Gathering Together
We asked Gather playwrights Julia Lederer and Julie Ritchey about the genesis of their play, which will be the first performances in MTYP’s brand new Richardson Studio Theatre. That space, which seats approximately 100 people, is designed to facilitate intimate and interactive experiences with young audiences.
MTYP Artistic Director Pablo Felices-Luna read the play several years ago and thought it would be the perfect vehicle for the new space. Gather tells the story of a town that goes into a deep freeze. With everyone stuck indoors, people start to lose their connection to each other. Two friends go on a mission to find each other and to rediscover their town, hoping that everyone will be able to gather again.
Q: What was the impetus for creating this show?
Julie Ritchey: Gather was commissioned at Filament Theatre in Chicago, IL as the return to in-person programming in 2022. Julia and I wanted to write something that acknowledged the specialness and sacredness of getting to actually be in the same place at the same time – a play that could serve as both a story in and of itself, but also be a ritual of returning.
Q: As time goes on and we move further away from memories of isolation and lockdowns, how do you think Gather’s message and purpose will evolve?
Julia Lederer: Gather was written in response to covid lockdown experiences, but its story is not bound to those specific events. At its core, it’s about isolation and the challenges and great joys of community. This feels increasingly relevant in our world, where there is so much that can isolate us: technology, distance, busyness, distraction; anxiety and fear.
Gather is also a story about celebrating one-another. There will always be a need for that.
And (spoiler alert), each performance of Gather is influenced and informed by the audience, so the play will evolve based on how we do.
Q: Gather touches on some heavy themes of isolation and resilience. How did you balance those feelings of fear and uncertainty with hope while writing?
Julie Ritchey: Before we wrote a single word of Gather we did a series of workshops with young people ages 7-12 reflecting on their experiences in Covid lockdown. The first workshop was in January 2021, and we continued collaborating with young people on Gather’s creation all the way up to the premiere in early 2022. All of the characters and situations are inspired by the themes, emotions, and experiences that our youth collaborators shared in our year of working together. We really followed their lead and worked to honour their experiences through the story.
Q: Do you find that younger audiences interpret the story differently than adults based on their own memories and experiences?
Julia Lederer: Gather is told through metaphor, with a snowstorm at its centre. What we love about this is how it opens the story up, so it can be interpreted differently by audience members of all ages, in relation to them.
One of the most beautiful parts of creating this play has been seeing it resonate in ways we could’ve never anticipated. Everyone has a personal connection that is influenced by their own specific memories and experiences. It’s very exciting and affecting.
Gather opens in MTYP’s new Richardson Studio Theatre on October 3rd and runs until the 26th. Click here to get your tickets today!
