BD Wong in Herringbone, photo by Rich Termine

As I’m sure you know, there were five entries in our Herringbone Haiku Competition this year, each exhibiting great humor, accuracy, and mastery of the haiku form.  Because of the strength of most of the entries, I’ve decided to announce both a winner and a runner-up (who will be given the prize—a pair of free tickets to any Theater Series production this season—in the event that the winner fails to claim his or her prize.

The runner up is Lanny Baugniet, whose Haiku won points for alliteration and accuracy in describing the plot of Herringbone in only 9 words, with his excellent haiku:

Dazzling dancing frog
Elicits bizarre revenge
On killer chicken

We enjoyed Lanny’s Haiku on many levels, and thought it a fine piece of writing.  But the winning Haiku showed a level of artistry, wit, ability to quote Sondheim, and downright mastery of the Haiku form while also creating a spot-on description of the dramatic arc of Herringbone.  I give you Freddy’s brilliant and contest-winning Haiku:

The practical frog
Having no legs of its own
Borrows another’s

Hearty congratulations to all who participated.  Freddy, we’ll be e-mailing you soon to set up your free tickets.  If you missed the contest cut-off, and still want to share your Haiku brilliance, feel free to post a Haiku in the comments section below.  You won’t win anything, but we’ll enjoy reading your Haiku anyway.

Posted by Adam Immerwahr, Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre.

BD Wong in Herringbone, photo by Rich Termine.

BD Wong recently sat down for an American Theatre Wing “Downstage Center” interview for a podcast and for XM Satellite Radio. In the wide-ranging conversation, he talks about Herringbone, M. Butterfly, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown and a variety of other topics. I think it’s a neat interview to listen to whether or not you’ve seen Herringbone yet (although if you haven’t, you don’t have too much time left, so buy your tickets soon!). Links to the audio feed of the interview and a downloadable podcast version are below. Enjoy!

From Herringbone. Original air date - September 26, 2008 Running Time - 59:12.

If you enjoyed this episode of Downstage Center you may want to:
Subscribe to their podcasts

Posted by Adam Immerwahr, Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre.

The set design model for Talley’s Folly, designed by John Lee Beatty.

Talley’s Folly rehearsal is definitely underway. Today the rehearsal room went on a field trip to see the set under construction. For me, this beginning was quite lovely. Having already seen the model for the set, seeing it coming together in person was a reminder that it won’t be long until the play will be rehearsing on stage. The set, designed by John Lee Beatty, is the same design as the Tony award-winning Broadway production. It consists of raked platforms to make a boathouse and gazebo. (The boat actually floats in water!) The platforms create a very specific ground plan from which the actors and director negotiate movement patterns. Take a look at the model. I’m sure you’ll want to climb the actual set. I know I do!

One of the challenges of Talley’s Folly is creating an accurate “playground” for the actors. The day before rehearsals began I helped the stage management team tape the floor. It took about 8 hours, but we successful taped the outline of the set to the rehearsal room floor. We also taped reminders to the floor to indicate the height adjustment from one platform to another. Presented with the obstacle of representing the various posts that sprinkle the set, Alison, the stage manager, came up with the great idea of making hexagons to represent each post. The actors, however, also needed some real posts to maneuver around, so we use six eight-foot poles to represent the taller posts on the set. For the downstage posts, we use a little stool so that the actors can practice sitting until they can use the actual posts that will be in place on the set. Another challenge with imitating the set was creating the railings around the gazebo and upstage platforms. They play an important part in the actors’ mobility on the set and offer more options for staging. To solve this problem, we aligned the backs of chairs to create a faux railing where the actual railings of the set will be.

After physically creating the space for the actors, the ambiance was created. In the rehearsal for Talley’s Folly, we actually have some control over the lights and sounds, so the stage management team actually gets a little pre-tech practice in creating this nighttime rendezvous. I have never been privy to rehearsal conditions that allow for so much technical control. From dimming the lights to cueing the dogs, the stage management team stays busy. Their work is pretty effective, too. Some nights, I come home from rehearsal with crickets still chirping in my ears or feeling like it’s later than into the evening than it really is. As Matt says, “we have everything here to help us” and it makes a big difference.

Posted by Anthony Sanford Jr., Directing Producing Intern at McCarter Theatre