Back when we began planning the Suburban Summer Theatre Surge, Andrew and I knew we wanted to invite the south shore community into the workshop process for a new play.
Workshops are often closed-door affairs – directors, playwrights, and actors rework and rewrite without the prying eyes of an audience. What if we don’t think of the audience as “prying eyes,” though? What if we see them as collaborators who are just as important as any member of the cast or creative team? After all, our goal at Artists From Suburbia is to bring people of all experience levels and backgrounds into the performing arts’ creative process, and we know that not everyone wants to or can get up on stage or work behind-the-scenes. We decided to fully tap into south shore community theatre’s potential by opening our workshop process to the community, allowing audiences to give feedback to help develop a new play over the course of the summer. Given the success of his play “The Werewolves,” (it’s even going to Manhattan Rep this summer!) we invited Alex Moon back to write “Les Nuls,” a new comedy exploring revolution, strife, and mayhem at an 18th-century Parisian café. After a successful public reading, the creative team is preparing for the second reading on July 10 at the Brockton Public Library, and we’re excited to delve into the process for these three reasons: 1. There’s Humor Remember all the dead bodies on stage during “The Werewolves”? Forget them. While “Les Nuls” explores dark themes and turbulent times in French history, Alex approaches them with a lighthearted tone to address the ludicracy of violence, war, and classism. We’re excited to tackle these tough topics with a sense of humor - after all, we all need a laugh, especially on a Monday night in south shore suburbia. 2.There’s Community A community-based theatre initiative can’t exist without inviting our entire community into the creative process. While the playwright, cast, and creative team have been making discoveries in the rehearsal room the past few weeks, we’re excited to see the insights that our fellow south shore community members bring to the piece. Every audience member interprets a play differently, so we look forward to hearing reactions and suggestions as we got back to the drawing board before our next staged reading. 3. There’s Talent We were overwhelmed this year by the caliber of performers that came to audition, and we’re happy to have so many talented artists involved with the reading. Additionally, we have Corinne Mason and Ally Madden, the creative team behind “The Werewovles,” returning as director and dramaturge respectively. We’re excited to see the talents of all these dedicated artists culminate on stage for south shore community theatre audiences to enjoy. You can still reserve free tickets for the second staged reading of “Les Nuls” on Eventbrite. We hope to see you there! Gavin Damore is a cofounder of AfS and oversees all outreach and communications.
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AuthorBlog posts are written by various members of Artists from Suburbia's productions and staff. Archives
July 2017
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