PRODUCTION DRAMATURG SHARI WATTLING TAKES YOU BEHIND THE SCENES AS WE BRING BEYOND EDEN TO THE STAGE.

 

January 16, 2010

DAY TWENTY-FOUR

First Preview. When the doors open to the theatre tonight, I watch the lobby fill quickly. Our first audience is around 500 people! It’s both nerve-wracking and thrilling. How strange it feels to have a program and ticket in my hand. To be milling around a lobby filled with people who are about to see the show! But it is still a preview and work isn’t finished. The audience is now part of our learning, and their response tonight will help us see the production through their fresh eyes.

Throughout Act One the audience response is very quiet. I start to feel a bit unnerved. Are they interested? Is it too serious? Does it make sense? When the lights go up at intermission (to gratifying applause) I decide to eavesdrop in the lobby to see if I can get a sense of what people think. To my great joy people are really talking! Little groups are gathered and are talking about the totem poles and debating if they should have been taken. People are talking about Haida art. I hear phrases like “powerful stuff” and “important ideas.” While taking my seat for Act Two I hear my favourite comment: “It’s just like the Legislature.” I suck in my breath…do they mean it’s boring? Then: “They all want the same thing, but can’t seem to communicate and come together.” I write that down in my notebook as the lights go down.

I think the discussion at intermission has stirred the audience in Act Two. There’s much more response and applause. That said, the second Act really is a culmination of the ideas and journey developed in Act One, so it does seem natural that there’s more release and gratification. Plus, there are some beautiful visual and musical surprises.

In the end, the audience response is a huge relief. The applause is loud there are many cheers. By the time Tom Jackson and John Mann make the stage, the audience has risen to their feet. Feels great. It’s premature to start patting our backs based on the first audience, but it’s still a good sign.

Backstage, everyone’s breathing a lot easier. We learned a lot tonight and there’s a list of things to look at on Monday (including the storm sequence with the missing fabrics). Before everyone goes home for a much-deserved day-off, we raise a glass to Bruce Ruddell. Tonight he finally sat in an audience watching and hearing Beyond Eden. Congratulations my friend!

January 15, 2010

DAY TWENTY-THREE

I arrived in Vancouver today in time for the final dress rehearsal. Walking into the theatre, it’s so great to see everyone again. It does feel a bit like arriving at a party late – there’s been a lot that’s taken place over the past few days and it takes a while for me to fit in and figure out what people are discussing and laughing about. There’s a lot of that giddy laughter that comes from near exhaustion. Nevertheless, people are smiling and working hard.

I’m told there have been some more changes to the script since Tuesday. In fact, most were made this morning after the tech/dress run last night. Some lyrics were cut to a song and some other lines adjusted here and there. Not surprising at all. Some moments play differently than hoped when seen on the set with all of the production elements. I expect the preview performances will bring many more revisions and tweaks.

I also discover we are working without a key visual element. The plastic sheeting we were going use for a storm sequence at the end of Act One doesn’t meet fire & safety restrictions at the Playhouse. Different material has been ordered, but won’t arrive in time for the first preview, so we are carrying on without it for now.


The front curtain designed by Bretta Gerecke with Gwaai Edenshaw.

Watching the dress rehearsal is the first time I see and hear the show in full. WOW! It looks and sounds just fantastic! The music has a whole new depth & dimension with the band and the lighting & projections are simply breathtaking. It’s tough for me to take notes as I’m watching it unfold – it’s all so beautiful.

Tomorrow we will have our first audience. The preview performances will teach us a lot about the show and I’m sure the week ahead will continue to bring long days until opening. As we walk back to the hotel from after midnight, I’m sharing in the laughter and giddiness. It’s great to be back to Beyond Eden.

Photographers and the technical design team gather in the Vancouver
Playhouse Theatre for the dress rehearsal.

January 8, 2010

DAY EIGHTEEN

Two more days of rehearsal left in Calgary. There’s still a lot to accomplish and today’s agenda is a potpourri of final costume fittings, fight rehearsals, choreography and music rehearsals, followed by a full run-through at the end of the day. It’s been a long and exhausting week and it seems a collective awareness that time is growing short is starting to sink in. Everyone’s spirits are high and there’s plenty of positive energy to spare, but I can sense growing urgency in people’s voices. Or perhaps it’s just tiredness. I know I’m feeling both.

