Actors Theatre of Phoenix

HUNTER GATHERERS - Blogs 1 and 2 - Angelica Howland (Pam)

2011-12-09T10:39:00.001-08:00

BLOG 1Embrace the confusion.

I must remind myself of this several times during the first few days of rehearsal. No matter how prepared I feel, no matter how well read I am on everything about the play... there is still that overwhelming sense of 'EEK!' once the voices of the other actors and the director are added to the equation and we get around the table to start pulling the story apart. But, truth be told, this is my favorite part -- the process of figuring out the whats. What makes these characters tick? What do they want from each other? What makes them do what they do? And, in my mind, it is the initial confusion of what the answers to these questions might be that adds the most interesting human layers to a story. So, for the next few days, I will embrace the confusion. And I will have a fantastic time doing it. Because I seriously dig playing with the big kids.

There is also the confusing juggle of family life, motherhood, cookies and rehearsal -- but I'll get into that more a little later...

BLOG 2Grown up life can get very overwhelming. Right now, I have a lot going on. I am playing wife, mommy, actress, baker, dog wrangler, volunteer and Santa. And -- I'm beat! But here are a few things that made it all worth it:

1) Having a busy, bad day and then walking up to a dear friend, who gives a hug that somehow, makes it all better.2) Getting up on your feet in rehearsal for the first time, looking into the eyes of your fellow actor and knowing, without a shadow of a doubt, that the two of you are going to play like gangbusters together.3) Being released from rehearsal early, going home and being greeted by your sweet family's complete joy at seeing you, which is so palpable, you could wrap it around you like a quilt fresh out of the dryer.

And...

4) Snuggling with a little boy, who, as he is falling asleep, says, 'Mommy, you made my night. I dig you.'

Yup. Totally worth it.

photo: John Groseclose

NEXT FALL blog 7: David Dickinson (Brandon)

2011-11-11T16:14:00.001-08:00

As an actor, you always put your heart into creating a performance, but rarely do you get the satisfaction of knowing how an audience perceived the show other than applause and laughter at the appropriate, you hope, moments. You hope no one walks out, but that is feedback too!

After two weeks of performing NEXT FALL, I have received a lot of feedback about the show from our audiences..

NEXT FALL makes no effort to preach or espouse a single viewpoint, but it is rather a social laboratory. The play places people with various viewpoints in real life situations and allows us to listen to the outcome. No one is completely right, but no one is dismissed (at least in the end). As with most plays audience members will identify with the character that expresses the viewpoint with which they are the most comfortable. But because the play is so neutral and non-judgmental, audience members find themselves open to the discussion on stage which takes all of us on a much deeper journey.

What drove this home to me came in an e-mail from someone who connected strongly with the voice of my character Brandon because of his Christian views especially on homosexuality. This is a testament to the play: Brandon's discomfort with homosexuality is a real discomfort shared by some in our community. I'm excited these friends are coming to the theatre. I'm thrilled they are joining the discussion and enjoying the journey as much anyone else.

NEXT FALL makes a case that all of the differences that separate us, our opinions, our religions, our beliefs, our prejudices are all "dinky" when you face the reality that we are only here on Earth for a very short time. It focuses all of us on what is important in life:not winning, not being "right", but loving, respecting and appreciating. Everyone responds to this.

I didn't expect this. While I was personally moved by the play when I first read it, I didn't see its universality. Every time I work at Actors Theatre, it takes me on a ride I'm glad I didn't miss. NEXT FALL is no exception. Thanks to all of you who have shared your thoughts and feelings about the play with me. It makes doing the show that much more joyful.

photo: John Groseclose; (l to r) David Dickinson as Brandon and Andi Watson as Holly

NEXT FALL blog 6: Debra K Stevens (Arlene)

2011-11-11T14:24:00.001-08:00

I am a woman who will never wear Press On Nails in real life. I have had quite the journey with Arlene and her nails! How I wish she had had the time to get a real manicure before she had to catch that plane to New York. Here is what I have learned:

Don’t drink too much water during the show as the Press On Nails severely inhibit your ability to remove and restore your panty hose. Forget about it.

Make sure a fellow actor is standing nearby in case you want to eat an Altoid before your scene. It could take a full minute to trap the little sucker.

Forget about redoing your hair or making any adjustments to it after you apply the nails. You will end up with at least 2 dozen of your best strands stuck in the adhesive. It also hurts like a sonofabitch when they get pulled out.

I have new respect for women who keep their nails at a similar length and are still able to use a computer. How do they do that?

If your contact lens is irritating you—suck it up. You will never be able to remove, rinse, and reapply without assistance.

Don’t even try to use your Blackberry. Seriously.

photo: John Groseclose, (l to r) Debra K. Stevens as Arlene and Robert Kolby Harper as Adam

NEXT FALL blog 5: David Vining (Butch)

2011-11-11T09:33:00.001-08:00

I can’t believe we are already in the last week of performances for NEXT FALL. If you are reading this, and haven’t yet seen this production, I hope you will be able to attend. It is a great honor to perform in a production that has managed to get everything just right—from the witty and powerful script, Matthew Weiner’s passionate direction, the perfect design elements, to an extraordinary ensemble of actors. Such experiences are rare for both audiences and “theatre makers”. I’ve been attending plays and performing in them for over 50 years—once in a great while an undeniable artistic miracle occurs, a very special combustion between audience and performers that leaves you astonished, thoroughly entertained and transformed. Those rare moments are the reason I chose to make the theatre my life’s work at the age of 8, after seeing a stunningly powerful performance of THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK in guilt-stricken Germany in the 1950s. Those occasional miracles are what have kept me working in the theatre all my life. You can’t force or predict them, of course.

When we started rehearsals for NEXT FALL, I was certain it would be a great show and a terrific experience---all the ingredients were there, after all. But it wasn’t until the final dress rehearsals and the attention of the first audiences that I realized I was witnessing the birth of another artistic miracle. Actually, I’ve been kind of afraid to blog about until now, a little superstitious that talking about it might cause it to evaporate! But now the magic has become very dependable, it happens every night as the lights come up on Andi and David. NEXT FALL will close on Sunday and will live on only in the memories of those who were witnesses to it. But productions like this truly feed the souls of actors and theatre artists and keep the art of theatre alive for generations to come. I hope you’ll come and experience NEXT FALL with us.

photo: John Groseclose
(l to r) Debra K. Stevens, David Vining and Chance Dean

NEXT FALL blog 4: Robert Kolby Harper (Adam)

2011-11-10T13:07:00.001-08:00

I’M COMING OUT!!!! Well kinda…..

I’ve been out of the closet since Jesus was a boy. But blogging is another story all together. I’m actually pretty shy. I mean, people who know me are often bombarded inappropriately with life snippets from the trivial to the sublime. But I find it intimidating to put stuff out there for the masses but as Next Fall enters its final week, I am inspired to put my fears aside and say something.

First off, this process has been nothing but magical. The cast is full of old friends, many of which I hardly ever get to work with. Andi Watson is perfectly cast as Adam’s best girl friend, Holly. Andi and I go WAY back. She was in my first musical I ever directed The Will Rodgers Follies and Stagebrush theatre about a 100 years ago. We both are no nonsense actors who find very few topics off limits while chatting. Debra K Stevens and I were last seen together in Childsplay’s production of Time Again in Oz. She played a Chicken and I played a dancing rock. She has a fascination with my butt (Debra, not the chicken). She Iikes to touch it and I like to let her. It’s a beautiful give and take. The David’s (Vining and Dickinson) are equally amazing and set various parts of my body a buzzing. They give SOOO MUCH on stage! Vining and I may have done A Christmas Carol together but otherwise we’ve never shared a scene and Dickinson is the official recipient of my show crush. I keep pinching myself that I (this musical theatre post chorus boy actor) gets to play in their ball park of theatre. Last but never least is Chance Dean. He’s the newcomer from L.A. Let me tell you that I’m pretty shy around men. I am just deficient when it comes to flirting or even speaking with a man who I think is cute. It’s embarrassing and frankly pathetic. Chance is gorgeous (queue my awkwardness) so I was ready to be a blabbering idiot throughout rehearsals, but his demeanor and generous spirit has made feel comfortable right from the start. In fact, with this new found confidence, I think maybe I’m ready to practice some new pick up lines. Like “Hi, How you doin?” Hmmmm….maybe I need an entire football team of Chance’s to help me in that department. Adam (the character) is lucky to have found Luke. Robbie (The actor) is blessed to have Chance play opposite of him. He makes it easy for me to fall in love with him every single night. He makes every risk I take safe. Much respect goes to this man.

And then there is Matthew Weiner. Words will never express how thankful I am for this opportunity. This is perhaps the most challenging thing I’ve done and it’s definitely the most rewarding. It’s been a gift.

I’m serious when I say GET YOUR ASSES DOWN TO SEE THIS PLAY. If you are gay or lover of them, it’s a must. If you are human, it’s a must. If you’ve ever loved someone beyond boundaries or reason, it’s a must. You won’t be disappointed.

See you at the theatre!

photo: John Groseclose, (l to r) Chance Dean and Robert Kolby Harper

NEXT FALL blog 3: Debra K. Stevens (Arlene)

2011-10-26T12:42:00.000-07:00

Celebrating My G.R.I.T.S. Roots

I am one of the G.R.I.T.S.— Girls Raised In The South. I have come to understand how much that status means to me, especially since I moved away from the South several years ago. There are certain characteristics, expectations, and experiences that are particular to Southerners. We say ya’ll, yes ma’m, and yes sir. We all LOVE the pig—fried, smoked, or barbequed preferably. We greet each other with smiles and courtesy whether we know each other or not. We have spontaneous, intimate conversations with total strangers (like the day I opened a door for a woman while entering the mall and she touched my arm and exclaimed “Your sweater is sooooo sweet!” We talked for a good 10 minutes about sweaters and the best places to shop for them.) There is a certain vibe about a Southern man or woman and we can detect it in each other a mile away. It is very comforting to find one so far from home.

I play a southern woman in “Next Fall.” She is not just any southern woman –she is an extreme southern woman. A southern woman on steroids. She is familiar, caretaking, eccentric, beyond verbal, and entertaining. She is also often offensive in her complete oblivion in regard to all things foreign---i.e. New York-ish. She has quite the sense of humor and is often self-deprecating, but I can’t help but worry that she could easily slip into a caricature. “Arlene” walks a fine line between being entertaining and downright offensive. I find myself cringing at some of the things that exit my mouth as I speak her lines. I have spent a good part of my life overcoming the attitudes and prejudices that permeated my upbringing—friends from school, acquaintances, even some family members. I sometimes feel I am betraying all the efforts I have made in my quest for tolerance in one swell foop! Don’t I have a responsibility to my people? Then I think of all the celebrated southern writers—William Faulkner, Harper Lee, Truman Capote (who earns an homage in the show), and The Poet of my People, Tennessee Williams. What would they think of Geoffry Nauffts’ depiction of this character? Then I remember their writings-- their take on southern culture.—the good, the bad, and the ugly. They illuminated what needed to change and they celebrated what was joyful. That word,”joy,” keeps coming up in rehearsal. Matthew is all about finding the “joy.” There is a lot to be joyful about in this play, with this cast, and this challenge. So, I continue on my journey with Arlene and strive to celebrate her with joy. So, let the Magnolias bloom, Child!

NEXT FALL blog 2: Andi Watson (Holly)

2011-10-13T12:20:00.000-07:00

“What are you doing right now?”

“I'm in rehearsals for Next Fall.”

“For what show and why are you rehearsing a year in advance?”

“No, the name of the show is Next Fall.”

“Oh. Hmph. Never heard of it.”

What I thought would be yet another amazing show that no one has heard of has already proven to be much more than I could possibly blog about in one sitting.

A lesson in serendipity.

I just returned from my first visit to New York. This was my first trip to the city and was somewhat spontaneous in nature, so I didn't have much of an agenda. I had picked up my script two days before leaving so that I would have something to occupy myself on the plane and perhaps in the audition 'holding rooms'.

And here's where the serendipity begins...

Holly (the character I'm playing) is a citified hippie. She's part New York business woman, part crystal-clutching, shakra-healing, master of the downward dog. Her faith is in energies and higher powers rather than specific dieties and she finds comfort and fellowship among her self-help groups and charity fundraisers. I'm not afraid to admit that Holly and I share more than a few common characteristics, not all of them healthy or 'normal' by the majority standards, but we serve a necessary, if eclectic, function in the world.

When in NYC, I stayed with a friend at 73rd and Columbus and read (with some amusement) Holly's story about walking down 74th and Columbus. Some coincidence.

I read further to Butch's reference of his driver from JFK; “Saheed was a yakker with a lead foot,” and guffawed out loud. My driver from Newark Airport was a chatty Pakistani (in the city 22 years) named Sayyed.

I could go on to include the many Jewish references in the show (most of which I had only just learned about from my friend Sandy – who bears the same last name as another character I reference)... or the shared favorite candle scents... or the pot-smoking friend named Rachel... but needless to say, I was emotionally bonded to the script (and Holly) after the first read.

But that isn't where the serendipity ends.

There is a kind of 'theatre magic' that happens on some projects that is unexplainable.

I had the opportunity to work with Matthew on Noises Off for Phoenix Theatre most recently, and further back had worked with David Vining as a dialect coach and Debra K. on a one-night reading of Lysistrata. I'd also worked at length with April Miller and David Dickinson at Southwest Shakes and Shakespeare Sedona. But the culmination of all this is Robert Harper, playing Adam, Holly's life-saver and BFF. 'Robbie' and I have worked numerous projects together. From community theatre, to corporate events, to private gigs to professional and regional theatres, he has alternately been my director, my choreographer, my teacher and my castmate. More than this, the man is my mentor and my friend.

And so it was, on the night of our first read-thru, that we sat across the table from each other as we read the final pages of our script.

“He looked at me.”

My eyes met Robbie's... and with one look, he cracked open my heart and gutted my soul.

I understood at once what this play is about. It's about faith. It's about relationships. It's about protecting the ones we love. It's about loyalty and acceptance.

It's about serendipity and believing in something bigger than yourself.

