It's one of the fundamental things on the actor checklist: the moment before. What were you doing in the days, hours, minutes, seconds before you walk onstage or before the scene starts. In Burying Miss America, Jean talks about all the work that her mother's funeral requires. The text is full of references to the arrangements, the food, the thank you notes. I did my homework, and I had a pretty good idea of Jean's day before the play starts. Get up, pack snacks and hand wipes and crayons, and probably tissues, get ...
I found myself in the old neighborhood last night. I was walking home from some meeting or rehearsal, fighting the desire to give up and catch the bus, when I realized I was no more than a couple blocks from my first Chicago apartment. About the time I had this thought, my day’s consumption of coffee caught up with me, and using the bathroom as soon as possible became urgently necessary. Without thinking, I wandered in to the familiar coffee shop where, for a dark year or two, I probably spent more time than in any other place in the city ...
It gives me enormous pleasure to see BURYING MISS AMERICA opening this week as the first production of our 2011-2012 Season. Not only is this a beautiful new play by an exciting Chicago artist and wonderful friend of New Leaf, but it is also the culmination of our first revamped Treehouse play development process. This play has journeyed through its initial workshopping to last season’s Treehouse Readings Series to now find its home as New Leaf’s World Premiere season opener. Congratulations to all involved! Our commitment to playwrights and the development of the next wave of new theatrical work ...
"While I was waiting for you before, I made this list. All the people that brought food. Or flowers. Or anything. The ordinary, average, worshiped her from all the pageants people. They get a note." I've gotten to know this person called Jean Russell pretty well over the last few weeks, diving into the words she says, delving in to her life story. What began as painting in broad strokes has evolved into more detailed brushwork, and as we get ready to welcome our first preview audiences on Thursday, I find my mind occupied with the minutia of ...
Michelle Lilly is part of the production ensemble of New Leaf Theatre and is the Scenic Designer for Lighthousekeeping. One of my favorite parts of any design process is the shape search. This typically takes place once the basic storytelling concepts are down, but we’re still looking for the specifics of what the world of the play looks, sounds, and feels like. The first thing I’m usually thinking about is the basic presence of the set in relation to the story we’re telling and how we’re telling it. Is it looming? Is it sensual? Is it ...
It’s one of the fundamental things on the actor checklist: the moment before. What were you doing in the days, hours, minutes, seconds before you walk onstage or before the scene starts. In Burying Miss America, Jean talks about all the work that her mother’s funeral requires. The text is full of references to the [...]
I found myself in the old neighborhood last night. I was walking home from some meeting or rehearsal, fighting the desire to give up and catch the bus, when I realized I was no more than a couple blocks from my first Chicago apartment. About the time I had this thought, my day’s consumption of [...]
It gives me enormous pleasure to see BURYING MISS AMERICA opening this week as the first production of our 2011-2012 Season. Not only is this a beautiful new play by an exciting Chicago artist and wonderful friend of New Leaf, but it is also the culmination of our first revamped Treehouse play development process. This [...]
“While I was waiting for you before, I made this list. All the people that brought food. Or flowers. Or anything. The ordinary, average, worshiped her from all the pageants people. They get a note.” I’ve gotten to know this person called Jean Russell pretty well over the last few weeks, diving into the words [...]
Michelle Lilly is part of the production ensemble of New Leaf Theatre and is the Scenic Designer for Lighthousekeeping. One of my favorite parts of any design process is the shape search. This typically takes place once the basic storytelling concepts are down, but we’re still looking for the specifics of what the world of [...]