Watching the run-through I got a bit choked up in a few places. There are some beautiful, poignant moments that get me every time, and a couple of new ones showed up today. I did hear a few places where I thought the dialogue could use some further tweaking. Without Bruce on hand, I have to bear his intentions in mind, and rely on our many conversations when it comes to making any further changes to the script. At this stage, it’s also important to weigh the impact of making any changes. It can be harder for actors to “unlearn” dialogue at this stage, than to learn anew, particularly with subtle cuts and revisions. After chatting with Dennis, we decide to make a few more edits in hopes they will make some moments easier to play.

There will be more scene work and another run-through tomorrow and then everyone’s off to Vancouver. The time has really flown by in Calgary and our first preview performance will be in one week. The cast starts technical rehearsals at the Playhouse on Tuesday. I arrive Friday, in time for the dress rehearsal. Until then, howa’a everyone.

 

January 6, 2010

DAY SIXTEEN

Today’s rehearsal day ended with an invited rehearsal performance for about 120 people! A few times a year, we host special behind-the-scenes events for members of our Dress Circle. This gives us an opportunity to invite our significant individual and corporate donors to see our creative process, gain insights on our productions and meet our artists. In planning this year’s events, we knew we couldn’t miss an opportunity to share our work on Beyond Eden.  

Guests were treated to a brief photo presentation about our research trip to Haida Gwaii (so hard to select just a few photos out of hundreds!), an informal interview with Tom Jackson and John Mann, and three musical numbers from the production. In a brilliant twist, Dennis introduced one scene performed without the musical number and underscoring, and then repeated it a second time with full music. This really highlighted how integral the music has become in creating the emotional tones of the play.

It was so great to finally share some of our work with an audience. Speaking to people afterwards, it seems we generated a great deal of excitement. Some people mentioned how proud they were that this production is being represented at the Cultural Olympiad. A few said they were going to book even more tickets for their friends and family (let’s hope that’s true!) And finally, one couple told me that they were truly inspired by what they saw, and how important they think this production is to our community. All in all, pretty great feedback.

It’s a shame that Bruce Ruddell wasn’t here to see it. He and Bill Henderson left for Vancouver this afternoon to begin rehearsals with the band tomorrow morning. Over the next few days our design team and members of our production staff will also start making their way to the coast along with the set and costumes. It’ll be busy times in both cities this weekend.

 

January 5, 2010

DAY FIFTEEN

Under normal circumstances, the cast & crew of a production aren’t able to rehearse on the actual set until the final few days of rehearsal. This is especially true when a large production is opening in another city!! However, today was another extraordinary example of how this production has created opportunities to think and work “outside the box.”

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our production staff and the artists in our scenery and costume shops, we were able to spend the entire day working on the full set in our theatre, with many of the costumes – a full week ahead of technical rehearsals! This is no mean feat when you consider the size and complexity of the set, the amount of wardrobe, the recent holidays and the advance days required to ship the whole kit n’ caboodle for set up in Vancouver. Of course, our elaborate production of A Christmas Carol also needed to be struck from the stage, making it a very busy week for our stage crew.  But everyone knew just how valuable this day on the set would be to the production and worked extra hard to make it happen. That’s teamwork!

I walked into the theatre this morning just as they were rehearsing a full-company scene and my jaw dropped. We don’t even have stage lighting yet and it looks so amazing. It’s one thing to work in the rehearsal hall with a healthy imagination, but looking at everything in full-scale gave me a huge burst of adrenaline.

But today wasn’t about sitting around admiring the set and costumes. With only one day at our disposal, there is much to learn about the dimensions and sightlines of the set and plenty of staging to be looked at and finessed. For the acting company, gaining a physical sense of the ramps and how to maneuver over, under and around the set was important. Playing on a flat plane in the hall is completely different from the exertion it will take to move about in performance.

We move back to the rehearsal hall tomorrow having learned so much from today. Again, our huge thanks to everyone who made today happen. To quote Dennis: “When we think outside of the norm like this, I think we are at our strongest.”

 

January 2, 2010

DAY THIRTEEN

Over the past three days there have been lots of exciting new developments. Yesterday we were able to complete the first run-through of the play. It’s all still very rough and the actors did their best to pick up music cues, remember where to move, when to sing and what to say. As expected at this point, there were stumbles and miscues. However, the main purpose of the run was to put all the pieces together for the first time in order to see where it all fits together and where it doesn’t. In order to forge ahead, everyone needs to see the big picture from start to finish.

A big part of the run-through was to hear the complete script and score again. There have been many revisions since we started, and it was getting difficult to keep the entire vision in focus as a whole. It was quite clear watching the run that there are many, many moments in the story that soar. However, there were other moments that, well, stood.

