Open Rehearsal: The Court Theatre Blog
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October 11, 2011
Joe Clark and Wile E. Coyote
Here at Court, we are in a wonderful moment of transition. The success of Spunk is like a lingering sunset behind us as we turn to face a new horizon in the form of An Iliad. It’s like a theatrical changing of the seasons. From the warmth of Eatonville, Florida, we plunge into the icy unknown of…somewhere. A somewhere with ancient Greek written on the walls like graffiti, a somewhere made out of tile the color of bones, a somewhere that can be under attack by the elements at any moment….but more on that later.
The transition is happening all around. Marketing has new artwork for An Iliad, Development is featuring rare editions of the Iliad and Odyssey at their Producer Circle Event, and Artistic is in rehearsal. Visually speaking however, the best transition is (of course) happening in Production. The set of Spunk is gone, my friends. Poor Joe Clark is now homeless. I found him sitting alone in the costume shop, curled up in a ball like a kid who’s parents forgot to pick them up at school.
As Spunk moves out, An Iliad must move in. There’s debris behind the set shop which I can only guess is destined for this somewhere-set of bone-tile and graffiti. A skeleton has been erected inside the theater and power tools are being revved. An Iliad’s time has come!
October 6, 2011
Incoming Iliad, Incoming Interns
Huzzah, huzzah! The admin fellows have arrived! We have three new Kemper Fellows this quarter: Alexis Chaney, our new development intern, Claire Wilson, our new grant writing intern, and Michelle Lee, our new marketing intern. I would have had all our interns write a little introduction of themselves for this blog post, but I’m really only allowed to monopolize Michelle’s time. Michelle will also be helping me with content for the blog in the coming weeks, so you should probably get to know her:
Hi! My name is Michelle Lee, and I’m the new Marketing Intern at Court Theatre. I’m a second-year student at the University of Chicago majoring in English with a possible minor in French. It’s day four of my internship here, and so far, it’s been quite interesting. I’ve toured the inner organs of the theatre, helped compile information on prospective guests, and organized marketing mailings, among other things.
Customary introduction aside, I’m a writer, bibliophile, and lover of art. It’s my personal goal to read fifty books a year (not counting school books), and as terribly cliché as it sounds, I want to end up in Europe writing novels à la style de Margaret Atwood. Indeed, Atwood is the epitome of who I want to become as a writer. Other inspirations include Nicole Krauss, Jonathan Safran Foer, Richard Siken, J.M. Coetzee, Kurt Vonnegut, Chuck Palahniuk, and Susan Fromberg Schaeffer. As you can see, my literary tastes veer toward postmodernism and poetic prose.
I’m truly excited for this internship and am thrilled to be working behind-the-scenes for what I think is one of the few genuine yet high-caliber theatres in the United States. Part of what I like about working at small non-profit organizations is that their size, or lack thereof, forces everyone to collaborate. The interpersonal relationships that are forged as a result are incredible. People care about what they’re doing and can depend on each other—not to mention the creativity that comes from an interactive environment! You can’t really find that anywhere else.
Welcome Michelle and welcome Claire and Alexis!
October 4, 2011
An Iliad Begins…
“I’m nobody! Who are you?/Are you nobody, too?”
I don’t know why, but today’s read-through after the meet and greet for An Iliad made me think of this Emily Dickinson poem. As a personal aside, I have an undying love for Emily Dickinson and studied her work somewhat fanatically during college. One of the reoccurring themes in her poetry that always fascinated me was the idea that “nothing” was just as powerful as “everything”; that the concept of zero and the concept of infinity could be deemed equals in that they are both unattainable.
As I listened to the text of An Iliad read aloud today, I felt the opposition between these two polarities very strongly. Everything, Nothing. God, Mortal. Creation, Destruction. It’s as uncomfortable as it is enthralling. How can one man tell the story of thousands of men? How can one actor convey the entirety of the most famous epic poem in Western literature? How can this unidentified entity simply called “The Poet” embody this massive, unruly deluge of emotions and images that is The Iliad?
I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see what the answer is.
Actor Timothy Edward Kane as The Poet
September 29, 2011
267 students in 267 seats
Yesterday was Court Theatre’s first high school matinee of the season. We had seven schools in attendance and no less than 267 students packed into our humble, 267-seat theater. I’m not normally this unbridled in my enthusiasm, but I have to say: it basically rocked. It was one of those times when you are reminded why you actually chose to work in the arts in the first place.
Allow me to give you some context so you can understand just how awesome this matinee was. First of all, I only saw one student texting the whole time. One! That fact alone is basically a miracle in and of itself. When was the last time you think any of those students went more than one waking hour without texting? Behold the power of theater, my friends. I stood through the performance in the back of the house so I could watch the students’ reactions to the piece. I almost couldn’t believe it, but they were actually leaning in they were so engaged with the material. Amazing. Of course, it was a little rowdier than our more “mature” audiences, but in my opinion, a student shouting out “Girl, you can sing!” to Alexis Rogers in the opening number or “Serves him right!” when Sykes gets his just rewards isn’t a disruption, but a testament to the work we’re doing. What a wonderful thing to provoke such strong reactions. Wouldn’t it be great if all our audiences were so thrilled, terrified, and moved by the theater we produce? I think so. Actually, I’m all about it.
Seriously, yesterday was a blast.
Director of Education Cree Rankin gives a curtain speech to the students before the show begins.
September 27, 2011
What’s the Haps: the O Week edition
“The Freshmen are coming, the Freshmen are coming!!!” the echoing cry resounded through the empty corridors, tree-lined pathways, and buzzing inboxes on campus for weeks until finally, one unassuming Monday in September, they arrived. They came in groups, they came with families, and some of them even came from distant, far-off places. Only one thing was certain: they were here and they wanted posters.
Ok, so it wasn’t really that dramatic, but I do enjoy throwing in a little fiction to spice things up.
Anyway, “O-Week,” also known as the University of Chicago’s Freshman Orientation, went down last week and of course Court Theatre had to join in the fun. We participated in an event hosted at the Smart Museum on Friday from 9:00-10:30 (I had forgotten that 9:00 is not considered “early” for students fresh out of high school.They will soon learn the truth.) We had season magnets, Spunk posters, and totally rad temporary tattoos—basically all the SWAG one could ever need. And, of course, I used treasures I found in our props storage last Thursday along with a borrowed dress form and costume from the costume shop to make our display look, well, awesome.The costume was a gown from Court’s production of Orlando; strangely, it matched the decor of the Smart Museum lobby and, even more strangely, it may or may not have fit me perfectly….but don’t tell anyone I said that.
As I watched all of the new freshman file into the Smart Museum lobby, munching on donuts and drinking coffee, I started to feel a little sentimental thinking about my own college experience. As a student in the arts I kept incredibly busy, yet somehow I still missed out on some amazing opportunities. I remember feeling like I didn’t have time to go see theater because I was studying it. I remember feeling like visiting the art museum on campus was just too much of an investment….and it was free. It sounds a little cheesy, but I really hope these kids heard us when we invited them to drop by the theater and see a show. I really hope they know how lucky they are.
