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Costume Designer Catherine Vigne  on Becky's Shoes

3/25/2015

 
Gianna Kiehl and Paul SchnabelGianna Kiehl, Paul Schnabel, and Becky's shoes. Lindsay Raymondjack Photography.
Every show I work on has its own memorable and unique costume pieces, whether it be the leather corset and dominatrix boots from Venus in Fur, the see-through shirt from 4000 Miles or the Blue Heron Boy wings from The Quarry. 

In Slowgirl, one piece that stands out for me are Becky's wedges. Becky's shoes became a part of the costume design very early in the process, almost as soon as Robin and I started discussing what Becky should wear. We wanted her to start in a shoe that had the feel that she was dressed very impractically for her surroundings (who wears heels to the jungle?) and for her circumstances (who wears chunky platform shoes on a plane?). We also knew we wanted animal print somewhere on Becky's costume – our own little nod to the idea that she is the “wild animal” coming into Sterling's world – and the shoes seemed like a good place for it to be.

The actual shoes were a bit more difficult to find. I knew what I was looking for – something with animal print and a modern, fashionable, young profile. However, they also had to be relatively comfortable and something in which Becky could physically do everything she needed to do onstage (which included walking on loose surfaces, running, and even climbing over a chair). I scoured local stores and the internet for a shoe that would work perfectly. My search yielded many shoes – everything from booties to flip-flops, with and without animal print, in every heel height. The one that we liked the best after our initial fitting was the one that ended up onstage – metallic copper wedges in a very subtle snakeskin-like texture.

If you have seen the show, this may not sound like Becky's shoes – there is one major change I made to them before they went onstage: I added leopard print to the wedge portion of the shoe. All through the rehearsal period, we watched the shoes, trying to decide if the snake print was too subtle for our animal print idea. We went back and forth – we didn't want the animal to be too obvious, just to be something that we would know and that the odd audience member might notice. Finally, during one of our tech rehearsals, I tried out the leopard print on the heels just to see. As soon as we saw it, it had to happen. The leopard print was perfect. It was just enough animal print, and gave the shoes just that tiny bit of special and outgoing-ness they were missing. That night I added the leopard print and the next morning they paraded onstage into the world of Slowgirl as you see them on Becky's feet today.

Blair Mielnik on designing the set for SLOWGIRL

3/17/2015

 
Slowgirl was an exciting design to create; it provided a great opportunity to transport the audience to an unfamiliar location. As we got further along in the design process, and I spent more time with the script, it became clear how much the location has profound affects on the characters from beginning to end. The Costa Rican setting initiates much of the action and scenarios in Slowgirl that would not have been possible in other more ordinary environments. The environment is continually acting upon the characters: insects, birds and creatures are all around and commonly come into the house. Sterling has planned his home to be completely open air which makes his jungle home even more of a vulnerable environment. The open air home is popular in Costa Rica to both native citizens and ex-patriots; I studied both and selected on a more modern style design using traditional materials.

The set design focuses on the world that Sterling has sculpted for himself; the roof is corrugated metal, the supporting structure is rough cut timber draped in bamboo. For our design it was very important to use real materials to get the true transporting effect of them. The bamboo shows Sterling's low-impact conservationist mindset and harmony with his surroundings.
Sterling spends every day keeping himself occupied with projects to keep his mind busy and distract himself from pondering his self imposed exile. We have added small personal touches throughout the home that show his use of time; improvements such as rope railings, recycled coffee can lights, and bits of found natural elements that he has collected and nurtured. 

Sterling's Labyrinth was also one of these projects, he refers to it as “the greatest thing I've done since I came down here”. His creation of the labyrinth is a great spiritual mediation for him, for me it is physical proof of his wandering and searching for a path in his life.
With the labyrinth being such a crucial element I wanted to give it paramount importance in the set design. For this production we have stayed true to the original and created an expansive design that includes the same 11 concentric routes as the Chartres Labyrinth that Sterling bases his upon. Within the theater, the route of our labyrinth is approximately 200' long as it wraps around on itself
and also stays true to the 40ft width of the original.

