Good Meeting

One of the most exciting parts of The Civil War Project is the opportunity to engage with the community.  Today, Mariel (my partner in crime) and I had a chance to meet Zack, a recent Lehigh graduate who wrote his thesis on the 153rd regiment.

For everyone who is not a Civil War nerd yet, the 153rd regiment was a group of soldiers that were almost all from Northampton County and fought in two of the biggest battles of the Civil War – Chancellorsville and Gettysburg.  Zack is a super bright and enthusiastic person, who volunteers for Historic Bethlehem on Sundays and even provided the Moravian Museum with research that is now part of their Civil War exhibit that is currently on display.  I’ve never been to the museum, but am planning a trip for this Thursday.

© H. Scott Heist

Today was a chance for the three of us to share our favorite stories that we’ve discovered through research and also discuss how we can collaborate in the months ahead.  One of my biggest projects to tackle will be manipulating google maps in order to create geolocation for all of our juiciest bits of research.  I’ve been playing around with it, and it’s not as easy as it seems, but all three of us have agreed to spend this week playing around with it so we can come together next week to share what we have learned.  The idea is that we want ways to visualize this incredibly dense historical time, in a way that will allow anyone to understand how Bethlehem played a role throughout the Civil War.  It’s an ambitious and time consuming project, but we’ve got the makings of a great team, and I feel confident we’ll figure it out.

It is so encouraging to welcome new people on board for a project I’m so deeply invested in.  It is my goal to use this blog to create weekly updates on our progress and also let it be a sounding board for anyone who has thoughts or questions pertaining to the Civil War, Touchstone and collaboration.  I’ll do my best to keep these posts short and to the point; it’s a learn as you go process for everyone involved, it is my hope it will be just as much about teaching as we go as well.

The Reading

Thursday night was a success for Touchstone.  The reading ran for a little over an hour and was followed by a talk back with the audience.  It was so nice to see the work up on its feet and to hear all of the feedback that was given to the playwright.  The main thing I came home thinking about was what this piece will look like when it is produced, and how the text will change after a productive evening of critique.

As a contributor to The Civil War Project, who spent many a long night finding juicy bits of research, it was so satisfying to see that research weaved in to the greater arc of the story.  The downfall of having spent so much time on the piece is that in some ways I feel too close it.  Because I already know all the research, it’s difficult to know how much I understand that the general audience might not.  That is what made the talkback so valuable.  It was a chance to see the work with new eyes and ears.

© H. Scott Heist

The comments that stayed with me mainly have to do with dramatic tension.  This play is about the greatest conflict on American soil, and while there was some very interesting stuff happening on stage, the crisis between characters still has yet to be fully realized.  But more than that, there is a question of how to more fully represent the complexity on both sides of the war.  There was a man in the audience from Mississippi, and he pointed out that the the play was obviously written from a Northern perspective, and that he would like to see the issue of states rights be weaved into the discussion.  It was nice to hear from him.

There is a great deal of work ahead, and the reading was a crucial step in the process.  What is most encouraging moving forward is the generally positive response from the audience and the agreement that the story is both engaging and needs to be told.  We will keep thinking about what the Civil War has to do with our lives now, and how we can best memorialize it in order to build towards a common future.

Rehearsal for “A Resting Place”

In a scant four rehearsals, director Christopher Shorr has been able to put A Resting Place up on its feet and ready for the public.  Traditionally staged readings at Touchstone are presented in the concert style with the entire cast seated in chairs for the course of the play.  But,  for the sake of clarity and entertainment, Shorr has managed to direct twelve actors, myself included, in what will hopefully be an exciting night of engagement for all.

Tomorrow marks the public out-coming for a project I have been proud to work on for close to a year now.  After many months of research, meetings, and brainstorming, we will finally have the opportunity to let the public in on what’s been brewing at Touchstone.  What the audience will see at 7pm on Thursday, September 15th is the first draft of a play that has been crafted especially for Touchstone and the city of Bethlehem by Alison Carey.  Carey wrote Steelbound back in 1999 for Touchstone and it has been a honor to have her back, coming all the way from Oregon, to create some theatre history.  The reading will be a chance for the community to see how far we’ve come over the past year and give us input on how this play should be shaped over the next few months before the main stage production in April.

Find out what all the buzz is about tomorrow night.  And for those who can’t make it, stayed tuned to find out what happens next.