March 3rd

Hi! How are you? My name is Maria, and I’ve been stage manager for all three Story Theater teen shows so far. If you don’t know what I do or what it’s like to go through the process of putting together a show from my point of view, you’re in luck!

The basic duties of a stage manager are to run production meetings, record the actors’ blocking, and make sure rehearsals and the production schedule run on time. Most importantly though, stage managers are the link between the production teams and the director and actors. The name “stage manager” is a pretty good description in and of itself, because most of the job is literally managing the stage - helping the director figure out where he/she wants the actors to do and then where the different set pieces and props should be placed. After that, there needs to be communication with the props and set department either during or outside of production meetings so they know what the director wants.

Although all of that still proves true for the teen shows, it’s a little bit different. In most shows, the actors have no clue what is going on in production meetings. They don’t know what the set is going to look like until tech week, and the same goes for what props they will be using or what costumes they will wear. Likewise, the production teams also don’t know what the show looks like until tech week. But with the teen shows at Story Theater Company, the actors form the production teams; they are part of the process of building the set, finding props, and putting costumes together. We also have a dramaturgy department, which researches the background of the show and specific details of it so that the actors can have a deeper understanding of where the show came from, helping them to become more invested in it themselves. As stage manager, I get to witness this every year. I get to watch everyone’s excitement when they discover something new about the script or finish a big set piece or find that really elusive prop or costume piece. During tech week, I, along with the rest of the cast and team, get to see the whole production come together. And that’s only half of why I love my role.

This play is set up very interestingly. It is comprised of eight vignettes along with a prologue, interlogue, and epilogue, and each scene only has two main characters. This means that the actors are only interacting with one other person on a regular basis, therefore the communal aspect of theatre was absent. In order to rectify that, we brought everyone together in transitions. Between vignettes, the actors create a community that gives the audience a snapshot of the everyday life of the people in Almost.

But what about during rehearsal? As stage manager, I attend every rehearsal, and in that time I witness all the blocking and tactic changes as well as all the discoveries that the actors go through with Kivan. This year was especially interesting though, because Kivan began with having the actors split their scenes into sections based on the ideas and actions. Then, the actors would just improvise their scenes in order to learn the emotions and become comfortable with being honest and vulnerable. Only after they mastered that would they start to use their scripts, combining the honesty with the correct words. In the end, they would hopefully feel like the only words they want to use are those from the script.

I also send out a lot of emails, but that is almost irrelevant. To me, the most important part of what I do is making sure everything runs smoothly and that everyone has everything they need to do well. I love being able to work with such creative, expressive people, and the most rewarding part is getting to watch all of our hard work pay off during performances.

Maria Werner Anderson

Stage Manager

Let's Be Honest

Working on Almost, Maine has been such an amazing and different experience. I have never participated in anything like it before. With this being my first teen play, I’ve had almost nothing but new experiences in this production.

Because it’s a show made almost entirely by teens, we get little direction. Yes, adults are there to help with anything we need and to “polish” things up a bit, but, we definitely have more freedom in how we want to play our character and how we want the scene to look. In a way, this can make our scenes more honest. If we truly put ourselves in the place of that character, and ask ourselves, “What would they do?” it helps us to make our scenes so much better.

In my scene, The Story of Hope, it’s been extremely difficult to stay completely honest throughout the whole scene. Because my character has so much to say, it’s hard not to rush through it. Through this whole process, Kivan has really helped me become more and more honest with every line and to really search and discover everything that I say.

I’ve learned, more in this show than any other, that your lines can’t just be yourself reading them. It must be your character that reads them. Don’t get in the mindset of, “How would I say this in this situation?” think more, “How would my character say this in this situation?” “What’s going through this character’s mind?”

Being completely honest is such a huge part of this show because these are all normal people, with (mostly) relatable problems. These aren’t silly characters with crazy situations that would most likely never happen in real life.

Though I have so much more to learn and so much more room to improve on my honesty in acting, I’ve improved so much with being honest during Almost, Maine.

Morgan Reetz

Hope

Transition Time!

