Behind the Scenes at Cankerblossom:
Cardboard, Rhinos and Babies, Oh my!
By Sarah Laeuchli, Artistic Intern and CANKERBLOSSOM Script Assistant
Sarah Laeuchli, Artistic Intern and CANKERBLOSSOM Script Assistant
We’re sitting in the Mandell Weiss Forum about to begin tech for Cankerblossom. The director, Dan Rothenberg, is in discussions with the lighting designer; the stage manager is going over entrances and exits with the cast; and one of the actors is putting the finishing touches on a giant rhino head she’s making out of cardboard.
I have the tremendous pleasure of working with Pig Iron Theater Company while they are in La Jolla. As the script assistant, my job is to make changes and additions to the script and to make sure that everyone has the most up-to-date copy at the beginning of every rehearsal. On a more traditional show this would be an easy task; on this one, however, it’s extremely challenging and I have to keep on my toes! One of the great things about how Pig Iron works is that the script is constantly changing — the director, the actors and the writer all discuss, improvise and work together to improve the script. Yesterday, the cast took a scene that they have consistently had trouble with and improvised it — in Spanish! Suddenly the scene came to life and aspects of the characters that hadn’t surfaced before began to come up.
The tricky part about working this way is that, at the end of the day, all of the discussion, the improvisations and even the Spanish conversations have to be transcribed and sent to the director and the writer who both decide what to keep, what to edit and what to add. It’s my job to document everything that was said so that nothing is lost in the shuffle. It’s challenging, stressful and a great deal of fun.
Today isn’t about the text though. Right now everyone is working together to make sure all of the physical elements are in place. The set (which is made entirely out of cardboard) is being decorated with cardboard gears and cardboard pipes. One of the actors is wearing a cardboard vest and cardboard glasses. Backstage, people are putting the finishing touches on animal masks, wigs and giant bear claws. As I sign off now, I’m going backstage to join them in the construction of a cardboard baby’s bottle. When you come see the show, remember that the words, the props and the masks were all created by the actors — I bet you’ll be impressed!
