WINGS Technical Rehearsal Schedule

Rich suggested we post the tech schedule to the blog!

Click here to view the schedule on Google Docs

Here are the activities broken down for each day. This includes the latest changes and edits by Randy. If you have questions about any item, or anticipate a change in the schedule, please let us know right away, and we’ll adjust, so that everyone is on the same page.

Load-in crew, please note start times for each day, as they are not always the same.

We're excited to have everyone together up in Los Angeles next week!

Production Pictures for Publication?

Here are a few pictures of Joy (and Larry). The last three were taken with my phone, so the quality isn't amazing. I'll be bringing my camera with me tomorrow to catch some more shots.

Redbird closes her eyes to get lost in a happy memory:



Redbird crawls under the table as a child, comforting herself by singing her mother's song:



Redbird asks her father about the story of Monahwee:



Redbird sings:

Larry's Set-up... for Susan

Here is what Larry's set-up is going to look like. He'll be seated on the lower level, next to a table on the deck of the Autry stage. Ideally, we'd like a table 40 in. high.
(Forgive the images, they were taken with my phone!)

Here's the overall set-up: synth, computer, mini keyboard, amp (behind him), drum, music stand (not pictured).



Amp and foot pedal:



Electronic set-up to fit on table:



(straight on)



Situated in the context of the rest of the stage:



Thanks Susan!

From an email by Joy Harjo

From an email this morning to playwright and friend Laura Shamas:

Performance reminds me of going out into the ocean. No two days are ever the same. The Moon continues to move. Winds, currents, thoughts shift. They can change from one moment to the next. The trick is learning how to surf whatever is there. And if you huli, or flip out of the canoe, you have to know how to get back in. And keep moving.

A Poem... a Note... by Joy Harjo

A note to the actor in me:


You were there before I could speak

You were all the permutations of yes and no

You were the front door, the back door, and the place in the middle where the soul stands naked

You told the truth before it could be spoken

You spoke before there were words

You let me in when I asked you to open the doorI had to first ask

The heart stepped through first

All the rest of me followed: wind, elbows, lips, feet, a pool of sunlight before language, a sky of black peopled by stars, the awkward next to awesome grace

Here we are againBack to the beginning of the urgent urge, to the first spark

We noticed it, spoke it, and became it.

We are.

A Brief Thought...

Today, I discussed with another student, what is theatre? At first, he argued that a play (the physical book) is not theatre.

"Arguable," I softly said. He heard me.

Several famous theatre theorists argue that the text of a play, the written word, is enough to qualify as theatre. I don't entirely agree.

He then argued that theatre is the performance of written word.

Well, I argued, improvisation is still theatre and even a dance performance can be theatre... as long as it tells a story. No, not every single piece of "theatre" tells a story; I would more likely just call it theatrical, because I believe that theatre originated as a form of passing along a story.

This other student and I came to agree at least on one point. In essence, theatre is the performance of storytelling.

* * *

I write this because I realized tonight, as I watched Randy work with Joy, that the telling of a story is a very delicate process. Some of the stories Joy tells, true or created, are of a very sensitive subject matter. Sometimes they are difficult to hear, no matter how many times she retells them. In order to effectively retell these memories, which Joy has a natural-born talent of doing, it requires immense strength and patience. We are still in the rehearsal process, but already, it is wonderful to watch Joy get lost in her stories.

I hope she doesn't feel small on stage all alone, because her words speak volumes and paint beautiful pictures.

Desire Under the Elms, Production Photos

Here are some amazing production photos from SDUS's adaptation of Desire Under the Elms, directed by Randy Reinholz. These pictures only begin to show the gorgeous aesthetic of the overall design.

The set lent itself to so many different locations, was an amazing and creative space for the actors and fellow designers to work in, and was, literally, a piece of art. The light design, particularly featured here, was so innovative: conscious of space and time, reflective of mood, a character unto itself... and again, art. These designers worked seamlessly together, balanced each other, and truly enhanced this production beyond conceivable thought. Without them, such poverty and catastrophe could have never also achieved such beauty.

Set: Andrew Hull
Lights: Ashley Johnstone

Tickets! Get your tickets!

A VERY SPECIAL LIMITED RUN - 3 WEEKS ONLY! MARCH 12TH through MARCH 29TH. Previews March 10th and 11th.

