The production of Spring awakening

Transcription

1 University of Iowa Iowa Research Online Theses and Dissertations Spring 2013 The production of Spring awakening Nathan Ron Halvorson University of Iowa Copyright 2013 Nathan Halvorson This thesis is available at Iowa Research Online: Recommended Citation Halvorson, Nathan Ron. "The production of Spring awakening." MFA (Master of Fine Arts) thesis, University of Iowa, Follow this and additional works at: Part of the Theatre and Performance Studies Commons

2 THE PRODUCTION OF SPRING AWAKENING by Nathan Ron Halvorson A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Fine Arts degree in Theatre Arts in the Graduate College of The University of Iowa May 2013 Thesis Supervisor: Professor Eric Forsythe

3 Graduate College The University of Iowa Iowa City, Iowa CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL MASTER S THESIS This is to certify that the Master s thesis of Nathan Ron Halvorson has been approved by the Examining Committee for the thesis requirement for the Master of Fine Arts degree in Theatre Arts at the May 2013 graduation. Thesis Committee: Eric Forsythe, Thesis Supervisor Alan MacVey Eric Stone

4 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION. 1 CHAPTER 2: CONCEPT..4 CHAPTER 3: ANALYSIS OF SCRIPT Type Style Genre Basic Idea Basic Action..9 CHAPTER 4: CHARACTER ANALYSIS Melchior Gabor Wendla Bergman Mortiz Steiffel Ilse Martha Hanschen and Ernst Georg and Otto Thea and Anna Adult Male and Female The Reformatory Boys...23 CHAPTER 5: DESIGN Scenic Costumes Lighting Sound..31 CHAPTER 6: CHOREOGRAPHY...33 CHAPTER 7: SELECTED NOTES FROM THE REHEARSAL PROCESS..36 CHAPTER 8: CONCLUDING COMMENTS..54 APPENDIX A: APPENDIX B: APPENDIX C: APPENDIX D: CAST LIST...55 ARTISTIC STAFF LIST...56 SCENIC DESIGN...58 COSTUME DESIGN ii

5 APPENDIX F: APPENDIX G: APPENDIX H: APPENDIX I: APPENDIX J: APPENDIX K: APPENDIX L: PROPS LIST...75 REHEARSAL PHOTOS.. 77 PRODUCTION PHOTOS..82 SPRING AWAKENING POSTER PROGRAM DIRECTOR S NOTES...93 VISIT FROM DUNCAN SHEIK EXCERPTS FROM THE DIRECTOR S SCRIPT AND SCORE.. 97 BIBLIOGRAPHY..135 iii

6 1 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Spring Awakening is a musical with book and lyrics by Steven Sater and music by Duncan Sheik. The show had its first workshop in September of 1999 at The La Jolla Playhouse, and after many more workshops at such esteemed producing organizations as Sundance Theatre Lab, Roundabout Theatre Company and Lincoln Center, it arrived Off-Broadway at The Atlantic Theatre Company in March of It was met with critical and commercial success and a Broadway transfer became imminent. On December 10, 2006, Spring Awakening opened at The Eugene O Neill Theatre on Broadway with direction by Michael Mayer and choreography by Bill T. Jones. The Broadway production eventually ran for 888 performances and went on to win eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Direction, Book and Score. Now, in 2013, it has become one of the most produced musicals in the world for commercial and amateur companies alike. The musical is based on Spring Awakening: A Children s Tragedy by German playwright Frank Wedekind. Although it was written in 1891, it did not receive a fully produced, public performance until The reason for the delay was due to the controversial nature of the text. Wedekind tackles head on subject matters such as rape, abortion, child abuse, homosexuality, suicide and underage sex, topics that were incredibly divisive and shocking to audiences at the time. It has since become a seminal work of Wedekind s and been revisited by theatre artisans across the globe. It is not surprising that Slater and Sheik would be drawn to adapting this material into a modern-day musical. The

7 2 original play is raw and dramatic and the issues at play in the original are still haunting us today. Upon several readings of a multitude of translations, I find that the piece practically screams out to be musicalized. With a few exceptions, such as the elimination of The Masked Man character at the end of the original and the reconfiguring of certain events, Slater and Sheik created an adaptation that was utterly loyal to the original and, in some cases, illuminated moments that took them to a brand new level. I had the pleasure of seeing the Broadway production on January 30 th, I remember the date so clearly because it was my birthday. Over the course of my thirteen years living in New York City, I had made a pilgrimage to Broadway on my birthday for each of those years. I typically chose a show that was difficult to get into, would cost a lot of money and make me feel like I was treating myself. In 2008, Spring Awakening was that show. What I remember most about that evening at The Eugene O Neill Theatre was the soaring melodies that washed over me. The score was fresh, pulsing and new. Young people were discovering the complexities of adulthood with all its painful and thrilling contradictions. I couldn t believe a show like this was actually playing on Broadway. In my mind, it had been at least a decade since a musical so progressive, thought provoking and dangerous had been allowed into the mainstream. Just as Jonathan Larson s Rent had done before it, Spring Awakening was speaking to the next generation of musical theatre lovers and, hopefully, to some of its already existing purists. As a person who was a selfproclaimed Rent-head in the mid-nineteen- nineties, I recognized that this piece was doing something incredibly special and, possibly, form changing. As I sat in the orchestra section and experienced these characters expressing their trials,

8 3 fears, anxieties and desires through a marriage of language, song and dance, a kernel of an idea was born. Someday, I wanted to get my hands on this material. Flash forward to the fall of 2011 and I was asked to submit a seven-show list, ranked in order of preference, that I would be interested in directing for my thesis production the following year. Eventually, Spring Awakening made it onto my list, but it was not ranked first, it was third. The first two shows on my list were William Finn s A New Brain and Maury Yeston s Nine. It s interesting to note that both these musicals revolve around a late thirty-something, male artist who is suffering a crisis of art, faith and life. As I stated to my thesis committee in my proposal, A New Brain and Nine spoke to the life that I was currently living and Spring Awakening spoke to where I had come from, and both of them had equal merit in my opinion. Soon after, it was announced that Spring Awakening would indeed be my thesis production and I began to immerse myself in the world that I had encountered for a mere two hours, three years earlier.

9 4 CHAPTER 2: CONCEPT To begin this process, I surrounded myself with several adaptations of the original Wedekind play, the libretto and score of the Slater/Sheik musical and the original cast recording of the Broadway production. I was diligently mining all the materials for what my take on the production would ultimately be. Through my research, it became increasingly clear to me that all of these characters were screaming one thing: listen to me. The inhabitants of this world were struggling to discover, develop and divulge the inner thoughts that were tormenting them in private. They felt alone, lost and isolated, as if they were the only people on the planet feeling the things that they were feeling. And, to top it all off, they were being punished and oppressed by their parents, clergyman, educators and authority figures. As tragic as these details sound, I became progressively delighted that this would be my thesis. Finally, we would be producing a play that would speak directly to our student population. Our campus is filled with students navigating the rocky terrain from adolescence to adulthood and this play would be about and for them. If I did it right, our students would see themselves onstage and, hopefully, be moved, comforted and/or empowered by the experience. When I work, I tend to latch onto sentences or phrases from the text that encapsulate what I think is the core of what the show is trying to say. Spring Awakening was no exception. It s interesting, and somewhat telling, that all three phrases that became my mantras through the process were song lyrics. The first line that sang out to me occurs during the song The Bitch of Living in Act

10 5 1. All the schoolboys, while venting their internal torments, sing the lyric, God is this it? This can t be it. It perfectly states the fear that things will never get better and they are destined to live in this anguish forever. The informative thing about this lyric is that all of the schoolboys are singing it together, but the characters are unaware that they are not alone. It s a terribly sad realization that if they had just turned to each other and expressed their innermost demons, the devastating upcoming events might have been prevented. Towards the end of Act 1, Melchior, our romantic lead, proclaims, I m a man and a child in the song Mirror-Blue Night. I fell in love with the lyric because it is an incredibly simple statement, but a profound one nonetheless. Melchior is straddling the divide between childhood and adulthood, as are his fellow classmates. He shouldn t be expected to have all the answers, but his maturing body is betraying the actual state of his mental and emotional capabilities. Being aware of this truth would become an incredibly important part of the rehearsal process. The final phrase that became a tent-pole for me appears in the penultimate number of the show, Those You ve Known. Moritz, Melchior s best friend, sings to him from beyond, On your way you are not alone. Like the previous statement, it is a simple one. However, in the end it is the heart of the piece. No matter how dark things may get, you must know that you are not alone, someone has felt it, lived through it and can empathize. And, to a larger extent, because we all have to go through the transition to adulthood, we are all the same. As I embarked on the process of creating this production, I knew that I wanted to reflect back to the audience the truths of our shared life experience. I

11 6 wanted to illuminate all the ugliness, beauty and discord of life to our audience in the most honest, raw and exhilarating way. And, hopefully, send them into the night with hope for our collective futures.

12 7 CHAPTER 3: ANALYSIS OF THE SCRIPT 3.1 Type Wedekind subtitled the original work A Children s Tragedy. As Sater and Sheik stuck very closely to the original themes in their adaptation, it stands to reason that this show could be considered a tragedy. However, the musical Spring Awakening would actually be considered a drama. The relationships between the characters are essentially like life. There is a balance between the serious and the humorous. Spring Awakening has comedic moments, but it is essentially a serious drama. 3.2 Style To me, Spring Awakening is codified as expressionism. One of its goals is to reveal unseemly truths about society, the characters often feel alienated and intense reality and theatrical devices rub up against each other. As much of the music is revealing the inner monologues of the characters, rather than moving story or attempting to affect change in others on stage, the songs can become dream-like and, at times, nightmarish. 3.3 Genre Spring Awakening is most definitely a musical. It employs text, music and dance to weave its tale. The show requires all three elements in order to articulate the story. Lose one, and the show would not be as effective as it is.