At this stage it’s all cards on the table. There’s little time left for tinkering and if we want to make any big changes to the script or score, now’s the time to do it. The actors and designers need to feel the ground isn’t going to shift too much further beneath their feet!

After a long and fruitful meeting today between Bruce, myself and Dennis, there have now been some rather big changes to the play based on our experience with yesterday’s run. More lines were edited or cut and some lyrics were revised. The most dramatic changes included reversing the placement of two songs in the story, and therefore working them into different scenes completely. Both numbers felt somewhat forced into the moments they were inhabiting before, and after a great brainstorming session, it surprises me we hadn’t considered reversing them before now. Finally, an entire number was cut from the show. I can’t help but feel a bit sad as it had nothing to do with the quality of the song. However, it’s all about the big picture, not the isolated moments, and sometimes sacrifices are made. In this case, the song was not helping to move the story forward with gusto in a scene where momentum seemed in order.

Perhaps it will end up as an “extra track” on the cast recording one day. Or perhaps it will find a home in another Bruce Ruddell musical. Who knows?

Tom Jackson (centre) and the cast in rehearsal. Those are Bill Henderson and Bruce Ruddell's heads in the foreground.

December 30, 2009

DAY TEN

Our ranks have increased as some important people in our artistic team have now joined us. Set and costume designer Bretta Gerecke arrived just before Christmas and is joined this week by our Lighting Design team of Alan Brodie and Kevin Lamotte, and Projection Designer, Jamie Nesbitt. It’s an understatement to say that their work will play a key part in our storytelling and it’s splendid that they are now here to see what we’ve been up to.

Also, we’re fortunate to have Gwaai Edenshaw here with us right now. Gwaai is an accomplished Haida artist and has been a huge help to all of us working on the production. I first met Gwaai when Dennis, Bretta and I travelled to Haida Gwaii last June. Through him, we were able to encounter so many wonderful people and places, and were overjoyed to accept his invitation to witness the final stages in finishing two new totem poles that were raised in Massett that week.

Gwaai is here to assist us with some of the key visual design elements (including providing the designs for two masks that are central to the story). He has also been creating a Haida song to be performed by Tom Jackson. As if that’s not enough, he’s also been providing us with Haida translations for certain parts of the script. This is a huge contribution in itself, especially if you consider that Haida is an endangered language, and there are very few fluent Haida speakers. Fortunately, in Haida Gwaii, there is a strong and growing effort to record and teach the language to younger generations. Gwaai and his brother Jaalen Edenshaw have been providing us with recordings of requested dialogue through a master elder/speaker Stephen Brown. I don’t want to give anything away, but I can’t help but mention how much joy I’ve had listening to recordings of Jaalen and Stephen figuring out how to sing “You Ain’t Nothing But a Hound Dog” in Haida! Just another day’s work on Beyond Eden…

Gwaai Edenshaw working on a canoe paddle design during a rehearsal.

 

Our rehearsal hall is so full that Jamie Nesbitt, Alan Brodie, Kevin Lamotte and Bretta Gerecke hold a design meeting in the hallway.

 

December 29, 2009

DAY NINE

I mentioned in my earlier post that I left rehearsal on Monday feeling pretty hard on myself. To my great happiness, Dennis made time in yesterday’s rehearsal schedule to revisit and discuss the scene revisions that I had tried to introduce earlier to the actors involved. I had a chance to apologize if I seemed insensitive in any way and offer my sincere appreciation for the history and issues being put forth. We were able to have an open discussion about the scene and hear concerns clearly – primarily with regards to our treatment of the tragic history of European contact with the Haida (and other Nations). I felt so much better afterwards thanks in no small part to giant hugs from Tom Jackson and others.

In retrospect, many of the ideas in Beyond Eden touch on very heartfelt and complex issues at the centre of a larger debate about culture, heritage, history and our future. This debate has many sides. It would be short-sighted to think we could avoid bumping into these issues ourselves and that there wouldn’t be debate amongst us.

December 28, 2009

DAY EIGHT

With the holidays behind us, it’s now time to dig in for the long haul over the next few weeks. One of the main priorities this week will be to complete any significant revisions to the script and score. Some finessing may be required further in the process, but it would be ideal if most major changes can be addressed by the end of the week. Everyone knows we are producing a new work, and have embraced the spirit of change and discovery. That said, there are so many connected people and pieces to this puzzle the time has come to start putting firm ground under our feet.

