Opening Night!

Tonight marks the culmination of all of the preparation for Elements production of the Pillars of the Community! Opening Night- the first time the public can see all the hard work and dedication put into this play. The costumes, set, lighting, makeup, sound and the wonderful acting will come together tonight for the first performance of the Pillars of the Community! The actors have put in countless hours becoming their characters and brining the play to life, and now it is time to share their love of theater and this wonderful play! Happy Opening Night!!

Not Even A Hurricane Can Stop Us!

It struck me today as I thought about the last week, that sometimes something that looks bad can actually lead to something good. Last Thursday, two of our teachers from our trip to Chicago came to help with the Pillars of Community play. Along with helping with the play, they were able to experience life with us for a weekend. They seemed to really enjoy their stay, and we were extremely happy to have them. The plan was for them to fly out on Monday morning, but of course due to Hurricane Sandy, their flight was cancelled. They couldn't find a flight out until Wednesday, which meant another 2 days here!! This normally inconvenient event, turned into a blessing for them and also an opportunity for more input on the play. We are so grateful to them for coming and for giving us their time and energy. This play is going to be a success!!

Ready, SET...

            And now for the moment you’ve all been anxiously awaiting…. The set for Pillars of the Community has been moved in to Elements venue! (Paraclete House at Rock Harbor). Wow- it is massive! I had seen the set before, when I actually got to help paint it out in the workshop, but it is entirely different and striking to see it in the actual playing space. I don’t remember a set that we’ve had quite as tall as this one- it was designed even with a balcony! So many hours of work- from the early planning and designing stages to the actual construction and painting- have gone into this set, and it definitely shows.

I love this time in a production when the set comes in, the props are laid out on tables in the back, lights hung, and the Company prepares for tech weeks. The play really begins to take on a life of its own! When I go through that room with the set, I almost feel like I’m passing through the world of the characters.  It’s funny how wood and materials, (if used well:) can transport you to another time and place altogether.

Pieces coming together

The first performance of the Pillars of the Community is coming up in a little over a month, and as always things are starting to really come together. I am always amazed to see the set taking shape, the finishing touches being added to the costumes, and the actual play starting to flow like it should. Sometimes, it seems like there is just too much to get done, but as always it gets finished just in time. I got the pleasure of helping paint the set for this play, which I always love doing because then I get to see the transformation from pieces of plywood to a beautiful creation. The set for this Ibsen play in particular is amazing, in my opinion one of Element's best! I can't wait to see it set up in the venue, which is in a few days since as I mentioned the pieces of the puzzle are being put together. Today, I am helping set up the lights in the venue, which can only mean the next step is tech weeks and then performance. This ball is rolling, and everyone is doing their best to keep up and get this "show on the road!!"

The Joy of Theater

Last week, the 3 younger members of Elements got to put on a little showcase with scenes from Ibsen and monologues from Shakespeare. I am one of these 3 younger members, and I would have to say that it was one "HUGE LEARNING EXPERIENCE!" Everyone kept telling me, "you are learning, and that is what it is all about", but I still found this hard to believe. In my head it was about performing, making a good impression and living up to the name of Elements Theatre Company. But, as we got closer to actually performing the showcase, I realized that what it was really about was sharing what we had learned on our trip to Chicago, and the love of theater. I knew that no one in the audience would be taking notes and critiquing our work, so I just had to do my best for the joy of it. I also am happy to say that as nervous as I felt, it was a lot more fun than I expected. I thought that the butterflies in my stomach would take over, but instead I felt like we fell into a rhythmn and the audience seemed to really enjoy it. I know that I can stand on this experience as one where I learned a lot, but even more importantly, I could really experience the raw joy of theater.

Sneak Peeks

As some of you might know from an earlier post, we had a photo shoot for The Pillars of the Community last week. I wasn’t in the photo shoot, but got to help out which was really fun. While at work (I work as an assistant to Elements' Artistic Administrator), I happened to get a peek at some of the pictures from the shoot and some mock-up poster ideas… I have to tell you they looked pretty cool! Stayed tuned to see the finished product later-I personally can’t wait to see the finalized poster… We’ve got some great designers on the job!
                On another note, I’ll give you a peek in on an ‘in-house showcase’ that two of my friends and I are performing this weekend for our friends, family and the rest of the Company. We’re doing some Ibsen and some Shakespeare- pulling from things that we learned during our month in Chicago. Our theme: Myth and the Sea, and living on Cape Cod, we have the luxury of performing it right by the ocean! More to come on that later…

The exercise of reliving

I was looking forward to another day of rehearsals and wondered why we don't call it reliving? That is what we have to do when going over our lines repeatedly, to truthfully relive our emotions that we need to use to do justice to our character.  If I don't its a waste of time and is unfair to the other actors that are working to do their part...

