernst turns out to be a rather highly placed Nazi. And yet, this is one of the funniest and most charming characters throughout most of the play. I think that that is one of the things that makes the threat most real, and most powerful. The people who became Nazis did not start their lives as monsters, things happened that led them to go down that road. That said, Paul is playing him as an affable playboy who really believes in his cause. We really want to like Ernst, so the moment that we find out he’s a Nazi it really feels like a betrayal. I always felt that this sort of thing is one of the strongest humanist aspects of stage work. Putting a live face and a realistic and likable character on someone involved in what I can only describe as criminal politics has the potential to create a powerful impact on the audience. It’s a common strategy to dehumanize one’s opponents in war and politics. How much more would we learn as a society if we made it a more common practice to humanize those holding opposing viewpoints instead?
One thing we’re working on in this scene is the placement of the guards. We tried a few variants. The first was Nazi guard would stand at attention on either side of the Emcee scanning the club. The sense of threat this created was interesting, but the option we decided on (which you’ll see in the production itself) is that the guards are off duty, sitting at tables in the club, drinking with everyone else, and being rowdy. And that their rowdiness would be an obvious problem that no one else in the club would do anything about. This was a very different sort of threat and made more sense for what we were doing with the rest of the scene.
Something that really struck me about the character work in this play is the way Paul Giragos is approaching the character of Ernst. Cabaret is popular enough musical that I don’t think I’m spoiling it for anybody reading this if I reveal that Ernst turns out to be a rather highly placed Nazi. And yet, this is one of the funniest and most charming characters throughout most of the play. I think that that is one of the things that makes the threat most real, and most powerful. The people who became Nazis did not start their lives as monsters, things happened that led them to go down that road. That said, Paul is playing him as an affable playboy who really believes in his cause. We really want to like Ernst, so the moment that we find out he’s a Nazi it really feels like a betrayal. I always felt that this sort of thing is one of the strongest humanist aspects of stage work. Putting a live face and a realistic and likable character on someone involved in what I can only describe as criminal politics has the potential to create a powerful impact on the audience. It’s a common strategy to dehumanize one’s opponents in war and politics. How much more would we learn as a society if we made it a more common practice to humanize those holding opposing viewpoints instead?
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