Last Wednesday members of the cast of A Seagull in the Hamptons sat down for a post-show discussion.  They discussed such topics as the differences that arise when modernizing a play from Chekhov’s time, the sources of the emotional energy they use in order to embody their characters, the research in the original Chekhov they did (or didn’t do), and what it is like to perform on a stage covered with 18 tons of sand.  The actors agreed to allow us to film the discussion (thanks, actors, you rock!), so you can use the embedded player below to watch clips from this discussion in case you weren’t able to attend.  Enjoy!

Posted by Elizabeth Edwards, Literary Intern at McCarter Theatre.

Photo by T. Charles Erickson

A piece of intriguing behind-the-scenes trivia about the soundscape of A Seagull in the Hamptons has recently been brought to my attention by Production Stage Manager Cheryl Mintz. Apparently, a never-used original composition, first written for the 1993 McCarter production of Miss Julie, has been rediscovered and is making its debut as an incidental sound cue in A Seagull in the Hamptons after fifteen years in the vaults. I thought this might be of interest to our blog readers, so based on Cheryl’s initial account of the story I conducted interviews with composer Baikida Carroll and sound designer Karin Graybash to find out more. Here is what I gleaned:

As mentioned in a previous blog post, Baikida and Emily have a long working relationship, which began while developing the musical Betsey Brown with Ntozake Shange and Joseph Papp at the Public Theater in the 1980’s. Since then, Baikida and Emily have worked together on numerous productions, and have developed a highly streamlined system for their collaborative process, which Baikida was kind enough to describe to me.

Based on conversations with Emily about a given play and the different themes that might be needed for the production, Baikida will compose three to five completely different pieces as possibilities for each theme. Emily listens to them all and decides which ones she wants, and Baikida then arranges the chosen themes, sometimes providing multiple possible orchestrations. For instance, for the opening number of Miss Julie, Baikida originally had the song recorded in an arrangement for solo cello. But over the course of rehearsals he and Emily decided to instead use a version of the same theme played by a string quartet, and so the solo cello version was set aside, and never used in production.

Never, that is, until now.

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So finally all of the “Live at the Library” videos from A Seagull in the Hamptons are in one place—check out the player below to watch all 6 video excerpts of the event with star Maria Tucci and director/adapter Emily Mann.

Posted by Adam Immerwahr, Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre.

Emily Mann, McCarter’s Artistic Director and Playwright in Residence, recently sat down with Princeton News Network’s Todd Reichart to discuss her work as adaptor/director of A Seagull in the Hamptons. The video is embedded below. Enjoy!

Posted by Adam Immerwahr, Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre.

The house. Photo by Rich Tepper

One of the most striking set-pieces in A Seagull in the Hamptons is the scale model of a Hamptons beach house, which appears in the distance in Acts 1 and 2. I have to say that I’m totally in love with this piece, and if nobody knows what to do with it after the show is done, I think I could find a place for it in my new house when I move this summer (hint hint). In all seriousness, there is talk of auctioning this house off, and somehow I don’t think I’ll be able to afford it. I’ll keep you posted on the auction details.

The model. Photo by Rich Tepper

Eugene Lee—the set designer for A Seagull in the Hamptons—designed the house, starting with a model. You can see him talking about his model on YouTube. He gave the model to our Production Staff, along with an elevation of what the finished piece should look like by the end. The elevation showed the scale, which was between 1/5 and 1/6 of the size that the actual house would be in real life. It would probably be a two-three bedroom house, it really isn’t that long, only about 40 feet wide.

The elevation. By Eugene Lee.

Inside of it, there are four different light sources (for each of the rooms on the front facade), and the porch has itty bitty little adorable porch lights that also light up.

The research.

Eugene has a great relationship with McCarter’s Production Staff, and often gives them a lot of leeway and opportunities to elaborate on his work. They did research into what a typical house in the Hamptons might look like, pulling up photos from realtors’ websites, and began to play with trims and details.

Halfway through construction. Photo by Rich Tepper

One of McCarter’s carpenters, Jill, spent the better part of three weeks building the entire house by hand. She began by framing it (like you would a full-sized house), and then slowly cut out the rest of the pieces and added them in. Most of the pieces are glued on, including each of the individual shingles, which are all hand cut and hand-glued. Steve created the windows (which are a layer of scrim in front of a layer of muslin in front of a layer of a diffusion lighting gel), and Carrie (the charge scenic artist) did a lot of the painting. Staff members in the Properties department created scale models of Adirondack chairs and urns for the plants on the porch. It was a real team effort.

The set. Photo by Rich Tepper

In the end, the house weighs about 100 lbs, and is carried on and offstage by two stage carpenters. It is scaled so that it can just barely fit through the stage left exit. It is a complete scale architectural replica of a Hamptons house from three sides (and above). Pretty awesome, huh? Keep checking the blog for details about any potential auction that might happen!!

Posted by Adam Immerwahr, Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre. Photo: Stark Sands, Matthew Maher, Brian Murray and Laura Heisler in “A Seagull in the Hamptons.”

