Welcome to the Arden Theatre Company blog, where we share behind-the-scenes stories and current happenings with you. You will hear from the Arden staff as well as actors and other visiting artists, and we hope to hear from you, too. If you have an idea for a topic, please post a comment about it. We can't wait to hear what you think!
On Wednesday, April 6, the Arden opened our final mainstage production of the season, Wanamaker’s Pursuit. Sylvan Society members enjoyed a reception at Ristorante Panorama, one of the Arden’s dining partners, prior to the performance. They gathered with members of the design team as well as playwright Rogelio Martinez and director Terry Nolen, to sample Panorama’s fabulous wine selection. The show opened to a sold out house and was followed by a post-show party featuring French-themed cuisine including quiche and chocolate mousse. Post-show party guests included Michael Lisicky author of Meet Me at the Eagle, a novel about the history of the Wanamaker’s department store, representatives from the Philadelphia History Museum, as well as the cast of the show.
In our last visit to the donut shop, Craig Spidle sits down to talk about his experience coming to Philadelphia from Chicago. And hear the secret to his ping pong game that his fellow actors have been talking about.
Click play or watch the video on YouTube.
Thank you all for making the run of Superior Donuts such a success!
In this installment of the full story, actor Brian Anthony Wilson chats with us backstage during a performance. He talks about the Arden audience, what he likes about the writing of this show, and his backstage Ping Pong strategy.
Click play to watch the video!
We’ll be back with the full story from Wanamaker’s Pursuit!
As you may know the Arden has premiered 31 performances with number 32 starting this week: Wanamaker’s Pursuit. But what happens to some of the works after they premiere at the here? As we keep with our mission, great stories by great storytellers, we are very proud that some of our shows get picked up by other theatres.
Here are two recent productions:
- Photo by Sam Hough
Wittenberg by David Davalos
- Premiered at the Arden in January 2008
- Currently playing at The Pearl Theatre Co in NYC
- The New York Times says “The nimble ensemle is nearly as comfortable with the theological heavy lifiting as it is with the lowbrow yucks with Mr. Greer taking top honors on both fronts… Hilarity, the name is ‘Wittenberg’.” Read more at the New York Times.
- Check out the review from Backstage.
- Fun fact: Arden favorite Scott Greer reprises his role of Faustus
- Photo by Ken Jacques
Ghost-Writer by Michael Hollinger
- Premiered at the Arden in September 2010
- Currently playing at the Florida Stage in West Palm Beach, Fl.
- Check out the review in the Wall Street Journal.
Congratulations to both of these new productions!
Stay tuned for more exciting premieres and learning more about their lives after the Arden!
In our latest installment of the full story, Pete Pryor who plays Luther in Superior Donuts talks about audience reaction and his favorite part of the show.
Make sure you watch until the end so you catch Pete’s challenge to a fellow Arden actor!
By Dan Plehal, Assistant Director, Wanamaker’s Pursuit
Think back to grade school. Remember how much excitement there was surrounding those much-anticipated field trips? Or how fun it was to get out of the building and experience something so cool and different that you almost forgot you were learning? Well that isn’t just for kids – - sometimes actors get to take field trips too!
By the way, I’m Dan, the Assistant Director of Wanamaker’s Pursuit. Wanamaker’s (as we call it for short) is a wonderful fictitious story built around a lot of facts. It follows the journey of Nathan Wanamaker, a made-up heir of the Wanamaker’s Department Store, as he visits Paris in 1911. His goal is to bring back the latest fashions for the store and ends up befriending the likes of Gertrude and Leo Stein, Paul Poiret and his wife Denise and even Pablo Picasso.
Art plays a major role in the play, which discusses several specific paintings by turn-of-the-century artists. Luckily for us, the Philadelphia Museum of Art has an impressive collection of similar paintings. Naturally, in the name of research, a trip to the museum was in order!
Last Thursday we had the pleasure of spending an entire rehearsal day at the museum! We started our tour in the north wing of the museum, which contained European art beginning in 1850. We were surrounded by timeless works by Monet, Manet and Cezanne.
