Workshopping

How is it mid-December already?

The answer: (other than the obvious time passes) we have been workshopping up a storm! It's been such a great help to us not only in terms of the knowledge we have gained and the fun stuff we've gotten to experiment with, but also in building our ensemble. We are such a cohesive group - and not only just the actors, but the whole artistic staff.

We did suffer a bit of a setback with the departure of one of our ensemble members and our Takeshi musician over aesthetic differences, but the wonderful Lisa Clifton joined us and we are moving forward on the musical front as well. It was a bit of a shock, but thanks to the enthusiasm and support of the rest of the group, we forge ahead.

We have had several great hands-on workshops: rehearsing the music, working with masks, movement, magic, puppetry, and martial arts. We've also been able to really delve into the text. Some issues have become clearer through our discussion, and some things remain ambiguous, but productively so. For example, we have really clarified what the Stadium means both in terms of the world of the play and also as a metaphor for our contemporary social realities. The ending, Texie's role and character, and and certain character motivations are more hazy, but that haziness helps to allow for the complexity of the piece to live. It keeps us from making this a didactic piece, which in terms of the production will open up that space for the audience to work more in the decoding of it. It was really useful to hear the actors talk about their characters - especially the ensemble members and the Narrators; their ideas really amplified what Rich and I were already thinking, and I feel like we have some amazing staging options based on their thoughts and readings.

On the dramaturgical front, I completed a production draft of the script that I think works really well. At Rich's request, we moved one of the Dazzler Brothers scenes a little earlier in the text to better establish their characters and to be able to plant our "trick lighter" sooner, so that we can build up the tension surrounding this very important prop. I also reworked the final scene (NOH ROYALE). I combined text from Ruth's first and second draft and ordered it a bit differently for flow and meaning. The current version keeps the poignancy of the first draft and helps to establish the space of the scene as sacred. The words, especially those of the Waki, are lyric and somewhat separated from the reality of the Stadium. Hiwa and I discussed the fact that this may be the first time we hear Reiko's true voice, and she followed this idea up with the observation that this is perhaps her journey of the piece. Being adept in all the dubbing languages may mean for Reiko that she is unable to speak her own reality until the end.

I also created a dramaturgical script for the actors and artistic team, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. I am so happy that what I created is of use and value to them. I contextualized a lot of the references, but I also tried to point out some of the structural aspects of the piece, noting, for example, what lines get repeated or passed around different characters at different points of the text. On a more personal note, the actors response to this is indicative of their professionalism; it is such a treat to be working with such smart and engaged people. They devour new ideas and opportunities. They do not say the word no to anything; rather, they throw themselves into the work with abandon.

We break now for the holidays and come back to begin rehearsals January 7. We have a great foundation started, now we just have to get this piece up on its legs!