On Saturday, February 9, I had the opportunity
to attend my first ever FIRST CONTACT Showcase at The Inkwell (hopefully the
first of many). I am a junior at The George Washington University, studying
Theatre and Journalism, and just started interning with The Inkwell this
semester. I have never seen a staged reading before, and am completely new to
the "new play" environment, having only worked on established works in school. The
showcase was my first time getting a glimpse behind the scenes a professional theatre
environment, something I have never had the opportunity to see before.
Not only was it exciting to see three brand new works being
worked on (and they are awesome by the way), but it was really exciting to see
how professional actors work in a reading setting. So much of The Inkwell's
process is about "pulling back the curtain" on new plays, and the day I spent
observing definitely pulled this curtain back more than ever before for me.
The day started at 2 pm, when I walked into a classroom
turned rehearsal space at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre in downtown DC, and found
a group of actors waiting for their director, Ryan Maxwell, to arrive. It was
interesting for me because I had never met anyone involved in this first
reading, so I didn't know what to expect when I got there. As soon as he
arrived, the cast set up music stands and got right to work on the first piece
of the day: Monnie King's The Apple Falls.
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All three of the works had been previously rehearsed earlier
in the week at table reads, so this rehearsal was focused mostly on blocking.
Blocking? For a staged reading? Doesn't make sense, right? But the directors
actually used a surprisingly large amount of movement to help clarify the
relationships and story lines in the plays.
The next three hours were a rotating door of directors and
plays, all rehearsed in 80 minute blocks. The cast stayed for all three
rehearsals, which gave a sense of continuity to the day (for me at least). The
rehearsals for the other two plays, Jen Silverman's Phoebe in Winter (directed by Amber Jackson) and Erin Bregman's A Bid to
Save the World (directed by Jess Jung), were rehearsed in a very similar
manner to the first.
After a two-hour dinner break, the cast and directors
reconvened to the same classroom, now transformed into a performance space with
an audience, to perform the readings for an audience that included The Inkwell
leadership team, dramaturgs, friends, and guests.
It was interesting to see how a staged reading can really
transform with only a short rehearsal period for only excerpts of the
plays. The readings carried the
magic of these plays and really gave an idea of what a full production could
feel like. Each excerpt was carefully thought out to give a real arc for the
characters and stories. The directors also made sure to take advantage of the
space, and have actors move between different music stands (and one even
incorporated a division in the room in his blocking). The
actors also did a great job differentiating characters, as the plays were
performed back to back with the same actors.
The experience as a whole was a standout in my theatrical
experience, and I loved my first real "inky" experience - and can't wait to see
more and also see what becomes of these three great plays!
Here's the impressive list of the twelve plays and playwrights, as well as their dramaturgs and directors!