Never let 'em see you sweat

Someone was commenting on the internal work that the theater arts is.  Its a kind of suffering that if the artist is doing their job right you never realize what it costs them as a person. But as the artist you are putting yourself intentionally in a "Groundhog Day" over and over again. I have to willing to be in the moment in order to live the moment in front of you. Every performance.  That is what you come for. To experience something fresh or revealing, or a reliving of a old mostly forgotten memory...

Playtime

For some people music is what catches them. Colors can make all the difference to another persons day. For others, words are the key to unlocking their heart.
Drama has a important role to play in human inspiration (and even salvation). The proof is the long history of man using drama to communicate with others. From the story you share with a friend to Shakespeare's writing to Noel Coward, it unlocks and opens the heart to a shared experience.

Its Saturday night

Saturday night when I was a young adult was saved for Saturday Night Live, of course. A whole group of friends would sit down and laugh for an hour.  Even if we were offended with something (rarely) we "tune in" to be there the following week to see what they would do next.
Great theater groups are like that.  Every time there is a show I stand in the back and watch others excercise their acting chops.  Its not like I don't know the lines by then, but something about watching them spin their energy into a moment is mesmerizing. I just have to see what happens next. Just like Saturday Night Live.

Everyone Craves Drama

Whether you are a Book Worm, a Couch Potato, or a Drama Queen, everyone craves amusement of some sort.  Just sitting the office, I enjoy a quick story or reaction from another person.  It takes you out of your own sphere for a minute and lets you know you are still alive somehow.  My favorite is when someone flounces through the office without saying a word. 
 You just have to smile. 

Creative spin

Swirling around me in this office is buzzing activity.  I have a computer programmer snapping his fingers working out loud how to do only God knows what, mumbling from the finance office (that's pretty normal actually !), two Elements people perplexed and sparring vocabulary as only dramatists can about how to land a venue in Boston, two publicists working on the phones for Gloriae Dei Cantores tour (IN TEN DAYS !!), and one tour planner and a tech guy kneeling in front of the printer,( and I'm not repeating what they are saying anywhere)!

Meanwhile I sit here like a real life "Wheres Waldo?" hidden in plain sight. Trying desperately to spin a fascinating blog... Its so Broadway.  I can almost hear them breaking into lines and song. 

 I'll let you know how it ends !

Ibsens' mirror

Most artists use situations or materials from around them as inspiration.  Ibsen was no exception to this when he wrote his play "Pillars of the Community". Born into a well to do shipping family similar to Karsten Bernicks' family in the Norwegian village of Skien, Ibsens' father eventually lost the family fortune and turned to alcohol.  Ibsen saw his mother suffer from her husbands financial situation as well as the alcoholism and she always remained in his eyes to be a victim in his family .  When I read through the play the first time I had the sense that there was something that Ibsen was working through.  While I'm sure that it was not a autobiographical play, there were many strong scenes that rang true. As though the reader was there.

I think he was.

Click...Click...Click!!!

Tonight was the photo shoot for Element's production of the Pillars of Community! I am always grateful to be involved in these experiences because it amazes me how each photo can capture a character's unique personality. Whether your character is quizzical, or brooding, or excited; with just a twitch of a lip or an arch of an eyebrow, you can see their character take shape and change right in front of you. These experiences inform me as an actor, that it takes commitment and physicality to bring a character to life. But most importantly, it has to come from inside you, because sometimes you can't use words to express yourself!

Voluntary capture of the soul

Today's the day for the photo shoot for "Pillars of the Community".  There was an old belief that a picture can capture the essence of someones soul..I can't wait to see what part of the soul the camera will tell when we have our clothes, makeup, and are working our magic.  This is when all the work inside ourselves and outside comes together.  They say the camera never lies, and that's true.  If someone is struggling with a quality in their character this is where it shows up. 

Hot Seat

Today in rehearsal we played "Hot Seat".  A character from the Ibsen play "The Pillar of the Community" is chosen to sit in the center and has to answer any question without any lies either from the play or within the character.  Its a challenge to stay there and not step away inside when I can't think of the answer the way I would if I really were Mrs Bernick....

