ORLANDO at Royal Manitoba Theatre

In a couple of weeks I’ll be off to Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre in Winnipeg to sit in a rehearsal room for the first time in nearly two years. It’s for a production of ORLANDO, a 1998 Sarah Ruhl adaptation of a 1928 book by Virginia Woolf. It’s a beautiful story of a poet who transcends both time and gender(!), spanning over 400 years of British history.

RMTC has been amazing, building a team of FOUR gender consultants. And I’m in love with this script. I have a personal connection to it, as well: it’s written in the style of story theatre, which originated at Piven Theatre Workshop in Evanston. Sarah Ruhl grew up training at Piven; I grew up a couple miles away; the show premiered at Piven (starring Polly Noonan); and just over a decade later, I worked at Piven myself, stage managing a full season that included a Sarah Ruhl piece (also starring Polly Noonan) and learning about story theatre myself. It’s all coming full circle.

If you happen to be up near Winnipeg, the show runs November 24 - December 18; you can find more information on the RMTC website.