Do you have any images, videos, or songs that have been used through the process (and aren’t directly in the show)?
You can see our Hit the Wall YouTube playlist here.
You can see our design-influence Tumblr page here.
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A question for Oohrah! director Brad Akin
Do you have any images, videos, or songs that have been used through the rehearsal process?
Bekah [Brunstetter, playwright] actually has a really fun blog that was a great window into how she thinks, her sense of humor, and what she cares about – all of which helped me unlock this play, I think. Everyone in the rehearsal room has been really eager to share videos with one another.
Read More» Posted by Christopher Shea | 0 responsesBekah Brunstetter is playwright of Oohrah!, currently running as part of Steppenwolf’s Garage Rep.
Characters and how they’re not robots, but people
Today on playwriting, and how it’s the strangest and most incredible thing: as playwrights, we give birth to other human beings. At first we don’t really know who they are; we feed them, we argue with them, we leave passive aggressive notes for them, we question their life choices, we hug them. Eventually, they start to think and act on their own. We realize that the character is not a robot for our poetry or agenda, but an actual human being. By this point, the play’s usually all the way through previews when you are finally like, aha. This is why I love it when a play gets a second chance (thanks, LiveWire! Why thanks, Steppenwolf!) – it affords me to opportunity to give my character-babies a second go at really being the people that they are. I was able to work back through Oohrah! with a fresh perspective, and a fresh set of dramaturgical eyes, and make sure that the characters – specifically sisters Abby and Sarah – were always being true to themselves, and not just being yanked around by my evil playwright puppet strings. (For more info on actual Robots, and how they will soon be taking over the world, and my crush on Ray Kurzweil, please visit www.bekahbrunstetter.com)
Posted by Christopher Shea | 0 responsesSome questions from our interview with Hit the Wall playwright Ike Holter
Have any images, videos, or songs that been used through the process?
I’ve been listening to Rufus Wainwright singing Judy Garlands entire concert of “Live at Carnegie Hall”.
It’s a true remix–the words and arrangements and score are identical to what Judy sang decades before, but Rufus puts his own spin on it, and you listen to it differently.
John Cicora (Music Director) and I are big fans of Spike Lee’s “Do The Right Thing”, with a big emphasis on how music is used during the film. We hope HTW will have an underscore and soundtrack that adds to the tension, joy, fear and exhilartion of the time-period, without being a “did you catch that song by Diana Ross” concept piece. One of the reasons “Do The Right Thing” is so great is because the music is a character within the film–it’s hot, it’s angry, it’s aggressive, it’s sensitive, it has an arc.
Can you give us a description of where this play started?
The story of The Stonewall Riots, for me, is an incredibly epic, history-changing event that speaks to me in so many ways—the New York location, the fact that it happened in the summer of ‘69, Judy Garland references, the horror of The Vietnam War— aaaaaah, it drives me crazy.
I found out about the deadline for garage rep about three weeks before it was closed, and I wrote a 90 page first draft and sent it to them at 11:59, seconds before the Midnight deadline.
There have been about three and a half drafts since this spring, and anytime I get too “blocked” about something I just remind myself how amazing this true story is, and it pushes me back to work.
Are there any eras or countries other than our own that you look to as inspiration for your style? Any contemporary groups?
We look to a lot of different Chicago companies for inspiration- A Red Orchid, The House Theatre, local musicians and bands like Rachele Eve, Vamos, JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound, dance companies like We Stand Sideways and The Open Space Project, and local artists like Chance Bone, Dav Yendler and Meredith Kachel.
Some excerpts from our interview with He Who creator Michael Montenegro.
I’m wondering how much the realm of “accident” has played into your aesthetic. In particular, do you ever find yourself making a mistake and working it into a puppet?
I consider the creative process mysterious and a large part of that mystery has to do with being open to the unexpected in your environment. To me art is a constant conversation with the past and present and even future. In terms of manifesting an original image in my head, I never end up where I began. It has always been in the actual doing that things have surfaced.
Have any songs or photographs been on your mind or present in the rehearsal room through this process? Care to share why?
The brilliant choreography of Pina Bausch,
the films of Hungarian director Bela Tarr, and the theater of Polish director Tadeusz Kantor. Photos of Josef Koudelka. And we constantly are inspired by the very present music of our own musicians and the compositions of our brilliant composer, Jude Mathews. Why? These great artists keep me from despair and guide me when I am often lost.
Click through this gallery for a look at a puppet from Michael’s “War With the Newts” from first draft to production draft.
Your puppets and masks are to some extent mechanical creations. Could you talk about a mechanical discovery that changed how you were building your pieces?
I try to keep the mechanics to a minimum. To me the best mechanical devise is the one that allows you to be most expressive. Mechanicals can quickly get in the way of expression. So I try to find a mechanical means every time to best expressive a simple movement. No matter how beautiful a puppet figure is, if it doesn’t move expressively, its no good. I long ago discovered that it was better for me to find simple methods of building that allowed me to make quick easy changes necessary if a figure didn’t work.
Posted by Christopher Shea | 0 responsesRecently, we ran a draft of Tanya Saracho‘s current project through a Word Cloud generator, starting first with a July draft, and then with a December draft. We think the results are pretty cool.
Read More» Posted by Christopher Shea | 1 responsesAs Steppenwolf gears up for the start of fml; or how Carson McCullers saved my life rehearsals, we checked in with playwright Sarah Gubbins–whose lead character Jo is heavily inspired by the graphic novel–to find out what graphic novels influenced her own work. Then we pulled pictures of those books to share with you, dear reader.
Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. (first published 1986-87 by DC Comics)
Read More» Posted by Christopher Shea | 0 responsesWe asked the actors in the Head of Passes workshop to give us a sense of Tarell’s developing script by sending us youtube videos and thoughts about what was on their mind as they rehearsed. Here’s one actor’s response.
1. Can you list four words that the Book of Job conjured up for you before you read this play?
The Bible; Sacrifice; God; unfair
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Last month was a big month of play development at Steppenwolf, and this is a big month for tech and production. Today, load-in begins for the Garage Rep shows, as they move their sets and props into the Garage space. On the 19th, tech for those shows begins with LiveWire’s Oohrah! Meanwhile, work continues on FML. Based largely on the December workshops, Sarah Gubbins will continue to hone her script with input from director Joanie Schultz, literary manager Aaron Carter, and others. Full-time rehearsals with the cast begin on January 31. Make sure to check in here for information on the process behind the Garage Rep shows, plus updates on the ongoing work taking place with Head of Passes and Cherokee.
And now, a look at another theater’s load-in. “A giant chandelier. Massive set pieces. Nearly two dozen trucks and numerous stagehands.” It’s like Garage Rep load-in, only also different.
Posted by Christopher Shea | 0 responsesDuring the Head of Passes workshop, we asked Steppenwolf for Young Adults Apprentice/Fellow Nijeul Porter to give us some feedback on how the play is proceeding, and the atmosphere of the room. Here’s what he sent our way.
Can you point us to some pictures that have been on your mind?
1. Can you list four words that the Book of Job conjured up for you before you read this play?
Patience Faith Why Me? Challenge
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