A Brief Timeline
- September 2013 - Rachel begins story research. Kevi and Tate respond to status update looking for story suggestions, expressing interest in the project.
- October 2013 - Rachel meets with Tate and Kevi vision of the project and their involvement. Tate is interested in adapting the stories and Kevi is interested in research—a team is born.
- November 2013 - Rachel runs into Anna Rose at a promenade performance and Down the Moonlit Path is discussed.
- December 2013 - Anna and Rachel meet to discuss the project, Rachel drafts a propsal and Nothing Without a Company comes on as the producing company.
- .January 2014 - Tate has full stage version of the script by end of month. Rachel and Tate discuss narrator voice and the need for a first workshop. Rachel also begins toying with the idea of an animatic to be produced out of recordings from that workshop.
- May-June 2014 - Rachel and Tate work with NWaC to complete the first workshop of the script, using radio scripts to find the narrators' voice, eventually recording all stories.
- November 2014 - Auditions are held and actors are cast for the second workshop.
- January 2015 - Rachel and Tate complete the second workshop with NWaC to get the script into a production-ready format.
- February-April 2015 - Rehearsals are underway and the stage production is in development process.
Conception (September - Dececember 2013)
As stage manager for NWaC’s promenade-style production of Alice in 2009, Rachel begins to envision an idea in which fairy tales would be used in a traveling fashion as a means of opening up the audience’s ideas around storytelling, and how we as people tell stories in order to interact with each other.
Rachel begins researching stories. “Hansel & Grethel” becomes a focal point against which to select other stories, the through-line of the show. Rachel posts a status looking for story suggestions from non-European sources on social media. Kevi and Tate respond, expressing interest in the project.
Rachel meets with Tate and Kevi separately to discuss the vision of the project and how they would like to be involved. Tate is interested in adapting the stories, and Kevi is interested in research—a team is born. The three begin working remotely to finalize story selection, paring down nearly 200 stories to a more manageable list of 80 possibilities. The selection process identified stories commonly told in the European tradition, and then searching for regional variations that spoke to cultural specificity, cutting out stories that seemed too centrally located in one area of the world or another.
Rachel randomly runs into Anna Rose at a promenade performance, and Down the Moonlit Path is discussed. Anna expresses interest in discussing the project further.
Anna and Rachel meet to discuss the project. Rachel drafts a proposal, and Nothing Without a Company comes on as the producing company. Story collection and cultural research continues.
Rachel begins researching stories. “Hansel & Grethel” becomes a focal point against which to select other stories, the through-line of the show. Rachel posts a status looking for story suggestions from non-European sources on social media. Kevi and Tate respond, expressing interest in the project.
Rachel meets with Tate and Kevi separately to discuss the vision of the project and how they would like to be involved. Tate is interested in adapting the stories, and Kevi is interested in research—a team is born. The three begin working remotely to finalize story selection, paring down nearly 200 stories to a more manageable list of 80 possibilities. The selection process identified stories commonly told in the European tradition, and then searching for regional variations that spoke to cultural specificity, cutting out stories that seemed too centrally located in one area of the world or another.
Rachel randomly runs into Anna Rose at a promenade performance, and Down the Moonlit Path is discussed. Anna expresses interest in discussing the project further.
Anna and Rachel meet to discuss the project. Rachel drafts a proposal, and Nothing Without a Company comes on as the producing company. Story collection and cultural research continues.
Adaptation (January - October 2014):
Tate has initial story adaptations out in the beginning of the month and a full stage version of the script by the end. How did he go about the adaptation process?
Rachel and Tate discuss narrator voice and the need for a first workshop. Rachel also begins toying with the idea of an animatic to be produced out of recordings from that workshop.
Rachel and Tate work with NWaC to complete the first workshop of the script, using “radio scripts” to find the narrators’ voice and eventually recording all stories. These recordings are given to graphic artists Kenneth Roberts and Mary Patchell to make storyboards and animatics of each tale.
Rachel and Tate discuss narrator voice and the need for a first workshop. Rachel also begins toying with the idea of an animatic to be produced out of recordings from that workshop.