13 8 3.4 Basic Idea As stated before in the concept chapter, this show is essentially about discovering and unleashing your own unique, individual voice. All the characters in the show are struggling with something, be it abuse, puberty, oppression or homosexuality. We catch glimpses of each character s inner battle throughout the show, Marth and Ilse with the abuse they suffer at the hands of their father, Hanschen and Ernst as they traverse their mutual, albeit undesirable, attraction to each other, Melchior and Wendla discovering the sexual desires that she can t quite comprehend and Moritz living in fear of disappointing his family. Though the circumstances affecting all the characters may differ, they all are feeling the same thing: confusion, frustration, desire and fear about their own personal strife. I often stated, during the rehearsal process, that Spring Awakening might have well been called sexual awakening. All the inner demons that the characters are battling with are connected to sex and sexuality in some way. The show attempts to examine puberty, attraction and sex from as many different angles as possible, Georg has nocturnal emissions while dreaming of his piano teacher, Hanschen feels sexual urges towards both sexes, Ilse has been forced into using her body to survive, and so on. However, all the characters wind up with the same burning questions: With all the changes in my body and the desires in my heart, who am I? What does it all mean? And, where do I go from here?

14 9 3.5 Basic Action Although all the characters are vital to fully explore the entire story of Spring Awakening, Melchior is the central character of the play. Its not simply because in the final moment of the play, before the epilogue, Melchior is the character with whom we are left. It is also because through him we see the most change. Boiled down to its core, Spring Awakening is about Melchior s journey from adolescence to adulthood. Melchior starts the play as a brilliant, young man with a bright future ahead of him. Through the course of the play he fulfills his growing sexual desires with Wendla, falls in love with her, deals with the suicide of his best friend, Moritz, loses the faith of his parents and suffers the loss of his unborn child and his true love, Wendla. At the end of his journey, he finds himself in the depths of despair and decides to end his life. Thankfully, the spirits of Wendla and Moritz come to his aid and convince him he must continue on and live the life he was meant to live. Once they have left, Melchior stands physically alone, but is supported by the memories of his dear friends. He knows he can never go back to the naïve and sheltered life he once lived. He must go forward as the man he has now become.

15 10 CHAPTER 4: CHARACTER ANALYSIS The following is an analysis of the characters of the play as I see them. However, it must be said that many of these realizations would not have come to light if it weren t for the exceptional actors who created this with me. I truly believe that exceptional character development can only come from an equal marriage between director and actor, full of respect, honesty and care. I had the good fortune to work with thirteen of the most daring, interesting, brave, vulnerable, kind and giving actors on the project. It is because of them that the characters came to live so vividly. 4.1 Melchior At the beginning of the play, Melchior is a brilliant, young mind who desires nothing more than to challenge the status quo and rise above his given situation. His parents are supportive, his teachers respect his intelligence and all the girls in school crave his attention. We first see Melchior at school studying Latin. He gets in trouble with his teacher for standing up for his best friend, Moritz, who has fallen asleep in class. Herr Sonnenstich, the professor, hits Melchior with his cane several times, which incites his first musical number, All That s Known. In this song, we get our first look at his feelings at the start of the play with the following lyrics about the adults in his life: Thought is suspect and money is their idol And nothing is okay unless it s scripted in their Bible. But I know there s so much more to find

16 11 Just in looking through myself, and not at them. Still I know, to trust my own true mind, And to say: There s a way through this These lyrics clearly state that he believes there is more to life than the one that he is living. He trusts himself and is looking forward to the future. During rehearsal, I would tell Andrew Wilkes, the actor playing the part, that Melchior was a young poet. If it were the 1960 s, he would be staging sit-ins and prompting uprisings. His views of the world were too progressive for the time, but he knew in his heart that there was a brighter future ahead for him and his peers. However, his thoughts were not based on instincts alone. According to the text, he was a veracious reader with an incredibly curious mind that landed him at the top of his class. At first glance, he had everything going for him. Moritz comes to Melchior with a problem. He has become haunted by dreams of a woman and is quite shaken by it. Melchior allays his fears by telling him that it is a completely normal occurrence, going so far as to write Mortiz a sexual handbook complete with illustrations in the margins. We learn through these interchanges that Melchior is already fascinated with sex. He has taken it upon himself to study as much as he can on the subject and imagines what it will feel like for him. What we discover here is he has intellectualized the concept of sex quite thoroughly but has not physically experienced it. It s through the introduction of his relationship with Wendla that everything begins to change. The first scene that they share together is an innocent meeting in the woods. The interchange leads to the song Word of Your Body, where the characters express their inner fears about wanting to

17 12 touch and be close to one another. The lyrics of this song speak to Melchior s emotional immaturity when it comes to sex. All of his words speak to flirting, teasing and baiting her. It s not that we don t believe that he has affection for her, we know that he does, it s just that his baser needs are clearly more than he can handle. The next scene between Melchior and Wendla is a defining moment for the character and the play as a whole. It was also the most difficult scene in the play for me, as the director, to understand and stage. Wendla has just learned about the physical abuse that she suffers at the hands of her father. This news shakes her to the core and makes her start to investigate her life in a new way. She comes upon Melchior and pleads with him to hit her so she can understand what it feels like. After much prodding, Melchior violently beats Wendla. As this action leads to all the rest of the events of the play for these two characters, it was an incredibly important moment to define. And, for what seemed like an eternity, I couldn t for the life of me figure out why Melchior would do it. With the help of my brilliant dramaturg, Jenni Page-White, we landed on something that I think worked for the character. Melchior desperately wants to connect with Wendla because he is starting to fall in love with her. When she comes to him in the woods, he desperately wants to help her and talk her down. However, she keeps insisting that he hit her. Eventually, he does strike her, lightly. As she goads him, his strikes become more intense as he begins to lose himself in the action. There are two things at play in the moment. One, sex and violence are closely linked. His inability to show how he feels about her sexually comes out as violence. The other is, as he has never hit anyone before, once he starts doing it, all the years of pent up rage becomes unmasked. At the height of

18 13 his anger he throws Wendla to the ground intent on continuing his tirade. However, the minute he can actually see her eyes, he snaps out of his trance. He is mortified by his actions and runs away. In the final scene of Act 1, Wendla finds Melchior in his family hayloft. He is tortured by the events that took place between the two of them. He pleads for Wendla s forgiveness, which ultimately leads to things getting physical. In the Wedekind, Melchior rapes Wendla in this scene. Slater and Sheik softened this sequence a bit, but it still did not feel completely consensual. I felt uneasy about this choice. I wanted their sex act to be a consensual, genuine moment between these two characters, where Melchior could finally profess the love that he felt for her that he couldn t in the previous scene. In my staging of this moment, Melchior is conscious of Wendla s apprehension and cares for her as they begin to have sex. He disrobes first, allows her to remove her clothes in her own time and asks permission to touch her. The consensual nature of their love making was important for setting up their love story in Act 2 and it also allowed us to forgive Melchior for his prior viciousness. It also allowed Melchior to forgive himself. In Act 2, Melchior is expelled from school because of the sexual handbook he made for Moritz. The powers that be at the school discover the document and blame him for Moritz suicide. He is sent to a reformatory where he sends letters to Wendla, declaring his love for her and letting her know that he will escape soon and they will be together. Wendla sends him a letter telling him that she is pregnant and then he makes his escape. Upon arriving in the cemetery, where they had planned to meet, he discovers her gravestone. Unbeknownst to him, Wendla has died from a botched abortion of their child. Distraught over the

19 14 death of his lover and best friend, he plans to join them by taking his own life. The spirits of Wendla and Moritz come to him and stop him from following through with the act. It is here that he declares that he will never forget his friends and that he will live on for all of them. As stated early in the script analysis chapter, Melchior completes the transition to manhood in this sequence. Here, he begins to understand that being an adult is painful, arduous and complicated, but he wants to take the journey. The last lyric he sings is a repeat from the first song he sings, All That s Known : You watch me Just watch me I m calling And one day all will know. The first time he sings it he uses the words to fight back against the oppressive elders. This time, it has a weighted, hardened truth to it. Although life will be hard, he must take the voyage and make his voice heard. 4.2 Wendla In the very first moments of Spring Awakening, Wendla sings Mama Who Bore Me as she is getting dressed. As she looks at herself in the mirror, she begins to touch herself. She notices that her body is evolving and she likes it. Her mother interrupts this action to take her to meet her new niece. Wendla is curious about where babies come from and works up the nerve to ask her mother. Her mother shames her and lies to Wendla, saying that babies are born only when a wife loves her husband. This series of events lays the perfect foundation for Wendla. She is trusting, innocent and wants to please her mother.