I set a contradicting goal on my set design for this production to create a space that is simultaneously confining and expansive. The labyrinth is as wide as possible and extends all the way over to the FlynnSpace cafe, yet at the same time the central action is confined to boxes within boxes: the house platform sits in a wide jungle and the cement slabs on Sterling's property further confine the actors to a close proximity alone with each other. This confinement provides an essential crucible for the characters to confront each other and initiate their emotional journeys.

We all find many ways to distract ourselves from our own suppressed issues, and while most of us are free of serious strife in our lives such as Becky and Sterling face, their ability to square off with the situation is enviable.

Further Reading:
http://www.labyrinthos.net/chartresfaq.html

Jeffrey E. Salzberg on Lighting  SLOWGIRL

3/10/2015

 
Jeffrey Salzberg Lighting Design
There's more to "vision" than what we see with our eyes.  Vision also resides in the brain. The eye sees things as they are, but the brain sees things the way they might be. In theatre, playwrights have a particular sort of vision; directors have another, and designers another yet, and they all interconnect to form an image, like a jigsaw puzzle... And, as with any jigsaw, we usually start at the outside and work our way in, to find the truth in the middle. It's hard, though, to express that vision in words – theatre people sometimes say that if we could describe it in words, we wouldn't need to do the show.

Theatre is a collaboration, in absolutely the finest, broadest sense of the word.  The actors collaborate with each other to relate the story.  The designers collaborate with each other – and with the actors – to create a visual and aural environment, in a manner which supports, sometimes in an imperceptible way, the themes of the play... and that brings up another important collaboration: our collaboration with the playwright.  Even when the author is not in the room – even when the play is a classic whose author died years or even decades earlier – our work is a collaboration with the words and thoughts put upon the page in the initial creation.

Any well-written play can, and usually is, about several things at once. To me, Slowgirl is about running from one's responsibilities... and returning to confront them. You might agree with me, or you might not. You might see the theme as something completely different. That's fair enough, and while I am, of course, right... so are you... Because our most important collaborator is the audience.

"When the best leader's work is done the people say, 'We did it ourselves!'” ~ Lao-Tzu

Paul Schnabel on playing "Sterling" in SLOWGIRL

3/4/2015

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Picture
What excites you about working on SLOWGIRL?
I find this play so intriguing. Greg has loaded it with many layers in a beautiful and artful way. It feels honest. The characters are very real and the subtlety with which they are drawn leave an actor a lot to think about. There are plenty of mysteries to excavate, which I really like. Working with Gianna and Robin is fantastic. The production team and entire Vermont Stage organization work hard to support us and bring this gem to life.




What is your favorite line in the play?
This is an interesting question that I'm not going to answer directly. I don't really have a favorite line. I have lines I can't stop thinking about because I can't quite figure them out or where Sterling’s head was when he said them.  These lines say little about anything out of context but a massive amount in the moment they live inside the character speaking them. I do like when Becky calls me Ster-fry though.

Is there anything about your character that you can relate to?
Life is filled with complicated choices and unknowable outcomes. None of us is perfect, so if you can't rectify and forgive yourself for the inevitable missteps, your life will be fractured until you can. That is where Sterling is, and though it’s maddening to see what he puts himself through, I can relate. Also I can totally relate to his awkwardness.

How have you been preparing to take on this role?
I've gleaned the script for as many clues as I can find about Sterling…how he thinks and his world. I've also spent a lot of time thinking about his life, trying to fill in as many details as I can. For research I didn’t go live in the jungle but I read about it and I did make a smoothie at home.

Is there anything about playing this role that intimidates you? Why?
I admit to feeling intimidation at some point in most productions I am involved in. I'm guessing Sterling might put himself through the same thing.

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Gianna Kiehl on playing "Becky" in SLOWGIRL

2/24/2015

1 Comment

 
Gianna Kiehl
Who are you playing and how would you describe her to someone?

I am playing Becky, a 17-year old and the niece of Sterling. Becky is in many ways a regular teenage girl. She is popular and outgoing and her world is very small. But she also has this childish quality that is beautiful and unique. Sometimes it comes in the form of her wildness, her unfiltered view of everything. Other times it is her sweetness and vulnerability. She is extremely likable and also larger than life.

