The latest production coming to the Arkansas Repertory Theatre is “Project Élan,” the first ever in-house musical in the theater’s 40-year history. The show utilizes students from the Summer Musical Theater Intensive program, which, through complete kismet, will celebrate its 10th anniversary on opening night of “Project Élan.”
We got a chance to sit down with writers Conly Basham, Mark Binns and Nicole Capri, who also directs the show, to learn all about the brand new musical. Opening night is Tuesday, May 5. For showtimes and tickets, visit The Rep’s website.
Tell us a little about your roles in this production.
Nicole Capri: I’m the resident director and director of education at The Rep. I’ve been on staff for 12 years. It’s been interesting. I’m the only writer over 30. i specifically wanted to gather together people who were really in that generation.
Mark Binns: Been at The Rep for 5 seasons. I music direct a lot of the mainstage shows and work on musicals in some capacity. I’m barely a millennial. Conly and I are just on the cusp.
On this project, I worked as a writer. I’m by no means a lyricist, but I did contribute a Dark Wing Duck reference. I like to say I try to make everything sound pretty, to make it all flow. I took a lot of the lyrics and put them to music. All the writers came from so many backgrounds, some from LA, some from Nashville, some from the North East, strict musical theater or American Top 40. My job has been trying to take all those influences and sounds and try to make them all sound like they were written by the same person.
Conly Basham: I grew up here at The Rep. I was a student in SMTI, moved to New York and we continued to collaborate and I continued to work with kids in the programs and projects. I do a lot of singer/songwriter stuff in the city now, but i still perform, moving toward being a professional musical theater writer. This was a huge opportunity to develop that skill even more at a high level. To be able to see a fully staged production with your work in it is a very special opportunity for a writer.
NC: The interesting thing about the music is that is is very culture current, it is very now. It’s stuff you would hear on the radio, not a book musical. It’s stuff you want to listen in your car. I can’t pick a favorite, they’re all so good. I love that the kids love the music. It resonates with them. Even when we workshopped the show two summers ago, even the grandparents and parents connected with the music. It’s really a cross-generational appeal here.
Since the show is about millennials, is that your target demographic?
NC: We did an audience survey in that workshop and parents said they felt like they got a window into their kids world and the kids felt like they understood their parents’ generation so much better.
I feel like I’m pretty savvy since I work with kids all the time, but I’m learning something every day from them. Even my mom who’s 7,1 it’s her favorite show we’ve ever done here, and my seven-year-old niece absolutely loves some of these songs.
What can you tell me about the storyline of the show?
CB: We follow 6 different characters who are all introduced in the beginning. We wanted diversity in storylines and storytelling, and how they weave in and out of each other’s lives, almost like the “Love Actually” formula. We used that a little to set it up, but then develop their stories and their individual themes, but then resolve into the deeper, overarching purpose.
NC: We don’t want to disparage technology, but we do ask some questions throughout. Is the world becoming redefined by technology? Are we becoming more distant from each other through technology? Are we becoming less connected in a world that’s increasingly connected? It’s changed everything from how we look at ourselves to how we interact with our families to how we fight a war on the other side of the planet. Even to write this show, we couldn’t do it over text; we have to get in the same room and breathe the same air.
MB: Throughout this process, we’ve talked a lot about how hard it is for some kids to look you in the eye. It’s amazing. Even one-on-one. I teach a lot of these kids in private voice lessons, just trying to get them to look me in the eye and be confident in that is really a challenge in this generation. I think the overall theme that I get is as simple as just finding a way — in whatever your circumstances — to live, to make a connection, to have functioning relationships with those around you. That’s why it’s so relatable to everybody. No matter how old you are, we’re all living in this time now. It really examines the simplicity of just looking up for a minute and really seeing people.
NC: In trying to come up with a title, we were looking for something that got out point across of how to put our phones away and stop glorifying being busy, worrying about getting from one project to the next, scratching off a to-do list, all to just take a breath for a second. We found this word “élan,” which basically means to live, to exist in this moment with passion.
