March 2011
7 posts
Acknowledgements
My sincere gratitude to all of the following for their support in this endeavor:
NB- My advisor/mentor/sounding board on this project; for his seemingly infinite wisdom and guidance. I wish I could elaborate upon my thanks but I’m not sure if my writing will ever capture how much I have truly learned as your “dramapprentice”.
Susan Kerner, affectionately called Susie K- our...
My Method- A Final Reflection
Most, if not all theater students are familiar with the methods and studies of Stanislavski, Meisner, Hagen and more. Oftentimes universities will teach along the guidelines of one strict method. At Montclair, the actors are introduced to the ideas presented behind each method and study a number of performance styles. They are given a “toolbox” of various ways to connect with a...
Read All About It →
Just got out of our Theater Day matinee and was pleasantly surprised to see MSU alum Brandon Monokian’s article on Grapes was published. It’s a wonderful piece- enjoy!
It's Showtime...
Here we are. It’s hard to believe March 9th is actually here, considering I’ve been attached to Grapes since June of 2010. My journey as Dramaturg on this show has been an incredible one, and an invaluable experience.
I was unable to print my insert for the Grapes program due to time and budgetary constraints, but I am happy to share it with the blog followers and hope you will keep...
Stephen Whitty Screens GOW →
Tech Time
Today is the first full day of tech at Kasser. For all the elements of the show it’s actually extremely organized and calm (as of 10:30 AM). The cast is milling about the green room, anxious to hit the stage
The set is unreal. I wish I could upload one of the many pictures I’ve taken, but I’ll wait until Thursday after opening night. Czerton managed to design a set that was both...
February 2011
8 posts
Global Happenings →
Thanks to Bret (Casy) for this highly parallel topic. Over four entire villages in the densely populated country of India have been displaced due to construction of the Ukai dam. These migrants no longer have “villager” status, putting their voting rights into jeopardy. It’s strikingly similar to our California journey.
Also, here’s another update on Wisconsin:...
Casy's Fight in the Modern Day →
It’s happening. The grapes of wrath have hit Wisconsin, and the end result will be anything but fruitful. Budgetary concerns have pit the governor against the state labor unions, recalling visions of Casy’s last stand for unionizing at the end of the play.
The heart of the matter is what Casy was trying to tell Tom all along: Strength lies in collective bargaining. Wis. Governor Scott...
The Home Stretch
At the end of next week the production moves into Kasser. A full weekend of tech, two days of dress rehearsals, and we open on the ninth. It’s been a long journey, and I’m sure most of the cast and crew feel similarly to the Joads after their cross-country migration: exhausted yet exhilarated.
In between popping in and out of rehearsals sporadically, I’ve been compiling my...
The Times, They Are A-Changing
It’s interesting to see little pieces of history all around us, and how things that have seemed standard for years are changing. It also hits home when situations you’ve been discussing in rehearsal as part of a play unfold before you in real life.
For example…I don’t know if anyone else has noticed this but my friends and I have witnessed a trend. I live in a large,...
Fiddle is rare, hard to learn..
This has been stuck in my brain (and Lauren’s…and Michael’s) for the past two days. It’s funny how a riffing guitar and nonsensical lyrics can be so catchy! I was able to spend some time conversing with Michael, the musical director, and Matt, who doubles as Granpa and a guitar player in the pit. They were going through the songs in both acts, discussing arrangements and...
From C-Span →
A C-Span presentation about the life and times of John Steinbeck.
On the Road Again →
A British film company revisits the path of the Grapes of Wrath.
When the cat's away...
…the mice will square dance.
Heather is leading the square dancing group for the night at the Weedpatch Camp. They’re do-si-doing, hopping, swingin’ their partners, among other things. The mood at this particular rehearsal is light and jovial, coupled with Matt’s easy, breezy harmonizing on the harmonica and guitar. It seems as if everyone’s completely getting into...
January 2011
37 posts
Dropping In
I’m just dropping in again, and coincidentally so are the actors today. They’re working with Dianna on a vocal exercise and “dropping in” with partners. It’s very relaxed, in contrast to some previous warm-ups. Most actors have their drill lists nearby, alternating word sounds and slowly moving their bodies to the sounds of their voices. Dianna stated before the...
the shape of things
Things are starting to form up. I’ve been intermittently in and out of rehearsals now, mostly because the bulk of my work is done and I’m here for observation and support. This is the first time I’m seeing the mock truck in all its framed, boxy glory. It’s huge. To be expected; I need to keep in mind that we will eventually have an actual car in its place. The gigantic...
