The Characters of Crossing, Part V: What If

  "What If"

 The final part of a series exploring the history and characters behind Signature’s world premiere of Crossing, by Matt Conner and Grace Barnes.

If you missed any of the other characters, follow their journeys here:

Part I: Freedom Trains

Part II: Mothers and Sons

Part III: Seeking a Newer World

Part IV: Entertaining Angels

The World of 2013: The Backpacker

"And I’m on my way.

I’ve got a million places I’d like to stay!

I can’t wait another day,

‘Cause all I need is a bed and breakfast, my backpack and me."

Our journeys in the 21^st century have been revolutionized by the technology we use. With our smartphones and iPads we can change our destination to another flight in a matter of seconds, skim a travel blog, or calculate a location and time on Google Maps while we’re on the bus to somewhere else!  However, our constant connectedness to the virtual world can sometimes prevent us from appreciating the world around us. The Huffington Post stated that resorts and lodges without wi-fi, such as Little PalmIsland Resort & Spa in the Florida Keyes and the Num-Ti-Jah Lodge in Alberta, Canada, are becoming a travel trend. Although vacationers took a few days to readjust to the electronic-free life, they discovered a new sense of connection with their family members and nature, and returned to work rejuvenated.

The Backpacker, played by Christopher Mueller, is the epitome of the optimistic, technology-dependent 21^st century traveler.  He is part of an increasing number of young adults going abroad. Education motivates many college-aged people. The OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) reports that international student travel has increased fivefold since 1975, with 4.1 million students studying abroad in 2010. For others, it’s a matter of expanding horizons and challenging themselves. 

The Unknown Woman crosses paths with The Backpacker (Chris Mueller). 

Since the recession, many people have been discouraged from traveling by the costs, but backpacking can be a great way to see the world without breaking your bank account. By eating from street vendors, staying in hostels, and booking your transportation in advance, you can “eat, pray, and love” across Europe for less than $100/day. 

Travel Tips for the Intrepid Backpacker

1. Pack light! It will save room for things you want to buy when you get to Europe. Leave the heels at home and invest in a few pairs of lightweight walking shoes instead
2. Get a Eurorail Pass. It can save you hundreds of dollars.
3. Don't spend so much time taking pictures that you forget to experience the world around you.
4. Take advantage of free tours in cities.
5. Talk to everyone! That's the best way to pick up on the language and culture of a place. As the Unknown Woman tells The Backpacker in Crossing, “What if the person sitting next to you on the train is someone who could change your life? 

 Chris Mueller describes his the exciting journey of working on a musical.

 

 Crossing

directed by Eric Schaeffer 
music and lyrics by Matt Conner
book and additional lyrics by Grace Barnes 
October 29-November 24

  For more information, including ticketing, click here. 

#sigcrossing

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The Characters of Crossing, Part IV: Entertaining Angels

Part IV in a series exploring the history and characters behind Signature’s world premiere of Crossing, by Matt Conner and Grace Barnes.

 Click here to view Part III: "Seeking a Newer World"

 The World of the Heroic Journey: The Unknown Woman

"The blue turns gray, the gray to black,

Just hold your breath, and don’t look back

You just can’t stand here anymore

In the storm, anymore..."

The theme of “the epic journey” should be familiar to us. In Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949), mythologist Joseph Campbell describes “the heroic quest” as a “monomyth” – literally one central, recurring myth – because it appears so often in our cultural heritage. These journey stories share a similar pattern. The characters must leave home, overcome obstacles, and they return changed by their experiences. Some of the most famous of these stories include The Odyssey, The Quest for the Holy Grail, The Lord of the Rings, Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, Star Wars, Pixar’s Up, and The Polar Express, to name a few. It’s a story structure common and enjoyable to children and adults alike. 

  The Unknown Woman (Nova Y. Payton) comforts The Civil Rights Marcher (Ines Nassara).

Many of these “heroes” also have a wise guide to help them on their journey. Whether, it’s Merlin, Glinda, or the Cheshire Cat, the guide usually has some magical quality and often transcends time and space. Our travelers of Crossing also have a sage advisor. Like the “conductors” of the Underground Railroads, she points the characters in the right direction, reminding them, "Be not afraid to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares" (Hebrews 13:2).

