Building a New World For a New Play: Spotlight On Design

It is often said, and rightfully so, that future careers in the theatre are forged here at WTF, and the alums of the design departments are no exception to this rule. Take, for instance, set designer David Korins and lighting designer Ben Stanton of She Stoops to Conquer and A Doll’s House. Both started out as interns, moved their way up, and now enjoy illustrious careers both at the Festival and beyond.

Gabriel King and Jon Bass in The Comedy of Errors

Theatre artists are still being home-grown here today. Just two short weeks ago, a brand new play debuted as part of the Williamstown Workshop Department (which produces all Directing Intern and Directing Assistant projects). It was written by Jon Bass, a member of the Non-Equity acting corps who you may recognize as Dromio of Ephesus from this year’s Free Theatre production of The Comedy of Errors. Jon’s play, F***book (which was helmed by Directing Assistant Jason McDowell-Green) is the story of six twenty-somethings navigating the world of relationships, Furries, and midday margaritas In New York City, both on- and off-line.

A designer’s work is an exercise in both creativity and practicality. They must understand the piece and come up with effective (and often budget-conscious) ways to bring it to life. Collaborating with the other designers and the director, they must devise the best way to bring what’s on the page to the stage. When a new work is being done, with revisions and different elements added daily, the process provides even more unique challenges. We talked to one of the festival’s talented Scenic Design interns, Benson Knight, who provided the set for F***book. Here, he shares insight into his process as he worked on this brand new work.

How did you design for a script that is still undergoing changes?

Going into a project that is still under construction you have to know that a high level of adaptability is required. New pages are constantly being added and removed and it is your responsibility to keep up. Luckily with this script there were numerous different locations to create and this naturally lends for a scenic design that is very versatile. An alteration in the script or stage direction ended up being as easy as shifting around some chairs to create a new picture and acting movement.

How did you deal with the particular necessities of the play – multiple locations, fun tone, contemporary characters, etc.?

One of the images Benson used as inspiration for the set

The two major acting areas were the guys’ and girls’ apartments. Both of these were much more fleshed out and personal to the characters so we chose these spaces to anchor the set. The various other smaller scenes would dance between these worlds. Responding to the abstract works of Barnett Newman and his severe separation of space with line, we created a network of light bulbs that formed a barrier between these two living spaces. It is underneath this lit network that many of the computer internet scenes took place.

Designing for a comedy also gave me a lot of liberty as to what colors I used, and the palette was bold and bright. The girls’ apartment was the softer of the two and had many earth tones of greens, browns, and charcoal grays. In contrast, the guys’ apartment focused more on saturated primary colors.

Phillipa Soo and JD Taylor on the set of F***book

The set dressing was also crucial in expressing the characters. The symmetrical world of the women was much more based in organic shapes that were seen in the lamps, chair, and ottoman. The mismatched asymmetrical world of the guys was much more based in comfort and practicality. Along with the DVDs and iPod player that filled their world were also hints of their nostalgic past such as a Battleship board game, a solved Rubik’s cube, and a mixed tape that’s somehow still floating around.

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Checking In With the Famiglia of the Fellowship Play

On August 14th and 15th, WTF audiences will have the chance to witness a play as homegrown as they come: Samuel D. Hunter’s When You’re Here directed by Portia Krieger, this year’s Fellowship Play.

The Fellowship projects, like the musical After Robert Hutchens WTF audiences saw last month, are commissions written specifically for our Non-Equity ensemble of 10 early-career actors. During the intensive Fellowship development process, an entirely new piece of theatre goes from an idea to a full production in an astounding 5 weeks.

Members of the When You're Here cast during rehearsal.

At the beginning of the season, Portia and Sam came to Williamstown with only the notion that they wanted to collaborate on a play that explores the increasing anonymity and transience of America- all set within the walls of an Olive Garden franchise. During a weeklong workshop, Sam and Portia met with the company of Non-Equity actors and began to build the community the play depicts from the ground up. By the end of the week, Sam had churned out a draft of the first act. Sam then left the festival to expand the script to its first complete draft. Just days after After Robert Hutchens closed, Sam and Portia were back at WTF to have the cast read through the latest draft of the script, and since then writer, director and actors have been tirelessly working together to bring the world of When You’re Here to life.

