Directeur Confit’s Blog

March 10

Tue, 2 Mar 2010 17:37:56 -0500

MACBETH: If you can't say it, why do it?

There is a tradition in theater that if you say "Macbeth," bad luck will arrive soon afterwards. You'll hear people referring to it as "the Scottish play." The tradition is powerful, and theater folk grumble and scowl if they hear you say "Macbeth." I think the tradition allows you to say it when you are working on the play but probably only in controlled circumstances.

If it is difficult to know when it's all right to say "Macbeth," how difficult is it to mount a production of the play? I think it's very difficult. How about doing it with high school actors? I think even more difficult. Then why do it? A good question.

There are several reasons that occur to me as we work on the show at The Theater Project with thirty high school actors.

• Wendy Poole, our Executive Director, recommended it.
• There's nary a high school student who hasn't read it, usually in junior year.
• It makes exciting theater.
• In that excitement, it comments on ambition and the violent pursuit of power that is still with us today, 404 years after the play was first produced.
• I remember enjoying teaching the play to high school students in Lebanon and Massachusetts, very different groups of high school students (those in Lebanon spoke Arabic as their first language).
• MACBETH is a play, not a scholarly text. It was written to be performed, not studied. As a former English teacher, I think it's a great idea to read and study MACBETH in high school. As a former high school student - loooonnnngggg ago - I think it's also a great idea for high school students to perform Shakespeare as live relevant theater and to see performances of Shakespeare. I did neither as a high school student and was the poorer for it.

High school students have a remarkable facility to learn lines, and, if encouraged, to make those lines their own. Good actors aspire to this. If the actors cannot "own their lines," those lines won't make sense to the audience; the audience won't believe what they're hearing and seeing. If the actors own the lines, which means they know what they're saying and why they're saying it, the audience will believe them, Coleridge's "willing suspension of disbelief." (I think it was Coleridge!)

If high school students have to study something, or, to put it another way, if we think something is worth our young people's study, then it is important, even essential, that they be able to make what they are studying their own, that they "own" it. It is important that they be able to say that they "get it" and, based on that understanding, be able to offer and explain their opinion. It's not enough for us to say: "It's Shakespeare so you've got to learn it." And if it's a play, it's important they be able to approach it as a play.

So, we're doing it.

How to cast it? Any man, young or old, who loves theater, wants to play Macbeth. Any woman, Lady Macbeth. I consider ability and attitude, when casting. I also consider how long the young actors have been at it, "whose turn it is." Casting Macbeth was no different. There are some "spear carriers," warriors and servants who say little but are on stage acting and learning how to do it better. They will have their turn at major roles if the stick with it. There are fine young actors in supporting roles, some of whom could have been cast as Macbeth or Lady Macbeth. Some of them have played lead roles before; others will likely play a major role before they leave high school. Some have been at it a long time, have learned a lot and have shown they are ready for a major role. Our goal with each Young Company show at The Theater Project is to develop an ensemble, a group of actors who support each other and have learned to work well together. That is the goal of this production of MACBETH.

This MACBETH will be as good as it can be with this director, this ensemble of young actors and the technical, artistic and moral support of Wendy, Chris and JP at the Theater Project. I hope audiences are moved and provoked by the production. Even more, I hope the actors learn something about theater, about working together and about MACBETH.

February 10

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:35:37 -0500

I'm writing this while we are performing two company shows in repertory at The Theater Project: WONDER OF THE WORLD, by David Lindsay-Abair, and LA FILLE AT TESS' MARKET, which I wrote. Jim Hall composed the original music for LA FILLE. These two productions reflect the wonder of The Theater Project.

I, of course, am prejudiced. I am proud of what The Theater Project does, of how far it has come, of how well Wendy Poole directs the whole operation, ably assisted by Theater Manager Joanna Patterson. However, even if I weren't so wedded to The Theater Project, I would be impressed by these two productions. Why?

