Constellation Theatre's Blog

Why be in this play? by Lisa Lias

Why be in this play?

It seems like a silly question in the wake of what has been such a successful run. But here’s the thing: While we all love what we do, three of us have young children. When young children wake up early in the morning, they don’t care that you were knocking yourself out onstage and then driving home the night before. Most of the cast has day jobs. Their employers are equally unconcerned by the demands theater puts on a person. 

I don’t even want to talk about how hard the crew works, both day and night.

The point is, none of us being brand new to theater, the play matters. We have to want to show up and do it every night. And we do.

For me, the “why?” has a few components. First of all, like Ashley, Keith, Misty, Cheryl and Katie, I’ve been with Constellation since the beginning. So of course if Allison offers me a chance to do The Show with The Pool, I want to do it. But that’s ego, and ego doesn’t get my son to school in the morning when all I want to do is sleep. So next is the people. One of Allison’s strengths as Artistic Director is her ability to select the people who join the Associate Artists for each show. Atkinson said no love-fest blog posts, but the fact is this is a good team. If the posts Ashley and I wrote about what it’s like backstage conveyed anything, they should have conveyed how it just couldn’t be done without real teamwork among the cast and crew.

This brings me to the play. It wasn’t love at first read for me. I thought it was theatrical, solid and poignant, but reading it isn’t the same as doing/seeing it. I didn’t gasp out loud when I read the end, but audiences often do when we blow the candles out. That’s worth it right there. To hear an audience actually gasp. That doesn’t happen in every play. And as you soak in this material in rehearsal and now, performance, the power of myth sneaks up on you.  Myths tend to have simple story lines. Someone gets an idea in their head and it doesn’t turn out the way they thought it would. A man wants to turn things into gold, go on a journey, cut a tree down, get his wife back…the things people want seem understandable, and yet there’s always a catch. And it’s gotten to the point that I don’t feel so different from these mythical people. Maybe that’s what I’m getting at. Doing this play has made me think about what I wish for. I mean, I wish I got more sleep. But if I did, I wouldn’t get to hear that gasp every night.

Chronicles of Metamorphoses – by Ashley Ivey

Well my fellow cast mate Lisa Lias’ awesome blog post has piqued my interest in actually documenting my backstage track during the run of Metamorphoses- here goes-
Arrive 6:30pm
6:30-7:15 shave face and warm-up
7:15- run fight call as fight captain- watch Myrra/Aphrodite hair pull- Erysichthon kicks me in my face and rolls me into pool- SEA BATTLE! 
dry off, then into costume for top of show!
8pm Showtime! 
Wish the gents and the ladies a great show, wait in loading dock for my first entrance as Silenus. 
High five Lisa, Katie, and Megan on their way to their first entrance. 
Get wine bottle and chips- On stage as Silenus.
Exit after scene, hand off wine bottle to ASM Dan, get towel to dry off a little, reenter with Baccus for end of Midas scene. Exit carrying Jade with Jefferson once clear of sightlines put Jade down, get down the stairs and hug the wall so Matt can clear past me, rip off wet Silenus costume throw in bin, run to loading dock for costume change into Henchman. Change complete, go to the hidey-hole secret water entrance and get into the water to wait for sea battle entrance. 
After the sea battle up and out of the hidey-hole get towel from Dan,simultaneously drying off and taking sopping wet henchman costume off while running towards the loading dock for my next quick change into Sleep. 
Sleep scene done then into dressing room for a quick dry off then back to loading dock for  Narrator costume change, quick hair check in the bathroom, then grab mop for Halcyon Days song.
Onstage for Halcyon Days song into Erysichthon scene. At end of Erysichthon grab axe and costumes in the black out at the end of scene and exit off stage. Hand off costume to ASM Jewel, store axe under light boom, grab snake glasses and hand puppet go to hidey-hole and get in the water for snake entrance.
Onstage for snake bite. Exit out the hidey hole entrance, while at hole strip down to bathing suit, get into shade bag.
Onstage for shades.
Exit Orpheus scene, climb out of shade bag throw into bin, get to dressing room to change into Vertumnus necklaces, bracelet, bandeau, and leafy crown, run to backstage bathroom where my wet costume is hanging put on pants then run like hell to get my suit case and cane from under the spiral staircase to make my entrance as Vertumnus. Hopefully enough time for ASM touch up to my costume make sure it is on correctly.
Onstage as Vertumnus. Exit out with Katie help her slip off Pamona wings then into dressing room. 
A Break! During Phaeton scene catch breath and get into Narrator costume for Eros and Psyche.
At end of Phaeton scene clear innertube off set and hand off to ASM Kat backstage.
Onstage Eros and Psyche.  Exit with dagger to quick change into Philomon wig and cloak and cane in the dressing room then back onstage for the end of show!

