The Ballad Of Jane Doe - RTC Stone Soup 2023

And I'm asking "why, lord?"
If this is how I die, lord
Why be left with no family
And no friends?

[@siren-qp7fh]

i love the song and acting its lovely but if i would produce that musical i would honestly not give jane the tophat or umbrella to symbolise the difference between her and the orginal cast remembers: as she couldnt remember her past life and was headless unlike the other members of the choir, sorry if i sound like a geek but i woukd just think that this would really show the symbolism of the difference between jane and the others.

[@stonesouptheatreco1214]

That's a really interesting idea! In this production, for this song we were leaning into the idea of this iconic painting "The Son of Man" (basically a faceless person... aka the faceless man in a bowler hat). Each of the actor's songs in this show comes from their perspective (thus why they're in such wildly different styles). By adapting the umbrella and bowler hat, all of the other actors were stepping into JANE'S reality as much as she stepped into theirs during their own songs. You'll notice the entire tone changes when Jane gets her hat. I think this was an important factor in Ocean empathizing with Jane shortly thereafter.

[@stonesouptheatreco1214]

Another bit to this.... notice when Jane Doe gets her hat she starts acting far less doll-like. Her motions become more smooth, dancy and human. The doll returns when she takes off her hat. She may have no memory of who she was, but her concern and distress over a lack of memory is distinctly human. I suppose there is a little "Frosty the Snowman" in there. I'll share something personal with you. My mother passed away several months before we began RTC rehearsals after a long and terrible decline into dementia. One of the most incredible things was how music could almost bring her back. It was fleeting, but it was a profound change. I do think my choices regarding Jane Doe were influenced by the experience of caring for my mother as she lost her sense of self. I have learned there are simply some things so deeply ingrained in us that we likely wont lose them. They bubble up to the surface irregularly, but they are firmly there. My Jane Doe lost her head, but not her heart. She wears a doll's head in the afterlife because she can't remember who she was or where she'd been, but she remembers she is human (and people have heads). Every character's song is deeply personal and it pulls their ensemble members into their world (very obvious with Ocean where the pull isn't entirely consensual). I think it is incredibly important that Jane Doe shows her humanity in her song. A lack of memory doesn't make someone less human. In fact, as the kids show by their vote, a lack of memory is a tragedy that deserves a really good do-over.

[@sirencore2331]

@@stonesouptheatreco1214 beautiful look into stone soup's jane and reasoning :')

[@stonesouptheatreco1214]

@@sirencore2331 Thank you! Always excited to talk about the decision making that goes into choices. :D

[@maddieeeeeeeeee_]

she did that with EASE shes so talented omg

[@godsmadz]

Just noticed similar pfp and same name

[@maddieeeeeeeeee_]

@@godsmadz woahhhhh

[@PrincessKenny34]

THIS IS WONDERFUL!!!!

[@Isn.t_Ale]

QUE HERMOSO!

[@scarredboywithagun]

yay

[@disasterd0lls]

are we gonna get a slime tutorial?

[@RideTheCycloneStonesoup]

Occasionally on Saturday afternoons and/or Sunday evenings I’ll stream the show, but unfortunately the whole show if posted normally gets taken down pretty quickly. But you may see the stream sometime!

[@disasterd0lls]

@@RideTheCycloneStonesoup oh, okay!

[@theheadless.jane_doe]

THISS IS SO GOODDDD!

[@smolcrow465]

These are all incredible!! Is there a recording of jawbreaker/sugar cloud?

[@RideTheCycloneStonesoup]

Unfortunately no, the creators took it down, but we do stream the show on Saturday and Sundays on occasion, so you can catch it then!