When Michael Kahn took over the Shakespeare Theatre in the 1980s, he felt the best way to put the struggling troupe on the map was to open the doors for a day while Stacy Keach and the cast rehearsed “Richard III.”
People lined up for the free event, and Kahn’s company has been doing it ever since. For the current “The Two Gentlemen of Verona,” two seatings were offered, and 300 people showed up for each one.
( Nicole Geldart / ) - Nick Dillenburg, Matthew McGee, Brent Harris, Gene Gillette, Aayush Chandan and Michael Gregory in a rehearsal for Shakespeare Theatre Company's production of \"The Two Gentlemen of Verona.”
Open rehearsals, Version 2.0: Last month, Woolly Mammoth skated onto thin ice by announcing a plan to let a limited number of visitors into rehearsals for “Civilization (All You Can Eat)” that they could Tweet about. Playwright Jason Grote hadn’t signed off on the idea, and was more than a little skeptical about letting outsiders into a realm that is generally roped off for artists at work.
As theaters explore new methods of turning people on to the product, spectators are connecting and sometimes finding their way backstage in a number of new ways. “We’re trying to develop a whole toolbox of real or technological tools,” says Miriam Weisfeld, Woolly’s director of artistic development.
Woolly’s “Tweet Up!” scheme was perhaps the most adventuresome and high-tech method of letting outsiders in, but Round House, Forum Theatre, Signature Theatre and Arena Stage are also among the companies opening their doors before opening night.
At Arena and Signature, seminars are the mode. Arena’s Theatre 101 is a $100, eight-session course that allows up to 50 people into everything from design presentations to conversations with the artistic team, culminating in tickets to the show. (The seminar cost is $50 for participants under age 30.) The idea came from Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre, where the goal was to show the business of producing new plays.
Arena ran the program for the new dramas “every tongue confess” and “The Book Club Play,” and this spring will offer controlled glimpses of “The Music Man” in a seminar that’s already fully subscribed.
“We’ve found real fascination with how this animal works,” says Artistic Director Molly Smith.
It must be true: Tuition is $300 for Signature Theatre’s “ ‘Brother Russia’ Presents,” which gets students a six-part look at the new musical by John Dempsey and Dana Rowe (”The Witches of Eastwick”). It even includes a Critics Corner after the final dress rehearsal, where participants can critique what they’ve seen.
“That’s not my favorite part,” says Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer, who is directing the show.
Smith and Schaeffer say there’s little or no profit in the seminars (a refinement of donor-attended rehearsals that are widely offered as perks for supporters), but the goal is to get people in, open eyes and build loyalty. “Over four weeks, they become cheerleaders for us,” Schaeffer says. “And they have a stronger appreciation for what it takes to put on a new musical.”
That’s the hope, of course, behind any open rehearsal, an old practice more common among symphonies, dance companies, and in Europe. Even where the access is free, it’s not always clear what this door-opening means for the traditionally vaunted Sacred Space that is the rehearsal hall.
Hannah Yelland married a Yank and settled in the District. Now she's practicing her craft here, too.
1368824367000
Wide receiver, the final celebrity man in Monday night’s finale, wins praise from friends and fans.
1368821220000
From his Disney hits to “Wicked” and “Pippin,” his work consistently finds the sweet spot onstage.
1368804997000
‘Three Musketeers’ is Synetic at full throttle, with a spinning, dancing production that delights the senses
1368740991000
The play, performed by a cast of nine, arrives at Shakespeare Theatre Company.
1368717900000
REVIEW | The production is the first full staging of a published verse play by poet Yusef Komunyakaa.
1368542760000
The Olney Theatre Center production has a fantastic premise, but the dialogue devolves.
1368463620000
Preview of “For That Which Returns,” an aerial performance based on the myth of Demeter and Persephone.
1368394286000Pascal’s set — more lite rock and jazz than Broadway — seemed primed for a moody late-night bar scene.
1368380460000
REVIEW | Set in a fantasized Spain and Paris in the 1920s, it’s restrained, but full, enthusiastic and great fun.
1368222180000
The National Gallery of Art’s “Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes” looks at the stages in a storied life.
1368208440000
The innovative company redefined the feminized ballet world with its modernism and masculine dancers.
1368207960000
Following one group of kids in Arena Stage’s Voices of Now Festival.
1368206841000The Post MostMost-viewed stories, videos, and galleries in the past two hours
There are no discussions scheduled today.
Live Q&A, 1 p.m. ET
Post TV columnist Lisa de Moraes will discuss all the latest in TV news - on and off the screen.
Loading...
Comments