Wonder Week and Stump Sprouts

What's up Drama League Blog!

This Wes Grantom, another of the fall fellows. 

I second everything Alice and Shira have said about the program thus far. Wonder Week and the retreat at Stump Sprouts were filled with incredible experiences that I'm excited to take with me on the rest of my Drama League journey. (A huge thanks to Sonia for taking such gorgeous photos.)

Wonder Week was informative and insightful. We met with professionals from all over the theatre community and each of them offered a unique perspective on working in the theatre. One of my favorite experiences was having dinner with Neil Pepe at Gramercy Tavern. It was totally my kind of thing: delicious food, nice wine, and amazing conversation. I also really enjoyed meeting with Morgan Jenness at Abrams and Emily Morse and John Steber at New Dramatists. All three spoke candidly and passionately about their advocacy for playwrights and theatre artists. Hearing them speak was both inspiring and reassuring. It's nice to know we have people like Morgan, Emily, and John out there making sure artists' voices are heard. And if you haven't done so, do yourself a favor and spend some time reading plays in the script library at New Dramatists. It's a wonderful way to spend a few hours or an entire afternoon.

There's so much to say about the retreat at Stump Sprouts...working with Daniella, hanging out with Roger and Mary Beth, the actors, and the food!! It was a creative stimulus extravaganza mixed with a bit of fun and relaxation. And I was continually impressed by the work of my colleagues. Alice, Laura, and Shira are all incredibly smart, imaginative directors and I am grateful I had the opportunity to feed off their genius for a few days. 

Now we're off to our assistantships. Big adventures ahead!!

This is Alice Reagan, another one of the "Fab Four" as Roger likes to call us Fall Directing Fellows.

Since Shira so helpfully gave an overview of our first two weeks (in NYC, and then at Stump Sprouts on retreat) I'll try to zero in on two experiences that really struck me.

I think one of the most valuable meetings we had during WonderWeek was with Meg Simon, casting director with Warner Brothers Entertainment. Meg casts for television primarily, but has a long and storied background in theatre; she still casts the Sundance Theatre Institute every summer. Meg spoke to us about what we can do as directors to make casting go more smoothly and more successfully, especially when working with a professional casting director--although her advice is just as applicable when you're a young director wearing many hats, and doing all the casting yourself.

"Do your homework" is what I'll remember most clearly--see plays, remember actors you like, keep files (however low-tech) so you'll know where to turn when you need a 60-something woman or a very tall man (as one of the other Fall Fellows does for her one act). Meg emphasized treating actors with respect: before, during, and after the audition. Know their resumes, what they've done and with whom. Don't interrupt. Don't overload with information before the actor has opened his or her mouth. Say thank you. Seems like basic stuff, but Meg really impressed on us how a little goes a long way in our field, and being an utmost professional (and decent person) is actually important.

Up at Stump Sprouts, the absolute best part of the week was seeing the work of the other three fellows. I would say that every piece was gloriously site-specific. Roger encouraged us all to find the best spot for our monologs and scenes--outside, inside, in tractors barns, bedrooms, meadows, and in the middle of the road (very few cars up there in rural western Massachusetts). Showing the work meant traveling in a pack from one spot to the next to encounter an actor lying in a heap on a log-pile or gazing across an incredible vista of green mountains. The work was surprising, visceral, and deeply felt. I have not had the opportunity to be with other directors, all of us making and showing work, since I was a student. In collaboration with generous, adventurous actors, the results were thrilling.

Drama League Blog! Hello!

This is Shira Milikowsky writing, one of the 2008 fall fellows.

Here are some of the things we did on wonder week:
we had meetings. We met with casting directors, agents, artistic directors galore. We saw shows for free - Thurgood, Boeing Boeing, Hair, Animals out of Paper and Buffalo Gal. We scuttled uptown and downtown. We met many alumni, all of whom were generous and kind and interested and interesting. We ate delicious food at the Gramercy Tavern. We learned how to describe who we are and what we do in 60 seconds or less. Well some of us learned it, and some of us are doing our best at figuring out the best way to do it...

Then we went to the promised land of Stump Sprouts and each directed two monologues and one scene from Romeo & Juliet. I hadn't worked on Shakespeare in a while, and it was such a treat to be up in the woods, with talented actors, and just to have time to play. Daniela Varon - our master teacher at the retreat - led two master classes. One was about connecting words to imagery, about stimulating your own imagination, and one was a fast-paced and impressively thorough guide to analyzing text. Each time we had a master class I felt my mind expand and reach for new ideas. The scene I directed grew exponentially after working with Daniela. Usually our lives are divided between work and, if we're lucky, continued study. To get to have them both back to back like that in one day, to study the text and then immediately put your new skills into action in rehearsal, that was something special and thrilling.

The final four scenes that we presented were magical. I have so much respect for each of my three colleagues, and I also really like being around them. So lucky me.

That's all for now, but hopefully I've started the blog ball rolling.