20 15 She is the epitome of youthful goodness, even though her body is now surpassing her mind. Her mother s reprimand makes Wendla cower and back down. At this moment, she resigns herself to continue to be the innocent her mother wants her to be. Over the course of the first few scenes, we see Wendla spend time with her friends and her affection for Melchior becomes evident. However, it is not until Act 1, Scene 7 that things really begin to change for Wendla. It is here that Wendla learns of the physical abuse Martha has suffered. Wendla realizes that she has spent her whole life, thus far, not feeling anything. She becomes increasingly fascinated with what it would feel like to be hit. In the next scene, the text seems to suggest that she stumbles upon Melchior and then comes up with the idea that she wants him to hit her. I, along with Aneisa Hicks the actor portraying Wendla, decided that she should enter the scene intent on finding Melchior. We both thought it was a stronger choice to have her needing Melchior in this moment. It strengthened the bond that was occurring between the two characters. She had learned in the first scene of the play not to ask her mother tough questions. She now is compelled to speak to the one person that she trusts, Melchior. After the whipping scene, Wendla is distraught because Melchior won t speak to her and she feels responsible. She finds him in the hayloft and tries to make amends. Both characters feel deep regret over what transpired between them and they end up comforting each other physically. As stated previously in the Melchior section, I was intent on making this moment a shared, consensual experience. As the physicality between them escalated, Wendla always says No and stops the action. This could easily be read as her objecting to

21 16 Melchior s advances and I m sure that some people have staged it as such. We decided that it was fear that makes her stop, fear of breaking the rules, fear of pain, fear of trusting another person. But, never would any of these protestations be because the she wasn t feeling pleasure. Wendla wants to be with Melchior sexually, she just doesn t know how or what it might mean. In Act 2, Wendla is taken ill and is informed by her mother that she is expecting a baby. The following interchange between Wendla and her mother (Frau Bergman) defines just how naïve Wendla actually is: Frau Bergman: You re going to have a child. Wendla: A child?! But, I m not married! Frau Bergman: Precisely. Wendla, What have you done? Wendla: I don t know. Truly, I don t. Frau Bergman: Oh, I think you know. And now I need his name. Wendla: His name? But what are you That? How could that? I just wanted to be with him To hold him and be close to him Wendla had absolutely no idea that a baby could have been the result of the night that Melchior and she shared. All she wanted was to be with him, it was as simple as that. Wendla stands up for herself, for the very first time in the play, when she screams at her mother, My God, why didn t you tell me everything? Immediately, following this dialogue she sings the ballad Whispering. In it she proclaims that, even though her actions may have hurt people, she loves Melchior and the baby, singing, And he touched me, and I let him love me. So, let that be my story. Wendla does not become an adult in this song, however, she does begin the difficult task of taking ownership of her life, opinions and desires. Unfortunately, Wendla does not get to bask in this point of view change

22 17 as she dies from an illegal abortion that goes awry. It is a truly tragic end to a character that had once had such curiosity and hope for the future. 4.3 Moritz Moritz is the secondary, male lead of Spring Awakening. He is the longtime best friend of Melchior and is dealing with some major issues of his own. Moritz is failing out of school, has a demanding father and has begun to be haunted by the legs of a woman in his dreams. To the teachers and his family, he is stupid and a major disappointment. In reality, Moritz is trying his damnedest to succeed in school, studying into the wee hours of the night and going to Melchior for help. I believe that Moritz its probably an incredibly intelligent person, he just learns differently than the way everyone expects him to. I think of him as an undiagnosed dyslexic. If given the proper tools, he could succeed. Regrettably, neither Moritz nor his superiors care how he learns, all that matters is that he isn t keeping up and passing the tests. Halfway through Act 1 we learn that Moritz has not passed his evaluations and has been expelled from school. Whether this is due to the machinations of his teachers or he sincerely failed, we never learn. Regardless, it rocks Moritz to the core. Upon hearing the news, Moritz father beats him. Broken and crying on the floor, Moritz launches the song And Then There Were None. The song is his plea to Melchior s mother to give him money so he can flee to America. He feels abandoned by his father and wants to start anew somewhere where no one knows him. It s interesting that he still goes to an adult to save him. Every adult he has encountered has wronged him in some way, yet he still is looking for acceptance and guidance from an elder. It proves

23 18 just how confused, lost and afraid Moritz actually is. He desperately needs someone to tell him what to do, protect him and care for him. Alas, Frau Gabor does not give him the money and his last ditch effort bears no fruit. Our last image of Moritz in Act 1 is of him brandishing a gun as he runs off into the night. In Act 2, Moritz is just about to kill himself when Ilse stumbles upon him. The text is unclear what the relationship is between the two characters. What we do know for sure is that in their youth, Melchior, Moritz, Wendla and Ilse were close friends and great playmates. I decided that we should infuse an unrealized romantic energy between the characters. I felt it made the moment even more significant. Just as Moritz is about to end his life he is confronted with his one true love. This decision, hopefully, gave the audience a glimmer of hope that Mortiz can be saved by the love of Ilse. In the end, however, Moritz lets her leave alone and carries out his initial intention, to leave this world and all its pains behind. 4.4 Ilse Of all the characters in Spring Awakening, Ilse is the most underdeveloped and definitely the most difficult to analyze and conceptualize. While Ilse sings in all the majority of the company numbers, she only speaks in the scene immediately preceding Moritz suicide. Clues peppered throughout the script inform us that she has been thrown out of her house and now lives in an artist s colony on the outskirts of town. She is no longer allowed inside the proper community and is looked down upon by her friends parents. At first, I was confounded by what Ilse s purpose was in the storytelling. She only has one scene, but she sings lead vocal on the first song of the show and

24 19 the last. She is part of the framing device of the show and I was determined to find out why and build up her story arc. My solution was two-fold. First, as stated in the Moritz section, I decided to pump up the sexual attraction between herself and Moritz. Doing this tied her to one of our main characters in a more fundamental way. Second, I decided that Ilse should be Martha s sister. The justification for this occurs because of one line that Martha speaks to Anna when pleading with her to not tell anyone about her abusive father, Anna, no. Just look what s become of Ilse now? Living who knows where with who knows who?! When I read this line, it became obvious to me that making Martha and Ilse sisters would not only help develop the character of Ilse but it would completely enhance the story of their shared song, The Dark I Know Well. In the song, the two girls sing about being visited in the night by their fathers and being sexually molested. Now, with the added layer of their sisterhood, it would make the story about how after Ilse left, the father then began molesting Martha. It created an incredible backstory for the two characters and, in my opinion, enhanced the song. To further develop their relationship, I added two moments to the play that did not previously exist. In the very first schoolgirls scene I added Ilse to the shadows. She is checking up on her sister and missing their bond. Martha rebuffs her and continues to play with her friends, although she is visibly shaken by their brief encounter. I also added a moment for the sisters at Moritz funeral. They see each other at the gravesite and embrace, forgiving each other for the wrongs they have done to each other. These might seem like simple, unrecognizable choices, but to me they were incredibly significant and not only made me understand the character of Ilse more, it made me fall in love with her.

25 Martha As stated in the previous section, I decided that Martha was the younger sister of Ilse. She had witnessed her father physically and sexually abuse Ilse throughout most of her childhood. When Ilse left home, her father s rage was turned on her. Jessie Traufler, who played Martha, and I had many conversations about how confusing all this must have been for a fifteen-year old girl. On one hand she felt that her father only had affection for her older sister and was jealous of her, on the other, she had no idea how dark and traumatic things would be for her once she left. Martha only has text in the scene prior to her song, Dark I Know Well. In this scene, she reveals that her father beats her with his belt, but conceals that fact that he is also sexually abusing her. The life that Martha lives is an unthinkable one. At home, she is terrified of stepping out of line and being attacked by the man that should be her protector, but she is equally scared of ending up like her sister, alone and disgraced. All of Martha s choices stem from these truths. 4.6 Hanschen and Ernst In spite of the fact that Hanschen and Ernst only have one complete scene together, exploring their relationship is one of the main reasons that I wanted to direct Spring Awakening. When I saw the Broadway production of the show I was appalled at how these characters were developed. The production treated these characters as the comic relief of the show. In making that choice, the creators were essentially saying that the heterosexual pairings of the show were somehow more important than the homosexual ones. It deeply offended me at

26 21 the time, and I promised myself I would reinterpret their relationship in an honest and respectful way if I ever got the chance. I took great care to create moments for the characters throughout the show. In the first scene in the classroom it becomes clear that there is a growing attraction between the two when they run off to study together. From that moment forward, I would place the characters together, waiting for Moritz to come out of the principal s office, during the choreography for Touch Me and at Mortiz funeral. I was trying to solidify a relationship that felt woefully underdeveloped, if their private scene together was to carry any emotional weight. Although their scene does have some comic lines, I focused more on their unspoken desire for each other. Through their song, Word of Your Body: Reprise, they explore each others bodies, remove clothing and kiss passionately. We suggest to the audience that they are about to engage in sex for the first time as we leave the scene. This is the opposite of the text, which states there should be two, minor kisses. Our version, gives equal importance to both couples (Wendla/Melchior, Hanschen/Ernst) first sexual experiences. Actually, the homosexual couple might be considered to have a happy ending, if you choose to ignore that fact that in the 1890 s a loving relationship like Hanschen and Ernst s would never be allowed to survive. 4.7 Otto and Georg The characters of Otto and Georg round out the boys from the classroom. We don t learn much about the boys through the text. We know that Otto once had a sexual dream about his mother. Georg, on the other hand, has an insatiable lust for his piano teacher, Fraulein Grossebustenhalter. Other than

27 22 that, we are left to our own devices to choose who these characters are. Throughout the rehearsal process, we decided that Otto would be the outcast of the group and Georg would be the funny, vulgar one of the bunch. Josh Ollendick and Kevin Argus, the actors playing the roles, would use these ideas as the basis for their choices throughout the production. 4.8 Thea and Anna Similar to Otto and Georg, little is spelled out in the text about Thea and Anna. We know that they are friends with the other girls, they both honor and obey their parents and, seemingly, they both have crushes on Melchior Gabor. After reading their text for different ways to interpret their characters, I unearthed a possibility that completely excited me. I made the decision that Anna was actually in love with Thea. Whenever Thea gushes about Melchior, Anna agrees with her, but only because she wanted Thea to notice her and return her affections. This decision manifested itself in all of the actors choices thereafter and was quite successful. 4.9 Adult Man and Woman In Spring Awakening all the adult roles in the show are played by two actors. The female actor plays five roles, while the male actor plays a total of nine. This conceit is a difficult one to execute because the decision inevitably has to be made: how do you differentiate all the various characters? Due to the fact that almost all of the adult roles in the show are considered oppressors by the teenagers, the adult roles do not have much to distinguish one from the other. The actors must play manipulative administrators, belittling educators, pious

28 23 clergyman and neglectful parents, all somewhat cut from the same cloth. While we did major work to find the traits that would make each character distinctive, we did choose to lean into the idea that they represent the people that are holding the students down. In this way, it became less important for the audience to separate each character from the other than to experience the adult characters as the children did, as the ever-present judges that kept them from evolving to the people they were destined to become. 4:10 The Reformatory Boys These reformatory boys are played by the actors who play Hanschen, Ernst, Otto and Georg. When Melchior is sent to the reformatory, he meets four ruffians who taunt and torture him. They only appear in one scene, but they set off the circumstances that lead us to the climax of the play. The boys are stereotypical bad boys who use Melchior as their punching bag. The boys decide to engage in group masturbation and use one of Wendla s letters to Melchior as subject for their arousal. While the letter is read, it is revealed to Melchior that Wendla is expecting their child. Melchior attacks the leader of the group and winds up in a knife fight with all the boys. He narrowly escapes their clutches and flees to find Wendla. The reformatory boys do not have much character development, they are mostly used to further the plot.

