Getting Near to Baby continues our initiative to bring award winning novels for young people to the stage. It tells the story of 12 year-old Willa Jo and Little Sister who, after the death of their baby sister, are whisked away from their mom to live temporarily with Aunt Patty, who has a million rules about everything. For this production we felt it was imperative to cast children in the roles and as a result we are excited to welcome five actors under the age of 16. We knew they would have a unique perspective on the process of bringing this story to life so we asked them to participate in this on-line blog. Twice a week we will receive an entry, written in their own words, of what is happening in the rehearsal room. We hope you will check back on the work of the young cast and join us in March and April for Getting Near to Baby.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Friday, February 1, 2008
What is Dramaturgy? By Elizabeth Pool
Elizabeth Pool, our Resident Dramaturg, clears it up for us.
At a recent talk back one of our inquisitive audience members asked the question I get asked quite often – what is a Resident Dramaturg? It’s a question I am used to answering from friends, family members, and perceptive audience members! I like to think of my job as making a play accessible to whoever comes in contact with it, everyone from actor to audience member. In rehearsal, I provide information to actors and directors that underscore the understanding of context – historical context, geographical context, and social context. For example, with a play like The Glass Menagerie, it might help the cast understand their characters place in the world by understanding a bit about life in St. Louis in the 1930s. I also hope to make the play accessible to the audience through tools like program notes and lobby displays. I try to ask the question: What information can be shared about the playwright or play that will make this piece more accessible to YOU, the audience member? I look forward to generating more conversation with you as the season unfolds.
At a recent talk back one of our inquisitive audience members asked the question I get asked quite often – what is a Resident Dramaturg? It’s a question I am used to answering from friends, family members, and perceptive audience members! I like to think of my job as making a play accessible to whoever comes in contact with it, everyone from actor to audience member. In rehearsal, I provide information to actors and directors that underscore the understanding of context – historical context, geographical context, and social context. For example, with a play like The Glass Menagerie, it might help the cast understand their characters place in the world by understanding a bit about life in St. Louis in the 1930s. I also hope to make the play accessible to the audience through tools like program notes and lobby displays. I try to ask the question: What information can be shared about the playwright or play that will make this piece more accessible to YOU, the audience member? I look forward to generating more conversation with you as the season unfolds.
Thoughts on a Quick Trip to Tucson, by Elizabeth Pool.
By Elizabeth Pool, Resident Dramaturg
In mid-January I had the opportunity to visit the University of Arizona and meet with their undergraduate and graduate candidates in dramaturgy. The idea was to talk for an hour with the students about the process of dramaturging adaptations as well as general discussions about launching a career as a dramaturg. The students were professional, enthusiastic, and creative. I was extremely impressed with the exuberance they brought to their work and the commitment they had to dramaturgy. Their portfolios were bursting with snapshots of lobby displays (so imaginative they bordered almost on installation art), extensive writing samples, and thorough research. Dramaturgy can be a fairly solitary pursuit and it was inspiring to be around such an engaged group of people. As I was flying home from Tucson, on a clear day and above some pretty spectacular mountains, my thoughts wandered to these students and their abundance of “Big Ideas.” They reminded me that theatre and the creation of art can be exuberant, intelligent, and graceful all at the same time.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Medieval times, juggling, and an orphan named Crispin.
This past Tuesday, People's Light held an invited dress rehearsal for our upcoming production for Crispin: The Cross of Lead (the second production of three in our Family Series program). The show officially opens tomorrow night. Crispin was adapted by Russell Davis, and is based on the novel by Avi.
-Shives
Now, invited dresses are one of my favorite things. An invited dress is held the Tuesday before the opening performance of every production PLTC does. It's a necessary and educational event that is as much for the actors and stage crew as it is for the people who come to see it. And just who gets to be present at this special event, you ask? Well, it's usually reserved for PLTC staff and their family members, actors' families, and maybe a sponsor or two. However, this last one was different. We held a subscriber reception for those patrons who are new subscribers this season, so that we might meet them and give them the chance to ask us questions. We had a great turnout, and the house was filled to the brim with people eager to see what happens to our hero Crispin.
We've updated our picture section with some shots from the show. If you're intrigued by any of those photos of juggling, laughter and mishap, come join us for Crispin: The Cross of Lead, running from January 17th - February 24th!
-Shives
Thursday, January 3, 2008
An update from Ahren Potratz, Resident Teaching Artist
I’ll be heading up our New Voices Youth Ensemble in 2008 and I’m looking forward to moving ahead full steam in January. We will be working on some exciting things this year around the topic of “In Search Of…” Students will explore the topic through improv, discussion, and writing, culminating in an original work to be presented in May.
