The latest show in Hamline’s current performance season, “FAB-U-LAND,” transported audiences from the stage to an architect’s basement during its four-day run in the Anne Simley theater. “FAB-U-LAND” is a devised play directed and written by Jay Owen Eisenberg, who worked in conjunction with the cast of 11 actors and the creative team of 15, some of whom were student designers, to create an immersive set and performance that captivated the audience.
Last Thursday, April 10, the Anne Simley theater transported audiences from the stage to an architect’s basement. The devised show “FAB-U-LAND,” written and directed by Jay Owen Eisenberg, starred 11 actors and a creative team of 15, who worked collaboratively to not only create the script but also put together and perform the show.
When it comes to theatre, collaboration is a core part of any production, from the designs all the way to the acting. Especially in “FAB-U-LAND,” which had a lot of student involvement, not only from the cast but also from student designers.
“It was incredibly collaborative and kind of renewing in a way. Usually, as a technical director and scenic designer, my word goes when it comes to the set. But it was nice to be able to work in an environment where the students knew the show better than me,” Visiting professor of Technical Theatre and “FAB-U-LAND’s” Scenic Designer and Production Manager Kim Lartz said.
In non-devised shows, most of the choices are pre-determined for other theater companies to follow. However, in this case, everyone collaborated not only on the technical aspects but also on the script.
“Three weeks into the process, I took the raw data we had gathered and started to script pages for the actors to play with. I wrote additional dialogue for their characters that was designed to bring out the voices and personalities they had begun to play with in the room. Eventually, those pages became a full-length play,” Eisenberg said via email.
While Eisenberg came up with the concept of the show, the students helped with not only fleshing out the characters but also with the creation of the script. Many ideas were played around with during the rehearsal process of the production through improv and clown games, which Eisenberg took and formatted into the script.
“So once we actually started working on things for the script, it was more we would play with different scenes with each other and try and play those same [clown] games with each other about with the characters we developed and then Jay would go home and type up some stuff and come back the next day and be like, ‘How does this sound? How do you like this?’ Senior Bri Cook said.
With both the script and technical parts coming together, the show could move from generating ideas and character building to running through all the scenes and arcs in the show.
“I think my favorite moment was just when we got the first full script, and we did a read-through of it. It was so exciting because we’d all been anticipating it, and it was just so fun to hear everyone speaking in their characters for the first time,” first-year Max Oliver-Machuca said.
After having the completed script, the actors and the creative team moved forward through the production process, heading towards tech week. A week dedicated to incorporating lights and sound cues into the scenes with the actors.
“As any theatre practitioner will tell you, tech gets a bad rap — late hours, tight timelines, and challenges abound. I love tech because it’s the part of the process when you’re reminded that theatre is a gorgeously multi-disciplinary medium; when you see the ways in which scenic, costumes, lighting, sound and props — all cradled safely in the hands of the stage managers — come together to elevate the piece and clarify what it is!” Eisenberg said via email.
For many, tech week is when everything the actors do starts to feel real with lighting, sound and costumes along with props. Soon, opening night arrived and the actors took to the stage, inviting the audience to follow a family as they mourn their architect grandfather while discovering a scale model of an amusement park. The production of “FAB-U-LAND” closed on Sunday, April 13, bringing the amusement to a close, reminding us all that no one is ever ready for anything, even the end of a show.
“If I had to describe ‘FAB-U-LAND’ in one sentence, at the risk of being too pithy, I’d say:
It’s a play that happens to be gay,” Eisenberg said via email.