There is a place deep inside myself that I only open up when I feel safe... which is not often.  I have dedicated a large part of my life to creating drama to share. But how can I do that when I'm not open to connect my heart and emotions with the text?  I am no longer communicating outward but am using my energy to shell myself, protect myself inward, away from others. The characters in this play by Ibsen are forcing me, like a old true friend to look at my inner self and see what everyone else already does.
How extraordinary to have the chance to see myself as others do, with my own eyes.

Moral Dilemma

Karsten Bernick has a dilemma in the play "A Pillar of the Community" by Ibsen. 
Does he tell the truth, or does he continue a lie of convience that has been festering for years ?  What do you do when you are faced with the results of your poor choice ?

I believe part of the reason that this play is not as well known as the others by Ibsen is there is a driving force to make you look within.  At the part of you that you want to hold private. The comfortable position that observers would take would have Mr Bernick suffer in some way for his lies. Instead he seems to get away with it. How un-comfortable.

 What would I do? Tell the truth, or hold out as long as I could ?  I'm really not sure.

Strong Drama

The name of this blog is a Play on Words. It seemed so clever to have the word play in the title.  But sometimes words aren't clever and they aren't playing. They can be a vehicle for laughter or become the single most painful weapon.

It would be too easy to enjoy the drama world in a silly and giddy way, but as with all other art forms you have to have contrast. I was thinking back over the years of Elements plays and they have all had comedy and tragedy, joy and sorry, misunderstanding and clarity.  The first and only time I saw the Dining Room it was so balanced between hurt and kindness, the laughable and the cry-able that I could only stand it once.  I thought about it for days after.  I'm still not sure what happened...

Isn't that what makes Drama great ? The believable strong contrast that changes your life, even if you don't know how.

Life is like that. Isn't it ?

Uncomfortable honesty

I was thinking about the first time I heard the Elements group read through The Pillars of the Community by Ibsen, and how Pride is singularly human ....Animals live in the moment and while they can be embarrassed I believe it is more because they don't know what is expected of them rather than they are proud of who they are and are brought down by something.

One of the characters by the name Karsten Bernick goes through all sorts of deceit and manipulation of facts to protect his pride in his reputation.  As I listened to this character go through all of his dishonest ways I was very uncomfortable.  Sometimes honest transparency is like that.

Uncomfortable.

Sacrifice

 "To suffer loss of, give up, renounce, injure, or destroy especially for an ideal, belief, or end". (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sacrifice)

Real Drama always has a sacrifice. Think about it- our best movies, plays, or stories always has someone or many suffering.  The drama is what are they going to do about the sacrifice or with the suffering?  That's the real story.  Even our tabloids follow the agony real or imagined.

There is a strong connection between an actor and their character.  That's pretty well known.  What isn't as well known or recognized is the Sacrifice that an actor must make for the drama to ring true.  All of their inner structures or belief systems that do not match must be put down in order to pick up the sacrifice and suffering of another character.  

I was listening to two of the actors from the upcoming play,"The Pillars of the Community" by Ibsen, who didn't notice that I was nearby.  They were working through a scene discussing what their character would say and think.  I was struck by the ease with which they could find what position the character would react out of instead of what they as themselves would do.  There is a sacrifice here of choosing to be "other".  There are times when it is such a relief to be someone else, but to lose yourself in it is something else.  This is a price of sacrifice that is paid by actors that are true to their character.  It is not an easy thing and should not be ignored.

New Challenges for Elements

  This group of players continues to pursue truth and transparency.  They came back from Chicago looking more confident and committed.  Like they have looked in a mirror, accepted what they saw and are comfortable in their skins. (Of course now they want to show off the skills they learned...like combat fighting in the work place !)

Elements Theatre Company will be taking The Dining Room on tour in March. This is the play that was done this past spring. Here is the new promotional you tube. The dates and venues will be posted on their website a little closer to the event, but I wanted to mention it as something to look forward to.  In the meantime they are working on the upcoming Ibsen play, The Pillars of the Community which will be November 23, 25,30th, as well as December 1st and 2nd.

Good-bye Chicago

We have come to the end of our month in Chicago and it has been a very full and rich experience.  The 18 hour drive home is a welcome time to sift through the different classes and questions still turning over from this month.  I am happy to go home with questions, burning with a sense of what to work on and where to take things next, but the question still remains - will I challenge myself?  Will I believe enough in this need to be different to persevere?  We have been fortunate to meet so many interesting people in Chicago, but we have been especially fortunate to have had such a strong and committed set of teachers who met us where we were and pushed us to something beyond.  It has been a wonderful experience and so many more surfaces to work on and to see theatre through.  Thank you for traveling with us through this blog as we've kept a log of our time, it is a month not to be forgotten.