NEXT FALL blog 1: David Dickinson (Brandon)

2011-10-06T11:33:00.000-07:00

First Day of Rehearsals:

My over all feeling coming out of rehearsals from our first day was that I had laughed more in that rehearsal than any other first rehearsal I've ever been a part of. Our cast is really funny, and we got on a roll at times.

Matthew led a table discussion of the script that got completely side-tracked at one point. One of the blond members of the cast (there are only two of us… you decide) assumed that the script was correct in saying that all Jewish doctors had hook noses and wore beanies. Matthew, being Jewish, was a bit disturbed about this. He then asked if there were any other assumptions about Jews and New York we may have taken from the script. This began a tirade of comments that included Abraham parting the Red Sea, mezuzahs, the ten plagues and Mongolian goat herders. The tirade ended with this assumption about retirement. (see video below).

CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION blog 3: Maren Maclean (Theresa)

2011-04-14T10:50:00.000-07:00

An actor without a voice is like a...

For the past five days I have had no voice due to illness. When I say no voice, I mean barely squeaking out tone. It is beyond frustrating. And it makes for an interesting rehearsal for all involved. But I wanted to share an exercise that was really quite wonderful which happened at rehearsal on Friday and Saturday this past week.

I was already beating myself up and feeling pretty embarrassed about not being healthy enough to work at 100%. So when the idea was presented to me, I was just grateful that I wasn’t being re-cast. Very simply, our incredible stage manager, April S. Miller, read my lines for me as I moved about my blocking with my fellow super star cast mates. My intension was not to move my lips at all, just in case I attempted to whisper, which we ALL know is worse than actually speaking when your voice is gone. April was familiar with much of my inflection already and what she was not familiar with, her own actor instincts kicked in well.

What a wonderful experience filled with discovery! Of course I couldn’t tell anybody how valuable it really was to me, and I simply couldn’t write on my pad of paper fast enough. With my lines and voice coming from somewhere else, I focused on things you don’t get to focus on this early in rehearsal. I looked directly into intense cast mate’s eyes, not having to struggle with remembering lines and experimenting with delivery. I could move freely concentrating on blocking and transitions, which in this piece, is a gift. I heard April say certain lines clearer and more understandably than I knew I had delivered previously, and I found things in my own body that needed attention, like my stance needing to cheat out and the thought “oh wait, I can’t do that cuz I’ll be on a raked stage”. It was just an eye opening exercise that I truly wish each of us could experience such a thing in all our rehearsals. I will remember it always, while secretly praying I never HAVE to do it again. Thanks Paul and April.

CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION blog 2: David Vining (James)

2011-04-07T13:52:00.001-07:00

Sunday, April 3rd 2011

James suddenly enters, exuberant, with a water bottle. “I hooped. I hooped for over a minute.”

Art imitates life. James, the 60 year old character I’m currently playing in Circle Mirror Transformation, briefly rediscovers an intoxicating feeling of youth and vigor when he finally manages to keep a hula hoop aloft for more than a few seconds. I experienced the same sense of triumph last Friday, during a rehearsal break, when I decided to give the hula hoop one more try and discovered I could actually control the damn thing! You see, I’ve been fretting about my ability to keep the hoop going since I was first cast in this play, back in December. Every role brings new and specific challenges, of course. That’s one of the things that makes acting such great fun. But when I first read the script and discovered that James had to hoop—and hoop well enough to inspire other characters to applaud and exclaim: “Oh my god! That’s awesome!” and “That was amazing.”—well, I immediately recognized how fraught with the potential for public humiliation the “ hula hoop moment” truly was. I quickly began a Valley-wide search for a hula hoop so I could begin practicing; however, I soon discovered they weren’t nearly as available as they were the last time I had any interest in hooping (of course, that was during the hula hoop craze in the late 1950s, when I begged for one for my 10th birthday). My 6 year old granddaughter, Mina, generously offered hers for practice—with free instruction. Alas, the petite pink plastic circle was far too light for an old geezer like me. So, I made a half dozen fruitless hunting expeditions to local malls and shopping centers; finally. I found a large purple hoop that looked promising. I resolved to practice twice a day, in the morning and evening.

For legal reasons, I won’t reveal the name of the store where I discovered that wretched object (I will merely mention that the logo is ironically reminiscent of a big red hula hoop), but this purple piece of %$&@ became the singular focus of my frustration and wrath for months. No matter how steadily, vigorously or voluptuously I rotated my hips or pulsated my pelvis, it clattered to my feet in seconds. And let me make this clear, this was not an inexpensive item…okay, it didn’t break the bank, but ….it was advertised as a top-of-the-line and indispensible piece of feminine athletic equipment. What it was, actually, was an exercise in humiliation. I became obsessed, gyrating for hours at a time and getting absolutely nowhere. The whole exercise was made even less endurable by the fact that both of my dogs decided that the purple hoop was trying to cause me bodily harm and therefore began a cacophony of protective and enthusiastic barking as soon as I was encircled by the horrid thing.

In spite of my best efforts over the winter months, I began rehearsals last week feeling like a total Hula Hoop Failure. It was all the more galling because when I was ten (and yes, I did get the coveted hoop for my birthday), I had quickly become a Hooping Wunderkind. I used to hoop for hours every day-- I hooped on my knees, on my arms, up and down my torso, hooped around my neck (and developed a nasty case of eczema for my efforts), I hooped up and down our apartment stairs. And even though I was a very shy little boy, I managed to snatch the crown of victory from dozens of hopeful, hooping girls and win a neighborhood contest! However, although I may gained a lot more confidence since 1958, I have also completely lost the narrow waist that made hooping such a snap. I might also mention here that although one often hears the phrase, “Oh, it’s just like riding a bicycle.”, I can’t recall ever hearing anyone say, “Oh, it’s just like mastering the hula hoop!”

So, imagine with what trepidation I approached the prop hula hoop waiting for me in the corner of the rehearsal room on the first day of rehearsal. But I should have known that Actors Theatre’s wonderful stage manager, April Miller, would have scouted out the very best hoop available. After only a few false starts I was able to find the proper pelvic momentum and I kept the hoop going almost effortlessly! Thank you, April---I swear the hoop you found almost rotates itself! Does anyone know of any hooping contests coming up?

CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION blog 1: Rusty Ferracane (Schultz)

2011-04-05T13:11:00.000-07:00

"Embrace the silence." "Resist the urge to pick up the pace." "The minute you feel yourself acting...stop!" These are not the words you expect to hear from your director, but that is exactly what we were told our first week in rehearsal. Annie Baker's "Circle Mirror Transformation" is written in a naturalistic manner that shows characters using everyday speech and affectations. In order to be true to the script, we have to be able to bring these characters to life in a genuine way. It sounds easy, but it's proven to be a bit complicated. Our first two rehearsals were spent doing detailed table work, analyzing every detail of our dialogue to the point where we were counting out how long each pause is (and there are LOTS of them!). Then our director, Paul Barnes had us put every scene up on its feet without telling us any blocking. This really helped us move around organically as though we were the characters experiencing this acting class for the first time. Of course it's still "theatre" so the challenge will be to create a theatrical piece that is interesting enough to hold an audience's attention, yet make it seem like their watching or even intruding on a very real interaction. Believe it or not, when we do it right, it's magical! We were rehearsing one scene the other day between two of the characters and it was so real, so intimate, and each awkward pause and painful silence was so honest and touching that I started feeling uncomfortable just watching them, as if I shouldn't be eavesdropping on them. I'm really eager to see how the audience will react to this "play of pause". As Annie Baker has said, many people are not comfortable with silence. I have a feeling though that audiences will be touched by the simplistic power of the play. So embrace your silence and come see us "not act" in "Circle Mirror Transformation"!

THIS - blog 4 - Yolanda London (Marrell)

2011-01-12T10:30:00.001-08:00

I have a THIS is share.
I cried on Saturday.
I cried on Sunday too. I was sitting on the couch with my husband, playing video games.
I cried on Monday, listening to the Moment of Silence on NPR.
Last night, I left rehearsal, I sat in my car and I cried some more.
I've been crying a lot these past few days.

Why so sad?

Well, because of all of THIS. I don't have to say it, you know what it is. Look around. Take inventory.
All of that stuff, all of that crap, all of that noise. That's it. We all see it, we all know it's there, but we don't want to talk about it. No one wants to take hold of it, clean it up, show it off.
No one wants to tell the truth about it.

The truth can be ugly sometimes. THIS, all that stuff, can get ugly. And we're not always comfortable with being ugly.
We're afraid to be associated with the UGLY.
We'd rather deny the UGLY, change the UGLY.
Keep the UGLY private.
It's a shame too, because sometimes ugly can be beautiful. Like with Nicolas Cage, or rusty metal, or...scars.
Or, with the way something senseless and stupid, something sick and unjust, can make people stop and offer kindness and support.
Soft words and understanding. Be Nicer.

The ugly truth. THIS. Sitting in that car, this was all the crying. The sadness and the anger. The lack of control and the fear that comes along with having none.
Where's the beauty in that?
I don't know that there is any.
But I don't believe I'm alone in any of THIS.
And sharing THIS, is what makes it beautiful.

THIS - blog 3 - Ron May (director)

2011-01-07T09:46:00.001-08:00

WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?

Ah, titles.
The jokes never die.
“So, Ron what are you working on?”
“THIS.”
“Huh?”
“THIS!”
“This what?”
“THIS. The show is called THIS.”

At auditions for THE VIBRATOR PLAY last summer...
“What show is Ron directing?”
“THIS.”
“OH. I didn’t know he was directing THE VIBRATOR PLAY, I thought he was doing something else.”
“No, THIS. The name of the play is THIS.”

Har har.
Mildly confusing title.
Fine.
But a gorgeous play.
I spend a majority of my time directing at Stray Cat. There, a lot of what we traffic in are existential crises of people in their teens and 20’s. Something we’ve been doing since we started the company 10 years ago.

Needless to say, 10 years later – I’m not that age anymore.

I read THIS in American Theatre magazine in one sitting last winter while I was at Stray Cat babysitting the building (it sounds weird, I know...but I really was). The second I finished it, I texted Matthew (Wiener – Actors Theatre’s Artistic Director) and said he should read it.

I’m really glad he did.

I’ve been extremely fortunate to have been afforded the opportunities I’ve gotten at Actors Theatre the past 5 seasons. It’s not just any professional theatre who will take in a maverick director with virtually zero pedigree and let them do their thing.

THIS, though (pun not intended, though, inevitable) is the first work I’ve ever had ownership of from the word go. I’ve never selected the shows I’ve directed for Actors Theatre before. Which, to be frank, is frightening and exhilarating all at once.

But the million dollar question is always, “What the hell is THIS?”

I’ve read that it’s Jerry Seinfeld-like.
Which I kind of get.
There’s no PLOT, per se, but the show is not about “nothing” and plus I think it’s crazy funny. I never thought Seinfeld was. (Sorry.) Though to be fair, if you DID think Seinfeld was a riot, I’ve been told you will absolutely LOVE this show. Who am I to argue?

I’ve heard it compared to thirtysomething.
Which I’ve never seen so maybe it is. Somehow. (especially since thirtysomething was based on THE BIG CHILL which brings me to…)

Ollie (in his blog) compared it to THE BIG CHILL.
Which on a number of levels I agree with.
Dramedy – check.
Amazing cast – check.
Fractured marriage – check.
Death of a member of their group – check.
But the death happened a year ago.
And thematically it certainly traffics in similar territory – the reconstruction of hope, the discovery of how all your idealism of the past has real life limitations…blah blah.
No Kevin Costner, though. (Which I’m more than OK with.)

It’s always muddy, for me, addressing what it is about a show that ‘speaks to me’ or whatever. I’m just not that good at it. Sure, I write down a bunch of stuff before I go into rehearsal so I sound smart when I talk to the actors for the first time but I think it was Peter Brook who talked about his “formless hunch”. There’s something in the play that catches me totally off guard and moves me to laugh, cry...whatever...and I may not be entirely sure what that is…or why…but it’s something that says I have to do it...cuz maybe it’ll help me figure it out.

I know, cerebrally, that the play speaks to me on a number of levels:

- I, much like the characters in the show, am fumbling towards middle age. Seriously I’m like a year off. Am I really where I thought I’d be? Am I doing what I should be doing? Can I tell you how many people I tell them what I do for a living and they look at me like I can’t possibly be serious or ask “So why don’t you do movies?” It’s exhausting.

- I, much like Jane in the play, have dealt recently – not with the death of my husband – but with the death of a peer – someone the same age as I am – as well as my mother – who was always my strongest support system. My rock. All within the span of like two months. And it all happened about a year ago. Exactly like the timeline in the play. Trust me. This kind of stuff pulls the rug out from anyone at any stage of life. But there really is something a little more profound when it happens during middle age. I think.

- I, much like Alan in the play, am gay, about to turn 40, and terminally single…and wondering how much hope there may or may not be for some kind of fulfilling relationship in the future. I’m not a Debbie Downer “waaah no one thinks I’m pretty. Waaah.” I have self-esteem. I know I deserve someone amazing. I know I have the capacity to love beyond measure. But. I have an insane schedule. Youth is still valued above most else in society. I don’t make a ton of money. I could afford to lose a thousand pounds. I have a co dependent cat. Plus, I’m also a picky bitch. So...now what?

- I, much like the entire group in the play (save Jean-Pierre), have a very close knit group of friends that I have known since college – (many of us actually started Stray Cat together – and yet over the course of 10 years, as of this season, I’m now the only “founding” member left.) So we all are now approaching middle age and babies are introduced and relationships are splintering off, and I sometimes wonder what it is that keeps us together. There is obviously that common denominator of what we all were doing together in the PAST…but we’re all such different people now. We became friends under very different and younger circumstances and now it sometimes feels like we’re hunkering down together and just praying we’re dressed for the storm. Or whatever’s coming. Or something.

All that?
Is my...THIS.
That...stuff that you so urgently want to address but words always seem to fail when you try.
It’s my THESE, really.
We all have them.

And that’s what the play is.
A group of close friends – people who have spent arguably too much time together – all with a rolodex of “THIS”es – trying to navigate their way into middle age and wondering if the hand they thought they were dealt are actually the cards they’re holding.

