Welcome to Season 2 of the Alliance Theatre Podcast: An exploration of theater and the people who make it happen.
A proud Spelman College alumna, join Alliance Resident Artist and Allyship Program Director in conversation with Patrick Myers.
Maya Lawrence is a NYC born- Atlanta based multidisciplinary artist and activist, specializing in theater, performance, and poetry. As an actor, teaching artist, and facilitator with an audience range from newborns to as long as one can be alive, she uses her superpowers of creativity, curiosity, and compassion to facilitate theatre-based experiences rooted in Anti-Bias work for youth, families, individuals, corporations, and organizations in pursuit of becoming the most authentic & empathetic versions of themselves. As a proud Spelman College alumna, she uses theater to build alliances as a Resident Artist and the Allyship Program Director at the Tony Award winning Alliance Theatre. Maya is on a mission to liberate the world through art using Love to light the path.
Patrick Myers is a freelance writer and playwright who also serves as the Education Process Manager for the Alliance Theatre at the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta, Georgia, where he manages the Press Play digital theater initiative. A graduate with honors of the Savannah College of Art and Design with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performing Arts, his work has encompassed a variety of disciplines, including but not limited to writing, producing, criticism, and teaching. He is a proud facilitator for the Alliance Theatre’s Allyship Training, an introductory two-hour course on cultivating anti-bias thought, and specializes in developing strategies for increasing access to the arts through virtual spaces. His work has appeared in American Theatre, HowlRound Theatre Commons, and ARTS ATL, and in his free time he writes and records for Ghost Light: The Serialized Horror Podcast, available wherever you listen to podcasts.
For more information about the Alliance Theatre Podcast please click here.
Unsuccessful actors create performances with the same old bag of tricks and figure things out all on their own.
Powerful actors are generous and observant, providing their scene partners interesting and useful things to respond to.
In rehearsal, actors will run through a scene dozens of times, and they repeat their lines thousands of times in performance. How do they continue to create a performance that is alive and compelling time after time? They stay genuinely connected to what’s going on. Although it may be the 172nd time they are playing a scene together, connected actors have trained themselves to pay attention to what is happening as if it is happening for the first time. They actively and accurately observe the subtle choices that their scene partners are making in that particular performance. Then, they respond (in real time) with their own specific choices.
Why is staying connected important?
When we are truly paying attention (really seeing our ‘scene partners’), we are able to respond rather than react to what’s going on. We are better able to absorb new information; we have increased adaptability. With our focus authentically on the other person, we interact with more empathy. We are ready to engage in a meaningful way when asked.
Staying connected with the Second Circle
We start to build an awareness of when we’re centered and alert. Start noticing what’s new in the situation, even though it is another weekly staff meeting. Choose to be curious instead of judgmental. All easier said than done, right?
Patsy Rodenburg, a theater director from the U.K., offers a useful framework to help us know when we’re really connected, and when we are not. She calls it the Second Circle1. No matter what we’re doing, we are always showing up in one of three ‘circles’ of focus and energy.
- First Circle – Self-focused, withdrawn, and trying not to attract attention to ourselves.
- Second Circle – Present and connected.
- Third Circle – Self-focused, taking up a lot of space, imposing our will on a situation, and tryin got attract attention.
The Second Circle is about making a choice to keep your focus open and on your “scene partners.” Certainly, it is absolutely okay to be reflective or to take up more space at times. But if the moment requires that you show up, listen for understanding, and offer a contribution to the group’s success, this is when we need to find and maintain the Second Circle.
The performance you want takes practice.
Ask yourself these guiding questions to build your awareness of when you’re connected (and when you’re not).
- When do I find myself in the First Circle? What does my First Circle behavior look like? How does this limit my impact?
- When do I find myself in Third Circle? What does my Third Circle behavior look like? How does this limit my impact?
- When/where do I naturally find myself most connected in the Second Circle? What does that feel like? How can I recreate that feeling when I notice I’m disconnected?
