Polarity Ensemble Theatre Blog

Richard Engling in rehearsal

I’m engrossed in the concept of time lately. Part of it is my own aging and having an increasing number of the important people in my life dead. As we work on The Good Harvest, I’m also writing a play about the legacy of two of my dearest friends, both artists, one a fiction-writer and the other a visual artist and former actor, both of whom died without their work being much recognized by the outside world. What does that mean? I’m drawn in to thoughts of why we do this work.

In my own work as an artist, I’ve gone through long cycles of moving from one form to another. I first worked and trained as an actor, then a playwright and a fiction writer. When you work as a performer, time moves quickly. Your art exists in the moment, and then it’s gone. By the time I was in my thirties, I’d shifted to novel writing and spent decades always working on one novel or the next. To satisfy my need to perform, I played jazz drums. My novels took years to write. As a novelist, it feels like you are building something large and permanent, like the pyramids. You imagine your works sitting on shelves hundreds of years from now, next to Dostoyevsky and Faulkner. (Well, you imagine that when you are a young writer anyway).

For this past decade I’ve been back working in the theatre: acting, directing, writing plays and adaptations, founding and running a theatre company. Why do we do this work? Will it matter after we are dead? Does anything matter after we are dead?

Right now I’m directing The Good Harvest in its world premiere. The process has been exceptional. Last week one of the actors took me aside and warned me that he might have to miss a rehearsal. He needs to have a growth removed and tested. The potential that the growth might be cancerous seemed to bother him less than that fact that he might have to miss rehearsal. “This is my play,” he told me. “I enjoy the work so much, the exploration, I hate to miss a minute of it. It’s been years since I’ve enjoyed a process so much.”

For the actor, it’s always about the process, the moment, and the performance. They are more comfortable in that temporal space. Perhaps actors are more capable of following the command to “be here now.”

Is it my novelist side that draws me to thoughts of legacy? I first conceived of the play I am writing as a tribute to my friend Fern. Even in the moments before she died, before she killed herself, Fern regretted that she would never write a novel she had planned. On the day he died my friend Dean was talking about making arrangements for some of his artwork—different arrangements than the way he’d left it in his will just a week before. Do they care now about the legacy of their work? Will anything I write change it?

Does legacy matter? Or is the only thing that matters the way we live our lives moment to moment?

As artists, we answer a vocation. For most of us, there is something of a vow of poverty involved. Because we devote so much of our time to a pursuit that pays poorly (or not at all) our finances suffer. But we find a value in it. We work at other jobs during the day and give up our nights and weekends to rehearse and memorize lines, design, build and plan. And when the project feels worthy, it feels like a privilege to be involved—even if we spend more on gas or public transportation to get to rehearsals than the pay the project offers.
And when it’s over, all that remains are the memories.

Is that legacy enough?

I asked the actor if he minded being mentioned in this blog. He wrote back a beautiful email. Here is part of what he said:

“I, myself, have struggled with the idea of legacy.  This has been going on for years with me.  Wondering if any one thing would be remembered after I am gone.  Though I have never hit the level that I had dreamed of, or made an addition to society that is recognized, I do know that my legacy exists.  I learned early in life that being true to yourself is a legacy.  All of my adult life, I’ve witnessed people living with something missing or not enough of something.  Sometimes it was as simple as not following a dream, other times it was living with the question of themselves being ”enough” or doing what they do for guilt or necessity or just being ordinary.  My father was a wonderful man that was hard working, poor, uneducated and a bit stubborn on some subjects.   I could talk for hours on what he did accomplish or overcame, though the rest of the world doesn’t know he even existed.  His legacy was simple.  A simple man who didn’t need or take a lot but gave everything.  He was the epitome of a good man.  When he died I knew the world was different for me.  At his funeral I discovered his legacy was bigger than what I even imagined as in the evidence of each person that came to honor him and reveal a personal story about him and/or a shared event.  The word used to describe my father by each person was simple.  It was the word good. 
 