I don’t know that any of what I’m saying illuminates what the hell the play is. Or what it’s about.
But I do know that no play in recent memory has affected me as immediately and deeply as this one has.
And I don’t say crap like that lightly.

I don’t know that anyone will like it or feel the deep ache I feel watching certain scenes or laugh as hard as I do at certain scenes or well up like I do at certain exchanges or get goosebumps like I do hearing certain things in the play...

But I’m hopeful.
Because THIS...has it all.
And I look forward to sharing it with you in a few weeks.

THIS - blog 2 - David Dickinson (Jean-Pierre)

2011-01-06T10:43:00.001-08:00

WHO IS BOB?

(To see the French conversation tied to this blog entry, visit here.

One of the things I enjoy the most about being an actor is doing research on a character. It is work that forces you to delve into the lives of other people and learn about places you've never been. I've learned so much about the world around me from the characters I've had to play.

A script will give you a lot of clues about who your character is, but often will not give you many specifics about details of a character's life. You have to fill that piece in yourself as the actor. So, in this case, my character is Jean-Pierre, a French doctor who is currently working for Doctors Without Borders. The script doesn't mention anything about what he does with the organization, who he works with or where he works. However, I have to have answers to all these questions in my head to fill out my character's life. So I have decided that Jean-Pierre has been working in a IDP camp (Internally Displaced Persons) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This is a French speaking country and would most likely be staffed by doctors from the French branch of Doctors Without Borders or Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Civil war in the area has forced thousands of people from their homes and MSF fights not only with the casualties of the war in terms of wounded civilians and soldiers, but also malnutrition, TB, cholera and malaria that often break out in the displaced populations.

For those of you who couldn't make it to our fabulous First Rehearsal Party, the actors put up the first ten minutes of the play in which I have a phone call with a colleague at MSF. I then proceed to mention the name Bob three times. So after finishing the scene, I got the question, "Who is Bob?"

My answer at the party was slightly incorrect because I got my titles wrong. But knowing who Bob might be is really important to my story as the character even though it is trivial to the play. So I answer the question of "who is Bob" in the following way for myself.

The script mentions that an ambulance has been attacked breaking an agreement that had been put in place with the local military leader, Adou, who is also mentioned. This is a big deal and very upsetting because it puts the entire project's safety and existence at stake.

So I have decided that Bob is the Head of Mission for MSF in the DRC. Jean-Pierre is talking to the Field Coordinator at the IDP Camp in the DRC. It is important to talk to Bob because before a project can be pulled from the field, which I threaten in the speech, the Field Coordinator has to talk to the Head of Mission to make the decision. Because the jobs on a mission are so demanding a staff member's missions is usually less than 6 months in duration. The positions are continually being refilled by fresh staff members who may not know everything about the job. Because of this turnover I'm assuming that the Field Coordinator is new to his job and needs to talk to Jean-Pierre who actually has more experience on the ground as a doctor although he isn't actually in charge of the site administratively. Many of the people working at MSF do multiple missions and I'm assuming from Jean-Pierre's age (the script says late-thirties) that he has done multiple missions and is a rising star in the ranks of the organization. Every staff member at MSF gets a much needed vacation mid-mission. Jean-Pierre has chosen to use his vacation to attend a high profile conference and do fundraisers in New York City and will be returning to the field in a few days after the conclusion of the play. A large portion of money that supports the French branch of MSF comes from the United States. MSF United States is actually a subsidiary of MSF France so it would make sense that Jean-Pierre is in New York to raise money and awareness.

To set the record straight for those a the First Rehearsal Party I said that the decision to pull a project from the field was between the "Head of Project" and the "Chief Medical Officer" instead of "Head of Mission" and "Field Coordinator." So that was inaccurate! However, my source for these titles and the functions they serve is actually from page twenty-seven of the book "Six Months in Sudan" by James Maskalyk. The book chronicles a six month mission to Sudan. It is a highly entertaining book and I would recommend it to anyone. It is a fun read because of the personal nature of the storytelling about some really tough people doing a really tough job. If you need some instant gratification, he also has a blog about his time in Sudan at http://www.sixmonthsinsudan.com. Enjoy!

THIS - blog 1 - Oliver Wadsworth (Alan)

2010-12-28T09:58:00.000-08:00

Am I in The Big Chill?!?
The play THIS has some real similarities.

They are both about a group of college friends, who are now in their 30's (40's).
For them, like me, college was a time when anything and everything happened. Now years later when they get together there is an immediate chemical thing that transports them back to that time. No matter how many children or grown up jobs or crows’ feet or love handles they have. They look at each other and Boom they are back and the same great adventure opens up. I had my 20th reunion recently on a Lake upstate and everyone was doing crazy stunts on water skis. It was the same alchemy that I am talking about and was fun until someone dislocated a hip.
A big important dynamic in THIS is that these people seem connected in this “known each other since college” way.

It is the night before the 1st rehearsal and I am nervous and excited to meet everyone so we can – in the next three weeks – develop this chemistry. Work on our relationships. The Big Chill cast supposedly spent a few weeks together as a group before shooting to develop this rapport. What can we do in THIS? Maybe I should invite everyone over to the Actor Housing to watch The Big Chill? Or maybe the more artsy prequel Return of the Secaucus Seven. No, I think the entertainment value and hysterical quippyness in THIS is more similar to The Big Chill. I’ve already decided who I am in the movie – a cross between Jeff Goldblum’s reporter who can’t get laid and Bill Hurt’s boozy/druggy soothsayer. Would we all enjoy playing this game? Will we start to bond over popcorn and the movie? Or...

Will the experience of spending 8 hours a day in the rehearsal room exploring the play with Ron (May) and April (Smith) be enough? Will repeating the inventive and witty things we say, the issues we argue about, the jokes we make, the mid life crises we grapple with, the extraordinary loving and hurtful and funny things we do to one another be all we need to experience our Big Chill moment???????????

Keep you posted.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL blog 6: Sally Jo Bannow (Ghost of Christmas Past)

2010-12-13T13:50:00.001-08:00

David Barker is a funny man – no – he is a comedy stylist – a humor artiste extraordinaire! David has perfected a number of ‘comedy routines’ that he regales us with each and every year, EACH and EVERY time as if we have never seen them before. Either he is an amazing master of discovery, acting as if each time is the first, or we’re seeing the early onset of dementia… The cast has even banned one of the characters David brought out annually. It really was best for everyone!
Thankfully, there is always at least one new cast member to try these ‘comedy morsels’ on as we begin rehearsals. As David approaches the new member of the cast, we, the Christmas Carol veterans, look on with a silent grin, knowing exactly what’s coming. We all enjoy the laughs, and the groans, from the new cast members. But even more than that, we delight in the joy on David’s face EACH and EVERY time. I will miss the antics of one Mr. David Barker when this production closes.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL blog 5: Natalie Charle Ellis (Nurse)

2010-12-01T12:38:00.000-08:00

WARNING!!!!! SAPPY BLOG!!!!!!!

A Christmas Carol has been a huge part of my life and my career since I was only 17 years old. The whole CC team has become like my second family and I can’t imagine Christmas without it. I remember watching it from the audience when I was just a kid and saying to myself that I was going to be up there one day...and I did it. Performing with some of the most amazingly talented actors and incredible people as well, I have been truly blessed. This will be my sixth year (I took off a couple years to perform on cruise ships and Tokyo Disney and they excepted me right back!) and I can’t believe how fast time has flown.

I’ll be honest...because I now live in New York, it's a gamble leaving to do a show out of town because you hate to miss any opportunities in the city. I was debating on coming back, but as soon as I heard this was the final year, it broke my heart a little bit and I knew I had to come back. I am going to miss these crazy loons so much. These relationships and experiences have helped make me the woman and performer I am today and I will cherish them always!

But, we are definitely making the most of our final rehearsals and we are making this last year even more special. Lets just say, were gonna go out with a bang!!!!!!

A CHRISTMAS CAROL blog 4: David Rogers (Miner)

2010-11-29T13:55:00.000-08:00

This is my second year in the part of the Miner in Alan Ruch’s haunting musical montage and trio entitled “Travels.” In years of my youth I performed in other versions of A Christmas Carol. As a teen I played Peter, and as a young man, I played Bob Cratchet beside my father’s Scrooge. I have seen many versions of A Christmas Carol, both plays, films, and musicals – some wonderful, some not. And I have more than once read the short book. Yet when Matthew Wiener called me last year and offered me the part of the “Miner,” my response was “for what show?” “The Miner? Where is he in the story?”

Even today, when friends ask me what part I play, they always look confused when I answer “the Miner.” And then I inevitably explain that in Dickens’ book, during Stave III, the Ghost of Christmas Present shows Scrooge a brief scene of miners in the North who, despite awful living conditions, still found joy in the Christmas season. But until The Actors Theatre’s version, so far as I know, the “miners” scene was never depicted in any film or stage version of the story. I suppose at first blush the scene was just too brief or too unimportant to use. That is, until Michael Grady, Matthew Wiener, and Alan Ruch thought about it more carefully – perhaps understanding how important this brief scene really was to Dickens’ social message and Christmas lesson. I’m so glad they gave it a second look.

This year, as I reprise the role, it has more meaning for me. The entire world watched and cheered at the miracle of the 33 Chilean Miners, who after 69 days jubilantly emerged one-by-one from the half-mile-deep mine – a place we were convinced would be their tomb. This past month we learned of the tragedy of 29 New Zealand Miners killed in a massive underground explosion. We shudder when we try to imagine the dark claustrophobic horror those miners endured.

Yet dangerous as mining seems today, mining was far more dangerous when Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol. In all of Dickens’ books, readers discover repeated themes of poverty, suffering, greed, and social responsibility. Dickens exposed the victims of the industrial revolution – those that the greed inherent in the system had displaced and driven into poverty. Perhaps none of Dickens’ books more directly argued that the wealthy members of that society were obligated to provide for the poor and destitute than does A Christmas Carol. And though the book is set in London, still Dickens didn’t forget about the miners of the north when he flew Scrooge up there for a brief look.

In the 1800’s, mining was the lifeblood of Britain’s world-dominating manufacturing industry. Black coal powered the industrial revolution. At the peak years of production, the coal miners of Wales and England hauled over 200 millions of tons of the fuel annually from the dark depths of that cold hard northern earth. Mining conditions have been noted as the worst of all working conditions of Victorian England. Many writers, such as Elizabeth Barrett Browning in her poem The Cry of the Children, wrote horror stories of children -- as young as 4 years old -- working 16 to 20-hour days in the dark-black underground coal mines. They often worked for barely enough money to afford food. Many wrote of the horrid conditions these children were forced to endure. Browning’s shocking poem describes the mine as a dark, ruthless place that robbed children of their innocence and their soul – making them yearn for early death as an escape. In the 1840’s, many reformers tried to expose the awful mining conditions and the mine owners’ exploitation of children. Browning’s poem includes a powerful plea for change: "How long, O cruel nation, / will you stand to move the world, on a child’s heart" (Browning 153). This plea was echoed by other social reformers, including Dicken’s brief portrayal of his Christmas miners in Stave III.

My thoughts of mining this year led me to do a bit of research into my own family’s history with mining. I have known that my ancestors were miners, and that some of my ancestors spent time in English and Welsh mines in the 1800’s. So for this blog, I did a bit of research for something more specific. (Actually, the research was easy, I just asked my Mom). Here is what I learned: John Kirton, my paternal great-great grandfather (b. 1863), was born in Westmore, Northumberland, England, worked in a coal mine in Scofield, Carbon, Utah, and was killed in an underground mining explosion exactly one-hundred and ten years ago. Thomas John Rees, my maternal great-great-great grandfather (yeah, that’s THREE greats) (b. 1816), grew up in Wales, Great Britain, and mined coal in both Great Britain and in Wales, Utah after immigrating as part of the Mormon migration west. Thomas Benjamin Davis, also my maternal great-great-great grandfather (1822-1889) was also born in Wales, Great Britain, and mined coal there. In 1856 he worked for a year in the coalfields in Scranton Pennsylvania so that he could earn funds to move his family to Utah. He then worked in a Wales, Utah coal mine most of his later life. And my great grandfather, Leon Ray Brown (1885-1929), a mine foreman in the Bingham Utah copper mine, died in the mine when he was younger than I am now. His daughter, my grandmother was born in that mining town of Bingham, Utah, and told me stories of her mining-influenced childhood there. I guess I am a miner in more ways that one.

So this year, I will step out on stage to sing the part of the Miner – Dickens' Miner, Micheal Grady’s Miner, Matthew Wiener’s Miner, Alan Ruch’s Miner – and my family’s many miners. When I do, my thoughts will be of them, and of the miners in Chile, in New Zealand, and of the children of Browning’s poem. When Scrooge points at me with my axe, coat and lantern props, and asks Christmas Past “who’s that,” I will know far better what the real answer is: I am playing the part of a miner. It is a part of my family’s history and a part of Dickens’ profound desire to change his world for the better, and his belief that Scrooge and others -- who had caused these atrocities -- could change. And I will play the part of David Rodgers – a third-generation college graduate who has never once been inside a mine – and who owes much of that to my mining ancestor’s hard work and belief that they could build a better world for their children. And I will owe it to Browning’s and Dickens’ and other good-hearted people’s social movement that changed the world, and proved that humans could repent, abandon greed, and lift the lives of others.

So Merry Christmas to you from the Miner and his family. And this year may God bless us, everyone. But especially the miners.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL blog 3: Mike Lawler (Marley's Ghost)

2010-11-29T09:23:00.000-08:00

I was in Christmas Carol the first year Matthew directed it at Actors Theatre in ’95 (the old version). This is the final year of Christmas Carol and I get to be in it again and I’m thinking how I love this story. This is a story about guy who gets a second chance, who is self-centered with twisted ideas about the world and the people in it. A guy who has never made right anything he’s made wrong. And he wakes up and has the chance to make things right. I love it. Hey, I can relate.