Surprises to live by

As the end of the trip draws near, I realize how many things I have learned about myself through this experience. The most recent thing I learned that surprised me, was how much sound I can create! Yesterday during our voice lesson with Christine, I felt my voice open up and I felt the vibrations running through my body. I had never thought of my voice as all that powerful, but when I was calling across the room, the amount of sound and life coming from me was surprising and actually really exciting. I have also realized that I am not a natural leader or follower - as much as I don’t want to follow, I also don’t want to lead. The encouraging part is that I can make the daily effort to stand up and take the lead every once in a while. In an improv scene, I can push myself that little bit farther to take the lead and make those decisions, or not to waiver when someone might conflict with my ideas. This realization is important for me in my normal life and in theater, and I am inspired to move forward with this new knowledge. The sadness I feel about the trip coming to an end is matched by my excitement and anticipation moving forward. 

I never realized how much fun it would be to beat each other up! Not literally, of course. In our Stage Combat class with our instructor Nick, we were assigned two person scenes that contain physical fights. It’s our job to look at the scene with our partner, memorize the lines, and come up with a fight sequence based on the text. Oh man! It’s been such a fun project. Each scene is so unique; some between couples, some between mothers and daughters. I get to do a Little Brother- Older Brother fight, which is always fun. Nick can just look at what you are doing, and say, “That’s really cool, but here’s another idea you could add here too! Every little brother hates it when his older brother does this.” And he'll offer a suggestion that makes the scene stronger and more real.  Looking around the studio at everyone as they work out their scenes, I can’t help but laugh. They look so realistic, it’s a little bit alarming! Who knew that watching people you know beat each other up could be so funny sometimes! After all, its all fun and games until someone really gets hurt . . . right? 

Get Moving

We've been experimenting with gestures in our voice work, working our speeches with the Laban Effort/Shapes of push, punch, wring, slash, float, dab, flick.  As we apply each one, we discover how they affect our thought and therefore voice and emotion.  It's amazing how the same words said while making a slashing motion, come out entirely differently when said while flicking your hand.  This "body language" has become an important way for us to explore the many possible meanings in our text - and a great way to enter the text physically and get our head out of the way.

Something Kestutis said last week has been churning around in me.  We had just finished another round of "tug-of war".  This time - all the men on one side and all the women on the other, an imaginary rope between us.  The idea is, we have a game of tug-of-war while saying our lines from a scene from "Pillars of the Community" that we've all memorized.  What should happen is that we move, as a group, in response to the text, gaining or losing ground depending on how the words affect you.  We finished the scene (amazing that you can sweat just as much in an imaginary game as in a real one!) and he said, "well, I could see the rope and that's great but no one really moved much which means your will is greater than your ability to give."  It was a simple observation and he moved on, but it stuck with me, and I've been thinking, when I choose to be "safe" instead of as vulnerable as a scene requires, when I want to hang on to something when the text (or maybe a life circumstance) requires me to let go, am I allowing my will to be greater than my ability to give?

Soaking it up

The other day in Improv class we worked on "WHERE" driven scenes.  We've been looking at improv from different angles, basing a scene on WHO you are, WHAT you're doing and then WHERE you are.  The idea with the where approach is to play out a scene in a specific space while doing anything but what the space was actually intended for - I ended up 'making sushi in a morgue' - who knew.  It's a challenging exercise that requires us to be very specific about our movement and yet flexible enough to flow with our scene partner if it becomes apparent they are not seeing quite the same thing we are.

 Being brand new to the world of acting - I have been soaking it all up - it's been awesome, and I mean that in every sense of the word.

To arrive where we started...

Sometimes, when we’re away on trips like this, I start to panic. We’re past halfway now. Am I learning enough? Will I produce enough to justify the expense, the time away from family and work? Am I doing justice to this craft and this vocation that I love?

Funny, but for me this obsession with “doing” seems to be the very thing that gets in my way – here (in Feldenkrais, in scene work, in voice work, in improv), but at home too.

I want a dramatic result. I want big, extreme swings to prove to myself and everyone else that something is happening inside this person here, who sometimes feels like she’s just banging her head against a wall. I want to make something that I can stand back and see and say, “There – now that is progress.”

