Gorilla Theater

On a warm evening a man is crying Howl, howl, howl as he carries in his arms the body of a young woman. This isn't urban violence, it's Gorilla Rep's production of King Lear. There are no sets. The action uses available space: a parking lot, a pedestrian mall, a field. The audience - students, theater lovers, passersby, homeless people - move along with actors, from a tree to a fountain to a bench, and the audience may follow a portion of the performance or all of it. This is one of the most radical, and yet most easily available, concepts in theater: make the world the theater, make the world the audience. Christopher Carter Sanderson is the creator of an alternative theatrical concept: live free performance in public spaces. Featured in the New York Times, the Gorilla Rep productions are praised both for their acting and for the startling ingenuity of the concept. In this new book, Sanderson explains how theater can be made to work in any free space. He provides specific and practical advice for any performer or director, and relates stories from his own Gorilla Rep experience that show what the most unorthodox of theatrical techniques can achieve - without a theater, without a stage, and without a ticket to be sold.

Christopher Carter Sanderson is founding director of Gorilla Rep. He has taught drama at Princeton and Yale. He lives in New Haven, CT.

CONTENTS Acknowledgements Foreword by Martin Denton Introduction About Gorilla Repertory Theatre Company, Inc. Gorilla Rep Manifesto 1. Concept and Location Inspiration Read Plays, Shakespeare First List Plays Tour Sites List Sites with Pros and Cons 2. Scouting Organizations That Can Help Rights of Free Speech and Assembly Working Conditions for the Actors and Personnel Mapping the Site 3. Establishing Corporate Culture Observations Responding to Conflicts Running Effective Meetings 4. Casting Ideas and Ideals Respect for Actors and Demands of the Form Enthusiasm for the Form Character Basics and Physical Motion Working in Further Detail Techniques and Scheduling Callback Practices and Forms 5. Rehearsal Techniques Introduction: Use What You Know How Do You See? Respect for the Audience Respect for the Text The Character Meeting: Establishing Individual Communication Scheduling Rehearsal The Three-Phase Technique: Improvisation, Work-Through, and Staging Run-Throughs Adapting Indoor Techniques to Outdoor Uses A Note 6. The Paratheatric Rehearsal Technique Brief Description Early Experiments Scouting and Booking Logistics Schedule Blazing and Establishing Safe Practices Improvisation Suggestions for Day One and Day Two The Bonfire: Metaphor and Practice Night Exercises The Paratheatric Run Examples of Staging Brought Back Integrating Paratheatric Discoveries Variations and How to Invent New Paratheatric Rehearsal Procedures 7. On-site Directing and Operational Practices Practicing Non-Confrontational Conflict Resolution Cut Procedure The Role of the Director in Performance 8. Organizational Approaches Mission Statement and Incorporation Working With Volunteers Publicity: Homemade and Professional Sponsorship Permits, Contracts, and Letters of Agreement Interns Working with Designers Working with an Assistant Handling Crews Trucks and Trucking Notes for the Producer 9. Documentation Practices Documentarian Photo Strategies Video Strategies Archiving: Print, Video, and Mailing Lists 10. Design Issues and Aesthetic Practice Lighting Props Sets Stage Fighting 11. Indoor Environmental or Action Theatre Design Issues Audience Changes and Pressures Examples 12. Moving a Show Feel of the Show Moving A Midsummer Night's Dream: Get Puck! and Other Stories 13. Notes and Observations Dialogue with Criticism Relationship to Academia Sibling Institutions Spirituality