I love rehearsal and this thing is rehearsal on steroids. We open at the end of our 3rd week together so we move fast. And we have the right directors to do it. Alan’s music is fabulous and when he directs he’s always looking out for us. We sound really good. It’s always a pleasure to work with Matthew. He’s a terrific director and storyteller and I love being a part of any story that he’s telling. Robbie is a great choreographer (have you seen Hairspray?) and so much fun to work with. And our cast rocks this show! I’m really excited about where we are in rehearsal now and we still have time! So onward and upward! I’m really grateful to be a part of this last production. Oh, yeah and my bald head has never had so much hair. Eddie Todd is going to go crazy with the Marley hair this year. :)

A CHRISTMAS CAROL blog 2: Ben Tyler (Fezziwig)

2010-11-26T10:42:00.000-08:00

THE RULE OF 4: DO IT LIKE THAT!

Matthew has adopted a new system this year in rehearsing Christmas Carol. We always have new people in the cast every year, and they are placed in the unenviable position of picking up and learning very quickly the stuff that the rest of the cast are just refreshing their memories about. This new system has been dubbed: The Rule of 4. This means we run a scene four times. The first time through we know it’s going to be all screwed up. The second time through we remember all the stuff we forgot the first time. The third time we get it right, and the fourth time we cement it in place. This has been remarkably consistent throughout the rehearsal process. The highest praise Matthew bestows is his oft repeated expression: “Do it like that!” When he says that, we know we’ve got it. We are very fortunate this year to have new cast members who are quick learners. We’ve been hearing “Do it like that!” a lot. This is a good thing.
~ Ben

A CHRISTMAS CAROL blog 1: David Barker (Ghost of Christmas Present)

2010-11-24T10:42:00.001-08:00

Can you believe that Kim Bennett, one of the nicest guys you will ever meet and one of the most sensitive individuals in the cast, plays Scrooge?! Its true! And that is why I am completely confused that he does not have a Facebook account. Kim Bennett/Ebeneezer Scrooge is a perfect person/character for the number one social network in the world. He is afraid that no one will want to be his friend. I’M NOT MAKING THIS UP! So I implore all of you out there to post imploring invitations to Kim Bennett to start a Facebook account! Use gobs of creative, witty, funny angles. Come on cast, crew and fans of Christmas Carol. Since this is our last year, lets put into practice the central theme of this incredible classic: PEOPLE CAN CHANGE!

David Barker
Ghost of Christmas Present – 6th year

PS: I attach a photo of Kim and I in the dressing room my first year 2005

IN THE NEXT ROOM - post 5 - Angelica Howland (Catherine Givings)

2010-10-27T10:55:00.001-07:00

Tonight while getting dressed for our first tech rehearsal in Stage West at the Herberger, I decided to use the bathroom before putting on my corset, butt pillow, petticoat and dress (always a wise thing to do) but could not find the dressing room bathroom light. Well, I went ahead and did it in the dark. As I was fumbling around for the toilet paper, a gecko (who had apparently found himself a cushy home atop the toilet paper roll) was rudely awakened. He jumped onto my hand, skittered across my bare thigh, then down the leg of my bloomers and onto my shoe. The toilet paper rolled out of reach as I jumped up and down, laughing and screaming bloody murder with my bottoms around my ankles. Lillie (my dressing roommate, YAY!) and Lois tried to help -- well, Lillie stayed safely in the dressing room calling for help while Lois came in and handed me the runaway toilet paper roll and looked for the overhead light. Now, I've got no problem with geckos. But I prefer to see them out of doors and definitely not down my pants, thanks.

For all you creature lovers out there, no, I did not inadvertently smash the little guy. The frightened little gecko scurried behind the toilet and is probably still there. I think both Lillie and I will be using the Ladies Room in the hall from now on.

And now -- new topic... My costumes are so gorgeous I can't stand it!

IN THE NEXT ROOM - post 4 - Francis Jue (Dr. Givings)

2010-10-20T13:32:00.000-07:00

I’ve been naked on stage in many productions of M. BUTTERFLY. And so I thought I was prepared for today’s rehearsal of the final scene in THE VIBRATOR PLAY, in which my leading lady and I undress each other. But this morning I found myself shaking inside, so nervous that I couldn’t remember my lines. It wasn’t just undressing Angelica that intimidated me. It was much scarier being undressed by her. Much like my character Dr. Givings, I found myself terribly frightened of disappointing her, even of offending her. As Butterfly, taking off my clothes was meant to be a shocking act of aggression. In THE VIBRATOR PLAY, taking off our clothes becomes the most intimate form of emotional nakedness. After an hour of undressing, dressing and undressing again, I can’t say that my nerves subsided, but that shaky feeling felt more like the aching need to love and be loved.

IN THE NEXT ROOM - post 3 - Angelica Howland (Catherine Givings)

2010-10-13T15:40:00.001-07:00

After having worn a corset on and off for the past 4 days I can say with complete and utter conviction that I am very thankful to be a woman firmly rooted in this century. My ribs are aching as they settle back into place after being firmly compressed for hours. And the tiny place where a bent piece of boning was poking me (April, our wonderful stage manager, removed it -- and today it was much better) is still feeling a little bruised. And while I quite enjoy the lovely boobage and hourglass shape the corset gives me -- I have realized that I am most definitely a creature of comfort. I shall now raise this lovely glass of wine and say 'CHEERS!' to tank tops with built in bras and to the freedoms I enjoy as a woman in the year of 2010!

And now -- new topic... I do enjoy great language. Now if I could just remember which language goes where...

IN THE NEXT ROOM - post 2 - Lillie Richardson (Elizabeth)

2010-10-12T11:22:00.000-07:00

I love watching Matthew direct...his lips move with the scenes!
You can just see him immersed in the scene. And he finds every little nuance to bring the picture to life. What is so interesting is...even though he is mouthing the words, when he stops the scene to talk to the actors he says all your lines wrong...throwing in all kinds of crazy words...words I would actually have to look up!
He finally said, in rehearsal yesterday, "do not let me give you a line-read, I WILL mess you up."
It is only less than a week into rehearsal and he has already created some wonderfully funny moments.
Love it!

IN THE NEXT ROOM - post 1 - Angelica Howland (Catherine Givings)

2010-10-06T11:02:00.000-07:00

The first couple of days of rehearsal are always a little hard for me. As excited as I am to start a new project, as fun as it is to sit around the table and finally fit all the other characters voices into the puzzle in my head -- I miss my family desperately. When I got home tonight I went into my little boy's room to take a peek. He sighed softly in his sleep as I ran my hand through his hair and kissed his cool forehead. 'Mommy...' My heart swelled with love *insert snore (he certainly is his father's son)* and I chuckled as I tiptoed out again. That tiny little moment just made everything totally worth it.

And now -- new topic... had a fitting today. My corset is tight.

Paroxysm!

Mark DeMichele - SECRET ORDER blog #2

2010-03-09T13:06:00.001-08:00

Well we have now been through our Heisenburg rehearsals with the playwright, reworked sequences with his input (very odd to have the playwright involved in the middle of the process, my experience has been that the writer will typically join the process either early on for table work or last dress rehearsals into opening), stitched the sequences together into acts, added lights, sound, wardrobe and now audience.

Finally Chester and I were able to have some quality time walking around the ‘hood. For the past ten days I’ve only seen him when I would get home from rehearsal usually waking him from my side of the bed so I could get some sleep. I think that annoys him more than my working on my lines at the table. Anyway as we were walking we paused for a moment and he looked at me, leg lifted for other business, as if to ask where I’d been, did I miss him, was it worth it and why did my voice sound like ground glass? I scratched him behind the ear to let him know I did miss him, thought to myself that yes it was worth all the time away---the preview audience response was quite warm—and made a mental list of what I would need to do to restore my voice in time for opening nite.

We then turned the corner to head for home as the Black Eyed Peas’ “I Got A Feeling” started on the ipod…so as our playwright often says, “enough said.”

Jessica Weaver - SECRET ORDER Blog #2

2010-02-26T11:05:00.000-08:00

2/21/10

OK, so this really has nothing to do with Actors Theatre, or Cancer, or how much Matthew can make me laugh during rehearsal, but it DOES have to do with my source of transportation. The Phoenix Light Rail System, bringing together the sane and seemingly insane one ride at a time! I thoroughly enjoy taking the light rail everyday to rehearsal because of the fantastic people (characters?) and the awkward situations they put me in. I often wonder if they think our conversations are normal, or if they KNOW they are awkward and thats why they start them -- to humor themselves. Being that it's about the third week of rehearsal, I have been able to meet a lot of riders, but I've got to say my favorite person so far is this man I got to meet on February 12th. It was on that infamous night ride home I got to meet a man that referred to himself as "Party Marty". I met Party Marty because as soon as he came into the light rail. He stood in front of my bike (which I had been standing behind) and parked his bike in front of him, literally creating a bike-gate in front of me. Being that it was the beginning of my ride, I didn't really care, I was sure that he would get off the light rail before me. As soon as he settles himself, he turns and the first words out of him mouth are, "I'm bipolar and I'm wasted, no one can f@%k with me." My comfortable ride home instantly turned into the most interesting conversation with a stranger that I have ever had. There were a lot of people on the light rail that night so I was never nervous, I actually felt quite safe, so I decided to keep the conversation with Party Marty going (I mean, how many times will this happen to me?? Take advantage!) Party Marty asked me what I had been doing that night, and I told him that I had just ended a long night of rehearsal and was making my way home. P.M. continued this conversation by telling me that he did a play once in grade school where he played Huckleberry Finn because "somebody had to!" He continued with the fact that he hated that play because it took all of his time which meant no basketball. That somehow led into the fact that he has an IQ of 180 and is a professional horse trainer, karate black-belt, certified carpenter & plumber, he built his own house, is a champion golf player, and that he can (again) kick anyone's ass, but people don't "f%$k" with him because they know better.

Jessica: "Wow, well it looks like you've really done it all!"
Party Marty: "I didn't do it all, Jesus Christ did it all"
Jessica: "You know what, you're right, you really can't beat that guy"
Party Marty: "No, you can't just think about what he did for us . . . "
(This is the part when Party Marty was with himself, thinking about Jesus I suppose, and then he started to cry)

He then noticed what was happening, so he offered to spark up the joint he had in his pocket and share it with me. A couple of teenagers on the other side of the train heard this and started cheering. I said, "no thanks, but it looks like you might have a fan club that might be interested." Party Marty shrugged and responded with "well, someone's gotta do it".

Shortly after Party Marty looks at me and says, "you know what? God Bless the light rail, if it wasn't for this light rail, you and I would have never had this conversation. Jessica, I am going to go to work now, and I hope you have a wonderful night." And just like that, Party Marty was gone.

The best part is, he is completely right.

Mark DeMichele - SECRET ORDER blog

2010-02-23T13:45:00.000-08:00

OK I have been acting for a while now but I have never blogged about the process so here are some thoughts after two weeks of rehearsal on Secret Order...

Working on this play is rewardingly difficult...came home from rehearsals on Saturday and Sunday had dinner with my family and then went to bed exhausted.

I have been reading and thinking about this play for the past six months. As part of my homework I deliberately learned some of the script sequences while only becoming familiar with the rest of the text. I then improvised the human, emotional aspects of the character (Bob Brock) in my daily life (I am lucky to have a wife that has so good-naturedly put up with my acting behavior for 29 years now) so that I can meld into the playwright’s character. I don’t do a lot of character research as ultimately every character I play is some aspect of me, with a beard, with an accent, with glasses, sometimes physically fit but more often just a chubby 50-ish man.

I tend to be very technically oriented as an actor, working from the top down; how should the line be phrased, where do I stand, where’s my light, where are the laughs etc… an actor that views the rehearsal process as a tunnel with a light on at each end and a great stretch of darkness in the middle. I generally prefer to eschew the rehearsal chit-chat of meaning or intention or whatever in favor of doing it again, and again, and again until it comes together in the room and then ultimately in front of an audience. At this point in the process I am trying to move the performance from my head and into my body and in several scenes, mostly in Act One, I am feeling the electric, visceral connection of text and performance with Cale, David and Jess.

I am struck though by the level of focus and energy required to lift this text toward performance—our Chihuahua Chester gets very concerned when I try to work on the role at home. I look forward to week three.

David Vining - SECRET ORDER Blog

2010-02-22T12:06:00.000-08:00

“In nothing do men more nearly approach the gods than in giving health to men” Cicero

We are approaching the end of the second week of rehearsals for Secret Order – until now I’ve been so focused on rehearsal preparation and learning my words that I haven’t been able to find the time to sit down and blog about the show. Tonight I find myself with a little breathing room and will put a few thoughts on paper. My head is full of so many thoughts about the play, the character, this particular company of actors…but I’ve decided to write tonight about how I look for pieces of the play and the character within my own experience, as a step towards fully identifying with the character I’ll be performing.

Once I had been cast in Secret Order and first read the script, my imagination was primarily excited by the idea of the possibility of a cure for cancer. The quest for a cure starts off the play and permeates it. I started thinking about what it would be like to be involved in that quest at such a high level, to devote one’s life to it—to experience the incredible excitement of each incremental step in the the right direction and the devastating disappointment each time a promising line of scientific inquiry dissolved in failure. The character I’m playing, Dr. Saul Roth, Chairman of Toxicology at Hill-Matheson, has been deeply involved in cancer research for over 33 years. At 67 I (Saul) have certainly had more than my share of disappointments, but I am still eager to do daily battle with the disease. It’s the passionate hope that a cure is possible that keeps me from being able to retire and leave the battle to younger colleagues. It may be a little confusing to anyone reading my blog, but I (David) often refer to the character I’m playing in the first person, as part of my acting process—until the “I” of me and the “I” of him create a blend that has the ring of truth. I (David) think I (Saul) have the Cicero quote above nicely framed and prominently displayed on my office wall.

