SHIPWRECKED! What's it all about?

Here at Vermont Stage, we like to think of ourselves as pretty eclectic in our offerings. When someone asks what kind of plays we do, it's pretty hard for me to put a label on our work since we've done everything from Woody Guthrie's American Song to Waiting for Godot to King Lear .

The Burlington Free Press once said that we were known for intense dramas and smart comedies, and while that doesn't cover everything we've done, I think it's a pretty good description of our aesthetic aspirations.

And then along comes Shipwrecked! We're calling it a family-friendly show, but what does that mean?

Well, it's not exactly children's theatre, although I think that kids as young as 8 would certainly enjoy the show. It's not quite a comedy, although it's very funny. I wouldn't call it an intense drama, although it raises some fascinating psychological and philosophical questions.

The playwright has said:

I set out to tell a ripping good yarn, the sort of narrative that captivated me when I was a boy, that I think enthralled all of us.  For my subject, I was drawn to a story about the very nature of storytelling.

For me, the rehearsal process has helped me define what the show is all about. When I'm working with actors and designers, my primary role is that of surrogate audience member. That is, I try to take the place of someone at the show, and try to create piece of theatre I'd want to see.

The play is something of a hybrid. The first part of the play is just good old rollicking theatrical fun. An outrageous adventure tale, told with minimal props and costume pieces, meant to evoke the magic of theatre and the power of storytelling.

But then the play shifts into something more serious, more introspective, and we are taken on rich emotional journey that gets at the very heart of the fascinating true-life story of Louis de Rougement, a man either so desperate for fame that he was willing to fabricate these fantastical tales, or a man so caught up in the transformational possibilities of an inspirational story that the truth seemed unimportant.

The more I rehearse the play, the more engaged I become in both aspects of the play - the challenge and thrill of creating something magical with the most meager of theatrical tools and the emotional journey of a man with whom I think we can all identify. I think our production will appeal to the wonder-seeking child in us all.

February 24th, 2010