Rachel and Tate work with NWaC to complete the first workshop of the script, using “radio scripts” to find the narrators’ voice and eventually recording all stories. These recordings are given to graphic artists Kenneth Roberts and Mary Patchell to make storyboards and animatics of each tale.
Workshop (November 2014-January 2015)
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Auditions are held and actors are cast for the workshop.
For the workshop process, specific tales are selected to incorporate movement to largely tell the story. Choreographer Ryan Tang works with individual actors to riff on actions the character would take if they were not performing a dance, slowly drawing out each action in duration and repetition until it becomes a more particular dance piece. Actors provide their own dance and movement background in developing these pieces. After deciding movements, cultural specificity is layered on to be evocative and sensitive to each region’s storytelling.
Vocal coach Dave Fink begins working with actors to identify appropriate dialects to apply to their characters. Research and cataloging of sound files by native speakers helps the actors develop their speech toward specific accents.
Rachel and Tate complete the second workshop in conjunction with NWaC to get the script into a production-ready format and figure out the order of the scenes.
The script is finalized into two story tracks, and auditions take place for the final production cast.
For the workshop process, specific tales are selected to incorporate movement to largely tell the story. Choreographer Ryan Tang works with individual actors to riff on actions the character would take if they were not performing a dance, slowly drawing out each action in duration and repetition until it becomes a more particular dance piece. Actors provide their own dance and movement background in developing these pieces. After deciding movements, cultural specificity is layered on to be evocative and sensitive to each region’s storytelling.
Vocal coach Dave Fink begins working with actors to identify appropriate dialects to apply to their characters. Research and cataloging of sound files by native speakers helps the actors develop their speech toward specific accents.
Rachel and Tate complete the second workshop in conjunction with NWaC to get the script into a production-ready format and figure out the order of the scenes.
The script is finalized into two story tracks, and auditions take place for the final production cast.
Production (February - April 2015)
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Designers begin crafting based on a unified vision of how the audience should approach this fairy tale world. Because the space the production is using is a shared space, design that allows the set to be easily transportable is key. Set designer Nicci Schumacher focuses on a “storybook” style for audiences to feel “like you were walking into a book, and each way you turn is a different page and that page has a different story on it.” The concept of these different pages also fits the needs of the production as it moves back and forth from dramatic to comedic to farcical stories along its route. We can see the inner working of the magic, but what compels us to stay is the story being told itself.
Another reason for a more transparent set design is the incorporation of projections into the show to build environment and character. The projections are conceived along the lines of the storybook quality of the set design, that the space should evoke a not necessarily childish wonder but a prompt for imaginative creativity. The projections are meant to help aid lighting and design in the translation of location to audiences—moving across regions of the globe, times of day, and even representations of character movement that cannot be captured physically. Far more than a decorative element, the projection as designed by John "Smooch" Medina is an integral part of the production’s storytelling.
Costuming is a major factor in characterizing the regions, eras, and styles of the stories being told in Down the Moonlit Path. However, an exciting challenge raised for costume designer Whitney Masters with this production is the number of roles each actor plays. A base costume is created for each actor that can support each character they play, and it offers an opportunity for the audience to see each culture represented side by side to reinforce the similarities we have
More support in building the very specific, fairy tale world of DtMP comes from the puppetry of Lolly Extract. Lolly’s puppets help audiences envision the concept of “the lie we all believe in”—the magic becomes more real because we come into the show willing to accept the fantastical. More than 30 puppets and masks are operated by actors and magic crew to bring to life creatures
Fairy tales are more than ever woven into our society and in our entertainment, as reimaginations and reinventions by writers, filmmakers, and theatre companies. Down the Moonlit Path aims to celebrate how people across all cultures engage in this form of storytelling; a kind that points to what makes us the same in a world that wants to try to separate us.
Explore the Design Further
You can listen to Tim Foley's original score for the production by clicking here.
You can look at design inspirations on the Down the Moonlit Path Pinterest board.
You can look at design inspirations on the Down the Moonlit Path Pinterest board.