But this morning, I remembered good old Mr. T.S. Eliot. I remembered these words that reduce me to a puddle every time I read them. I have this final part from the Four Quartets tacked up on a bulletin board by my desk at work. I haven’t read it since the end of July. But I think I’m going to put it up here in Chicago, so I don’t forget it for the rest of this trip. And I’m going to just keep exploring.

With the drawing of this Love and the voice of this Calling
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
Through the unknown, remembered gate
When the last of earth left to discover
Is that which was the beginning;
At the source of the longest river
The voice of the hidden waterfall
And the children in the apple-tree
Not known, because not looked for
But heard, half-heard, in the stillness
Between two waves of the sea.
Quick now, here, now, always—
A condition of complete simplicity
(Costing not less than everything)
And all shall be well and
All manner of thing shall be well
When the tongues of flame are in-folded
Into the crowned knot of fire
And the fire and the rose are one.

T.S.Eliot
From Little Gidding V

Where are you

The other day in Improv class we worked on "WHERE" driven scenes.  We've been looking at improv from different angles, basing a scene on WHO you are, WHAT you're doing and then WHERE you are.  The idea with the where approach is to play out a scene in a specific space while doing anything but what the space was actually intended for - I ended up 'making sushi in a morgue' - who knew.  It's a challenging exercise that requires us to be very specific about our movement and yet flexible enough to flow with our scene partner if it becomes apparent they are not seeing quite the same thing we are.

 Being brand new to the world of acting - I have been soaking it all up - it's been awesome, and I mean that in every sense of the word.

Life Exercises

Another incredible day!  In Feldenkrais what started as a simple stretch ended with us literally rolling around the floor in circles (or at least some of the  younger ones of us!) Amazing to learn more about what parts of our skeleton are connected and how small adjustments can change how we move.  In Improv class, split up into pairs, we wordlessly enacted everyday scenes that showed "where" we were by what we were doing. 

The challenge seems to be to make our actions specific and deliberate enough for the viewer to understand exactly what our activity is.  Which means WE have to really believe what we're doing.  For our Ibsen scene class we played some wild games including "verbal mirror".   This was new to us - in this exercise you face your partner and one starts making up a story while the other tries to speak what the story-teller is saying simultaneously.  After a few seconds, the the call would come to "switch" and the person copying becomes the story-teller.  The stories took fantastical and funny turns. Interesting, a lot of the work is about listening - not jumping ahead or lagging behind with your scene partner.  Hopefully something that will benefit our work and our lives.

 

An interesting thing happens when a group like Elements travels to a new location (London, NYC, Chicago) to study together for a month.  The first morning we all pretty much stuck to the map, walking to Ruth Page Center for the Arts and climbing the 4 long flights to Studio IV in a building from 1927.  As days flow into weeks, our circle of experience widens.  We notice for instance, that if you look out the window of one apartment and down the street, you can glimpse the horizon past Lake Michigan - and looking the other way, you can see Trump Tower, built on a bend in the Chicago River.  Gradually we venture into new neighborhoods to shop, see plays and sight-see.  We make friends with people we meet at the corner restaurant and greet them like old friends when we pass by later.  As the interior core, the familiar, the trusted, becomes more secure we adventure, get lost and find out way, and expand our experience.  And, everyone has now found a new way to get to the Studio in the morning without a map!

Behind the Scenes

As Elements stage manager, I came to Chicago for a week to go to some classes with Elements, but mostly to learn more about my job from professional stage managers. It was a great week - I had several meetings with production managers and stage managers from two of the larger theaters in Chicago - their generosity in sharing their craft was overwhelming. They gave me numerous practical tools, literally spent hours answering my questions, told me their stories, and have opened the door for keeping in touch with them as we head into our next production, "Pillars of the Community" by Henrik Ibsen.

I love stage managing and talking with others who have been in the business for 20 and 30 seasons, has been gratifying, energizing, and extremely inspirational!

There is no holding back with Ibsen on the line!  Yesterday we dove headfirst into scenes from various Ibsen plays with two of our teachers.  In the morning, Nick had an array of exercises to help us connect to our characters physically.  Later, with Kestutis, we explored the intentions behind our characters  So many layers to look at!  In improv class with Rachel, using a line of text from "Pillars of the Community", we literally created music with words and sounds as a group.  So passes another full day in Chicago....living to the fullest in every moment.

