Rachel Chavkin photographed for the New York Times.
About Rachel Chavkin
Rachel Chavkin is an American director, writer and dramaturg who also founded TEAM, an ensemble from Brooklyn who shines light on the experience of living in America in today's world. Chavkin's plays have a distinct approach where she lets them unfold themselves, yet she is closely directing each piece. Rachel Chavkin and her fellow members of the theatre group, TEAM, work to change the lens that viewers normally see theatre productions through. The risk, thought process, and end result of the performance details the way Chavkin thinks and displays the way she wants her work to become,"...our work crashes characters from American history and mythology into modern stories, drawing unexpected and sometimes uncomfortable connections across time to touch the raw nerves of the current movement"(TEAM).
TEAM
Rachel Chavkin and her fellow members of TEAM all have a goal to show American culture, events, and feelings in a modernistic way. TEAM, the Theatre of the Emerging American Movement, was created by Rachel Chavkin, along with six classmates from New York University. "We devise plays by examining a wealth of material, ranging from existing texts...to images taken from visual art and film, and then combining that research with original writing and staging (TEAM)", which gives the audience an inside look on exactly what their plays are meant to portray.Members of TEAM must put their lives on hold and essentially move to different areas for short periods of time in order to get the outcome they want. They rearrange their entire lifestyle in order to dive completely into the works of art their involved in.
Like many of their contemporaries, the artists of the TEAM suture the body of American history with the flotsam of popular culture, scattering references to viral videos, spaghetti westerns, and pulp fictions"( Sack). TEAM is focused on the state of America in today's society. Daniel Sack stated that the "body and mind" are both incorporated into all the TEAM's work. Chavkin stated, "I think characters in the TEAM's plays are always confronting this problem in large and small ways- dealing with worlds they do not recognize, levels of change they cannot fathom" (Sack). TEAM's goal is to break traditional roles and hit the audience over the head with the message they are trying to display. Chavkin and her team create their plays based on topics that people do not fully comprehend. TEAM is praised for it originality and portrays their artwork in ways that is not normally seen in American Theatre.
TEAM, the Theatre of the Emerging American Movement.(Rachel Chavkin is in the first row, in the middle)
Works
Mission Drift
One of the TEAM's plays, Mission Drift, touches upon every day mishaps that people in the audience may even relate to, " a pioneering journey across the USA in pursuit of the soul of American capitalism, created in the blazing heat of a Las Vegas June (TEAM)". It features music such as southern blues and "Westerns ballads", that is meant to bring together the western world with the glam of Las Vegas. It is mainly focused on "two interweaving love stories". The couple in the play is moving from Amsterdam to Las vegas, and the struggle of their hopes and dreams is incorporated throughout the play.
The TEAM's play, Mission Drift. Natasha, Pierre, and The Great Comet of 1812
Rachel Chavkin is the director of the Broadway musical, Natasha, Pierre, and The Great Comet of 1812. The musical is derived from a 70 page selection of the book War and Peace, Leo Tolstay. It is based off volume 2 of War and Peace, which is when Natasha is having an affair with Anatole, and Pierre is struggling with his own mid- life crisis. Josh Groban, a multi- platinum musician plays Pierre in this musical, which is his Broadway debut. The difference with this musical from others is that the actors run through the audience, and the audience is dining on a three course meal while watching.
The New York Times featured this musical in an article "The Best Theatre of 2016". In this article, Rachel Chavkin was praised for the way she transitioned the musical to Broadway, "...has made an exceptional transfer to the grander stage of Broadway, thanks to the director, Rachel Chavkin" (Brantley and Isherwood). Natasha, Pierre, and The Great Comet of 1812 was nominated for 12 Tony Awards, including Rachel C
Josh Groban, as Pierre, in his Broadway debut.
havkin for best director. This musical is "The most Tony- nominated show of the season" (SpotCo.). Chavkin also won an Obie award for directing.
Interview
Chavkin was interviewed by Theatretalk about her thoughts on her new Broadway musical. She states, "It seemed really important that the audience be able to release into the melodrama"(Chavkin). A melodrama is a piece of work where the characters fit typical stereotypes and altogether the work is supposed to provoke strong emotion in the viewers, The costumes of the actors were also an important aspect to Chavkin, "It felt very important to me to preserve certain aspects of period, of which ends up being the costumes"( Chavkin). She also states that her goal for each work that she does is to always have ingenuity, which could be a challenge.
Other Works
During September 10-27, 2015, Chavkin's take on Iphigenia in Aulis was performed. In 2016, she displayed a restaged version of Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, which was performed at American Repertory Theatre. At the Lincoln Center Theatre in 2016, the play she directed The Royale was performed. She also developed Hadestown at The New York Theatre Workshop in 2016. In an Article by American Theatre, Diep Trans states that "Her work is driven by a sense of the holistic, of the body and all of its senses, and a need to intellectually and emotionally engage both artists and audiences"(Tran).
List of Productions
RoosevElvis
Iphigenia In Aulis being performed
Natasha, Pierre, and The Great Comet of 1812
Mission Drift
Preludes
Three Pianos
Iphigenia in Aulis
The Royale
Hadestown
References
Grode, Eric. "Meet the Directors." The New York Times. The New York Times, 02 Feb. 2013.Web. 29 Mar. 2017.