29 24 CHAPTER 5: DESIGN Creating the world of Spring Awakening was one the most invigorating experiences of my career. My collaborators in this endeavor, Kevin Loeffler, Patricia McGourty Palmer and Bryon Winn, are extremely talented artists, respected colleagues and trusted friends. It was a collaboration in the truest sense of the word. We were all working towards one common goal: support, refine and elevate the play. I am truly grateful for their insight, creativity and humility. The show would never have come alive without them. 5.1 Scenic I have had the good fortune to work with Kevin Loeffler, our set designer, two other times during my tenure at the University of Iowa. The first was Sunshine by Andrew Saito, the other was Sidewinders by Basil Kreimendahl. They were both gallery productions written by graduate student playwrights in the theatre program. Those processes were very rewarding experiences for me, so I was thrilled when I learned that Kevin would be joining me on my thesis production. As our designs were due during the first week back in the fall, the majority of our work took place over the summer. Kevin was working in Santa Fe, New Mexico for the summer and I was working and traveling in Colorado, Maine and Germany. Needless to say, without the advent of modern technology, the scenic design would never have been completed. Kevin and I had bi-weekly phone meetings where we would share images, discuss sketches

30 25 and hone our vision. At this point in our relationship, Kevin and I have shorthand with each other. He understands my aesthetic and I his. Our initial meetings started with me expressing my thoughts about what I envisioned. I never say anything prescriptive. I simply make statements about what the play means to me, point out the lines that matter to me and share my concept. For example, with Spring Awakening, I told him about the three lines that were the basis for my concept. I also told him that I found the world to be an athletic one. I wanted to explore the idea of employing many levels, ladders, poles and moving pieces that the actors would have to maneuver throughout the show. I didn t say much more than that because I wanted Kevin to go off and brainstorm without too much influence. I had had plenty of time to live with my ideas, now it was time for him to expand upon them. Over the course of the summer, Kevin and I went through at least a dozen versions of the set. With each version, consistent themes began to arise. We discovered that we knew we wanted to have an over-sized window that represented the world just out of reach of the students, moveable ladders, boxes and crates would be employed to create all the individual scenic settings and the entire set would have an industrial feel. Taking all these things into account, we eventually landed on what we now affectionately call the child factory. The set would represent a factory the adults are using to mold the children into carbon copies of each other. Just as the adults are trying to contain, control and admonish the students, so would their environment. The students would be trapped in this place, desperately trying to get to the other side where they can be free and find their individual voices. To drive home the point that this system was antiquated and broken, the factory would need to be dilapidated and run-

31 26 down. Therefore, the set had exposed dry wall, cracked railings and shattered windowpanes. The result was a set that could, at one moment, be terrifying and stark and, in the next, be rich and beautiful. One of the most astounding aspects of my collaboration with Kevin was how involved he was in the development of how the set would be utilized. In the past, I have not been in a situation where the set designer was able to have such an active role in the process, either the designer was in another town or our schedules did not allow for such a collaboration. With Kevin, we had several, long meetings where we combed through every moment of the text. We discussed at length where scenes might take place, different looks that could be used and visual moments that would need to be clarified. It was in these meetings that we concluded that a swing platform would be created. The swing platform was a landing on the second level of the set that could move freely, from a fixed point, into the space. This platform would eventually be used to represent doorways, a cemetery, a tree and many other things. It was a lovely way to manipulate the environs of the world to represent all the different locations we needed to visit. Unquestionably, these conversations were truly beneficial to me and created a great foundation to commence rehearsals. In the end, Kevin s design was a fantastic playground for the entire company. The composition of the show would never have been as exciting without it. The set inspired me every day to think more deeply about the text, pushed my vision and provided innumerable answers. In fact, I can t imagine the show being set anywhere else and, for that, I will always be grateful to Kevin.

32 Costumes I feel incredibly lucky that I was allowed to work with Patricia McGourty Palmer on Spring Awakening. Patricia was working at the university for the semester while Loyce Arthur, the full-time Costume Design Professor, was on sabbatical. Full disclosure, I was not aware of who Patricia was, although all of her students were raving to me about her. I did a little research and discovered that she was a successful and respected costume designer who had been working regionally and on Broadway for decades. Some of her designs were seen on Broadway in Pump Boys and Dinettes, Crimes of the Heart and Big River. This information delighted and terrified me simultaneously. I knew that the show would be in expert hands but I was nervous I wouldn t live up to her past collaborators. Upon meeting Patricia, through a skype meeting, my nervousness was easily laid to rest. I encountered a funny, kind and game woman who seemed just as inspired by the material as I was. As fate would have it Patricia was also working in Santa Fe, so she would occasionally join Kevin and me for our bi-weekly meetings. Due to their close proximity, they were also able to work with each other without me as the plans started to come together. Through these meetings, it was decided that much of the color of the world would come from the clothing. After many thorough discussions, Patricia and I realized that we wanted the clothes to reflect the time period depicted in the text. We had thought about incorporating a blend of modern and classic looks, but upon further investigation we decided it would be best to leave it in 1890 s Germany. The cut, style and look of the clothes from that period expertly depicted exactly what we

33 28 needed, clothes that represented the repression and oppression that the characters in the play were feeling. The one moment that confounded me, and continued to right up until technical rehearsals, was the final number of the show, The Song of Purple Summer. The play seemed to end before this song even began. In fact, in the script it is even called an epilogue, which led me to believe that it wasn t part of the dramatic action of the piece. I became obsessed with defining what this moment was for our production and I believed that costuming was the answer. Patricia and I went through several incarnations of the moment. Ideas that were filtered out included the cast performing the number in modern dress and changing their clothes into modern dress while they sang. We even contemplated having them strip down to modern underwear at one point. All of these ideas were trying to achieve one goal: to demonstrate that not much has changed in a century. We wanted to articulate that, although the play takes place in the 1890 s, the same problems are still plaguing our young people in The looks might be different, but the feelings are the same. Patricia was kind enough to not make me decide about this moment before rehearsals started. As a matter of fact, Patricia told me I didn t have to make a firm decision until tech weekend. She would pull several options for each character and we would try them all out. And, that is exactly what she did. I continued to waffle about the moment right up to the final week of rehearsal. She never pressured me or pushed me, she allowed me to figure out how the last moment should look in my own time. In the end, it became clear to me that we would be robbing the audience of something if we didn t allow them to follow the characters that they fell in love with all the way to the last moment of the play. I cut the secondary

34 29 clothing one week before opening and Patricia could not have been more supportive. Throughout the entire process, Patricia always listened to my needs and reacted quickly to them. She took into account all the demands the actors would put on the clothes. She found shoes that would be comfortable and functional for dancing, ladder climbing and jumping off platforms, she made dresses that were efficient, period specific and twirled beautifully and she created a cohesive, yet distinctive look for the entire company. Patricia s clothes told a story that complemented and defined my concept perfectly. 5.3 Lighting It was evident to me during my presentation to the thesis committee that Bryon Winn, the theatre department s lighting design professor, was excited by the possibility of producing Spring Awakening. So, it wasn t a complete surprise to me that he became the lighting designer for the production. I was, however, thrilled by the announcement. I had a great deal of respect for him as an artist and already knew that he had passion for the project. Although we hadn t had much contact during my time in the program, our working relationship was easy and fun right from the start. In actuality, Bryon and I didn t have too many conversations during the design process for the show. We talked through our thoughts about the show, my concept, his reactions and what we were trying to achieve. Other than that, most of my time was spent in negotiations with Kevin and Patricia. I do know that the three of them would have conversations without me to discuss and define color palette, instrument placement and marrying the three designs. It

35 30 wasn t until we started doing runs of the play that Bryon and my conversations became more frequent. Even then, our talks were more about where action was taking place and defining the mood of each song. We never poured over images or specified every look. I trusted Bryon and, seemingly, he trusted me. The night before tech rehearsals began is when we did the bulk of our work together. As it was a dark night for everybody else, we spent many hours together climbing through his ideas for each look. The designs Bryon showed me were dynamic, musical and thrilling. There were a couple of songs where we disagreed tonally, but we talked through them and found compromises that pleased us both. This night cemented our working relationship and created the foundation for the arduous tech weekend ahead. Over the course of the weekend, we would run into moments that we couldn t define, but we never stopped talking it through with each other. Due to this, we were able to struggle through difficult moments and find the solutions together. An example of this is the final moment of Act 1, when Wendla and Melchior have sex for the first time. Essentially, the button for the number is when Melchior first penetrates Wendla, while the chorus holds out the last note for three measures. Three measures might not seem like much but, when you are dealing with a sensitive image and closing the act, they can feel like an eternity. Bryon must have tried at least a dozen choices and I was dissatisfied with every one. I wanted the moment to feel intimate, a tad chilling and audience inclusive. Bryon listened to my thoughts, asked me more questions and continued to fiddle with design. Eventually, he ended up bringing the lights straight out into the audiences eyes on the button. This choice did everything I had asked for and more. It forced the action from the stage into the audience and, hopefully, made