  Nova Y. Payton explains why Crossing is "home" to her.

Crossing
directed by Eric Schaeffer 
music and lyrics by Matt Conner
book and additional lyrics by Grace Barnes 

October 29-November 24

  For more information, including ticketing, click here. 

Student Night this Friday! Use code EDU25 online or at the box office for $25 tickets. 
Ticket includes an after party and a backstage tour.

#sigcrossing

 

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The Characters of Crossing, Part III: Seeking a Newer World

"Seeking a Newer World"

Part III in a series exploring the history and characters behind Signature’s world premiere of Crossing, by Matt Conner and Grace Barnes.

If you missed the first few, click here to view Part I: Freedom Trains

and click here to view Part II: Mothers & Sons.

 Here is a sneak-peek of Crossing's talented travelers in rehearsal!

 “Why couldn’t we have met at another time?” the Wealthy Man (year: 1929) asks the Woman With Flowers (1977)as they sit side-by-side nervously waiting for the train to arrive in Crossing’s station. Although they are from different decades, they share a sense of disconnection from their families. They also share a love of poetry, particularly of Lord Alfred Tennyson’s Ulysses. One of them looks toward the future with despair, the other with hope, but like all of Crossing’s characters, they meet in the middle and continue their journey changed.

The World of 1929: The Wealthy Man

“Sail to the end of the world and change my name.

Let my wings unfurl, nothing will be the same,

Sail to a different me, someone whom I’ve never seen.

Set my spirit free.”

On October 29, 1929, the roaring success and glamour of the ‘20s came to a screeching halt as the Stock Market abruptly crashed on “Black Tuesday.” Investors lost everything. According to one stock exchange witness:

“Men hollered and screamed, they clawed at one another’s collars. It was like a bunch of crazy men. Every once in a while, when Radio or Steel or Auburn would take another tumble, you’d see some poor devil collapse and fall to the floor.”

The Great Depression had begun.

Changing family ideals furthered the sense of disorder. The liberal ‘20s introduced the idea of “companionate marriages,” meaning that wives and husbands should share their personal lives, domestic responsibilities, and the work outside the home. Although this meant more equality for women, it was also threatening and confusing for someone raised in the Victorian ideals of a patriarchal family structure with the husband as the head and breadwinner. What was a man’s true role in his family?

The World of 1977: The Woman with Flowers

"The world has a way of always changing,

Slowly shifting, slightly rearranging,

Sometimes making no sense at all.

It’s unpredictable.

They’re little miracles."

The 1970s continued the social upheaval of the ‘60’s. Anti-war protests turned violent in the Kent State Massacre, and the Watergate Scandal eroded faith in government. And on November 18, 1978, “Reverend” Jim Jones led 900 people in the largest mass suicide/murder in history. Jones was a master manipulator, fooling politicians, his congregation, and his many female companions. His “People’s Temple” willingly moved to Guyana, where they drank Kool-Aide laced with cyanide.

"Jonestown" after the mass suicides

Despite these disturbing events, opportunities for women were increasing, particularly in the field of medicine. With the Title IX Act banning discrimination by gender in schools, the number of women physicians was on the rise. Self-help books written by women for women, such as The Feminine Mystique and Our Bodies, Ourselves, allowed women to educate themselves about their own health. The feminist movement also encouraged women to have their own identity apart from being a wife and mother. The American family looked very different than the previous decades. Divorce rates were rising, and more women were “working moms.”

Ulysses

Nearly 200 years, but still getting airtime. Ulysses, featured in 2012's Skyfall (dir: Sam Mendes.) 

Victorian poet Lord Alfred Tennyson penned Ulysses in 1833 upon hearing about the death of his best friend. Bowed by grief and his financially struggling family, Tennyson dreams of following the path of the wandering Greek hero Ulysses from Homer’s Odyssey:

'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.

Push off, and sitting well in order smite

The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds

To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths

Of all the western stars, until I die…

Though much is taken, much abides; and though

We are not now that strength which in old days

Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;

One equal temper of heroic hearts,

Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

Crossing
directed by Eric Schaeffer 
music and lyrics by Matt Conner
book and additional lyrics by Grace Barnes 

October 29-November 24

  For more information, including ticketing, click here. 

#sigcrossing

 

Read More