In looking for ways to relate to all the emotional ramifications of what a cure for cancer might mean to the characters in the play, I’ve been thinking back to my youth, when both polio and smallpox were still deadly diseases that killed, crippled or disfigured thousands and thousands of people every year. If you are near my age, you may remember, as I do, the terrifying effects of a local polio outbreak. It seemed like there was an epidemic every summer when I was a boy in the 1950s—since the disease attacked children and was spread by them, small towns in the U.S. and Europe would sometimes have signs at the city limits refusing entry to anyone under the age of 16. Public swimming pools were considered particularly dangerous, and were closed immediately if a polio case was reported. All of us had some friend, relative or acquaintance who had either died or become crippled by polio. And smallpox, although mostly under control in the US by the 1950s, was still a major killer in many parts of the world; since my family lived abroad much of the time, we were often in areas where smallpox was still a real threat and I certainly remember seeing lots of terribly scarred and disfigured faces. I vividly remember the relief and joy we all felt when Jonas Salk’s amazing vaccine became available in 1955; equally amazing was the incredible announcement in 1980 that smallpox had finally been globally eradicated. I (Saul and David) have very powerful emotional connections to the horrors of polio and smallpox. It’s why I became a doctor in the first place. Remembering the excitement and exultation I felt when those two Goliaths were slain, just try to imagine the reaction of the world when the cure for cancer is found!

I’ve written about this at some length to share a little bit of how I start to build a bridge to the character and his world. I enjoy playing roles that require research; but wherever I can find personal connections that allow me to identify with the character I seize on them, because they are so rich—they are short-cuts which deepen my understanding and help me inhabit the character with conviction and passion.

Jessica Weaver - SECRET ORDER Blog

2010-02-16T13:02:00.000-08:00

Jessica, a graduate student at ASU, plays the role of Alice Curiton in Actors Theatre's upcoming production of Secret Order
Prior to Actors Theatre, I have felt that my acting assignments at ASU have been based on my personality. I was cast into certain roles because my own personality had fit the character's personality. And not to saw that I don't enjoy that, those assignments are ALWAYS a ton of fun . . well, acting is always fun so . . . but anyways. After I had found out that I got cast in Secret Order and read the script for the first time I was . . I dunno, shocked . . excited even. I had been cast into a role whose personality and demeanor was nothing like my own:
Jessica - Seattle
Alice - Boston

Jessica - West Coast
Alice - East Coast

Jessica - Rock Climb
Alice - R-cells

Jessica - Cat-lady
Alice - "1000 poodles"

Jessica - Actress
Alice - Scientist

. . . but it was at that last comparison I started thinking differently. I remembered last summer when I got to spend some time in Barryville, NY studying with Kari Margolis. Kari's "Margolis Method" bases actor training off of the laws of physics. More and more, the worlds of art and science are coming closer together. The science of acting, the artistic quality of science. And it is here when I start to see how similar Alice and I really are. For goodness sake, Alice is working as a lab assistant for an internship. Secret Order is my internship for ASU!! Every time I walk into the rehearsal hall, my blood just starts pumping because I get so excited to start working. Alice is the same exact way. Although I may not understand the excitement between r-cells and graduated cylinders, I can understand the enthusiasm a person gets when they get to do the thing they love most in life. Passion makes the world taste better, not Dr. Pepper.

But . . . Dr. Pepper is pretty damn good.

Kirk Jackson - SHIPWRECKED Blog 4 - "What Did He Say?"

2010-02-05T14:11:00.000-08:00

After weeks in the rehearsal hall of yelling over recordings of thunder, lightning, wind, factories and tribal drums, not to mention extensive musical underscoring, Matthew is excited about getting into the theatre and pumping up the volume while I’ve damaged my vocal cords before we’ve even gotten there. The earnose&throat doctor suggests a microphone and a prescription that my insurance company refuses to pay for.

At first we are reluctant to go with a mic because it makes me feel less in control of the performance and there are technical hurdles. For one thing there isn’t anyone to sit in the house and mix the sound live so levels will need to be preset and consistent. Also I do an awful lot of rolling around leaving no place to put the mic-pack on my person.

Finally, the kinks are worked out and we try it for the final rehearsals. Mathew gets excited with the possibilities the microphone affords especially in being able to boost the sound cues again and really rock the house. Which brings us to Opening Night…

About 10 minutes into the show, the microphone (probably dripping with my sweat) starts randomly popping and (stage manager) April Smith makes the call to turn it off. I am not consciously aware of the situation but sense that I have to talk louder and so end up shouting over the newly beefed up louder sound cues. The audience is forgiving and the show is a hit. The next day (Sunday matinee) the mic gets fitted with something to keep it dry and the show goes on as planned.

Kirk Jackson - SHIPWRECKED Blog 3 - "Try to Remember the Kind of September"

2010-02-02T09:38:00.000-08:00

I will now answer the most frequently asked question at every audience talkback, organized by any theatre for any production since the beginning of time. If you attend a performance of Shipwrecked! and stay afterward for a talkback and ask this question, I will know that you did not read this blog.

The answer is … Repetition. Why do you know all the words to “White Christmas”? Not from recent personal experience certainly but because you’ve heard it a thousand times. So, I needed to schedule a thousand run-throughs of Shipwrecked! (the words) for myself, even though the audience will only be present for numbers 985 on. This however requires a level of discipline akin to a vow of silence (if only!) and a lot of time.

I set a goal of learning 15 pages a month starting in Sept. in order to be totally memorized by New Years. On 9/28 I realized I had memorized a total of … three pages.

Time for Plan B: the carrot and the stick. I will not be allowed alcoholic beverages until I successfully negotiate the entire play, knowing what happens next and saying the lines perfectly. Don’t hold your breath, people. While I enjoy the benefits of sobriety, I have yet to get through the entire 90 plus minutes without help, but we’re getting closer. Sometimes I think I'm not going to have a drink until after the closing performance. The upside for the audience is that the show will be different every time – a real live event. And I’ve learned that to accomplish one seemingly insurmountable task, take on another. Hey, maybe I should become a motivational guru, write a book, help Oprah lose ten pounds and retire rich and famous.

By the way the closing performance is a matinee on Superbowl Sunday. So if you have feedback you want to give me after THAT performance you’ll find me at the nearest bar to the backdoor of the Herberger. Hmm. I think that would be Hooters.

Kirk Jackson - SHIPWRECKED Blog 2 - "Swashbucklers and Handlebars"

2010-01-13T15:27:00.000-08:00

Any seasoned actor knows that to find the character you need to find the shoes. Shoes affect balance, posture and how we move. Most of the time they literally are what connects us to the world. Think of all the different shoes you own and their specific functions. Now, imagine you live concurrently in every historic period and society on every continent for the past 2000 plus years. That’s a lot of different shoes and functions. If you are on a stage but want the audience to imagine you’re on a glacier, or boat or beach or battlefield or golf course, how you physically relate to the space helps tell that story. Shoes also act as signifiers of status, profession, health, and of course style.

Last winter I visited Ollie in Toronto when he was touring as The Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Talk about crazy shoes for a wild character! Toronto has many tourist attractions but the most quirky and fascinating by far is the Bata Shoe Museum: a highly entertaining, informative, provocative and even slightly disturbing look at our feet and what we do with them. I highly recommend it!

Now, I imagined Louis de Rougemont barefoot for the entire show, maybe because he’s in a bathing suit at the end or maybe because I thought about a lone castaway on a one-palm-tree island in a New Yorker cartoon. But Costume Designer Connie Furr and Matthew are very excited by the idea of swashbuckler boots. I’ve worn swashbucklers before: once as Captain Hook and once to portray a Dutch ancestor making nice with the Natives on a hometown parade float. I believe my very Irish friend Tom played the Mohawk. Anyway, my swashbucklers for Shipwrecked! have been ordered and I eagerly await their arrival. It will fundamentally affect everything I’m doing so they can’t arrive too soon.

Meanwhile, extreme hair, like a shaved head (The King and I) or a powdered wig (Amadeus) can also affect how you balance or move. However, most men’s hairstyles are fundamentally ignorable from the inside. We look in the mirror and project ourselves as our own observers and make judgments about what our appearance says about us to the world. Obviously, it’s another choice indicative of character that we make every day and, of course, for the stage. Plus on stage there is an added injunction to keep your hair out of your eyes. Here’s a typical backstage scene: it’s dress rehearsal in the men’s dressing room and a bunch of guys are discussing, sharing, comparing and rating various hair products: gels, waxes, sprays and pomades. No one is functioning from his comfort zone here. It’s a level of social interaction that’s pretty unfamiliar to men, regardless of sexual orientation. The kind of conversation that we imagine women have in Ladies Rooms but men just don’t do well.

Louis de Rougement however is a special case, being an actual historic figure (see photo). Once I got a hold of his picture, I hung it up where I could look at it as if in a mirror at my own reflection. I think I look a bit like him naturally and by internalizing whatever I can from that picture, I truly believe a little alchemical magic happens. To help, I took the picture to Sasa, the real magician who cuts my hair in New York. She enjoys a challenge and experimented with several different gels and techniques, diligently washing my hair between attempts. We did an initial trial in October, then another in December. So, thanks to Sasa, I can avoid the last minute hair product debate.

Finally there’s the beard. I’ve never grown a moustache so long that I carry my morning coffee with me until lunchtime. In the 19thC they had moustache mugs that included a bridge to keep liquid off the lip. In the 21stC we are less advanced and I have stained almost every article of clothing I own with my own drips and spatters. Finally, you couldn’t see my mouth anymore and I had to trim it. See correlating injunction above about keeping one’s hair out of one’s eyes when on stage.

Kirk Jackson - SHIPWRECKED Blog - "Acting Muscles"

2010-01-08T12:28:00.000-08:00

Spend January in Arizona instead of Vermont? Where do I sign? Not that that was my first thought when Matthew asked me to play Louis de Rougemont in Shipwrecked!, but it was my second. My first thought was, ‘How serendipitous.’ To understand why I must digress…
I hadn’t acted since Stones In His Pockets, which Ollie (Oliver Wadsworth) and I did at Actors Theatre and then again at The Adirondack Theatre Festival in 2003. Though I’ve been directing a lot, particularly while on sabbatical from Bennington College, which is when I did The Busy World Is Hushed at Actors Theatre.
Then a year ago I decided to attempt to reactivate my acting muscles. One of my students, a fine young actor named Max Wolkowitz, and I set out to find a two-hander that we could rehearse on our own and put up with minimal production support. We chose A Life in the Theatre by David Mamet. I directed it and Max, with his considerably younger brain, was able to be “on book” for rehearsals, meaning he knew all the lines. All we needed to add for performances was an usher.
I played an old master thespian full of unsolicited advice and he played an eager young talented actor who benefits from my tutelage but then needs to graduate from the dysfunctional aspects of the relationship. Basically we played ourselves and with such brilliant casting the show went very well. Max did indeed graduate from Bennington and I got my actor muscles up and working again.
Soon afterward I auditioned for a venerable old summer stock theater in Dorset, Vermont. I was cast in two shows, a George S. Kaufman comedy and an Agatha Christie murder mystery. These were fun old warhorses for which I provided the exact identical function: curtain up on the old character guy involved in some activity (scribbling in a ledger, reading a newspaper), another character enters and we engage in a conversation that consists entirely of exposition. Once I’ve mentioned all the main characters by name and enough background information so the audience will recognize them, I leave the stage. This being summer stock it meant learning lines quickly and rehearsing play #2 during the day while performing play #1 at night. It was a blast. The company was filled with talented folks on every level and we laughed a lot.
Come August I’m feeling like an actor again. I shave off the handlebar moustache and goatee that served all three projects and I’m back teaching when Matthew calls with the amazing opportunity to do Shipwrecked! Ollie goes on-line, downloads a picture of the real Louis de Rougemont and I start growing my beard back the next day.

Lillie Richardson - BLOG #2 - "Dream Roles"

2009-12-23T12:19:00.002-08:00

Last week was tech which meant we were stuck with each other for 10 hours a day. During our two hour dinner breaks some of us would eat together. I made it clear that I wanted a gourmet burger for dinner last Thursday. Since it was payday most people agreed to join me for a delicious meal at a wonderful restaurant in the Arizona center called “1130”. I tell you what…they make the BEST hamburgers and French dip. So, as we ate I asked each person at the table what their “dream role” would be and here are the answers.

Natalie Ellis wishes to play the Witch in “Into the Woods”. I can totally see that, especially after she plays Alfaba in Wicked on Broadway!

Dion wants to play George “Sunday in the Park”. I can’t wait to see that!

Beau Heckman wants to play the Phantom in “Phantom of the Opera”. I think that role is just around the corner for Beau.

Robbie Harper’s dream role is Seymour in “Little Shop of Horrors”. Can’t you just see Robbie in that role? When he mentioned it, the whole table let out a resounding “yes!”

But he also wants to play Lloyd in “Noises Off”.

David Rogers want to play Javet in “Les Miserables” and the Phantom in “The Phantom of the Opera”. He certainly has the power in his voice for both roles!

Those were the only cast members at the table but I would like to know what the dream roles of the other cast members are too. Maybe they will blog their answers.

I already know that Casey Likes (Tiny Tim) will be famous director some day. I certainly hope he has my headshot and resume on file.

Rafe Arlotti - Peter Cratchit BLOG #2

2009-12-23T12:19:00.001-08:00

To revise a line from the show: "This show is a bother." An expensive, inconvenient affair that doubles my work, jangles my nerves, and reminds me, between the battles, how very blessed I am with these people. I never consider myself wealthy until I rise before this hearth each year. I gaze into the fire-lit faces of the actors I love, talented, helpful, and generous, and I am embarrassed by my riches. “Believe that the world is yours. Measure your riches by what you can give. Look to find hope in the hope you can offer. And know that, so long as you bring the world goodness, there is no hardship or obstacle you cannot overcome.” Merry Christmas to everyone! God bless us! “God bless us, everyone!”

Maxx Carlisle-King (Young Scrooge)

2009-12-21T10:10:00.000-08:00

This show (A Christmas Carol) has been so much fun. Everyone is so nice and friendly. I am honored to be working with such fantastical actors.

I’m glad that everyone is patient with me when I am learning dances, songs, and lines…I’m kinda slow (tee-hee) so yeah.

Oh wait!!! I have been having fun on breaks casting an imaginary production of RENT! It is also a great cast starring everyone in this show…Lillie Richardson will be playing Joanne (she told me to say that). I am Mimi! I LLLLLOVE this show and everyone in it. Yay! Ok. Peace, Love, GaGa!!! (ed note: Lady Gaga for the uninitiated.)

