Virginia Intermont College’s theater department presented the world premiere of Mountains: Great and Small, an original piece created during an intensive theater devising workshop under my guidance as director/co-deviser/and scriptwriter. The show premiered in January 2014.
Mountains: Great and Small
Press release:
Mountains: Great and Small is an invitation to the audience to explore and examine with a company of creators. The show delves into the complicated relationship between the past and the present, the brutal nature of change, and the hope and terror of starting over. The piece was constructed from the ground up by the ensemble under the direction of director/playwright Chelsea Marcantel. Rooted in physical theatre and collaborative experimentation, the piece is an engaging and modern world-premiere that incorporates poetry, plays, nonfiction texts, historical documents, and original writings by the students themselves. It is the first play of this kind to be created by Virginia Intermont students.
“For first-time devisers, the students really jumped in with both feet. They were fearless. It can be hard when you’re used to making plays a certain way, to come in the first day of rehearsal and hear, ‘We don’t have a script, we don’t have a written plan, all we have is a direction.’ But they dove right in and gave 100%, and we’ve created something together that’s really beautiful and fascinating. It’s truly a story only they could tell.” — Chelsea Marcantel
Devisers/Performers: Will Duff, Mary Hannah Garber, Chris Hobbs, Stephanie McIntyre
Devisers/Crew: Salonia Thorn, Shelby Gage, Rob Lamb
Director/Scriptwriter: Chelsea Marcantel