As we walked farther down the hall and closer to the twentieth century, we passed several Renoir and Matisse Portraits, both of which make appearances in the play. We reached a large atrium, which housed a giant Cezanne called “The Large Bathers.” It was fascinating to see such a colossal work and be able to clearly identify techniques that are discussed in the Wanamaker’s script. Catharine Slusar and David Bardeen (who plays Gertrude and Leo Stein) could occasionally be heard discussing which paintings their characters may have had in their collection.
The hallway turned and so did the century, leading us into the 1900s and the reign of Picasso. Suddenly we could see and feel a drastic change in the state of art. We saw first hand how artists moved away from the techniques and styles of the previous centuries, choosing instead to explore the abstract and create the modern.
This shift to modernism in painting is representative of a larger evolution in art, fashion, and society that took place at the same time, and conveniently is a central theme in Wanamaker’s.
Next we were in for a real treat: the museum staff had set up a small private display just for us! We donned researcher badges and entered the Hamilton Center for Costumes and Textiles. Kristina Haughland, the supervising curator had brought out a few pieces that could not have been more relevant to our production.
A central part of Nathan Wanamaker’s journey is his attempt to purchase the latest clothing from revolutionary fashion designer Paul Poiret. As we sat at a long conference table, Kristina unveiled three dresses from the time period; one of them had been based off of Poiret’s style, while the other two were authentic dresses designed by Poiret himself!
The cast poured over the dresses inspecting every ribbon-formed rose and beaded pattern. Particularly interested were Wilbur Henry who plays Poiret and Genevieve Perrier who plays Poiret’s wife and model, Denise.
Saturated with first-hand experiences and a new appreciation for the art (both paintings and fashion) that is so integral to our play, we retired to the house of actress Catharine Slusar who plays Gertrude Stein. In true style of the salons Stein was famous for hosting, we sipped wine, ate French cheese, and discussed the amazing art we had witnessed that day. It had been a full day of research and fun – a field trip that has already brought new appreciation and life to our rehearsal process!
If you’re interested in art, fashion or Paris, you are sure to love Wanamaker’s Pursuit! You could even make a field trip out of it! Wanamaker’s is on stage at the Arden from March 31 through May 22.
By: Jessica West, Associate Production Manager
I recently remarked to a friend that Superior Donuts just might make it into my “Arden Top 10” list. He replied, “Well if YOU say Donuts is in the top 10 that means something to me.” That one small comment got me thinking. How many Arden productions have I seen over my 10½ years with the company? Could I distill those 73 productions into a tidy list of ten shows?
Jessi’s Arden Top 10 List - in no particular order
1. Opus (2005-2006 Season)
Words. Words. Words. This play is all about the words for me. The dialogue and language are lovely and markedly relatable. You really care about the quartet members and their relationships as you follow their story.
2. History Boys (2009-2010 Season)
It’s an amazing story with engrossing characters and some truly fantastic dialogue. In addition to those top notch elements, I loved the elegance of the scene transitions in this piece. Jorge Cousineu’s musical selections coupled with the dance-like choreography and the wheeled desks gave the scene changes that feeling of in between class hustle and bustle that I remember so vividly from my own experiences in private school.
3. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (2009-2010 Season)
The kids in preview performances were so excited that they were quite literally quivering in their seats as the Mouse wrecked havoc on the Boy’s kitchen. In a world where everything was 1.42 times bigger than real life, big props and furniture translate into big fun for actors and audiences alike.
4. Superior Donuts (2010-2011 Season)
It isn’t the amazing set, the super talented cast or the fantastic script that puts Donuts on my list. It is the collective and commanding reaction of the audiences to the piece. There are moments during the play when the entire audience laughs, sighs and gasps together. Now that shows some personal investment in the characters you’re watching.
