EgoPo Theater's 'Rockaby' Is A Window Play in Philly

05/03/2021 EgoPo Theater's 'Rockaby' is a window play in Philly
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Arts & Culture
You can watch a famous Beckett

play through a house window in a Philly
neighborhood
EgoPo Classic Theater is presenting "Rockaby" from inside houses across
three different Philly neighborhoods for audiences to watch through the
window. Take your pick, or be a window-play completist.
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EgoPo Classic Theater offers seating for one for "Rockaby," looking in from the outside of a house
window in one of three Philly neighborhoods.
EgoPo Classic Theater
by Jane M. Von Bergen, For The Inquirer

Published Mar 2, 2021
Houses, houses, and more houses — that’s what Lane Savadove sees
when he looks out the windows of his office on the second floor of his
high-ceilinged South Philadelphia brownstone.
“We’re so close, yet we’re so disconnected,” said Savadove, founding

artistic director of Philadelphia’s EgoPo Classic Theater and co-director
of its next production, Rockaby, Samuel Beckett’s ultra-short

masterpiece.
“I can probably see 60 different houses,” Savadove said, talking about

both his view and his inspiration, “and inside each one of them is another
human being, or set of humans, socially isolating, living the entire drama
of their lives, within their houses, alone.”
Which is why, for him, Rockaby, makes perfect sense for right now. In
theaters, a single actor rocks in a chair, looking out a window and longing
for connection. Her inner musings are broadcast — not spoken — to the
audience. She utters but four words in a play that deals with loss, life’s
meaning, and the passage of time.
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In the EgoPo production, a single actor rocks in her chair behind a

window. An audience of one, masked, sits outside. Inside, the blinds roll
up and the play begins. Audience and actor sit just a few feet apart,
separated by glass, her musings transmitted via a set of disposable
headphones.
‘Isolation Season’
As the pandemic deepened, theater companies innovated – not
surprising, given their creative spirit. “We had to reconsider the delivery
of theater, so we could still make theater,” Savadove said.
EgoPo, for example, began its “Isolation Season” delivering theater by

mail with Emily, the story of poet Emily Dickinson. Next was
Underground, a virtual film event created by Damien J. Wallace, artist-in-

residence at EgoPo and codirector of Rockaby. Wallace, a longtime
Philadelphia actor, is artistic director of Lawrence Theatre Co.,
Philadelphia’s theater company for emerging Black stories. Up after
Rockaby is a drive-in version of Adam Rapp’s Nocturne.
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Melanie Julian pictured behind a window in EgoPo Classic Theater's "Rockaby"

EgoPo Classic Theater
For Rockaby, (March 10-21), ticketholders can pay $25 to choose one of
three “theater” locations, each with a different actor — Cathy Simpson in
Point Breeze, Karen Vicks in East Oak Lane, Melanie Julian in Passyunk
Crossing.
Or, they can buy a $60 “passport” to view the 10-minute Beckett
production in all three settings, with all three actors.
Pull up a chair
An email will direct ticketholders to a neighborhood street corner, where
they’ll be met by a masked usher, given a disposable set of headphones,
and led to a sanitized chair by a window outside a nearby house. A
canopy will provide shelter from rain.
The players’ work will be grueling. Each production day, they’ll perform
the play 15 times in three hours — 10 minutes at the window,
interspersed by breaks.
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“The challenge is to be able to tell the story and really give it the same
excitement as you did the prior performance and the one after that,” said
Vicks. “More than anything, it’s a love of what you do as an actor and
whether you are willing to take a challenge and make it something that
really is profound.”
It’ll be intense, because, although actor and audience will be gazing at

each other, separated only by glass, they won’t be interacting – at least
not directly.
For both audience and actor, there’s an element of voyeurism – not too
different from the way we, isolated, watch without watching, hiding
behind our windows.
“It’s very intimate,” Vicks said. “There is some subtlety to what you can
you do with your body when you are looking at them dead-on. It can
either be frightening or enlightening,” but the goal will be to connect
deeply.
Alone with mortality

