Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Loading in the Good Times!

Hello All!

So we have now completed our rehearsal process and are now heavily steeped in tech, which commenced last night with our load-in! Now is the time in which the production team and crew assembles the world of the play, and that includes everything from lights to sound to set to props. In order to accomplish this tall order with a very limited amount of time, it meant that everyone needed to step up, pitch in and give a hand, and I was fortunate enough to be included as well. Just to give you an idea, though, if you were to meet me, you would most likely assume I am the type of person who has avoided much manual
labor his entire life, and that assumption wouldn't be far off. So the fact that I was saying things like, "Do you have a longer piece of tie-line?" and "Where did the XLR go?" is quite new to me. But, let me tell you. It was such an incredible experience for me to be part of such a hard working and collaborative team.

Even in the face of a time crunch and of a huge list of things that need to be done and worked out, it amazed me the high spirits in which we collectively found ourselves. There was a certain "lightness" among us, all of us filling the space with some banter and a few laughs, while at the same time maintining a strong and immensely productive focus. And it amazed me how everyone was working on their own projects simultaneously without getting in the way of others. Lighting crew was hanging their instruments and circuiting them while a mere feet away others are adhering sound cable to pipeline, and below both, carpenters are nailing set pieces and platforms down, while in the back painters work furiously to finish the strokes on a
back wall panel. Even though seemingly countless activities are being pursued, everyone still worked together and communicated, with no one stepping on anyone's toes and everyone being repsectful of everyone's needs.

It's so great to be working in an environment in which everyone is truly on the same page and level, with everyone doing what they can to get the job done and with no one being "above" anything. At the risk of sounding "New Age-y," the vibe was so positive in the room that it was palpable. It's a rare thing, not just in theatre but anywhere, to be in an environment in which so many people not only all want to be there but all have the same ends and goals in mind and are truly working together. To be a part of that was absolutely exhilarating.

It was a true joy to be a part of, and I know this will carry over into tomorrow night, when we actually begin tech and work through the show cue-to-cue. But more on that later . . .

That about does it for now. But don't worry; more will be coming later this week!

Over and Out,
Max

Saturday, October 24, 2009

An interview with director Shawn LaCount

Anne G. Morgan, Dramaturg: What initially drew you The Overwhelming?

Shawn LaCount: The Overwhelming was one of the most captivating scripts I had read in a long time. Due to the play's structure, its historical themes and the fact that it is mystery and a thriller- I found myself deeply engaged and unable to put the script down. I knew immediately that Company One had to produce it.

AM: What attracts you to the characters and relationships within this story? How do you hope an audience will identify with them?

SL: I find the characters and relationships in The Overwhelming to be real, complex, and quite familiar. J.T. Rogers has created a play that is clearly based on real people and issues. Over the course of the play I sympathize with characters at some points and get frustrated with them at others, much like I do with the people in my own life. This is a testament to the strong writing. I think audience members will identify with different characters and hopefully this will cause some interesting discussions after the show!

AM: Why do you think this is an important story to tell? How do you think this is relevant to today's audiences, 15 years after the genocide?

SL: Although The Overwhelming is set in 1994 immediately before the Rwandan genocide, I really don't see it as a play about the genocide. The play is about nationality, trust, loyalty, conviction, and family. In many ways, the relationship between Jack and Linda resembles the internal struggles of 1994 Rwanda itself. The concept of genocide or holocaust to most Americans is mind-boggling. How could things anywhere ever get so bad that one group of people decides to annihilate another? It is a difficult question, but as Joseph explains to Geoffrey, "It is not hatred that drives" such horrific events, "but fear." I always think the concept of "fear" makes for good drama. People act in the most fascinating and often irrational ways when they are faced with their biggest fears.

AM: This play is set against a very specific historical background. How does influence your approach?

