Displaying items by tag: Anne Washburn

Theater Wit has mounted an unexpectedly spellbinding show for its return to live productions: Anne Washburn’s “Mr. Burns, a post-electric play.”

What an amazing fever-dream has flowed from Washburn’s imaginative pen, brought to life at Theater Wit. Originally mounted in 2015, it is clear why this was one of the troupe’s most popular productions. It is a joy-filled moment to be back in the audience before a live show. 

Ostensibly, it is a portrait of a post-apocalyptic society in which people huddle around campfires on a darkened landscape, recalling favorite lines from television shows. Act 1 focuses on this means of diversion. Quickly the fragility of cultural memory becomes apparent, when there are no Google or YouTube to reference.

Seven years later, Act 2 opens with rehearsal for a semi-professional performance company, many of which have arisen, working against scripts gathered from memory (some recalled lines and scenes are even purchased from freelance contributors). Sets and costumes are cobbled together from the detritus of the decaying society.

Here “Mr. Burns” is revealed to be a true backstage play, with the players jousting over who will be featured and which bits shall be included in the show. There are humor and charm in these scenes, which feature live performances of clips of the Simpsons and other popular shows, as well as contemporary ads and music videos.

It is in Act 3 that the show reaches its apotheosis, we are transported to Elysium, and the performance becomes the food of the gods. Set 70 years later, the collective memory of the Simpsons has certainly faded, and those who saw the show on television are very few in number.

Washburn now gives us a heavenly reverie on how theater might be recreated from the dust of the cataclysm. As with cultures of old, an oral tradition was handed down before writing took hold. “Mr. Burns” seems to posit just such a scenario, with a beatifically staged battle between the forces of good - the Simpsons - and evil: Mr. Burns and his henchmen, Itchy and Scratchy. Fans of The Simpsons, who are legion, will recall that Mr. Burns owned the nuclear power plant at which Homer Simpson was employed, until sometime befoe this story picks up.  

A mashup of Greek drama, kabuki, and 18th century operetta, this final act defies description, except to say it is transportative. Aside from its intimate scale, “Mr. Burns - A post-electric play” is fully Broadway caliber, and the performances by every cast member are superlative. Daniel Desmarais, Andrew Jessop, and Leslie Ann Sheppard return from the 2015 production, with Eileen Doan, Tina Muñoz Pandya, Ana Silva, Jonah D. Winston and Will Wilhelm are making their Theater Wit debut. 

Everyone (including audience members) at Theater Wit is required to be vaccinated to enter the building. (Negative results from a PCR test for COVID-19 administered in the last 48 hours is an alternative.) All patrons must remain masked for the duration of their visit. Find more details and ticket information at www.TheaterWit.org.

Ever wonder what happens behind the scenes leading up to opening night at the theater? Do you have any idea how much detail goes into a stage production? Can you imagine the funny moments that could take place while building a set or rehearsing lines? Do directors really get as frustrated as we hear? 

Theater Wit brings to the stage the latest, and possibly most innovated, work by author Anne Washburn 10 Out of 12. A headset rests on each seat in the theater for audience members to wear as they become engulfed the midst of tech rehearsals just one week prior to a production opening. We hear random chatter and instruction from the stage crew as 10 Out of 12 gives us an in-depth view of the goings on behind the scenes of mounting a show. Burns, known most recently as the playwright behind Mr. Burns, A Post Electric Play that found a successful run at Theater Wit in 2014, delves into the high stress that comes with detailing theater specifics such as lighting, cues and prop placement while also touching on actor stereotypes, tantrums and the desire in some to hold their work to a standard that demands integrity.

“No one in Chicago has ever seen anything like 10 Out of 12. Simultaneously exacting real-to-life and riotously funny, Anne Washburn’s detonation of a single technical rehearsal is promising to be a unique and thrilling viewing experience,” said Jeremy Wechsler, Artistic Director of Theater Wit and director of 10 Out of 12.

We watch as the production team fastens bolts to secure the set, samples the lighting and sound from scene to scene, place each mark to the director’s satisfaction and amuse themselves during down time. We see actors rehearsing their lines, suggesting where changes might be made (usually to the director’s chagrin). In our headsets we get a real feel for the high levels of demand that must be met along within a time crunch that increases by the minute. We also hear stage hands discussing their lunch and such, along with occasional side remarks about what is transpiring on the set. The fourth wall is often broken with actors using the aisles and theater as though an audience were not present, the director and actors often taking a seat amongst us to watch their handiwork from a patron vantage point. 

The production as a whole is a truly inimitable experience and provides an insight to theater that most may not be familiar with, adding a new appreciation for the art. Upon leaving the theater many discuss how they’ve had no idea the work and precision involved in mounting a play, making 10 Out of 12 an informative piece – perhaps also an homage to those behind the scenes.

Star Chicago theater personalities are recruited to provide pre-recorded roles such as John Mahoney, Martha Lavey, Barbara Robertson and Jeremy Wechsler, Mahoney delivering some of the play’s funniest lines. The stage cast also packs a punch with Erin Long, Adam Shalzi, Dado, and Riley McGliveen as the production team, Shane Kenyon as The Director, and Eunice Woods, Gregory Fenner, Christine Vrem-Ydstie, Kyle Gibson and Stephen Walker as the actors. Walker, taking advantage of several moments to shine in only the way he can in delivering highly-charged monologues with just the right amount of entitlement and sardonic flair as the veteran actor brought in to bring credence to the production. Walker’s character questions the truthfulness in his character, conflicted by his passion for honest art, which he feels is losing its grip in modern day theater.  

So what does the title 10 Out of 12 mean? A 10 out of 12 is a day in which, per the rules of Actors Equity, the actors are contracted to work for 12 hours with one 2-hour dinner break. It’s during that time that all the designing elements of the production are united as a whole, as costumes, sound, lighting, projections, set and acting are fine-tuned just prior to a show’s opening. 

When asked why she wrote a play about a tech rehearsal, Washburn descriptively states, “A decade ago most theaters didn’t have Wi-Fi…and no one is more useless in tech than the playwright. So, I began taking notes. I was fascinated by the strange surreal interplay of light and music. I loved the mysterious technical languages being used around me, the rhythmic drone of the calling light and sound cues. I liked watching the actors freed from their normal self-consciousness. I liked the low continual volume of play which bubbled up throughout the tech as a desperate counterpoint to the long periods of tedium and waiting. And the endless snacking, and discussion of snacking.”  

Throughout the production we hear small talk between the techs – everyday musings that are often quite humorous. We also hear the actors talking hopefully about getting their big break, but also turning down roles for the sake of integrity. At one point the leading actress asks the stage manager if she can leave early to audition for a role in a pilot. We have entered the world of theater. 

As much as this often funny and revealing play is a fantastic chance to catch the inner-workings of theater production, it misses a few opportunities that were begging for the injection of timely humor, at points drifting away only to grab the audience again just in time. It would also have been nice if the script called for a larger role from Mahoney, whose well-timed remarks were almost always met with crowd laughter. Notable was the play’s pace, perhaps running about thirty minutes too long (two and a half hours plus intermission), making the thought of a slightly condensed version somewhat appetizing. Washburn's story nicely envelopes the stresses, complications and rewards in theater production. 

Still, there is much to like in 10 Out of 12, the good outweighing the bad by significant measure. One should expect a fun lesson in Theater Production 101 that is coupled with fine acting performances and enough humor that insures an overall pleasant experience. The headsets are a nice touch, giving audience members an opportunity to feel at times as though they were part of the production team.  

10 Out of 12 is being performed at Theater Wit through April 23rd. For tickets and/or more show information click here.