Shows: Past Productions

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The 7th Day Project

...rudes in the raw...

December 10-11, 1999 @ 11 pm
at the Off Center

Spring, 2000

What happens when the entire rehearsal process is condensed into a six day marathon? Explosions of creative energy and imagination. A direct outgrowth of the Rude Mechs weekly actor training, The 7th Day Project is an experiment with time and the dynamism that extreme pressure can detonate. For this each of these daring experiments, the Rudes will conceive, rehearse, produce and perform an original performance composition in only 7 days. If you've enjoyed Rude Mechs work so far, we dare you to come see it in its most rarefied and concentrated form.

Here's how it worked in December 1999:

Several of the Company Members who couldn't participate in the project provided the 7th Day participants with a "recipe" for the performances in a letter we received in a sealed envelope on the first day of rehearsal. Exactly 7 days later, we blew the roof off The Off Center with a performance that surprised even us. And we're not sure the building will ever recover from the hundreds of christmans balls smashed that night.There will be another 7th Day Project sometime in the spring of 2000, so if you missed this one, sure hope you can join us then.

12/4/99

Dear 7th Dayers,

We have selected a holiday theme.

Choose four directors to create four 10-minute compositions (leaves five minutes for setup in between each piece) using this recipe.

Text

You may use only the text provided, but you may use it any way you see fit. The text comprises five short pieces written by Kirk.

Objects

3 pieces of visual art from Morgan
A crutch
Red foil
An orange
Round glass ornaments
Christmas lights
Mechanical toy

Sounds

jingle bells
clock ticking
football game on TV
15 seconds of talking in Cockney accents
Wind

Actions

Slo-mo with art objects
Paint a picture
Fake Gratitude/Excitement
Joy even in Poverty
15 seconds of stillness (physical/oral)
Eat a lot of something
Lash two people together so they must move as one

Structure

Repetition of a structural element three times
(e.g., 3 little pigs, Christmas Carol)
An epiphany
Music from an unexpected source
Distort time (flashbacks, jumpcuts, etc.). Think filmic-ly.
Distort the angle/point-of-view/perspective. Think filmic-ly.

Requests (inspired by Anne Bogart):

Keep everything very simple. Rude Mechs, remember the intention of this project and fight urges to expend energy creating anything other than the plays (i.e., no hydrolics, no laser light shows, etc.). There’s nothing a good jambox, a cube and some clip lamps can’t accomplish.
You don't need transitions, you have bodies.
Try to create these pieces by first coming up with the idea/story, then create the physical score, then layer in the text. This process is still mysterious.
Remember, directors, that this is a truly collaborative process. Your job is to respond to what the actors are doing, use your eye and trust your reactions to their work.
Try to avoid, for this process, using psychological vocabulary - use physical vocabulary.
Think musically about repetition - it creates story and history.
Embrace the stereotypes, but turn them on their heads.
Above all else, make damn sure you have as much fun as possible. It’s going to be stressful and insane. We are jealous.
Remember all the cool tricks (revelations of space, character, object; extreme contrast - juxtapose loudness/silence, action/stillness, etc.; the extreme fake up against the thing you can’t fake). Use all the viewpoints.

Love,
Lana, Kirk, Shawn and Morgan

For tickets or information please call 512-476-RUDE or visit our tickets page.
For questions email info@rudemechs.com.