5. Sweeney Todd (2004-2005 Season)
Epic is the word that comes to mind when I think of our production of Sweeney Todd. The entire room was integrated. Lines between audience member and participant were blurred. Oh and there is also the sweeping score and the astounding amount of blood to consider. Bloody great show!
6. Go, Dog. Go! (2007 – 2008 Season)
This show exudes joy and enthusiasm from start to finish. The feeling you get from an audience of energized, engaged kids makes producing children’s theatre profoundly rewarding. This candy colored tour de force had them tittering from the time MC Dog rolled onstage in skates until the Big Dog party at the end. Silliness was celebrated and my heart was won many times over by MC Dog, Blue Dog, Yellow Dog, Green Dog, Spotted Dog, Backstage Dog and Red Dog (or as I like to call him Tall Dog).
7. Stinky Cheeseman (2005-2006 Season)
If Go, Dog. Go! was pure joy realized on stage than Stinky Cheeseman was pure chaos. Well executed and highly choreographed chaos, mind you, but chaos nonetheless. Jack never stopped running around and neither did the crew!
8. Sideway Stories From the Wayside School (2003-2004 Season)
Gym teachers that scale buildings, evil teachers who turn students into apples and dancing pigtails…what’s not to love? I still have one of the pictures from Mrs. Gorp’s classroom hanging in my office.
9. A Year with Frog and Toad (2004-2005 Season & 2008-2009 Season)
There are 3 things you can’t dispute. Both Frog and Toad shows were beyond cute, the design teams were really quite astute and Toad looks funny in a bathing suit. The second iteration of this show holds special meaning for me. I took friend Stephen and his kids (Evan, Age 6 ½ and Aliyah, Age 3 ½) to the show. I was skeptical that Aliyah would be able to make it until the end but she sat in her dad’s lap transfixed by the actors. They now have what their father calls “a strong love for anything theatre”. That is exactly the kind of effect we hope to have on our young audience members and it’s humbling to know that we can and do just that.
10. Caroline, or Change (2006-2007 Season)
The set, lights, costumes, music, voices, acting…everything was beautifully executed and made me stand in awe of the group who collaborated to create the production. There is a moment when the radio girls descend the stairs during “Salty Teardrops “; their dresses seeming to emanate sparks of light from within. The backlight is practically electrifying the air while illuminating the rain drops falling to the stage floor. As their voices swelled, that moment made my breath catch in my chest and I realized that…this is why I do theatre.
Honorable Mentions: Baby Case (2001-2002 Season), Assassins (2007-2008 Season), Peter Pan (2009-2010 Season), All My Sons (2002-2003 Season), The Dinosaur Musical (2005-2006 Season), and The BFG(2006-2007 Season)
***I know the challenge was to limit the list to only 10 shows but since these were all strong contenders, I’ve included some honorable mentions.
Stay tuned for “Arden Top 10” lists from other staff members that have been working at the Arden more than 10 years.
Actors from Superior Donuts have joined in to give our Arden subscribers the full story! In this installment, James Ijames talks about his past experience at the Arden, keeping is energy up for the role, and his best backstage sport.
Click the image below or this link to watch the video!
Are you an Arden subscriber and you want these videos and other fun tidbits delivered directly to your email inbox? Call our box office at 215.922.1122 and make sure we have your email address!
By Rob Kaplowitz, sound designer for Superior Donuts
When figuring out the soundscape that would fuel my part of this production it became apparent to me that the world we would hear is a world heard through Arthur’s focus. Just as Kevin’s set gives us resonant pieces of the shop and the neighborhood above and beyond, I realized that we needed to hear the world of the play through the pieces – the pieces that Arthur knows so well that they almost disappear from his consciousness. So everything we hear such as all of the scoring I created inside the play comes out of the real. The hissing steam pipe or the hum of a fridge rise up out of their sources and transform into the music beneath his soliloquies.
In the same way, the El train was very important. The sound was so important that I wasn’t willing to fake it.