With the cast and creative team gearing up for the first every production of this new work, we have asked one of the actors to answer an imaginary Olive Garden job application in character. Here’s a sneak peak at one of the ever-evolving figures that populate the world of Sam Hunter’s When You’re Here:

Harry Ford during the culminating read-through after the initial workshop week.

Harry Ford plays Eddie, the manager of the Pocatello, Idaho Olive Garden where When You’re Here takes place.

Have you been convicted of a felony in the last ten years?
I don't even drink let alone felonize, though I'm not even sure what would count as a felony nowadays. I guess that's a good thing.

What is your favorite Olive Garden dish?
The breadsticks. Hands down.

What previous experience do you have that makes you qualified for this position?
It's in my blood. That's good enough, right? I can handle anything that comes my way with a smile, a firm handshake, and a complimentary dessert of your choice.

What’s your favorite memory of interacting with a customer?
It would have to be a 5 year old's birthday party when I first started working here. Her name was Jackie, and she had probably 10 little friends with her. When it came time to leave, Jackie started crying because she didn't want to leave because she had "made a new friend." Me. She cried all the way out the door. When I got to work the next morning, I found Jackie and her mom waiting in the hostess area. "She wanted to have lunch with her new friend," her mom said. Totally worth coming into work that morning.

Playwright Samuel D. Hunter and Director Portia Krieger look on as their company reads aloud an early draft.

Come out to see When You’re Here, the exciting new work by Samuel D. Hunter directed by Portia Krieger. It runs August 14 and 15 at 7 pm and 11 pm in the Directing Studio. Tickets are free, and the box office will begin taking reservations for the general public on August 11!

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Pour Me a Glass of Cabaret

Of the many amazing events constantly going up here at WTF, the Cabaret series is certainly one of the most memorable. The Cabaret began at the end of the 1972 Williamstown season as Nikos Psacharopoulos’s last-minute answer to replace a cancelled season-concluding musical, and it has been a staple of the Williamstown season ever since. From the ever-impressive Apprentice Chorus to solos showcasing the Non-Equity company’s pipes to guest appearances from the Equity Company, each one offers its own surprises. This week, we raided the WTF archives to bring you some gems from Cabarets of old. Eric Shethar, one of our Literary Interns, also sat down with Kris Kukul, the Festival’s Cabaret Director, and Kevin Hourigan, the Cabaret Intern, to talk about how those enchanted Cabaret evenings come together…

Donna McKechnie, who will return to the Williamstown stage in this season’s concluding Mainstage production TEN CENTS A DANCE.
(1977, Photo Credit Jan A. Wein)

Eric Shethar: Kris, how long have you been working on WTF’s Cabaret?
Kris Kukul: 7 years. My first year here I was hired as the musical director of the fellowship musical, but ended up being a last-minute replacement for the Cabaret Director. I’ve been back ever summer since.
ES: And Kevin, as the Cabaret intern what is your role in the process?
Kevin Hourigan: As Kris’s intern, I schedule rehearsals, assist Kris during them. I also do transcriptions and help with arrangements.
ES: Do you guys have any idea the kinds of instruments and voices you have before you get here?
KH: No. Not at all.
ES: So you literally get here and in the first week figure out what you have to work with?
KH: For the first Cabaret, sometimes things were really changing until the day of. As far the apprentices go, we always use an apprentice chorus, but we don’t know what they’re going to be until we see them.

Myra Taylor, Dwight Schultz, James Naughton, Christopher Reeve, and Stephen Collins in a rousing ensemble number. (1984, Photo Credit Nina Krieger)

KK: I can usually come up with some apprentice numbers before we arrive, but that’s about it.
KH: But we cast musicians from the same Apprentice and Non-Equity pool, so we can’t even work on orchestrations until we get here. And then as far as the solos go, that’s completely dependent on which actors are moving through the Mainstage and Nikos shows at the time. So, we have to wait for them to get here so we can find out what they have up their sleeve or what they’re interested in performing.
ES: And is that the biggest challenge of putting together the Cabaret? Is it that it’s always in flux?
KH: It’s hard because it’s really a week rehearsal process. And it’s funny because for the second and third Cabaret the most work happens in the first half of the week because we have to do all of the orchestrations, make all of the music, and then teach it to everyone so quickly.
KK: That, and coming up with a good opening number.

