Thursday, January 18, 2007

Woolly Mammoth: From the Intern Out


Woolly kicked off the new year with a whole new crop of interns, today we have the unique pleasure of hearing from Jen Rogers. She's Howard's assistant and began her internship on January 2nd--just in time for the Vigils First Read. (And in case you were wondering, that's not Jen over here on the right. It is a publicity shot of Woolly Company Member Naomi Jacobson who stars in Vigils.)
"Hello Club Woolly! My name is Jen and I just started working at Woolly as the assistant to Howard. My first week at Woolly introduced me to a world that I am very excited of being a part of. Everyone in the Artistic office welcomed me as Elissa took me around the theatre.

The tour ended with the first rehearsal of Vigils, Woolly’s next main stage production. I’m pretty sure the format of the first rehearsal was standard, but I’m not so sure of the content! Brian led the meeting as first Howard said a few words, then Colette (the director) discussed her take on the play, then the design presentations and even Noah (the playwright) said a few words before the read.

The set design seemed simple at first, but as Dan’s presentation continued, it became apparent that the set allows for more than meets the eye. Designing a set is far past my ability, but designing a set that is both aesthetically pleasing and allows for flying is a daunting task and I cannot wait to see the final product.

I believe one of the greatest strengths of Woolly’s focus of new work is the fact that playwright can be in the room and work with the entire ensemble. Noah claimed he was neither funny nor provocative, but after hearing the show I beg to differ. I can’t wait to see the show – the talented cast (featuring some Woolly company members) and artistic staff are bound to create a beautiful, absurd, and humorous show. How could you not be excited about a show that has flying and fire?

After rehearsal I met with Howard who outlined what was going on this spring at Woolly. January is the month to finish up season planning for the 2007-2008 season. In order to catch up with everyone I read the remaining plays of the season, She Stoops to Comedy by David Greenspan and Dead Man’s Cell Phone by Sarah Ruhl, before I started reading the selections for next season. Season planning involves reading dozens upon dozens of diverse scripts and countless discussions trying to find the ideal plays that create a well-balanced season and continue Woolly’s mission.

Season planning is a puzzle. We’re trying to balance many different factors such as relevant subject matter, the theatrical nature of each play, casting possibilities, the size of each production, potential directors and designers, with the chief criteria being that the scripts maintain Woolly’s mission of presenting new plays that explore the edge of theatrical style.

Apparently I’ve come at a rather busy and exciting time with season planning, auditions for next season, workshops, and of course the three remaining main stage productions in this season. If this is only my first week, I can’t imagine the rest of my time at Woolly! "

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