AUGUST '13

PROJECT 01

The Seagull

IMMERSIVE ADAPTATION

BROOKLYN, NY

THE EXPERIMENT
To produce an immersive performance of
a theatrical classic in a stunning, serendipitous environment.

THE BRIEF

The start of it all, The Seagull was Roll The Bones' first project. A chance idea that occurred during a walk by The East River became a sunrise production of Anton Chekhov's timeless tragedy of heartbreak

In the original, Konstantin is obsessed with the production of his new play, starring his lover Nina, in an amphitheater in front of a pond. He envisions the sun setting through the entire scene. Because of the orientation of the now-demolished East River Amphitheatre, our production replaced a pond with the river and sunset with sunrise.

The entire cast was made up of Sleep No More inmates and for a short performance window in late summer, performers started the nightly marathon of 1-2 performances of Sleep No More, followed by various libations in The Manderley, followed by a late night snack at the Chelsea Diner, followed by a trek south to East River Park for donuts, coffee, and a renegade, upstart production of The Seagull. Astoundingly, audiences followed suit. Hundreds of New Yorkers showed up at dawn for what turned out to be a truly charmed production.

Scenes roved across several settings scattered throughout the park. Silently, background events with characters smoking, fishing, or going for a stroll enhanced the onstage action and built a world that fully engaged the surroundings. For a few short hours, Russian country life overtook the park while the rest of New York City rolled out of bed.