“Through this I learned that fame or awards or a big house or what I’ve accomplished by witness or films or plays, won’t be the important part of a legacy.  It’s that one personal moment for each person that does remember me in years gone by that will be the legacy in either a positive or negative memory.  Shakespeare’s writing, Monet’s paintings, although beautiful, have no effect of legacy to me.  I find their art more of proof of their existence and with great merit but without the personal experience of knowing them I don’t feel the connection of what is important to me.  I know that I will remember a personal interaction with a stranger foremost than the words of Iago from Othello on my deathbed.  So my feeling is that if I can place it on a shelf it is a trophy but if I can remember it in my heart and take it with me, it is then legacy.”

The actor asked to remain anonymous for the moment, but I want to give my thanks to him for allowing me to share his words. And we all look forward to sharing the fruits of our work with you in The Good Harvest.

Best,
Richard Engling, Artistic Director
For The Good Harvest company and Polarity Ensemble Theatre

Bryan Breau as Jonathan, Leah Morrow as Molly and Scott Sawa as Henry

In the next stage of rehearsals, we get the play on its feet. We’ve delved into each scene intellectually and emotionally, focusing on the nuance of every word during the table work stage. Now we start to get physical.

Each day before rehearsal, I spend a couple hours reading and rereading the scenes we will work on that night with the set design and floorplan at my side. I’ve already got notes jotted here and there in my script, but now I go over it again and make decisions about how I think the scenes should look and how the actors should move. The Good Harvest is a play about relationships. What moves the actors around the set are their emotions more than their need to accomplish tasks.

Set Model by Ashley Ann Woods

For instance in one scene, Davis arrives at the house where the triplets are mourning the loss of their mother after the funeral. Davis is their father, but he left when they were infants. They have no memory of him. When we did the table work on the scene, I got the image of a pack of dogs circling and attacking the old alpha male who has returned. That was the image that inspired my initial blocking (the movement that actors make around the stage).

Another scene takes place in the past, with Davis and Joan (mother of the triplets) when they were young. Davis and Joan struggle with making their marriage work. In charting their movement through the scene where they become closer or further apart, I created blocking to match their emotional state.

In every case the pre-blocking I create on my own is our starting point. I describe the blocking to the actors at the top of the rehearsal. They jot it in their scripts. We discuss it. Then we try it out. And then begins the active collaboration on our feet as the actors work the scene in movement. We find ways to improve the initial blocking. We rework the scenes again and again and make many discoveries and choices on the way toward the final shape of the play. Along the way there are moments of both frustration and exhilaration as we work together to bring the script to life.

The triplets enjoy a lighter moment in rehearsal.

In addition, we have Lisa in the room who provides us insight into the playwright’s original intention and who continually gives us revisions to the scenes, improving the script at every step. Lisa is a pleasure to work with because she truly enjoys seeing the other artists discover things about the play that she hadn’t seen herself. Every member of the company is committed to making the play the best it can be, so it’s an exciting collaboration all the way around.

-Richard Engling, Artistic Director

Ashley & Steph discuss set & lights

We’ve just completed the first week of rehearsals for Lisa Rosenthal’s The Good Harvest. (Click here for tickets). After an opening rehearsal that included presentations by the designers on the set, lights and costumes and a read-through of the play, we’ve been doing “table work” all week. This gives us a deep foundation in the meaning of the play and an understanding of the emotional twists and turns, scene by scene. Each night we take no more than 15 to 19 pages of the script and work through it in detail. My biggest job as director at this stage is to ask a lot of questions. My temptation is to do a lot of talking. I’ve been living with the script for a long time, collaborating with Lisa as she has done rewrite after rewrite, and I could sit and tell the actors what I think each moment means and how it ought to be played. But what I really want is to get the most thoughtful participation from each of the artists involved: every actor, every designer, every staff member–and to assist Lisa in getting the most perfect expression of her script.

Gosia displays costume designs

Asking a lot of questions has led to really fascinating insights into the script. It’s been illuminated by personal stories of giving birth, of seeing our children born and of lost opportunities for having children. The actors show tremendous emotional honesty and generosity in talking and dealing with each other. This time spent looking at lines and exploring the emotional territory will give us a rich foundation on which to build the show as we get it on its feet in the next stage.

It’s also been a great pleasure to have Lisa in the room for the full process. As the playwright–who knows the script better than anyone–she has shown tremendous restraint in doing far more listening than talking. In the process, she and I are both discovering that the other artists bring insights into the script that we’ve never considered. That’s the joy of collaboration with a fully engaged ensemble.

