LOS ANGELES — Not one punch, not one lift, not one roll that happens during the pivotal rumble sequence in “The Outsiders” is unplanned.
In fact, by the time the audience sees it, the cast has already gone through the motions earlier that day during the pre-show fight lift call that takes place before every single performance.
Dance captain Hannah Jennens is usually the one putting the actors through their paces.
“Our fight/lift call is one of the most crucial parts of our workday,” she said. “It’s really just a collective moment for all the actors to come together, get locked in and get focused and start our show day.”
(Image courtesy of Matthew Murphy)
In addition to dance captain duties, Jennens is also a swing ready to step into several roles at a moment’s notice.
She said fight/lift call gives swings and understudies a chance to get the moves in their minds and in their muscles, whether it’s their hundredth time playing the part or, in the case of Ponyboy understudy Tommy Kaiser, the first.
“Yay, debut Sunday!” Jennens cheered as Kaiser prepared to make his debut in the role at the recent matinee at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre.
His first performance in the role meant a little extra attention during the pre-show call to ensure there were no surprises for him or anyone on stage with him.
The fight/lift call starts with actors marking the moves at a mere 20% intensity to establish grips and positioning before ramping up to the full 65.
“Sixty-five is our full, full capacity,” Jennens said. “We never reach past 65%. It allows the actors to remember that all this isn’t real fighting. It’s choreography.”
However, that word alone hardly covers it. What happens in “The Outsiders” is a hybrid of dance and stage combat, all thanks to what Jennens calls a team of masterminds led by director Danya Taymor and choreographers and brother Rick and Jeff Kuperman.
“It’s direction, choreography, scenic, lighting,” she said. “Everyone who created the show had a hand in the rumble, and that’s why it’s so successful. When I saw it for the first time, I was literally like jaw open on the floor. I was like, is it raining?”
(Image courtesy of Matthew Murphy)
Indeed, it is raining — and quite a bit. Each night, 100 gallons of water fall on stage and get recycled for the next show. Burbank-native Travis Roy Rogers plays Darryl in the tour and says the experience never gets old. No matter what kind of day he may have before he arrives at the theater, Rogers says the rain is a wake-up call.
“It’s an experience where you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, this should not be happening.I should not be soaking wet on stage. Whoa!’” Rogers said. “Like, it’s a guttural thing.”
It’s potentially slippery one as well, were it not for the spongy gravel that covers the stage, made of a substance similar to the soft flooring of a playground. Kicked up by their boots, it catches in the light in a way that evokes the imagery of a dusty Tulsa road.
“And that is a huge element of all of the movement on stage,” Rogers said. “It’s super exciting to be able to, like, have that sense of realism in the movement and then also take off into more of an expressionistic mode as we fight each other and the cycle of violence continues.”
And it does, night after night. Fight call. Rumble. Rain. Repeat. And just as the actors are getting drenched, Jennens says there are often waterworks in the audience as well.
“Yeah, we hear some… some snot,” she said before imitating the full-throated gasps the cast can hear all the way in the wings. “I actually watched the show from the house last night, and I was crying the whole show, per usual. Every time I watch the show, I cry.”