Breath

It's good to be breathing again.  This week we started our voice work in earnest with Christine Adaire and much of the focus is on breath. Breath being a blue print for speaking, breath being the basis of thought, intention, life and being.  The simplicity of breath, learning to be breathed - trusting myself to my breath believing that it needs no help other than my willingness just to be.  

 

 

Today I couldn't help but think back to our time in New York. These cities are so different from each other -- in Chicago, I don't think twice before I go out the door, whereas in New York, I'm embarrassed to say it would take me half and hour to figure out what to wear. I love the energy and the vibe of New York -- don't get me wrong! -- but if New York is a stiletto, so far Chicago is more like...a flip flop, and I love it. I sent up a prayer of thanks for our teachers, all of whom we have definitely "clicked" with. Everyone's style is different; they add a new color to our canvas and no doubt we are all growing. But back to New York --
Louis Colaianni gave us this word on one of our first days with him. Through all of our work together, no matter what city we're in, or what production we're working, it's still my goal.
-----
To be what I am.
To live the life that was set for me to live.
To voice the things that only I can voice.
To bear the blossoms that are commanded of my heart.
This is what I want, and surely, this cannot be presumptuous.
-Ranier Maria Rilke

Yesterday was our first class with Kestutis Nakas, Associate Professor of The Theatre Conservatory at Roosevelt University in Chicago.   He wanted to just get to know us so he gave us a couple of exercises to get us going and give him a chance to learn a little bit about us.  One exercise was, he had us each tell two stories about ourselves to the group, one that was true and one that was a lie.  Each one had to be something a bit risky - and the rest of the group would guess which was true.  It was eye opening to me how well I know the other people in the group - but also how much I DON'T know about them!

Probably only with a theater company like Elements could this father of three and grandfather of five find himself looking forward to our second day of instruction in Stage Combat bright and early today! Our last class was killer! -well not literally, but it was SO-O-O cool. I especially like the hair pulling and the take downs...and soon we get into the slaps, punches, and swords. It's OK to admit it - I'd be jealous, too!

Falling and Falling

So, day one of classes yesterday and we started with a bang - literally - the bang of our bodies falling to the floor in stage combat!  Our teacher, Nick Pullin, of DePaul University and Fight Director and choreographer for countless regional theatres, colleges and opera companies, was teaching us the basics of falling - and I think a lot of us were feeling it last night!  Improv class with Rachel Slavick, also with DePaul Theatre School, brought some more falling - and some great new games to help us turn off our heads and turn on our instinct (not so easy for some of us who like to think things through and have a plan before we leap)  After our final class, Feldenkrais with Patrice Egleston, Associate Professor at DePaul, we were ready for some good Italian food and a performance of Chekhov's Three Sisters at Steppenwolf Theatre.  What a day - and we get to throw ourselves at it again tomorrow! 

On their way out !

Well Elements Theatre Company is on their way out to Chicago for a month.  They leave on Sunday the 29th of July.  I hope they have a eventful and educational time....how could they not ! Exploring Ibsen, Feldenkrais, stage combat, improv, voice work, and more, its sure to keep them busy. They are using the Ruth Page Center for the Arts as their home away from home.   When ever they go out for a while they always come back with a new energy and another way of looking at things.  This always spills into the other groups here, so we all benefit.

A fly on the wall...

A few days ago I had the chance to listen to Elements run through the next play they are working on. Its so interesting to listen to how the characters take to the personalities of the players right from the start. This is a really fun time to be a fly on the wall! I already have a favorite character and I cant wait to see what he becomes...

some cool chatter going on our Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/ElementsTheatreCompany  Come back and check often- there's usually something going on there.....

Reading

Well the rumor is Elements theatre is reading. From what I've heard it seems that being a player means you experience it first. As a actor reading, if you separate yourself from the character it cheats the whole purpose. To me this takes bravery and trust. You have to bravely display inner parts of yourself and trust that those with you will air their own inner parts and forgive the flaws in yours. What a band of "brothers" you must be.

What is Drama?

What is true drama? Over the centuries the forms have changed but the intent has remained- to communicate or share in some way an event to others.  Whether it is storytelling around the campfire, marionette puppets or actors on a stage, the hope is to share an experience with another. 
Elements Theatre Company has finished their performance of The Dining Room, but they are not quietly resting on their "laurels".  They are getting ready for a months study in Chicago.  There they will study among other things, stage combat, performance technique, and the playwright Ibsen.  Keep an eye on our facebook page (here) in August to check in with them.  As you can see by the list of classes Elements Theatre continues to purse the best tools to create Drama.

