Exposition

I suppose the seed of this production dates back to the Dina Merrill studio, circa spring of 2001. A vast expanse of obtuse and dilapidated 70's carpet bearing mysterious stains, low hanging florescent tubes and faded blue exercise mats, everything mended by duct tape and smelling of the history of teenagers' sweat. This studio is (or was) my least favorite of the work spaces at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut, but it's where we adapted small excerpts from Orwell's novel as an ensemble studying at the National Theater Institute.

It stuck with me. And not just the precision and power of Orwell's "fairy story". That way of working stuck with me. It was really the first time in my life I felt the endorphin rush summoned by an ensemble with a modicum of talent and a gargantuan appetite for creation.

Which is why, now that I'm forcing myself to write about it, it makes perfect sense that working with Jon Ferguson on Or The White Whale would bring the possibility of producing Animal Farm flooding back to my conscious life. Jon and his ensembles are the professional version of what enchanted me as a student at NTI. Company created work, brimming with what too often gets overlooked in our standard theatrical model: generosity and playfulness.

So in December of 2007, nearly seven years after the rug burns of the Dina Merrill studio, I began writing my own loose adaptation of Animal Farm, intent on finally ridding the staging of the novel of that meddlesome narrator character. I had coffee with Jon in February. I pitched him the idea. I didn't have to pitch too hard. (Hell, if Moby Dick can be a play...) But the Orwell estate didn't want to talk to us. We ended up tossing my half-finished adaptation in favor of Ian Woolridge's faithful adaptation from 1993.

So here we are. A little more than two months till opening night. We've got an incredible cast, a Cracker Jack design team, a lush and aged venue, and the wonderfully serendipitous timing of the 2008 US Presidential election overlapping our run.

I hope we do ya proud, George (Eric).