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Meanwhile, I’m delighted to announce that Polarity will produce the world premiere of Ephemera by Bryce Wissel Spring 2011. This will be another world premiere of a script that has gone through development in one of our Dionysos Cup Festivals. Ephemera is a screwball comedy in outer space, aboard an endangered space station cut off from contact with the Earth. It’s really fun.

On top of that, this year’s Dionysos Cup playwrights have been meeting with their directors and dramaturgs for the first discussions. The playwrights will now have the next two months to work on revisions of their scripts before the directors take them into rehearsals for the festival in May. It’s a very exciting time!

The plays of this year’s Dionysos Cup include: Kabulitis by Keith Anwar. Director: Laura Sturm. Dramaturg: Ann Keen. Death and Devils by G. Riley Mills. Director: Darren Callahan. Dramaturg: Kaily Anderson. Fertile Lies by Jaime-Lee Wise. Director: Brea Hayes. Dramaturg: Richard Engling. What Makes the Buddha Smile by Jay Koepke. Director: Sean Kelly. Dramaturg: Jamie Bragg. Production managers: Lauren Cerkiewicz and Jamie Bragg.

Best,

Richard Engling, Artistic Director

Kim Boler

Hilary Holbrook

I am very pleased to welcome Kim Boler, Hilary Holbrook and Michael Welles as new associate members of Polarity. We met Monday evening at the Heartland Cafe to discuss the company and their potential membership, and they joined us on the spot. I also extended the company’s invitation to Andrea Morales. Andrea has just been promoted to ensemble membership with Halcyon Theatre, so she wanted to

Michael Welles

discuss it with them before she decided whether to accept our invitation. These four actors were all part of the cast of our recent A Streetcar Named Desire. Huzzah for the new members!

Also, the Dionysos Cup directors and dramaturgs gathered Tuesday night to finalize play selections for the festival. We had 37 plays submitted by local playwrights, and it really was torture to narrow the list to 4 scripts. We read some really marvelous plays. I wish we could be working on more of them. But beyond that regret is the utter joy of being able to work on these fantastic four:

Kabulitis by Keith Anwar. Director: Laura Sturm. Dramaturg: Ann Keen.

Death and Devils by G. Riley Mills. Director: Darren Callahan. Dramaturg: Kaily Anderson

Fertile Lies by Jaime-Lee Wise. Director: Brea Hayes. Dramaturg: Richard Engling.

What Makes the Buddha Smile by Jay Koepke. Director: Sean Kelly. Dramaturg: Jamie Bragg.

The four plays now enter an extended development process that will culminate in a series of staged readings in mid-May.

Best,

Richard Engling, Artistic Director

Richard Engling

I am in new play heaven. This weekend the world premiere of Chuck Palia’s The Society of Adventurous Women plays in our space at the Josephinum. Chuck has been a long-time collaborator. We first workshopped his script in a playwriting class I taught a few years ago. Then Chuck designed the beautiful and imaginative set for our production of Ghost Watch. When the opportunity came to produce Chuck’s Society with the students of the Josephinum Academy, we jumped at it. Since Chuck had conceived of the play as something to fill the need for more roles for high school girls (Chuck is a retired high school drama teacher), this was a perfect fit. 

What makes this heaven for me is the process by which Chuck’s script has steadily improved. I was able to team him up with director David Fehr and dramaturg Sarah Baughman who have collaborated, critiqued and suggested ways Chuck could make the script better. In addition, they taught the Josephinum girls acting skills, rehearsed the show and brought it to the stage. It’s been a beautiful process, and everyone involved has been truly enthusiastic. 

And speaking of which, I just read the latest revision of Lisa Rosenthal’s The Good Harvest. Wow. It is so powerful. You will be amazed. I am absolutely loving my partnership with Lisa. (I am directing her world premiere).  She is tremendously receptive to suggestions for improving her script. Very hard-working. And she’s been collaborating with us on this script since the last Dionysos Cup, when it was directed by Laura Sturm in the Festival. 

Lisa helped me cast the show. We just completed that, and we’ve got a tremendous group of actors. It took us some extra time to find the right actor for the role of Davis (the father). This past Sunday, four members of the cast came in to read with the men auditioning. Lisa kept watching our actors who were already cast. “I’m so happy to see them work,” she told me. “They’re so perfect. And they are ours!” We go into rehearsals with them February 7^th. 

