Lisa is directing a reading of new work by our Playwright In Residence, Anna Chatterton. The play, Switched, will be presented as part of this year’s Play Out Loud: Readings of New Plays In Development series, August 1 at Picaroon’s Roundhouse.
Lisa is artistic director of Solo Chicken Productions and co-founder/co-artistic director of the coop, a platform for contemporary artists to research, develop and perform original works of physical theatre.
the coop made its public debut last summer as part of NotaBle Acts Theatre Festival with the Mainstage production, A Record of Us.
What has it been like directing Anna Chatterton’s new play for NB Acts?
Anna’s play is a romp that at first glance has a soap opera feel but then once you start peeling away the layers, is filled with complex human relationships. There is lots of juicy text and big characters to play with that makes directing a whole lot of fun. I love plays like this because they are fun to direct and fun to watch.
What would you say are the biggest challenges in directing a reading?
From the first moment you read a play, you want to start getting it on its feet, meaning you want to start letting the actors find their blocking and their characters physicality. Both of those things really inform how the text is spoken. So when you take that away you have to get crafty about how you are going to infuse the text with the ‘idea’ of blocking and character physicality.
From your experience, how do readings like this contribute to a play’s further development?
As a playwright, there is nothing better than hearing your words spoken aloud by a full cast. It gives you the chance to make changes before the stress of a full production.
About The Play
It’s Claudia’s 35th birthday. But it’s also Sandy’s, who’s arrived with a birthday cake and an announcement: She and Claudia were switched at birth, and Sandy is here to switch places into her rightful status in this family. As Sandy desperately inches closer to her birth parents, Claudia is edged out of her family, her home, her life and her identity.
Directed by Lisa Anne Ross. Starring Tania Breen, Leah Holder, Elizabeth Goodyear, Michael Holmes-Lauder, and Len Falkenstein.
Play Out Loud: Readings of New Plays in Development
7:30 PM, Monday, July 31 and Tuesday, August 1 | Picaroons Roundhouse, Union Street | Admission: by donation
NotaBle Acts 