Next time we’ll be pulling back the curtain on Setting Intention.
Learn More
Ready to learn more about how Alliance@work can help your company?
1Rodenburg, Patsy. (2008). The Second Circle: How to Use Positive Energy for Success in Every Situation. New York. W • W • Norton & Company
It may not look like it when experiencing the final product, but the creative process is not magical. All performances are not created equal. Powerful performances are built with an ensemble of actors who commit themselves to sustained learning and consistent practice. Over time, this dedication leads to high levels of proficiency with the skills in the Actor’s Tool Kit.
Unsuccessful actors allow their focus to shift from what’s going on in the moment.
Powerful actors practice mindfulness.They resist the pull to hold onto what they wish they had done better in the previous scene or worry about what is ahead.
Remember back to the time before COVID-19, when you were driving home on a late Friday afternoon after an incredibly tough week. You would pull into your driveway. Turn off the car. Pause and think: “I don’t remember the last ten minutes of that drive. I hope I missed the neighbor’s dog.”
There are many obstacles that keep us from the present moment. We constantly search the past (earlier in the day, earlier in the week, or last month) for things we missed or wished we had done differently. We shift our focus forward, often in hopes of warding off real or perceived troubles. It takes effort to focus on the here and now, because when we’re not “here,” we don’t even realize it.
Why is being present important?
A primary benefit of building a practice of staying present is that “here” is the only place where we can take useful action to stitch up the things for the past or plan for future events. Additionally, when we’re present with ourselves, we are aware of times we need to take care of ourselves so that we can take care of others. We need to be willing and able to carve out these moments of mindfulness, because they are moments of self-care.
Being present with Intentional Breathing
How do we get “here”? We remember to breathe. That’s right; we breathe. The trick is to breathe mindfully. When we respond to stress, we take quick, shallow breaths. And when we find ourselves in uncomfortable, unfamiliar, or stressful situations – as counterproductive as it sounds – we stop breathing all together.
We need to center our breath at our core, where the largest parts of our lungs are found. Taking a moment to breathe in this way, grounds us, calms us down, and clears our minds – opening the door to welcome us back to being present.
The performance you want takes practice.
Ask yourself these guiding questions to build your awareness of when you’re present (and when you’re not).
- What is happening when I check out? i.e. when I’m worrying about the past, when I’m worrying about the future, when I’ve not taken care of myself
- When do I find that I’m breathing shallowly or holding my breath?
- What can I specifically do to help me take more intentional breaths?
Next time, we will be pulling back the curtain on Staying Connected.
Learn More
Ready to learn more about how Alliance@work can help your company?
Leading your team when your tank is empty
With 2020 behind us, we are turning a hopeful eye to a better 2021. Even with vaccines on the horizon and lower virtual learning curves, we are still working in an always-changing, disconnected workplace. It’s hard, through the camera of a computer, to show up with purpose and presence. You may be asking yourself at the start of a new year, “How can I continue to effectively motivate and lead my team when I am exhausted?”
To help answer this question, consider the skills in the Actor’s Tool Kit:
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These skills are fundamental to creating a powerful and immediate performance — on stage and in business. Applying the Actor’s Tool Kit to the challenges ahead will help refill your tank to bring your best self to your work and perform at the top of your game.
Why Theatre?
Why Theatre? Minouche Shafik, the Director of the London School of Economics, says “In the past jobs were about muscles, now they’re about brains, but in future they’ll be about the heart.1“ What she is getting at is this: the digital revolution is rolling along and automation and machine learning are becoming more and more a part of the way we work – from manufacturing to professional services. She says that although being able to synthesize information, analyze it, and think critically about it will always be very important, what makes us human will be one of our strongest competitive advantages.
And that is where theater comes in. Theater is created through the study of the human condition, observing what makes us tick. Theatre artists take what they learn from that study and, using their emotional intelligence, create something special and unique that causes people think, feel, and respond in very specific ways.
