Script

Cast

Research Notes

Images of Sumer

Costume and Scene Concepts

Music and Literature of Sumer

Links

Biographies of the Inanna Troupe

Agreement

Dates

Acknowledgements

Coming Soon

On March 15, 2008 Jeremy Williams, theater director, and Peggy Firestone, playwright, met in Boulder to discuss the upcoming production of Inanna.

The following statement shows a listing of process and production points upon which…


WE AGREE

Inanna has been offered by Peggy and accepted by Jeremy and a select cast of students from Naropa University to be rehearsed during the week of July 18, 2008 and performed at Naropa at the end of the week.

Peggy will attend the rehearsal process in July to assist in clarifying the historical and aesthetic POV (identification of objects, image, sound, movement etc.) of the production.

Then, when the aesthetic of the piece is agreed Jeremy will be left in private with the ensemble to make directorial choices. Although available to discuss, help out, etc., the next time Peggy expects to see the play is on opening night at Naropa University.

After the public performance Peggy and Jeremy will collaborate on grant writing:
• to create a self-sustaining production model
• to fund a quality Chicago performance run of Inanna in the Fall of 2009
• to fund rehearsals and productions of 3 more plays that comprise a cycle of
four plays
• to fund the making of merchandise such as CD’s &/or DVD’s for educational use
•
•
(Items need to be identified for funding such as attorney, bookkeeper, ensemble salary, etc. in an upcoming conversation.)

Writing of the play should be finished by June 3rd. (Peggy & Rei need to coordinate work so Rei has a script to work from before June.)

Naropa University Theater Department and Naropa University should be roundly acknowledged in the theater programs, promotional materials and interviews for support for this project, in keeping with the philosophy of the school – (statement yet to be composed).

As work continues Jeremy and Peggy will support clear communication amongst everyone involved in the project by
• adding to and amending the “We Agree” statement
• keeping the updated “We Agree” posted on a password available website.

On April 5th, Jeremy and Peggy discussed an interpretation of the first Play.

The play may take place in a void – not the Earth or the Underworld, but a mind space. For the summer production we will be working with a workshop aesthetic with space design and visual design very minimally focused on text, music and action.

Maybe masks, puppetry.

Mixture of reading and a play

Text is strong and supports itself – visually clear

The set may be minimal – elements suggested

All the characters are gods – except for Enkimdu and Dumuzi who are demi-gods (more than mortal, less than a god i.e. heroes).

All characters may be highly stylized in manner, costume & movement

Inanna’s journey is developmental – she matures as the story progresses even though she is a god.

As a character, she may remain more human, growing softer in her outlook and more spontaneous in her movement as she learns. She is stylized only at chosen moments because she knows how to be a god – she just finds it less necessary to wear the artifice.

By the end of the play, insight & wisdom define her physical movement & emotional response.

First Rehearsals

Jeremy will email prospective cast members to schedule rehearsals.

Text should be received about 3 weeks before rehearsal so actors can be familiar with the text.

Actors may explore spaces between thoughts and images in the text for action, physicality.

Hopefully, there will be music to play by July – Jeremy arranges dates etc. with Rei

Music may be source music or source music composed thru a contemporary lens

Peggy asks Najim (Iraqi neighbor) if he has pictures of Iraq countryside etc. Idea is to manipulate still images into movements to create a look of where we are. Ex. Underworld, world tree {huluppu).

Audience: Open to public to survey effectiveness of A, B, C advertising for theater that is potentially not commercial. Before the show, audience will be polled. This will inform us re: decisions for advertising the Chicago performance.

There will be a post-performance show Q&A with the audience. We will also solicit feedback from the ensemble – specifics to be determined by Peggy & Jeremy later.