Start with WONDER OF THE WORLD, directed with aplomb by Christopher Price. This is a complex and delightful comedy, a bizarre take on real life, with Niagara Falls, a hotel room, a bus, a restaurant and a wacky cast of characters. All this takes place in our 80 seat black box theater. Chris Price has designed and built a set that reflects all these settings in our intimate space. Imagine: Niagara Falls in an intimate space! JP Gagnon, our oh-so-clever lighting designer, has melded his lights with Chris' set to enable the audience to see and feel the different settings of the play, and Jen Roe has applied her creative eye to the costumes.

The acting is a treat. Theater Project veterans Wendy Poole, Reba Short, Heather Weafer, Craig Ela, Michele Wigton, and guest artists Brent Askari and Burke Brimmer take us on a roller coaster of laughs that link an odd collection of events and characters. How did all these things happen? How did these people come together? This is life "stuff," and David Lindsay-Abair and this cast bring it all to our stage.

In repertory with WONDER OF THE WORLD is an original play set in our own Brunswick, Maine: LA FILLE AT TESS' MARKET. La Fille, whose real name is Theodora, is a real character who grew up in Brunswick and for years - no, decades - collected bottles and cans downtown. Many years ago, I got to know her a little and the more I saw her, the more interested I became. What if La Fille had a private life, a "secret life" that no one knew about, at least no Yankee who only knew her as the little woman with the page boy haircut and the startling blue eyes who collected bottles and cans? I decided to write that fantasy, and I needed a collaborator to compose the music for it.

That collaborator is Jim Hall, my piano teacher. As I have gotten to know Jim and have collaborated with him on other projects at The Theater Project, I have realized he is a remarkably talented musician who quietly goes about the work he delights in and comes up with outstanding and sometimes startling results. So Jim composed the music and was willing to play it live in the production. What about playing a role or two in the play, I asked. Okay, says he, and so there he is, on stage, not only playing the music but also playing several roles.

The other collaborators in this venture, in addition to designers Gagnon, Price and Roe, are company actors Lee K. Paige, Craig Ela, Jean S. Shaw, Reba Short and Don Weatherbee and Young Company actors Anna Palopoli, Cameron Toy, Natane Bann and Ben Nadell. Young Company actor and stage manager Rose Lortie is the stage manager for both shows.

All this at The Theater Project, our black box 80 seat theater on School Street, just off Maine Street. An ensemble of very talented and energetic actors, designers, musicians and directors create some magic that makes the audience laugh, tap their feet, think and sometimes cry. A small theater that takes you to Niagara Falls in a barrel and the next night transports you back to Merrymeeting Park in Brunswick late in the 19th century. In these two plays the audience can travel through time and space without leaving their seats. All they need is a ticket and an imagination.

Remarkable, isn't it!

Al

August 09

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:23:33 -0400

What is The Theater Project?

Well, if you're wondering if we're a summer theater doing adult fare, the answer is, "yes," with qualifications.

If you're wondering if we do original material, the answer is "yes," also with qualifications.

If you're wondering if we are a theater with summer programs for kids, the answer is "yes," with qualifications.

If you're wondering if we do theater for family audiences, the answer is "yes," with qualifications.

We do all of these. Our August schedule is a good example. We opened the month with a three performances of ARABIAN NIGHTS, with a cast of eighteen teenagers after three weeks of all-day theater camp here. Then came IN SECURITY, two original plays about Palestine for mature audiences. Then, ALADDIN, with a cast of eighteen 9 - 12 year olds, directed by graduates of The Theater Project's Young Company.

In July, our professional ensemble performed WONDER OF THE WORLD, directed and designed by Christopher Price. The production received high praise from critics and audience members. Why didn't more people come to the show? I suspect that one major reason is that people who are not "regulars" at The Theater Project don't know we do adult fare. We are not a typical summer theater. We are not a typical theater. We don't specialize in one kind of theater as most do. The Children's Theatre of Maine does theater with kids. Portland Stage Company does theater for mature audiences, plus A CHRISTMAS CAROL for families. Maine State Music Theatre does musicals for mature audiences and families.