What happens backstage…stays backstage. By Lisa Lias

I write this on Monday, May 14th. We just completed our first 8 show week. As I was falling asleep last night, happy and tired at having pulled that off with my team – the cast and phenomenal stage management squadron – I thought I should try to fill in what happens between scenes. (Actually, I’m rising to Katie Atkinson’s challenge that our blog posts not all be love-fests.) The show itself can be seen. But backstage, well, you had to be there. So…

Top of show. Check my pocket for what I need as a washer woman, give Dan the alarm clock, go stage left and dance to Tom Teasley till the lights go down. Scoot to the hidy-hole stage left when it goes dark.

(Top of show happens. I exit after Midas.)

Exit stage left, do not run into anybody changing stage left, drop laundry basket in the loading dock, make a beeline for the dressing room. Get rid of head scarf, start wrapping “Iris” dress. Put on flower head piece, red lipstick, turn around and head through the loading dock. Cross to stage right, yield to sea battle people headed the other way at high rates of speed. Get way up on the step for the God Platform, do not be seen.

(First Iris entrance happens. I exit.)

Come off, get alarm clock, let Kat get by, wait for it, nod at Dan to open the door.

(Second Iris entrance happens. Exit.)

Make a beeline from stage right to the loading dock and back to the dressing room. Jewell hugs the wall as I blast through – “Hi Jewell! Bye Jewell!” Talk to Megan about how it’s going while undressing completely. Leotard, black body suit, wig, pony tail. Get dress and bathing suit, head to loading dock, place dress and suit. Dance around to “Kingfisher,” let Keith past with the mops, head up the stairs. Wait for Matt to enter, go to entrance 6. Wait for it, nod at Kat to open door.

(First Hunger entrance happens. Matt carries me off.)

Get the hell off poor Matt. Dance to Teasley. Get on the low lighting platform. Wait for Jeff to say “Hey, little girl!” Get on Matt’s shoulders. Pull up on lighting boom so Matt can stand.

(Second Hunger entrance. Exit, knife in hand.)

Turn the dam knife around so it doesn’t stick anyone, run like hell, pull wig off, start zipper. Throw wig, knife and fork on prop table while presenting zipper to Kat. Get 100% naked asap. Into bathing suit and dress. Keep track of the music. Run. Hit stage left, keep tying dress, lose the pony tail, recompose so the entrance looks as if I’ve been relaxing without a thing to do, and right about then it’s time to enter.

(First entrance in Orpheus. Walk off sadly, then…)

Jump into shade bag, wait for the #3 doors to be open, enter.

(Second Orpheus entrance. Exit shadily.)

Get out of bag, head through the crossover. Go to dressing room. Get cap for nursemaid and the blindfold. Adjust dress. First moment of the show where I don’t have to go straight back onstage. If Misty and Megan are still here, then I’m not late for the nurse entrance. But in short order, head stage right with a towel or robe. Place that out of the way. Wait for “part two: the solution.” Peek out and watch Megan go about 3 steps. Go to door 5 and burst in.

(First Nurse entrance. Exit with Megan’s wet wrap and Matt’s dry coat. Do not get the dry coat wet…)

Wrap up stage left. Wait for Matt to start screaming. Go to door 5. As soon as Matt hits the wings, enter.

(Second Nurse entrance. Exit.)

Bomb through the loading dock, drop off nurse cap and the towel, shake out hair and retie dress while going to the crossover. Get the floaty for Phaeton. Doors open at #3.

(Phaeton entrance.)

Back to dressing room, wrap up, wait for Keith to start singing, head stage left.

(Eros entrance.)

Drop bow and arrow at prop table, get back up to door 5 for “answering the door” bits. Go to entrance #6.

(First Baucis and Philomon entrance)

Drop pot and spoon, dive under the platform for #3, line up for candles.

Does this demystify the show? I always think we should have an alternate ticketing option that allows people to watch from backstage. It’s non-stop traffic from “places” to blowing out the candles. If I try to “run the film” of the show in my head, half of it is a blur of passing people in the dark. And I lot of fun. (Sorry, Atkinson.)

News and Reviews

Read & watch all about Metamorphoses!

