Emily Węgrzynowicz
Minister | Director | Actor | Designer
GALATEA
Art by Angelique M. Muñoz
Origins
I first conceived of the idea of writing this play back in fall of 2024 when we read Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion in hislit III. This was my first time encountering this myth, and I was automatically captured by it. I thought that I could take a crack at it as well, and so Galatea was born. I wanted to write a modern Pygmalion tale, and I thought the idea of the AI chatbot would be an interesting way to look at this story since I have not seen it done yet. Additionally, I set the play in Russia because I come from a Polish-American family, and I thought the backdrop of Slavic culture would be an interesting lens that I could tell this story from, and it adds more layers to the world of the play and to the characters having that specific knowledge about them. Those familiar with Slavic culture can see how it affects everything these characters do and say. While this kind of story could happen in other parts of the world, I think that these people and these events happened in the way that they did because they are Slavic.
I started my freshman year at Loyola as a theatre and psychology double major, and I have joked to my friends and family that this play is indeed a play written by a former psychology psychology major with a minor in classics, but there is some truth to that joke. This play was an exploration of my interests, culture, philosophy, and religion. It is near and dear to my heart because I believe it to be the theatrical amalgamation of my psyche. It is a vulnerable work.
The emails the emails the emails
Pre-Production
The pre-production period lasted from the beginning of this semester up till October 16. It consisted mostly of our weekly playwrights circle meetings that Emily Ritger facilitated for all four Second Stage project leads for the Fall 2025 semester. Our meetings mostly consisted of sharing bits of our scripts to give and receive feedback on, planning for auditions and rehearsals, and asking questions about the production process to one another and to Emily to make sure that everyone got what they needed.
Originally, for the audition, the plan was to have talent prepare a one-minute contemporary monologue, and then I would have them cold-read a couple of monologues from the show. However, on the day of the audition, only a few people were signed up. Therefore, to make it easier to anyone interested in auditioning, I changed the requirement from having a prepared monologue to just showing up and cold-reading monologues from the script. Once I changed this, nine people ended up signing up to audition within a couple of hours that day. Therefore, most people did not end up auditioning with prepared monologues from other shows, but I was still more than happy with the turnout and the work that I saw people do even with just a cold read.
After auditions, I decided on a cast, sent out offers, and then once all offers were confirmed, everyone involved in auditioning received a slough of communication from me. I thanked those who were not cast, and to those who were, I gave them a short homework assignment to complete before the first rehearsal- read the script and answer Stanislavski's seven character analysis questions about their own characters. I had the cast do this because I knew we would not have time for extensive conversations and exploration of their individual characters during the rehearsals, but I still wanted them to have a solid understanding of their characters for the show anyway. It makes it more enjoyable to perform and to watch when you can tell that an actor has a clear understanding of who they are playing.
Notes from dress run 10/17
Rehearsals
Day 1 (10/16/25):
- Introductions
- Warmups
- Table read
- Discussion
- Begin blocking
- Notes
Day 2 (10/17/25):
- Warmups
-Finish blocking
- Cue-to-cue (with lights and sound)
- Dress run
-Notes
Performance (10/18/25)
- Warm up
- Last review of questions/blocking/Russian pronunciation
- Pre-show speech
- GO!
While the process of getting everyone and everything prepared for the first day of rehearsals was a bit chaotic, once the day arrived, things went extremely smoothly. Thankfully, my cast and SM were very flexible and gracious with the time and resources we were allowed, so we managed to all work together to pull things together. The biggest challenge for me during the rehearsal period was blocking. I had never blocked a show before, much less in a space like the Underground, and I underestimated how difficult it would be. I had loose ideas of blocking going into the first rehearsal, but a lot of time on day 1 was dedicated to experimenting with different angles and running in circles around the house trying to see what the views were from the worst seats in the house. I had to go home that night and brainstorm a few specific scenes that were going to be particularly difficult to block, which is why blocking spilled into day 2. However, I think once I figured out a few home bases to put people in, things fell into place pretty quickly.
The performance itself went great in my opinion. I thought all the actors did amazing work, especially considering how little time they had with the script. All the cues worked and were executed perfectly thanks to Elizabeth. My two big concerns going into the process were for the actors to have fun and for the audience to enjoy the show. I think both of those things were accomplished, which was. a huge relief. I was especially nervous the day before and the day of the performance what the audience was going to think of the play. Not so much the performance- I knew they would like that- but with the story itself. Would the understand it? Would they find the jokes funny? Would they connect with the sentimental moments? Would they understand the imagery? Would they get something out of this play? I was extremely relieved to hear their feedback during and after the show that people did enjoy it and understand it and connect with the characters. It made all the chaos worth it.