Not only is it important to be be actively engaged in scene, but while out of scene too. It’s very important to know when you’re involved in a scene change or a task offstage; other cast members are counting on you. This became very important when STC started tackling the transitions between vignettes this past Thursday.

Usually, there are transitions in a play for the sole purpose of getting props and set pieces on and off stage expeditiously in order to move on to the next scene. The unique thing about Almost, Maine is that we didn’t necessarily create the transitions in the hope of being expeditious. We decided to create the community of Almost, Maine by using the transitions effectively to shown character interactions. This was a really cool idea, but we had to remain with the idea that these transitions were not supposed to be “precious”. There’s a very good line in the director’s concept statement for Almost, Maine: “Our production will attempt to shuck the preciousness from the scenes, allowing these scenes to operate as the mirrors they are, accurately displaying the ambivalence that springs from the pursuit of love.” We can’t use transitions as an excuse to not follow the pursuit of love. Most scenes end in a spot of tension or questioning. We don’t know what’s about to happen, so the transitions should hopefully continue those feelings.

The first transition was from the prologue into the Her Heart. It had already been roughly planned out and shown to the rest of the cast a few rehearsals earlier. I hadn’t been in attendance the first night the transition was blocked so I was given the privilege to watch as Kivan worked out some kinks with the cast. I learned here, or a least I now believe that it’s just as important to sit back, take it all the information in, and process the images on stage as it would to get up and do it. My perspective was completely changed. I watched Kivan make only slight changes, but with considerate enhancements to the transition. This may have been the way two people acknowledged one another, or how one took another’s hand, or if recognition of a face created this facial expression or a different one. Once it was done right, you could almost hear the magical “click” as the pieces slid into place, it was very satisfying. After the transition was running smoothly, it was time for my character to be added.

First, Kivan asked me to walk with Rhonda as she entered, and I felt like it probably could have worked, but something just didn’t feel right. We tried it once or twice, but then Kivan asked me to enter with Gayle instead. Gayle and I know each other in Almost, I’ve given her love advice before, so it only seemed fit if we were talking together. Gayle then has an interaction with Lendall where then, we exit. The next of the transitions went according to plan and we finished 4 more transitions.

The growth of a scene, transition, or play as a whole is really important if it can be looked from different perspectives.  Sometimes on stage, we may think what we’re doing is really clear but to the audience it may not. So having feedback for things like that is crucial. I’m glad I got to see both sides of it on Thursday. We’ve now got all but two transitions blocked and I’m so excited to see how the last two transitions go!

Jayna Wanamaker

Marvalyn / Head of Dramaturgy

The Story Behind 'The Story Of Hope'

This week we worked on the Story Of Hope. I think this scene, done right, can make everybody's heart drop as does mine every time we practice it. I think that there are a few main things that make this scene very sentimental and beautiful.

The “thing” is that the situations of these characters are not fun for either of them, and bring back painful memories. This scene can take your breath away. I personally love the scene, but am finding it difficult to act in it.

Working with Morgan has been amazing. She comes into every scene already in a full emotional state every time. She speaks so much, yet she still keeps every line honest. If I were reading that many lines, I would find myself without any expression. Even when I don’t speak in our scene, I am struggling to find the honesty that she brings to the table.

A big part for our scene, too, is listening. Most of our scene is spent listening to one another, and throughout the whole process of listening to everything, the character’s emotion changes over and over and over.

But Morgan and I get along very and well and Kivan has helped us come as far as we have. I am very excited for this scene.

