This session, A.B.L.E. has three different ensembles - 2 for teens (ages 15-21) and one for adults (ages 22+). Each ensemble is led by a pair of teaching artists, and supported by a team of volunteer facilitators. These groups will work together to devise two original shows. Each week, we share updates from the rehearsal room. Click here to read past installments, and read on to learn about week 5 of rehearsals!
We’ve cleared the halfway point of the semester. We have more structure around our original shows, and are continuing to refine our stories and add more detail.
Teen Ensembles
During week 5, our Monday and Friday ensembles explored more of their individual stories. You might remember we started the semester with a questionnaire, probing each actor to think about assumptions they may have made in their own lives. Many shared similar sentiments, and these will be the focus for group pieces. But we also noticed some really unique answers, and these will serve as monologues or larger scenes in the show. This week, we dug into some of these original stories, and also reviewed our choreography.
Between sessions, our teaching artist team met to think over the details of the play, decide on the structure of the show, and figure out a way to tie all of these stories together. There are so many different types of stories being told - everything from drama in high school, to family life, to exploring some of our biggest fears. How does all of that fit into one show? You’ve heard of Netflix? Well, we’ve created ABLEflix - a unique streaming service curated by our ensemble. Add us to your queue Saturday December 14th at 11:30am!
Adult Ensembles
This week, our adult ensembles worked with a script for the first time! Early in our devising process, we created backstories for our special objects - who do they belong to, when were they made, where were they made, and how they were found. Well, the “how” for our bouquet of flowers gave us the perfect start for our story! Our actors decided that the flowers were bought at an antique store as a prop for a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream but, it turns out, there is an actual spell on them!
This week we worked through the first 3 scenes of our show which take us from “rehearsal” for our play-within-a-play to the antique store. We also had to devise a walk through a spooky forest to get to the antique store, with our ensemble playing owls, wolves, hissing snakes, and other creatures in the woods. Save the date for Friday December 13th at 7pm to see all the pieces come together!
