Out on a Limb
Upstage and Charlebois Post contributor Sarah Deshaies spoke wiith co-Director Jennifer Tarver about the National Theatre School production of Edward Albee’s Everything In the Garden. Below is an abridged version edited by Estelle Rosen, CharPo editor-in-chief.
UPSTAGE
Before we talk about the play, I’m interested to know how co-directing with Susanna Hood came about.
TARVER
It’s something we’ve been wanting to do for the last few years since we’ve been working on each other’s projects. She’s more dance based. I work as a stage director in both theatre and opera.
She has come on as a choreographer to projects I’ve been directing. In reverse, in her projects she’s created, I’ve come on as a directorial eye and dramaturgical input. We never had the opportunity to work on a piece together from scratch.
When NTS asked me to do this play, I called Susanna to see if she’d like to co-direct this play with me. Working with students gives a lot of freedom in terms of what you can do. It’s possible to go out on a limb since students are generally receptive to new approaches and new ideas.
