Reflecting on Americanness

Posted by DCA Theater on October 11, 2011 in July-December 2011 Season, INCUBATOR Series: Halcyon Theatre

Submitted by Jennifer Adams, Associate Artistic Director of Halcyon Theatre

When Coya Paz and Halcyon Theatre started working together to create The Americans a year and a half ago, I joined as Assistant Director because Coya works in a style that I have never done before and I wanted to learn more about it, and because she was going out of town and would need a director to take over when she left. I knew a little about what to expect, but not much.

It was a fascinating process- the first part of the rehearsal process was so focused on each of us and people outside of the rehearsal room that it didn’t feel like we were rehearsing for a play. “Everyone stand on one side of the room. Now, think of the room as a scale from 1 to 10. Now, stand on the scale in accordance to the questions I ask. #1- How American are you?”

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What does it mean to be an American?

Posted by DCA Theater on September 20, 2011 in July-December 2011 Season, INCUBATOR Series: Halcyon Theatre

Submitted by Jessica Kadish, ensemble member for The Americans with Halcyon Theatre

What does it mean to be an American?

The summer after my first year of college, I had a co-worker who had emigrated to the U.S. from Ghana. We often were stuck working the Saturday evening shift together, so we talked a lot to ease the boredom, and never was our conversation more heated than when we got onto the topic of the United States.  “Schoolchildren in Ghana learn about your political history and geography beginning at a very young age,” she pointed out to me. “But frankly, it doesn’t seem like you learn very much about anyone else besides yourselves.”  I admitted she had a point, and started studying maps of Africa as soon as I got home that night.

Since we’ve started rehearsing The Americans, I’ve begun taking out the atlas regularly again.

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Why do we love America?

Posted by DCA Theater on September 13, 2011 in July-December 2011 Season, INCUBATOR Series: Halcyon Theatre

Submitted by Coya Paz, Writer/Developer for The Americans, a work being developed with Halcyon Theatre

Rehearsals are going well! We are still making lists of all the things we long about this country, and in the meantime wanted to share this great collection of “I Love America” writings: http://www.ingalagringa.com/america/index.html

Check out our rehearsals sometime! Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7-9.

Flash Interviews

Posted by DCA Theater on September 13, 2011 in July-December 2011 Season, INCUBATOR Series: Halcyon Theatre

Submitted by Coya Paz, Writer/Developer for The Americans, a work being developed with Halcyon Theatre

On Saturday, we took advantage of the DCA Incubator’s prime downtown location to go out onto the street and do some flash interviews. Working in pairs, we set out to ask random people on the street two questions:

1.) Are you an American?
2.) If you could tell 100 people one thing about being an American, what would it be?

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Beginning with Coya Paz

Posted by DCA Theater on September 2, 2011 in July-December 2011 Season, INCUBATOR Series: Halcyon Theatre

Submitted by Coya Paz, Writer/Developer for The Americans, a work being developed with Halcyon Theatre

Yesterday was the first rehearsal/workshop for The Americans, a piece that I am working on with Halcyon Theatre as part of the DCA Theater Incubator Series. (Whoa. THAT was a mouthful.) The Americans is an ensemble-driven, interview-based piece that explores national identities in the United States. What does *that* mean? Well… we’ll find out! So far, there’s no real script, and 26 days to put it together. What follows is a reenactment of a post-rehearsal conversation with one of my actors:

Him: So, yeah… I don’t think I realized we were not going to be working with a script.
Me: You know that old joke about the three traumas experienced by immigrants when they get to the United States? 1.) The streets aren’t paved with gold; 2.) The streets aren’t paved at all; and 3.) YOU are expected to pave them? That’s kind of what it’s like to work with me. 1.) The script isn’t made out of gold; 2.) There’s no script at all; and 3.) I expect YOU to write it!

Stay posted if you’re curious about how we start from almost nothing besides a HUGE topic! And rehearsals are OPEN to the public if you want to observe: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7-9pm.