As Production Dramaturg, it’s a big part of my job to assist the playwright and director regarding the script and evolution of the story. I have been working closely with Dennis and Bruce on Beyond Eden for almost two years, and have seen the script undergo quite an evolution in that time.  An incredibly rewarding part of working on this particular show has been immersing myself in Haida history, tradition, arts and culture, and expanding from this, our First Nations cultures in Canada.

The events and ideas at the heart of Beyond Eden are not abstract. While on one hand we are focusing on creating an engaging and theatrical story, we are also shedding light on some very sensitive and important issues. We have a responsibility to deeply consider the way we are presenting them and how they are interpreted.

For this reason, we have been working on the script in a somewhat more collaborative fashion that I’m used to – ensuring the company has an opportunity to express their feelings about the scenes and ideas as we present them. For me personally, this has been both fantastic and challenging. Fantastic because of the discussions we’ve been having and the insights they have offered. Challenging because it’s a new working model for me and, frankly, more time consuming. I let the challenging part get the better of me today and the results weren’t exactly as I had hoped. In an effort to be expedient, I tried to move forward and introduce new revisions to a crucial scene in the play, forgetting in the moment that this particular scene portrays incidents of a painful history. I opened a delicate passage with a few members of the cast and hadn’t prepared myself for their feelings on the matter. In my efforts to contain the discussion until Dennis was on hand, I fear I might have seemed cold, or even worse - insensitive. After explaining these events to Dennis at the end of the day, I left feeling pretty terrible and kicking myself hard. A tough, but excellent lesson. On the upside, I now have a better understanding of how impactful and deeply felt the ideas of the play truly are. I remind myself that creativity is best fueled by passion, not indifference. Clearly we have plenty of passion.

 

December 24, 2009

DAY SEVEN

Has it really been a week already? Time has been flying by and even though it’s Christmas Eve, we have a lot to do today before everyone departs to enjoy the holidays. Nevertheless, we have a shorter rehearsal today – taking to heart the lessons of Mr. Scrooge from our A Christmas Carol!

Today we are finally moving into Act II, and by the end of the day we will have “staged” the majority of the play. I use the quotation marks because the staging is really just a framework at this point. With the exception of a few scenes, the traffic on (and off) the stage will have been mostly worked out. Discovering the potential in the staging and movement has been a big part of the creative process over the past week. Unlike some productions, where a director may have the blocking patterns all worked out in detail beforehand, this process has been about uncovering possibility as we approach each scene. Later, we will go back and reconnect the dots and there will be more attention placed on the finer details. In other words, the broad outlines are being drawn, leaving the finer brush strokes and colours to be filled in after the holidays.

One of the challenges in staging at this point is that Bretta Gerecke’s beautiful set design is much more dynamic than the blank space of our rehearsal hall – picture multiple levels and enourmous cylinders that sit at various angles from floor to ceiling. Thanks to the folks in our scenery shop, we have some small scale versions of these poles in our hall, which is a huge help, but we don’t have the ability to stage in various levels at once. When the entire cast is moving about in our hall it can look quite strange at this point. Fortunately, we have a small-scale model of the set for reference and our imaginations to guide us.

I mentioned in my last installment that we have been trying to maximize every moment to sneak in music rehearsals, choreography and costume fittings around the staging rehearsals. Not surprisingly, there have been a few schedule mix-ups as a result. Working past the scheduled time in one place will upset the whole balance, meaning something is left unfinished for another day and someone is left waiting. Soon all of the elements will come together and this won’t be as tricky. For now we’ve become much more determined to stay on course even, if it means leaving a scene in the middle to pick up at that place tomorrow.

Speaking of which, at the end of the day we will take a three-day break. Many in the cast are dashing to the airport to catch flights home. Before everyone leaves, Dennis tells us to put Beyond Eden away for the holidays and enjoy ourselves. Good idea. After all, it will be full-throttle towards Vancouver when we get back, so a good rest is in order.

Portions of the set are completed and standing alone in our scenery shop.

December 21, 2009

DAY FOUR

One of the challenging, and most exciting, things about rehearsing a new play is that the script is often still in development. In the first few days of any rehearsal process, we ask ourselves questions: What do the characters want? What do they know about each other? What are the main points along their journey? With a new play, these questions can often illuminate places where the script is unclear, or, in some cases, where it is too heavy-handed. As a result, the script continues to change and emerge through rehearsals. This has been the case for the past few days.

