by Janine Sobeck, BYU Dramaturgy Specialist
As a dramaturg, one of the best parts of the the job is when you get to open up the world of the production to the audience. Whether its historical context, insider information from the rehearsal room, or conversations with the creative team (and so much more), we love to give you everything you need to have a fully enriched - and extremely enjoyable - evening at the theatre.
Here at Brigham Young University, the dramaturgs are exploring all the possible ways to do this very thing. While you may have already seen us in the program study guides or moderating post show discussions, we are now happy take it one step forward by introducing "The 4th Wall: the TMA dramaturgY project."
Here on the 4th Wall you will see posts from dramaturgs, playwrights, production team members and more. The goal is simple: to provide new insights, perspectives and information about the theatre productions on the BYU stage. Whether you are interested in one particular show or want to learn about the whole season, we invite you to follow along as we take you inside the world of each and every production.
So to all our audience members (and any other interested parties), we say, "Welcome to the 4th Wall." It's going to be a grand journey.
Is there really an “edge” to everything“? For centuries, scientists, scholars, and even simple farmers have wondered about space - and how to see, up close, what is so far away.
Ever since the beginning of the rehearsal process, director Kris Peterson really wanted the cast to get their hands in the dirt. Like the events of the musical, the earth has a power to connect us to each other, and she recognized that. One way that Charlotte and I thought to do this was to provide a small number of seeds to each cast member and invite them to grow their own plants over the summer. This was also a way to encourage the cast members to stay mentally connected to the show even when they were physically distant from the rehearsal space.