Meeting Mr. Nobody (or, the longest entry ever...)

So today I attended the first really exciting rehearsal. And boy, oh boy was it an exciting day! (AKA- I'm exhausted so be prepared for a long, rambly, and overly detailed entry.)

Woke up at 9:30 am, showered, ate, made lunch, packed my bag, and was out of the house by 10:30 am and on my way to the Central St. Metra. I boarded the train at exactly 10:57 am, ready and excited for my trip to Red Moon Theatre (one of Dog & Pony's several rehearsal locations). The conductor came by to collect money for my ticket and it was then that I realized I had no less, but more importantly, no more, than $4.00 cash... not even enough to pay for the metra ticket and the CTA transfer it would take to get me to Red Moon. After a minor freak out and major phone call to my darling father, my route was changed to include a stop by Oglevie to get some $cash money$ before heading on to Red Moon.

Just then- I received a text message saying "Meet you at Steppenwolf. 2pm. Marta." If my marketing meeting were being held at Steppenwolf, it wouldn't make much sense for the rehearsal to be held somewhere else. I quickly called the assistant stage manager to check up on the facts... she confirmed that, indeed, the rehearsal was at Steppenwolf (and profusely apologized for not having emailed the change to me).

So after a bit of a scare and a small detour, I ended up at the garage space of Steppenwolf Theatre. At the right place, the right time, and some money in my pocket. It was about 11:07 am and the rehearsal was already in progress. They were running an opening sequence with the twins (the main characters of the show).

I was shocked to find that there was a new familiar face in the room. We recognized each other immediately- "You were a cherub!" She exclaimed under her breath. Emily had been a faculty associate (affectionately known as "a fack ass") during Cherubs 2008 (two-thousand great!), my year.

So, yes. Cherubs everywhere. Literally. And it gets better! You'll see...! Emily and I both got back to watching the rehearsal. For those of you who don't know- a theatre rehearsal process is a beautiful thing, often exciting: full of new ideas and discoveries, but also- incredibly tedious. Especially for an onlooker- watching a scene being done 10-15 times in a row can seem a bit excessive. I took to drawing on my hand and sketching notes in my book. I still had yet to feel a real connection to anything about the show. I didn't understand the scene- since it's a devised show and I hadn't seen it or been given a script, it didn't make much sense. I hadn't met most of the actors or production team. So it was more than easy to lose focus.

However, soon a lunch break was called. A woman came marching straight up to me and introduced herself as Casey. Thus was the beginning of a whole plethora of introductions over the next 5 minutes. It seems that she had broken the ice of talking to the random onlooker in the floral skirt. I met Ethan, a boy who'd been sitting with Emily. The two of them are understudying the show. Turns out- Ethan was also a cherub! Really, we're everywhere. It's wonderful. This was the first time I'd really had conversations with the cast.

Break ended and Devon called for the cast to do a run from the top. Now this was very exciting- I was getting to see the play.

Devon has very specific style which I absolutely ADORE. It is so intune with what I like about theatre, what I believe theatre should be, and what I, myself, want to do. One thing she does especially well is involves the audience. This particular play unfolds around the audience- meaning: the audience walks around to different parts of the stage to view different parts of the play. At several times there are multiple scenes going on at once so each audience member must choose what to watch. It not only personalizes the experience, but creates more interest and potentially gives the viewer a reason to come back and see the show again. (These are obviously not the only reasons for doing theatre in this style- just two that I felt I'd point out)

This is not to suggest that the play is free form. Rather, it is strategically crafted to draw the viewer's attention to what is most important for him/her to grasp while also throwing in various details that will add, in some way, to each individual's experience. There are some moments though when the audience needs to be focused on a specific scene or must gather in a certain area. The audience is guided through the show by a character who is at a certain point in the play revealed to be called Mr. Nobody (quite coincidentally the name of my imaginary friend from the time I was 3-7 years old).

The entire show was put together absolutely beautifully. It truly embodies everything I love about devised theatre. It is based on the lives of June and Jennifer Gibbons- also known as the silent twins. They spent most of their lives communicating with only each other. They were also story writers. The play showcases the odd and fairly tragic routine that was their lives as teenagers- being made fun of for not speaking as well as the color of their skin (they were the only black family in the Welsh neighborhood where they moved), struggling with school and relationships with others as well as with each other. These are expressed through both the twins writings (they became authors) and scenes between the girls and others- though the twins say absolutely nothing throughout the show. In which lies the simultaneous beauty and irony of the title "The Twins Would Like to Say."

Since the twins do not talk it's a heavily visual show. I also met with a good friend of mine from cherubs today (as I said- cherub filled day) and we talked about how much more we enjoy theatre that really caters to our eyes as well as our ears; that expresses material and emotion through silence as much as text. Lovveee it.

I sat in on the production meeting after the rehearsal and found not only that I knew the costume designer and sound designer (both from Cherubs, of course), but also that the production team is working on some pretty incredible design stuff. I offered my skills to all of them- just as an extra set of hands/ whatever they need. Hopefully I'll get to be even more involved. I have this dream for them to neeeeeed me.

"oh no! without Sarah this show can't possibly go on!" Ha, a girl can dream? I'm doing my best though. Sorry if you actually took the time to read this incredibly long post- maybe the title intrigued you or you wanted to prove that you could read the "longest entry ever" (congrats, you're almost done!). Whatever your reason- sorry there's no big sha-bang! like finish. Just straight fact.

That Sarah girl is boring... oh well. Tomorrow they're off from rehearsal and therefore so am I!