Much like their benefit performances of ‘Love Letters’ this past spring, PrideArts is taking another show revolving around a straight couple and giving it a LGBTQIA slant.
The upcoming production of Nick Payne’s acclaimed Constellations, co-directed by Jay Españo and Amber Mandley, will feature rotating casts, one comprised of two women and another of two men. Recently, cast members Hannah Green and Skyler Tipton, who both play beekeeper Rona/Roland, took a moment to give us a peek behind the scenes of this very unique production.
(Note: This conversation has been edited for clarity and length)
Windy City Times: Constellations is a high profile play about a straight relationship. Were there many changes made to the script to accommodate the switch to the same sex scenario?
Hannah Green: There’s a great universality to the writing. This is a play about two people who find each other—not just necessarily a man and a woman. We found that we made very few changes, mostly for names (Roland became Rona, James became Elaine) or gendered words like “bloke.” I spent some time in rehearsal playing around with what words made the most sense.
Skyler Tipton: Payne really focuses this story on the full scope of a relationship rather than on the sexual orientation of its characters, so there was a universality within his script that made it easily adaptable for a same-sex couple. Some simple name and pronoun changes were all that was needed.
WCT: One imagines that with the dual director-cast aesthetic here that there has been a very collaborative process. What has been the greatest joy and the greatest challenge for you working in this unique manner?
ST: It has been a collaborative process, and the joy that I found was in making our version of the play our own. For example, there were elements of the show that we wanted to be similar to what the female cast was doing for the sake of lighting design. But for the most part each cast was able to really explore and craft in their own way. In the end, it feels like we are doing two versions of the same play, instead of trying to create the same play with two different casts.
HG: The greatest joy is having more people in the room to collaborate with. I’m enjoying talking through ideas and trying multiple things and appreciate different kinds of people watching from their perspective. The greatest challenge for me is when I see a moment in Jay and Skyler’s show that I think, “Ooh, that’s quite good. I want to use that.” I’m finding our shows are still quite different and reminding myself to keep my eyes on my own paper.
WCT: The important role that bees play in balancing nature has been highly documented lately. As you both have investigated your beekeeper character here, what has been the most interesting thing you’ve discovered about bees and how they keep our natural world functioning?
HG: This is not necessarily something I learned for this, but that bees only sting if they feel attacked. It reminds me to lead with a bit more empathy and when one does come near me, I let it be (look at that, a bee pun!). They’re not bothering anyone!
ST: I love how adaptable bees are. They are found in a variety of environments, such as in sand dunes, wetlands, gravel pits, and grasslands. In the U.K. they even have a B-Line “transportation system” which is a concerted effort to create specific insect pathways through and around towns and the countryside to help bees survive.
WCT: What has been the most interesting thing you’ve learned about yourself and how you personally navigate relationships throughout this process?
HG: This show is a beast! It is two people on stage for 90 minutes. And once you’re on the rollercoaster, you are ON. It’s required a more physical warm up than I expected. It’s helped me feel more grounded not only in my body and voice but also with (co-star) Shannon. We’ve really worked together to trust each other fully during this process, but also keep it fun and light considering what happens in the show each night.
ST: The beauty of Payne’s writing is in the very real circumstances that feel interchangeable to things we all go through in romantic relationships. I think it’s made me reflect a lot on how universal a lot of these feelings are. At the end of the day, we all want to be seen, loved, and accepted completely.
WCT: If you had to point out one reason why a potential audience member should come see this show, what would that be?
ST: There is something so deeply human and visceral in this story that I believe connects us all to our own senses of love, and mortality.
HG: This is a love story. And who doesn’t love a love story?
Constellations runs from Nov. 16 – Dec. 13 at the Hoover-Leppen Theatre at the Center on Halsted, 3356 N. Halsted St. More information is available at www.pridearts.org.