Travis Cooper

Dave

Transitions

“On Thursday’s rehearsal we worked on building the transitions between the different vignettes. Connecting the different scenes without making the play feel disjointed as a whole seemed like a daunting task, and I definitely had my doubts about our plan. After figuring out the first two, though, I understood where Kivan was coming from and how these would work. Instead of just bringing on the next set pieces, the transitions embody the community of Almost; though each transition is different, the atmosphere of the town is maintained between each individual scene.”  - Lena Menefee-Cook

“This week we worked on transitions. We discussed and tried many different ways to get all (or most) of the characters on stage to give the feeling of a hustling small town. I enjoyed working our characters and their stories into the transitions. Even if crossing the stage silently, we can show a lot about our characters and the town.” - Ben Teske

“Working on transitions helped build the community of Almost. It helped us realize the relationships between everyone in Almost, and not just those in a scene together.” - Anna Suski

“Not only is it important to be be actively engaged in scene, but while out of scene, too. We worked four transitions this Thursday. The first one, which had already been roughly planned out and shown to the rest of the cast a few rehearsals earlier, came to life as I watched from the sidelines, having not been in attendance at that previous rehearsal. I learned here, or a least I now believe, that it’s just as important to sit back, take it all in and process the images on stage as it is to get up and do it. I watched Kivan make only slight changes, but with considerate enhancements to the transition. This may have been the way two people acknowledged one another, or how one took another’s hand, or if recognition of a face created this facial expression or a different one, but once it was done right, you could almost hear the magical “click” as the pieces slid into place. I was given the privilege of watching these “clicks” start popping up more and more as small adjustments were made. It may seem weird, but I was almost sad to stop watching, and start physically engaging in the scene. I’ve learned both ways, though, are very important for the growth of a scene, transition, or play as a whole. I’m glad I got to see both sides of it on Thursday.” - Jayna Wanamaker

New Year, New Play

I can’t say having been apart of the previous teen shows has given me a sense of comfort, because when I walked into our first production meeting for Almost, Maine, I was just as nervous as I as for the first meeting of David & Lisa; the only difference now is that I have my own architects ruler. Every production is different, and while I now know how to use an impact driver / screw gun, I couldn’t go into it thinking I knew everything just because I had been involved in the last two shows and had taken a beginning theatre course at ISU. I’ve designed the past two shows, David & Lisa and Much Ado About Nothing, and each time is something new and different. My experience with Almost, Maine has been especially unique due to the style of the play, the theatre space, and the new leaders.

This production comes with a distinct set of challenges based mainly on how it’s written. The vignette form has been something new for me. It’s interesting as well as painstaking. The goal of the set for Almost, Maine is to portray the many different places of the town while still making the scenes feel connected, since they’re set at the exact same time. For the last two productions, I’ve never really had to deal with set changes and set pieces being taken on and off a lot. The idea of creating many sets was exciting but also a little daunting. However, this year I’m not the only set designer that comes into production meetings. Clove Woodworth is my Assistant Set Designer. So, along with working on the play, I have someone to more closely collaborate with and delegate harder tasks to. It’s been a bit of a learning curve for me to change some of my focus sometimes and make sure I’m keeping her fully informed as well as demonstrating what I do, designing on a closer level. Sometimes I forget that she can’t instantly read my brain and I need to remember to inform her of my plans and if anything changes. It’s a new kind of communication that has been a great experience.

Zoey Lazere

Story Theater Company has a new location on South Dayton Avenue to add onto the new and exciting happenings this year. For Almost, Maine, this is the place we’re holding rehearsals, building sets, and where the show will be performed. It’s been both helpful and a hindrance. On one side, it’s helpful because if I need to take measurements for the performing area I can just run over. We can easily move our set pieces through the garage doors without having to load them in a truck and if something needs to be repainted, I can get it done right away. However, the other side of that is since we will have more people than ever in this space during the performances, Story Theater Company is building a lobby inside the workshop. For the set crew especially, it means we can’t leave what we’re working on out and it leaves us with little space. Luckily, since the production of A Slice Of Reggie happened a few weeks prior to the start of Almost, Maine, we were able to reuse the makeshift platform stage, one of the largest things we’d have had to build otherwise. However, it’s been an adjustment that we’ve had to work around.

To add on even more change this year, we have two new Technical Directors and a new Production Manager. It was refreshing as well as a little weird to introduce myself again in a space that had become so familiar. I had gotten accustomed to working with people who were already aware of my general skill set and I wasn’t quite sure how much the new faces knew about my previous involvement. My responsibilities have shifted a bit because of this as well. Since I had learned some of the basics the years before, such as ground plans, renderings, and budgeting, they trusted me to do those jobs again without having to watch over my shoulder. I was just getting comfortable with it last year so this was something I had to work hard on. I starting to get into the swing of things last year and at the start of this year it seemed like more responsibility was coming my way. I want to take that responsibility, though, and use my previous experience to create this production and guide my set team, and Clove, to really show them how set design works.

