Crazy for You has two main settings: the bustle and shine of upper class New York City, and the dusty, dwindling mining town of Deadrock, Nevada. Just an hour south of Provo lies Mammoth, Utah, a ghost town that directly parallels Deadrock. So we loaded the cast into vans and went on a field trip!
We first visited the Eureka Cemetery, where the cast spent time wandering, pondering, and finding clues to the stories of people who had come to the area to work in the mines.
We then spent time in Mammoth, exploring an ecosystem and atmosphere that could directly inform the world we are bringing to life on the BYU Main Stage. Our director, Stephanie Breinholt, has personal connections to Mammoth; her grandmother grew up there, and her father spent much of his early life in that town. We explored the area, and met one of the few residents who still call Mammoth home. After taking in the dirt roads and abandoned houses, we gathered on the old baseball field, in the shadow of the empty gold mine, where the citizens of the town used to come for community events. We ate cowboy chili and cornbread and shared our impressions of the day. Stephanie’s parents joined us for dinner and her father shared memories of what it was like to grow up in this little town.
We sang songs from the era of our production and enjoyed some cowboy poetry recitations.
It was magical to feel the joy of community in a place that has seen so much hardship, and has had so many people move away. We could understand why Polly and Bobby want to revitalize Deadrock, and how complicated that goal could be. It was amazing to be fully immersed in the setting of our show.
After such a late, lengthy experience the day before, on Day Four we spent some quiet time processing the world of the play with our five senses.
SIGHT
The cast sketched scenes and impressions based on their experience the day before and contrasted the country with their notions of New York City.
SOUND
The cast listened to soundscapes of each location. The city selections were authentic recordings of the streets of New York from 1930.
TOUCH
The cast described the textures they would come into contact with both in the city and a desert town. It was very helpful to draw on their lived experience from the day before.
SMELL
A selection of odors from the city (gasoline, perfume, cleaning fluids, hair pomade, etc) and country (molasses, sagebrush, pine, saddle soap, manure, etc) were available for the cast to experience and identify.
TASTE
Samples of pastrami on rye and buckwheat flapjacks with maple syrup evoked the flavors of each setting.
After quietly moving through our sensory stations, the cast was ready to put on their tap shoes and start dancing!