One of the theatrical methods I want to expose my students to over the course of the next few months is the use of puppetry. Puppets will range from very small and practical to obscure and larger than life. I’m interested to see what kind of material arises when human and puppet interact to create theater.
One of the theatrical methods I want to expose my students to over the course of the next few months is the use of puppetry. Puppets will range from very small and practical to obscure and larger than life. I’m interested to see what kind of material arises when human and puppet interact to create theater.
The other week, two of my colleagues in education, Sara and Mark, helped me create a few puppets of various sizes and then we spent the evening testing them out. We made small vignettes and movement pieces with music and organic sound and it was a wonderful way to spend a Friday night.
Ahren Potratz
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
TREASURE ISLAND extended through January 1st!
Don't miss TREASURE ISLAND, now extended through January 1st!
TREASURE ISLAND is a boisterous romp across the seas of slapstick and swashbuckling adventure. Our 4th annual Holiday Panto invites you into the action as we bring this classic tale to life with songs, swordplay, and festive spirits. There will be heroes to cheer, pirates to fight, and one of the most dashing rogues of all time – Long John Silver – to boo heartily! Our own Mark Lazar returns as Jim Hawkins’ mom, guaranteed to shiver your timbers with her hilarious antics! Best appreciated by ages 6 and up.
Additional Perfomances:
Monday, December 31st @ 2:00pm
Tuesday, January 1st @ 2:00pm
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
SIX CHARACTERS has been extended through November 11th!
If you've been unable to make any of the previous dates of SIX CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN AUTHOR, you now have 7 extra chances to see it. Below are the extra dates and times. They're selling out fast, so get your tickets now!
Wednesday, Nov. 7 @ 7:30pm
Thursday, Nov. 8 @ 7:30pm
Friday, Nov. 9 @ 8:00pm
Saturday, Nov. 10 @ 2:00 & 8:00pm
Sunday, Nov. 11 @ 2:00 & 7:00pm
Monday, October 8, 2007
Introduction.
Hello! This is the official blog of the People's Light & Theatre Company. We will be posting about what goes on behind the scenes, which will include notes from the directors/actors, pictures, and fun facts about how plays are put together.
If you have an idea about something we should include here, please feel free to comment or send us a note! While there are many things we can't show you, there are lots of interesting things we can. So let us know what you want to see!
Thanks for stopping by! If you want to buy tickets or learn more about the shows we are performing this season, please visit http://www.peopleslight.org/.
If you have an idea about something we should include here, please feel free to comment or send us a note! While there are many things we can't show you, there are lots of interesting things we can. So let us know what you want to see!
Thanks for stopping by! If you want to buy tickets or learn more about the shows we are performing this season, please visit http://www.peopleslight.org/.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Interview with John Wernke from THEOPHILUS NORTH
TRAVELING WITH THEOPHILUS
John Wernke, who plays the title role in THEOPHILUS NORTH, spent the summer of 2007 on a cross-country road trip. He sat down with People's Light Resident Dramaturg Elizabeth Pool to discuss his travels and how the experience connected to his portrayal of Theophilus.
Elizabeth Pool: Before starting rehearsals in early August for THEOPHILUS NORTH you traveled across the country. What made you decide to take this trip?
John Wernke: I had always wanted to. I had been working in New York in the fashion industry and as an actor for four years. I made the decision that when I quit my job I wanted to travel by myself and by car to the West Coast.
EP: Why did you want to take this trip by yourself?
JW: Self discovery. I don't really know what I want to do in my life so I was hoping to find some answers. That was the big reason. I probably found more questions than answers. I had also never owned a car before. My company bought me this car so I thought I might as well use it.
EP: Had you mapped out in advance what cities you wanted to see or what route you would take?
JW: No, it evolved as I traveled. I started in New York and visited Cincinnati, Nashville, Atlanta, St. Petersburg, and Austin. From Austin I went to the Southwest and stayed there for awhile because I just really wanted to be there. I came back through Utah and Colorado. There was no set plan or route. I stayed in a place for as long as I felt I needed to be there.
EP: Tell me about three highlights of the trip.
JW: I enjoyed visiting Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California. It's in the Mojave Dessert and it was 105 degrees. Joshua Trees are a cross between any old tree and a palm tree. Each one is dramatically different. They're beautiful. They have a whole personality unto themselves. And it seemed like no one was in the park when I was there so it was very spiritual. Arches National Park outside of Moab, Utah was another highlight. The park has these giant stone arches that are natural formations. They are unbelievable and again very spiritual. I mean, how did those get there? The third place would be Big Sur in California. Big Sur is pretty fantastic.
