So, one of the brilliant structural details about this play we’re working on called Six Years is that each scene moves forward six years from the scene we just saw.  It’s one of the things I love about it.  It seems like an arbitrary amount of time in some ways, but something about the roundness of it really appeals to me.  And so much happens in a time span like that.  Just think about where you were six years ago today.  G’head.  Think about it.  Think where we were as a country six years ago.  Now try to imagine where you’ll be – where we’ll be – six years from now.  Fascinating when you stop and think about it.

One of the challenges we’ve been talking about since the beginning of the process (before we even cast this puppy with seven of the finest actors I’ve had the good fortune to work with) was the transitions.  It’s important, we decided months ago, to have transitions that are part of the storytelling of the show.  We didn’t want (nor can we afford) to have people in black come on stage, pretend they aren’t there, and move chairs and props around.  What kind of theatrical mileage can we possibly get out of that?  So the challenge became finding a way to stay both inside and outside of the world and time continuum of the play, to accomplish the basic task of getting furniture and props on and off stage while also working on another level to keep the storytelling moving forward.

Tonight was the night to stage the transitions.  I’m really glad that we set aside a whole rehearsal for something that seems to typically rank pretty low on the priority totem pole.  I came in with the idea of working in two time signatures – to have Phil and Meredith (the couple whose lives we follow in this 24-year marathon) in one speed and everyone else in the other.  I’m lucky enough to have the aforementioned brilliant cast that is also willing to jump in and try things, even when prefaced with my “This might be crap, but let’s try it.”  I’m also lucky that even if it starts as crap it’s anything but by the time they’re finished with it. 

I’m happy with what we found tonight.  I know that the shifts will get tighter and (hopefully) inform the scenes as any connective tissue informs the limbs it sits between.  I hope that the audience finds the transitions engaging and that we’re able to communicate a sense – not literally, but more evocatively or expressively – of the lives happening in the gaps between scenes.  I’m excited to see how these moments continue to grow and shift.  I’m excited to have such a brilliant team to work with.  I’m just excited to see and hopeful about what we discover next.