SITI Co: Under Construction

“The play wants a ganky audience.”

Today, open viewpoints. Starting off stage.

During viewpoints Barney asked, “When I go on the morning talk show and the woman asks me ‘what is this play about’ what do I say?”

Ellen: “About an hour and forty minutes.”

Anne: “I had to answer that question in the salon today. You know what I said? It’s about Norman Rockwell, who had a vision for America, and what actually happened to that vision.”

This wound up being one of the silliest viewpoint sessions ever. At some point Darron started playing “Jump Around” to give you an idea.

Afterward…

Sam: “That was the projects version of viewpoints”

Leon: “Viewpoints with crack inside”

Stephen: “Recession viewpoints”

They spent the rest of their time refining a few things here and there…

To end the day, they did a mic check for Simon and Garfunkel’s “America” (which Stephen and Tom perform beautifully). I have to say, it was a very heartfelt end to a wonderful rehearsal process. The feeling of being in the room as this show was built, getting to know SITI and also the feeling of just being able to share in this great process seemed to attach itself to the song. The room applauded what had become an impromptu performance. The conversation that ensued after, the breaking down of the mic stand, and the striking of any remaining props undercut the emotion of the moment, and we moved on. It was fitting for the show, and for me, I’ll admit, a little bittersweet.

Opening night was fabulous. The crowd was very enthusiastic. Afterwards, people crowded the stage. It was a great moment. The opening reception was lovely– lots of food and booze. Good cheer all around.

…

So that’s the making of Under Construction at the Humana Festival.

However, as Anne or any other SITI Co. member is quick to point out, a SITI Company show is never ‘open’ in the sense that they stop working on it. The show moves on:

April 18, 2009 Galvin Playhouse at the Gammage Center, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ

April 25, 2009 Krannert Center, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL

Both of those spaces are incredibly different than the 159 seat Victor Jory Theater at Actors… one’s kind of a thrust stage, and the other’s a big proscenium… to my knowledge. The company will have to do a lot of work adapting the show to fit the spaces. The blog should be getting some updates throughout their rehearsal period as they rework the show. Stay tuned for that.

As for my tenure at the Humana Festival, I will continue to go see plenty of performances of Under Construction and observe training. I’ll post some updates periodically. Also, look out for photos and more Q & A.

Thanks so much for reading, and please share the blog with people who’d be interested.

More to come.

Nate