In this series, we’ll explore each skill in the Actor’s Tool Kit and provide you with practical techniques and guiding questions to position your team for transformation and growth in the year ahead.
- Pulling Back the Curtain on Being Present
- Pulling Back the Curtain on Staying Connected
- Pulling Back the Curtain on Setting Intention
- Pulling Back the Curtain on Being Authentic
- Pulling Back the Curtain on Remaining Curious
1Elkann, Alain. “Minouche Shafik”. Alain Elkann Interviews. April 01, 2018
The Alliance Theatre today announced updates to its 2020/21 season, including a new Under the Tent Series to provide more socially-distanced performance options. The Under the Tent series will include a concert staging of the Broadway hit WORKING: A MUSICAL, with original music by Stephen Schwartz, Lin-Manuel Miranda, James Taylor, and more! The series will also include special programming for families during the day featuring concert-style performances of BEAUTIFUL BLACKBIRD LIVE and SONGS TO GROW ON. The tent will be erected on Callaway Plaza adjacent to the Alliance Theatre’s home at the Woodruff Arts Center.
“Our Under the Tent series offers inspiring entertainment, socially distanced seating, CDC recommended safety protocols, and – most importantly – a step back toward sharing theatre together as artists and audience,” said Susan V. Booth, Jennings Hertz Artistic Director.
Following the success of the Alliance’s drive-in production of A Christmas Carol: The Live Radio Play, the Under the Tent series will utilize enhanced COVID safety procedures including open-air seating, socially distanced seating in two- and four-person pods, contactless entry, and required use of face masks. Click here for additional details.
All the productions in the “Under the Tent” series will be recorded and streamed on-demand on Alliance Theatre Anywhere. Alliance Theatre Anywhere launched in the fall of 2020 and has already debuted seven new shows and series for streaming, bringing the best of the Alliance stages directly to homes. In addition to the three “Under the Tent” series productions, an additional four digital series are in development as well as the Alliance’s interactive streaming production of DATA, winner of the 2021 Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition, which will be available to stream in May.
To accommodate these changes and due to continuing circumstances related to COVID-19, the following previously announced productions are being adjusted. HANDS UP will move to the 2021/22 season and will open the Hertz Stage in Fall 2021. TONI STONE will also move to the 2021/22 season with timing to be determined. ACCIDENTAL HEROES has been cancelled at this time but may be reprogrammed in another season.
Tickets for the Under the Tent series will be available to the public on February 17th, but if you sign up for the pre-sale you get access on the 16th. Annual members get first dibs on February 3rd.
2020/21 Updated Season Schedule
Under the Tent Series
Working: A Musical
April 22 – June 6, 2021
From the book by Studs Terkel
Adapted by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso
With additional contributions by Gordon Greenberg
Songs by Craig Carnelia, Micki Grant, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mary Rodgers and Susan Birkenhead, Stephen Schwartz, and James Taylor
Directed by Tamilla Woodard
“Everyone should have something to point to, something to be proud of.” WORKING: A Musical explores what makes our work meaningful across all walks of life. Whether it be in an office, a restaurant, your home, or you’ve retired, this musical reminds us to celebrate not only what we do, but how we do it. With original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Stephen Schwartz, and James Taylor, the Alliance Theatre’s concert staging of WORKING will premiere as part of the Under the Tent series.
Beautiful Blackbird Live!
April 8 – April 18, 2021
Inspired by the Newbery Medal-winning book by Ashley Bryan
Atlanta’s favorite feathered funk band is back! Featuring original music composed by Eugene H. Russell IV and inspired by Ashley Bryan’s children’s book BEAUTIFUL BLACKBIRD, this family friendly concert will have you on your feet celebrating the uniqueness of each and every one of us. Shake your tailfeathers and dance to the music!
