Genevieve Lally-Knuth gives us a sneak peek into the making of The Penelopiad. Genevieve plays one of the twelve maids in The Penelopiad.
The journey… not the destination? When I’m traveling, it is easy to remember that it is more about the act of going than where I’m trying to go. In daily life it takes a little more effort to remind myself not to get too wrapped up in worrying about the end goals and to enjoy the ride. And when creating a show it is so easy to put all the focus into what the show will be once opening night arrives. And then I’m given the gift of being cast in The Penelopiad and rehearsals become a place where we are not only allowed, but are encouraged to luxuriate in the process of creating the work. I use the word luxuriate on purpose. It is one of the words Erica used to describe a movement quality and it really stuck with me. The way Erica approaches movement work really resonates with me. From day one she made it clear that there are no mistakes or wrong ways of moving. She gave us a comfortable space to try things that might be new, and therefore uncomfortable, and promised us that we couldn’t do it wrong. We were then encouraged to explore the different ways we could do the same movement – to explore what happens when you change a movement from direct to indirect or from sustained to quick. We floated or glided or ran through the space as Erica called out directions. And a beautiful thing happened- I became so engrossed in figuring out how my body could move that I forgot to worry about if I was doing it wrong. I stopped focusing on how I thought it was supposed to look and really started to experience how it felt.
The journey… not the destination? When I’m traveling, it is easy to remember that it is more about the act of going than where I’m trying to go. In daily life it takes a little more effort to remind myself not to get too wrapped up in worrying about the end goals and to enjoy the ride. And when creating a show it is so easy to put all the focus into what the show will be once opening night arrives. And then I’m given the gift of being cast in The Penelopiad and rehearsals become a place where we are not only allowed, but are encouraged to luxuriate in the process of creating the work. I use the word luxuriate on purpose. It is one of the words Erica used to describe a movement quality and it really stuck with me. The way Erica approaches movement work really resonates with me. From day one she made it clear that there are no mistakes or wrong ways of moving. She gave us a comfortable space to try things that might be new, and therefore uncomfortable, and promised us that we couldn’t do it wrong. We were then encouraged to explore the different ways we could do the same movement – to explore what happens when you change a movement from direct to indirect or from sustained to quick. We floated or glided or ran through the space as Erica called out directions. And a beautiful thing happened- I became so engrossed in figuring out how my body could move that I forgot to worry about if I was doing it wrong. I stopped focusing on how I thought it was supposed to look and really started to experience how it felt.
It is exhilarating to learn something new and immediately be able to apply it, and then make it your own. And we have been given that since day one of rehearsal. We would start with a gentle warm up and learn new movement vocabulary. Then we would learn some ballet and be given some combinations to do across the floor. And then we were given time to play, to take what we had just learned and create something that we could perform. One exercise I really enjoyed involved choosing three images from a magazine and using them to create a short dance phrase we could teach. We then taught it to our group (there were about five in a group). Once we had learned everyone’s phrases we put them together and created a dance. It was one of the quickest and most successful experiences I have ever had generating choreography.
Then we got to the music. What a great experience it has been to get to learn music that has been created for us, for our show. I was initially nervous about singing. I don’t have any vocal training and I was in a room full of amazing voices. This cast is talented! And before I even had the chance to be intimidated I found out just how supportive and encouraging these women are. The music rehearsals quickly became a favorite part of the rehearsal process.
And now we have started putting it all together. I can’t wait to get to rehearsal and see what choreography Sheena has created. I can wait to get to rehearsal and sing to Josh’s music. I can’t wait to get to rehearsal and see the next piece of Erica’s vision come to life. And yes, I can’t wait to share this story with you when opening night gets here. Until then, it’s all about the journey.
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Genevieve is an actor, aerialist, and adventurer who loves a good story. She recently did the movement design and performed on aerial silks for an extremely physical adaptation of The Tempest at What a Do Theatre (Battle Creek, MI). In Chicago she has worked with Strangeloop Theatre, The State Theatre, The Actor’s Gymnasium, Chicago dell’ Arte, and the Tall Ship Windy, among others. Internationally, she has studied and performed Classic Theatre in Greece and has trained in West African Drum and Dance in Guinea. She holds a degree in Art and Theatre from Cornell College. Her current favorite adventures include whitewater kayaking and bicycling through Chicago during rush hour.
Then we got to the music. What a great experience it has been to get to learn music that has been created for us, for our show. I was initially nervous about singing. I don’t have any vocal training and I was in a room full of amazing voices. This cast is talented! And before I even had the chance to be intimidated I found out just how supportive and encouraging these women are. The music rehearsals quickly became a favorite part of the rehearsal process.
And now we have started putting it all together. I can’t wait to get to rehearsal and see what choreography Sheena has created. I can wait to get to rehearsal and sing to Josh’s music. I can’t wait to get to rehearsal and see the next piece of Erica’s vision come to life. And yes, I can’t wait to share this story with you when opening night gets here. Until then, it’s all about the journey.
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Genevieve is an actor, aerialist, and adventurer who loves a good story. She recently did the movement design and performed on aerial silks for an extremely physical adaptation of The Tempest at What a Do Theatre (Battle Creek, MI). In Chicago she has worked with Strangeloop Theatre, The State Theatre, The Actor’s Gymnasium, Chicago dell’ Arte, and the Tall Ship Windy, among others. Internationally, she has studied and performed Classic Theatre in Greece and has trained in West African Drum and Dance in Guinea. She holds a degree in Art and Theatre from Cornell College. Her current favorite adventures include whitewater kayaking and bicycling through Chicago during rush hour.