Steve Lawson, who is now entering his 40th WTF season, in a solo Cabaret moment. Lawson will be directing his own adaptation of SISTER CARRIE as this year’s final Fridays@3 reading.
(1975, Photo Credit C.G.Wolfson)

ES: And so with the Equity Company, you said that you have to wait until they get here to see what they’re interested in. Do you ask them what they’d like to sing, or do you give them options?
KH: Some of them, like the performers who do more musical theater, actually come with a book of music. But for other people, singing is not necessarily their forte, but it’s something that they want to do, and they know it will be fun.
KK: When Maura Tierney (THREE HOTELS) and Jessica Hecht (A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE) approached me about doing a duet, I came up with a shortlist of about five songs for them.
ES: Kris, what is one of your favorite Cabaret memories of years past?
KK: Do I only get one?
ES: For you, I’ll give you three.

A young Christian Slater and Gwyneth Paltrow share a duet years before they became household names.

KK: Greg Hildreth (WTF and Broadway’s BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON, Fridays@3’s HOUSE ON STILTS) singing “Broadway Baby” from Follies in a diaper.
ES: Was that your idea or his idea?
KK: His idea.
ES: Any other gems?
KK: Catherine Brunell (WTF’s ANYTHING GOES), who was in the 2002 Broadway production of THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE singing “Gimme Gimme” from the show, and Brooks Ashmanskas (currently in SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER) berating the sound girl who was moving the microphone while he was emceeing and then kissing her.
ES: As a peace offering?
KK: It was a very complicated relationship.

ES: If you had to sing a song, Kevin, what would be your big Cabaret debut?

Rosemary Harris, Maria Tucci (who wrote and starred in IT'S ONLY A READING as part of this year’s Fridays@3), and Joanne Woodward in one of the annual WTF galas held in New York City.
(1985 credit Bob Marshak)

KH: My big Cabaret debut number would be…this is hard. I don’t know!
ES: You have no idea?
KH: I don’t know. You’ll have to wait for my debut to see!
ES: Kris, your song choice?
KK: Two words: Dolly Parton.
ES: Ok, but what song?
KK: Any of them. Probably her version of “Stairway To Heaven.”
ES: If you could dream-cast and bring anyone to sing any song in the Cabaret, who and what would it be?
KK: Dolly Parton. Singing “Stairway To Heaven.”

And there it is. However generous Kris and Kevin were with their time, neither would give any hints as to this week’s setlist, so you’ll just have to wait until this Thursday through Saturday at 10:30 for the final Cabaret of the 2011 WTF season!

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Fleeting Free Time With Free Theatre PLUS a first look at the Fellowship Musical!

Danielle Thorpe getting her shrew on as Adriana (with Assistant Director Jordan Fein and Johanna watching on the sidelines) before we moved our little show into the Berkshire wilderness.
(Photo Credit: Jon Bass)

Last weekend, we introduced Johanna McKeon, director of this year’s Free Theatre Production of Shakespeare’s THE COMEDY OF ERRORS. Free Theatre is just one of the Williamstown Theatre Festival’s annual offerings, the most notable difference being that it has historically been made for family audiences to come together to, and is (you guessed it) entirely free of charge. After moving inside to the Main Stage for several years, Free Theatre is being brought back outside, which has both its own rewards and challenges for Johanna and the whole production team.

Faced with the beautiful expanse of Poker Flats, the first question became, “What counts as our stage?”
(Photo Credit: Jon Bass)

When I caught up with Johanna the afternoon after the first productive but exhausting night of technical rehearsals (when full costumes, lights, and sound are integrated into a show for the very first time), it was certainly the challenges as opposed to the rewards that were on both our minds. As she threw together a meal with fresh farmer’s market ingredients in preparation for that night’s tech rehearsal, we looked out over the field which was in the midst of being transformed into our stage and chatted about how she's been handling the abundant challenges of helming an outdoor show and her inspiration for the world of this year’s Free Theatre production.