The Dining Room

Today was the last day of this performance for a while.  No doubt it will be pulled back out, dusted off, and re-explored. Someday.
The Dining Room was one of those plays that is either understood and played truthfully with all of the characters exposing the good and bad side of us all, or it entirely misses the mark and becomes a unintentional comedy.  Without understanding (or)truth characters have nothing that we want to identify with. 

One of the things we strive to do in Gloriae Dei Artes Foundation is to encourage younger people to come along side us and explore the Arts for themselves.  The benefit of this is almost tangible when you talk to the kids and hear what they have understood.  Here is what one of the stagehands said about the last performance today, " ... now it’s time for us to send it off to live a life of its own in the hearts and lives of everyone who came to see it. All we did was give the play legs and a voice to tell its story . It is bigger than all of us- the actors, the tech crew, everyone. Thinking of it that way makes it seem kind of  . . . beautiful.

So, until Someday...

Last Chance to see The Dining Room

This is the last weekend to see this moving play.  It is one of those plays where there are moments of stunned silence from the audience because the actor has struck a chord in everyone.  This is not to be missed.  In Elements theatre company there is an agreement between the players to pursue the truth about oneself and that agreement is played out right in front of everyone. 

Here is another post from the stagehands.  They are three highschool students that Elements has in their group. The education that they are getting about being honest to oneself in their Art is clear by what they have written here.
     "There is something incredible about sitting and witnessing the transformation. To see a child from a birthday party turn into an old man in only a few seconds is amazing. From backstage we can see the difference in posture, walking, and  expression. This play really brings out the true meaning of seamless performance.
     I was blown away at the last performance when an actor was walking around backstage as one of their characters that is a much older man than he is. It was completely believable to me that he was suddenly 80 or 90 years old! The way he played the character reminded me of a particular elderly man that I knew. Later, backstage I found out that elderly man who he had reminded me of was actually the actor's exact inspiration! That was so impressive to me that he had so accurately portrayed his inspiration."

Isn't this what Art is all about ? What do you think?

New Trailer

for The Dining Room click here.

More from behind The DIning Room curtain....

Here is another quote from a email one of the Highschool age stagehands at The Dining Room sent me:

"One of the emotional challenges of the play is the fact that all of these scenarios, as familiar as they may be to most of us in terms of our relations in everyday life, they never resolve. Each scene you are left with a question of what happens to these relationships. Do they heal, or are they forever destroyed? Can these relationships survive? It can be deeply unsettling, but also begs the question- Where are we unresolved in our own lives?

Exploring this question allowed me to realize what it is that makes the end of the play so emotional. All along, somewhere deep down, you are waiting hopefully for the dining room to have a sense of formality or stability. You are looking for the Norman Rockwell painting of Thanksgiving. But it never happens. Finally, at the very end, you get a glimpse of what you have been searching for throughout the entire play without even realizing it. It is a very humbling experience to realize that life doesn’t work that way most of the time."

What more can I say ? So simple and so complicated. Come experience for yourself.

And here is a super new article about Elements Theatre Company that just came in from Broadway World !-Click here 

Opening night of The Dining Room

 Last night was the first public performance of The Dining Room.  When I was thinking about it this morning I realized most of the words used commonly by people to describe an emotion have very general meanings.  The Arts are a challenge to describe even when the art is the use of words themselves ! How ironic... and frustrating !
Do come and enjoy! It will make you laugh and cry...It truly is worth experiencing for yourself.  

Here is a quote from an review that Elements received this Friday:

 "The seven actors who compose the entire cast tackle the more than 50 roles, and they do so with great ease. . . . The cast members clearly care for their characters and are enjoyable to watch."

Caitlin Malone

Cape Cod Times

news from behind the curtain of The Dining Room

here is a post from some of the stage hands for the new play that opens this weekend !

The doors just opened. We’re all waiting for the audience to arrive. Since we (Sarah and Lindsey) are backstage, all we can see is black fabric, but the stage is ready to go and it looks amazing! While sitting here, all we can hear is the song “Come dance with me” over the speakers, setting the scene for the play. Everyone is getting into their character, to the sound of the chatter of the audience as they get settled. Why is it that uncontrollable laughter always hits us at the most inopportune moments?! We valiantly try to stifle our giggles and wheezes in order to keep a peaceful vibe for the actors.

Our mission (in charge of props) is to make sure that each character has the right things for all of the 18 scenes. This play is more complicated than most because there are only 7 actors playing 57 parts. Each actor has 7 or 8 characters, and they have to transition basically every scene between characters. Since there are very few costume changes, there are a lot of props instead.

