The Project:
To adapt the essence – beginning with character in dialogue with space – of the novel The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James into a theatrical language.
Mission Statement for the Project:
We are committed to a process that will see multiple periods of exploration followed by reflection.
Director’s Goal as of November 2011:
We are working in a way that prioritizes discovering the piece through exploration in rehearsal rather than imposing a concept onto a story or process before it can be played with by all invested parties. To me, this means keeping the process in an active state of questioning our material as well as our process. I believe in the wisdom of the group mind and am interested in practicing the theatrical process with a collective of like-minded creators who work together to investigate what this piece can be. Personally I am interested in seeing how and if the experience of reading a novel – specifically this novel – can be translated into a performance medium while retaining something of the novel’s essence. I am also interested in illuminating BB2 as an exciting and inspiring, and non-traditional performing space.
In terms of the project as a whole I hope to help facilitate an environment of courageous exploration of both material and medium, and, as best we can, release ourselves from the expectations of production in the service of honest investigation.