New Play Haiku

Director Steven Bogart

It’s a blessing, and maybe a little bit of a curse to rehearse in the theater space in which the play will perform. There is something about being in a rehearsal space with windows and light that allows for the actors to engage their imagination without the audience seats talking back at them. But I'm not complaining. At our first rehearsal, I was happy to see all the chairs stacked in the back of  the theater and lighting instruments taking up much of the audience space.

The blessing is, of course, to work for this fabulous theater and to collaborate with a terrific cast, creative team, technical staff, and playwright. I feel lucky, and I love arriving each day for rehearsal to find a new design element appearing for us to use.

When I was thinking about how to describe the process of working on Dan Hunter's new play, I thought of the following haiku:

old pond
frog jumps in
and hits his head

(I know this is not five-seven-five, but the next one is):
 
Hunter writes a play
Actors come into the room
Hunter revises

And that's how it's been going. I came aboard with Legally Dead last August around draft #12 and, as I write this, we are at draft #21. I think the script has finally settled in, maybe there will be a few more minor tweaks.

I love the bond that has happened between playwright and actors. When the collaboration is healthy it feels right, and this one feels right.

It has been a thrill to work with Dan on Legally Dead, and did I say I love Boston Playwrights' Theatre; the work they do here is vital to the health of our theater community.


-- Steven Bogart, Director