Part of this investigative process for Somewhere Else Instead is to engage the ensemble into “12 site-specific rehearsals”, which comprises the project's Research and Development Phase. This means that for each rehearsal, they are brought to different staircase locations (each varying in shape and size) where the performers are being challenged to perform durational, improvisational exercises according to: 1) the type of stairs being offered to them; and 2) the textual prompt that will inform their improv exercises (the textual prompt comes in a form of a poem about stairs). 

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After the 12 site-specific rehearsals are completed, the notes accumulated during the R&D Phase will be processed in order to determine the design and construction of the final 13th staircase-- which now marks the project's Phase Two. To be specific, during Phase Two, the performers will be asked to design and build their own staircase(s) together, as well as devise the 13th performance, based on the notes recorded during the 12 sessions. 

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