My latest project is Ruby Rae Spiegel’s play, Dry Land. Directing this project is a part of my senior honors thesis, where I am exploring how works centered on health and wellness may influence and educate those who help create it.
Dry Land is about as much of a 180 from Hairspray as it gets, but the change of pace I have experienced has been quite refreshing. Hairspray felt like living in Disneyland; it was fun and hectic and the stakes felt very high at all times. Dry Land, on the other hand, has a cast of 5, a much smaller creative team, and a shorter rehearsal period. Most of the play is set in a high school locker room. The performances will take place in a rehearsal room, much more intimate than the 700-seat giant of a theatre space I was last working in. It has been a pleasant surprise feeling grounded, focusing on something entirely new, and navigating a “work-life" balance” that feels a bit more sustainable than what I was experiencing for the past few months.
My best buddies and creative collaborators! Not pictured: production meeting conversation that lasted the entire beach walk.
In trying to recollect myself after Hairspray, I made a goal to spend time every day before rehearsal checking in with my body—yoga, running, weights, it didn’t matter as long as I was moving and spending some time away from the constant stresses of planning, communicating, and preparing for post-grad life. I read once that finding a disciplined daily routine outside of your craft is an important practice for any artist and really wanted to use this opportunity to put it to the test. So far, I have been loving holding myself more accountable to this routine. Plus, I’ve been exercising with two of my best friends, Kristina and Arlene, who also happen to be the assistant director and co-costume designer on Dry Land. Finding time away from “the work” and just being buddies has been so nice. I remember the last time we went to our favorite place to eat during Hairspray, hoping to have a normal day out. Inevitably, it became a production meeting over vegan burgers and fries. Oops! Luckily, it’s a bit more difficult to fall into work-conversation when we are doing weighted lunges and rowing.
Perhaps the most challenging part of this process so far has been transitioning to a style that is entirely unlike Hairspray. Dry Land is highly stylized in its own right, balancing naturalistic dialogue that wavers between intense conversations about abortion or the future and light hearted remarks about Gatorade and athlete’s foot. Interestingly, a number of my actors were also in Hairspray. It has been a challenge for all of us to unravel the heightened world we created for Hairspray and find a collective tone that is entirely new and different. No more cheating out or larger-than-life gestures. This piece seems to be all about the smallest of details.
Tonight we are running the first half of the show—off book!—and then will delve right into table work and staging for the final few scenes. It is so exciting to watch this piece come together!