Two Directors?

Posted by DCA Theater on August 18, 2011 in July-December 2011 Season, INCUBATOR Series: Bailiwick Chicago/ Teatro Luna

Submitted by Rachel Edwards Harvith, Co-Director of The North/South Plays & Collective Member of Bailiwick Chicago

When Bailiwick first approached me about The North/South Plays, I was really excited—both by the topic and by the opportunity to collaborate with Teatro Luna. But I had one concern. Or maybe concern is too harsh a word—curiosity. How do you put up a play with two directors? The whole point of having a director in the first place, after all, is to bring the entire creative team’s contributions together into one focused artistic statement. With two directors, would the product be diluted? And what about the process—with more than one leader of the troops, weren’t we just asking for clashing perspectives and approaches that would end up frustrating and confusing actors?

Enter Miranda Gonzalez.

Read more »

From the Rehearsal Room

Posted by DCA Theater on August 17, 2011 in July-December 2011 Season, INCUBATOR Series: Bailiwick Chicago/ Teatro Luna

Submitted by Brittany Townsley, cast member of The North/South Plays & Corporate Sponsorship Manager of Bailiwick Chicago

Hello, my name is Brittany Townsley and I am a part of The North/South Plays final reading workshop cast. I was asked to write a little ditty about our rehearsal process that is taking place at the Chicago Cultural Center in the Studio Theater, so here we go!

Read more »

Examining the borders

Posted by DCA Theater on August 9, 2011 in July-December 2011 Season, INCUBATOR Series: Bailiwick Chicago/ Teatro Luna

Submitted by Brian LaDuca, Executive Producer of The North/South Plays & Executive Director of Bailiwick Chicago

In December of 2009, Colleen Duke, the Cultural Attaché of the Canadian Consulate of Chicago, met with me at my offices at the University of Chicago. At the time, I was in the beginning phase of creating the inaugural International Voices Project with the Canadian consulate amongst other consulates. Colleen stated almost immediately to me, ‘Thank you for thinking of Canada because people do not realize that we, too, have political issues. That we too have border concerns.’ From that moment forward it became very apparent that the current Mexican/United States border issue, which was and for the most part is front-and-center on many news channels, was not the only border issue: the Canada/American border had a serious, broader dynamic that many U. S. citizens were either unaware or ignorant of. Bailiwick Chicago was looking for various avenues to expand on its mission of collaboration and outreach and after I met with Alex Meda of Teatro Luna who was developing their 2010-2011 season around the idea of ‘borders,’ the interest and want to grow out this ambitious project became a reality.

Read more »