Lena Menefee-Cook, Zoey Lazere, Kivan Kirk (Director)

I’m happy to be back and working with a new set team, a new assistant, and in a new space. Each production gives me different insights and teaches me how to deal with the different twists and turns that happen during shows.

Zoey Lazere

Set Designer/Builder

Three Block(ing)s

This week I had the first real blocking rehearsal with both Ali in Her Heart and Lena in Seeing the Thing. In Her Heart, Kivan was happy to see how we wanted to move, at first, and then gave us more specific direction later. We got rather specific and began using the space in unique ways. Because we're not performing in a normal proscenium theater, we can use the space more realistically. With an audience in front of you and only in front of you, actors have to worry about always facing them (not showing their backsides). It creates a degree of artifice that isn't conducive to good performances. You have to play to the crowd. On the other hand, with an audience on two sides, we're playing to the corner, yes, but more than that, we're playing to each other. We have the freedom to emphasize one character over another in any given moment and blocking becomes much more organic, as we interact with one another without worrying so much how it looks from one singular perspective. Ultimately, this will mean that each seat will get a little different view of the action and that's okay. Every side is interesting, in my opinion, and tells a slightly different story.

We also set some rules for ourselves. Glory, Ali's character, for example, would go downstage (towards the audience and the northern lights) when she felt more connected to her deceased husband, and upstage (towards the back wall and me) when felt more connected to East, my character. This created a unique dynamic for the scene and one that gave clear reasons for moving.

Blocking for Seeing the Thing was an unexpected consequence of the weather (I was meant to rehearse with Travis in They Fell that evening) but ended up being very productive. Kivan wasn't as prepared as he had been for Seeing the Thing but we were productive nonetheless. I guess the biggest thing that emerged for me in blocking with some idea of the ground plan, was the impact that levels can have. When Lena's character of Rhonda would be up on a platform higher than me, it drove home what a monumental task giving his gift is for Dave, my character. It made it far more daunting and her a bit more intimidating. Having to physically climb to say what I needed to say was quite effective at making the impediments to Dave's goal very clear. It was like a more physical version of psychological gestures (a technique for making lines clearer where in you deliver the lines with a physical gesture in mind. For example, an angry line can be delivered with a push). I guess that's what blocking is supposed to be; an extension of the pursuit of an objective and an outgrowth of the circumstances of these characters.

Overall, it has been an excellent first few blocking rehearsals.

Ben Sulzberger

East/Chad/Dave

A Word From Someone New

I have enjoyed my time at Story Theater Company. Me being new to this program, I am not use to such a close relationship with my peers.   Being in Costumes is a personal joy. I have an opportunity to work with everyone, allowing for a much more personal relationship with my cast. Our director, Kivan Kirk, has taught us in a way that allows us to figure out how to act by ourselves. It truly allows us to find an inner peace within ourselves. We really get to know ourselves.

I have met a lot of new friends and I am learning to work and communicate with my fellow workers. I am especially close to my scene partner, Elizabeth Cowley. We have been friends for a while and it was luck that got us in the same scene. We have been able to work on scenes in study hall as well as in our acting and tech classes. I know that after this production we will still be close friends, but the best part about this production is that I know I will be friends with all of my cast mates.

I have been acting for only two years now and I know that this has been the best acting experience of my acting career. All other productions I have done have been done through the school. When I worked with my school there was a cast of 70 people. Half of them I didn't know and the others I was not in a scene with. Here at Story Theater Company I truly feel like I have built a strong relationship with all of my cast mates. I also have been able to form a great relationship with my directors. In school plays I only was able to talk with my director if I did something wrong. Here I know I am truly getting the full focus of how I can improve.

