Q&A

Hello World.

So this is us! Well, this is Isa at any rate. If you’re reading this now – thank you for supporting Telephone Bronco from its earliest stages! It’s wonderful to know that we already have a little team of fans ready to follow our blog and see our show.

Because we’re in the nascent stages of company-ness, it seems like a good idea to sketch out who we are and what this is. Because the seven of us have all either graduated Swarthmore or are working on graduating from there with majors in Theater, we tend to speak in jargon that leaves most blog followers in a state of “huh?” Bearing that in mind, let me answer some questions before you even think them!

1. How is this blog going to work? Who’s posting and when?

Great question, hypothetical interlocutor! The idea behind this blog is that it will mirror our collective mode of working together (more on that later…) in that no single person is going to post everything. All the members of the company will be posting here throughout the rehearsal and performance process – and we’ll sign our names so you know who’s writing! That way you dear followers can get a sense of Cartogoraphasia from all perspectives.

2. Also, what is collective creation exactly?

Collective creation as a term refers more to the production of a piece than what it actually becomes. The idea is that no one person is in charge. In this way, collective creation productions seek to find an alternative to the traditionally hierarchical way of creating theater, in which the playwright or director is the all-powerful head of everything, and the actors, designers, dramaturg, and even audience play a secondary role. Most collective creation groups create devised pieces, meaning that the final product is produced during rehearsal, often without an initial script. Telephone Bronco is operating on a modified collective system, in which we all are creators and contributors, but each of us still has a defined role within the company.

3. Where does the name Telephone Bronco come from?

Our company name is the product of the decline of penmanship. Our dear Eric couldn’t read his own handwriting, and misread “telephone booth” as “telephone bronco.” The rest is history.

4. But seriously – Cartogoraphasia? What does that mean?

Cartogoraphasia is our admittedly difficult to pronounce (cart-uh-gore-uh-PHAY-zhuh) melding of the words “cartography” and “aphasia.” The title reflects our interest in the intersection between mapping – both personal and geopolitical – and the way the mind works…or doesn’t. We can’t wait to create it!

Keep following our blog for more cool updates and insider peeks into our rehearsal process and we – and you – figure out our crazy and amazing piece together! Also, check us out on facebook!

Love,

Isa