theatre KAPOW has always aimed to bring the audience as close to the action as possible. In the company’s 17 year history, no play has ever done that quite like Every Brilliant Thing, which entirely relies on the audience to tell the story, inviting audience members to use their bodies and their voices to contribute to the play itself.
Longtime audience member and friend of tKAPOW, Eric Gutterson, has been visiting the Every Brilliant Thing rehearsal room throughout the process to play “test audience” and help the company experiment with the play’s audience participation. Eric provided some insight about this experience, and about what makes Every Brilliant Thing particularly special. Read Eric’s thoughts on the play and process below:
Q: How is the audience experience for Every Brilliant Thing unique from other plays?
A: The obvious answer is that the audience can be more involved- become a part of the story. Being involved as an audience member might only be expected at an event like a magic show, illusionist, hypnotist, etc. The typical expectation as an audience member at a play is that you attend, find your seat, watch the show from a third-person perspective, and that is the full scope of the experience. Every Brilliant Thing welcomes willing participants into the story. One audience member might recite a Brilliant Thing out of a list of very many things. Or to a greater extent, one might take on a character, a person in the narrator’s life. The relationship with the actor is more intimate – they see you, they listen to what you have to say, and the interaction becomes part of the show.
Q: What feelings does the play evoke for you as an audience member?
A: Laughter, sadness, joy, longing, and a sense of togetherness. There is a sense of community between the actor, audience, and everyone in the building. Also, the play doesn’t shy away from being real. There are dark tones, but you come up for air early and often with frequent moments of comic relief.
Q: What has your experience been like in the rehearsal process and being a part of helping the team develop the piece?
A: The rehearsal process has been a lot of fun. It has required careful consideration and respect for the audience, and for the level of engagement each individual might be comfortable with on show night. It feels like each moment is tailored with this in mind. The actor is faced with a constant challenge of not knowing what an audience member might do. When being a “guest audience member”, my goal has been to present several possible audience responses, sometimes ordinary, sometimes a little crazy. The play requires keen improvisation from the actor, which might be my favorite thing ever, because it can bring about hilarious, unexpected, unique scenarios that you’ll only experience once. I’m excited to see how it all comes together.
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EVERY BRILLIANT THING By Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe
February 7-9, 2025 BNH Stage in Concord, NH
February 21-23rd, 2025 Winnipesaukee Playhouse in Meredith, NH
Theatre KAPOW’s second mainstage production, Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe, is well underway! Having started rehearsals a month ago, director Emma Cahoon and actors Peter Josephson and Carey Cahoon have been hard at work unpacking the puzzle as the performance dates approach.
Emma Cahoon is a theatre-maker dedicated to the art of asking questions. A graduate of Boston University with a BFA in Theatre Arts, Emma has worked with organizations across the country including Central Square Theater, What Would the Neighbors Say?, the Seven Devils New Play Foundry, and more. Emma is very grateful to be working with theatre KAPOW again, with her previous directing credits including A Midsummer Night’s Dream for St. Anselm College’s Shakespeare on the Green and performance credits including Life Sucks. (Sonia), The Penelopiad (Maid), and Translations (Sarah). Emma’s directing practice centers elevating and exploring dramatic texts to their fullest depths, while building collaborative environments built on equal parts creativity, joy, and rigor, and working on Every Brilliant Thing has been a challenge and a joy for her.
Emma shared a bit about the unique experience of rehearsing this particular play and what she hopes audiences will get from it. Read the conversation below!
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Q: How is Every Brilliant Thing unique from other plays you’ve worked on?
A: Every Brilliant Thing is a one person play, but it can’t be done alone because it relies heavily on audience participation. So there’s a script, but it can never be repeated exactly the same way. With two actors performing the play on alternating nights and an entirely different audience each time, every single performance will be different. It really takes the magic of the live theatre to the next level. It’s my feeling that every play should feel not just like a thing to be witnessed, but like a communal event. With this play, evoking that feeling is necessary. Every Brilliant Thing tells the story of a person grappling with their mother’s depression, and about the endless search for what makes this life worth living. So often, the answer to that question comes down to the people around us. That’s what Macmillan is reminding us by requiring the audience to be a part of the story; the only way through is together. So not only is the content of the piece unique and beautiful, but so is the way the story is told- in the round, with the house lights up throughout, and with the audience actively participating in the storytelling.
Q: What are some challenges and opportunities that this piece presents to a director and creative team?
A: Rehearsing and staging a one person play presents its own challenges, as does staging in the round. I’m constantly looking for ways to make sure everyone can see and hear the actor without creating repetitive stage pictures. But our biggest challenge and our biggest opportunity is with the audience participation. What the audience will say or do or be willing to engage in is one giant variable we can’t control- it’s thrilling and terrifying! So much magic will be made in real time, surprising both the audience and the actor at the same instant. The caveat there is, of course, that we can’t plan it ahead of time. Peter and Carey and I are all artists who like plans- I like to be very specific with my staging and pacing, and Peter and Carey are typically actors who like to know what it is they are doing in every moment of a play so that they can surrender to the present when performing it. That sort of forward planning is not an option here. So our rehearsal process has been more of an investigation of what variables we can control and what possibilities lie within the variables we have no control over at all. I’m sure the audience will surprise us every night, and as terrifying as it is, I can’t wait to watch it happen.
Peter Josephson (right) in rehearsal with guest audience member Cecilia Lomanno (left).
Q: What has the rehearsal process been like as you work through this piece?
A: I knew early on that we would need to invite guests into the rehearsal room to experiment with the audience participation. We’re a month into the process now and we’ve had at least one test audience guest at every single rehearsal, and that has been immensely valuable. I can’t imagine rehearsing it any other way- otherwise I’d be running around the room playing 60 people while also trying to direct, and for obvious reasons that would not have worked. I’m so grateful to the guests who have lent their time, energy and their brilliant minds to our rehearsal room so we can figure out how to provide some loose shape to each of the audience’s participatory moments. It’s also been fascinating to work with both Peter and Carey, who are two very different actors. Their approaches to the text are unique from each other, and while they have been learning so much from the other in rehearsal, we are finding two very different versions of the same play. That’s been an interesting part of the process as well.
Q: What do you hope the audience gets out of the experience?
A: I hope that this play reminds our audiences of how important it is to hold each other. How important it is to really look at, really listen to, really be with someone. So much about our current world is so isolating. Most of us spend our time looking down at screens, and oftentimes looking up at what is going on around us is utterly overwhelming. But I think that these kinds of communal experiences, and the ability to really be in conversation with each other, are going to be essential for us in the coming years. I hope that audiences come to Every Brilliant Thing and remember that brilliant things are everywhere. Reasons to stay are everywhere. And if you’re having trouble seeing them, maybe start by looking to the people sitting right next to you.
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EVERY BRILLIANT THING By Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe
February 7-9, 2025 BNH Stage in Concord, NH
February 21-23rd, 2025 Winnipesaukee Playhouse in Meredith, NH