Our rehearsals are cell phone-free zones. As theater directors and coaches, our job is to teach them to connect with their audiences, but mostly with each other. If they can’t do that, it’s hard. It’s our responsibility to teach them to become authentic communicators and storytellers. Our industry, our art form relies on that.
Have you seen a big change in that over the years?
NC: Yes. Over the past 10 years, significantly. I’ve been teaching kids since I was a high school kid. This makes me sound old, but I have seen a massive decrease in attention spans and increase in the difficulty of getting what I need from them, that connection. There’s a deep vulnerability it takes to be a performer, and a cell phone keeps you from being vulnerable. You can hide behind technology all day, all alone, and still be connected to the world. It’s affecting everyone.
CB: I think kids are already out the door. Kids don’t experience an isolation of a moment. They know that even if their phones are away in their bags, that they have 20 people who are still reaching out to them at any given time. Their attention spans are unreal.
I actually lived for three months before I came here without a cell phone. It broke and I wanted to see if I could. It drove some people crazy, but some people thought it was really cool. I had to ask a store merchant to use their phone and it was like the world was ending.
NC: This little device is your whole word. It’s your diary, email, conversations, everything. Significant others ask permission to use each other’s phones. They’re even password protected.
CB: As an artist, sometimes we have little sessions with kids that sometimes feel like summer camp. Kids would share some of their underlying struggles and situations that we would then use as a basis for certain scenarios in the show. Saying things no one else gets to say is part of the art of it. Getting a kid to be vulnerable on stage, that’s a life skill. Whether you go on to be a professional actor or not, no other element of education that provides that. Even though these kids are being given lines that they didn’t write, they know the message.
So how did “Project Élan” come into being?
NC: Creating a musical from scratch has never been done in the 40-year history of The Rep. Other people have premiered their shows here, but never one born here. I’ve always wanted to do one, but I don’t have the same skill set that these other writers do. I met Conly in the SMTI program when she was 19. I don’t befriend my students, but she was one of those that resonated and we knew we wanted to work on a creative project together. She introduced me to Mark and we saw the musical “Once” together. We had the worst seats, but we connected with it. We decided then that we had to create a musical together. We started working on building a team of writers, which doesn’t really happen, but we wanted that diversity.
This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. People are either going to walk away from this totally changed or indifferent, and that’s how it is with any show, but I think this one has potential to go far beyond The Rep’s stage.
MB: I think it’s really special that we have the age range we do in this show. We have an eight year old and a 27 year old. The moments when they’re all singing the same words and how they’re interpreting them differently from the points they’re at in life, it’s beautiful and fascinating. It’s a really cool experience to watch.
What does creating a show in-house mean for The Rep?
CB: Anyone can put on a production of “Annie” and it’ll be forgotten in five minutes because every other theatre is doing the same thing. We’re hoping something original like this has a longer ripple effect because it won’t have that kind of competition.That’s the goal.
NC: I’ve done the research and people aren’t producing shows like this. We started working on this over two years ago and we have to keep updating terms and references to keep up with technology. I think the things that are so attractive on Broadway right now are not the happy ending, fairytale musicals with sunshine and rainbows. “Oklahoma” isn’t selling out on Broadway. People want shows they can relate to.
You talked a lot about the questions you get to ask. What do you think is the big question audiences will leave with when they walk out of this show?
NC: I think it’s more than questions, but encouraged ideas. Is technology causing us to withdraw from the people we love the most, or is there a renewed desire for tangible touch and quality time? Maybe there’s a reminder that we only get a finite about of time here, and we have to live in it.
MB: We really have to remember to find where we will connect in this world, who will have our best interests in mind. That’s an important question and one that we see as a common denominator in every storyline throughout the show. But there’s an amazing message of hope at the end that’s what is so important.