36 31 them feel the scary, yet exciting thing that had just happened more viscerally. It would not have happened if Bryon and I did not have a mutual respect and admiration for each other and each other s work. The world of Spring Awakening was beautifully illuminated by Bryon From the cool blues of Moritz, the simplicity of the graveyard and the chasing lights of Totally Fucked, I couldn t have asked for anything more. Bryon brought the world I had envisioned for the show into sharp focus and surprised and delighted me at every turn. 5.4 Sound Our production of Spring Awakening did not have a true sound design. What I mean by this is that there were no recorded sounds or official sound cue calls. The band created all the necessary sounds for the production. Although there was not an official sound design, sound became one of the most important and difficult aspects of the production. Finding the balance between the band, vocalists and monitors consumed the production for the last two weeks of the rehearsal process. We added body microphones to the actors and the band five days before tech. It became abundantly clear very quickly that we were not completely prepared or equipped for this event. The band had had minimal rehearsals before this date, so their sound was messy and imbalanced. Also, there were no vocals in the monitors so the actors couldn t hear each other in order to create a cohesive blend. At the end of the first night of these rehearsals, I have to admit, I was incredibly worried. There was no plan in place to fix these things so Amber Lewandowski, the stage manager, and I went into immediate problem-solving

37 32 mode. We spoke to anyone who would listen to us about how to get more rehearsal time for the band and vocals in the monitors. The department heard our concerns about the band immediately and provided the funds to increase the rehearsal time for the band. As far as the vocals in the monitors, we encountered some resistance. Apparently, no one had ever heard of this concept before and did not want to pursue this idea. I, however, was determined. In my previous years performing regionally and on tour, I knew that it was possible and preferred for vocals to be in the monitors when you don t have earpieces doing that job. Amber and I persisted that we were right, and seventy-two hours later, we attempted it. It worked and many of our sound problems were solved. It must be said that without the determination of Brent Garrett, the audio and video supervisor, Spring Awakening might never have found its sound. Against seemingly insurmountable odds, Brent came in every day professional and devoted to the project. He was determined to solve the problems and help the show reach its full potential. He, along with Bri Atwood, the sound operator and mixer, had an incredibly challenging job and never ceased their pursuit of perfection. I am completely indebted to them for their commitment to the production.

38 33 CHAPTER: 6 CHOREOGRAPHY I have been choreographing musicals professionally for the better part of the last decade. However, I have mostly been choreographing standard pieces from the canon such as Guys and Dolls, Little Shop of Horrors and Forever Plaid. Discovering the physical word of Spring Awakening was an immense challenge for me. I knew that I was going to have to push myself beyond my comfort zone to truly exemplify the world of the play. I wanted the choreography to be youthful, athletic, truthful, frenetic and personal. I also wanted the movement to be a necessary component to the visual world and the storytelling. Before I could move forward with constructing the choreography, there was one major decision that had to be made. In the original production, the actors held handheld microphones whenever they sing. According to the production notes, this choice was made to give(n) us a visual embodiment of the visual world, a clear signal, of the break between our bourgeois German province and our alt-rock concert. While I understood intellectually why this choice was made, I found the microphones to be distracting. Similar to when I go to actual rock concerts, the melodies, beats and drive of the music overrides the importance of the lyrics. I felt that if we stripped away the artifice of the performed rock concert, we could reveal the heart of the language. As the songs are an expression of the inner thoughts of the characters, I thought leaving them naked, without microphones to protect them, would give the actors the chance to dig deeper into their characters psyches. Although, I had this impulse to do away with the microphones from the very beginning of the process, it took

39 34 me until mid-way through to actually declare it so. I was nervous to pull the trigger on the choice because I was concerned that I was missing something bigger about the microphones, some production team members disagreed with me and everyone who had done the piece, to my knowledge, had employed microphones. All while I was pushing off making the decision, I always knew I didn t want to use them. It s fascinating to me now that I didn t trust my instincts right from the onset. Once I finally freed us from the microphones, it was clear that our production did not need nor want them, and the show was better off for it. It was an incredible lesson in listening to my gut and believing in my instincts. Another thing I wanted to try with the choreography for the show was to have the cast involved in creating a dance language for the show. I thought that if the actors themselves were instrumental in the formation of the moves they would be more committed to it. Within our first few weeks of rehearsal, we had freestyle explorations of the music through the body. We started with playing the song Touch Me as the cast explored movement. The only guidelines that I gave them was that the moves needed to be about first discoveries of their own body and fit into the musical phrases. These rehearsals were captivating. The cast threw themselves into the work with passion, commitment and fortitude. In fact, the work was so strong that the language they created became the foundation for several songs throughout the show, including Touch Me, Mama Who Bore Me, Word of Your Body and I Believe. I spent more hours than I can recall working on the physical world of Spring Awakening. The show ran the spectrum from intimate, simple

40 35 movements to frantic, intense explosions, yet had to be able to transition fluidly. The choreography of the show used all of the tools that I had acquired over the years, but it also forced me to reach deeper into myself. In order to fully realize the epic emotions of the characters through movement, I had to do it myself first. I had to get in touch with the experiences of my own adolescence, explore it completely, then create imagery that exemplified it. As a choreographer, Spring Awakening was one of the most challenging and enriching experiences I have ever had. I am incredibly proud of the work that the cast and I were able to discover, refine and produce. The physical world was not only exciting to experience, but elevated the language and melody of the entire piece.

41 36 CHAPTER 7: SELECTED NOTES FROM THE REHEARSAL PROCESS Saturday, August 25 th Callback Day Today we had callbacks for the show for eight hours. It was a crazy day but incredibly satisfying. We called back twenty-three women and twenty-four men for thirteen roles. My plan for the day was incredibly ambitious. I wanted to do a dance call, vocal call and cold reads. I also wanted time at the end of the day to match people with each other and work with them. There is no way we would have gotten through it without Amber. She kept everything running smoothly and protected me from the craziness in the hallway. We literally used every second of the day and concluded our callbacks exactly at nine o clock. We started the day by separating the boys and girls. I had the boys in a dance call where they learned combinations to Totally Fucked and Touch Me. The girls were in a vocal rehearsal with Jason learning Mama Who Bore Me and The Dark I Know Well. Later on we switched and the boys learned I Don t Do Sadness and Left Behind while the girls danced with me. I treated the dance call as a chance for me to audition some of my choreographic ideas. It was really fun to see everybody put their own stamp on the moves that I created. I also gave them a chance to do a freestyle section in the middle of the Totally Fucked combination. It actually ended up being the most informative part of the call. I was able to see how each actor s body moved, if they followed their instincts and if they were willing to take risks. I was incredibly impressed with both dance calls. Almost everybody threw themselves into the moves. It seemed as though everybody was having a really good time and it made me feel really

42 37 good. I was nervous coming in because, in my professional life I am considered a choreographer, but here, I hadn t directed any musicals. I was concerned that people wouldn t like the choreography or that it wasn t any good. Seeing how committed everyone was to the combinations, allayed all my fears. I also discovered that at least seventy-five percent of the choreography I created was pretty good. I feel pretty confident that both of these songs now have a good foundation. After the dance calls, all the actors came in and sang one of the songs they had learned earlier that day. I was concerned that we wouldn t be able to find thirteen singers that were strong enough to sing the score. That fear was put to rest as well. People came in, one after the other, and, for the most part, did really well. During this part of the day, it became clear to me that people really wanted to be in the show. The actors were pulling out all the stops to get into the show. It was genuinely awesome to see all these students working so hard to prove themselves worthy of the show. I had never really experienced that here before and it was heartening. When the singing was over, we had already used up four hours and it was time to take a dinner break. Amber and I didn t have much of a break because we spent most of the time pairing actors for the cold reads that would start when everybody got back. Amber and I had decided earlier that week that the sides would be Frau Bergman/Wendla, Melchior/Moritz, Melchior/Wendla, Moritz/Ilse, Hanschen/Ernst and Herr Sonnenstich/Melchior. This was the part of the day that was most trying, in my opinion. Time was running out, so I felt like I had to race through the scenes to make sure I would have enough time to pair people together at the end of the day. We were also using the scene work as

43 38 a way to start weeding people out. It s a horrible thing that we have to do, but it comes with the job. After we did the first few scenes, it started to become evident who the front-runners for the parts were. We had a little over an hour left in the day, so it was time to start pairing people. First we did the Moritz/Ilse scene with ten remaining people. I wouldn t normally do this but, due to the time crunch, I kept all ten people in the room together and continued to mix and match the actors. I would just call out whom I wanted to hear sing together and they would do it. It saved on time, but felt a little bit manic. I hope the actors didn t feel that way. I knew by the end of this call that I wanted Ben and Ali to play Moritz and Ilse and that all the other actors would end up filling out the choral roles. The last thing we did was read and sing the Melchiors and Wendlas. By this time, we only had two of each. They sang Word of Your Body and did the scene leading up to it. Andrew and Aneisa did the scene last and it was amazing. They were so comfortable with each other and their choices were so strong it was immediately apparent to me that they had just won the roles. The cutest thing was, when they were done, Andrew gave Aneisa a piggy-back ride out of the room. Jenni, Amber and I spent an hour working on the cast list once everybody was gone. It was actually really easy to create. Over the course of the eight hours, I truly believed that the thirteen actors that I wanted had told me that they were cast. It all just fell into place. I hope that Matt and I will be able to work out the casting without many problems. I desperately want these thirteen people to populate the world of Spring Awakening.

