Look inside The Time Capsule

What has the process been like?

Led by co-directors Kiaran Hartnett and Katie Yohe, and supported by a team of 7 volunteer facilitators, the performance ensemble continued to explore A.B.L.E.’s season theme of Memory as they created this original show.

We started the rehearsal process in February with each actor filling out a questionnaire. Through written prompts like “tell me about a time you felt free”, “what is a smell that brings back a memory for you?” and “what advice would you give to your past self?” as well as in-rehearsal discussions, the team shared personal memories. Through these stories, we chose the mementos that would be in our time capsule, including a ballet shoe, a microphone, friendship bracelets, and even a magical jar containing all our favorite smells. Kiaran and Katie crafted activities to help build scenes, movement pieces, and songs around each object. 

The group meets for weekly 3.5 hour rehearsals. The first half of the day is focused on ensemble-building with a check in, company warm up, and team-building activities. After a break, the group gets to work with activities and exercises to create our play. We’ve done improv and writing activities to create dialogue, worked in small groups to build choreography, and even designed our own costumes! Along the way, we practice giving supportive feedback and building skills like confidence and teamwork. 

The first 5 weeks of rehearsal were spent creating our script, and the remaining weeks have been focused on polishing group pieces, setting blocking, and getting it ready to share with you!