And at the same time we are reading new scripts for this year’s Dionysos Cup, which will happen in May. What a tremendous collection of plays we’ve received! It’s a great joy to begin the process with these plays and playwrights—but also a great sorrow that we cannot do more of them. There are so many that are so deserving! It makes me wish we were a bigger company with more resources, more money, and more space. Ah, well… We’ve already got an embarrassment of riches. Two world premieres with playwrights who are part of the Polarity family. Did I mention Chuck also designed and built his own set for Society? It’s gorgeous. If you want to read more of what we are up to and how you can help, click here.

Ensemble Member Lauren Cerkiewicz recently visited the new Modern Art wing at The Art Institute of Chicago. Here are her thoughts on this newest edition to Chicago’s art scene.

Modern Art is controversial. Just ask my Dad. To this day I remember a conversation that took place when I was 11 years old, between my father and my godmother in the Carnegie Museum of Art’s modern wing. My godmother, an artist and student of art history at the time, was trying to prove to my dad the artistic merit of a completely white painting. She told him that the all white canvas on the wall was “the epitome of minimalism.” My father replied right back that “the epitome of minimalism would be an empty frame.” She didn’t speak to him for the rest of the day.

The reason I mention this story is because during my first visit to the Art Institute of Chicago’s new Modern Wing, I overheard similar conversations taking place everywhere. I heard a father point out to his young son the contrast between the brush strokes and the poured paint in a Cy Twombly piece. I watched as a woman pointed out phantom images in Picasso’s famous Old Guitarist. I even heard a woman try to explain a set of all white paintings to her friend (whose reaction seemed to be much more receptive than my dad’s). And it was these conversations that led me to the realization that modern art is, and always has been, controversial. People forget that at the end of the 19th century, the reaction to the Impressionist movement was not entirely enthusiastic; today, I have yet to hear someone say that Monet’s Water Lilies doesn’t belong in a museum.

As for the latest additions to this long line of controversial art, their new Chicago home is both stunning and appropriately simple in its design. The light wood flooring combined with the metal light fixtures and glass skylights reminded me of an expensive version of Ikea. The translucent screens used to create a false ceiling in several of the galleries helped to establish a cozy environment while maintaining the loft-like theme of the central area. But my favorites spots were the outdoor sections. I can’t wait to eat at Terzo Piano (I predict that it will soon be a wedding hotspot). And the Pritzker Garden provided a welcome respite towards the end of my visit: I felt peaceful and uncomplicated sitting in my green chair, beneath the soaring “awning” and a robin’s egg blue colored sky.

So now I want you to see it for yourself. I’ll even give some suggestions for your first visit:

1. Use the Millennium Park ramp entrance. The slow incline up 3 stories with the sight of a new condominium construction in the South Loop will fulfill every childhood dream of wanting to experience the sensation of boarding a rocket ship.
2. Take advantage of Free Days or any of the other dozens of ways to get in free or pay a discounted price. (Check out http://www.artic.edu/aic/visitor_info/geninfo.html for more information.) Without the pressure to get your money’s worth you can enjoy the art without getting tired and resenting the fact that there’s so much to see.
3. Take advantage of the Museum’s website. The Modern Wing’s webpage (http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/exhibitions/500Ways/overview) has a section called “Interact” where you can download a self-guided tour on your iPhone, or learn Exhibition Insights under “Videos and Podcasts.” And educating yourself beforehand will help to make a piece seem familiar when you see it and create a connection, much like the one people have with American Gothic or A Sunday on La Grande Jatte.
4. Don’t be afraid to look closely. When viewed from a distance, what looked like flowers in one sculpture turned out to be paper towels covered in paint and rolled into balls. And in one photograph, the sadness I felt at seeing the image of the World Trade Center in 1998 contrasted so sharply to the shock of suddenly spotting the image of two very small, very naked women on a rooftop that I laughed out loud.

Finally, take your time. Go more than once. Visit your old favorites in the main building before you head home. Find something new with each visit. Go with an open mind, and I promise, you won’t be disappointed.

But while you are at your computer, please check Polarity’s year-end appeal. Our art depends on your support.

