Out of the Rehearsal Hall Geva Theatre Center

In this episode, Jenni Werner is joined by Mark Cuddy, Gus Cuddy and Mari Vial-Golden to discuss Geva’s production of Nick Payne’s Constellations, the power of improvisation, the surprising comfort of Beckett’s Godot, the ups and downs of working with your family, taking risks and finding hope in chaos. 

In this episode, Jean McCormick and Matthew S. Morgan, two of the principal actors in Geva's annual production of A Christmas Carol, join Jenni to talk about their favorite pieces of prop business, the highs and lows of touring productions, shadow puppetry in The Lion King, lessons they've learned about acting, auditioning and collaboration, and what makes performing in A Christmas Carol at Geva so rewarding each year.

In this episode, we talk with Webster-resident Ginny Nguyen, who fled Vietnam with her family in 1975, and after several months in an Arkansas refugee camp, started a new life in Rochester. This story has been a source of inspiration for everyone involved in Geva’s production of Vietgone, written by Qui Nguyen, whose parents met in that same refugee camp. Ginny’s re-telling of this journey, and of her father’s sense of honor and her family’s perseverance, is really remarkable.

In this episode of Out of the Rehearsal Hall, we welcome you to an audio prologue for Qui Nguyen's Vietgone. Before COVID disrupted our lives, audiences would arrive early to Geva productions to hear a presentation about the show they were about to see. Since we can't do that in person right now, we're thrilled to offer this version! Hear an excerpt of an interview with Rochester resident Ginny Nguyen, who left Vietnam with her family in 1975. And then the director and cast of Vietgone introduce themselves and talk about the play. And join us at the theatre soon for Vietgone!

In this episode, projection designer Rasean Davonte Johnson (Geva's THURGOOD and RING OF FIRE), joins Jenni Werner to talk about his process and the artists and theatres that have had an influence on his career and his aesthetic. It's a conversation that ranges from Dracula and magic and nostalgia to creating an evocative storytelling style through metaphor and image. Davonte specifically speaks about the questions that inform the process of projection design, and the role that it can play in theatrical storytelling. What does it take to evoke a sense of a visual story, without telling that story in a literal way? And how does that inform the emotional journey of the performance? Sometimes that kind of storytelling comes from unexpected places, and we talk about some great examples of his work.

This episode features Megan Sandberg-Zakian, Evren Odcikin, Kareem Fahmy and Pirronne Yousefzadeh, the four incredible forces behind Maia Directors. The organization is a consulting service for organizations and artists engaging with MENASA stories – those from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. These change makers discuss trends in the theatre field, the importance of being of service (and valuing that work) and collaborations on projects like Madhuri Shekar's The House of Joy, the premiere of Ismail Khalidi and Naomi Wallace's adaptation of The Corpse Washer, and the Big Bridge Theatre Consortium's commission of Rohina Malik.