For codirector Wallace, the play has particular significance because “it’s
universal. Everyone wrestles with mortality,” as Wallace himself did.
When the pandemic struck, Wallace, like many theater people, lost his
livelihood. So, he doubled up on his side job, driving for Lyft. As Wallace
was driving a passenger from the airport, the passenger began to sneeze
violently. The next day, Wallace became sick and soon tested positive for
COVID-19, complete with chills, a cough, and shortness of breath.
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“It gave me a new perspective on life,” he said. “I have a stronger

understanding on how precious life is and how quickly it can be taken
from you, how interconnected we are, and how interdependent we are.
“We are all living in isolation,” Wallace said, “the play highlights it. It’s
someone dealing with their past and seeing how life has passed her by.
“She’s fading into afterlife and has to wrestle with these memories and
what’s happening to her,” Wallace said.
“And she’s all alone.”
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Rockaby
EgoPo Classic Theater production, March 10-21, $25 for one

performance, $60 for three-show passport, specific times and meet-up
locations provided following purchase. Details and tickets at egopo.org
janevonbtheater@gmail.com
Published March 2, 2021
Jane M. Von Bergen, For The Inquirer
Editor's Note
The Inquirer does not host comments on most stories. Here's why.
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05/03/2021 EgoPo Theater's 'Rockaby' is a window play in Philly

Friday, March 5, 2021 Subscribe | SIGNIN

Today's Paper Subscribe | Support Local News

Arts & Culture

You can watch a famous Beckett

Subscribe | SIGN IN / SIGN UP

by Jane M. Von Bergen, For The Inquirer

“We’re so close, yet we’re so disconnected,” said Savadove, founding

of its next production, Rockaby, Samuel Beckett’s ultra-short

“I can probably see 60 diﬀerent houses,” Savadove said, talking about

In the EgoPo production, a single actor rocks in her chair behind a

EgoPo, for example, began its “Isolation Season” delivering theater by

Underground, a virtual film event created by Damien J. Wallace, artist-in-

Melanie Julian pictured behind a window in EgoPo Classic Theater's "Rockaby"

It’ll be intense, because, although actor and audience will be gazing at

Alone with mortality

“It gave me a new perspective on life,” he said. “I have a stronger

“And she’s all alone.”

THEATER Subscribe | SIGN IN / SIGN UP

EgoPo Classic Theater production, March 10-21, $25 for one

Jane M. Von Bergen, For The Inquirer

Love and marriage at Philadelphia City Hall | Photos

Add tweeting while female to the ever-growing double standards applied

Gerhard Marcks’ ‘Maja’ comes out of storage and

Maja, a bronze sculpture by Gerhard Marcks, is prepared for a

Monica Herndon and Alejandro Alvar… an hour ago

Subscribe | SIGN IN / SIGN UP

THE STORIES THEY HOLD

Juliana Feliciano Reyes Mar 5, 2021

Subscribe | SIGN IN / SIGN UP

Stephan Salisbury Mar 4, 2021

Subscribe | SIGN IN / SIGN UP

Arts & Culture

The new Barnes exhibition ‘Soutine/de Kooning’

Thomas Hine, For The Inquirer Mar 4, 2021

The Friday fish fry lives on, despite challenges of the

paramount emblem of gathering, of fellowship, of

The Friday Lent fish fry lives on at Philly churches

Jenn Ladd Mar 2, 2021

Subscribe | SIGN IN / SIGN UP

Peter Dobrin Mar 3, 2021

Subscribe | SIGN IN / SIGN UP

In ‘An Extravagant Death,’ Charles Finch sends

Chris Hewitt, Star Tribune, McClatchy-Trib… Mar 3, 2021

Subscribe | SIGN IN / SIGN UP

‘We Had a Little Real Estate Problem’: Native

Donald Liebenson for the Washington Post, W… Mar 3, 2021

What to expect at the Where to get vegan Head to these Northeast

Subscribe | SIGN IN / SIGN UP

Arts & Culture

Megan Voeller, For The Inquirer Mar 3, 2021

Subscribe | SIGN IN / SIGN UP

Publication of six Dr. Seuss books is being halted

Mark Pratt, The Associated Press Mar 2, 2021

Subscribe | SIGN IN / SIGN UP

Ellen Gray Mar 1, 2021

Subscribe | SIGN IN / SIGN UP

Two Philly chefs and a ceramics artist are

Craig LaBan Feb 26, 2021

Arts & Culture

Subscribe | SIGN IN / SIGN UP

Courtney Bryan’s new ‘Blessed’ for Opera

David Patrick Stearns, For The Inquirer Feb 26, 2021