PostScript for Ghosts

PostScript is our talkback with the actors where the audience is invited to ask questions to the actors after the show. The actors talking back: Rebecca Nerz, Jeff West, Blake DeLong, Gloria Biegler, & David McCann.

Here we have rapt patrons enjoying drinks & cheesecake in our Upstage Cabaret.



(All photos by Asha)

Drinks & Cheesecakes by Alex were consumed, great questions were asked, & one question could not be answered, but instead was thrown back to the audience: "Did Mrs. Alving do what her son requests at the end of the play?" The majority of the audience answered in the affirmative, but Gloria (who plays Mrs. Alving) sagely abstained from answering the question so as not to compromise the process of the other actors & the work as a whole.

Ghosts in tech

Helene Alving played by Gloria Biegler waits as lights are adjusted.

(photo by Jeff West)

David Smith, the sound designer, tweaks some music used as underscoring in the show.

Eric Tysinger, our stage manager, reviews & corrects cues in his promptbook.

Here's a glance at the set without giving too much away...

A few small props that become a big deal...

And detail of the stage floor & Mrs. Alving's dress...

Shelly, the scenic art apprentice, talks with our production manager, Christy.


Rebecca Nerz as Regina Engstrand, Gloria Biegler as Mrs. Alving, & Blake DeLong as Osvald Alving.

From left to right: Stuart Nelson the lighting designer; Nick Hussong the master electrician, Howard Jones the set designer , Eric Tysinger the stage manager, Preston Lane the director, & David Smith the sound designer.

Blake in his dressing room that is decorated with self-portraits of 19th century painters, because Osvald Alving, the character he plays, is also a painter during that time.
(photo by Jeff West)


Regina and her bucket.
(photo by Jeff West)



Jakob Engstrand played by Jeff West floats a proposition with Rebecca Nerz playing Regina behind him.

Ghosts in Rehearsal & in Build

Here's a sneak peek into rehearsal & the build...

Scout rolls up a lighting plot.

Jenny the carpenter drills into the skylight high above the stage.
Left, Tom the master carpenter, explains to James, the carpentry intern, how to tie off a clove hitch.
Gloria Biegler, Jeff West, & David McCann rehearse one of the opening scenes of Ghosts. (Ms. Biegler is wearing a rehearsal skirt in order to begin to get used to eventually wearing a dress. Actors often begin wearing specific articles of clothing in rehearsal, even if they aren't exact replicas, so that they can begin feeling a difference in how to sit, walk, or stand.)

The cast of Ghosts begins rehearsals with tablework

Our next play is Ghosts, by Henrik Ibsen. Our Artistic Director Preston Lane adapted the script from William Archer's translation.

From the perspective of the dramaturg one can see the script, the dramaturgical notebook, and then various books around that assist with any questions the cast may have about the play.

Along the wall in the rehearsal hall we display costume renderings, a map of Norway, old images of Norway & Ibsen, the model of the set, and scenic renderings.

Here is detail of one of the scenic renderings designed and drawn by Howard Jones.

During the tablework phase of rehearsal (which was last week) we read through the script asking questions about character's objectives, historical references, potential interpretations, & peruse photos & other images from the period.

(photo by Asha)

Rebecca Nerz (playing Regina Engstrand) & Blake Delong (playing Osvald Alving) read & talk through a moment in the script.

(photo by Asha)

Jeff West (playing Jakob Engstrand) & Gloria Biegler (playing Helena Alving).

(photo by Asha)

Highlighting his script next to me sits David McCann (playing Pastor Manders). As pictured previously, the dramaturgical notebook that sits in front of me is full of research: biographical information, history of the play & the period, dramatic criticism, facts about Norway, & facts about syphilis. So, I try to bring to everyone else supplemental information about the play. Finally, all the information I have accumulated will eventually be condensed & distilled into the program notes.

(photo by Asha)

Preston is able to edit the script as we read, discuss, & discover new possibilities for the play. Eric, our stage manager, sits next to him and updates the script on his computer.