Hard to believe when we stepped in the studio 9 weeks ago, we didn't have a show. In just a few short weeks, our ensemble has worked together and supported each other and let their imaginations fly. We created 4 unique characters and built the world around them. This week our ensembles had their final regular rehearsals before moving to the theatre - it's amazing to see how far we've come.

Our ensembles kicked things off with a dance party and warm ups and then we set straight to work with a run-through. Our goal was to make it through the entire show with props and costumes and both groups did it beautifully! Gems Unseen is really several different plays in one - we have 4 completely different stories set in different times and places:

The Legend of the Judgmental Ghosts

SETTING: in the future, Castleland

SYNOPSIS: Gather around the campfire for a ghost story like none other featuring some Shakespeare, math, and a lot of candy.

Hollywood Babies

SETTING: the future, Hollywood California.

SYNOPSIS: an evil villain crashes a red carpet gala and reveals a dastardly plan for taking over Hollywood. Can our hero save the day?

Love Always Wins

SETTING: The year 3017, Chicago

SYNOPSIS: After "the incident" the government has declared love is now illegal. Inspired by her favorite movie characters, and with help from her grandma, our main character sets off to save love!

Medieval Teeth

SETTING: Medieval times, England & Atlanta

SYNOPSIS: Our main character takes an epic journey across the ocean in the hopes of new teeth. Along the way, she meets new friends and inspires others with her generosity and bravery!

In true ABLE style, for Gems Unseen each actor is playing multiple roles throughout the show. Everyone is a main character in one of the stories, a background character in another, and each actor will go onstage as just them to talk more about who they are inside. So, this was also an important rehearsal for our facilitators and teaching artists to practice costume changes and traffic patterns backstage.

Our volunteer, Alison Perrone, has done an amazing job building props. Each story is so different and requires a lot of pieces to help set the scene. We have a Hollywood sign, an ocean, tree stumps, heavy barbells, candy traps, and a whole bunch of baby dolls! Practicing with all of these elements really helps each story come to life for us, and for our audience as well.