I look forward to doing more Story Theater Company productions in the future. I can not wait to build even more relationship with more cast members and strengthen the already existing ones from this production. The better part of this is with each new production there are new scenarios to figure out. This experience has been one of the best. I can not wait to see how much further I get into the world of acting.

Drew Wilson

Lendall

Stepping Back

So far, participating in Almost, Maine has been very fascinating. It has been different in many ways from other shows I have acted in in the past. I think that stepping away from the script and getting to know the play as a whole and learning more about its themes and concepts before we started working on the individual scenes has been really beneficial in many ways. For me, it has helped a lot with stepping back and looking at the whole thing instead of just focusing on what I say and what I do. It really helped when we just sat down and talked about love. From the beginning, love had always been scary. It is confusing. And it generally isn’t something I often have conversations about. It was helpful to hear others’ experiences and stories.

Another thing we have worked on so far in the rehearsal process is looking at many different possibilities, and being open to trying new things. While blocking This Hurts, Kivan showed us a few different ways Jayna and I could do something, and then we decided which one we thought fit best.

Also, I’ve noticed that whenever I come in for a rehearsal or workday, everyone else seems very excited to be there, and that helps keep a positive, enjoyable environment and it definitely makes for a good, productive time.

Overall, working on this show has taught me a lot so far, and I’m excited to see what other great experiences it will bring our way.

Anna Suski

Steve

Confessions of a Teenage Drama Leader

What’s it like to be the leader of a team that’s all the same age as you? How does that change how things have to be handled? How will I use my position as a way to better improve those around me and myself? These are some of the questions that I constantly thought about when I started my position as Props Head. Keeping these concerns in mind, I was able to form solutions for what kind of leader I wanted to be throughout the entire process.

My team doesn’t sit in on production meetings with me, therefore they don’t get the chance to talk about the decisions behind each prop, the connection to the director's concept, and the whole production aspect that underlies everything. While I discuss ideas with just the production heads and directors, and this has allowed for freedom in expression of ideas, my team is sometimes at a loss about what is happening when they arrive early Saturday mornings. Part of my job is to fill in those gaps and give them just enough insight so that they can help me make decisions and carry out the image we want for Almost, Maine. While it can be hard to always take the time to properly explain the thought processes that went into choosing a specific prop, I think it’s important to key every member of the group in.

I can be very much a perfectionist, particularly if I know what I’m doing. It’s easy to know what tasks have to get done, what they need to look like, and when and how it’s all going to be completed. However, while knowing my job to the fullest extent is extremely important, it doesn’t help anybody else out if I keep them in the dark about everything we do as a team. I’m finding it’s a better experience for everyone if I keep them as informed as I can as we’re heading out for a shopping trip, or starting to sew 11 (yikes) bags of love. They should know why we need this and how it will contribute to the overall production.

I’ve been on the props team as just a member for two years, and through observing my leaders at the time, I built up some basic knowledge on how the job should be done and things to avoid. Therefore, my intent is that hopefully the members on my team will have a new found sparked interest in props and they can use that in further projects. Ultimately, learning and building on experience is what I hope to gain, not just for myself, but for each individual member of the team.

One of the biggest challenges that I’ve faced so far is the obstacle of everyone on my team, along with other designers that you have to correspond with, being relatively the same age as me. While this may increase the level of comfort when working together, sometimes that comfort can overlap and blur the line of authority that is supposed to be held at all times to create a productive work space. It’s very easy to shift into an attitude that centers around a main goal of making new friends, or continuing friendships (especially as a teenager).

Sure, it’s important to connect with your team, but it has to be done so in such a way that they still view you as someone who is in charge and to be respected. Acting too much like a friend can result in work not being done on time and workshop days being flooded by the mindset of “we’re here just to hang out.” There has to be trust in every relationship; however, when the line between leader and friend is crossed, things can easily become complicated. It often creates the thinking of “oh they’ll understand, I can turn this assignment in late because they’re my friend.” Once that line is crossed, it can be extremely difficult to backtrack and gain back that level of jurisdiction. While the easy route is to act like a friend during work days, this results in an unmotivated environment.

