“Theatre is really hard,” Greg Kotis sighed over fancy tater tots and beers one post-rehearsal evening. Everyone on the production team nodded agreement as we continued to piece together the show and weigh different options. There is no such thing as an easy musical–nor should there be. To quote imaginary baseball legend Jimmy Dugan, “It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard… is what makes it great.”

On Friday we presented the Yeast Nation workshop performance, which was really more of a rehearsal peek-in. An opportunity for a small, select group of people to get a glimpse into the early stages of a process that will continue to develop over the next few months. What Friday showed us is that this musical has electricity–primordial as it may be. The audience, who had no clue what to expect, connected with the bizarre story of our yeasts–yes, it is possible to connect with singing yeasts!

The workshop week proved to be an invaluable lesson for both the actors and the staff. Having first-hand access to the creators of the show meant direct and specific answers. Many times a rehearsal process can leave you wondering what an author meant by a certain line of text. With Greg and Mark in the room, we knew. But we also had more to explore.

The hard is what makes it good. We can’t wait to stage Yeast Nation this Fall.
ROLT’s West Coast premiere of Yeast Nation will perform October 3-November 1 at the Victoria Theatre in San Francisco.
Join our mailing list Learn more about the show Buy tickets