44 39 Monday, September 17 th First Rehearsal First Rehearsal!!! I was so excited to get started I could barely contain myself. Everybody was so fired up to be there. We started the night with me talking about my concept, why I wanted to do the show and what I was hoping we would accomplish together. Next, we had design presentations. The actors went crazy looking at the set designs and costume renderings. Their excitement was palpable. Unfortunately, Kevin wasn t able to be there so Josh explained how the set was going to work. Then, Patricia and Bryon talked at length about their thoughts about the show. It was really awesome to hear them talk so passionately about the show and it really energized the space even more. After that, Amber did some paperwork things and we took a little break. I always do the same thing for my first rehearsals. We all sit in a circle and we go around the room making a statement of self and statement of character. The statement of self is used for everyone to share a little bit about themselves and it also functions as a way to break the ice. The statement of character is a chance for me to see where everybody s heads are at in relation to the show. It gives me a window into the preconceived ideas each actor is coming into the process with. It lets me know how close or far away my ideas are to theirs before we even start. I started doing this years ago and it has not failed me yet. Tonight was no exception. Actually, it worked extraordinarily well. All the actors were so open and willing to share. There were many tears as well as gales of laughter. I absolutely fell in love with everybody during this exercise and I think it s fair to say that everyone found it exhilarating and helpful. For the last couple hours of the night, we sang Totally Fucked and The Song of Purple Summer. Purple Summer is going to be really hard to get

45 40 right. The rhythms and chords are really difficult. They all struggled a lit bit, but the energy stayed positive. The other thing I learned tonight is that as talented as Jason is, he is a little soft with the actors. I think I am going to have to play a bigger part in teaching the music than I would prefer. Tuesday, September 25 th First Read/Sing Thru Tonight we read/sang through the entire show. Lots of people were there to hear the text for the first time, Kevin, Patricia, Ann-Marie, Jenni and David McGraw. We started the night with Ann-Marie talking the cast through the German pronunciations and Jenni shared her dramaturgical materials. Then we did the read. We decided that when the cast was reading the scenes they would stay seated, but when they sang the songs they would all stand up. However, a terribly interesting thing happened as we continued through the show. The actors were so into it that they would stay standing and were actually acting their scenes. Ben and Ali s scene was so brilliant I turned to Amber and said that I will never have to rehearse that scene. It was a really fun night and I think we are in great shape. Thursday, September 27th First Night of Choreography We are on our feet! Tonight we worked through Touch Me choreography for the first time. We explored creating a dance language together. We played the song over and over and the actors continued to try new things. Peggy and I watched intently and hand picked the four moves we were going to adopt for the top of Touch Me. We ended up using the moves that Kevin, Aneisa, Hayley and Thomas made up. I asked them to teach their moves to the

46 41 rest of the cast. We spent a while refining the moves and I made the decision that each actor would create their own sequences. It was really cool to see the cast working together and making their own, unique combinations. Later on, we started working on the more formal choreography that I had created for the callbacks. Some of it was working but some of it was definitely not. I think that I was overly ambitious in thinking that the actors were going to be able to complete the choreography with me. The traffic is just too crazy and I am going to have to come in next time with more concrete guidelines for them to follow. Thursday, October 4 th Tonight was a big night for the boys. We worked the entire schoolroom sequence and the breaking into the headmaster s office scene. We also choreographed And Then There Were None and Mirror Blue Night. We had a major breakthrough in each number. During And Then There Were None, I decided that I wanted the song to end with Moritz on the big crate and the actors would spin him around. The crate will do three full rotations and by the end Moritz will reveal the gun. Amber, ever resourceful, put a rehearsal cube on a dolly so we could see what the image would look like. It worked really, really well. Of course now we will need to ask Kevin if it is possible to add wheels to the large crate. I hope it s not too late to change the design because now I am totally obsessed with this moment. I had been grappling with how to stage And Then There Were None for quite awhile now. I couldn t get a handle on what the purpose of the chorus boys was. Tonight we tried that they were the internal voices that Moritz hears

47 42 in his private moments. The boys essentially chase Mortiz around the space antagonizing him. Moritz never looks them in the eye because for him they are not actually there. Eventually, Mortiz ends up on the ground with the boys surrounding him. Frau Gabor, from behind, hands Moritz her letter and he crumples it and runs to the large cube. The sequence really looks incredible and I am relieved. With Mirror Blue Night, I decided to keep it really simple and focus more on the emotional life of Melchior. He runs on from stage left wracked by what has just happened with Wendla with the boys singing stoically, practically frozen, behind him. Eventually, Melchior climbs up the swing platform and Thomas and Michael push it out as they sing. Andrew is doing some really amazing work in this sequence. It is working really well and should be a great set up for the hayloft scene. Friday, October 5 th Tonight was a really intense night because we staged The Dark I Know Well. My idea for this song is to physicalize the abuse Martha and Ilse suffered from their father. It s a risky choice, but I think it is the right one. I knew that I had to create a safe atmosphere in the space tonight because what I am asking them to do is really scary. We started the rehearsal with Jessie, Ali and John giving each other permission to touch each other. I had them look each other in the eyes and vocalize that they were going to trust one another with their bodies. It sounds a little hippy dippy, but I think it is an important step when you are doing sensitive work like this. I was so impressed with all three of the actors tonight. They were so brave and daring. When we were done, the sequence was

48 43 a little rough around the edges, but the basic idea really works. Eventually, we brought in the male chorus to sing the backing vocals while they did the moves. The first time we ran it, all the boys forgot to sing because they were so engrossed in what Jessie, Ali and John were doing. I think that was a huge confidence boost to the actors, it made them feel that their risks truly had a payoff. We also worked Touch Me again for what seems like the millionth time. I m still not completely happy with how it is looking. I am going to make some major changes to the choreography before we do it next. Saturday, October 6 th We did the hayloft scene for the first time. Due to the sensitive nature of this scene, we took a lot of precautions before we started. Amber made signs that said it was a closed rehearsal and we kept the doors locked. The assistant stage managers were outside the door to prevent anybody from coming in. The only people in the space were Andrew, Aneisa, Amber, Jenni and myself. The funny thing is we never actually acted out the scene. We spent the whole time doing table work! Best laid plans. After that we ran Act 1 for the first time. We had to skip a couple scenes because Sasha had a previous conflict. The shape of Act 1 looks pretty good. I am getting nervous that we haven t started working on Act 2 yet. Amber told me to chill out and that we have plenty of time. I don t know what I would do without her. I trust her implicitly and am so grateful she is on the project. She is more than just a stage manager, she is my sounding board, confidante and friend.

49 44 Thursday, October 11 th The beginning of the night was great. Anne Marie came in to help the actors find breath in the more physically rigorous songs. She did a great job assisting the cast with all of their concerns while still respecting and honoring the moves that we had already created. The big issue of the night was Whispering. I feel at a loss as to what this song should look like. We tried several different versions of the song and none of them made me very happy. I think I am just not sure what the song is trying to do and who or what should be the vocal point of it. The best thing that happened was John and Sasha had a major breakthrough in the parents scene. By the end of the night it was really chilling. Now, I just need to get the song up to that level. Saturday, October 13 th Today was an exhausting day. We spent the entire four hours working on the two sex scenes. I have never directed a show that had such sexually intimate moments before. I had no idea how much energy it would take to guide actors through such dangerous territory. I thought intense choreography rehearsals were taxing, but it is nothing compared to this. As draining as these rehearsals can be, they are also terribly rewarding. We worked for over two hours on the hayloft scene between Wendla and Melchior. We talked through every single moment of the sequence. It is incredibly important to me that the sexual encounter between the two of them be consensual. With Jenni s help, I think we were able to construct the scene in a way that solidifies their love for each other and tells the story cleanly and

50 45 provocatively. We did not start taking off clothes today, but we talked through how it will happen. I love the Hanschen and Ernst scene! I was so angry at how it was staged on Broadway and I am so thrilled with what we are coming up with in rehearsal. Michael appeared to be a bit tentative at first, but as we worked he really loosened up and made some funny and touching choices. Thomas and Michael are really great together and are totally game for taking the scene in a new direction. After our work today I am totally convinced that this scene will be one of the most moving scenes of the show. Wednesday, October 17 th Big night for the hayloft scene. We finally hit the intensity that the scene needs to get us into I Believe. I told Aneisa that she needed to come into the scene as if she were a middle-schooler whose best friend was mad at her and wouldn t speak to her. It seemed to do the trick. She came into the scene with a fire that I had never seen from her before. She really needed him to forgive her. Andrew responded in kind to her energy and it was pretty electrifying to watch. It actually really helped them get into the sex scene. Today was the first day that we attempted the nudity. I expected it to be more nerve-wracking then it turned out to be. The scene has real potential and I think it is due to the how we have rehearsed the scene up to this point. We have created a safe, organic working environment that has created something beautiful. I feel lucky that I had the good sense to cast Andrew and Aneisa. They want to conquer this scene just as badly as I do. Good thing, because we work this scene a lot!

