In late August and early September 2025, I spent two weeks collaborating with choreographer and director Annalee Traylor and her cast—Jimmy Johnson, Cailin Orn, Walter Apps, Darvensky Louis, Henry Koskoff, and Kendall Ramirez—to document the full rehearsal process leading up to the performance of their show, This Thing is Real, at Atlanta’s Goat Farm Arts Center. Raw, intimate, and deeply human moments that defined Annalee and her ensemble’s creative journey, from rehearsal to stage.