“As a child too you were very pretty, very pretty child.” –A Number, scene two

A play is like a child. It begins as an infant and grows to reach maturity. A play travels across a vast range of stages of life. Exploring different directions it can go, stretching and growing until it discovers itself. The director is its parent fostering its abilities and guiding its path. Actors are what give it life. They grow along with it. A play is an entity, a life-force. You can understand it and it in return can understand you. Whether you are the audience, the director, the actors, or the stage crew, you are all a part of this life.

I dealt with this notion a lot this past week as I sat in on a few rehearsals for A Number. Parts of the play deal with childhood and how events during adolescence can change your outlook and personality as an adult. As I watched Graham and Charlie rehearse their lines at the table, I noticed how much their tones and demeanors had changed since the first rehearsal last Monday. The characters began to appear within them. I felt shocked during certain scenes by the depth of emotion which came out in their words. Their faces turned red as they began to shout at one another the way their characters would while having these conversations as real people. At times, the actors seemed indistinguishable to their characters. I have been to many plays in the past, but I have not previously experienced witnessing the amount of work and analysis that goes into a show, particularly the initial stages. It has been so interesting to watch the growing process of this play.

In case you are wondering why the actors are still spending time reading at the table during rehearsals I would like to clarify. Ron explained in rehearsal on Saturday that they planned to finish close analysis of the text at the table before working out any of the staging. He said that in some cases while working on a show, the cast will analyze one particular scene at the table, then stage it and go back to the table to work on the next scene and so on. With A Number, they are gaining a lot of progress at the table by reading chunks of text, then discussing questions and interpretations about that scene. They will usually read a certain part, analyze it, then go back and read it again. In doing so, the structure of the lines take a new form each time they are read. The way the text is written allows an open means of interpretation. Ron explains the construction of the Churchill’s writing and the play itself in his blog in a very detailed, coherent way. This next week, the cast will finish up table work and move on to staging. I’m looking forward to continuing to watch this show evolve and grow.

-Elizabeth Dacy

So many plays! A Number!...AND...haiku contest!

Wow! These are some great plays, and LOTS of them! I can’t thank everyone enough for taking the time to jot down some of your faves. Turns out, a lot of them are our faves, too! Some are already on our short list, while some others are on a different list because they’ve been performed around here in the last 5 years, etc. You know what I really appreciate is the thoughtfulness of suggesting plays that you think either fit into our space, budget or aesthetic. So many of these suggestions are spot on. At this point, we really have no idea what we’ll be able to choose, get the rights for, etc. but the time is coming when we will need to get out a season announcement. So again, thanks for giving us such a HUGE reading list!

I just started rehearsals for A Number, by Caryl Chuyrchill. I won’t say much about that since we have a guest who will be writing regular, oh what should I call them, not updates, but impressions of the process of working on this play. Dacy is a student at Warren Wilson College and our director, Ron Bashford, is one of her professors. Dacy sat in on the first rehearsal on Monday night and took notes for a series of blog posts we’ve asked her to write. We’ve really given her no instructions on what the posts should be other than her own impressions of the process from someone not involved in the production and someone not really involved in professional theatre.

So here's the first 2 posts of a regular series that I hope you’ll enjoy and feel free to comment upon.

Finally, the LYLAS sketch comedy group wound up their 2009 show at NC Stage this past weekend. I caught it this past Saturday and had a great time. My favorite sketch involved tourists on Segways. Nuff said. Anyway, they gave their curtain speech about turning off cell phones, where the exits are, etc with a series of haikus. I really love haikus.

So I want to announce an unofficial, impromptu haiku contest for our blog readers. Post your best haiku in 3 categories: haiku about NC Stage; haiku in praise of theatre; and haiku about your favorite play you’ve ever seen, anywhere.

I am the sole judge of this contest and there are no prizes as of yet. I will post winning haikus on the NC Stage Facebook page and on the literal wall at the theatre. If they really kick my ass, I’m sure I can come up with a couple of tickets for an upcoming production or maybe a gift card. How about that?