Songs to Grow On
May 6 – May 16, 2021
A Woody Guthrie concert for children! – A family friendly concert event featuring American folk music legend Woody Guthrie’s classic children’s songs. Performed by Rob Lawhon and drawn primarily from Guthrie’s iconic album Songs to Grow on for Mother and Child, this cycle of songs captures the whimsy, joy, and wonder of childhood in three chords & a whole lot of fun. Join Woody and his dog Arlo as they serenade Atlanta families with songs that celebrate the human spirit.
Guest Artists Under the Tent
Tyrone Jackson & Friends
April 7 – April 8, 2021
Tyrone Jackson will bring his favorite musicians and singers to perform jazz, blues, and ballads. An Atlanta Jazz Revival is the theme and the skyline will be the backdrop for old classics, standard songs, and modern twists performed by some of Atlanta’s best musicians. The tent will be rockin’.
Sister Omelika
April 10, 2021
Does quarantining have you down these days? Are you looking for a little elevation? Then get uplifted with Sis. Omelika Kuumba and Friends in Soaring High! Through drumming, dancing, singing and poetry Sis. Omelika and Friends will be celebrating and reflecting in a safe and socially distanced space on the beautiful campus of the Alliance Theatre. Come and be a part of the flight. Let’s soar together!
The Tiny Theater Company
April 15 – April 17, 2021
This adaptation of Hamlet uses elements of Black Culture, Music, Rhythm, and Call and Response, to tell this classical story reimagined. Hamlet tells the story of a young prince, whose father’s death has uprooted the castle. We follow Ham and best friends Horatio and Marcellus, as they get to the bottom of the mysterious happenings at the castle. Hamlet is a story of revenge and resistance, told in a way you’ve never seen before.
Streaming on Alliance Theatre Anywhere
Sit-In
January 8 – June 30, 2021
By Pearl Cleage
Inspired by Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down, The New York Times bestselling book by Andrea Davis Pinkney; Illustrated by Brian Pinkney
A Palette Group Production
Original Compositions by Eugene H. Russell IV
Directed by Mark Valdez
Written by Atlanta’s bestselling author, playwright, and Civil Rights Activist, Pearl Cleage (Blues for An Alabama Sky, Tell Me My Dream) this original animated short celebrates the power of youth to change history. Featuring a mixture of Civil Rights anthems and new freedom songs composed specifically for the feature, Sit-In follows three friends as they learn about the sit-ins of the Civil Rights era, and powerfully apply those lessons to issues they – and we all – face today.
Data
Spring 2021
By Matthew Libby
Directed by Susan V. Booth
Winner of the Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition, Data is a fast-paced drama that looks behind the closed doors of Silicon Valley. Presented as an interactive digital experience, Data takes audiences into the world of highly controversial technologies and the people who create them. Maneesh is a brilliant entry-level programmer content to work in the low-stress environment of User Experience until he learns the true nature of his company’s confidential business. Faced with a crisis of conscious, Maneesh must come to terms with his own American identity and the personal and societal cost of his work.
Spotlight Studio
Coming March 2021
The Spotlight Studio is dedicated to spotlighting local Atlanta artists. Whatever their story, whatever their vibe, the Spotlight Studio is a platform for innovation creation.
The Sounds of the West End
March – April, 2021
By Will Power & R. Gregory Christie
Conceived and Directed by Ameenah Kaplan
Inspired by the children’s book In the West End by Will Power & R. Gregory Christie, this aural adventure will immerse you in the sounds of the historic Atlanta neighborhood. From the talk on the sidewalks to the whoosh of the Marta trains, join us for a rhythmic and tasty trip through the epicenter of vegan cooking in Atlanta.
Backstage Atlanta
Coming April 2021
This series looks at the layers of culture that define Atlanta. A behind-the-scenes look at the art, food, and style that make this city tick.
Classic Remix
Coming May 2021
Rewrite the norm! Building on the popularity of the Alliance’s Classic Remix program (Seize the King), the Classic Remix channel will take a modern look at traditional texts. From Shakespeare to George Orwell, this series reimagines old themes, characters, and plots through a 21st century lens. This series is produced in partnership with teens in our Palefsky Collision Project and Teen Ensemble who are devising original responses to classic text in the spirit of the summer Collision Project. The Teen Ensemble will begin devising a response to Fahrenheit 451 to stream in May 2021.
