First Notes to the SHIPWRECKED! Creative Team

I'm about to go into rehearsal for Shipwrecked! tomorrow night. If you've been wondering how a director has an impact on a play that he's directing, here's a great example. This is my letter to the cast and design team in advance of our first meeting. It doesn't tell them what to do; rather it suggests to them the kind of world I'd like us all to create.  It is not intended as a blueprint to be followed exactly but rather as a framework out of which further creative decisions will evolve.

Hi, Gang!

I know I'm going to see you all tomorrow, but I wanted to get a few thoughts out to you ahead of time just to get the creative juices flowing. I've already met with the designers a few times, and now I want to get everyone, actors and designers in the same room at least once, just  to throw ideas around. More than any show I've directed, this show  feels like it will benefit from as much interplay between designers and actors as possible.

It's an incredibly theatrical show. By that I mean that the artifice of  the theatrical devices is directly on display. We know we are in a theatre. The props and costumes and puppets are all acknowledged as such.

There is no real attempt here to create verisimilitude; rather we are asking the audience to actively engage in the creative, imaginative process. We're not trying to fool them into believing something; we are saying essentially "these are our tricks of the trade; come with us on this adventure." The acting, too, is right out in the open as we see two actors play multiple roles with only the change of a hat or a scarf or an accent or a physical choice.

The framing device of the story is that Louis is in this theatre, perhaps for this performance only, and he has hired a couple of folks off the street (maybe for a meal or a few drinks or a cut of the house) to help him tell his story. He has his trunks full of costumes and props, but  he's essentially on his own, so he can't carry too much with him.  Also,  he's been doing the show for a while, and so he and his materials are a little worse for the wear. And he didn't have a lot of money to create his show in the first place.

I believe that the performance takes place sometime after the events described in the play. He's been discovered and disgraced, his former glory has been stripped from him, he's lost whatever wealth he may  have gained from his past fame, and he is doing his best to earn a  living by telling his story to anyone who will listen. He still believes in the value and the power of his story. Its veracity is beside the point.   How long after? I'm not sure, but long enough for the show to have  gotten a little rough around the edges.

Having said that, there is nothing crude about his (or our) aesthetic.  What I (and the playwright) want to avoid is anything that feels cheap  or cutesy. There wants to be a sense of whimsy, to be sure, but also a  basic elegance, some sophistication, an intelligent, clever thought-process behind each choice.

I'm reminded of the early scenes in Baron Munchausen (the Terry Gilliam film) when they're staging the play. Here's a youtube clip you can check out .  I like that it's very obviously theatre - there's no attempt to hide the cables and other mechanisms that make the effects work, and yet we're still enchanted by the stagecraft because it's done  artfully and with attention to detail.

The acting needs to adhere to this same aesthetic. Edgar and Chris , who play over 25 characters between them, have the challenge of making each of those characters distinct without going into the realm of caricature. Even when you only have a couple of lines to create a character, the character still has to be as deeply grounded in reality as if the character were on stage for the full 90 or so minutes.

Ethan , I'm sure you have loads of ideas about Louis, and I don't want to try and set anything in stone before we've even had a conversation. I will say that, in addition to the master-storyteller aspect of this  character, I'm particularly interested in his psychological and emotional dimensions. What led him to take this particular path? What are the effects of having ridden such a roller coaster - from poverty to fame and back again?  I think there's something very dark to explore there, which can be a nice counterpoint to his public persona.

He is an entertainer, to be sure, but there's also a troubled soul there that I think we want to see glimpses of.

Okay, that's plenty for now.  Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow!

February 15th, 2010