SL: When directing any play, it is of the utmost importance to search for truth through integrity. If you are representing a historically accurate place with real people, it becomes even more important to do your homework and not make assumptions. However, the idea of truth is subjective. The beauty of a play like this one is that 1994 Rwanda sounds like a very different place depending on who is speaking about it. The play tries to look at the situation with the Tutsi and Hutu on a level playing field, but, at the end of the day, I don’t believe that it is possible to have a neutral standpoint on issues of life and death.


AM: What did you anticipate being challenging about telling this story and how have you approached that in the rehearsal process?

SL: This is a very complicated play with lots of information in several languages and many, many characters. As a director, I was worried about telling a clear story that would keep an audience engaged right through the end. Luckily, we have a great team working very hard on the production; from actors to designers to our dramaturge – we have many wonderful collaborators!

AM: What ideas and concepts have influenced your collaborations with the designers? What were your goals for the creation of the physical world of the play?

SL: The entire design team for The Overwhelming has made a concerted effort to keep the staging and the world of the play simple. Our aim has been to clear the way for the most fluid and exciting story possible with very few effects or theatricality. The play wants to feel like a mystery and a roller coaster ride at that same time. Audiences will likely find themselves on the edge of their seats by the time the lights go down.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Exploring vs. Settling

With less than a week left before we go into tech., things are really cooking in the rehearsal hall, which brings to mind a dilemma that always fascinates me: As we are now refining and fine tuning the play, how much can we still allow the actors to continue exploring the text, their characters, and the space and allow them to continue trying new things, employing new tactics and actions, and making different choices, all the while realizing we need to lock things down and set things in place? A big question is: Is it ever too late to make changes before opening night? If so, when? What’s the deadline? You certainly wouldn’t want to set this too early, lest you stifle your actors. You want your actors to feel free and comfortable enough to explore the piece of theatre you together are creating, and you want to offer them the time to find not only what is right for the show and for their characters, but also, and in some ways most importantly, what is right for them as actors, because, in the end, they have to own it for themselves. You don’t want to cut off exploration too early because then they may settle into something they are not ready or willing to settle into, which could result disastrously in tedious and monotonous performances. A show can be successful only when the action is fresh for the actors, so that no matter how many times they run a scene, the words they say and the actions they execute always feel as though they are being done for the first time ever.

Of course, at the same time, the deadline of opening night is always looming, its approach unstoppable. Of course, decisions need to be made, blocking needs to be set, and actions need to be settled on. I feel that in our production, it is certainly not about setting an explicit deadline for all choices to be made that precludes any further exploration. Art certainly can’t work that way. For us, as with many productions, it’s all about finding something that works, and having the confidence to lock that in place, while being flexible to the prospect of discovering something new. For something that isn’t working, we are trusting that we will find the time to figure it out, all the while always keeping in mind the approach of tech. In the end, you have to trust the people around you and keep communication open. That’s the only way theatre ever works.

That’s about all for now. Next up, Tech!


Over and Out,
Max

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Piecing it Together

Hello all!

Max here, coming at you again from THE OVERWHELMING rehearsal hall. We have just finished working through all the scenes for at least a second time, and everyday the show is coming together more and more. What's really exciting is that all the actors are off-book and have now formed a very intimate kinship with the text, allowing us to really delve into the story of the play. In addition, whereas before when we were working and running individual scenes, we are now starting to piece numerous consecutive scenes together and even running large chunks of the play at one time. With this, we are now really starting to see how the story of the play as a whole will unfold in our production. The challenge now for the actors and for the director is to find the overall arc and pace of the play. Earlier in the rehearsal process, we focused our attention on the arc of each individual scene. The actors were required to examine where their characters were in the beginning of a scene, where they were at the end of that scene and, most importantly, how they got there. Now, the real challenge is taking all these small arcs and bringing them together to create the arc for the whole play. A big component of this, for the actors at least, is figuring out how to shift emotionally from one scene to the next. In this play, with each scene comes a new time, place, and situation, and the actors must be able to bring their characters along with that, some even having to change into entirely different characters in a matter of only moments. It's a tall order, but our actors are already attacking the challenge head-on.

