Sister Cities- Sound Design

I thought I would share with you the list of songs we use in the show. As the sound designer, my goal was to use the songs to show how different the sisters were and to also reflect some of Mary's wordly experiences. Also, the play has a very "now" feel about it that is raw as many reality TV shows. We feel as if we are looking in on a very personal moment of a family and that perhaps, we should not be there. The play focuses on a an ex-dancer, Mary, who has four daughters and is suffering from ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). I wanted to use music that spoke to the past and present lives of each character and that helped us get an idea of their histories that precede the very sad (and often tragically funny moments) in the play. I feel the music helps reveal the contradictions of life and the different ways that we cope with grief, life and the power of our choices.

Sound Track
Preshow
Natural Woman – by Aretha Franklin
Superwoman – Stevie Wonder
Sunday Kind of Love -Etta James
Austin- by Blake Shelton
J'ai Deux Amours- Josephine Baker
Carolina in My Mind- James Taylor
Be Without You- Mary J. Blige ( Kendu Remix)
I Walked From Dallas- Holwin' Wolf

Show Intermission and Transition Music
32 Flavors- by Ani Di Franco
Proud Mary- Tina Turner
Pride and Joy- Stevie Ray Vaughn
Adele Chasing Pavements
Tired of Being Alone- Texas
Grave Potter and the Nocturnals Ah Mary
Lean on me-Bill Withers
BBC News
Raining In Baltimore- Counting Crows
Doorbell Rings

Postshow
Please Don't talk about Me When I'm gone- Billie Holiday
As- Stevie Wonder (from Songs in the Key of Life)
Non, Ne Je Regrette

Sister Cities-The Poster for KU Summer Theatre

Hi everyone--Check out the amazing poster design for Sister Cities designed by local Lawrence graphic designer, Jill Riley at RED Design.
The concept of Barbies in a house came to me from the girls coming back to their childhood home. In the play, four sister return home after extended absences upon the suicide of their mother. The play flows much like a reality TV show, highlighting each character's relationship to the death. The character Baltimore finds old games and dolls (specifically her old "Ken" doll) and begins to remember the fun times of her childhood. I came up with the idea to use Barbies to represent Mary's "dolls"--her daughters, all four of them, are souvenirs of her past relationship with different men, each of girls' fathers.
Each daughter, Austin, Carolina, Dallas and Baltimore, is named after the city in which they were born --each sister with a different father. Mary plays with her relationships with her daughters the same way that young girls play with the relationships they create between their dolls. The lines between the real and the imaginary are skewed. When Mary dies, they have to think on their own and contemplate the meaning of their lives without their mother's interventions and their roles as sisters.

Sister Cities-Play Synopsis

As many of you know, Sister Cities has toured the United States( a few cities are New York, Los Angeles, Kansas City) and Europe ( Edinburgh, Paris, plus many others). I am including a link to the original play website and a synopsis written by the playwright about the show! Enjoy--and come see us this weekend June 25, 26th, 27th and July 1, 2, 3rd Show time is 7:30 and tickets are $12 and $10 for students. Visit www.sistercitiesplay.org


SISTER CITIES
- Synopsis -
A witty commentary on the dignity of choice, and the power of relationships.

MARY BAXTER has had an enviable life - a dancer who married young and never looked back as she traveled the world and moved from one marriage to the next. Four husbands gave her four daughters, each of whom are as different from each other as the cities they were named after. CAROLINA, compulsive and organized, is a Seattle based attorney, while AUSTIN, a New York Times best selling author, lives in the family home in Poughkeepsie. DALLAS, the ultimate conformer, lives and teaches in Philadelphia, while the baby, BALTIMORE, is a free-spirited, eternal student at Harvard.
When Mary dies, Austin calls her estranged sisters to return to their childhood home for what appears to be a wake; yet, what turns into a family drama that will unearth old animosities and new secrets that will change them forever.
Carolina and Baltimore are the first to arrive home, after a very long car ride. Bolting for the bathroom, Baltimore discovers her mother's body in the bathtub and realizes that Austin has not moved her at all since her death. Austin is mum about the situation, cracking jokes instead of dealing with the circumstances.
An infuriated Carolina calls the coroner and begins to drink from the household's healthy supply of vodka. She accuses Austin of being inept and hurls accusations old and new at her. Dallas, the peacekeeper, arrives and the sisters retreat behind their fragile facades. Stuck in the house together awaiting the coroner, they share stories, a scrabble game and a lot of vodka.
However, the needling continues, and Austin finally can't hold back any longer and confesses that Mary had ALS and that her suicide was really a planned death. Due to Mary's weakened condition, Austin, in fact, had to assist her death to spare her the additional years of pain and dependence that the lively former dancer and world traveler would have to endure.
Carolina is furious and wants to call the police. Dallas and Baltimore are shocked into silence. Austin pleads with them; however, no one understands what she has been going through in caretaking for their mother, and to prove it, she secretly poisons Carolina --- giving her doxicyclinol, a drug, which paralyzes the body but leaves the mind alert.
A flashback between Austin and Mary shows Mary's final ability to sway her reluctant daughter. She asks Austin to 'pull two legs off of a spider' and then makes a powerful metaphor about the spider and herself, about its mobility and survival. When Austin is able to kill the spider, Mary knows that her daughter will be able to help her, to free her.
Back in the present, forty-five minutes have passed and Carolina has still not emerged from her paralyzed state. Dallas panics and Baltimore regresses, and goes to 'sit with mom'. Dallas confronts Austin, who retorts by telling Dallas she 'can't handle ugly'. Dallas admits to having an abortion, which shocks Austin due to Dallas's alleged perfect 'white picket fence' relationship with her husband. Baltimore then confronts Austin, upset that she wasn't given the chance to say goodbye.
Carolina finally emerges from the paralysis. Her time spent immobile and dependent, listening instead of acting, sways her opinion and she tells Austin that she understands the decision she had to make. The fractured sisters begin to realize the value of "working with what you got" and the importance of keeping family ties strong.

Sister Cities--Improv Photos

'Mary'(Jeanne Avril)and'Austin'(Claire Vowels)

Danielle Cooper as 'Baltimore'

Cast Photo: (from left to right) Austin( Claire Vowels), Mary(Jeanne Avril), Baltimore (Danielle Cooper), Dallas (Julie Miller) and Carolina (Lizzie Hartman)



During our rehearsal of Sister Cities by Colette Freedman, I organized the actresses to do a long Improv in character as various venues in downtown Lawrence,KS. We used this exercise to explore the relationships between sisters and their mother. I am greatly influenced by film directors Mike Nichols, Spike Lee and Christopher Guest who often use improvisation in their film directing process. In Sister Cities, the characters love to play scrabble as a family game. We played scrabble in a cog=fee shop, went to various stores and 'shopped" for the sisters and hung out for about 3 hours. The actresses remained in character the entire time, improvising what their characters would do or say. Here are a few stills I took that day as the actresses interacted. Enjoy.

Sister Cities--Set design

Check out the preliminary designs of the Sister Cities set designed by Philip Schroeder.