51 46 Monday, October 22 nd I finally figured out Whispering! I completely changed the choreography for this song again tonight and it works. It is now clear that the song is about Melchior and Wendla being torn apart. I staged it with Melchior on stage left and Wendla on stage right wanting to get to each other but their parents are standing in between them. I m happy and the actors seem happy. Wednesday, October 24 th Tonight was the first time that we added the entire cast to the sex scene. I worked alone with Andrew and Aneisa to refresh the choreography of that scene. I left them with Amber to continue working on it while I went and worked with the cast on the choreography for I Believe and Guilty Ones. I also talked to them about how to behave when we added Andrew and Aneisa. I told them that we needed to let them lead the energy of the space. We needed to respect the dangerous thing they were about to do and be as loving and supportive as possible. I brought Andrew and Aneisa into the space and had them watch the cast perform their parts of the songs so they would not be surprised by anything when they were added. In an attempt to make this experience as easy as possible, we started at the top of And Then There Were None and ran through to the end of Guilty Ones. I am really glad we did it this way. It felt like we were just running a chunk of the play and took the pressure off adding the nudity. The only possible weird moment was when we were finally done and nobody moved or said anything. It was so quiet in that room that you could hear a pin drop. I think the cast was so conscious of being respectful of Andrew and Aneisa that they took it to a weird place. Andrew

52 47 broke the silence by saying, Well, that happened! and everybody laughed and diffused any tension in the space. We jumped a big hurdle tonight by running this sequence. I m relieved that it went so smoothly. Thursday, October 25 th We ran the whole show for the first time! It was a packed house because all the designers and assistants were there, as well as Jenni and Peggy. Everybody was crammed into the corner of the room because the show takes up every inch of 172. It was actually a pretty funny sight to see. The run went really well all things considered. Most of the problem spots were in Act 1, which is surprising because it has been rehearsed way more than Act 2. The production team seemed really excited by what they saw and I m feeling pretty positive about the show s potential. I had a little time to give notes at the end of the night, so I told my break the mug story. There comes a point in every process where I tell this tale and tonight seemed like the best time because, although the run went well, it felt a little bit rote. I tell this story in order to inspire the actors to continue to push themselves to fill each moment every single time that they get the opportunity to play them. When I was in undergrad, I was in a student production of Lanford Wilson s Burn This!. One night our acting professor, Richard Glockner, came to watch a run-through. We were all really excited and nervous because we all worshiped him. When it was over we all huddled around him hoping to get some amazing notes that would help our performances. He told us that the show was fine and that we were doing all the things we were supposed to do but one thing was missing. Then, he grabbed a coffee mug off the set, threw it at the

53 48 wall and it smashed into pieces. That is what is missing from the play he said. Of course, I thought this was brilliant because it reminded me that every time I do the show it has to feel like the first time. I had to fight like crazy for my characters needs and wants every single time. I have never had the nerve to actually smash a mug at any of my own rehearsals, but I tell the story during every one of my processes. The imagery alone usually inspires my cast and the phrase break the mug gets referenced all the way to opening night. Monday, October 29th Sitzprobe Tonight we had the sitzprobe, or at least we attempted one. It was a crazy night because, since we were onstage finally, we added the band and the microphones. The night started early (5pm) with a band rehearsal. Right away it was plain that they were completely under-rehearsed. I am nervous that they will not be ready for the show, so Amber and I made the decision to call all the actors a half and hour later to give the band more rehearsal time and we called Bryon to see if we could afford to rehearse them more this week. Bryon reacted positively to this request so I m hopeful this will do the trick. I hope the band will be able to add more rehearsal time to their schedules. We did not finish the sitzprobe because we needed to spend more time than I had anticipated on every song, due to the lack of preparation of the band. By the end of the night, I was calling out songs that I thought were difficult and needed rehearsal time. It was completely manic and was probably the first time that I started to doubt whether we would be able to get the show up in time. It was really scary because our last run through in the rehearsal space was so

54 49 strong and the actors have worked so hard, I don t want technical things to ruin it. I m probably being over-dramatic, but the situation feels dire. The actors are having a difficult time hearing themselves because there are no vocals in the monitors. This started quite a battle with everyone on the technical staff. They keep telling me that it s not possible, but I know that it is. I will get them vocals. I spent a lot of time running up to Bri to discuss sound levels. She seems a bit overwhelmed. It makes sense because it a terribly difficult job. Plus, all the levels will change once we solve the monitor situation. The visual monitor is a huge tv screen on blocks. It is obstructing the view of the audience and is incredibly distracting. Amber and I requested that it be changed or, at the very least, lowered. All of these issues have nothing to do with the actual performances. That work is ready now we just need to work out the kinks with all the other elements. I just need to remind myself that this was their first night and we ve had five weeks. It will be fine! Tomorrow is another day. Wednesday, October 31 th We ran Act 2 tonight. We still don t have vocals in the monitors so musically it was a tad difficult. I think the composition of the piece is fluid and interesting. Afterwards, I gave notes in the lobby while Paul worked on fight choreography on stage. Later on we switched locations so I could finally stage I Don t Do Sadness with Ben. We never had the chance to do it before because the entire song takes place on and around the swing platform and the locking mechanism hasn t worked until tonight. I feel really terrible for Ben that it has

55 50 taken this long for us to get to his big number in Act 2 but, of course, he doesn t seemed fazed by it. We tried a bunch of different stuff before we really started refining it. Ben was coming up with some really interesting stuff, swinging from the bars and finding moments of stillness. I was totally reenergized by this rehearsal. At 10:17, I finally started blocking Purple Summer. I had resisted doing this song for so long because I wasn t sure what we should do with it. Now that I know the song is about the audience feeling hopeful for the future and for the characters they have grown to love, I think I know how to stage it. As seems to be a running theme, we tried several different versions of my idea. The cast was so creative and game that it was actually really fun. Amber ran around with her ipad taking pictures of all the different versions so we would have a reference when I was choosing which one we would ultimately use. We ran out of time before I could land on one choice so I am super happy that we have documentation. The funniest thing that happened tonight was during the funeral scene. The fake flowers we were given to throw on the casket were so loud and ridiculous. They would land on the casket with a thud and then smash to the ground. We watched this happen eleven times in a row and it just got funnier and funnier. It totally killed the sentiment of the moment. We have now requested the use of real flowers. Fingers crossed.

56 51 Thursday, November 1 st Vocals in the monitors! It worked really well and some of fears have been laid to rest. We did our last run of the show before tech starts on Saturday. The run went fairly well and, finally, I am starting to see progress with the band and the balancing of levels. I only had thirty minutes at the end of the night to give notes, but everyone is in good spirits. Amber gave her tech speech and we both implored them to rest and take care of themselves on their day off. I am really excited for tech to start. All the things I have been talking about ad nauseam for six months are finally going to be put into place. Tuesday, November 6 th After last night s run, I really wanted tonight to be a work night. Some people disagreed with me, but I thought it was important for the cast to get back to the core of the story and focus on moment to moment living. Technically, the show is getting so huge and I don t want the actors to forget why we are doing the show. Peggy cleaned dances in 172, while I worked more intimate scenes/songs on stage. Ali had a great night and fought her way out of the despair she had been playing in her scene with Moritz. I am really excited for this sequence now. Plus, technically, it looks awesome. Amber and I decided to kick everybody out of the space so we could work on the sex scene one more time. Since we came to the stage, the scene had lost its magic somehow. I thought if we spent some time reworking the scene on stage we could recover some of its earlier luster. Again, I don t think some people took kindly to this decision, but I knew it needed to be done. It ended up being a

57 52 fantastic rehearsal. Andrew and Aneisa seemed much more comfortable and we made some changes that will help the audience engage with the moment better. Doing the scene in Mabie is a totally different thing than 172 and we needed to make some alterations. It worked so well that Amber started to cry. I figure if someone who had been watching it for over a month was crying, we had something strong. Tonight was election night. Amber and I were both concerned that it would distract people from their work, but it didn t seem to until near the end. People started to titter and Amber made an announcement that no technical devices were allowed in the space and that we needed to stay focused on the work. I m glad she did it, but I had actually forgotten all about it until she made the announcement! It was an extremely productive night. I am going to miss working specific moments of the play with the cast. This process has been incredibly rewarding and I love the actors so much. Two more runs and it s opening night. Wednesday, November 7th It was a rough night. The tempos were completely inconsistent, some songs were way to fast and others were painfully slow. The worst was I Believe. The song was so slow that I felt terrible for Andrew and Aneisa. The content of that song is so sensitive and timed to the millisecond so whenever the tempo changes they get completely screwed over. I had a pretty intense talk with the band at intermission and things got a little better in Act 2. The actors seemed distracted, but that is to be expected because tonight is the first night we

58 53 have run the entire show with all the technical elements. I think I can fix all the problems we encountered through notes. At the end of the night we worked Purple Summer and Whispering. We did Purple Summer because it needed to be tightened. We needed to do Whispering because it is getting really indulgent. We needed to push the urgency of the song and tell the story. Hopefully, the work we did tonight will stick. Friday, November 9th Opening Night The show had a few hiccups, but it was a great opening night. It was the best run of the show by far. The audience was so responsive. Due to the fluid nature of the show, I didn t expect there to me as much applause as there was. The audience really appeared to want to support the actors and respond to what they were seeing. They were laughing and clapping so frequently there were moments when the actors didn t seem to know when to continue with the show. The applause was so intense after Totally Fucked that the cast stood in the final button of the song forever. You could see on their faces they didn t know when they should break the pose and continue. It was amazing to witness them get such love from the audience and it totally fueled the rest of their performance. Although there are things I would still like to change or refine, I am incredibly proud of the show. I am going to miss it.

59 54 CHAPTER 8: CONCLUDING COMMENTS I think Spring Awakening was a remarkable success. Not only was it my favorite project during my time here at The University of Iowa, it is one of my favorite productions I have ever had the good fortune to direct. The cast and production team were an extraordinary group of people who worked tirelessly to bring the show to life. For the most part, I believe that we achieved what we set out to do. We created an exciting, visceral and beautiful production that spoke to our student population. The audience response surpassed all my hopes for the production. It was genuinely gratifying to see how moved people were by the production. The critical response from my faculty and peers was truly heartening and appreciated. While there are moments that I would still like to polish or improve, that happens with every production that I direct. In the end, I am incredibly proud of the final product and am filled with gratitude for all of my collaborators.

