Category Archives: In The Intersection

Humans of Company One Theatre: Aila Peck

ailapeckBrahman-1    AilaPeck-150x150

Meet lovely BRAHMAN/I actress Aila Peck

When did you decide you wanted to be an actor?

Part of me believes I always wanted to be an actor, ever since my adolescent premiere as a Lost Boy in a production of Peter Pan when I was 6 years old. I think the more cognitive decision to jump into this career was performing with my high school acting company at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in the 10th grade. I was surrounded by thousands of artists, celebrating their craft in the streets, churches, pubs, and restaurants of this tiny Scottish town at all hours of the day and night…and I thought to myself, this is how I wanted to spend my life: bringing people together through the magic of the theatre.

What was your most memorable role?

I believe Brahman/i is absolutely, hands-down, the most memorable, life changing and inspiring role I have worked on. My introduction to B was understudying the role in Chicago this past spring and, even then, I felt the role ingrained in my psyche as one of the most influential roles of my career. Words cannot express my excitement on hearing that I would be coming to Boston to actually do the show myself!

What challenges do you face playing Brahman/i?

Endurance!!! Seriously. This play is like a marathon for an actor. There are so many extreme moments that range the gamut of human experience, not to mention the accent work, the over 20 different impressions, and above all, the intricate dance between comedy and vulnerability that is required in order to establish an integrated relationship between B and the audience, who will never be the same twice. It is such a dynamic piece that demands the actor to step up to the energy of the show without stepping over the heart of the show. It is, hands down, the most difficult piece of theatre I have ever worked on, but ultimately, the most fulfilling.

What do you like or dislike about the character? How do you identify with Brahman/i?

I identify with B’s displacement, irreverence, volatility, sense of play, eccentricity…this list could go on, but I will stop while I am ahead. What I identify with in B is not nearly as important as what I admire about them. What I admire about B is their profound courage in the face of extreme life circumstances and cunning use of humor and intellect to illuminate their personal experience and, in hand, the world as a whole. B is a constant reminder of our integral human capacity for “radical acts of self creation.” In this way, B inspires me every day. I am honored to be able to breathe life into these words.

The Displaced Hindu Gods Are Online

Dear readers,

We’re excited to announce that the rehearsal and production blog for Aditi Kapil’s DISPLACED HINDU GODS TRILOGY is up and running! The Trilogy runs at Company One Theatre Oct 24-Nov 22, 2014. Find out more about the production and teams by clicking HERE.

 

On ASTRO BOY and its Process at Company One Theatre

Purple-Logo copy From the Director of New Work

 

Thank you for attending the Boston premiere of ASTRO BOY AND THE GOD OF COMICS created and directed by Natsu Onoda Power. We are so glad to have you with us for this genre-bending, imaginative theatrical event. I’d like to take this moment to tell you a bit about the path the play has traversed so far, its development through the XX PlayLab, and its presence in Company One Theatre’s larger community engagement work.

After years of developing ASTRO BOY’s central material through other projects and workshops, Natsu premiered the full version of the play at Studio Theatre’s 2ndStage in Washington, DC, where it was named one of the top three theatre experiences of 2012 by The Washington Post. Jamie Gahlon, the Associate Director of HowlRound (in residence at Emerson College), was a member of Natsu’s original ensemble in DC, and helped connect Natsu with Company One Theatre in 2013. Knowing that Natsu wanted to revise and expand the play, we invited her to participate in the 2013-14 XX PlayLab—a program collaboratively run by the Boston Center for the Arts and Company One Theatre, dedicated to propelling works by women to the stage. Past Company One productions that have emerged from the XX PlayLab include HOOKMAN by Lauren Yee (2012), and SPLENDOR by Kirsten Greenidge (2013).

Over the course of this season, Natsu and her longtime DC collaborators—projection designer Jared Mezzocchi, and actor Clark Young—participated in three workshops with the ensemble of Boston actors, dramaturgs Ramona Ostrowski and myself, and Assistant Director/Creative Consultant Jamie Gahlon. During these weeks, the cast and creative team worked on skill building, text revision, and interactive projection models.

Of particular interest for this collaborative team was training a new group actors in the performance techniques that have been a hallmark of Nastu’s aesthetic since her days as a graduate student at Northwestern University—large scale collaborative illustration, interactive stage animation, and an interest in where the scientific and the human meet. Company One Theatre also significantly expanded our own capacity for these techniques, and for the kind of innovative multimedia technologies that are Jared Mezzocchi’s unique specialty.

Together with the BCA, we mounted a series of public events in November and March, culminating in the XX PlayLab Festival in early June, which provided ongoing access to the piece-in-process. Furthermore, the ASTRO BOY ensemble has had an unprecedented level of involvement in community events around the city, thanks to The Mabel Louise Riley Foundation, which funded Company One to create a boundary-busting engagement initiative called the C1 Street Team, led by youth organizers. Our artists have participated in ASTRO-themed workshops for youth and families at Cambridge River Festival, Anime Boston, UMass Boston, and Figment Boston, and will be connecting with community groups serving local teens during the run of the production. Together, Natsu and Company One are excited to further expand the reach of our mission—the creation of civically engaged artists, and the production of theatre with a social impact.

A development process of this type is an uncommon opportunity, and we’re thankful to have a partner like the BCA working jointly towards the support of groundbreaking artists. Workshops and readings are important steps, but it’s production where playwrights discover most clearly the world they’ve created. ASTRO BOY AND THE GOD OF COMICS, like much of Company One’s work, incorporates a sense of magic, and a structure that breaks traditional narrative forms. We’re excited for the surprises that await audiences as the story of Osamu Tezuka, the creator of the character Astro Boy, is revealed in reverse chronological order. We are so happy to share this event with the Boston community, and hope that you find it as thrilling as we do.

Sincerely,

Ilana M. Brownstein, Director of New Work

 

A PDF of this letter can be downloaded by clicking HERE.

Art and Culture Are Nice — And Essential

This Patriot Ledger opinion piece highlights the notable efforts of MASSCreative and applauds towns across the state that are using the arts to revitalize their communities and to improve education. Read the opinion piece here.

Catalyst is Coming!: A National Convening of Black Theaters

This HowlRound article by Carmen Morgan talks about how black theaters across the country are asking how will they sustain themselves and remain relevant in a world where the paradigm is shifting so that in 2042, people of color will be the majority in the country. Also, Catalyst is Coming!: A National Convening of Black Theatres, which will bring together represenatives from black theaters from across the country to talk about these pressing issues, will be held in NYC from August 4-7.  The event will be livestreamed via HowlRound on August 7.