The day many McCarter community members have long awaited has finally come: Tarell has moved to Nassau Street and rehearsals are underway for the world premiere of his The Brother/Sister Plays. The first few days in the rehearsal process has been, admittedly, a little overwhelming. We started out the first day of rehearsal with a business meeting run by our Resident Stage Manager, Cheryl Mintz. As Cheryl went over the usual information: schedule, contact sheet, Equity guidelines, it quickly became clear that this process is like no other that the cast or artistic team has experienced. With three shows opening in repertory under the direction of two different directors, the schedule for the next few months is daunting to say the least. By the time In the Red and Brown Water opens, we will already be starting technical rehearsal for Brothers Size and Marcus, so the actors will be rehearsing 2 plays during the day and performing a third at night - and all this without understudies!

We were all a bit dazed by the end of the meeting, but after a read-through of In the Red and Brown Water, Tina Landau, the director, decided to jump right in. Tina talked about how the most important part of In the Red and Brown Water for her is truly creating an ensemble. In this non-traditional piece, all of the actors play a pantheon of gods (derived from the Yoruba spiritual tradition) who weave in and out of the story they are telling together. In order to start building that feeling of a community of storytellers and create a common vocabulary, Tina launched the actors into an intense introduction to Viewpoints, a technique for movement and improvisation Tina developed along with director and mentor Anne Bogart. Originally based on a set of “viewpoints” choreographers use in creating a dance, the training Tina works with separates movement into 10 distinct qualities (eg. tempo, direction, shape, etc.). Taking the simple movement of running, for example, one can play with extremes of tempo: how does running look, for example, if one goes very very fast? And if one goes as slow as it is possible to go and still call it movement? Within the tempos one can also vary the size and fluidity of the run. It is fascinating how the different “runs” tells an entirely different story.

As we went through these improvisations, Tina introduced a really great term way for us to express when some gesture or movement seems really appropriate to our show. Apparently on the set of Miami Vice, there was one person whose job was to communicate between the literary, design and production departments to make sure the show ended up as a complete world. Rather than having to explain every decision, they could simply say “That’s Vice!” or “That’s not Vice!” We’ve now introduced this term to our rehearsal process, so whenever something works really well the whole room explodes with calls of “Vice!!!” and then we know all the collaborators are on the same page!

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

As part of the rehearsal process, The Brothers Size became “The Sisters Size,” just for a day. Robert (the director) asked three of the actresses from our nine-player ensemble to assume roles of the male actors. Although some of them had not read the play, it was amazing to see the actresses quickly discern who their characters were. It was intriguing to watch these ladies, who had not seen the men in action, make some of the same artistic choices the actors had made in rehearsal. Tarell has often said that the text will guide, it does.

One of the most interesting observations of having women read a play about men is that it somehow changes the play. Naturally among women, there seems to be an acceptable intimacy. Every since I can remember the girls have always gone to the bathroom in groups, the guys—not so much. Straight women often help groom other straight women, but with men it’s different. There seems to be imaginary circles of separation that prevent men from physically forming the same bonds as women. Why does it seem that men can’t be among themselves with the same familiarity that women share among women? This very subject came up in rehearsal and others of the room spoke of how boys in foreign nations hold hands with other boys as demonstrating their friendship in open streets. Why is it so taboo for men to be openly affectionate with each other, not specifically among gay lovers, but among heterosexual friends as well? It’s amazing how the moment guys stand a little too close (and aren’t playing a sport), an alarm resounds signaling their sexuality. Among groups of women closely occupying the same space, thinking seems to be a bit more liberal.

The Brothers Size, however, is not about women, it’s about men, and that makes a difference, even in staging. Simply place two men an inch too close and the mind quickly questions their sexuality. I wonder why…

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

Today, Tarell returned to rehearsals after being away for a couple of days, and unfortunately he came after we were officially done. But there was a wonderful marketing reception and “presentation” of a scene from The Brothers Size.  Tarell introduced the scene and the actors performed with scripts in their hands and it went quite well.  One of the actors had to call for lines and even stopped find the right page and I loved seeing that because it reminded the invited audience of the rehearsal process. Many of them, I’m sure, have never been in an actual rehearsal and to watch how attentive they were even when an actor corrected himself or stopped was quite fascinating.

One should never underestimate the thrill and danger of live performance even in a rehearsal hall.  The moment the audience came into the room I felt, quite frankly, that our sacred space had been invaded, because as a director you really cringe at the thought of someone seeing your work in progress, but when the slight hiccup of an actors losing his place happened, I was instantly and oddly relieved.  It was such a joy to watch the audience WATCH Theater develop before their eyes and still have them “get it”.  The discussion afterwards, led by Tarell, was insightful and full of positive feedback. This was more than comforting because Tarell and I had both laughed about which scene we should present because we knew as we put it there would be “church-going folk” in the seats.  The scene, the actors, the playwright and the audience itself rose grandly to the occasion and made me feel all over again that I was very lucky and blessed to be allowed to participated in this process of presenting such an exciting and challenging new voice to the American Theater.

