AlterTheater's first-ever commissioned play!

From the Notebook of Jayne Wenger, Dramaturg

What was your role in the early days of this project? How did you work with Brian in the creation of this script?

Brian and I started talking about the play directly after AlterTheater received the commission. Brian and I have been friends for many years, and when I was the Artistic Director of the Bay Area Playwrights Foundation we selected Brian’s play “Summerland” to be a part of the Festival. That was in 2000! In an interesting serendipity, ‘Summerland” was produced by AlterTheater in a San Rafael storefront in 2006. We were very happy to be working on a project together and it was my first time working with Brian as a dramaturg so we were both excited by the artist opportunity. We sat together and talked about the play, where Brian was in the process, and what he would like to work on in specific. We also took the time to talk about how we would together. I asked him what he wanted from me, as the dramaturg, and we sketched out how the next four months of our creative collaboration would work. We also had fun sharing our thoughts and ideas about how the play sounded to the ear, and what music would be used to support and lift up the text.

After the first reading of the play, how did your conversations with Brian change? Were there particular elements of the script that you focused on?

Brian and I scheduled deadlines for new drafts to be sent to me, and then scheduled times where we would work on the telephone or in person to talk about the changes in each new version. As time went on, we spent less time talking about the general arc and structure of the play, and more time talking about details. We also dug into the ‘voice’ of each of the characters. Style was also often a topic of discussion. And of course, since this is a comedy, we often asked each other – “could this be funnier”… which we both found to be something to laugh about all on its own!!

What’s it like to work dramaturgically with Brian as a playwright?

Working with Brian has been incredibly rewarding. We were able to establish a rhythm from the beginning of the collaboration. I feel strongly that discussing how we could work together and what Brian needed from the relationship with a dramaturg was key to creative rapport. It should also be said that I love Brian’s writing, so I was always eager to discuss changes, ask questions, and receive new drafts of the play. It was also beneficial to include the director, Tracy Ward in many of the conversations to get her feedback, and to keep the collaboration working smoothly. Tracy was always great at asking good questions and sharing her perspective. She also loved the play and that is really what it is all about. Loving the writing. I understand Brian’s rhythms and his style of playwrighting. Working on a comedy with him has been… funny!

About The Horses

AlterTheater is an ensemble of artists, who have dreamed since our beginning days of creating projects for us, by us. The Horses is the first time that we have worked from beginning inklings of an idea, to a script, to a fully realized produciton, creating a brand-new piece of theater, written specifically for our company artists by associate artist Brian Thorstenson (Summerland, Drop). We're deeply excited, and hope you can join us for this incredible journey.

The Beginnings:

"People need to laugh now," says Playwright Brian Thorstenson. "I wanted to write something that was entertaining, in this time."

The project began with company artists sitting around Frances Lee McCain's living room, being peppered with questions by Brian. Then, Brian went away, and began to write.

"Will [Marchetti] and Frances' voices were in my head when I was writing the whole time," says Brian.

With a very rough draft in hand, Brian, the actors, and the ensemble artists sat down together to listen and read. "First readings are particularly fraught for me," Brian confesses. "It's the first time that this very private world I've been making becomes public. And with the public comes other people's opinions. It's nerve wracking."

The actors eagerly dived into the words and threw themselves into the magical world Brian created. "I've never been the kind of writer who laughs much at my own work but during the first reading of The Horses I couldn't help myself cause the actors were so damn funny!"

Workshop:

After the first reading, the Ensemble talked about the script, about the story, the characters, and Brian began fleshing out the piece. Dramaturg Jayne Wenger met with Brian one-on-one, talking about character and structure, and became his second "ear" in subsequent readings.

"Jayne gave me precise, intelligent and humorous dramaturgical support throughout the writing of The Horses," says Brian.

After a summer of workshopping, and multiple drafts, the project moved into rehearsal.

Rehearsal:

"Brian has the best ear of any playwright I've ever worked with," says executive director Jeanette Harrison. "He has the ability to sit in rehearsal, hear something, and immediately say, no, no, that's too many words. Cut this, this, and this, and say this instead here. It's a real gift."

All the actors have a long relationship with the playwright: "He knows my work, he knows what I can do, and what I can't do," says Will Marchetti, who plays Marv. "He's given me a character I can go a lot of different ways with. It's kinda fun."

"Sometimes [Brian] surprises me, because he’s obviously listened to certain speech quirks of mine that I’m not even aware of until I read them on the page," Frances laughs. "It's a little embarrasing--I feel exposed."

Moving into rehearsal means not only staging the play with a director, but also the playwright gets to continue to fine tune his work: "We're getting rewrites every day," says Marchetti.

To finish this story, we need you! Join us for the world premiere of The Horses by Brian Thorstenson, October 22nd-November 15th. Full Calendar.

This project has been funded in part by Horizons Foundation, San Francisco Foundation, and by Marin Arts Council.

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