Rehearsal has begun! Auditions, two days of waiting for callbacks, the official cast and crew list, a quick read through, one informative production meeting, a long winter break, and finally the show is standing up again.
The casting process was a unique one, one I'd never experienced before. Callbacks were completely dependent upon how you worked with another person in any given scene. A certain percentage of personal talent was disregarded and replaced by the need for chemistry. Going into a show made of vignettes about relationships, I don't know why this surprised me at first. Of course the casting was going to be mainly about chemistry. During callbacks, in a way, you knew who everyone would be cast with as we saw more and more cold readings - each taking a new turn judging on who was reading with whom. At the same time, some decisions were unexpected, and I'm intrigued to see how they play out as we go further into the rehearsal process.
This year, the position of Publicity Production Head was introduced, and thus you have me, reporting through the week with inside stories and backstage information to let you see into the process of Story Theater Company's teen shows.
We have Kivan Kirk, our talented director. Hannah Rublaitus, our dedicated producer. Mat Wymore and Megan Hensen, stepping in as our two technical directors.
And the teens: Zoey Lazere, in charge of set. Allyson Goodman, taking over properties. Elizabeth Coleman and Ali Sandler splitting the head position for costumes. Jayna Wanamaker, leading dramaturgy. Maria Werner-Anderson, the stage manager. And myself, Mabel McIntosh, handling publicity.
If you're unfamiliar with how the STC teen shows normally go, let me tell you: it's a really unique experience. The entire cast is divided into production teams, falling under the authority of one of the team leaders listed above. Through the entirety of the show, the team leaders imagine everything stage wise, and (on Saturdays - our work days) the cast helps them carry out their ideas and bring everything into existence in our workshop. Meanwhile, during week rehearsals, the cast focuses on the script and their roles and scenes.
By the end of February, after two months of working, not only will we as a cast be ready for five performances, but we'll be able to stand proudly on the stage and claim responsibility for every chair, cup, scarf, door, shoe, painting, backdrop, t-shirt, suitcase - literally everything seen on the stage.
So having said that, I think this particular show is going to be a challenge for all of us. From what I picked up on in our first production meeting, each team has its own foreseen roadblocks. None impossible (though Props needs to figure out a way to make it snow on stage. That should be interesting...), but not so easy as to be put off until the last few weeks of February.
And not only are there technical challenges for the production team leaders, but also for the actors. For a show about romance put on by teenagers (some of us young teenagers), there are definitely a lot of things in the script that many of us haven't experienced personally. There are certain emotional pulls and jerks that are hard to imagine. Lendall, for example, proposing to Gayle. Personally, I don't know what it feels like to accept a marriage proposal, and (I mean, I'm just assuming that) Elizabeth Cowley doesn't either. My own scene, Marci and Phil, coming to a point in their marriage where divorce is a very pliable possibility.
Emotional pulls and jerks. In every scene. Technical challenges. In every scene. I'm excited for every single one of them.
And I'm here to get you excited for them, too.
Mabel McIntosh
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