As we gear up for our technical rehearsals (with lights and sound and costumes), I wanted to share a few thoughts on Herringbone. As many of you know by now, Herringbone tells the story of a precocious young boy whose family throws him into the adult world of vaudeville to help them through the Depression. Like all “play-within-a-play” pieces, Herringbone raises quite a few questions about the nature of performance: how does the emotional content of the performance affect the performer? How does a performer’s personal identity influence the tone and direction of the piece? How does the act of telling a story impact the meaning of the story itself?

In McCarter’s production of Herringbone, Roger and BD have worked with the design team to highlight these moments of meta-theatricality. Rather than using vintage props, for example, we chose to use contemporary flashlights, rulers, etc. to emphasize the narrator’s distance from the story. Did the narrator character (named Herringbone) actually live through the events he takes us through, or is the story a figment of his imagination? Even if the story is true, what are a performer’s motives for telling an emotionally draining tale? What does he receive from the experience of performing in return? These questions have been on our minds throughout the rehearsal process and hopefully will intrigue you as well. To further discuss these and many other questions hang around for one of our post-show discussions with the artists!

Posted by Sarah Wansley, Directing/Producing Intern at McCarter Theatre

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