We all make choices..
I set out to do two things as a dramaturg this semester: 1.) research the historical and contextual information surrounding Grapes and its period in history; and 2.) document the process in taking an epic play and making it into into an epic production.
This goal has quickly transformed from two points to so many other topics. Perhaps the most important thing I’ve learned is not to limit...
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Get On Your Feet
Today marks the first day of blocking in the rehearsal schedule. This marks the transition from finding character through intellectual verbalization and development via physicality.
My script is filled with notes on references: character notes, cultural remarks and specific details I’ve expanded upon in my research. Susan’s script is not only marked with similar work, but accompanied...
“FYI: I’m playing around with the format, in case you don’t recognize...”
Move Yo Body
As I write this about 30 bodies are writhing on their backs, limbs circling in midair. This is accompanied by groans and breathy gasps. Some feet are flexed, some pointed. Each person reacts individually to the current spasm. The legs and arms begin to move more frantically, whipping through the air. The energy moves to a crazed climax, and they collapse.
Just another morning in Life Hall.
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In Harmony
It’s a brisk Saturday morning rehearsal. The narrators are gathered around the table, listening to a recording of the transitional music. I’m not very knowledgeable about folk and bluegrass, so to me it’s reminiscent of Frontierland at Disney World. As the music for Grampa’s funeral plays, the lone and sorrowful fiddle glides on, accompanied by the easy strum of a guitar...
"Grab a Root and Growl"
As quoted by John McCarty, founder of the Last Man’s Club. As heard in the video last night, members had to swear to the following pledge:
“In the absence of an act of God, serious family injury, or some other emergency, I pledge to stay here as the last man and to do everything I can to help other last men remain in this country. We promise to stay here `til hell freezes over and skate...
Updates
I’ve updated the Grapes of Map, to be handed out within the next week. I’ll also upload it onto the blog once I figure out how to work my scanner. It’s hard to estimate early 20th century travel when I can’t calculate the average speed (in m.p.h.) of a jalopy loaded with an entire household of objects and 13 people.
“Blues never lets tragedy have the last word.”
– Wynton Marsalis, The Charlie Rose Show, September 6, 2005
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A Work of Art
The Great Depression caused a huge rift in the art world; wealthy patrons were no longer able to finance expensive gallery purchases and a lack of buyers created a lull in the art market. This resulted in a major shift to the source of art in America. Art became an expression of the people once more, as opposed to simply being “high art” for more educated members of society.
As a...
IDEA- dialect website for reference →
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LIVE from 125
I’m blogging from our first table work session (as quietly as possible…I must control my unusually loud typing).
The cast got to begin work with Heather and Dianna today, building the physical and vocal qualities of the inhabitants of the Okie/Dustbowl world. The speech inflections are fascinating, shifting ahs, ays, “liquid u’s”, colloquials. Each actor has to write...
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Stopping in AZ
I mentioned finding strength in tragedy in previous blogs, and unfortunately I now have a more recent event to reference. Two weeks ago on January 8, 2011, Jared Lee Loughner opened fire at a supermarket open meeting in Tuscon, AZ. Fatally injured were Arizona Supreme Court Justice Chief John Roll, nine year old Christina-Taylor Green, Dorothy “Dot” Morris, Phyllis Schneck, Dorwan...
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A Sidenote..
NB has referred me to Dr. Jules Odenhal-James, a professor in the theater department at Duke University. He is the Coordinating Director of the Performance and Embodied Research Colloquium, or what I’d like to think of as the counterpart to NB’s Creative Research Center at Montclair State. Dr. James had asked for some examples of a Dramaturgical blog and I was more than happy to...
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California, Here We Come
Last night marked our first rehearsal. It was the first time everyone involved in the production was in the same space (nearly everyone- certain designers and coaches were not present, as well as all the technical crew and stagehands). I’ve never seen so many people around 125 (rehearsal space). Susan remarked how it was the highest number of people in a cast she had ever worked with on a...
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Crunch Time
I had the pleasure of attending a production meeting with Susan, Carla the propsmaster and Czerton the set designer. I sat back at the table, listening in eagerly. Shortly into the meeting I was in awe of the massive amounts of props the production would need before we even moved into Kasser. Having had Susan for many classes, directing among them, I knew she hated actors miming props (hand as...
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