LITTLE THING, BIG THING - Setting the Stage, Part III: Bringing it to life, PTE-style

Now Blogging: Sharon Bajer, director of Little Thing, Big Thing

One of the discoveries we made in the first week of rehearsal was that we couldn’t speak as quickly as the Irish actors because of the dialect, and we were using real props and had to move over a larger stage with much physical business. As a result, our version was going to be longer. I decided to put an intermission in the play, where none was written to give both the audience and the actors a breather. I had also decided that we would make everything out of oil barrels, including all of the scenes that take place in a CAR! I knew there would be an element of exploration and we played around in rehearsal with the movement of the barrels for all of the car scenes. One great discovery was that we could turn the barrels from side to side, creating the illusion of driving down those narrow, twisty roads in Ireland. Not only did this look adorable, but it opened up the action in the car to both sides of the theatre. One of my favorite bits is when they drive the barrel around the roundabouts, so common in Ireland.

Now that we’re on the other end of rehearsals, I am very pleased with how the added production elements supported the play. Chris Coyne’s sound and video work is not too much and it just enhances the play without drawing too much attention to itself. The 100 oil barrels that set designer Jamie Plummer and the PTE dream team constructed the set out of work a treat.  I wanted all of the props to be able to appear and disappear within them, which has been delightful to watch. Larry Isacoff’s beautiful lighting was the biggest surprise to me. He was able to create the different worlds of the play and maintain the fabulous look of our imposing wall of oil barrels throughout, highlighting the subtle mood changes and inner thoughts of the characters. And of course our actors Gord Gammie and Jennifer Lyon are excellent (as I knew they would be!) Having Donal at our opening was a treat for me – to show him his play done in our Canadian way. Directing this play has been one of the highlights of my career so far – a great challenge and so incredibly rewarding. PTE has been so supportive to me and I can’t thank them enough for trusting me with this show.

 

Gordon Gammie (Larry), Sharon Bajer (Director), Donal O'Kelly (Playwright),
Jennifer Lyon (Sister Martha)

LITTLE THING, BIG THING - Setting the Stage, Part II: The Irish Experience

 Now blogging: Sharon Bajer, director of Little Thing, Big Thing


Sometimes seeing a production of a play you are about to direct is a bad idea, but in this case I already had a vision of how I was going to do it, which was very important. I knew that they did it with a minimal set and created everything out of two chairs with no props or costume changes. This is always excellent, as it requires the audience to use their imaginations. Prairie Theatre Exchange however is a thrust stage with audiences on three sides and it is a very large stage to fill. I wanted to give our PTE audience and my production of LTBT the feel of using only two chairs to keep the focus on the story and the actors and balance that with set, sound, lights, props, video and costumes that would only support the play and not clutter it up too much. AND I didn't have to worry about making the production able to tour. 


Going to Ireland to see Fishamble’s production of Little Thing Big Thing was a great experience. I was able to meet with Donal the playwright who performs in the play with actress Socha Fox. The two were wonderful in the show and afterwards as we shared in the traditional Irish post show chats over lots of pints that no one would let me pay for! The director Jim Culleton from Fishamble made me a little map of all of the locations in Dublin that are referred to and I followed the story trail – which was fantastic. I took photos of all of the places in order to help the production team and the actors visualize the setting. Seeing their production did not influence how I was going to do mine, but it made it clear to me just how powerful that show can be and seeing it with an Irish audience was very illuminating I had a slight worry that a Canadian audience might get lost in the dialect, the Dublin centric references and the complex storyline, so clarity in the story would be my ultimate goal.

Next: Part III - Bringing it to life, PTE-style

LITTLE THING, BIG THING - Setting the Stage, PART I: Looking across the "pond"

Now blogging: Sharon Bajer, Director of Little Thing, Big Thing

As I write this, Little Thing Big Thing has opened and is enjoying a great run with good reviews and word of mouth. I now can breathe a sigh of relief. A little backstory here: when I first read the play I was hooked by the story but I really had to study the play in order to visualize how it could be staged. Not only do two actors have to play multiple roles, but they speak their inner thoughts, jump from location to location and interact with people and objects that aren’t physically there. It’s funny, dark, unpredictable, part thriller, part mystery and part love story with a political edge. And if all of that weren’t enough, it takes place in Ireland with dialects from all over the country, Irish slang and many references to specific places in Dublin and across the Irish countryside. A challenge for any director, but this was my PTE Main Stage directorial debut. I didn’t want to screw it up!

Donal O'Kelly, playwright

I did some research into past productions of Little Thing, Big Thing and I discovered that the only other production of the play was the original from Fishamble Theatre that was about to make their Dublin premiere. More back story: in Ireland they follow a more European model of presenting. Rather than many different companies producing their own versions of plays, rehearsing for 3 weeks and presenting a 3-week run for a subscription audience, they keep their plays touring, sometimes for years. As a result many of these plays have small casts and very little in the way of set or fancy production elements. The plays tour all over, can be set up in any space and are relatively inexpensive to move around.

So I looked at the tour schedule for Little Thing Big Thing and I realized that I could see it when it played in Dublin. I immediately contacted the playwright Donal O’Kelly and he put aside a ticket for me! I was very excited to go and meet him and see his show, but I needed a way to get there! Thanks to support from The Manitoba Arts Council and The Winnipeg Arts Council, I was able to travel to Dublin and spend 10 days researching contemporary Irish theatre, meet with Donal and the creative team of Fishamble’s production and go to all of the places that he references in the play.  

Next: Part II: The Irish Experience

Donal O'Kelly & Sorcha Fox in the Fishamble production of Little Thing, Big Thing.