Posted by Robert O’Hara, Director of The Brothers Size and Marcus; or The Secret of Sweet at McCarter Theatre.

About a month ago, while still conducting casting callbacks for The Brother/Sister Plays, the directors (Robert O’Hara and Tina Landau) and playwright (Tarell Alvin McCraney) had a meeting with set designer James Schuette and lighting designer Jane Cox to discuss the plays and see the latest design plans.  One of the challenges in producing a trilogy is that the set has to function for three plays.   The two directors each worked separately with James in discussing their design concepts for the three plays, and he brought all the ideas together into one set that transforms for each play, which he presented at the meeting in February.

McCarter Producing Director Mara Isaacs took some pictures, which we’re sharing with you so that you can get a sneak peak at the collaborators’ ideas and a behind-the-scenes glimpse into their process.

James Schuette presents his model to (l to r) Jane Cox, Robert O’Hara, Tarell Alvin McCraney, and Tina Landau.

The model for In the Red and Brown Water.

James Schuette shows Tina Landau some of his visual research for The Brothers Size.

The model, transformed for The Brothers Size.

(l to r) Anthony Sanford (directing intern), Tina Landau, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Jane Cox, Robert O’Hara, and James Schuette.

The model, transformed for Marcus; or The Secret of Sweet All photos by Mara Isaacs

Posted by Adam Immerwahr, Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre.

Director Rebecca Taichman visited the Princeton Public Library for a discussion about Twelfth Night, moderated by McCarter Director of Education, Christopher T. Parks. These videos were shot and edited by Erin Breznitsky, and I think give you a really great sense of how Rebecca created this extraordinary and visually stunning production.  Click the arrows on the side of the video to switch between clips, there are eleven in all!

Posted by Adam Immerwahr, Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre.

From Sunday’s Star Ledger:

“Several years ago, the Legislature decided the arts, history and good beaches were so essential to New Jersey that it passed laws setting a guaranteed level of funding for those entities and others.

As it looks for ways to save money in a recession budget, the Corzine administration has formulated a new approach to those laws: ignore them.”

Here we go again—once again our legislature is proposing a budget that puts the State’s guaranteed arts funding source at risk.   Here’s the deal: several years ago, the NJ State Legislature passed a law imposing a “Hotel and Motel Occupancy Fee” that taxes occupancy at New Jersey’s hotels and motels at 5% (with a few exceptions).  60% of the revenues from that fee go directly to the State (we’re talking about millions of dollars here, last year is was $82 million) and the remaining 40% goes the the arts, history, tourism and culture in New Jersey.  The legislation also prescribes that the 4 areas shall receive no less than $28.2 million, the historical amount that they received in the year the bill was passed.  Anticipating that this arrangement would be at risk in future economic climates, then-Senator Leonard Lance put a “poison pill” provision into the legislation, which states that if the minimum distribution ($28.2 million) is not met, the state shall curtail the collection of the hotel/motel occupancy fee altogether, meaning that the state won’t receive the 60% it would otherwise be entitled to.

Corzine’s budget, however, proposes a 25% reduction in funding to the arts, history, culture, and tourism, which brings the total below the minimum required by law.  Thus, if Corzine passes this budget, the state would be risking a challenge from the poison pill provision, which, if invoked would cost the state the $82 million they receive from the hotel/motel occupancy fee.  How do they plan to get around this?  According to State treasurer David Rousseau, quoted in the Star-Ledger: “we will be setting aside those laws.”  For yesterday’s Star-Ledger piece on this, click here.

As you know, the arts are getting hit on every side—corporate giving is down, foundations are losing their endowments, advertising is being hit (think ads in playbills), individual giving is decreasing, and ticket sales/admission fees are at risk as well in the new economy.  As Michael Kaiser points out in his inspiring book, “The Art of the Turnaround:” “the primary and underlying problem of the performing arts is that it is very difficult to improve productivity.  While other industries cover the cost of inflation by increasing worker productivity through the use of computers, new technologies, and better systems, these approaches are not available in the arts.  There are the same number of performers in Hamlet as when Shakespeare wrote it centuries ago and the same number of musicians in the New York Philharmonic as when Tchaikovsky conducted it more than one hundred years ago.  Costs go up, but we cannot reduce the labor content.”  And unlike the auto or banking industries, we don’t have powerful lobbying organizations to leverage support and funding when it is needed.

Unlike many industries, revenue generated in the arts goes directly to salaries, increasing the positive economic impact of arts funding significantly.  In theater, the materials budget pales in comparison to the human labor budget—think about stitchers, carpenters, painters, deck crew, stage managers, actors, directors, designers, producers, ushers, box office personnel, theater managers, graphic designers, etc.  That said, most institutional arts organizations are not-for-profit, including McCarter (meaning that surpluses go directly into improved services and increased programming—more people may be hired and paid a living wage, but nobody goes home richer at the end of the day).