Overall, being in charge is an experience that wouldn’t be possible without actually having the chance to make decisions and figure out the best ways to deal with all kinds of situations. The knowledge that I’m building up now will better prepare me for the future, especially with the trial and error process that will eventually help me to understand effective leadership.

Allyson Goodman

Props Team Leader

The First Month of Almost, Maine

The creation of our production of Almost, Maine so far has been one of the most interesting theatrical processes I’ve experienced. A huge part of Almost, Maine is communication--in the script, in production work days, and in rehearsal.

The script of Almost, Maine explores the ability (and often inability) of the people in Almost to communicate with one another. One of my favorite exercises we did early in rehearsals dealt with the difficulty of communication, especially in emotionally challenging situations. In this exercise, Mabel and I stood next to a white board, dry-erase markers at the ready, surrounded by the cast. Kivan told everyone to call out everything they could think of related to love. The board quickly filled up with words like happy, friendship, difficult, partnership, butterflies, love, kissing, cuddling, sharing, awkward, hard, etc. Eventually Kivan stopped us. He said, “Good job, guys.” Then he eerily chuckled. He told us all to scoot back and become the audience as he brought a chair forward, placed Ryan in it, and then told Ben S. he had to tell Ryan he loved him without using any of the words written on the board. If he said any of the words written, he would have to start over. Ben, Elizabeth, and I each had to do this. The audience collectively became very anxious as the confessor struggled to communicate to their partner; we all wanted them to do well and be able to say what they needed to say, but there was always the worry that they would grab onto a word they could not use and lose it all. Being on the inside was even more stressful. I felt like I was grappling; I was searching for words that weren’t there but there was the constant need to express, without the ability to do so. When I originally began, “difficult” was one of the first words I said, so I immediately had to go back and start again. This exercise gave me a clearer understanding of an issue these characters are constantly dealing with, and the constricting feeling that comes with not being able to communicate.

As both actors and members of the production teams, we are able to be involved in all different sides of the production and interact with multiple leaders. In addition to Kivan (our director), there is Maria (the stage manager), Mat and Megan (the technical directors), Hannah (the producer), Zoey (set designer and set team leader), Clove (assistant set team leader), Elizabeth and Ali (costume designers/team leaders), Allyson (prop designer/team leader), and Jayna, Ryan, and Zander (dramaturgy). During the first couple work days, Zoey explained her design to us and asked for some input on ideas for painting and arrangement. We discussed the different scenes of the play, where they take place, what set pieces might be required, and how we could communicate the time and atmosphere of the scene through the set. Mat, Megan, and Kivan would all occasionally come through, join the discussion, ask questions, and offer their input. When we began to look for platforms and flats, Zoey told us the plan and then delegated tasks to us as we found and needed to adjust them. The dramaturgy has shown us a few presentation on their findings so far, including a powerpoint about the Northern lights and a scene-connection map. It’s awesome to see all the different parts of the production come together from the inside and be able to actually aid in creating the physical world of the play as a production member in addition to living in the world as an actor.

In rehearsals, communication is an entirely different story. In my rehearsal with Ben S. for Seeing the Thing and in the rehearsal I watched with Ben Teske and Mabel for Where it Went, the first thing Kivan had us do was play games.  For Seeing the Thing, Kivan had us arm wrestle and keep each other from scoring a pillow-in-the-laundry-basket goal while in wheely-chairs. For Where It Went, after having Mabel and Ben T. stare into each other’s eyes for an extended amount of time, Kivan instructed them to move mats from one side of the room to the other--crossing paths without direct interaction, and then Kivan sat them both down, back-to-back with linked arms, and told them to pull each other until they reached what they wanted. While playing games may seem irrelevant to some, participating in these activities not only warmed us up, but helped us understand our scenes as well. These “games” were actually each an exercise with a specific set of objectives and given circumstances designed to reflect and explore the objectives and relationships in our scenes. When we worked on one of these exercises, we were each given a line of dialogue (mostly direct lines from our scenes) to repeat back and forth while we pursued our goal in the game. This technique of repetition was originally taught by the acting teacher Sanford Meisner to elicit honest reactions from actors and get away from the intentional, rehearsed inflections that can make acting false. In these exercises, you are not allowed to “act” the lines you are saying. Just repetition: listening and responding. Seeing the Thing begins with Dave (the character Ben S. plays) trying to convince Rhonda (the character I play) to let him go inside her house; Rhonda does not want Dave in her house. After arm-wrestling once with no words, Kivan gave Ben the line “Let’s go inside” and me the line “this is far enough.” He told Ben to get my arm all the way down to the table and told me to no longer try and push his arm down, but just prevent his arm from getting any closer to the table with mine. As we both actively pursued what we wanted (our objectives), the words became a vocalization of the action--not as lines, but what we actually needed to help us.