Tonight is the first performance of the show (whoops, someone in the audience forgot to silence their phone ) for a closed audience. Tomorrow night, we present it to the media, and then Friday night is OPENING NIGHT. It’s our job as the backstage crew to make it as easy and smooth for the actors as possible. Both of us have our specific jobs, giving different props to the actors, with a chart in case we forget. Since this is the modern-day theater, of course the chart is on a mac instead of paper.  In all there are about 300 props in this play, everything imaginable in a dining room from soup tureens and silver sets to typewriters and camera tripods.

We can’t see what’s happening on the stage, but it’s really fun even hearing the different things they are trying out on the stage. After hearing it so many times, it’s noticeable when the actors do different inflections or try a slightly different attitude for their character.

Definitely the most interesting scene to “listen” to is scene 8, also known as Winkie’s Birthday Party. Anyway, scene 8 is where 4 of the actors have to be little kids, it is hilarious to see them do things that kids really do. We never realized how funny those mannerisms really are, until we saw them on adults! More updates on different scenes, and the action behind the curtain to come tomorrow!

I remember

Does anyone else have a memory of trying to please a parent or beloved teacher, but instead makes them more angry ?  I remember.  I had forgotten, but The Dining Room reminded me.   There is a gift of freedom in looking back at your past and realizing things are not what you thought they were.

The Rehearsal

Yesterday I received a email from one of the players in Elements Theatre inviting me to a closed rehearsal.

I treasure these invitations when I get them. I believe it is a sign of trust to have me watching while the players explore the possible options they have with their character.  Usually this means soul-searching and then committing to expose those feelings within the player outside the comfort of their own skin. You don't know if you had it right until after you show everyone what was inside. I imagine that this feeling is like jumping off a bridge without checking the bungee cord first.

I was caught by scenes when I wasn't even thinking or remembering my own childhood dining room memories with my parents (and little brother). I found myself tearing up at the forgotten memories as they snapped into my mind. 

With the plays that I have seen over the years there are some people who can just move you.  They don't seem to work at it. It seems more like an accident... almost.  This group of players brings you in and then stretches and manipulates your emotions.  I wish I had words that matched the artless elegance with which they brushed against my soul.

The Dining Room has a reputation of being a players play.  The challenge of changing character in a split second is the mystery dish.  Don't be fooled. The Dining Room feeds the soul with the sense of shared forgotten memories both resolved and unresolved.

First look at the Dining Room

The Dining Room is a Play for Players

For those of us who are not familiar with this play (like me!), here is what the Artistic Director had to say about it.


“One dining room becomes a kind of twilight zone for specific situations that are quite familiar to many of us. Though Gurney has set this play in a wealthy economic setting, the situations are universal -- often quite funny and very moving. The play is primarily about relationships -- the beginning of a new one, or the disintegration of an old one: a mother/daughter scene full of manipulation; a young boy set-up by his parents to wheedle money out of his grandfather; a family trying to cope with their mother’s dementia.  While the dining room fades in its importance, much of what the room has been used for comes under scrutiny for its continued relevance in a time and society that is becoming all about what is convenient, fast, and technologically driven,” 

Danielle Dwyer, Artistic Director.

The Dining Room!

Elements is starting to work on a play called "The Dining Room" by A. R. Gurney.  From what I've heard its going to be amazing.  The actors are reveling in the character studies that this play uses as its structure. The single constant through this play is the dining room itself.  The players have the challenge of 57 different characters with using only 7 actors ! 
This should be interesting to watch....

Hilarious Shakespeare

Come see Elements as they finish their tour of Twelfth Night !

limited private show for Students
Tuesday, February 28
St. Joseph's University
5600 City Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19131

Thursday, March 1 at 4pm
College of Mount Saint Vincent
6301 Riverdale Avenue
Riverdale, NY 10471-1093

Everyone loves a drama!

 And a fantastic play is like Chocolate to me, I can't get enough!
 I just saw the new video about Elements Theatre Company and I love it! It is challenging to portray a drama group to the fullest extent that this group will stretch . With dedication to the truest form of honesty, in their costumes, rehearsal, and stage sets they have agreed to work together, and the outcome is amazing.

Take a look and let me know what you think.  I would love to hear from you.

Here's the link:
Elements Theatre Company


While you are here- check out where they are touring with Shakespeare's Twelfth Night on the tours page.
Elements tours 2012