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No Returns
Leah Mann '03.5
Expertly staffed by:
Money money money!
Ideas to Play with.Death, resurrection, immortality, eternal life, youth, aging, mourning, creation, Jesus, the golem, Frankenstein, Ted Williams, Dr. Evil, Encino Man. What is the relationship between death and life, and can we move between the two? Can the inanimate live? Can dead be made new? Can a lump of clay turn into a living breathing creature? Can we die and live again, in this very same world? What are the consequences of living again, having a second chance? If immortality is impossible, what about extended life spans? What effect could this have on mourning, family relations, and the person's life view? Myth, legend, religion and philosophy have grappled and explored with the ideas of life after death, figures that return from the dead, and the creation of life from dead matter. Be it the resurrected Jesus, inanimate matter collected and animated as Frankenstein or the frozen and thawed characters of Dr. Evil and Encino Man, this idea has fascinated us for millennium. And rightly so- everyone dies. There is no one in this world, who will not die. You will die. Yup, that's right, you. You might not think about it every day, or push it aside when the thought does pop up, but we will all die and we all wonder what it will be like. And if it's permanent. Death is scary. But death that's only for a year or two doesn't seem so bad. Humans can do anything if it's only for a short while, right?What would we do if a loved one died, but was going to living again in three years? Would we cry? Would we visit the suspension capsule? Would we hug them goodbye and say: "See you soon? I'll miss you." As of today, September 2003, no one has been successfully cryogenically frozen and brought back to life. There are, however, a number of frozen people (or parts of people) waiting to return to the world of the living one day. These people have paid exorbitant amounts of money to have themselves cryogenically frozen in the hopes that one day in the future we will be able to unfreeze them successfully, without damage, and they can have a second life. What about population control? Who decides who gets frozen and who doesn't? There are political, medical, and economic factors to take into consideration. Even more interestingly, there are the moral questions that arise when some people are given a second chance at life. Do we die when we do for a reason? Should we fight that? As the field of cryonics moves forward, these questions will become more and more important. As genetic engineering and cloning are very real bioethical issues today, cryonics will be one in the future. This is the world my play takes place in. The play is set in the not too distant future. It is recognizable as our world, but changes have occurred has been made in politics, technology, and medicine. It is a made up futuristic world, and the medical events completely fictional. Cryonics has advanced, and been officially outlawed. It is possible to bring people back, but extremely dangerous for both legal and technical reasons. Using this world as a basis, the play explores a family's experience with cryonics and how it shapes their world. It serves as a platform to examine the various arguments for and against cryonics, but more importantly, the personal and emotional aspects. It is this personal aspect that makes the play more than a study of cryogenic pros and cons, which could as effectively be discussed in an essay. It is a play about people- a play about a girl and her parents. About mourning, living with the dead, and living with the living. There is a story to be told and characters to like and hate. Cryogenics serves as a framework to tell the story. The story, on its most basic level, is a young woman, Genie, who has lost both her parents. She is floating with no direction, her only defined task being to find a doctor who can warm up her parents without giving them brain damage or going to jail. She is struggling to grieve for her recently deceased mother, but her mother will only be deceased for so long. This is relevant to anyone who's ever lost a loved one in any capacity. She is aided by her best friend, and a teenager who's come to look at the bodies. Though Genie is the center of the play, it is very much an ensemble piece. Her parents- Renee and Claude, her friend- Michelle, the teen- Grey, and the police officer- Shade, play a huge role in the development of the play, and in Genie's development. I am a firm believer in the "no small roles" mantra and have tried to write 8 distinct and interesting parts.