I have to think the saints are watching over Polarity in a couple ways this year. We are finishing out the last two weekends of a really magical production of A Streetcar Named Desire. We are sold out for Friday night. The acting has been spectacular and widely praised, but the tech work is equally stunning, and some of the thanks has to go to the Saints. You might know the Saints as the organization that provides ushers to so many Chicago theaters, but they also provide grants to help companies with special projects. One of the reasons Streetcar looks so good is that the Saints recognized Polarity’s track record of theatrical excellence by approving a grant to assist us in buying new computer-driven lighting equipment. In an intimate space like ours, it makes a huge difference.

In addition to that blessing, this morning I signed a letter of agreement with the saintly Marc Richards of Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione, the international intellectual properties law firm. I’ve been talking with Marc for some time about publishing projects we are planning, and Marc and his firm have agreed to provide us pro bono legal assistance! Polarity has published two books of plays to date, and we have some very hot ideas for projects no one else in the nation is doing. (Sorry, I can’t spill the beans yet).

So we are feeling grateful and will have good reasons to celebrate Thanksgiving this year. With only 6 performances of Streetcar left, we certainly hope our friends will make sure to get their tickets. This is an extraordinary production not to be missed. Click here for more details.

My very best,

Richard Engling, Artistic Director

P.S. Managing Director Ann Keen lead the Saints grant application effort with lots of help from Jason Epperson. She says: ”The Saints know theatre. Their grants offer solid, practical help for solutions to basic needs. Without their assistance our production values would not have risen to the level we now enjoy. They make it easier for theatres to do theatre.” Click to sign up for our newsletter.

Mason Hill plays Stanley Kowalski

(Playwright Darren Callahan recently interviewed Mason Hill and filed this report): “Why?”  It’s a common question put to an actor.  Why that role, why that character?  Mason Hill has kids and a wife – why put everyone through all that…drama?

“Okay,” he says, as if he’s settling in to tell a long joke, then raises his low-rent beer bottle up to his big beard (one that would make that guy from Iron & Wine jealous).  He drinks and finally explains.  “If you read the play, the actual text – not see it, but read it – when that guy enters the room, there’s a big ol’ description of him – it goes on and on.  And in that description is the reason every American male actor between 25 and 40 wants to play that guy on stage.” 

The character he’s talking about is the notorious Stanley Kowalski.

Though only one piece of the puzzle that is Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, working class louse Stanley Kowalski is right up there with Frank from Blue Velvet or The Joker in The Dark Knight for dangerous unpredictability.  Impulsive, to say the least, Stanley is a man who is so brutally honest, he’s sometimes just plain brutal. 

“I don’t hate him,” confesses Mr. Hill, “and his wife doesn’t hate him.  He doesn’t feel he’s a bad person – he feels virtuous.  He wonders, ‘Why aren’t more people like me?  Why don’t they really see what they are, what they want, where they belong?’”   But to play such a villain?  “I don’t see him as a villain,” says Mr. Hill.  “If he’s not loveable, he’s a fucking monster.  Who wants to play a monster?  I have to find the reasons his wife loves him, and the reason friends would love him.” 

Charley Jordan, a member of Polarity Ensemble Theatre, the company behind this unique revival of the classic, remarks, “When I heard Mason was going to play Stanley, I was very happy for Polarity, and then I was very, very happy for Mason.” 

Having grown exponentially since defining himself as a killer Iago in Othello, then a rock star Hamlet, and again appearing in last season’s quadrilogy of weirdness that was his four simultaneous roles in The White Airplane, Mason Hill has proven quite capable of slaying Williams’ bad boy. 

The play’s director, the notable Ann Keen, has said of Mr. Hill, “There are certain roles an actor has only a small window to play.  You don’t want to be fifty and play Stanley Kowalski.  The text says he was relatively fresh out of military service, and he isn’t a general.  When a chance comes along, an actor will want to take it.”

When asked how might an actor play ‘impulsive’ when everything is rigorously rehearsed, Mr. Hill smiles mischievously.  In The White Airplane, he was known for curveballs.  “There are certain actors you know can react to anything.  If I throw a punch early to get a surprise, you want to be sure that actor isn’t going to blank and forget their lines.  It hasn’t reached that point of ‘anything goes’ yet in rehearsals, but we’ll get there.  The others might even do it to me!” 