Isherwood, Charles and Brantley, Ben. “The Best Theatre of 2016.” The New York Times. The New York Times. 6 Dec. 2016. Web, 17 Apr. 2017.
Lunden, Jeff. “Rachel Chavkin Loves Chaos, And With 3 Shows In The Works, It Shows”. All Things Considered. Npr Music. 29 July 2016. Web.
NationalTheatre. YouTube. YouTube, 28 Feb. 2013. Web. 07 May 2017.
Rachel Chavkin
About Rachel Chavkin
Rachel Chavkin is an American director, writer and dramaturg who also founded TEAM, an ensemble from Brooklyn who shines light on the experience of living in America in today's world. Chavkin's plays have a distinct approach where she lets them unfold themselves, yet she is closely directing each piece. Rachel Chavkin and her fellow members of the theatre group, TEAM, work to change the lens that viewers normally see theatre productions through. The risk, thought process, and end result of the performance details the way Chavkin thinks and displays the way she wants her work to become,"...our work crashes characters from American history and mythology into modern stories, drawing unexpected and sometimes uncomfortable connections across time to touch the raw nerves of the current movement"(TEAM).TEAM
Rachel Chavkin and her fellow members of TEAM all have a goal to show American culture, events, and feelings in a modernistic way. TEAM, the Theatre of the Emerging American Movement, was created by Rachel Chavkin, along with six classmates from New York University. "We devise plays by examining a wealth of material, ranging from existing texts...to images taken from visual art and film, and then combining that research with original writing and staging (TEAM)", which gives the audience an inside look on exactly what their plays are meant to portray.Members of TEAM must put their lives on hold and essentially move to different areas for short periods of time in order to get the outcome they want. They rearrange their entire lifestyle in order to dive completely into the works of art their involved in.Like many of their contemporaries, the artists of the TEAM suture the body of American history with the flotsam of popular culture, scattering references to viral videos, spaghetti westerns, and pulp fictions"( Sack). TEAM is focused on the state of America in today's society. Daniel Sack stated that the "body and mind" are both incorporated into all the TEAM's work. Chavkin stated, "I think characters in the TEAM's plays are always confronting this problem in large and small ways- dealing with worlds they do not recognize, levels of change they cannot fathom" (Sack). TEAM's goal is to break traditional roles and hit the audience over the head with the message they are trying to display. Chavkin and her team create their plays based on topics that people do not fully comprehend. TEAM is praised for it originality and portrays their artwork in ways that is not normally seen in American Theatre.
Works
Mission Drift
One of the TEAM's plays, Mission Drift, touches upon every day mishaps that people in the audience may even relate to, " a pioneering journey across the USA in pursuit of the soul of American capitalism, created in the blazing heat of a Las Vegas June (TEAM)". It features music such as southern blues and "Westerns ballads", that is meant to bring together the western world with the glam of Las Vegas. It is mainly focused on "two interweaving love stories". The couple in the play is moving from Amsterdam to Las vegas, and the struggle of their hopes and dreams is incorporated throughout the play.The TEAM's play, Mission Drift.
Natasha, Pierre, and The Great Comet of 1812
Rachel Chavkin is the director of the Broadway musical, Natasha, Pierre, and The Great Comet of 1812. The musical is derived from a 70 page selection of the book War and Peace, Leo Tolstay. It is based off volume 2 of War and Peace, which is when Natasha is having an affair with Anatole, and Pierre is struggling with his own mid- life crisis. Josh Groban, a multi- platinum musician plays Pierre in this musical, which is his Broadway debut. The difference with this musical from others is that the actors run through the audience, and the audience is dining on a three course meal while watching.
The New York Times featured this musical in an article "The Best Theatre of 2016". In this article, Rachel Chavkin was praised for the way she transitioned the musical to Broadway, "...has made an exceptional transfer to the grander stage of Broadway, thanks to the director, Rachel Chavkin" (Brantley and Isherwood). Natasha, Pierre, and The Great Comet of 1812 was nominated for 12 Tony Awards, including Rachel C
havkin for best director. This musical is "The most Tony- nominated show of the season" (SpotCo.). Chavkin also won an Obie award for directing.
Interview
Chavkin was interviewed by Theatretalk about her thoughts on her new Broadway musical. She states, "It seemed really important that the audience be able to release into the melodrama"(Chavkin). A melodrama is a piece of work where the characters fit typical stereotypes and altogether the work is supposed to provoke strong emotion in the viewers, The costumes of the actors were also an important aspect to Chavkin, "It felt very important to me to preserve certain aspects of period, of which ends up being the costumes"( Chavkin). She also states that her goal for each work that she does is to always have ingenuity, which could be a challenge.Other Works
During September 10-27, 2015, Chavkin's take on Iphigenia in Aulis was performed. In 2016, she displayed a restaged version of Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, which was performed at American Repertory Theatre. At the Lincoln Center Theatre in 2016, the play she directed The Royale was performed. She also developed Hadestown at The New York Theatre Workshop in 2016. In an Article by American Theatre, Diep Trans states that "Her work is driven by a sense of the holistic, of the body and all of its senses, and a need to intellectually and emotionally engage both artists and audiences"(Tran).List of Productions
References