The ProductionBy placing the production "in the future" I have given the designers huge freedom. There are no period costumes to search for because the period hasn't happened yet. Whatever look and feel we create, is right. We not just creating a new world in the typical theatrical sense, but in the literal one- there is no frame for reference other than what we provide the audience. The basic feel is going to be rather cold, clean and somewhat industrial. The entire play takes place in the basement, a former laboratory, which contains a freezer chamber. Metallic silvers and blues will make up the set. The one other portion of the set is the after world. This is a separate platform to the side with a lounge chair on it. It consists of deep reds and warm creamy whites. Ben will talk about this more at the meeting. I do not anticipate having to build much in the way of costumes. Because there are no stylistic precedents to keep in mind, we have full freedom to use whatever we feel is right for the character. Working with the actor and myself, the costume designer will define "the look of the future" with what's available. The costumes will depend largely on the creative use of what's available.The layout of the play is clear in my head- a result of having written it. As far as acting style is concerned, I'm going for realistic. The play is fantastical enough with its setting and content- my after world doesn't require people moving angelically in the background. There will be no exaggerated or experimental movement outside of what the character requires. These are to be real people dealing with real obstacles in a truthful way. The actors must be fully committed to the world as real for the audience to accept what they're being presented with. There are a number of striking moments in the play that are made more powerful by their simplicity. Genie laying on the floor by her self in the bright clean light of the room, before Michelle enters could be very powerful. The picture of a lone human lying on the floor in the middle of a room in complete silence is simple and strong. Another powerful image is that of the freezer chamber opening for the first time revealing intense blue light and smoke (yes, I want a fog machine or dry ice) pouring out of this mysterious room. (Obviously this isn't one of the simple powerful moments- it's spectacle. But we like that too.) During Genie's dream, the room is nearly black when the freezer door opens with Officer Shade silhouetted against the blue light while Genie lies in her bed. The final image in the show should be one of the most striking. Everyone has left and Genie is curled up on the cot crying. Renee and Claude are lying together in the after world, finally at peace. The freezer chamber is no longer smoky and blue, but completely disabled. A key scene in my mind is Grey and Genie, getting drunk and plotting the return of her parents. Not only is there a huge energy in the scene brought by Grey's natural exuberance and Genie's tension and excitement, but we see Genie start to let her guard down and begin making vital decisions. That she makes these decisions with a sixteen-year-old (probably sitting on top of the table) drinking whiskey enhances the feeling of adventure and the unknown. I don't like to give specifics ahead of time about blocking, because that's something I work out largely with the actors in the space. But the somewhat cold and impersonal space juxtaposed with the loud, energetic stylings of a drunken Grey downing whiskey with Genie will create a lively tension in the space. I do plan on having sound in the production, but I don't have a sound designer yet. There are a few music cues already written into the script, and this will just be an issue of finding the right songs. For example, in the afterworld, whenever Claude touches Renee classical piano music can be heard. Whether there are additional sound cues and songs to add will depend on the designer. I know this is rather vague on the exact look of the production, but we will have photos of the set at the interview that will clear a lot of this up. I think that will be far more effective than me trying to explain exactly where everything is. There are also a number of stage directions written in the text, for a better idea of where characters are when, and what is present on the stage.
No Returns and MeThis is the first show I've proposed to direct at PW, and there's been a reason for that. Up to this point I didn't have a play I was passionate about directing at PW. The two one acts I wrote and directed in the upstairs were primarily learning exercises for me. Oleanna and The Golden Child, which I also directed in the upstairs space, I directed at the request of others- they were not shows I picked to produce. The Winter's Tale was the first show I directed on campus that had been percolating in the back of my head for years, waiting for the opportunity to be produced. But that was a production appropriate Shakespeare on the Green, not PW. In No Returns, I have a new play, with a balanced cast of eight, extremely contemporary content, fantastical elements in the show, and a script I'm passionate about. I think this is a perfect PW show, and it has all the pieces to make for an exciting and fun second slot. To christen the new PW building with a new work that is set in the future feels right. My play is about revival, new life, new beginnings, and saying goodbyes. As one era or life ends, so another begins. But the new cannot come into being without the passing of the old.This is not the only reason for proposing this show now as opposed to later. I am graduating this December. The end of the semester is going to be spent getting class credits finalized, finding a job, an apartment, moving, and figuring out what the next step in my life will be. It will not be spent in rehearsal. If I don't direct this play at the beginning of the semester, I won't direct this play. Normally, if this proposal was to get rejected, I would produce it independently- I'm a huge fan of doing what I want to do. But for this particular play I want a large space with a set and lights. I do not have the money in my pocket necessary to produce this play on my own. For me, it's PW second slot, or it's some indeterminate time years in the future.