 A Streetcar Named Desire performances will take place at the Polarity Ensemble Theatre in the Josephinum Academy, 1500 N Bell, Chicago. Showtimes are Friday and Saturday at 8pm, and Sunday at 3pm. Opening Night: Monday, October 5th at 8pm. $19 general admission. $10 previews October 2^nd – 4^th. Tickets can be purchased by calling 1-800-838-3006 or by visiting Brown Paper Tickets.

Richard Engling

The new season is underway! Ann Keen is rehearsing the cast of A Streetcar Named Desire. This is our first time out with an American classic, and I am delighted. Ann (who you probably know is our founding Managing Director) has always loved this play, but she never felt she could direct it without being absolutely sure she could cast the right Blanche.

Everything fell into place after Laura Sturm joined our ensemble. Ann first directed Laura as Queen Gertrude in Polarity’s critically-acclaimed Hamlet. Laura had been recommended to her as one of the best non-equity actresses in the city of Chicago. What she discovered was an actress who did her homework (Laura is an absolute research glutton) and who was totally emotionally connected with her work. No wonder Laura is also a sought-after acting teacher. After that first outing, Ann knew she’d found her Blanche DuBois.

With Blanche in place, Ann was able to assemble a cast with incredible chemistry. She put in stellar ensemble mates Mason Hill as Stanley (you may have seen him in such Polarity roles as Iago and Hamlet), Abigail Trabue as Stella (Polarity’s Antigone and Lydia Languish) and Lauren Cerkiewicz as Eunice (Hamlet’s Gravedigger). To that unbeatable core, she added some of the best independent actors in town. Opportunities like this are why directors love to work with an ensemble. And Ann is brilliant with these performers. This is what Chicago storefront* theatre is all about.

A Streetcar Named Desire performs at the Polarity Ensemble Theatre in the Josephinum Academy, 1500 N Bell, Chicago. Show times are Friday and Saturday at 8pm, and Sunday at 3pm. Opening Night: Monday, October 5th at 8pm. $19 general admission. $10 previews October 2nd – 4th. Tickets can be purchased in advance by calling 1-800-838-3006 or by visiting petheatre.com.

Best,

Richard Engling, Artistic Director

*If you hadn’t heard the term before, “storefront” theatre refers to the low budget yet passionate theatre companies that have defined the Chicago acting style. Many of these companies perform (or started out) in cramped storefronts, thus giving rise to the term.

Richard Engling

Welcome to Polarity Ensemble Theatre’s blog! Despite this being summer and a long time before the next show, Polarity people are busy. Ann Keen and Abigail Trabue are busy assembling their production team for A Streetcar Named Desire, our season opener. Streetcar auditions are coming soon and everyone is anticipating an exciting process. Abby had an unbelievable number of talented actors wanting to audition, so Ann and she are sure to find a remarkable cast.

Jason Epperson and I are at work on a web site makeover, and Jason is preparing some new marketing strategies for the company. We are inviting new members and associates to the Ensemble, and we’ll have an announcement about that soon.

Playwright Lisa Rosenthal and I had an exciting meeting last week. I’ll be directing Lisa’s play The Good Harvest, which will open in late March. Lisa and I had breakfast at The Bourgeois Pig in the DePaul neighborhood and talked ideas about the show. (They make a great breakfast there, by the way, and we had fun talking on a variety of theatrical topics–including starting this blog. Lisa has promised to blog here, as well). Post-meeting, Lisa is back at work on another revision to a script that is already terrific. We are really looking forward to the world premiere of Lisa’s play.

And today, composer Greg Silva and I had lunch at the Heartland Cafe in Rogers Park to discuss Singing in the Grave: The Musical Comedy of Death, a project on which he and I are collaborating. We spun some new ideas and gave ourselves deadlines for creating new words and music.

If you are hungry for some good theatre right now, I recommend Boleros for the Disenchanted at the Goodman Theatre. My wife Gail and I saw it last weekend, and it was a really fine show. Henry Godinez directed a terrific cast in Jose Rivera’s love story of two generations and a journey from Cuba to America. Gail and I got to see Rivera’s School of the Americas at the Public Theatre in New York, as well, and we really admire his work.