The arts are also a proven revenue generator for their communities.  Like stadiums, they are a destination which draws lots of visitors into a community—and while those visitors are there, they stay in hotels, buy gas, eat at restaurants, go shopping, visit other cultural institutions, and otherwise throw their cash around town.  ArtPride New Jersey has shown that NJ arts and history industries contribute over $2 billion each year to our State’s economy through direct and patron-related spending.  The arts also have a proven impact on the children who are exposed to them—as participants, as students, and as audience members.  These are vital benefits that pay off over generations, not immediately.

If you are as concerned as I am about this troubling news, I urge you to read up further and take action.  One excellent resource is ArtPride New Jersey, our local arts advocacy organization, which will give you the tools to contact your legislators to express your concerns about the arts.  Another great place to explore further is the New Jersey State Arts Council, which distributes state arts funding.  Americans for the Arts is a national organization that supports the arts and culture and has lots of resources on the benefits of arts participation, arts attendance and arts education.

Posted by Adam Immerwahr, Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre.

Rick Foucheux, Rebecca Brooksher and Tom Story in Twelfth Night. Photo by T.Charles Erickson.

So the reviews of Twelfth night are starting to come in, and so far, they’re great!

New Jersey’s Star-Ledger reported:
“Rebecca Taichman’s production of Shakespeare’s gender-bending comedy is beautiful, intelligent, funny and moving. She’s taken a play that was born great, has achieved greatness, and thrust it onto the McCarter stage with results that are — here’s that word again — great.”

CurtainUp.com declared:
“Every now and then there is that rare confluence of conception, acting, directing, design, stage craft and in this instance music (a small orchestra provides song support and lovely incidental music) marks a production as sheer bliss… A co-production between McCarter and D.C.’s The Shakespeare Theatre Company, Taichman has addressed the play’s outrageously convoluted plotting and re-considered the bountiful mix of tomfoolery and romance from a distinctly sensual, sexual, and psychologically inverted perspective. But don’t worry, as it is suitable for the whole family.”

So what did you think?  Did you think it was the bee’s knees?  Do you agree with the newspaper reviews, or disagree? Favorite parts of the show? Things that weren’t to your taste? Post an “audience response” or read what other people are saying by clicking on the “comments” link below. We can’t wait to hear what you think!

Tarell Alvin McCraney, playwright of The Brother/Sister Plays. Photo by Greg Funnell.

The Frustrating Part, I think that always has been, in rehearsal,
you see actors and directors creating these moments with the
words, beautiful, delicate and fresh; You say to them, ‘do it again.’ and its
gone never to be seen again. Until of course there is another one
beautiful and fresh, different in its shape, tenor, but beautiful like
those before. How do you say’ keep digging, keep hitting different
wells and reservoirs in the world of the play. Keep discovering but not
just in rehearsal now and always… Because these thrilling moments
will be equally thrilling if not more so for us the audience.
But that’s a hard place to be naturally, we are asking professionals
to dwell in the place of ‘I don’t know’. People are trying to learn lines, memorize rhythms,
orient themselves to which play they are in and I’m wishing, asking
challenging them to throw themselves in fully now before the
know the play like the back of their hands and see what
they already know about the play, the lines, the worlds, the
story instinctively.

Posted by Tarell Alvin McCraney, playwright of The Brother/Sister Plays at McCarter Theatre.

Rebecca Brooksher and Veanne Cox in Twelfth Night. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

If you’ve seen any of the images related to McCarter Theatre’s production of Twelfth Night, you’ve noticed that there is a bit of a rose theme going on.  One of the ways in which that manifests itself in the production is the several thousand dollars worth of fabric rose petals which, by the end of the play, end up all over the stage floor, getting danced on, rolled on, and otherwise generally trampled.

In general, we don’t like for our props and set pieces to get dirty and bedraggled throughout the run of a production, nor do our actors like having dirty rose petals dropped on their heads.  On the other hand, our current economic climate doesn’t leave us in a position to buy several barrels of fresh fabric rose petals every night.  So what’s a theater to do?

The crafty (and inventive) production staff devised the perfect solution to this budding problem.  They created a flower-spinner: a giant, motorized mesh tube, which tumbles the flowers for several hours between performances, letting the dust, grit and other detritus fall out between the mesh, and leaving only the fresh and clean faux-flora.  The spinner, which lives in our “trap room” is about 12 feet long and 3 feet high—between performances, it is filled to the brim with petals and spins away.

The flower-cleaning machine

It turns out that that this isn’t the first time the production staff has had to figure out ways to clean uncleanable objects, or separate enormous masses of unlikely props.  After each performance of Wintertime, the staff had to separate enormous quantities of snow from tiny plastic soldiers and three different sizes of cork.  The solution to that problem involved a very similar tumbler and a big fan that blew lighter objects further away than the heavier ones.  During another production, the staff had to find a way to get confetti out of pebbles.  They went to the store and bought the weakest vacuum they could find, then punched holes in the tubes until the suction was so weak that it would only pick up the confetti, and would leave the pebbles alone.  Clever, huh?

Posted by Adam Immerwahr, Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre.