Moby Dick to Go on Tour
NATIONWIDE - The Jeff Award winning Moby Dick is going on a journey of its own. The show is going on tour with port stops at DC's Arena Stage, Atlanta's Alliance Theatre and Costa Mesa's South Coast Repertory before landing back at home.
A physically challenging production, Actors Gymnasium Artistic Director and Moby Dick choreographer Sylvia Hernandez-DiStasi used physicality to convey emotional scenes in the original adaptation including drowning, attack by cannibals, and the death of a young whale. "The storms, the whale, the ship being tossed around - there's a lot of opportunities for storytelling through movement. The key is to make sure the movement enhances the storytelling and deepens the dialogue, that it doesn't become just a series of tricks."
Hernandez-DiStasi was brought onto the project in 2013 when director David Catlin workshopped his adaptation at University of Chicago, then again at Northwestern University. After intensive training with the cast at The Actors Gymnasium, it then moved to Water Tower Water Works where it was produced by Lookingglass Theatre in association with The Actors Gymnasium in June of 2015.
The cast and crew will be returning to The Actors Gymnasium's training space for three weeks under Hernandez-DiStasi's guidance to prep for the collaborations with Arena, Alliance and South Coast and during the show's hiatus before returning to Chicago.
The original production swept the 2015 Jeff Awards, with nominations for Director- Play and New Adaptation, going on to win Production - Play - Large, Actor in a Supporting Role - Play, Sound Design - Large, and Artistic Specialization for the show's rigging.
The production has won praise from critics as well, called "exceptionally enjoyable" by Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune who gave the show four stars.
Moby Dick and The Actors Gymnasium
About The Actors Gymnasium:
The Actors Gymnasium is dedicated to bringing a new physicality to the American Theatre. Encouraging ground-breaking theatrical exploration, The Actors Gymnasium teaches circus arts, physical theatre and multi-disciplinary performance to children and adults; produces original, daring works of circus-theatre; and serves as a talent resource, providing performance opportunities to our students and innovative professional event entertainment for a wider audience. At The Actors Gymnasium, people Learn To Fly - physically, emotionally, and creatively. For more information, please visit www.actorsgymnasium.org
Photo by Liz Lauren