Artistic Director David Muse kicked off the first rehearsal event for Choir Boy by outlining the relationship of playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney and Studio Theatre. At the age of 34, McCraney is arguably one of the most celebrated, awarded, and important voices in the American theatre. McCraney is most well-known for his trilogy The Brother/Sister Plays, all three of which have received individual productions at Studio Theatre. Muse also introduced and welcomed director Kent Gash to Studio for the first time. Gash collaborated with McCraney on early developmental readings of Choir Boy, and McCraney personally recommended Gash as a director when Studio was assembling the production’s artistic team.
Gash opened his remarks by connecting the themes of the play to the pulse of current events coursing through our nation:
“We are living through a moment in American history where lives of African-American men are under siege in this country. And that derives from a lack of understanding. A lack of knowledge. That all lives are valuable, cherished, and to be celebrated. That all lives should be allowed to achieve their actual fundamental potential. But for that to occur, as a society we must begin to build bridges of understanding. We must begin to ask, ‘Who are you? What do you care about? Who do you love? What do we have in common? How do we move forward together?’ These are the questions Tarell’s play is asking. Who is Pharus Young?”
While McCraney’s play is set within the halls of a historically black prep school, it explores these same questions of identity, community, and tolerance between the students as they struggle to find their place in the world, their connection and responsibility to the past, and their path moving forward. Gash added:
“As a teacher, there are students that leap forward. Students like Pharus. And you can see the contributions a person could make if they’re nurtured, if they are fostered to believe in their own value. The play takes place at this intersection of adolescence and adulthood when these young men are questioning everything around them as well as themselves. What does it mean to be African-American? What does it mean to be a man? What does it mean if you don’t fit that mold?”
Gash then introduced music director Darius Smith who spoke about the integration of gospel spirituals into the piece. Each of the students depicted in the play is a member of the prestigious school choir and music is both an opportunity for personal expression as well as collaboration. Choir Boy isn’t a typical musical, but McCraney employs a cappella singing as a vessel for inner-expression that frames the storytelling and influences its impact on the audience.
Gash then discussed how the play’s themes informed the design process and will be reflected on stage. One recurring element in his remarks was a sense of mystery: a sense of shadows in the dark, snippets of overheard conversation, secrets, and unspoken truths that carries throughout the piece. Scenic designer Jason Sherwood and lighting designer Dawn Chiang will collaborate to create an abstracted physical space that simultaneously heightens and obscures the play’s moments of mystery.
Another key element is the setting of Charles R. Drew Prep itself, a boarding school for African-American young men. The school can simultaneously be an aspirational ideal and a crushing force of expectation that stifles the students’ attempts to figure out who they are going to be. In his research, Sherwood was drawn to the prevalence of display cases as a reminder of the achievements of past and present students. Portraits of African-American leaders and role models are also prominently featured in the scenic design. To help bring this sense of a pressure-cooker environment to life through the set, there is very limited access to the outside. It is a hermetically sealed world, in a way, that operates under its own rules and standards.
It was also important for Gash and the designers to imagine moments of transition and how they will transform the space to transport the audience to the various locations in the script. As a number of transitions in Choir Boy are musical interludes, the artistic team’s design will facilitate seamless shifts to support the momentum of the play. For this reason, the playing spaces in Studio’s production are intentionally sparse and defined by the actors’ interactions with the set throughout each scene.
After the presentations, the cast gathered to read the play together for the first time and the rehearsal process officially began.
--Nathan Norcross