The Secret World of Og
Director's Notes
growing up means there’s a time for fantasies and a time for responsibility, and that while some may see you as a kid, others will look to you as a leader.
This amazing cast has created an energetic ensemble where everyone jumps in to tell
the story, to play the “game of Og”, and to portray multiple characters. They are goofy, supportive, inspired, and thoughtful, and I’m very proud of the work they’ve done. Thanks for taking this journey with us.
-Jason Sperling
July 5, 2013
First week in the actual theatre-in-the-gym! Everyone was amazed and impressed by the transformation that Josh, Chris, and the crew have created – you’d never know the space wasn’t always used as a theater! We’ve been running the show and making necessary adjustments to having all of our curtains, platforms, and audience seats, and we’re gearing up to add costumes, more props, lights, and sound. Speaking of which – we welcomed the Og crew to our rehearsals this week too! It’s been an energy boost to have a bunch of new people watching our work and responding anew to things we’ve seen multiple times over the weeks. Og Crew’s been taking notes and figuring out how their work integrates with ours (and vice-versa). The actors have been focusing on making strong physical choices with their bodies, faces, and voices to communicate their character, and it’s really deepening the connections you’ll see on stage. We’re excited to head into the home stretch next week, and hope you’ve already bought your Og tickets – remember that there aren’t as many seats available as there are in the auditorium.
-Jason
July 18, 2013
July 11, 2013
The Secret World of Og” was one of my favorite books growing up. As far as I remember, a teacher recommended it to me and I fell in love with it. There’s a very clear sense of humor in the narration, and the idea that beings would learn about humans from children’s pop cul
ture appealed to me a lot. I’ve been wanting to adapt and direct it for a very long time, so thanks to Bill McGlynn for agreeing to make it happen and to Rachel Wilson for doing most of the heavy lifting in the adaptation process and being my partner in crime directorially.
The story is about how everyone plays pretend sometimes - starting with the ent
ire cast joining in to once again act out their favorite tale, “Og” - and we see that idea represented in Penny’s imagining herself as Lucy Lawless, Pamela transporting herself to the world of the Mad Monster, and Peter’s idolizing of Mr. Whipple the garbage man, among others. But we also learn that
June 27, 2013
Wow – this thing is really coming together nicely! We are most of the way through our blocking, and are solidifying character choices. We played variations of kids’ games to accentuate things in the theatre - Red Light Green Light (for quick, creative, strong body positioning), Simon Says (for focus) – as well as energy-builders like Bibbidy Bibbidy Bop and Og Hitchhiker, for expressing intention non-verbally. As we’re adding set pieces, we’re modifying our blocking as needed, and everyone has been great about being flexible and remembering where they’re supposed to be. Please remember, as we head into rehearsing together for full days, to bring a snack and water and to keep memorizing not just your lines, but your “traffic patterns”, since everyone is constantly jumping in and out of various characters and scenes.
Best, Jason
June 21, 2013
This week we did some deep cleaning on our Parent’s Day sequence: working on projection, increasing our enunciation, and making the blocking and timing more precise. We also put some more nuance into the characters we’ve created so far. Hopefully you enjoyed seeing our “sneak preview”! We also spent time creating a cavern, stalactites, a river, and a mushroom village – all with just our bodies, which we’ll use to complement the sets and lights for those scenes. Additionally, we played games to reinforce different ways of showing emotions and clarity in storytelling. This was also the first week we were able to use our multi-level playhouse set, and it’s pretty darn cool! The cast is already becoming experts at navigating the stairs, ramps, and ladders to get from one area to another. I’d even say that this week, “Og” took things to…. THE NEXT LEVEL!
Best, Jason
June 14, 2013
We are making great progress with “Og”! About 1/3 of the show has been blocked, and everyone is really jumping into their various characters, and has a solid understanding of the style in which we’re doing the story. We worked on creating an ensemble where everyone takes care of each other and supports one another – even physically, in some creative choices the cast has made! Rachel led a workshop on putting physical movement behind your words, which got people thinking about ways to connect with the language of the play. The crew and our set designer Chris brought us some pieces of the set to start getting used to walking up and over the various platforms, and we’re looking forward to adding even more next week.
Best, Jason
Model of the set for The Secret World of Og.
June 7, 2013
Rachel and I are very excited to start bringing “The Secret World of Og” to life with this amazing cast! We had our first read-through of the script, and talked about how the play will be structured: Everyone is in basically the whole play! We will be presenting the story as a group of kids playing pretend, which ties into the book’s theme of imagination and creating your own worlds. The cast is a group of strong, playful, creative actor/improvisers, and we’re looking forward to seeing their brilliant ideas. Each actor will be featured in a bunch of scenes, and will also have the very important job of moving the story forward as a Storyteller, sharing the wonderful language that the book’s author, Pierre Berton, used. We’ll jump quickly from scene to scene like a cartoon or comic book, and we’ll get to see everyone playing multiple parts.
Best, Jason
Summary
Four children set out in search of their baby brother, who has vanished mysteriously from their playhouse. Accompanied by their fearless pets, the children descend through a secret trapdoor into a strange underground world of mushrooms, whose green inhabitants know only one word: “OG!”. The Ogs have learned about our world by from the comics and toys the kids left outside overnight, so they’ve created a world where fictional cowboys, monsters, spies, heroes, and villains actually exist!
Jason directs the kids in The Secret World of Og.