Keilani Akagi - Belinda Cratchit

2009-12-16T13:48:00.001-08:00

“Boo!” A smile creeps across my face as I watch the bewildered faces of people passing by. Their perplexed expressions seem to ask, “It is December, right? Who would yell ‘Boo!’ on Christmas?” I walk past them and my smile grows bigger as I picture David Barker in his multicolored coat of ribbons. I rush towards the doors at the end of the hall ready for another wonderful Christmas.

This is my third year returning to this wonderful production as Belinda Cratchit and I enjoy it more each year! It’s wonderful to walk into rehearsal and greet the friends of Christmases past, meet the friends of Christmas present, and exhilarating to think about the cast of Christmas yet to come. This year we had many new people coming to join the cast and it has been a pleasure to get to know each and every one of them.

There are six young performers in this production who are brimming with energy, maybe a little too much at times! This year Casey (Tiny Tim) and I were the only two kids to return this year and we were eager to meet the new kids who would join us. They have been AMAZING! I remember my first year how overwhelmed I was by how fast we were learning an entire show. They have done a phenomenal job! We have a strict rehearsal schedule and those who are new must learn their part as fast as they can. All the new cast members (kids and adults) have been absolutely delightful and have contributed fun filled memories to make another wonderful Christmas!

Now that I’ve mentioned the new cast members, the older cast members deserve just as much recognition. They bring joy, happiness and energy to every rehearsal and performance that…“Place please! Places please for top of show!” Well I suppose I must be off, time for our first run through! Lots of muffled kafuffle going on and if it gets too loud, well…“EVERYBODY IN THE ROOM NOW!” Merry Christmas, happy New Year, keep the season warm and bright!

Rafe Arlotti - Peter Cratchit

2009-12-14T09:23:00.000-08:00

Where would your average 16-year-old be over Thanksgiving weekend? -- Probably at the movies, mall, or any number of social settings. Black Friday, however, brought not a race to the stores for shopping, but a race to Herberger Center Stage to an eight-hour rehearsal. But I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else! A sprained ankle impeded my dancing capabilities, but Christmas cheer was in full flourish. Being in a show like this brings so much warmth into one’s heart, like a steaming mug of cocoa on a cold day. It is my debut show with Actors Theatre, and it has been a whirlwind adventure so far. I remember Matthew said at the first rehearsal: “We’re throwing you right into the deep end, and you will swim.” And swim we did! Everyone helps you out and is ready to offer a helping hand. And some of them have been doing it since the show first began! It is an amazing journey and I certainly cannot wait till December 12th and Opening Night.

P.S. Alan Ruch is a genius.

by Kiana "Kiki" Brown - age 12 - playing "Fan"

2009-12-13T06:47:00.000-08:00

A Christmas Carol is so much fun! We have so much to do in such little time. I am a new-comer so I sometimes take the wrong steps, for instance, when I left my mug dirty on the counter after rehearsal and it was put in the “mug punishment area”. Of course there are many people that help me through the long journey: Keilani is a great help in the dances, Sally Jo in the alto section, and Robbie, April, Matthew, and Alan for directing me. I give a “thanks” to them. People have begun getting nick-names, like Rafe is called Rif-Raff, named so by Lillie. And Robbie has his signature reason for assigning a dance move -- Baby Jesus. “Baby Jesus on top of the Christmas tree” and “Rock the Baby Jesus” are two of his dance moves. He also tells me to move the imaginary fire from under the imaginary Christmas tree many times. And of course the classic move “flappa-flappa-down.” It is a joy to work in A Christmas Carol, and thanks cast for being the best ever.

Gene Ganssle (Fred) - or is it Mr. Fred? (see Lillie Richardson's character name below)

2009-12-10T13:29:00.002-08:00

Back into rehearsal...
It never gets old for me. This is my twelfth season with this production, and I cannot believe how we get back into the groove so quickly!
No matter how warm Phoenix is around Thanksgiving, you can't help but be caught up in the spirit when this show begins work.
This year, we have a bunch of new people, but they have stepped up and will be so wonderful that it is amazing.
They have a tall order to learn complicated dancing, songs and their lines in a "remount" schedule of two weeks. Woof.
But we sound better and have a fresh energy that will make this time around even better for our audiences.
Stay healthy, take time to rest, and enjoy the beauty and joy of the season!

Gene Ganssle (Fred)

From Lillie Richardson - "Mrs. Fred"

2009-12-09T09:37:00.001-08:00

As an old-timer in the Christmas Carol cast...it has been fun to get to know the new people in the cast. And I love meeting new people. Anyone who knows me...also know how I LOVE my friends. And I love the opportunity to have a new conversation.

So, I had lunch with Raif (I call him riff-raff), Mike Lawler, Beau and Gene Gansele Friday and we were talking about working out. Mike shared with us that he ran into Cale Epps when he went to work out at the YMCA, that morning and Cale invited him to join him in his yoga class. Mike said it was the hardest work out he has ever done! And Mike has been working out for a LONG time...ya know, with weights and everything. So, I asked Riff-Raff if he has ever done yoga. I knew he played sports and he looks like he is in pretty good shape. He said he has been doing yoga since he was three years old. "What"?! We all exclaimed!
He said it was part of his spiritual upbringing! "Awesome!", I replied. I totally get into anything spiritual. I just know I am going to like this kid!

Okay, so I had another insightful conversation with another "new" cast member. I was talking to Dion and asking him what it felt like to be new in this cast. He said that he has always been the returning cast member for years in Quiltmakers Gift as the king and now he knows what the new members of that cast must have felt like...year after year joining their cast. So he said he chuckles when members of our cast are assigned something new to do or a line is changed because then they have to work too!
Then I asked if he has observed any "divas" in the group. And he said he has noticed a few. And I asked if I was one. And he said he didn't really want to say. So, Dion thinks I am a "Diva".
Hey, I take that as a compliment. Not all divas are bad...they are just confident!
Thanks for the compliment Dion! We are going to have a blast!!!!!
Next blog, I will tell you about meeting miss Kiki
That's it for now,
Lillie Richardson
Kathyrn (Scrooge's nephew's wife)

David Rodgers - playing The Miner - on being "The New Guy"

2009-12-07T09:31:00.000-08:00

This past Monday I was invited to become part of a new family, I’m now a new actor in the tradition that dates back a millennium (okay maybe not that long, but it goes back into LAST millennium) called Actors Theatre's Christmas Carol. The tradition is part of my real family too. My father, Ralph Rodgers, managed the Promised Valley Theater in Salt Lake City when I was young. As a teenager I played Peter Cratchet, as a young man I played Bob Cratchet. Dad always played Scrooge. Even the Christmas before he passed away, in 1995, he played the part from a wheelchair, making me cry for the hundredth when he sang “I’ll Begin Again.” So you can imagine how excited I was to be invited to join other friends in a new Christmas Carol tradition, coupled with the fact that I would be performing Dicken’s icy story in a place I could wear shorts and flip flops while driving to the December rehearsals.

What I didn’t realize was that the entire cast had, apparently, already plotted to haze the new guy. First rehearsal, Monday November 23, the cast gathered around a large square of tables to read and sing through the script. I’m one of the new guys, I have a name tag saying “Dave,” and I’m seated next to David Barker, a friend and ASU theater professor. We start and Director Matthew Weiner welcomes everyone, including the “newbies.” He points out that the new people have never seen the script or score before, but that we’re just going to be thrown into the water – he hopes we can swim. Swim? I’m about to become a Jack Dawson ice cube. Nice innocent little set up Mr. Benedict Arnold.

Off we go. First song. Third line into the first song, I’m supposed to sing-- but no one told me. So third line in, 3 minutes into rehearsal, I cause the first stoppage in work. Everyone stares; no one says “here, I’ll sing it with you.” Nope, just stares from the veterans. “Did you get the sheet there Dave?” Uh, no. “Oh yes, you did, it’s conveniently buried in the reams of paper we gave you.” Fine. I’ll be the new guy.

Three pages later, the Gent’s are going to sing a duet, yeah, me and another new guy; just a little two-line phrase. Easy, huh? I’ve sung before, but no. This little two-line phrase looks like some composer has dumped every single hard note and accidental symbol onto the page. It looks like an old comic book swear word of punctuation marks. It’s like four key changes and thirteen sharps and flats over the course of ten words (yeah, I know there aren’t that many … but this was my first time). The composer, Alan Ruch, who is also our music director, is sitting in the corner with the look of Putty Tat just after Tweety Bird vanished into his mouth. I’m not saying anything, but I swear I saw a little yellow feather on the corner of his lips -- just sitting there, watching the torture proceed. Very slight grin. I try singing the line, which was like trying a Japanese reality show obstacle course. After waiting an appropriate amount of time for the torture to settle, Alan says “it’s actually the same tune as ‘I Feel Pretty’ from West Side Story.” I look at the line again and think to myself “yeah, dude, if this is how you feel ‘pretty’
you’re as demented as your chord structures.” Yes, three pages into the show and I’m 2 for 48 in getting the notes right. I’m a bigger loser than the Clippers.

But then the real fun starts during Christmas present. This guy next to me, David Barker, is going to reprise his role as the Ghost of Christmas Present. He’s a friend of mine; we play golf sometimes. Well, he’s got this line where he yells “Boo” as loud as he can, then cackles a hyena laugh. And I’m right next to him. Oh, and he’s a professional actor. He can support his yells. A lot. And of course my ear is right next to his mouth. In fact, I swear I saw him lean a bit to the right (I was sitting on his republican side). And trust me, I know how hard it is for him to lean to the right, considering that he’s already politically to the right of Glen Beck. But he leaned just for me. Thanks. And how many times does he yell this “BOO” – for comic effect, of course over the course of a few pages? You might guess three times, cause anything isn’t funny after three times, right? No no no no, you’d be wrong grasshopper. Six times? You’re still cold. Ten times? Oh no, this “BOO” joke goes on and on and on and on. Ever had a meat tenderizer pound your eardrum? What about Mike Tyson?

Now I’ve thought about this and I’m convinced that Barker was hazing the new guy. He picked my seat for me, and there is no way in Provo that the Ghost of Christmas Present actually says “Boo” for comic effect that many times. No way. I mean, how many times can you tell the same joke. No, I’m convinced that Barker sat up all night re- writing that part of the script to add in 43 more Boo’s just so he could keep yelling in my ear. You have to remember that Barker and I play golf … for money. BIG BIG money. Well, okay, enough money for the winner to buy a handful of fancy French beans, but to us it’s big. So he wasn’t just doing his part -- he was conditioning me. Just once, when I go to hit a golf ball, he’s going to whisper “BOO,” just loud enough for me to hear, and my ball will go sailing toward El Paso. Kerching kerching. My golf swing will never be the same. He’s cheating, I tell ya.

Even the Director got into the act. The next rehearsal, with everyone watching from the wings, Matthew had me and one other new guy practice funny walks across the stage. “Here, hold a stop watch, stare at it, and do a funny walk across the stage.” Huh? Really? Yes sir! He even referenced Monty Python’s Ministry of Funny Walks. “Go ahead, just come up with funny walks.” So with everyone watching, we tried different speedy walks across the stage. Happy, legs kicking, low- head-down walks, slow, fast, dorky, -- everything but Nathan Lane doing John Wayne -- everything. I did happen to notice how everyone was watching and snickering. Hmmmmm, even the Director in on the hazing -- Et tu Brute?

Don’t think the Choreographer was innocent either. Robby Harper, my friend Robbie Harper from Producers, was in on it too. Yep. See, me and the other new guy have a little song and dance routine in an English Pub – with food. We sing about our food. Snoopy stand aside! And I was okay with holding a plate of food and singing about wonderful eats, that’s pretty much type casting. It's a cute little song. I mean, it's not Putting on the Ritz from Young Frankenstein (and neither is my dancing), but it's not bad.

But then Robbie went on and on about what side of the plate the asparagus was supposed to be on. You got it. If the asparagus isn’t on the correct side, critics will pan the show. He kept on and on and on about the precise location and positioning of a little sprig of asparagus. And it wasn’t even asparagus, it was a freaking artichoke! But no, we had to rehearse and rehearse to satisfy Robbie that we had the asparagus on the correct side of the plate. But I’m not too dumb, I could see Alan and others sitting in the corner, again with that Putty Tat grin on his face. Funny dudes.

Now I’m quite sure that after we leave, these veterans sit around and talk about the hazing. Yep, “did you see how we got the new guys to do the goofy walks,” or “try to sing that alphabet-soup music,” or “pratice the asparagus choreography?” Laugh laugh laugh. Then Barker would say “Boo,” and they’d laugh and laugh again. Nice work there, FRIENDS. I see how it is. But don’t worry, I’ll take the hazing, I’ll take the laughing and the jokes. Robbie, I’ll even try to hold the Aspari-choke on the proper side of the plate. Because this is one family I really want to be a long-term part of. I can’t wait until I get to watch faces of children in the audience laugh and cry at the humor and heartbreak of this wonderful story.

See I get to sing for Christmas this year, like I did as a boy with my Dad. Now that’s a Merry Christmas. Oh, yeah, and for the rookies who come in next year -- have I got plans for you.

Mr. Fezziwig (Ben Tyler) speaks...

2009-12-03T12:17:00.000-08:00

Well here we are again, knee deep in joy and not a cloud on the horizon. Of course that’s not really how things are. I just read in the newspaper today (yes, I’m the one who still does that) that Arizona’s economy is worse than Michigan. Michigan, the poster child of the rust belt, home of Jurassic Park, better known as the automobile industry! But what do we got? Well this is the time of year when people like to point out that you don’t have to shovel sunshine. But in a way it’s too bad that you don’t. It might create some jobs for sunshine shovelers, because what we got is 9.9% unemployment in Arizona. In addition to theatre, I am a teacher or educator, as they now say, or underpaid lackey as we refer to ourselves. And last month I was recently the lucky recipient of a pay cut. What this state spends on education makes me want to put on one of those big foam rubber hands you see people wearing at sporting events, only Arizona’s would need to have 49 fingers on it!