It’s been well over a year since Beyond Eden has been approached by actors (as part of our FUSE Play Development Program) and this script has certainly undergone many significant changes in that time. For example, the family of the lead character Lewis (his wife and son) now has a much more active role in the telling of the story than previous drafts. As we work through these changes the actors have been generous and insightful with their observations and, as a result, many revisions are taking place – some are simple tweaks and some are significant changes to entire scenes. With a work of this considerable size and scope, it’s a gift to have such detailed attention paid to developing the words on the page – after all, there’s still a lot of music, movement and staging to learn and create in just a few weeks.

Speaking of which, what a task it is to figure out how to create the rehearsal schedule for each day! In order to fully maximize every hour, we’ve started breaking up into different areas of the building. As we work through scenes in Theatre Calgary’s rehearsal hall with certain actors, other folks are working on choreography or learning music in the Jack Singer rehearsal hall. At times, we’ve even worked through scenes in our boardroom, while choreography and music are being rehearsed in both halls. It’s quite a task to coordinate, but we’ve got a superb Stage Management team who keep us all in check and point us in the right direction, and tell us when we can eat. For anyone who’s never worked with Stage Managers, trust me, the world would run much smoother if they called the shots.

Stage Manager Rick Rinder working out the next day's rehearsal schedule.

 

December 18, 2009

DAY TWO

Communication. Sounds like such a simple thing sometimes. It’s the whole purpose in creating theatre. It’s one of the central ideas in Beyond Eden. It’s what I’m doing now in writing this. And yet, sometimes I think we’re forgetting how to really communicate – to put down our iphones and look each other in the eye and share a thought, a personal story, a genuine moment. But not today. Today I feel inspired by the generosity and warmth of open communication.

This morning began with Dennis inviting everyone to ask questions of each other about the history, culture and traditions that are woven into the fabric of this play. To speak openly about what we don’t understand, both in the play and about the Haida culture. This invitation eventually turned into an opportunity for actors Erika and Raven Ann, who are both Haida, to share their personal stories, followed by other First Nations members of the cast. It then became clear that every person in the room, regardless of their personal background, should share a story about themselves and their relationship to their own culture. What began as a learning exercise about the play turned into one of the most honest, generous and, at times, emotional conversations I’ve ever been part of.

Family. A sense of belonging to the world. Knowing where we come from. Feeling accepted. Feeling hurt. Being oneself. Honoring our history. All common topics when you think about it. But today I realized how rarely we really talk to one another about them. How rarely we actually communicate.

There’s no question that today’s conversation opened our lines of communication amongst each other, allowing us to talk openly and freely as a company. This will be hugely valuable as we work together. I believe it will also help us to create this story and communicate with the audience.

Sometimes I wish we could share our rehearsal process with everyone in the audience – today was a good example. What a dialogue it would have been.

 

December 17, 2009

DAY ONE

Wow. I really can’t believe we’re finally here. It seems fitting that we’re starting rehearsals this close to Christmas, because I don’t think even Santa’s arrival could bring such anticipation. For those of us who have been part of this play’s journey so far, this day has been long in the making, especially for playwright/composer Bruce Ruddell. I can’t wait to see him when I arrive this morning and see the smile on his face.

The first day of rehearsals for any production is always a thrill. But nothing about this show is “usual” and today feels extra special as I look around our rehearsal hall and take in the electricity, the excitement and the SHEER AMOUNT OF PEOPLE. What a fantastic array of talent and diversity. It’s such a joy to see so many new faces here at Theatre Calgary, all with their own truly unique skills and background to bring to the table. I’ll admit that I’m a bit overwhelmed when I think of how lucky we are to have brought this group together to tell this story.

It’s a first day tradition at TC, for every show, to gather everyone – artists and staff – in one big circle to welcome everyone together. This circle is huge! However today’s welcoming is quite different. We are privileged to have Joe Starlight and Jessie Eagle Speaker from the Treaty 7 Nations join us to perform a traditional welcoming ceremony. My eyes were teary as I watched Jessie dance and listened to Joe welcome us to their land and offer their hope that we will all leave with more family than we came with.

Dennis’ welcome to the company is no less inspiring and emotional as he thanks the many hard-working people on our staff, and Board, who have dreamed with us and helped us get this far.  

We’d all love to indulge in these moments a while longer, but we’re here to start working and getting to know one another will have to happen later. There’s a LOT of work ahead and it’s time to get to it. Today we will have a first read/sing through of the play and this afternoon everyone will start learning the music with Bill Henderson and working with choreographer Jacques Lemay to discover the movement of the piece.

As we all sit down to start the reading, I steal a look at Bruce Ruddell. He is smiling like Santa just arrived…

(l to r) Jessie Eagle Speaker and Joe Starlight from the Treaty 7 Nations welcome the Beyond Eden company.