When I arrived in Atlanta in August of 1969, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was only four years old and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 had only been around a year longer. Atlanta was changing with the times and in 1970 when a young lawyer named Maynard Jackson was elected the city’s presiding officer of the Board of Aldermen, everybody I met told me he was certainly going to be chosen as Atlanta’s first African American mayor in the next municipal election.
When I got a job on the archival staff of the newly created Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change, I found myself right in the center of the city’s close-knit community of Civil Rights activists. My co-workers were not much older than I was but while I was finishing high school in Detroit, they were already staffing SNCC and SCLC officers in Greenwood, Mississippi, and Selma, Alabama. They had already been arrested and held without bail in the notorious Parchman Prison, beaten on Freedom Rides, lost friends to Ku Klux Klan violence. They had known Dr. King and marched beside him. I was in awe of their courage and spent hours listening to their stories about how it felt to be on the front lines of the movement that had transformed America.
Those people became some of my closest friends and in the last few years, it has been hard to lose them to old age and the various ailments that sometimes come with it. As I began to work on Sit-In, another one of their number, my amazing friend Donald P. Stone, joined the ancestors. Stone was a key part of the Atlanta Student Movement, which is why I gave some of his history to the character of Mr. Payne, so he could share it with his granddaughter as she discovered her inner activist.
Our play was inspired by the beautiful children’s book, Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down by Brian Pinkney and Andrea Davis Pinkney. But somewhere along the way, their text became more of a jumping off point to develop our own story, deeply rooted in Atlanta’s movement history and present-day activism. The main character, Janet Payne, an 11-year-old student at the fictional Grace Hamilton Academy, discovers her grandfather’s activist history when she herself stands up (by sitting in!) to protest climate change.
“You’re part of a family tradition,” her grandfather tells her when she runs into some resistance. “I’m proud of you.” His faith in her gives her the inspiration to keep going.
In these times of great social change and political upheaval, I believe we all need that kind of inspiration every once in a while! We’re proud that our Sit-In team has been able to translate the play into an amazing animated journey with some brand new freedom songs that none of us could have imagined. But here we are, trying something new to tell a story that is as old as the human struggle to be free!
I think my friend Donald P. Stone would have loved it.
– Pearl Cleage, Distinguished Artist-in-Residence
Photo Credit
Martin Luther King Jr Day is on Monday, and we’re going to use the day to learn about Dr. King and educate ourselves on the rights and freedoms that he fought for. While there isn’t much to do outside of the house, we’ve pulled together a list of options for you to enjoy from the comfort of your own home, including several resources created by the Alliance.
For Children
Do you have younger children? We recently released our very first animated feature, Sit-In! Perfect for families with children ages 5-12, this production celebrates the power of youth to change history through music and storytelling. Three friends apply the lessons learned from the sit-ins of the civil rights movement to climate change activism – fighting for issues that they (and we all) face today.
Martin’s Big Words by Doreen Rappaport and illustrated by Bryan Collier is a beautifully illustrated book to read aloud to your children. Kid President is always relevant as well.
For Families
Want something more educational but fit for the whole family? Try our Fearless Families workshop for allies and allies-in-training. Using play as a tool for learning, this workshop utilizes our voice, body, and imagination to dig deeper into the difficult conversation of race and injustice in a way that is accessible to youth, the young at heart, and their caregivers!
Be sure to check out Dear Dr. King: Uncertainty in the Air, this year’s Collision project as this year’s nine emerging artists reimagine the summer 2020 Palefsky Collision Project in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and all civil rights activists. Registration is required in advance but, as always, the performance is 100% free. These youth “collide” with the themes of a book (in this case the Young Adult novel White Rose) to create their own performance piece.
