Hello, Elizabeth --
Playwright Arlene Hutton here. I've reached out to Eric Nightengale who directed LETTERS TO SALA at several colleges while the script was in development as well as directing it at Stagedoor Manor and the post-publication production off-off-Broadway. He may have some ideas for you. (Eric also directed the workshop of the EdTA-commissioned SUSIE SITS SHIVA at the most recent Thespian conference in Nebraska.) I'll post again if he has any thoughts other than the one here.
As Laura Russo mentioned in another post, the LETTERS TO SALA scene with the papers dropping from the sky comes immediately following the scene where Young Sala dreams of all the women handing her letters saying "write to me." The sequence is the same in both the short and full version of the play. It's simple for the women to have letters that Sala collects from them and papers to drop on the floor. As Laura Russo suggests, the characters running on from the camp can look up at the sky as if the papers were still coming down. You might add a sound effect of planes flying. It's all in the staging and acting; you don't need to actually drop papers from above.
If you're interested I have an updated script from the New York production that swaps out the second birthday party for a Shabbot scene, short and effective. I'm happy to send it to you; it's a good demonstration of how long a new play may still be in development.
Thanks for producing LETTERS TO SALA. Please let me know if there is anything you need from me. And know that Sala's daughter Ann is usually available to Skype or FaceTime with student groups. i'm happy to put her in touch with you.
arlene@barrowgroup.orgPlease give my best to your cast and crew.
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Arlene Hutton, playwright
Letters to Sala
I Dream Before I Take the Stand
Kissed the Girls & Made Them Cry
As It Is In Heaven
Susie Sits Shiva (EdTA commission)
faculty, The Barrow Group, NYC
arlene@barrowgroup.org------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 01-17-2020 14:40
From: Elizabeth Kott
Subject: Letters to Sala Flier Drop Help!
Hi all -
I'm currently in rehearsal for Letters to Sala and had a question for you all regarding the flier drop at the end of the show (leaflets announcing Germany's surrender). Pages are supposed to come down over the stage itself as well as the audience...
Well, our stage is "weird". We have a small thrust that extends out past the proscenium arch (about 13 feet past the opening) and out past the opening itself towards stage right and stage left. We have no grid above the stage for people to access (well, we do, but it's NOT SAFE for students), and our fly system is functionally null; we have two battons that only hand winch down to 12 foot above the stage. Ah, the joys of a WPA built school... ;)
I've got the action basically forced downstage of the arch, so there is no real way to get the effect of something falling from above. I do have a "tower" that has guards on it mid stage center - it's only 4 feet high because that's as high as they'll let me build it. It is placed upstage of the proscenium, and so would be able to have something come from the fly space above.
I should mention I do have the winch rig platform backstage right, about 12 feet high.
So all you brilliant problem solvers... help! How would I go about rigging up something to be able to have the effect of the letters falling from above? Would letters and a fan from that winch platform work? Or is there a solution that would have a better effect?
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Elizabeth Kott
Port Washington NY
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