Live from White Oak:
Two Theatre Projects Now In Development

The Institute’s 2nd annual Theatre Lab at White Oak Plantation is now in residence in Yulee, Florida. Designed specifically to cultivate new work in musical and ensemble theatre, the lab provides playwrights with the time and support to rehearse, rewrite, and further develop their projects for the stage. This year, A.R. Gurney and Roman Paska were invited to participate in the lab. Gurney is working on a musical drama titled The House of Mirth, based on the novel by Edith Warton. Paska is developing Dead Puppet Talk, a talking opera. Terrence McNally is attending the program as a writer-in-residence.

After just three days in residence, Gurney described how a project benefits from the collaborative retreat that the program provides. “The lab is a way of testing out all sorts of things without the pressure of critics breathing down our necks or the clock ticking away to opening night. Here we can take risks and talk about things that we would never have the time to consider otherwise.”

During the program, playwrights collaborate with directors, actors, creative advisors, and dramaturges to explore the ways in which their work might develop. While the program allows for maximum rehearsal time, time spent outside of rehearsal also informs the creative process. “A lot of us go bowling in the evenings and maybe we’re not talking about the material but I’m still getting to know the actors,” says Gurney. “It’s like a painter becoming more familiar with the colors on his palette.”

As Gurney is developing The House of Mirth, Paska is working with his ensemble troupe Dead Puppet on Dead Puppet Talk. He explains that his new work is “designed to explore the interplay between actors and their effigies and to probe the implications of the puppet metaphor for human life.” Paska envisions that each performance of his new work will incorporate live mixes of electro-acoustically altered blues and other traditional music.

The Theatre Lab at White Oak is a collaborative project of the Institute and The Howard Gilman Foundation. White Oak Plantation is a 7500-acre property that hosts performing arts residencies throughout the year.