After these exercises, we went through the scenes by unit (small chunks of the scene revolving around the same action or idea) sans script. Working on Almost, Maine without our scripts for the first month of rehearsal has been one of the most interesting parts of the process so far. After analyzing the script and breaking it down into units and beats, we found we actually knew the progression of the scene well without the lines. Kivan essentially had us improvise the scene unit by unit. Initially, I was pretty nervous to go through the scene this way. However, once we actually got into it, it was rather freeing. Without the barrier of holding a script and constantly looking down at my lines or the stage directions, the blocking process became easier and more exciting to explore. We made many discoveries through this process about what characters were trying to say with their lines, moments that change the tempo of the scene, and how the characters move and interact onstage. I definitely think we’ve made more growth initially rehearsing this way than if we had dove in immediately with the script, with just writing down and practicing premeditated blocking plans.

The process has been incredible so far, and I can’t wait to see what comes next with this show!

Lena Menefee-Cook

Rhonda/set team member

The Process

One of the most exciting aspects of having participated in Story Theater’s teen show since its inception two years ago is getting the chance to witness the development of myself, my peers, and my director, Kivan Kirk. As we have helped one another to grow, the quality of the shows has only gone up, and this year, I suspect, will be no different. This, of course, is and should be secondary to the experience that we have in creating each show and, in that regard, this process has been like no other I have ever been a part of.

There are downsides to a show that consists exclusively of vignettes; the risks of the show feeling disjointed or of a cast not bonding are very real. These are problems that I feel our production avoids (perhaps, because of our Saturday work-days or our preparatory rehearsals when we all come together to try and create the town of Almost). However, one huge advantage it offers is the chance to dive into the relationship of the two actors on stage. It narrows the focus to just them and then allows them to experiment with how they can live together at the same time in the same space. This gets at themes very central to Almost, Maine.

The unique way that Kivan has helped us to be in those moments is by adopting the ideas of Sanford Meisner. Meisner was an American theater practitioner who developed a divergent technique from the “Method” acting technique that began with Constantin Stanislavski. As opposed to using emotional memory, wherein you conjure up and use your personal history to get into a character’s head, and placing the focus internally to portray a character’s emotional state, Meisner tried to get actors out of their heads. Kivan, too, has been attempting to turn our actions into instincts. Everything is a reaction to the environment and the other person.

Last week, for example, I had rehearsals for my scenes Seeing the Thing, with Lena, and They Fell, with Travis. On Monday, for Seeing the Thing, Kivan began by having Lena and I scoot around on the rolly chairs (“snowmobiles” in the context of our scene) as we each attempted to score a goal against the other (by dunking a pillow into the other’s laundry basket). All the while, Lena was encouraged to trash-talk me. He then had the two of us armwrestle while repeating the same lines of dialogue over and over again. Both of these activities were intended to build the friendly, bro-like rapport that our characters, Rhonda and Dave, have with one another. When armwrestling, the goal was to get us to stop thinking about the words we were saying and how we were saying them and instead make the lines an extension of the physical action. In other words, we said the same thing until it became natural. This is Meisner at his core.