A Number - First Rehearsal

A Number – First Rehearsal 3/23/09

The first rehearsal for the NC Stage Company production of Caryl Churchill’s play A Number began this past Monday with an intimate table reading followed by a discussion among the cast and crew members about their impressions and interpretations of the play. Those present at this meeting included the director, actors, stage manager, sound designer, producer, and costume designer. I felt apprehensive when initially meeting everyone, but they were all welcoming and seemed excited about my blogging endeavor. I do not have previous experience with writing for a blog. I am, however, passionate about both writing and theatre and am curious to combine these areas of interest through blogging about the process of the rehearsals and production of this play.

A Number is a fascinatingly bizarre drama based on family and cloning. In the NC Stage production, directed by Ron Bashford, two actors will be playing five separate roles. Actors Charlie Flynn-McIver and Graham Smith are currently in the process of working with Ron rehearsing the play and analyzing the complexity of the story itself. While observing the table reading of the script during the first rehearsal, I couldn’t help but notice that both actors were very well suited for their roles. The emotions evoked within their characters’ words came naturally and the tension built between them seemed eerily real. The actors paused after particular lines which they found perplexing or interesting in terms of the story and a discussion would ensue between everyone present as to the possibilities the lines might have. Both cast and crew members also talked about their individual interpretations of the characters and what reasons they might have for expressing specific emotions and statements. At times, I felt compelled to add to these discussions, but initially refrained in order to keep a distant presence. This is not to say that I thought I was not allowed to speak my mind and convey my suggestions, but I observed in particular that the conversations between the actors and the director exclusively was an intimate part in the process of analyzing the play. To watch them play around so candidly with their ideas was mesmerizing to me. I eventually began adding my own interpretations of certain aspects of the play and the characters. I was actually surprised and delighted by how open everyone was to my input.

While taking notes during rehearsal, I suddenly realized that I did not know how I could ever write entries for the NC Stage blog without divulging too much information about the play, subsequently ruining the story for those who intend to see the show when it opens in April. I decided later that it is not the story told by the play itself that I should be concerned with discussing in my entries, but the events and breakthroughs which transpire during the progression of the rehearsals. For those who intend to keep up with my entries, I encourage questions about the proceedings of the preparation for A Number. I will try to answer them to the best of my ability. Stay tuned for more exciting behind the scenes news!

-Elizabeth Dacy

Planning

I won’t say it’s been a quiet week in the office, but we haven’t been in rehearsal or performance for anything or holding some kind of event. A lot of prep work going on for the beginning of rehearsals for A Number on the production side of things and a lot of administrative stuff on the office side of things. Grant season don’t ya know.

Rehearsals for a number start next week, March 23rd. During the rehearsal and performance period, we will have a guest blogger from the Warren Wilson College Creative Writing program to come in and write about her perceptions of the process.

Elizabeth Dacy is in her second year at Warren Wilson College, where she plans to major in Creative Writing and minor in Theatre.  Elizabeth recently did the sound design for Thom Pain (based on nothing) and works on the Theatre Crew, one of the many that are part of the college's distinctive work program.

Elizabeth has agreed to be our guest observer and intrepid blog host over the next month or so as we produce and perform Caryl Churchill's harrowing and fascinating play, A Number. She'll be attending some rehearsals and meetings, and arranging blog posts by the folks working on the production. Welcome Elizabeth!

One of the biggest things Angie and I are doing right now is planning for next season. Although there is a lot of number crunching and prognosticating to do about the economy for the next year, still, one of the best parts of the process is choosing plays. There are many reasons for doing or not doing a play, cast size, budget, housing for out of town actors if we need it, set size, do we like the play, etc., but we always start out thinking about it as if none of those things mattered. What if we could do whatever we wanted?

So, with that in mind, I want to hear from you. What’s your favorite play and why? This isn’t a contest or anything. I’m just asking what you think. Several of our most successful productions, artistically and attendance wise, were suggested by patrons who get what we do.

So let’s hear it. Can’t wait to see what’s out there!

Obstructed View

Hey there NC Stage folks! I've got a guest posting this week while I work on opening our run of Stones In His Pockets (See earlier post for the countdown clock) over at the Diana Wortham Theatre. Before I get to our guest, though, just a few things happening at NC Stage. First, our run of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead closed this past Sunday. Thanks to everyone who attended and made up the great crowds that saw this show. Our next Catalyst show is coming up with Lylas sketch comedy. And we're just getting started on scheduling production meetings for A Number by Caryl Churchill. I will be in this one with my good friend Ron Bashford directing.

