THE CHANGE IN PLANSWhen I told several people about switching my focus from moving away and starting a theater company to sticking around and getting a degree in anthropology they replied, "How are you going to get your theater itch taken care of?" At first I would say things like, "Tut, I'm going to be too busy getting wrapped up in important fancy things like my thesis to care about your little theater games!" I imagine Natalia, who will soon be a Pitt grad student, had a similar itinerary for the next couple of years.
What an impractical way of thinking for two people who grew up the way we did, bred to multi-task, never without at least some form of theatrical project, always dipping our pen in one, two or more productions/tasks/focuses at a time.
I settled my secret worries about getting bored with the sudden "career alteration" when I silently promised myself that I would direct next years Acorn Project production, which still might happen, but Natalia came up with a better idea.
Uhm, why not just start our own company right here?
Since it looks like I could be here for awhile now, and since Natalia will be living in Pittsburgh, there's no good reason why we shouldn't make something of ourselves, even if its only an attempt, even if its only temporary. Granted, she and I will be busy come fall, but this summer's production of
Antigone, our decided first show, will be the good practice of seeing if something could work, learining as a team, perhaps stumbling and falling, but building ourselves up in general. Plus, a little donated bling-bling can't be bad.
SITE SPECIFICSAs teenagers Natalia and I both had the great fortune of attending the Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Arts for five weeks in the summer. In those five weeks there were two productions, one of which was something called Site Specific Theater, which basically indicates that it is a piece of theater sculpted by and performed in a non-theater, non-traditional space. Like, a parking lot, for instance, or a big field. Or on top of some cars at a car dealership. Sound arty? It is. Usually.
Site Specific theater, not only flexible in terms of staging and blocking, using a concept, and playing with lighting, time, and place, can also be flexible in terms of what it entails. When Natalia and I first experienced Site Specific theater, it was also considered to be Devised Theater, or Collaborative Ensemble Theater, which denotes that the script, concept, the entire
show was created from scratch, by the ensemble (performers and others involved in the company) (For more information about Devised Theater see
La Belle Baleine's article on Citizen/Soldier) However, certainly not all Site Specific theater must be original playscript. A company in New Orleans, for example, just this year performed Beckett's
Waiting For Godot outside in the NOLA's Ninth Ward, next to where the levee had broken during Katrina. Those of you who are familiar with the show will know how badass that is.
And we, as mentioned, will be doing our own rendition of
Antigone. It is aimed to be done in White's Woods, about a seven minute walk (rounded up to ten) from the road below. An easy walk, though, on a dirt road, that won't make it difficult for people to get to the show. There is an area that forms a sort of natural ampitheater that seems to be often used for bonfires. We shall see, we shall see.
As time goes on, I hope that you will stop back here and check out our process, which shall be documented and updated on a near-daily basis. We won't begin actual rehearsals for the production until a number of weeks from now, but the red-tape we have to plough through to get what we want is enormous and we'll need all the time/help/knowledge we can get. If you have any suggestions for the following we would be much obliged. We already have several leads and are taking care of most things, but any extra little suggestions certainly won't be disregarded.
WE NEED TO INVESTIGATE or ARE ALREADY INVESTIGATING
1. Liability: costs and procedure
2. Getting an ATV on hand for productions, as on-hand emergency transport
3. Getting permission to use Torches and candle-light in a wooded area (NOTE: The location we're using is a favorite for campfires, so this might not be a huge issue. Its pretty wide open)
4. Getting materials to and from the spot, once we "move into the space"
5. Budgeted wardrobe (though Dan is a genius and this should be a non-issue)
Sure there are more, but I'm running out of time. I'm late for a lunch.
Below is the list of those who have committed to being involved in some fashion.
More later!
