DISCOVERING THE WORLD OF ELEPHANT'S GRAVEYARD - BY STACEY COSTANZO
As a scenic designer, I think of my job in part as visually defining the time and place of the story. For Elephant’s Graveyard, that answer seems simple: Erwin Tennessee, 1916. Yes, it is true that our story takes place in a town called Erwin in the state of Tennessee in the year 1916, but the people of Erwin are not the only players to consider when building the world onstage. There were three distinct entities I needed to consider when I began looking at designing the show: a town, a circus, and a railroad. All three of these groups needed to feel distinct from one another, yet at home on stage. Playwright George Brant left a helpful note in the script suggesting that, “the set may be an empty stage or an abstract collision of the worlds of the circus, town and railroad. This collision need not be pretty”. That may not mean much to you, but it was enough to get me rolling.
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REFLECTING THE TIMES - BY CARRIE WILLIAMS
Regardless of which creative hat I’m wearing, every play that I agree to work on these days contains some element that resonates as True. Whether I’m directing, performing, or producing, SOMETHING within the piece has got to rile me up, give me a new way to process the present moment. How does it Reflect the Times? Or…“how rowdy is it?”
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SOLVING THE COSTUME PUZZLE - BY JENNIVER SPARANO
“You’re a costume designer? You must be so creative!”
I hear this phrase – or variations of it – pretty regularly. I’ve designed costumes for 45 years, and for most of those years, I’ve also worked for KeyBank. So when my bank co-workers learn that I have a second career designing and sewing theatre costumes, they assume that I’m conjuring elaborate, glittering costumes out of pure imagination, the type of “right-brain” creativity that’s the complete opposite of the logical, analytical, “left-brain” thinking that I do in my day job.
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A CHAT WITH HILLARY WHEELOCK
This week, we were fortunate to have some time to chat with Hillary Wheelock, one of the actors making her Seat of the Pants’ debut in our upcoming production of Elephant’s Graveyard.
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DIRECTING ON A SHOESTRING - BY JEANNINE GASKIN
When you work at Seat of the Pants, you don’t have the luxury of excess: excess money, excess bodies, or excess resources. What you do have is heart, commitment, and a deep belief that the work matters. Over time, directing and producing in that environment doesn’t just teach you theatre skills; it rewires how you approach leadership, creativity, and problem-solving in every area of your life. Directing on a shoestring isn’t about doing less. It’s about doing what matters most with intention. These are the five lessons Seat of the Pants burned into my bones and how I’ve carried them far beyond the rehearsal room.
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A CHAT WITH BRIAN PEDACI
This week, we were fortunate to have some time to chat with Brian Pedaci, one of the actors making his Seat of the Pants’ debut in our upcoming production of Elephant’s Graveyard.
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ASKING QUESTIONS, THANK YOU PLAYWRIGHTS: BY MICHAEL GLAVAN
Lately I’ve been contemplating the limits of “process” and/or at what point process becomes prescription? I think most actors and directors will tell you that each play they embark on reveals to them what sort of process it requires. I hope that the tools I use have helped me create some starkly different characters and stories, but I’m also conscious that my bias for certain tools may be putting blinders on me and that sometimes my work is less transformative than it is stylized or affected (*gag*).
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FROM ACTOR TO COMIC, ALWAYS A PRODUCER - BY KADIJAH WINGO
As I learn more about what it looks and feels like to produce live shows, I can see my possibilities multiplying. With experience and some successful projects as evidence, my confidence has tripled in size like the Grinch’s heart. Now with confidence and true belief from within that I can conquer just about anything, it seems the opportunities jump out at me like salmon swimming up stream. Excuse me for all the analogies, but finding the words to describe the drastic transformations over the past 4 years makes me want to vomit from realizing all the change I’ve undergone.
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LEARNING FROM ENSEMBLE-BASED SHOWS, BY SARAH FARRIS
After getting cast in The Wolves, I was ecstatic because I had never done a show like that before. Every character is onstage for nearly the entire play and they are talking over each other almost constantly. Admittedly, as excited as I was for the experience, I was also a bit intimidated. It is an incredibly physical show with several conversations occurring every which way at the same time. How was I going to remember all the movement? How was I going to remember all my lines, the overlapping conversations, and the cues?
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