Another exciting part of our current stage in the rehearsal process is that we've begun to include some technical elements, including sound, props, and set pieces, into scene work. With a show as complicated as this one with regard to the story and technical demands, it's really important to bring in these elements as early as possible, so that the actors and creative team can get a feeling for what will work and what won't. What's always interested me is how even the most seemingly inconsequential prop can be the catalyst for lengthy deliberation among the actors, director, and stage management. An audience member might think that the fact that an actor has a wine glass in one scene is not really a big deal. Yet, much thought goes into how that prop will get on stage, how it will be used, and how it will get off stage in time for when the scene shifts to an entirely new location and time in which that prop is no longer appropriate. Of course, in the end, these technical shifts occur seamlessly, their difficult nature never unveiled to the audience. Some of my favorite memories in theatre are being backstage during a show, when the audience is watching what seems like a simple and easy transition, and yet backstage countless stage hands are running around in a fury in order to maintain that the audience is always none the wiser.

That's about all for now. This week we are going to be running the show the whole way through, and we'll really see what we have on our hands. No doubt it'll be exciting!

Over and Out,
Max

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Sabrina Sydnor, Marketing Associate

Hello Readers, seasoned Company One fans and those soon to be!

My name is Sabrina and I am the newest addition to the Marketing team here @ C1. I’m going to cut right to the chase — “The Overwhelming” starts in less than a month now and I couldn’t be more excited to get people over to the BCA to see this amazing piece of theatre. As a Marketing Associate, my primary involvement is getting the word out to the masses and I think C1 has really stepped it up with their use of video trailers for each show. On September 29th, many hands of the cast, crew and creative, rallied around videographer, Jordan Harrison, to compile a concise yet incredibly gripping glimpse in to the world of the play.

This being my first foray in to the creation of the video trailer, I was incredibly impressed by the angles, themes and dialogue carefully chosen to capture the piece in two short minutes. I am extremely excited to see how the video trailer effects the overall outcome of the piece - not just from a Marketing/Sales stand point but also, how much the audience is already aware of the world of the play when they arrive. It’s tremendously exciting to work with a company that utilizes the growing trends in a “you-tubed” generation and uses them to draw in a new audience to live theatre. The power of multi-media marketing is here folks, and IT'S HAPPENING at Company One.

-Sabrina

Friday, October 2, 2009

Max Mondi, Artistic Associate

Greetings!

Max here - I'm assisting the director, the fantastic Mr. Shawn LaCount, on "The Overwhelming". I'm going to give you the inside dish on what I'm up to, as we're now in the thick of the rehearsal process.

Already, this has proven be a new and exciting experience for me. This show is not only my first time working with Company One, but it's also my first foray into the entire Boston theatre scene. With this comes the chance to meet and work with a whole host of new (at least for me) artists and dramatists. Also, the show is a unique endeavor unto itself. I have not worked on many shows that not only have such large casts, but also demand the actors to speak such various and numerous dialects and languages, and demand the director and design team to tackle over forty scenes that take place in a vast catalogue of locations and times. From the first time I read the script, I was thrilled by the prospect of collaborating with a group eager to tackle these challenges head-on.

As I said, my role in this production will be assisting the director throughout the rehearsals. This also is a new hat for me to be wearing. In addition to getting to know the cast and production team, another main focus has been figuring out exactly how I should function in my role and how I can best support the production. What has been very rewarding is how I get to act as a second set of eyes for the director. Each rehearsal, after watching the actors work through the text, I get together with the director and dramaturg to talk about the scenes, discussing what's working, what isn't, and what needs to be done next.

So far, we've been able to take a first look into every scene in the play. It's been fascinating to see what everyone's initial impressions of the play are, and it's exciting to see what's going to happen to those impressions as we go. We've just begun working through the play for a second time, so we'll have to wait and see . . .

That's about all for now, but I'll be keeping you updated on all the happenings!

Over and Out,
Max