Director and co-developer Kareem Fahmy discusses the development and casting of the new Civil War spy thriller “Couriers and Contrabands,” by Victor Lesniewski, running Sept. 5–26 at the Barrow Group Theatre in NYC.
This month we’ve opened the new play “Couriers and Contrabands,” a thriller set in the final years of the American Civil War. It deals with the actions of covert operatives whose passing of intelligence irrevocably changed the course of the war.
This play was born out of my desire to create a piece where the input of actors was integral to the development of the characters and story. While not “devised” in the traditional sense, the playwright and I began by gathering groups of actors for monthly discussions about themes and concepts they felt were relevant regarding espionage and the Civil War. Actors responded to research we had gathered, shared ideas, took part in short writing exercises, and did improvisations. All of this served as creative fodder and inspiration for the play which Victor then wrote.
These initial workshops (which took place in 2011 and 2012) allowed us to interact with dozens of actors and build a community. In all honesty, these
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