Music can save you, stories can heal you; in the words and the song, there is an answer. From the imagination of musician, poet, and playwright Joy Harjo, (Mvskoke) comes a deeply compelling journey of struggle, displacement, self-discovery, and healing. Embracing life stories, sharing universal truths, and taking back a Native woman's place in the world, Harjo teases out a tale of how poetry, music, art and theater can bring a life full circle. Invoking spoken word, storytelling, and song, Harjo channels multiple voices, taking us on a wild musical ride where she tells it like it is with spirit and a mean jazz sax. Joining her for this personal tour-de-force is Grammy Award-winning producer and guitarist Larry Mitchell infusing blues, funk, rock and jazz into an allegorical work of tremendous power.

WINGS OF NIGHT SKY, WINGS OF MORNING LIGHT

By Musician, Poet and Playwright Joy Harjo (Mvskoke - Creek Nation)

With Grammy-Award Winning Producer and Collaborator, Guitarist Larry Mitchell

Executive Producers Randy Reinholz (Choctaw) and Jean Bruce Scott

Director Randy Reinholz

Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays 8:00 p. m. ~ Saturdays & Sundays 2:00 p. m. at The Autry in Griffith Park across from the LA Zoo where the 5 and 134 freeways meet.

TO PURCHASE TICKETS:

General Admission $20 / Autry Members $12 available at Autry Box Office 323-667-2000 X354 or TicketWeb 1-866-468-3399 or www.ticketweb.com

40% off for GROUPS of 10 or more. Purchase 10 or more tickets for your GROUP at only $12 per ticket! GROUP leaders: for more information, or to reserve tickets, call 323-466-5830 or e-mail christi@flagmarketing.com

** Save your ticket stub and get free admission into the 2009 Intertribal Arts Marketplace!** Museum discount and special meal price at cafe may also be available. Ask Christi for details.

Native Voices At The Autry is devoted to developing and producing new works for the stage by Native American playwrights and performers. Visit www.nativevoicesattheautry.org or www.myspace.com/nativevoices to learn more!

Prehistoric Designs - Middle Mississippi Valley

Who is Menawa?

"As a young man, Great Warrior (Menawa), ca. 1765-ca. 1865 (Creek), was known as Crazy War Hunter in recognition of his daring military exploits and audacious horse raids. He was a supporter of the British in the War of 1812 and opposed the cession of tribal lands to the Whites. Menawa led the group which executed McIntosh, a Creek leader who did favor cession and removal to western lands and who was condemned as a traitor. Menawa's portrait was painted by King when he visited Washington, D.C. in 1826 to protest the 1821 treaty of cession signed by McIntosh. Although he fought in support of the United States in the Seminole War and was granted permission to remain on eastern lands, he was forced west in the 1836-1840 Removal to Indian Territory. (2)"

(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menawa

(2) http://www.ucdp.uc.edu/exhibits/mckhall/menawa.html

From the Scenic Designer: Part II

Susan reshot the set model from a better angle. These photos don't exactly show the shadowy effect on the actual stage (more photos of that later!), but these at least give a better idea of how the audience will see it.

WINGS Press Release

Click on an image to enlarge.

Joy's Journal Entry: 1/2/08

January 2, Honolulu

Randy and Jean arrived in Honolulu New Years Eve. I haven't talked with them yet. I am leaving them alone to their much needed vacation. The deeper I am into this collaboration, the more I realize their hard work and gifts. Yesterday I picked up Larry Mitchell and his wife Candy Jones from the airport. Honolulu was showing her best face: blue sky, blue ocean, warm with an occasional blessing wind. This morning it's raining again. The winter here is the rainy season. Very early this morning as it rained I dreamed. I was within an hour or so of a theater performance. There was a dinner set out in the lobby for the crew. I don’t eat, but promise to have a bite before going on, for energy. I am drawn to the door of the theater. I stand there listening, I gather together those forces who help me, who will accompany and give force to the performance. I feel the building, intense rush for what I know I am going to have to do. I am fully prepared but I know when I step out onto that stage it is not about me at all, I know that for it to work, I must give in to the story, the music. I am absolutely vulnerable. It is what I am there to do. I am about to enter a sacred space. I serve it. We step out together, the story wound with music, and I , and I give myself over, body, heart and soul. Even now as I speak about it my stomach waves and clenches as if I am standing there, about to begin the ceremony.