On a recent Wednesday, the nine newest members of the cast for Skin of Our Teeth arrived at Seattle Repertory Theater's Bagley Wright Theater two hours ahead of showtime. They rehearsed in a room backstage for the first — and only time — before hitting the main stage.
"Basically, I'm going to go through and kind of explain the story of Skin of Our Teeth," said Lauren Dong, who goes by LD and is the directing apprentice at Seattle Rep.
The group of people LD spoke with were not professional actors. They were participating in a pilot program that allows everyday citizens to appear on stage three times in this production — most are nonspeaking roles, think of extras in a movie.
For now, the opportunity replaces Seattle Rep's Public Works program, where community members put on a large production during the summer.
Noah Rodriguez had no acting experience and works at Microsoft. He said it was fun to get a behind-the-scenes look at the play.
"The best experiences are just on the other side of fear," Rodriguez said. "So you don't know until you know, and you have to put yourself out of your comfort zone sometimes to experience something different."
Skin of Our Teeth is about a family with a pet dinosaur and a woolly mammoth who survived historical disasters over thousands of years. The story includes characters becoming sick and “community members” stepping in, so it lends itself to having regular people participate.
Each night of the production up to 14 members of the community are invited to be in the play.
Dámaso Rodríguez, Seattle Rep's artistic director, and director of the play said the rotating cast of everyday citizens makes each night different.
"It's adding value," Rodríguez said. "You may not be aware of it as an audience member, but I think the fact that it will never happen this way again — making each performance truly unique and ephemeral — really adds to the experience of the play."
Along with a quick rehearsal, the cohort warmed up their vocal chords with cast members and picked out outfits from wardrobe. They also got to bow at the end of the play in front of the audience and celebrate backstage with the rest of the cast.
Another walk-on for this production is HK Goldstein. They said theater is a powerful tool to build community.
"I think it's really fun and beautiful when theaters make this kind of effort to bring people in who wouldn't normally have access, not only to the spaces but to the performance opportunities. I think it's really meaningful work," Goldstein said.
There are still a few opportunities for people to be an extra in Skin of Our Teeth's final weekend.