For Adults
Selma (2014) is a dramatic retelling of the events leading up to the 1965 voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, while King in the Wilderness (2018) is a documentary that takes a closer look at the final years of Dr. King’s life. If you have a little more time on your hands, try one of Dr. King’s own books, such as Strength to Love, or one written about his life, such as My Life with Martin Luther King Jr. by Coretta Scott King. (For a more extensive list, visit the King Foundation’s complete list of resources.) Did you know that our own late Congressman John Lewis wrote a graphic novel trilogy about his role in the voting rights march? Check it out here!
Finally, because we always need to hear it, we recommend Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream” speech. Every year, we seem to hear something new, and this year is no exception.
Ratatousical artwork by Jess Siswick
In the best way possible, it’s hard to believe that a musical concept that started out as a joke ended up with a concert presentation hosted by a Broadway production company.
In case you missed it – or, like me, got a little overwhelmed by how fast the whole thing was snowballing but were totally there for the ride, even if you were totally confused – here’s a short history of how it all went down. I say short because it’s true: this concept has only been around since August.
In a video that has since garnered over a million views, TikTok user Emily Jacobsen (@e_jaccs) posted a video of a short tribute to the star of the 2007 Pixar film Ratatouille or, as she captioned the video, “A love ballad.” In just four lines, this song sparked a trend that then spiraled to astronomical proportions. Before long, TikTok users were choreographing dances to the song, tweaking the meaning behind the words, providing set design and concept artwork (one user even created an extremely realistic Playbill for the show), and coming up with an array of songs for the many, many different characters, each with their own twist.
There are literally thousands and thousands of videos at this point, so it’s hard to narrow them down, but here are some notable ones. “You’re Just A Rat” was written for the perspective of Linguini at the emotional climax of the show, and another one of the songs for Remy’s dad was noticed by Patton Oswalt, who voiced Remy, and Brad Bird, who directed the film. Broadway star Kevin Chamberlin (best known for Seussical and The Addams Family) wrote and performed an original song for Gusteau, the chef ghost who continually tells Remy that “anyone can cook.” The trend gained Disney’s attention, so Disney Channel stars took the original song and rapped a version at Disney World in front of the upcoming Ratatouille-themed attraction, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. My personal favorite is a duet written for Linguini and Colette, the chef training him, that has been stuck in my head since it was posted in October.
All of this buzz finally came to a head in early December, when Playbill announced that Seaview Productions (the company behind Slave Play, Sea Wall/A Life, and A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder) would present a concert presentation of some of the songs created for the musical, starring Broadway greats such as André De Shields (Hadestown), Ashley Park (Mean Girls), Kevin Chamberlin (reprising his role as Gusteau), Tituss Burgess (Jersey Boys, The Little Mermaid), and Andrew Barth Feldman (Dear Evan Hansen). All of the proceeds from the show went to The Actors Fund – and don’t worry, the original creators were compensated for their work! (And yes, I did purchase a ticket as soon as the announcement was released.)
The show premiered on New Year’s Day. It was phenomenal. (Yes, I cried.) The playbill created by Jess Siswick was turned into the actual playbill – which you can purchase, by the way – and the original TikTokers that created the songs featured in the concert were brought back at the end of the show. More than that, it raised over $1 million for the Actors Fund.
All that said, why does this matter? For me, it’s a prime example of what can happen even in the midst of chaos. When lockdown first started in March, there was talk on Twitter about Shakespeare writing King Lear while quarantined. Even if it’s not true, lots of people wondered what “their” King Lear would be. Maybe this is Gen Z’s. If nothing else, it’s a testament to how the arts can and will survive this pandemic.
I’ve always been an advocate for “finding the happy,” and I think this is it. Even if you think the songs are stupid or the concept would never work on an “actual” Broadway stage or this never would’ve flown in “normal” times… these kids did this. It’s a monument to how people can improvise, adapt, and overcome, even in the wildest of times.
As Chef Gusteau says in the film, “Anyone can cook.” Or, in this case, make a musical – even a bunch of random teenagers on a social media platform.