How have you been preparing to take on this role?

I have written in my journal as Becky, writing down observations as she sees them, both in the world and in reaction to things pulled directly from the script. I have worked to access truthfully the outgoing talkative side of me, which I am not far from, but I often lack the uncensored aspects. Her total freedom in herself is really inspiring, and I've thought a lot about that letting go. I wrote about all of Becky's senses, because her reactions to the world have a visceral relationship to what she takes in through her senses.

Is there anything about playing Becky that intimidates you?

Even though I am still very much going through the crises of my teenage years, when I play a teenager I feel a bit of
separation from the character so I am able to have empathy. I care very deeply about Becky, and I want to make others care about her as well. What is scary is embodying her pain in a way that does not seem trivial or juvenile.

What excites you about working on SLOWGIRL?


I have never had a role of this magnitude set against such an intimate story. I am so excited to start this work with Paul and Robin. I have worked with Paul before, and cherish the level of comfort and trust between us. I know I am going to be facing challenges as an actor I've never encountered, but I'm excited to be challenged by people whose artistic integrity and expertise I have complete faith in. I know I am doing what I love when the opportunity to put myself out there and be so vulnerable, as a character and as a learning actor, fills me with a sort of giddy excitement.

What is your favorite line in the play?

When Becky says "Thanks for having me."

I believe it is genuinely meant and not a mere formality. It sets her apart from a regular teenager (not that there is such thing...). Her ability to be both completely wrapped up in her own social world and still have such sensitivity is astonishing to me. Many teenagers brush off the kindness of adults, and feel their intrusion into the kid's lives is smothering. But Becky has this special appreciation for her uncle, and her sincerity really affects me. It was that line that really made me love her.

What would you like the audience to be thinking about after the show?

Why are these two people important? I hope the show will provoke reflection about the significance of this story. It really is moving, and the troubles these two characters go through are at once trivial and profoundly human, thus universally relatable.

Why should someone come to see this play?

There is a great deal of hope in this story. The relationship between Sterling and Becky can be excruciating, but every little resolution, as well as the grander, vaguer resolutions resound triumphantly. This is a story about humans provoking and protecting each other. And this show is funny. This teenager makes her uncle very uncomfortable.

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Robin Fawcett on Directing SLOWGIRL

2/17/2015

 
PicturePhoto by ©CarolynBates.com
What excites you about working on Slowgirl?

The play. Though only a few years old, it has the bones of an American classic. The whole of it is so thoughtfully made you’re unaware of how its artful parts conspire to move you through a very modern drama that is also a timeless human tale. 
The people
.  What fun it always is to collaborate with, and be impacted by, a group of creative others. 
The opportunity.
 Nineteen years ago, the playwright, Greg Pierce, was one of my “Gondoliers” in the CVU High School production of the same name. To work with him now, through his inspired writing, is a rare treat (and much richer than bossing him around in doublet and tights).

What is your favorite line in the play?

The last line is my favorite line in the show because it’s courageous and captures, so simply, how any of us ever allow for fresh possibility in our lives. You’ll have to let me know what you think. 

Is there anything about the characters that you can relate to?

Because it’s a human story, I can relate to both characters by analogy. I can relate to Becky’s reflexive impatience with Sterling’s self-deceit; it has sadly changed the Uncle she remembers and obstructs connection. I can relate to Sterling in the way he has woven fiction through the story of his life in order to mend the seams where who he has been has strayed from whom he wants to be. I relate to how the jostle of another can expose these false threads, unravel the fiction, and spur a more meaningful reckoning with the true fabric of a life.  

What would you like the audience to be thinking about after the show?

Where can we go to talk about it?!

How have you been preparing to direct this play?

I’ve read and enjoyed the play; then, taken it apart to see how it works. I’ve put my feet in the shoes of each character to understand what they’ve done, what they say, and what they do. I’ve explored the play’s world through each of its five senses, through its symbols, and subtext. And I’ve collaborated on interpreting this work with a really cool design team. It’s definitely time for the next ingredient – Paul and Gianna – the actors!

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