I discovered, in the process, just how frustrating it must be for Dave to continue trying to get the resistant Rhonda to see him as something more than a friend. Not only did I realize this and think to myself “yes, that must be the way that he is feeling”, but I also felt it myself. I didn’t become Dave or anything crazy, but I did inhabit his struggle. I knew exactly the way he was feeling because it was how I felt, and I felt it more honestly than I would have had I dug up some analogous moment from my past (which might have come with its own set of messy or imprecise emotions) because our experiences were identical.

For the remainder of the rehearsal, we ran the scene according to the units that Lena and I had agreed upon. Units are, essentially, the parts of a scene where the same thing is happening. Often times, they follow a single objective (what a character wants) or tactic (how a character gets what they want) and the unit changes when one of those two does. However, we did the scene without scripts in hand. Instead, we played with loose improvisation, knowing what our characters wanted and how they would get it, but not saying the exact lines in the script. All the while, we kept in mind their given circumstances - being the people they are in a small town like Almost, they aren’t always the most direct of folks. We basically just let each unit take its course, moving when we felt the impulse and butting heads with our character’s contradictory wants. Kivan would often side-coach us, telling us to do more or to go somewhere or to move on, and then we’d stop and take count of what had just happened and how we could improve it.

This way of rehearsing really helps me get into the scene. Once I forget about saying the right thing, I feel free to say what I need to (to the best of my character’s ability). Being a very cerebral person myself (I often overthink things or censor myself), this style of rehearsal helps me to just speak without thinking about how it sounds and do without thinking about how it looks. I’m free to simply listen and react to Lena, who, being an excellent partner, gives a lot to work with. Of course, it doesn’t happen right away but, with work and time, we find a place where the scene can just play out. Those moments that benefit most are the ones right on the edge of being cheesy which, if the focus weren’t on pursuing our objectives and reacting honestly, could very quickly become precious (a word Kivan likes to use a lot when he wants us to avoid overdoing something in an artificial and self-conscious way).

It’s also helped the scene, as a whole, along immensely. Without stopping and starting for specific blocking notes or to run a particular line until it sounds “right”, the scene has found its own pacing and movement that feels natural (like an extension of what is taking place in the relationship between our characters).

My work with Travis in They Fell was just as rewarding. We followed much the same model as we did in Seeing the Thing, beginning with me trying to wrestle Travis to the ground (to make him see my love) and Travis trying to get me up (to return the world to status quo). As before, we also repeated lines of dialogue from the show as we did this. After that, we ran each unit in improv mode.

Travis is an extremely smart individual who I’ve seen come a long way in a short time at Story Theater Company. He’s found an honesty in our scene that I scramble to keep up with (although I manage simply because we are so relaxed in the scene and, when everything's going right, neither one of us cares much about saying the right thing). One thing that makes our scene feel so relaxed at the beginning is that we are just two buds, hanging out. With only a vague outline of who these two men are and how they ended up here, we’re able to go off on tangents and still arrive right where we’re supposed to. The men are sharing painful memories, yes, but it’s made easier by the other’s presence. There’s plenty of work left to do with pacing and the like, but the scene is already feeling like it’s in the right place (as are the others). In these hour and a half long sessions, we’ve already created plays, finish to end. Now, they just need specific lines and blocking to flesh them out a little.

So far, these rehearsals have been amazing because they’ve been so focused on the process of becoming the people in these situations. A space and method has been set up to discover what these characters are all about, not through analysis and close reading, but by sussing out their emotions and feeling alongside them.

Before going into a scene, Meisner proposes an actor must become emotionally prepared. This emotional preparation can take many forms (in scenes where he had to enter angry, Meisner, who was jewish, would repeat Hitler’s name over and over again to get him to a point of boiling rage). All preparation, however, is focused on coming into the scene in the right mindset so that, from there, you can simply be with another person. The rest takes care of itself, if you simply allow yourself to be open and vulnerable. I think our rehearsal process is the same way. I look forward to adding the script back in the following weeks and switching between it and the improvised dialogue until they are one in the same. This is what will make our scenes ring true. 
I think this will be one of the most rewarding experiences any student at STC has ever had. If only we care to listen. 


Ben Sulzerger
East/Chad/Dave