Saturday, March 10, 2012 # 10:07 AM
Page to Stage: Birth by Committee
The Birth of a Dancing Princess
In 2000 I wrote an adaptation of the story, "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" to be performed by the touring theatre company I co-founded with Alexandra Clark. We joked that we did not have the budget (or room in the touring car) for more than one princess, so that's what we had. When I was doing the research on the story, I found Hans Christian Andersen might have actually based his story on a Ukrainian folktale that was very similar. In turn that story might have been based on a Persian folktale and so on.
I chose to set my play in Russia to follow the theme and flavor of the folktale. Because I managed the touring company, I had a lot to say about the production which was very successful during its run in 2000 and also when we revived it in 2009. It wasn't just successful, it was special. Like any artist, a writer often can tell when one project has something special that makes it different or better than some of the other work they've done. "The Dancing Princess" was one of those projects for me. I was excited to meet and discuss the project with a friend and composer, Terry Levitt, who agreed to write the music necessary to expand the show. The producers at Second Story Repertory in Redmond, Washington (a very cool theatre, by the way) patiently heard my pitch for the piece and agreed to produce it. So the journey began.
Mark Chenovick, the executive director at Second Story, offered me the opportunity to direct. I decided not to. Although it might have been cool to follow through and see the piece through to production all with my own vision, I thought it would be more interesting to see what other directors and producers might see in it.
With the exception of a one-man or one-woman show, theatre is a magical art that requires a committee of people (or multiple committees) to make it happen. I'd sat in my office chair for so many hours with the characters of "The Dancing Princess" dancing in my brain, I realized I totally needed to let them go to see how they would perform. The directors, costumers, set and lighting designers all took the helm. The actors brought their talents and knowledge and skills and the whole thing sprang into colorful, three-dimensional life while I watched.
Was everything done the way I would have done it? No. But many things were done much better than I could have conceived. That's the whole point of this birth by committee. Everyone brings their best to the table. The result is usually better for it. Like any baby, if this "Dancing Princess" is going to walk, it may be hard, but a parent has to eventually let go.
(photos by Tim Poitevin)
Labels: birth by committee, producing a new show, the dancing princess, theatre for children, theatre production
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