DEVISING METHOD
This project started with the mission to explore what it means to be an individual living in the age of climate change and throughout the creative process, we’ve continually refined and refocused our work. Five weeks ago, we had our first read‐through on this very stage. We began with a skeleton script loosely based on our spring 2010 exploratory rehearsal phase. For the first week of rehearsals, no roles were assigned to the ensemble. The performers embraced this challenge as we tested out text, character and relationship. Working within a compressed timeline, we had to make choices quickly (see: graveyard of lost scenes).

 

ECO‐FRIENDLY THEATER
When we embarked on this experiment, we challenged ourselves to produce the most eco‐friendly theater within our capacity. We also endeavored to be more environmentally conscious as individuals. Each member of the cast and creative teams picked an eco‐habit to adopt for the course of the rehearsal process and run – from not using plasticware to turning off the faucet while brushing one’s teeth. Our set has been built with cardboard picked up outside of liquor stores, Christmas lights borrowed from the cast and crew, discarded nut canisters, soda and beers cans, and a sundry assortment of often disposed and underused plastic items, such as water bottles and plastic cutlery – all items that, ordinarily, would have been trashed even without having been used. If you knew how little money we spent on the production costs for Another Place, you would be shocked. Not only did we avoid using up more of the earth’s natural resources by repurposing already manufactured items, but we also saved on our bottom line. In an economic climate where production costs are soaring, saving the earth also saved money. And aesthetically, it looks pretty darn cool. Now that’s something to celebrate.