A week or two ago, intrepid literary intern Elizabeth Edwards interviewed set designer Eugene Lee about his work on A Seagull in the Hamptons. In the YouTube player below, you can find a set of 5 clips from that interview, on a variety of topics (his design for A Seagull in the Hamptons, working at McCarter Theatre, working with Emily Mann, working on “Saturday Night Live,” and the model for A Seagull for the Hamptons). Enjoy, and post a comment to tell us what you think!

Posted by Adam Immerwahr, Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre.

Photo by T. Charles Erickson

Have you seen A Seagull in the Hamptons? What did you think? Do you agree with the newspaper reviews, or disagree? Favorite parts of the show? Things that weren’t to your taste? Post a “citizen response” or read what other people are saying by clicking on the “comments” link below. We can’t wait to hear what you think!

If you want to include a picture with your review, email it to me and I’ll make sure it gets attached.

Posted by Adam Immerwahr, Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre.  Photo: David Andrew Macdonald and Morea Baccarin in “A Seagull in the Hamptons” at McCarter Theatre.

Live at the Princeton Public Library, Emily Mann and Maria Tucci talk about how Emily’s adaptation of Chekhov’s The Seagull differs from the original, and how it has stayed the same. There are a bunch of other videos from the library event, which you can find on McCarter’s YouTube channel. Post your comments below by clicking on “comments.”

Posted by Adam Immerwahr, Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre.

On Friday, literary intern Elizabeth Edwards interviewed Eugene Lee—the set designer of A Seagull in the Hamptons—for a series of YouTube videos about his design and his life.  I haven’t gotten through everything yet, but here is the first of the video interviews, in which he gives a guided tour of the model for A Seagull in the Hamptons and discusses his concept for the design.  More to come soon!

Posted by Adam Immerwahr, Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre.

It’s Jane, the lighting designer for A Seagull in the Hamptons. I’ve lit several shows here at the McCarter, and recently started teaching at Princeton too, so it feels familiar and friendly (usually I am in a new place every three weeks). Still, I’ve never worked with Emily, although I’ve seen a lot of her work, so I’m thrilled to have a chance to design with her, and also a little nervous.I should also mention that I have never written a blog, so bear with me. I should be nervous about that too.

Lighting designers are always a little nervous at this point in the process, if they are honest, because we do our work in public—we don’t get to design the way the lighting looks until everyone else is in the room with us. The actors, the other designers, the staff, the crew, the producers… What if all the lights are in the wrong place? What if the ideas are all wrong for the play? We won’t know until everyone else does. We always make our mistakes in public.

It was our first day in the theatre with lights yesterday. The set is mostly up already. No cast yet (they emerge from the rehearsal room for the first time today)—but just me and the lighting gang and the lights. Paul and Rob (the head electricians here) and their crew had already hung the light plot and made sure it all turns on; and all I had to do is point the lights in the right places and make it all look right. Lucky me.

The big grey wall that surrounds the huge sandbox of a set is up, and looks really wonderful. We focused a lot of lights on it this afternoon. The walls seem to take any color and turn it softer and paler somehow, muting everything. It looks like a big watercolor. That made me happy. We weren’t sure if the box would be able to behave like a sky as well as like a box, but I feel optimistic about that right now! We’ll see.

Today, sixteen tons of sand get poured inside the box and we’ll point some more lights at it. I’ve never lit a huge stretch of sand before. I’m fascinated with the way it takes light and shadow and color. I’ve been thinking about the beach on a summer sunset, and how the low light of the sun just before it slips below the horizon skims across the surface, and the shadows in the sand seem to be filled with a soft purple light.

Usually the first scene of Seagull is set at twilight. But somehow twilight feels even softer than sunset, the way the shadows are so subtle and the light is so even. Getting into the top of this play is tricky and important. It’s funny, this play, and Emily and I think it needs to start a little more aggressively than twilight. So I am hoping to try for a sharp sunset that fades into twilight into the moon rise for the first act of the play. This is the kind of idea that looks really beautiful in the mind and is sometimes hard to translate into reality. We’ll see. It would be a very sped up sunset.

Another big idea that might not work—I wanted to try and create a water effect. There are all kinds of high tech water effects available but I have never liked any of them. Paul and Rob (the staff electricians here) had made all these great craft projects for me to try and make this work. Strange hand made contraptions with mirrors and fans and strips of color and shiny plastic. The effect looked really odd on the walls. Like a strange nineteen sixties party. Not really what I had in mind. We’ll keep trying. Any brilliant suggestions welcome.

I saw a run through of the play on Wednesday. I laughed really hard, but it is also really moving. This is a really astonishing company of actors, and a wonderful adaptation of the play. I feel especially fondly towards Laura Heisler, who plays Milly, who is in love with Alex in the play. Alex isn’t in the least bit interested. In the fall I lit Laura in a production where she played mad King Ludwig of Bavaria, who was in love with Wagner. A couple of years ago I lit her in a play where she played a heart broken teenager. It seems every time I light her in a play she can’t get the guy. I wish she would; it’s breaking my heart.

Posted by Jane Cox, Lighting Designer for McCarter Theatre’s production of A Seagull in the Hamptons.