60 55 APPENDIX A: CAST LIST The Boys: Melchior....Andrew Wilkes Mortiz...Ben Rausch Hanschen....Thomas Eslinger Ernst....Michael Sotelo Georg..Kevin Argus Otto. Joshua Ollendick The Girls: Wendla.. Aneisa Hicks Ilse...Ali Borchers Martha. Jessie Traufler Thea... Amelia Peacock Anna.. Hayley Courter The Adults: Adult Female....Sasha Hildebrand Adult Male......John Whitney

61 56 APPENDIX B: PRODUCTION STAFF LIST Artistic Staff: Scenic Designer,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,..Kevin Loeffler Assistant Scenic Designer Josh Christpherson Costume Designer Patricia McGourty Palmer Assistant Costume Designer...Emily Busha Assistant Costume Designer...Amy Price Lighting Designer..Bryon Winn Assistant Lighting Designer....Jess Fialko Assistant Lighting Designer...Cassie Malmquist Music Director..Jason Sifford Dramaturg.Jenni Page-White Dance Captain....Margaret Mead-Finizio Stage Manager.. Amber K. Lewandowski Assistant Stage Manager...Kathleen Hains Assistant Stage Manager....Kristine Moffitt Band: Conductor..Jason Sifford Guitar...Jonnie Cohen Bass...Heath Hospodarsky Drums..Matthew Pickett Harmonium.Gino De Luca Cello..Rebekah Dotzel Viola....Varinia Oyola Rebaza Performance Crew: Wardrobe Chief.. Luke Cunningham Wardrobe Crew...Frederica Kenyon, Emily Miller, Jonathan Scholer, Serena Stackland Light Board Operator... Sarah Lovell Sound Board Operator Rebecka Troxel Sound Mixer...Bri Atwood Microphone Specialist...Ari Craven Stage Crew Chief...Emily Hallenstein Deck Electrician/Stagehand..Felipe Carrasco Stagehand/Props Crew Meynard Bernardo, Marina McKay, Marisa Ramos Followspot Operators.. Kelley Pfeiler, Marisa Ramos

62 57 Scenery and Props: Technical Director....Ojin Kwon Scenic Charge Artist...Tina Nordquist Scenic Painters.Stephanie Abresch, Josh Christopherson, Jae Hee Kim, Kevin Loeffler, Samantha Transleau Scene Shop Supervisor.. Tony Zabka Master Carpenter...Nate Jedrzejewski Carpenters...Tyler Brogla, Alex Burbach, Paul Crump, Trevin Cusimano,Cassio Hudson, Kelley Pfeiler, Ryan Steele Props Master...Craig Kelchen Props Assistant...Marisa Ramos Costumes: Costume Shop Manager..Megan A. Petkewec Costume Tailer. Barbara J. Croy Drapers. Bonnie Jenkins, Amy Pretta Stitchers Emily Busha, Melissa Gilbert, Amy Price Costume Shop Assistants..Kim Long, Melina Neves Costume Stock Manager...Emily Hinkler Electrics: Electric Supervisor..Shawn Maxwell Audio/Video Supervisor...Brent Garrett Electricians Emily Brink, Caitlin Dorsett, Derek Fohrman, Kathleen Hains, Alex Igram, Kyle Lefeber, Cassis Malmquist, Morgan Miller, Anthony Ramos, Gabi Vanek, LeeAnn Yeckley Production Staff: Director of Theatre Bryon Winn Production Director.Rick Loula Assistant to Production Director....Jennifer Hall Production Stage Manager...Melissa L.F Turner Scheduling & Facilities Specialist..Rebecca Tritten Administrative Services Coordinator..Tiffany Sutterer House Managers... Katy Jones, Brooke LeWarne Marketing Director...JD Mendenhall Marketing Assistant...Amber K. Lewandowski

63 58 APPENDIX C: SCENIC DESIGN VECTORWORKS EDUCATIONAL VERSION VIDEO WALL BLACK CYC TABS HUNG FROM GRID LOW WALL- 6' Holes used as entrance. extend through low wall unit. WINDOW UNIT STOCK STAIR #23 OR 24 MASKING WALL +7'-6" +12'-8" TRACKING STAIR UNIT US PLATFORM MASKING WALL +8'-2" STEP TO SR PLATFORM Existing 20'H on edge. bracket to us platform,cable to grid. SWING PLATFORM 8'6" SR PLATFORM BAND PLATFORM +10'-2" SL PLATFORM 8'-0" +1'-4" speaker FLOURESCENT TUBES. +0" DISCUSS W/ LIGHTING DESIGNER. +0" PL VERTICAL PIPE SHOULD BE CLIMBABLE. COULD BE PVC? +0" +0" VECTORWORKS EDUCATIONAL VERSION C QUICK CHANGE BOOTHS ESCAPE PLATFORM LEGGED TO HEIGHT OF US PLATFORM. ACTOR EXIT UNDERNEATH. SM CONSOLE STOCK STAIR #25

64 SPRING AWAKENING - HC 59

65 SPRING AWAKENING - HC 60

66 SPRING AWAKENING - HR 61

67 62 APPENDIX D: COSTUME DESIGN

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80 75 APPENDIX E: PROPS LIST!"#$%&'()*+( (,#"-."/(01(2#%$.%'"(3&44%..( 56/-."/7(89.&0"#(:;<()+:)( Rehearsal Props Breakdown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`( X&R#'-J(Y*(@"'9%J( :( G&( ( ( T?-I"(4#&I(=9.(F(?9*(KU( 53B<!%&'(!F)!?Y%.9C(TV#""(L#-'9CU(( :( G&( ( ( ( =9.(F(?9"'"(;( L&&S( :( H"$( ( (?E( =9.(F(?9"'"(:+( =9.(F(?9"'"(::( "6AA3AH5+>'!G6;-.! E!5'+6':'!,C-%#( :( ( ( ( (,&I6J"."/(E".."#( :( G&( ( (?E( ar'( :( G&( ( (?E( X&R#'-J(( T?-I"(4#&I(=9.(F(?9*(KU( :( G&( ( ( (

81 76!"#$%&'()*+( (,#"-."/(01(2#%$.%'"(3&44%..( 56/-."/7(89.&0"#(:;<()+:)( =9.(FF(?9"'"(:(,-'!I>6+.<!J2'0!! =9.(FF(?9"'"()( D32/.!D3! =9.(FF(?9"'"(W( 9'8.!5'-62B! =9.(FF(?9"'"(K(,3.#++<!M>7?'B! 53B<!%&'(!N)! ( FGV]B3F??F8G( ( ( ( ( ( ( ar'( T?-I"(4#&I(=9.(F(?9*(:+U( :( G&( ( ( ( MC%."(B&$"$( :)( H"$( ( ( ( L"/(?C"".(( :( H"$( ( (?E( E".."#(T3&#*(V&([#-RU( :( G&( ( (?E( ]$$-1(( T?-I"(4#&I(=9.(F(?9*(KU( :( G&( ( ( (?I-JJ(,#-."( :( ( H"$( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( E".."#:( :( G&( ( ( ( L"/(?C"".( :( H"$( ( ( :( H"$( ( ( ( E".."#)( :( G&( ( ( ( =9.(FF(?9"'"(_( 3&'"1( ( G&( ( ( ( E".."#:( :( G&( ( ( (,&%'$( K( ( ( ( (?.#-%DC.(B-^&#( :( H"$( ( ( ( =9.(FF(?9"'"(`( E".."#)( :( G&( ( ( ( =9.(FF(?9"'"(;(,-30'!C3>/:'! 12342! =9.(FF(?9"'"(:+( K32;!38!O>A(+'! K>$$'A!! ( (?.#-%DC.(B-^&#( T?-I"(4#&I(=9.(FF(?9"'"(_U( :( H"$( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (

82 77 APPENDIX F: REHEARSAL PHOTOS

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87 82 APPENDIX G: PRODUCTION PHOTOS

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97 92 APPENDIX H: SPRING AWAKENING POSTER

98 93 APPENDIX I: PROGRAM DIRECTOR S NOTES Am I a man or a child? This is the essential question for the eleven students at the heart of Spring Awakening. They are bound to their parents, lectured by their teachers and manipulated by their clergy all while their minds and bodies are maturing without their consent. New ideas, nagging questions, sexual desire and erotic impulses are infiltrating their thoughts as they try to hang on, follow the rules and navigate the treacherous terrain of adolescence. And, each of them is fundamentally attempting this journey completely alone. Fear of embarrassment and rejection has thrust these characters into a world of isolation desperately searching for connection and not knowing how to find it. Although, the show is told through the eyes of the students, to me, Spring Awakening is necessary viewing for people of all ages. Leaving childhood behind and venturing into adulthood can be a mortifying, exciting and confusing endeavor. The results of which will reverberate through the rest of our lives. This show explores this time with great care, detail and respect. The characters in this play are singing, dancing and screaming one thing: listen to me. In this way, 1891 Germany and 2012 Iowa are interchangeable. We are still struggling to find our own personal voice and, even more importantly, someone to listen to it. The sadness, the doubt, all the loss, the grief, Will belong to some play from the past; As the child leads the way to a dream, a belief, A time of hope through the land

99 94 APPENDIX J: VISIT FROM DUNCAN SHEIK On November 15 th, 2012, Jenni Page-White and I moderated a discussion with Duncan Sheik, the composer of Spring Awakening, in Theatre B of the Theatre Building. By chance, Duncan was performing a concert in Cedar Rapids that evening and was gracious enough to agree to come to campus and meet with students. It was completely serendipitous that our production of his show was being performed at the same time. After the public presentation, the actors from our show got to have thirty minutes alone with Duncan to talk about the show, his career and their futures. It was a really exciting day for all us. We had all worked so hard bringing his work to life and he seemed genuinely interested in our process and our thoughts about the work. Before the open discussion, Duncan and I were guests on Talk of Iowa on Iowa Public Radio. We spent about thirty minutes together discusses the show and our thoughts on the work. It was a nerve-wracking, yet incredibly exciting morning for me. He was really open to hearing my take on the show and made me feel like my concept for the show was worthwhile and on target.

100 95

101 96

102 97 APPENDIX K: EXCERPTS FROM THE DIRECTOR S SCRIPT AND SCORE

103 98

104 99

105 100

106 101

107 102

108 103

109 104

110 105

111 106

112 107

113 108

114 109

115 110

116 111

117 112

118 113

119 114

120 115

121 116

122 117

123 118

124 119

125 120