January-June 2011 Season
There is a Happiness That Morning Is: Post your review
Posted by DCA Theater on April 15, 2011 in January-June 2011 Season, There is a Happiness That Morning Is
Playwright Mickle Maher debuts this comedy in rhymed verse told via two lectures on the poetry of William Blake: one given in the morning by Bernard, a middle-aged, barely published poet of scant scholarship, on the Songs of Innocence, and the other in the afternoon by his lover, Ellen, a reputable Ph.D., on the Songs of Experience. Having engaged the evening before in a highly inappropriate display of public affection on the main lawn of their rural New England campus, the two undergraduate lecturers must now, in class, either apologize for their behavior or effectively justify it if they want to keep their jobs.
View photos by John W. Sisson, Jr.
What did you think about the show? Share your comments here.
A look into the scenic design ideas
Posted by DCA Theater on March 23, 2011 in January-June 2011 Season, Precious Little
by Chelsea Warren, Scenic designer of Precious Little
The director Julieanne Ehre and I, along with the rest of the design team, had many meetings in which we discussed the both the play, its message, and the design possibilities. Immediately the scenic arch within the story captivated me: in the beginning scenes take place in pockets of western institutional isolation and as the play progresses the spaces blurred into a fluid psychological space. Moreover, the idea of the play starting off with isolated pockets of realism was inspired by the language machine at the zoo that is used to dialogue with the “talking gorilla”, in which language is fragmented. By the end of the play, language has moved deeper, beyond human constructs, allowing locations to blur from one to the next.
I became very excited about the experience of the audience to actor relationship when drawing the ground plan (or birds eye view of the design). I realized we could create this total sense of enclosure by creating theatre in the round, with the audience helping to create a sense of a glass enclosure. Inspired by the research from a British gorilla enclosure, I made the simple gesture of the interior of the space a step down from the perimeter, helping to create an interior and exterior space for viewers.
Kathy
Posted by DCA Theater on March 21, 2011 in January-June 2011 Season, Precious Little
by Kathy Logelin, “Woman C” in Precious Little and member of Rivendell Theatre Ensemble
It’s has been such a joy working on Precious Little with Rivendell Theatre Ensemble. Working on a new play is always such a wonderful experience, and Madeleine’s script is funny and touching and her voice is so unique. It’s also been so great to be back at the DCA Storefront Theater. The Storefront Theater is such a gift to the Chicago Theatre community. I first performed there in 2007 with Seanachai Theatre in their production of War, and I really appreciate how dynamic the space can be. For that show we were in proscenium, and for Precious Little we are in the round. The look and feel of both of those environments is so different--it’s so wonderful to walk into a theatre that you’ve been in before and feel as if you are in a totally new space. It’s also a great opportunity for smaller Northside-based theatre companies to reach out to new downtown audiences. Some of my favorite moments of this experience have been talking to audience members after the show who were really moved by the production, and to find out that this is their first Rivendell experience!
Don’t freak out
Posted by DCA Theater on March 21, 2011 in January-June 2011 Season, Precious Little
by Stephanie Hurovitz, Stage Manager of Precious Little
Whenever a company takes on the production of a show, there are going to be difficulties. Sometimes they are logistical things like, “how are we going to make this dummy fall from the ceiling and scare the crap out of everyone?” (a show I did in 2006). Sometimes they are scheduling things like “one of three actors was in New York when we got hit w/ a blizzard here that delayed her return flight-and our start of rehearsals by 3 days” (you guessed it, Precious Little). And sometimes you are working on a brand new play, of which the writer lives in NY, and you have questions, almost daily, about the script. (More on that, later.) Every time, though, different personalities have to come together and somehow make magic happen on stage. If a company is really lucky (and fictional), personalities blend like the flavors in a tasty, chilled mixed drink. When this does not happen, it is often up to the stage manager to help maintain a calm, productive working environment, in which the actors feel safe enough to create, and the director feels like (s)he is in control. The best way for the stage manager to do that, is not to freak out about anything, ever.
The gorilla house
Posted by DCA Theater on March 18, 2011 in January-June 2011 Season, Precious Little
by Meighan Gerachis, “Brodie” in Precious Little
Observe Gorillas at the zoo? Really?? What about tagging along on a police patrol (throw in some target practice)? Or researching the Elizabethan curtsy (a notoriously stiff affair- the arms were stretched out to the side with the hands resting on the edge of the farthingale). That would be cool new stuff. One of the best parts of being an actor is getting to inhabit another skin, often using a factual, researched jumping off place. The zoo, though? I know all about the zoo.
OH NO I DI-ENT!!!
From the first time we went for the photo shoot, when we were lucky enough to be in the Regenstein Ape House before the zoo opened, I was affected in a way I could never have anticipated.