The Theater Project does all of those, even musicals! Is one better than another? Sometimes. My point here is not that one is better but that we are unique, or close to it, and difficult to classify. We work with and for young people and with and for adults. We work with challenged populations and with schools. We work with The Center Stage Players doing readers theater. We do classical theater, original theater and contemporary theater.

This leads me to comment on IN SECURITY. We did three performances of Fateh Azzam's one act play, "Baggage," and, "My Name Is Isa," which I wrote. We had good audiences for each performance, followed by good discussions. Both plays are related to Palestine. Azzam, a Palestinian - American, was the actor in his play about a Palestinian with the "baggage" he had accumulated since the 1948 war in Palestine that resulted in the creation of the state of Israel and the dislocation of thousands of Palestinians from their lands. "My Name Is Isa" focused on four young American tourists in Bethlehem and Jerusalem who meet a Palestinian Christian whose name, "Isa," is Arabic for "Jesus."

Though each play evoked the politics of the Israel - Palestine problem, neither was primarily political. The plays raised questions about what it means to "carry around one's baggage," how little we know about other countries and areas of the world, and how difficult - but not too difficult - it is to get to know someone who is different from us. Most of each audience stayed an hour after the plays to discuss issues the plays raised. People left The Theater thinking about what they hadn't thought about before or hadn't thought about for a long time. Not only thinking, but glad to be thinking, wondering, searching.

This is a good role for theater and other arts. To inspire thought. To make us consider what we haven't considered before. Most of us are thankful for that inspiration, that poke in the ribs that makes us scratch our head and consider or reconsider.

That is one of the many roles we play at The Theater Project.

Happy August!

Al

July 09

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:19:35 -0400

A new sign on The Theater Project!

A new website!

The sign was designed by Young People's Theater alumnus and now graphic designer in New York, David Covell. The website was design by Heather Weafer, current actor with The Theater Project Company as well as its website designer, guide and cyber-mechanic.

And we are pushing forty years here at The Theater Project.

The Theater Project is about people and stories. The people include Executive Director Wendy Poole, who keeps The Theater Project running in a myriad of ways; Joanna Patterson, Theater Project Manager, who works closely with Wendy to oversee the management of The Theater and to get the work done. The people also includes Christopher Price who designs and directs and acts in Theater Project productions and helps out in many other ways; Craig Ela, Lee K. Paige, Michele Livermore Wigton, Keith Anctil, Reba Short, and others who act and teach and help out here.

The Theater Project people include dozens of teenagers in The Young Company, "dozens" because there are almost three dozen now and dozens, nay, hundreds, have moved on to college and work beyond college, like Molly, Karin, Joe and Trevor, who have returned to work with us this year. All of these young people contribute energy, wit, and sweat equity as well as some fine theater.

The Theater Project includes Don and Jean and The Spindleworks ensemble comprising Kim, Lloyd, Earl and Diane, Sam, Nancy and Ellen, an inspiring group of artists who bring unbridled joy and energy to their work with us. And The Center Stage Players, a gathering of folks who have experienced long and fruitful lives and are bringing their experience to the stage to produce readers theater and improvisation for the community.

The Theater Project includes the Board: Sheri, Leanne, Andrea, Dick and Heather, Maria, Evie, Lisa and Rich. They support Wendy and Joanna and the rest of us.

All of these people help us tell stories, whether the story is MACBETH, WONDER OF THE WORLD, or Aladdin and the Magic Lamp.

David Covell, who designed our new logo and sign, is in his mid-forties. I remember him as a sixth grader, an early actor with The Young People's Theater, the first iteration of today's Theater Project. He was a delightful and demanding and witty young actor who loved working with others in junior high and high school to produce touring shows for schools in mid coast Maine and all over the State. Eventually we toured to New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Michigan to present our stories. David continued to act with us through his years at Brunswick High School, returned to act in a few of our Company shows and then moved on to his work as a graphic artist.