ProcessI have a fair amount of experience directing, and plan on pursuing it after I graduate. My process varies from show to show depending on what is called for. I've directed for Shakespeare on the Green, and several times in the Upstairs Space. I also helped direct a series of monologues about illegal abortions that were performed in List. I've interned at the Studio Theatre in Washington DC, and the Bread and Puppet Theater in Vermont. I've studied theater at Carnegie Mellon, NYU Tisch in London, and here at Brown. I've taught theater at several summer camps to children from age 4 to 13 and everything in between. All of this has served to expose me to a number of approaches, exercises, games, and directing techniques. Every person I have worked with has taught me something new, and I've held on to that and added it to my repertoire.My process with actors depends on a lot of cooperation and exploration together. I don't like to give actors answers; I like to guide them through the questions. "Comments, questions, criticisms, suggestions" is my mantra for the end of any serious rehearsal. The actors should always feel free to say anything they like to me about the direction. If they have ideas, I want to hear them- more often than not I use them. Directors are not there to tell the actors how to do their job. Directors are there to help the actors do the best job they can. I approach the show from a number of angles. I use written character assignments at the beginning of the process to get actors thinking about who they are. I don't rely heavily on very abstracted exercises for finding meaning in scenes. Read the scene, talk about it, put it on its feet, block it, and then see what needs to be done. To explore the scene I'll have them do it nine different and extreme ways, each time discovering something else in the scene. I tend to use movement exercises primarily for character exploration. I also use them to make actors aware of their spatial relationship on stage. I'll do some exercises foregrounding status relations, and how that affects a character's movement, spatial relation, and interactions. But I have no set plan for what I'll use where because I do not know what will be needed. Every cast and show is so utterly unique that I find it impossible to say three weeks ahead of time that: "On Wednesday October 3rd, we'll do improv dealing with spatial relations and then a speed through." I just don't know. I do make weekly schedules so everything gets done. I try to block the show as quickly as possible- I find this frees up actors to concentrate on the material at hand, rather than worry where they're standing. And the blocking can always be changed. I like people off book rapidly too, because this allows them to use their hands and helps their focus. Once the show is blocked, I'll go back to the beginning and start working through each scene. As we go I can see if individuals need help, certain relationships need work, or certain scenes. I always work with actors individually if they request it for any reason, or I feel they need it. If someone is struggling with something, I've found you get faster and stronger results from one hour alone with an actor than four hours of rehearsal with the whole cast. I also use theater games and warm ups constantly, particularly during the first few rehearsals. I work very hard to create a safe space for the actors to work in. I want everyone to be comfortable with each other and with me.
The Writing/ Directing ConundrumBecause it's my writing, the actors will be playing a huge part in the development of the play. I have no problem rewriting as we rehearse and things arise. This is not to say the script won't be done until the show is done, but I'm happy to work with the actors to discover what works and what doesn't. I'm extremely open to suggestions from actors and staff. The intense attachment and investment writer/directors feel with their work can make it hard for them to stand back and admit it needs work or changes. But I know it's vital for an artist to be able to distance themselves from their work and look at it objectively. I'm always looking for constructive criticism and another point of view. I'll also ask uninvolved people to third eye and give me feedback. I've taken many writing courses, and know that a comment on my writing is not a comment on me. If it's constructive and well grounded, I'll take the criticism into account, and almost always try to incorporate it. This is one of the things that make doing new work so exciting. Whenever a new piece is produced for the first time the writer tends to be very present, rewriting and revising constantly throughout the rehearsal process. The advantage of combining the director and writer into one is I have both sensibilities. Any changes to the script I want as a director, I can make as a writer.Instead of worrying that being a writer/director will limit my work, I like to think it will enhance it. As a director I know some things that work on the page don't translate to the stage. I know about the actor's process and what it takes to mount a production. I've tried to write a script that will make it easier. I have directed two one acts I wrote in the past (both in upstairs PW). While they weren't the best shows I've ever directed, I learned a huge amount about myself as a writer, director, and what it's like to direct your own work.
New Work and You and Me.New work is a vital part of theater, and needs to be nurtured. It is one thing to spend many hours in front of the computer, typing your heart away, creating a new piece of drama. It is quite another to see it on the stage coming out of actor's mouths in front of a set. That said, why should this play be one of those new works you take a chance with? The most basic and fundamental reason is you think it's a good piece of theater. If you don't, you shouldn't approve the show. That simple. Good theater should speak for itself. I do not want to put this play only because it is my work. I would want to direct this play whoever wrote it. I think I can create some very good theater with No Returns. The play still needs work, and will be revised throughout the rehearsal process, as mentioned earlier. None-the-less, I think the script is strong enough to put on a great show. I think the parts could give some talented people great material to work with. I think the themes of death; dying, mortality, and the afterlife are fascinating. I also find the topic of cryonics, and the issues associated with it compelling. I think the story is fun and thought provoking. There are many light moments in the play, and many serious moments.
A Final Plea.No Returns offers many opportunities for challenging both the audience, designers, and cast. It's a new play with new ideas. To my knowledge there is no other play in the world dealing with cryonics. The questions it raises about its content will (ideally) leave the audience thinking not only about the performances and the story, but also about their own opinions and feelings on the issues dealt with. But the bottom line is this: good theater is good theater.
Thank you for considering my proposal,
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