This is the first time The Building Stage has had official previews for one of our shows, and we’re doing two whole weekends of them!  Why previews now?  And what are previews for?

Well, a preview is a hybrid between rehearsal and performance, in that the production team (director, deisgners) are still working on the show.  This doesn’t mean that you’re necessarily seeing "unfinished" work (although more details may come into the design before opening), but that in it’s mostly finished state, we are still gaging whether things "work".

Why do this in front of an audience? Because the audience is part of the production! To only rehearse and open a play is missing a step, because we would not have ever worked with the other part of our show, YOU.  The audiences reactions, lack of reactions, how they respond, and how things change with the live audience otherwise, are all important parts ot the equation.  This is particularly true when setting sound levels, timings of lights and music, and in the actors timing with audience response.

Usually the production team and designers job are completed when the show officially opens.  By then, we hope that much of it is set, other than the things that change from night to night and make live theater the lively place it is.  The Building Stage has always worked against that theory, and our shows consider every performance informational and could help shape and change what we ultimately close the show with.  This is why we haven’t had previews in such a replete way before.  But, by having these official previews the next two weekends, we can then have a week of rehearsals after each one and before opening to refine and perfect the opening show, so that when the critics write about us, we know we feel confident with the performance they wrote about.

So, if you join us for previews, thank you! You just became an integral part of our process, and you’re getting your tickets a little cheaper!  And you’ll see me there. 

For those of you who missed it, and those of you who want to relive the magic of the first ever Building Stage lab, below are videos of four of the pieces created for the evening.  Enjoy!

1: Created by Max Wirt

2: Created by Fannie Hungerford

3: Created by David Amaral, Eddie Bennett, Daiva Bhandari, and Pamela Maurer

4: Created by Blake Montgomery and Joanie Schutlz

With just several hours before our fifth Lab, I find myself juggling a chaotic handful of emotions about the event, the project, and its future.  I’m eagerly anticipating what we will see tonight, but also dismayed at how many artists, though excited and interested in the project, and specifically the “Ritual” challenge, will not be participating.

I’m still quite excited about the enormously creative theatrical sketches the Lab has produced, but I find myself rather desperately seeking ways to help the lab “get legs.”  How can we get more artists involved?  How can the Lab be more of a tool and an arena for artistic experimentation?  And how do we share this?  How do we get people, artists and general audience, excited about attending the Lab?

I pose these questions to you, whoever you may be.

Artists: what do you want from Lab aimed at promoting theatrical experimentation.  If the Lab were [insert idea here] I would be so damn excited and inspired, I would yearn to be a part of it.

Audience types: If the Lab were [insert suggestion here] I would mark my calendar weeks in advace in order to witness the experimentation, and be part of the following discussion.

I always say it: the entire LAB series is an experiment in itself.  We’ve done some initial tests, and perhaps a few results to analyze.  But I want some more cooks in this kitchen.

How do we grow the Lab into something we need to do?  How does it become a ritual important enough to engage in monthly?

What do you think?

After sixteen hours of technical rehearsals this weekend, we’ve built about a third of the show’s technical cues.  One can’t help but laugh and recall codirector Joanie Schultz’s half-joke question early in the rehearsal process, “Why are we doing the Ring Cycle!!?”

I came across this today and just couldn’t help passing it along.