So why all the kvetching? (Sorry, I just finished a show with AZ Jewish Theatre) Well…talking about the bad stuff gets me to the good stuff and that is returning to play Fezzywig for my third year with one of the best theatre companies west of the Mississippi, Actors Theatre. Let me tell you something, acting, if you’re doing it right, is a wonderful mental vacation. All trouble and conflict evaporates. It’s better than any drug, legal or otherwise. And when it’s doing that for the actor, chances are pretty good that it’s doing that for the audience too. Just as some people feel about food, this show is a comfort play for me. It makes me feel good, it makes me feel comfortable and as corny as it may sound, this not a just the company line, it brings me joy. These days I need as much of that as I can get.

We’ve just started rehearsing and April Smith (coincidentally, the best stage manager west of the Mississippi) kicked things off with a warning about spreading H1N1 Flu. We were issued personal sized bottles of hand sanitizers, and there are large vats of it on either end of the rehearsal room complete with diving boards. Then she said a line I will never forget: “The hugging and kissing has got to stop. I know you all love each other, but you’re making each other sick!” I wanted to lick her face at that moment.

So I’ll try to make a good faith effort to keep this up. I believe that is the customary line for every first blog. We are like one big family by the time this show gets on stage, just one big air kissing clan.

David Barker - The Ghost of Christmas Present (and jokes maybe a little past?)

2009-12-01T14:29:00.000-08:00

We have nine new cast members this year! Very unusual (the number, not the actors) and very exciting. I look forward to this show every year. This is my fifth year playing the Ghost of Christmas Present and it never gets old; not even for a moment. This year is particularly rewarding for me since nine people have not heard my jokes yet, and I can't wait to see the sparkles of joy in their eyes and the abdominal convulsions as they respond to my repertoire of comic material.

Christmas Carol Blog - from Mike Lawler (Marley's Ghost)

2009-11-30T09:59:00.000-08:00

I have a Springer Spaniel named Obie. Best Springer Spaniel in the world. She is a humane society dog. I was lucky to get her. She was 1 ½ when I first did Christmas Carol in 1995 (the old version). After some time away from the show Matthew cast me as Jacob Marley in 2005. Now Obie is 15, this is my 5th year of playing Marley, and yesterday was our first day of rehearsal for the 2009 Christmas Carol. I’m so excited. I love this show.
So, I have the night off from rehearsal. And I’m at home sitting at my dining room table trying to write this blog. I’m trying to figure out how to start. I’m sitting, sitting. And I hear Obie, my Springer, making all this noise. I look over and my 15-year-old dog is walking in circles in the middle of my sofa. Making circles around the same cushion on the sofa figuring out where to sit. I’m thinking: “What are you doing”? She keeps circling, circling. She sees me looking at her and her look back says: “What are you looking at- I’ll know it’s right when I find it”.
That was it! I could identify. That made sense! That’s what Christmas Carol rehearsal feels like to me. Once again going back to this story most of us know so well - and looking, poking, pushing, exploring until it is alive and feels right. And it’s a great story (with a great adaptation). I love rehearsal. I love the discovery, the laughter, and the sorrow. I never get tired of it. We have a great cast. Many of us are returning but we have 9 new members this year. Matthew is a fabulous director - I love watching him break down a scene. Alan Ruch’s music is terrific. I’m proud to be a part of this show and thrilled to be back.
I guarantee you this show will be right and feel right on Dec. 12 opening night. If you have seen it before, come again. Your experience of the show will be new. If you haven’t seen it - just come. You’ll believe like we do.
O.K. Obie has had enough of this blog. She wants some attention. Really she wants a walk. So I gotta run. See you at the theatre!

Impressions from the first day of rehearsal – A Christmas Carol 2009 by Matthew Wiener

2009-11-24T16:02:00.001-08:00

1. It’s kind of like Groundhog Day (the movie) - I’ve done this day over and over again. This is my 15th year of directing Xmas Carol, and about the 10th or 11th of this adaptation. Every year it’s the same (I mean we know how it ends) and every year it’s a bit different. The story is the same – but the voices are different – cast changes and all. And I suppose I am different too – just not sure how.

2. This show works like a well oiled machine. And the first day is no different. Name tags. Introductions. Housekeeping. The bathrooms are out the door and to the left. Talking about safety. Talking about health – this year we gave everyone their very own bottle of hand sanitizer! There will be no H1N1 in this cast! Talking about Dickens. Talking about this adaptation. Trying to say something profound. Trotting out the old lines: “This play is about reminding us we all have the ability to change our own lives and in doing so; change the lives of those around us”. Yeah. Sounds good. That’s it.

3. And then the read/sing through. It starts tentatively, timidly. The returning cast members try to find the groove. The new cast members (especially the younger performers) have no idea what’s going on. Kim Bennett, our Scrooge for the past many years, starts off-book and quickly picks up his script, scrambling for his glasses. The opening number is kind of quite – “What part do I sing?” and “How does that go again?” and “Oh, that’s where we do the sotto voce thing!”

4. The Ghost of Xmas Past is a metaphor for the entire moment. “Marley is dead” – yeah, we know. Dead as a doornail. And like Marley we bring this story back from the dead with every page of the script.

5. The music starts to bring us together. The score, by Alan Ruch, is very special. Difficult but special. As each number goes by the musical motifs for the show start to re-accumulate in our collective memories. And our muscle memories. Oh yes, I remember that. The Crow’s Nest number – which we all think is goofy – has everyone tapping their feet, bopping their heads – and smiling. And then The Travels – the most striking trio. We thrill to the memory of what that number can be. We can’t help but applaud – a little. And Silent Night. A carol sung in the key of JOY. The moment that on stage can stop an audience from breathing – or so it seems.

6. Lines start to jump out. “If they would rather die, they had better do it! And decrease the surplus population!” “Bah! Humbug” “Darkness is cheap, and Scrooge liked it.” “Ghost of the Future, I fear you more than any spectre I have seen.” “I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach. Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!” Dickens really did know how to write.

7. Jot notes to myself. Rehearse the Joy. Lean Forward. Athletic Acting. Double up on Echinacea. Smile. Believe. Make a Joyful Noise. Wash your hands. Hit the Verbs.

8. 92 minutes. And we’re done. And we’re just starting. Again.

It's not a disaster flick...

2009-11-03T12:03:00.000-08:00

End of the world, doomsday scenarios are nothing new.
Especially when the stock market collapses as it did recently.
It’s no wonder boom is the most produced show regionally this season.
It’s something that’s on people’s minds for sure…
“What if everything I thought I could count on…was wrong? And I can’t?”
Fortunately for us, boom doesn’t wallow in the seriousness of all that.
Fortunately for us, it’s told by an insanely inventive and hilariously funny playwright.
And not by the people who brought the world Deep Impact.
My apologies to anyone who actually dug this movie…
But if there’s one question I’ve been asked more than any other after people hear the
synopsis…it’s invariably “OH! So it’s like Deep Impact! But funny?!?”
Mmmmmno.
We have lots of booze…and Cathy Dresbach.
Deep Impact has Ensure (you know what I’m talking about if you saw it)…and Tea Leoni.
We soooooo win.
Seriously…I know the end of the world doesn’t exactly sound like fodder for a laugh riot.
But if you still think that…
You probably just haven’t seen boom yet.
So what are you waiting for?
It’s the perfect solution for your “My boyfriend dressed up as a pregnant Heidi Klum for Halloween and it didn’t go over well and how will I ever find happiness again?” conundrum.
Plus there’s a timpani.
Seriously…how bad can that be?
Hope to see you at the theatre!
p.s. the only significance of the picture i used is because it makes me happy. it will make you happy, too...if you come see :)

To pee or not to pee

2009-10-27T13:44:00.000-07:00

An opening night haiku:

No intermission

Must pee before “places” call

Timing is crucial

There are many, many things that require concentration and attention on opening night. Lines, of course; props, costume, hair and make-up; last minute notes from the director; awareness of the audience's response (don’t want to step on any laughs); microphone placement; telling the story as we rehearsed it. All cylinders must be firing.

I can say from personal experience that nothing turns your brain to mush faster than a full bladder. I have my pre-show toilet routine down to a science. At ½ hour before curtain, I put on my make-up, curl my hair, and get dressed. At 15 minutes, I’m stretching, warming up vocally, maybe running a few lines. When the stage manager calls “5 minutes”, I am in the bathroom. Then we go to places.

On this particular opening night, Matthew Wiener gave his curtain speech… and then came the dreaded announcement: “We’re holding for technical difficulties.” NOOOO!!! 5 minutes pass… 10 minutes. Should I return to my dressing room and go again? Can’t risk it. (Dang, I shouldn’t have had that iced tea with dinner.)Before full-blown panic sets in, the curtain goes up. I climb the stairs to my position on stage. The show begins. The lights are hot… my mouth is dry. Sweet dehydration! I can do this after all.
by Cathy Dresbach

Kerry's Confidential

2009-10-19T10:12:00.000-07:00

So glad to be back! This will be my fourth production for Actors Theatre and it’s shaping up to be really fabulous. I have played a lot of quirky characters but they are all so different and special. When I played Izzy last spring in “Rabbit Hole,” I enjoyed being the comic relief in such a dramatic show. “Boom” is more darkly hilarious with physical comedy that is right up my alley. I have drawn inspiration from the shows I watched as a kid: Carol Burnett, early Saturday Night Live, and Monty Python.

“Boom” was my top pick for all the local shows this season and I am so grateful and proud to be a part of it. I found myself laughing out loud when I read the script, high praise from a jaded old bird like me. In rehearsal we can be talking about The Rapture one minute, and “crumping” the next. There is never a dull moment. I love the fact that the playwright studied both science and theatre in college. As the child of a biologist and an artist, it is a comfortable blend for me.

It is also a pleasure to work with Ron May every chance I get. We have a long, happy history that includes Stray Cat Theatre and Nearly Naked Theatre. Our last show together was “Augusta” here at Actors Theatre several years ago. It is a real luxury working with a director that you can trust completely. I feel like everything he touches turns to gold, and he makes sure everything I do is genuine and nothing is false. It frees me as an actor to try anything and push the boundaries.

I am also lucky to have such great cast members. Cathy Dresbach and I worked together previously in “Kindertransport” at the Arizona Jewish Theatre Company. She is lovely, whether she is being serious or funny, and in this show she’s seriously funny. Sam Wilkes and I are working together for the first time, something we’ve both been looking forward too. I loved him in the many shows I’ve seen him in and I’m so glad our theatrical paths finally crossed. I can’t wait to share our hard work with the audiences. Hold on to your hats and glasses, it’s gonna be a wild ride!

- by Kerry McCue

Through the fish bowl

2009-10-12T13:10:00.001-07:00

Actors Theatre at The Herberger. I still can’t believe it. I can remember seeing Angels in America and feeling like I couldn’t even imagine doing a show there. So many incredible actors. Such an amazing set. It had a serious impact on me. I didn’t know who any of the actors were at the time, but I knew that I wanted to be where they were.

I’ve worked with Ron on a few shows before and I was really excited when I was able to audition for this show. I was even more excited when I was able to read with Kerry McCue at auditions. She’s the type of actor who is not concerned with boundaries. She’s willing to take risks and have fun in auditions to make sure she gets the part. When we read together, it felt right. We got into a rhythm and it was a lot of fun. Shortly after callbacks, we got our offers and I was insane with anticipation. I love being directed by Ron, I loved seeing Kerry in everything she’s done, and to top it all off, Cathy Dresbach was cast in the show; one of the actors I admired so much from Angels in America. I was cast in my first professional show with a team and in a company that I have admired for years.

We recently had our First Rehearsal Party and performed the first part of Boom out on the stage. It was an incredible night for me; on stage in the Herberger. I’m so proud to be here with these people and working around these designers, but no one is prouder than my mom. She called me the other day to say that she was reading an article in the paper and saw “the H word” and started to cry with pride. The H word? It took me a second to realize that she meant Herberger. It may seem silly, but she knows how much it means to me and because of that, it means a lot to her. She’s going to be there crying all the way through a comedy on opening night, and I just may have to cry a little bit too.
- by Sam Wilkes

100% + 10

2009-09-21T11:00:00.000-07:00

Hugh Butternut, the character I play in Triple Espresso, has been alive for about 14 years, and I have let him out of his cage about 3,000 times to entertain audiences all over the world.

The number one question I get is “How do you keep from getting bored? How do you do a show that many times? Are you insane?” I know, that’s three questions, but they all have the same point. What’s the secret?

Take a moment and imagine with me. Let’s say you got together with a few friends over breakfast, and you decided to start an adventure together. Let’s say you, oh I don’t know, wrote a comedy play. Imagine people spending their hard-earned cash to see it, laughing big and telling their friends. Then suppose you’re an actor and you have steady work for over a decade, all because you and your friends had this idea.

You might just be grateful enough to give 110% every night for every audience.

I have had my share of setbacks in life, including 2 bouts of cancer, and so I know how to spot a blessing. God somehow chose this little show to help people feel better. And all I can be is grateful.

And that gratitude extends to Actor’s Theatre, who have chosen to bring us back to blow some cool Minnesota laughter into the Phoenix desert. So I’ll be there every night, letting Hugh out of his cage, giving 110 percent.