Uptown is served by the Red Line and every train line in Chicago sounds distinctive. When the Red Line passes every Chicago resident knows it. It’s not just some elevated train I could pull out of a stock library. It sounds different from A, L or M running out through Brooklyn and Queens, the Market-Frankfort running down the road from me here in West Philly or even the Blue Line that runs out to Jefferson Park, where Arthur lives. It sings its own song.
Luckily for me (and for the Arden’s budget), our set designer lives in Chicago. So, instead of me having to travel out there (or ask a Chicago colleague to go out and record), I was able to give a portable recorder to Kevin at a design meeting and he did a bunch of walk-around recordings for me. This gave me a sense of the rhythms and paces of the street. It also gave me a great recording of the Red Line passing overhead.
First time I played it in the theatre, our Chicago natives (Craig, Ed, Kevin) just looked up and said “Red Line!”
Sometimes the only way to make it sound like something is to find the something, record the something and then play back the something. I guess it’s a pretty simple lesson…
By: Tara Demmy, Arden Professional Apprentice
You may have attended A Moon for the Misbegotten and found a survey stuck to the back of your chair with blue tape. You may have attended and asked to stay after the show for a 30 minute interview. These two elements are both part of the Arden’s participation in a national study of theatre audiences aiming to understand more about the intrinsic impacts of live theatre. We are one of 18 theatres involved in The Intrinsic Impact project, which was commissioned from WolfBrown by Theatre Bay Area and underwritten by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.
What does intrinsic impact mean exactly? It took me some time to figure it all out. Basically it’s easy to look at charts and quantify how many people come to see a show and how much money a show makes…but it’s a lot more difficult to try to study how those people felt about a theatrical experience. Companies have been keen to focus on the financial, but money does not necessarily dictate a theatre’s success.
Theatre Bay responds: “But financial data tells only a fraction of the story. A theatre company may be financially sound, but is it really moving and exciting its audience? Is it connecting to its audience in a fundamental (i.e., intrinsic) way? And can that connection be deepened? How can artistic staff understand the impact of their programming decisions, and what, if anything, can they do about it? We have come to see that the theatre field lacks a generally accepted and widely used metric or “outcome rubric” for what matters most: the intrinsic value of the theatre experience.”
How do we measure the immeasurable? Have you ever had an indescribable emotional response to a moment in a production? Live theatre has the power to move us in unexpected ways. Yes, we are entertained, but how are we affected? The Arden received the opportunity to select the questions in our take-home surveys. These questions reflect what we want answered by our audiences. Questions that ask our patrons to assess the artistic style of the production, to evaluate if they were emotionally moved, to see if they felt connected to their fellow audience members and to find out if they are more/less likely in the future to follow the work of the playwright. This information will help us to understand not how many tickets we sold but how patrons are responding to the art. This will help the Arden to continue to provide great stories and be on the forefront of artistic progress in the country. To always connect to the Philadelphia community and continue to challenge our patrons with new ideas and stories.
Post-Performance Interviews: Our in-person interviews cover the same topics mentioned above, just in a discussion based format. Engaging in these interviews with Leigh Goldenberg, Arden Theatre Company’s Marketing and Public Relations Manager has been amazing. To hear how people connected to A Moon for the Misbegotten in different ways has been a truly unique experience. Many have a quite a bit of knowledge of O’Neill, and give much historical information with their reactions, while others who are less familiar focus on intense production moments. Intense bonds were formed between audience members and the character of Josie, in her strength, compassion and heartache. Even now it is difficult for me to summarize the feelings expressed by those individuals in the interviews, which emphasizes the main difficulty in trying to gather information on unquantifiable, personal reactions. This difficulty is what makes theatre a strong artistic form; its ever-fleeting, ephemeral nature gives it the power to present unforgettable, poignant moments that stay with us.
I admire the Arden’s participation in this survey and Theatre Bay’s dedication in attempting to get a better idea of how theatre can have a lasting, emotive impact on society. We are continuing interviews and surveys for Superior Donuts and Wanamaker’s Pursuit. Thank you for your support!
For more information, please visit Theatre Bay Area.