David gave me the line drawing of a clown when he graduated from Brunswick High. It is still my logo and rides around with me on the sides of my car. I visited with David recently in New York - we saw WAITING FOR GODOT together and then talked for a couple of hours about The Theater Project and how to build its reputation and audience in the community. He's still connected, still helping us tell our stories.

David and Heather and Wendy and Joanna and the Board and...on goes the list of people who help keep The Theater Project going. People who have discovered joy and magic in their work here and want to share that with others. The Theater Project is a work in progress, a work nourished by people and benefiting people. Like people, like each of us, it continues to discover who it is and what it can do and continues to strive happily to refine its work. That work is people work: people helping people to realize who they are and who they can be; moving people to laughter, tears and thought; inspiring young people to pursue their dreams, to give life "their best shot," and to understand that failure is often an essential step toward their goals.

The Theater Project is greater than the sum of its parts. The parts, the people who ARE The Theater Project, work together to make art and to provide opportunities to learn and grow and express that growth. Together, we produce more than any of us can produce alone. And we love what we do.

What do you think?

Al

June 09

Fri, 5 Jun 2009 21:23:18 -0400

When The Theater Project's Executive Director Wendy Poole introduced the final performance of this year's VOICES IN THE MIRROR, she said some in the audience who are older than others may not "get" everything in the show. I, one of those older people in the audience, smiled and prepared myself for verbal teen UFOs and sure enough, they came and went. Wendy was right - no surprise. I didn't "get" a lot of the pieces that are very funny to the cast, their contemporaries and those several years older. Thirty-five years ago, I got it. Twenty years ago, I got most of it. Sunday, I got some of it.

Was I surprised? Not really. Was I disappointed or bored? Not at all. Though the cast is several decades younger than I with a sense of humor that often flew by me on Sunday, I had no trouble understanding that they are bright, energetic, committed, witty and engaged. That came off the stage floor like steam from a boiling pot. And isn't that the point? Isn't that what is exciting and encouraging?

This cast of thirty-plus high school actors, some experienced and some not, were telling their stories, stories they had come up with after Wendy had given them ideas to work on. She has worked with them in such a way that they are able to get together, brainstorm and come up with original theater pieces without help or interference from a director. Later, she nudges the pieces she and her cast have decided on and the results appear on stage in VOICES IN THE MIRROR.

Are some better than others? Of course. Some plays are better than others. Some productions are better than others. Some in the audience prefer this and some prefer that. Some ideas are better than others.

Speaking of "ideas," the cast of VOICES IN THE MIRROR learns that everyone has ideas and that one's own idea is not always the best, not always the one that "must" be chosen. A valuable lesson in listening and cooperating creatively.

Theater is story telling. Sometimes it includes music. Sometimes mime. Sometimes clowning. Sometimes violence, physical or verbal. Good theater moves us, makes us think. It can be serious and make us think. It can be funny and make us think. It engages us. It is entertaining. Theater can make us think and be entertaining, even if we have been "thinking" all week and want a break.

Theater is "a break." It's a different way of looking at life, of considering and framing ideas, of examining an issue, a thought, a condition.

Sunday's VOICES IN THE MIRROR offered several ways of examining ideas and contemporary life. I remember singing "The wheels on the bus go round and round," with our kids when they were young. When cast members of VOICES did their interpretation, I was transported. I heard a familiar song in a new way and it made me laugh and think.

I was tired. I had just completed a 1,000 mile drive to get back here in time for the final performance of VOICES. I wasn't disappointed. I laughed and thought and several times enjoyed the laughter of an audience more in tune with the pieces I didn't get. Kudos to the cast and to Wendy Poole for making us laugh and think and believe in the power of art, youth and creativity.