What's the Big Deal: Site-Specific Theatre

Click HERE to watch the Barbicide live-stream!

What's The Big Deal: 

Site-Specific Theatre 

 

4.30.12     3:00PM

Last week, I opened up a conversation on #2AMt asking, “What is it about site-specific theatre that people love so much?” I received a few responses:

“Good question. I prefer fantastic sets w/ my thtr.”

@MichaelSeel

“Site-specific is the antidote to the cookie-cutter black box. 

A space that is very definitively one thing.”

@playwrightsteve

“In the #foreplayplay case, people seem to love the hyper-realness 

of it, how they forget it’s a play.”

@MariahMacCarthy

On April 20^th we held a reading of Sean Pomposello’s newest play, Barbicide, at Moustache Tonsorial. Moustache is a small, vintage-inspired barbershop in Greenwich Village. You may remember that Barbicide is an adaptation of the Sweeney Todd/String of Pearls legend. The audience turnout and reaction to the reading was an extreme positive. This lead me to wonder how large a role the site-specific aspect of the reading played into the overall reception of the piece.

On various levels I agree with @MichaelSeel, @Playwrightsteve and @MariahMacCarthy. Typically with a production I do tend to lean towards a great scenic design. This mostly affects me during an actual staging as opposed to a reading, but I am a fan of a fantastic set. From what I have realized, it can be more affordable (especially in Manhattan) to use a site-specific venue as opposed to a theatre space. In which case, I agree with @Playwrightsteve that site-specific theatre is a solution to the more “generic” black-box productions that are staged. The hyper-reality of being location specific does intrigue an audience. For some reason, there is a level of truth that supports or validates the theatre piece.

As I watched the audience hang out in the barbershop awaiting the start of the reading, many asked “Why choose a barbershop?” To be honest, we really just wanted to establish a fun environment for our audience to interact and enjoy a new piece of theatre. Instead of  over-thinking an idea, our “plan” was established from a much more simple point of view: “Sweeney Todd/Barbicide is about a barber | Barbicide is used in barbershops | Let’s do this reading in a barbershop!”

Sometimes, the more casual the event, the more educational it can become. As we used Moustache to learn about the play and how it can be received, my mind began turning with ideas. This is my number one reason to produce readings, it allows the creative team an opportunity to hear the words. I began to notice the parallel between an old-fashioned barbershop quartet and our four performers. I quickly realized the possibility of Barbicide being a play exclusively performed in Manhattan barbershops.

It turns out that site-specific theatre can also be a positive for the location you select. Moustache Tonsorial is positioned on a busy corner of Greenwich Avenue and is surrounded by large picture windows. Not only did a decent amount of audience members watch from the outside, but the reading provoked numerous people passing by to go in the next day for a haircut!

I’m excited to announce that Moustache Tonsorial and The Theatre Project work very well together, because we have been invited to perform Barbicide on a bi-monthly basis. As we continue developing Barbicide, Moustache will become our home-base. I am looking forward to using the barbershop to further identify aspects of the production that are yet to be realized.

Perhaps site-specific theatre serves a greater purpose in building an audience and buzz for a production, prior to bringing it to the stage. In any event, the goal is to continue  providing an entertaining evening of contemporary theatre to those who appreciate it. Maintaining a transparent developmental process also allows our audience to return and recognize any modifications made to the script.

I hope to see you at our next reading of Barbicide on May 9 at 8:30 PM at Moustache Tonsorial. It’s a new twist on Fleet street!

-Christian

The director's notebook is a blog Christian Amato started through theatre projected in order to allow people to see how a younger director approaches his work.

Simply Intricate: Oral Tradition in Theatre

Staged Readings

Simply Intricate: Oral Tradition in Theatre

4. 16. 2012, 2:30 PM

As you may or may not know, we have been spending quite a bit of time developing our newest production, Barbicide by Sean Pomposello. We had originally work-shopped an early portion of the script in the fall, as part of our reading series, Universal Monsters. After an overwhelming response from our audience members, I began to see a great potential in a script that had otherwise been an intriguing concept, (See, The Playwright’s Pad: The Origin of Barbicide.) Shortly after, what was read at Universal Monsters ended up becoming the first three scenes of Sean Pomposello’s newest play! After lengthy conversations about the play itself, changes to dialogue and characters, as well as modifying concepts that would maintain a cohesive quality to the piece as a whole, we finally reached a rest stop. I wanted to give Barbicide the opportunity to truly evolve, so as the script was completed, we decided to present a developmental reading of the finished product. We began rehearsals last week for our reading of Barbicide, equipped with a great cast and a fantastic script. With a reading, there are a variety of options to present a piece of theatre. Beginning this process made me wonder, is there a proper way to direct a reading?

One of the most attractive qualities of a reading is the simplistic nature of the event as a whole. “Hey, here’s a reading. It’s free. Come see it,” is the essential structure of advertising your typical reading. When you are in a space, all it calls for are a few chairs and music stands, then you are set.  I have been to readings that play up and play down the event. Some readings I have been to can seem uptight and others too lax. How do you find the happy medium? Does the environment of the reading affect the piece itself? I do not believe there is one specific way to curate a reading, and granted, the mood and environment certainly will be compared to the play itself. The point is that these “simple” readings are an opportunity for like-minded people to gather, discuss and participate in a play in order to contribute towards it’s growth.

While the event itself can be presented simply or intricately, what about the direction of the piece? The ultimate goal is to tell a story. At a reading, there is typically very little stage direction. If you are operating under equity guidelines, actors cannot be using props or costumes. When I direct a reading I rely on three factors: 

-An Actor’s Instincts: In a reading, the actors have to rely on each other. There     are no light cues or staging for them to involve in their existence in the moment. Ultimately the actors must be storytellers. 

-Vocal Attention: The most crucial element in directing a reading is the unique and interesting ways you can guide a story by playing with vocalizations. With the actors unable to fall back on scenery and staging to add additional conflict or intent to a scene, they must resort to vocal variation. This keeps the audience involved while appropriately serving as a storyteller. 

-Audience Involvement: While you cannot rely on an audience to interact, you hope they do. If you have a good theatre piece on your hands, the audience will typically participate. This doesn’t mean inviting them to read, though you could if you like. An attentive and vocal audience is always appreciated at a reading. You get a sense of how people enjoy the piece as well as moments of the play that are simply not landing where you expected.

Really, readings are a prime example of oral tradition. Every culture throughout the ages has told stories to an audience. Novelist, Edwards Price once wrote, “A need to tell and hear stories is essential to the species.” Everybody tells stories. Everybody includes their own influence towards a story. That is what gives a story life. As it travels from person-to-person and mouth-to-mouth, it naturally undergoes changes that are essential in it’s growth and complexity. 

Like most art forms, it is subjective to consider one proper way of holding a play reading. We should, however, be promoting and holding many more readings. We are responsible for carrying on the oral tradition. Through readings, we become a part of an age old custom.

With that said, you may join The Theatre Project as we continue our commitment to the spoken word. Friday April 20^th, I invite you to attend our developmental reading of Barbicide. The reading will be held at Moustache Tonsorial on 55 Greenwich Avenue. I look forward to seeing you there.

-Christian

The director's notebook is a blog Christian Amato started through theatre projected in order to allow people to see how a younger director approaches his work.