We’re very excited to tell you that Metamorphoses received a Helen Hayes Awards Recommendation yesterday!

New reviews in too:

Terry Ponick in the Washington Times writes that Metamorphoses is  ”one of the most unusual and thoughtful theater pieces we’ve seen this season. It’s a genuine literary and musical think piece whose unusual poolside setting actually helps transmit the message rather than detracting from it.”

And catch the Don’t Miss section in May’s Washingtonian (print and online)

WETA featured Metamorphoses on its Around Town segment last week: Click here to watch!

See you by the pool!

Video preview for Metamorphoses

Thank you to Jonathon Church & Lee Liebeskind for shooting and editing this beautiful trailer!

Director’s Notes – Metamorphoses

Welcome to Metamorphoses!

It is with great joy that Constellation Theatre Company brings you these everlasting myths.  The Roman poet Ovid wrote Metamorphoses, which translates as “Transformations,” in 8 CE.  The fifteen books that comprise this master work explore romantic love, greed, devotion, selfishness, insatiable appetites, loss, vanity, grief, abstinence, ambition, forbidden desire, spirituality, generosity, passion and forgiveness.

Mary Zimmerman developed her play based on the tales of Ovid between 1996 and its Broadway run in 2002.  She interpolates the episode of Eros & Psyche from Apuleius’ The Golden Ass, as well as Rainer Maria Rilke’s 1908 interpretation of Orpheus & Eurydice. In her characteristic style, Zimmerman balances the sacred and the profane.  The ancient is juxtaposed with the contemporary.

The script calls for a pool of water, which offers unique and challenging staging opportunities, as well as abundant symbolism.  Water is the natural element without which there would be no life.  It embodies the idea of transformation – in one moment violent, in another soothing. Water inhabits so many forms, from tears to rain to the vast depth of the ocean.  Throughout time it has been the key element in purification rituals, initiation rites and baptism.  In water we may receive the divine spirit, experience forgiveness, or gain a fresh perspective on the world.  Water makes possible rebirth, redemption, even revelation.

Ovid’s myths and archetypes resonate through the ages both in waking moments and in our collective unconscious.  They may be interpreted as cautionary tales, warning us of the power of the gods or forces larger than ourselves. They encourage us to greet the world with compassion and to allow ourselves to be vulnerable.  They invite us to open our hearts to love; to open our minds to the enigmatic and the ambiguous; to open our souls to our mythic side; and to open our eyes to our own potential for transformation.

Joseph Campbell wrote, “Mythology helps you to identify the mysteries of the energies pouring through you.  Therein lies your eternity.”  Both Ovid and Zimmerman begin this epic with an invocation of the gods.  The Woman by the Water tells us of Creation, “One way or another, people came – erect, standing tall, with our faces set not to gaze down at the dirt beneath our feet, but upwards toward the sky.”

This is the beauty of the human condition – our desire to look upwards; to find our place in the expansive, infinite universe; to give meaning to the images created by constellations of stars that shine for thousands of thousands of thousands of years.

Allison Arkell Stockman

Founding Artistic Director

A Good Reason to Sell The Cow!

English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge famously wrote in his epic poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner:

Water, water, everywhere,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink.

For those who have seen, as I did this past weekend, Constellation Theatre’s over-the-top production of Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses  no boards shrunk and, except for those in the first two rows of the audience, no water was available to drink.  However, what was available to drink was what may be the richest and most rewarding production of theatre Constellation has mounted in its relatively short history.  The audience was treated to a virtual theatrical feast.  Ovid’s classic tales of humanity, which represent some of mankind’s oldest tales, are given new relevance by Zimmerman’s brilliant script.  In lesser hands, the play might come across only as an original and clever presentation of the classics.  Under the direction of company Artistic Director Allison Stockman, with superb performances by a brilliant acting ensemble and with world-class music (Tom Teasley) and design (A.J. Guban and Kendra Rai), Constellation’s Metamorphoses brings its audiences a theatrical experience one only is lucky to have a few times in a life of going to theatre.  In other words, go see Metamorphoses at all costs.  Sell the cow!  If you don’t own a cow, buy one so you can sell it and go see Constellation’s Metamorphoses!! 

One audience member on Friday teaches Ovid’s tales as part of her English classes at a prominent Atlanta school.  She said that she wished she could have her students see the production because it would make them so more vivid than merely reading the normal translations.  Perhaps Constellation should take this show on the road. You know, “Have pool, will travel.”