An unwelcome visitor tries to rain on our parade.
Literally.
(Photo Credit: Gaby Hornig)

One of the first things we both responded to after initially re-reading THE COMEDY OF ERRORS, besides its hilariously orchestrated misunderstandings, is the overwhelming fact that, as Johanna put it, “everyone is doing things for money.” The word “gold” is only mentioned more in Shakespeare’s little-performed TIMON OF ATHENS, and the words “Marks” (the currency of the city of Ephesus where the play takes place) and “mart” are spoken in Comedy (his shortest play) more times than in other play in the cannon. With an eye to making the convoluted premise more contemporary, Johanna was immediately drawn to the idea of setting the play in a Farmer’s Market, a modern equivalent of the “mart” of Shakespeare’s time where a rising merchant class lived solely to buy and sell things.

Apprentice Molly McAdoo (one of the Ephesian market vendors who also contributes to the show’s live score) knows that nothing makes tech go smoothly like a little uke.
(Photo Credit: Nicola Martin)

This setting in mind, the cast took a field trip to the local Williamstown market on Spring Street to help the actor’s get into character. Many of the apprentices and Non-Equity company members in the cast had never been to a Farmer’s Market, and so meeting the people who work their own land for a living became a vital step in the process of bridging the world of Shakespeare’s play and our own.

Free Theatre first rehearses inside one of WTF’s rehearsal space, and only a week before they begin technical rehearsals do they move out into the field. When the cast moved from indoors to Poker Flats for the first time, Johanna realized how important the apprentices she had cast as market vendors now were not only to set the scene, but to focus the action of the play. No stranger to outdoor Shakespeare, having directed MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING and CYMBELINE on Martha’s Vineyard, Johanna very clearly understood that,“outside if you’re not clear, other things,” such as encroaching stormy weather or maybe even a cameo from a woodland creature, “will be more entertaining.” She discovered that the Ephesian market vendors, as well as having distinct personas, had to be united as a kind of Chorus (not the singing-and-dancing kind you may see on the Main Stage, but here a group acting cohesively as one, sometimes commenting on the action) to react in unison to certain pivotal events; “Choruses are really helpful outdoors- I guess the Greeks knew that too!”

When the Farmer’s Markets have been adorned with lights, and Mike Wieser (who plays the jeweler Angelo) has been adorned with a fanny pack, you know it’s show time.
(Photo Credit: Jon Bass)

In a gesture to the kind of grassroots community event that Free Theatre has always been, Johanna has invited vendors from the Spring Street market to join us on the Poker Flats field to both further set the scene, but also provide our audience with some homegrown treats during the show. Having discovered her passion for local markets while living in Germany, Johanna noted how the very contemporary Farmer’s Market vogue is in fact a tradition with an incredibly long history. We hope our production has the similar effect of allowing our audience to experience a work with as long a history as THE COMEDY OF ERRORS anew, as if for the first time.

The only thing shining brighter than our actors is…our lights. And boy, do they shine.
(Photo Credit: Danielle Thorpe)

WTF’s Free Theatre Production of THE COMEDY OF ERRORS plays at the Poker Flats field tonight through this Saturday, the 16th, and next Tuesday the 19th through Friday the 22nd, at 7:00pm, weather permitting. Check our Free Theatre Guide for a more detailed daily forecast.

Williamstown’s own Farmer's Market, located right off of Spring Street, runs every Saturday from 8:00am-12:30pm through October.

-Eric Shethar
Production Dramaturg
Literary Intern



In other fun things going on at the Festival, have you ever wondered what its like to write a musical in just eight weeks? That's what happens every summer during the Fellowship Musical Project. This year, Nick Blaemire (Book, Music & Lyrics), Sheryl Kaller (Bill Foeller Directing Fellow), Jesse Vargas (Musical Director) and a cast made up of our wonderful non-equity company have worked together to write AFTER ROBERT HUTCHENS. Hear them talk about how they wrote the show, and get the first look at rehearsal footage!



AFTER ROBERT HUTCHENS plays at the Directing Studio in the '62 Center on July 18 & 19 at 7PM and 11PM. Call the Box Office at (413) 597-3400 to reserve your seat!

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Inside Camp WTF

Dear Sorely-Missed Theater Enthusiast Bestie,

It has been said that Williamstown Theatre Festival is a bit like camp. This place is Minnehaha with more arts, just as many crafts, and a boatload of talented individuals doing some great work. I'm writing to you today so you can get the scoop on what's happening here.