EP: At what point in your travels did you read Theophilus North?
JW: I read it before I really set off. I started when I was visiting Cincinnati, where I'm originally from, and finished it a week later when I was in Florida.
EP: How do you think this trip influenced your portrayal of Theophilus?
JW: In some ways Theophilus and I are very similar. The want for adventure and the desire to find out what you feel like life is calling you to do. My actual traveling was different from what Theophilus experiences. I met a lot of different people, but the time period is very specific in the play, and influences the types of people who Theophilus meets. And Thornton Wilder, even though he had a lot of influence in his life, is very much of the Northeast. He went to Yale and is grounded in the culture of the Northeast and that's especially well represented in this play. We are all similar because we are human beings, but we are also quite different based on where we spend our time geographically. Farmers are quiet and why shouldn't they be? They don't need to talk; they need to make sure things get done. Some guy who is hiking in the Grand Canyon doesn't care about fashion. And he never will and shouldn't. One of my loves is the Midwest. I hope to get my PhD someday and write about the Midwest and the need for a Midwest voice. In the United States we have an Eastern culture that's well represented and we are now seeing a Western culture that's well represented. But the Midwest doesn't have a representative voice.
EP: Where are you hoping to travel to next?
JW: I'd like to see the Redwoods in California and Montana in the summer someday. I want to see the General Sherman Tree (located in Sequoia National Park in California.) That tree is 2,200 years old. General Sherman – I want to see that tree. 
John Wernke, who plays the title role in THEOPHILUS NORTH, spent the summer of 2007 on a cross-country road trip. He sat down with People's Light Resident Dramaturg Elizabeth Pool to discuss his travels and how the experience connected to his portrayal of Theophilus.
Elizabeth Pool: Before starting rehearsals in early August for THEOPHILUS NORTH you traveled across the country. What made you decide to take this trip?
John Wernke: I had always wanted to. I had been working in New York in the fashion industry and as an actor for four years. I made the decision that when I quit my job I wanted to travel by myself and by car to the West Coast.
EP: Why did you want to take this trip by yourself?
JW: Self discovery. I don't really know what I want to do in my life so I was hoping to find some answers. That was the big reason. I probably found more questions than answers. I had also never owned a car before. My company bought me this car so I thought I might as well use it.
EP: Had you mapped out in advance what cities you wanted to see or what route you would take?
JW: No, it evolved as I traveled. I started in New York and visited Cincinnati, Nashville, Atlanta, St. Petersburg, and Austin. From Austin I went to the Southwest and stayed there for awhile because I just really wanted to be there. I came back through Utah and Colorado. There was no set plan or route. I stayed in a place for as long as I felt I needed to be there.
EP: Tell me about three highlights of the trip.
JW: I enjoyed visiting Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California. It's in the Mojave Dessert and it was 105 degrees. Joshua Trees are a cross between any old tree and a palm tree. Each one is dramatically different. They're beautiful. They have a whole personality unto themselves. And it seemed like no one was in the park when I was there so it was very spiritual. Arches National Park outside of Moab, Utah was another highlight. The park has these giant stone arches that are natural formations. They are unbelievable and again very spiritual. I mean, how did those get there? The third place would be Big Sur in California. Big Sur is pretty fantastic.
EP: At what point in your travels did you read Theophilus North?JW: I read it before I really set off. I started when I was visiting Cincinnati, where I'm originally from, and finished it a week later when I was in Florida.
EP: How do you think this trip influenced your portrayal of Theophilus?
JW: In some ways Theophilus and I are very similar. The want for adventure and the desire to find out what you feel like life is calling you to do. My actual traveling was different from what Theophilus experiences. I met a lot of different people, but the time period is very specific in the play, and influences the types of people who Theophilus meets. And Thornton Wilder, even though he had a lot of influence in his life, is very much of the Northeast. He went to Yale and is grounded in the culture of the Northeast and that's especially well represented in this play. We are all similar because we are human beings, but we are also quite different based on where we spend our time geographically. Farmers are quiet and why shouldn't they be? They don't need to talk; they need to make sure things get done. Some guy who is hiking in the Grand Canyon doesn't care about fashion. And he never will and shouldn't. One of my loves is the Midwest. I hope to get my PhD someday and write about the Midwest and the need for a Midwest voice. In the United States we have an Eastern culture that's well represented and we are now seeing a Western culture that's well represented. But the Midwest doesn't have a representative voice.
EP: Where are you hoping to travel to next?
JW: I'd like to see the Redwoods in California and Montana in the summer someday. I want to see the General Sherman Tree (located in Sequoia National Park in California.) That tree is 2,200 years old. General Sherman – I want to see that tree.
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