That's what's going on over at the theatre. That plus a lot of fundraising, grant writing and reporting, etc.

Now on to our guest. Jamie is a tremendous asset to Asheville. She's a teacher and also performs in a lot of theatre around town. We at NC Stage are very grateful for her service as a volunteer. She is there almost as much as Angie and I are!

So here she is and I'll see you next week.


Obstructed View, by Jamie Shell

I usher a lot in and around town, and you can too! It’s a great way to see a ton of theatre without breaking your wallet, though you may have to make the initial investment of white top and black trousers. Anyway, since I do spend a lot of time at several different theatres, I have had the opportunity to note and pass sometimes irrational judgment on the various--and, yet, oh-so-similar--behaviors of theatre patrons. I shall now use my gathered wisdom to make general suggestions to make everyone’s theatre experience a happy one. As I am also a teacher, I will try to state these in the form of positive “do”s rather than negative “don’t”s.

Do! Arrive on time. Arriving on time is so awesome! Arriving on time with extra time to go potty before the play if you tend to need to do so is even better! Arriving with enough time to pick up your tickets AND go to the potty before the curtain speech is planned, should you need to do both of those things, is best of all! Yay punctuality!

Do! Notice quietly and only in your head that, based on their theatre-issued badges, all the ushers appeared to be named Usher! (Like the R&B singer!) Noticing this aloud to the usher is the social equivalent of, like, when someone named Rhonda introduces themselves, and you begin to sing the Beach Boys song that is her namesake. Don’t be That Guy. Oops, no “don’ts”. Do be someone other than That Guy.

Do! Double-check that your mobile communication device is silenced, even if you’re absolutely 100% sure that you turned it off before you got to the theatre. Seriously. I even accidentally left my ringer on once when I was proctoring the SATs. The horror. So, shit happens, but try to let it happen outside of the theatre when people won’t want to shank you for suddenly underscoring The Grapes of Wrath with “My Milkshake Brings All the Boys to the Yard.”

Do! Laugh, cry, and gasp in response to the events of the show (as appropriate and as the spirit moves you). Do also remember the size of the theatre you're in, and adjust other noises/chatter accordingly. Although someone crying out, "It's midnight!" in the middle of a production of Rodgers' and Hammerstein's Cinderella has provided me with part of a fun anecdote for several years now, it can be a bit distracting to the actors if they're close enough to hear what you're saying, and it can be a bit distracting to your fellow audience members if you're not at Amateur Nite at The Apollo.

Do! Clean up after yourselves when you leave! Find an usher and give him or her your program to recycle, or find a pile of similarly purposed playbills and add yours to the stack. If the theatre permits you to bring in food or drink, it typically does so with the hope that the food and drink will not still be there once you are gone. Also, remember: just because a surface is concave, it is not automatically a waste receptacle.

Do! Offer sincere compliments to people involved in the show if you enjoyed yourself. Sure a lot of actors are notorious for not needing egos any more swollen, but many more truly appreciate the feedback and affirmation and are humbly grateful to receive it. Furthermore, if you are one of the people involved in the show, do wait for people to give said feedback of their own volition, or do ask them their opinion only if you truly desire it, no matter what it may be. And do allow your tone and the wording of your question to connote that desire. Same goes for Audience-Member-With-Friend-or-Otherwise-Vested-Interest-in-Show asking Unassuming-Audience-Member-Who-Doesn't-Want-to-be-an-A-hole: "Didn't you love it?????" This is not a neutral question and will typically not garner a truthful response. If you do not like truthful responses, then ignore all of the above.

Do! Find out a little about the show you're going to see if you know you're offended by, well, anything. I was just in a show with numerous walk-outs that needn't have happened if people had taken a few minutes to Wikipeducate themselves beforehand. Walk-outs are kind of fun, but people who really do want to see the show getting to do so and staying the whole time is even fun...ner.

Do! See lots of theatre! I know we all get caught up in our own shows but our own shows can't happen if we neglect to go out and see everyone else's. Support your friends! See your enemies and mock them afterwards! Whatever! Enjoy!