Bright and early this morning, Amy Herzog was pranayama-breathing her way through leading a yoga class for company members. Amy, you may remember, presented her play After the Revolution on the Nikos last season. She just found out her new play 4000 Miles (playing at Lincoln Center's LCT3 through July 9) will transfer to the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater in the spring of 2012. Exciting news to stretch to.

In somewhat related/mostly unrelated news, I'm happy to report that the spirit of Tennessee Williams is alive and well. Jessica Hecht, who is playing Blanche in David Cromer's acclaimed and gorgeous production of A Streetcar Named Desire on the Nikos, is teaching a workshop. She's having the Apprentices read Streetcar and do some in-depth text analysis.

You would be so excited about some of the awesome new work happening here. The Fellowship Musical is in development right now. Nick Blaemire, an actor who was here last year in The Last Goodbye, is work-shopping After Robert Hutchens, his new piece commissioned by Broadway Across America, with the Non-Equity Company of early-career actors. These 10 young stars are running around town right now, filming segments that will eventually be part of the show.

Meanwhile, the Literary Department (I know you're obsessed with my every move, so I'm including some of my own exhilarating activities) is hurriedly getting ready for Fridays@3. It's a set of readings we do every Friday, with fantastic new plays from some of today's hottest emerging writers. The series kicks off next week on July 8 with a reading of House on Stilts by Sarah Hammond. You'll love it. It's a new work with an old soul from a writer I can't wait to see more of. Try to come out. It's only a $5 suggested donation. I know how you love intellectually stimulating (and affordable!) thrills.

Three Hotels just opened on the main stage! It's beautiful. Last night was the opening night gala, and in true fabulous/casual Williamstown style, there were celebs, champagne, and an ice cream truck. Today, I saw the playwright, Jon Robin Baitz, walking his dog through the quad while some of the Non-Equity actors were playing Frisbee. Where else does this happen? Nowhere! And last night, I spied Lewis Black at the Purple Pub for $5 burger night. It's so amazing to see company members all over this town.

Late night activities are abundant here at the Festival. This morning (by that I mean 12:30 AM), I saw the first of three evenings of 10-minute plays directed by the phenomenal Directing Interns. This round featured gems from some of my favorite new playwrights, like Two Hundred Feet and Counting by Marco Ramirez and Leviticus by Bekah Brunstetter. Last year, Bekah was the writer of the Fellowship Play and developed House of Home, a piece she calls "Our Town meets Krispy Kreme meets my brain." She's neat. Read some of her stuff.

This place seriously never sleeps. Apprentices are rehearsing at midnight. There's lawn games and light calls at 8 AM. It's 24/7 to keep all the projects in the air, and it's so worth it. This is a place where creation is on the daily agenda for everyone. Come visit! Or just keep reading our blog posts to stay up to date on all the inside info.

Love,

Anne

Literary Intern

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Hello from the Literary Department!

In its 57 years of existence, Williamstown Theatre Festival has developed an outstanding artistic legacy of supporting extremely gifted playwrights. This fabulous season is no exception to the rule. We in the Literary Department here at the Festival are excited to be a small but mighty force that helps to support both these playwrights and their work.

Throughout the season, we’ll be giving shout-outs and interviews to playwrights we love here at the Festival, and you’ll be getting a sneak peek at what they’re up to now since they last spent time with us. We’ll also be giving you an inside look at the processes behind programs like Fridays@3, the Workshop’s Fellowship and directing projects, and our Nikos Stage productions. You will discover some interesting tidbits about the incredible artistic energy that WTF exudes every summer. We’ll be searching for answers to such burning questions as: What are some great new plays to see and new writers to follow? What’s happening with that brilliant play from a previous season? What fantastic new heights has the playwright’s work reached? Do they brush their teeth up and down or side to side?

Stay tuned for more from the literary department and your favorite playwrights. Feel free to leave us comments about those writers and plays you can’t stop thinking about. They may even end up in one of our posts!

Pictured (nerdy and fabulous) from left to right: Eric Shethar (Literary Intern), Anne Joy (Literary Intern), Stephen Sanders (Literary Associate), Rachel Lerner-Ley (Literary Assistant)

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