Wednesday, October 30, 2024
How This Michigan Theatre Performed Godspell in a Pool on a Stage
Playbill: When you think of Flint, Michigan, the first thing you think of is water. Or rather, the 2014 water crisis which made the water in the city undrinkable for many residents, until 2020. But for director Michael Lluberes, who has lived in Flint for six years and runs the Flint Repertory Theatre, the city is more than that catastrophe. So, when he came up with the idea to do Stephen Schwartz’s musical Godspell and set it in a working swimming pool, with actors splashing around—it felt like a natural fit for Flint.
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3 comments:
One of the recent sound graduates was working on this performance in michigan. I remember talking with my sister about it, saying how they are able to do sound in a pool. Clearly, the production team has thought through all of the different possibilities and safety protocols that go along with having a pool for a stage. Not to mention having a 4 person Stage Management team to facilitate, and clean the pool every night is incredible. I am so glad that it has gotten more than the recognition it deserves. This is a prime example of how theatre time and time again can come forward and bring a community together and uplift it. After reading about the history of the water crisis in Flint Michigan from another class, it’s inspiring to see that theatre is able to show the broader community that there is strength in numbers and resilience. I wish I was able to go out and see this production while it runs, because it must be a once in a lifetime experience!
This is a really interesting idea, and certainly something that would affect a lot of the areas of production. They said the actors are unmic’ed but this decision would also affect costumes, props and maintenance. I haven’t seen Godspell myself, but I am curious how this setting choice would affect the rest of the show.I am sure the outcome would be really cool, I have always been intrigued by the usage of pools of water onstage. I think the idea of adding something that can be so messy and difficult to control is a difficult one to make in a world where we want to control elements so that nothing goes wrong. But with a pool involved, there’s a certain level that is out of your control. I also think it’s funny to envision that there is a person whose role is to clean the pool.
This is so cool and talk about an involved tech process. One of the things that I love about this industry is we are doing that crazy weird bizarre thing that requires us to learn what it means to keep a pool clean and safe. What that process is. I also wonder what the under structure looks like and how they choose to work around the weight of the water and being on stage. Truly would drive 10 hours to see this. Because I would love to see how water plays on stage but not just a pool that one actor goes into at the end of the show, but a pool that is used as prop and a set. How this was described has my interest peeked. What new materials needed to be used to prevent wear. And is this a show that could run for longer than a month or a few weeks.
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