- Michael Pearce Donley of Triple Espresso

A day in the life of the pr gal

2009-09-09T11:47:00.000-07:00

My co-worker walks through our slanted doorway, and I greet him with my usual mumble in a foreign language. We have become accustomed to each others grunts. It doesn’t need to go beyond that for a greeting. It’s understood. By this time in my work day, I have checked up on any comments on our Facebook and Twitter sites, fighting any urge to play one of the thousands of games I blame my friends for introducing me to on Facebook. Sometimes, I smile at a clever fan’s post. Other times, I ruminate about what to say next to every one who follows Actors Theatre. As I ponder, I begin to write out my list of “To-Dos” for the upcoming day. At one point at the very start of my public relations tenure at Actors Theatre, I believe I even had time to color coordinate activities by using different colored pens on my “To Do” list…a fact I laugh at with a snicker of someone who knows better then to waste my time doing that. I glance at it, knowing I am missing 10 things, also knowing that 10 more things will be added to the list within the hour by any one of my 5 co-workers. For each press release or photo shoot I cross off, there are other things waiting to take their place…lingering to be done. I am sure I am not the only one who experiences this “list that is never done.” It goes on in business settings everywhere. But somehow, there is a heavy sense of responsibility here with this one, knowing that if I can’t get things done, someone in the family of 6 dedicated, theatre-loving souls, will get screwed. I can’t have that. We can’t have that.
What’s it like working in a small not-for-profit theatre company as the public relations coordinator? What’s a typical day like? No such thing as typical. Playing with the impact of social media and its use in communicating with the public has been an ever-changing road. Countless hours have been spent in meetings determining the best course of action to take. All of it seems relevant. All of it important. When I ask my boss where he would like me to start on the list of “To Dos” he responds, without hesitation, “All of it.” Ok. And when would you like it done? “Yesterday.” Ok again. I get it…in order to stay on top of this ever changing public relations/social media frenzy, you need to be one step ahead of the game. Sometimes I can be. Sometimes, I just want to do a face plant onto my keyboard and take a nap. Again, something I am sure has been felt by people in any business.
So, we trudge on, making noises and talking to ourselves as we pound away a the keyboard or race to the theatre to set up a photo shoot or call the restaurant as we gear up for the Opening Night party. Ahhh, yes. The world of the non-profit-theatre requires you to wear 14 hats in one day. But I am thankful that at least I have something to keep my head warm in these tough times.

Bill Blogs

2009-08-27T11:07:00.001-07:00

The nice, generous people at the Actors Theater are once again treating this Minnesota guy like royalty! They just sent me my bus ticket, and it looks like after 6 days and 37 stops I will arrive in Phoenix fresh for opening night. It was only a slight bummer the bus doesn't have air conditioning. But the much anticipated return to The Hamburger Theater will feature the original writers and actors of the show. I have done about 3,000 performances with these guys. We like working together, except they hate it when I write my lines on their foreheads. I keep saying," how else am I am supposed to remember them?"
I'm a magician, not Allen Einstein.
Does the show leave an impact? Will you laugh? Will it be memorable?
Not sure for you, but for a couple in Sarasota, Florida... yes! We were at the Asolo Theater in 1997. A couple that attended just recently had a conversation saying, "Honey what would you like to do for your 80th birthday?" She said, "I want to see Triple Espresso
again." So the husband found out we were going to be in Phoenix,
bought two tickets to Arizona, and will be at the opening night with his bride for her 80th birthday present. I hope they adjust their watches so they don't get there 3 hours early.
If you don't know about this show, one critic said, "it's like spending an evening with the Marx Brothers." If you come and don't like the show, bring me your ticket and proof of purchase and I will personally tell you how sorry I am. - Bill Arnold, author of Triple Espresso

Doubt, a Parable - Blog 12 - Audience Response Wednesday 9.24

2008-09-25T11:37:00.001-07:00

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Doubt, a Parable - Blog 11 - Audience Response Sunday 9.21

2008-09-22T15:13:00.000-07:00

Actors Theatre began the conversation with our audiences after Doubt, a Parable right in the lobby of the theatre. We had a large dry erase board and asked the audience the burning question on everyone's mind as they leave the show...."Was Sister Aloysius right?"See what he/she said after Sunday's show...(obviously there was more than one person in the audience...just only one response. Thanks whoever you were!)

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Doubt, a Parable - Blog 10 - Audience Response Saturday 9.20

2008-09-22T15:10:00.000-07:00

Actors Theatre began the conversation with our audiences after Doubt, a Parable right in the lobby of the theatre. We had a large dry erase board and asked the audience the burning question on everyone's mind as they leave the show...."Was Sister Aloysius right?"See what they said after Saturday's show...

(click on the photo for a larger view)

Doubt, a Parable - Blog 9 - Audience Response Friday 9.19

2008-09-22T15:08:00.000-07:00

Actors Theatre began the conversation with our audiences after Doubt, a Parable right in the lobby of the theatre. We had a large dry erase board and asked the audience the burning question on everyone's mind as they leave the show...."Was Sister Aloysius right?"See what - well...one audience member...said after Friday's show...
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Doubt, a Parable - Blog 8 - Audience Response Thursday 9.18

2008-09-22T15:06:00.001-07:00

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Doubt, a Parable - Blog 7 - Audience Response Sunday 9.14

2008-09-15T16:06:00.000-07:00

Actors Theatre began the conversation with our audiences after Doubt, a Parable right in the lobby of the theatre. We had a large dry erase board and asked the audience the burning question on everyone's mind as they leave the show...."Was Sister Aloysius right?"See what they said after Sunday's show...
(click on the photo for a larger view)

Doubt, a Parable - Blog 6 - Audience Response Saturday 9.13

2008-09-15T16:05:00.001-07:00

Actors Theatre began the conversation with our audiences after Doubt, a Parable right in the lobby of the theatre. We had a large dry erase board and asked the audience the burning question on everyone's mind as they leave the show...."Was Sister Aloysius right?"See what they said after Saturday's show...
(click on the photo for a larger view)

Doubt, a Parable - Blog 5 - Audience Response Friday 9.12

2008-09-15T16:00:00.000-07:00

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Doubt, a Parable - Blog 4 - Angelica Howland (playing Sister James)

2008-09-15T11:32:00.000-07:00

Opening weekend is done! What a long week! I was really feeling the lack of sleep and the overabundance of stress & jitters crashing down on me today. Note to self: Do NOT day dream about Spaghetti Carbonara when you are about to take an entrance -- Sister James ran into Sister Veronica in the garden!! Sister James did NOT run into Sister James in the garden as that would be a physical impossibility. Jeesh!! Thank the Big Sky Guy for April keeping us on track -- that little slip up won't happen again! Who needs 3 days off? I do!

Doubt, a Parable - Blog 3 - Patti Davis Suarez (playing Sister Aloysius)

2008-09-09T12:56:00.001-07:00

Wow, the words!!!
Feeling them gurgle, spew, spit, hurl, like tiny torpedos, from the inards (scene 8); or ooze from the sinuses in slick coils (scene 5); or just stick there, south of the tonsils, refusing to come out (scene 9).
The devil and God are both in the words!
Or, as we hillbillies would say, “I'm lovin' them words.”
And to play word ping-pong with the likes of Angelica, Rusty, and Lillie????
Well.
Also, I gotta' say, the physical plainness of Sister A is grabbing me.
No eyelashes, no lip gloss, no blush.
Mmmmm, have aliens taken patti?
Where is she?
Help!!!!

Doubt, a Parable - Blog 2 - Rusty Ferracane (playing Father Flynn)

2008-09-05T16:27:00.000-07:00

Well, I’m stepping into the 21st Century and writing my first blog. (I guess I’m not the only one behind the times since Word just underlined "blog" as a misspelled word!) We’re finishing up our first three weeks of rehearsals this weekend and then we head over to Stage West to begin tech week. Way too much has happened during rehearsal to attempt to document the process here, and Kerry Lengel is taking care of that in the Arizona Republic anyway. Let me just say that the four of us and Matthew and April have gone on a rich and fascinating journey putting our little skit up on it’s feet. While Patti and Angelica have to deal with "nunny head gear" a couple of interesting things I have to deal with are a full length cassock and long fingernails. This is the closest I’ve been to dressing in drag on stage! The fingernails are particularly wild because I used to chew them down to the nub but Father Flynn likes to wear his nails long so I’ve kicked the habit and now sport nails that would make Streisand envious. I may even go get a manicure. Of course, I’ll go to a man’s salon like Boxers in order to maintain my "masculinity"!

Doubt, a Parable - Blog 1 - Angelica Howland (playing Sister James)

2008-09-02T16:13:00.001-07:00

Friday 9/29/08

It is very warm under my nunny rehearsal head gear -- and to be honest -- its starting to get a little funky too. I wonder if it will grow its own legs and walk away in the next couple of days? I'm looking forward to a day off, to a day with no nunny hat head -- and a chance to do a little nunny hat laundry. Next week's goal: STOP SWEATING! (I'm pretty sure nuns are supposed to glisten) -- and ask Mr. Castellano about the possibility of installing an AC unit inside my cornette.

Speak Spanish to Me - Blog 3 - Jenn Banda (Firstinliner)

2008-04-24T10:30:00.000-07:00

I likened the art of building a character this week to baking a cake… I feel right now in the process that I have taken the cake out of the oven and put it on the cooling rake, can smell the lovely aroma, and am waiting for it to cool completely so that I can frost it and adorn it with all the beautiful flowers and garnishes.

This was a good week, it seemed to fly by. My character went through a major adjustment, Matthew and I decided that we need to go in a completely different direction and I am so glad that we did. I feel really good about it and I don’t feel as if I am teetering anymore on my high heels but rather standing tall.
Francine is very passionate about her teaching and what she teaches is the “word” she talks about how language comes from within the soul. Which is just wonderful, because as I work on the character I find that her voice is from deep down within me, my true voice.

As actors we are always looking for our “true voice” our “pure” voice to be on our voice. And with Francine it is very easy to do that because she is passionate and alive, there is nothing thin about her. I have no choice but to use that true voice within me. It would be doing her an injustice.

It is so exciting as an actor when you finally find that certain something that makes it click, whether it be the voice, the walk, the tick, the hands… or all of the above. It seems then that everything else just falls into place.

Of course it goes back to the metaphor of the cake, you have all of the other ingredients that have to be there, the homework which is you working on your script, researching, in my case looking up Pablo Neruda, I am now in LOVE with his poetry. Going through and finding out what your objectives are in each scene, learning the text, mixing it all together so that it becomes a confection. What a joy it is be able to be in this business. I LOVE MY JOB. This art of creating lives.

And Francine Firstinliner is a piece of work! A delightful wonderful, joyful piece of work. It is a privilege to put on her high heels everyday!

On to tech week and opening weekend!!! See you at the theatre!

Speak Spanish to Me - Blog 2 - Nathan Cole (played by Cathan Bordyn)

2008-04-17T16:14:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody.

That's me on the left.

GO SUN DEVILS!

I have a myspace page.

Check it out.

Here: http://www.myspace.com/natespanish

Then add me as a friend.

Then come see the show.

Word.

Speak Spanish to Me - Blog 1 - Jenn Banda (Firstinliner)

2008-04-15T10:19:00.000-07:00

End of the week…

Well, we got through another week and what a week it was. We are working very remarkably fast through this one. We were pretty much blocked, had the staging done, by the end of the first week and we were already working through the scenes in the beginning of week two. Now we are running the acts and working problem spots at the top pf the third week! WOW!!!

I have to admit I am very tired but I don’t think I am alone in that.

It really is amazing to be able to work on a new work that hasn’t even been work shopped and have the playwright come in and revise as we go along. If there are lines that don’t work, or even that you don’t feel quite work for your character you can ask to have them changed. How cool is that! It really is being able to become a part of the process as whole. I have never had that experience.

I seem to be in that part of the process where I am now, struggling with knowing my lines and trying to make them my own. Finding my place in this world that Bernado has written and Matthew is creating. Its kind of like walking to the edge of a cliff looking down into the most beautiful water you will ever see, knowing that if and when you jump you will be joining your soul friends in the warmest, most soothing liquid. It is amazing. And the jumping is like flying, soaring. But the anticipation is the scary part.

That’s where I am right now. And I just really need to get over every terrible bad habit I have and just trust myself, my wonderful leader and leap. But man oh man is it terrifying…

I feel blessed though to be around such an amazing group of people. Casts are not always equally talented and certainly don’t always get along. This group has both going for it! Which is going to make for a GREAT production. And April is just the icing on the proverbial cake.

Weehoo! Well off to study lines some more.

Jenn~ Firstinliner

The Busy World is Hushed - Blog 5 - David Dickinson

2008-01-23T14:26:00.000-08:00

This is the final in a series of five by actor David Dickinson - playing Thomas in Actors Theatre's The Busy World is Hushed.

My Father’s Airplane

The airplanes discussed in the play are another personal connection for me to my own father. The fact that we have a British Spitfire on the set with us is really exciting for me. My father was a pilot in WWII and I’ve always been fascinated with WWII vintage airplanes. In fact, growing up I made model airplanes which I hung on the ceiling of my room. My dad flew a P-38 in the south pacific. So I had a model of the P-38 set prominently in my room. I also had a model of a Spitfire. My dad always said it was one of the most respected airplanes among pilots. I also had models of a Japanese zero, an American P-51, B-29 and a B17. All of these were hung together in a huge dogfight in the corners of my room. So to have a Spitfire as the model plane on set made me so happy. When I hold that plane I think of the connection and shared love of those fighter planes I had with my father. I also think about how Thomas’ father’s hands touched that plane. It is a craft. I used to go to the New Mexico State Fair to see the model planes on display. It was always fascination to see the detailed painting on those planes. I would also hand paint the planes that I made and hung in my room.

The respect for the model plane is also very telling for Thomas. Most of the time Thomas is boisterous (as our director has encouraged me to make him) and in the apartment he is like a bull in a china shop. But when Thomas touches the plane, it is the one thing that slows him down and calms him in the play. The display of the plane to Brant is one of the points in the play where Thomas shows his vulnerability voluntarily after telling the story of his father’s death. It is one of my favorite moments in the play.

The Busy World is Hushed - Blog 4 - David Dickinson

2008-01-23T14:22:00.000-08:00

This is entry four in a series of five by actor David Dickinson - playing Thomas in Actors Theatre's The Busy World is Hushed.

My Father’s Bible

When I leaf through the bible as Thomas on stage, I see the scriptures and it reminds me of my father’s bible. My dad’s bible was almost like a spiritual glove that had been worn so many times you could see the stains from the oils in his fingers. He used the same bible to write his sermons each week and the markings in the margins and highlighting were all in bright yellow and very neat. He kept it in a case. It is funny, but in our family a bible was a personally symbol: personalized and marked in a way that was unique to them. My parents, my siblings and I all had our own bible. My mother’s bible was always a mess because she would read it in bed and the pages would get all bent and dog-eared. She marked her bible with a ballpoint pen: blue lines everywhere! My dad used a yellow highlighter and was very careful not to bend the edges of the bible. So when I leaf through the bibles on stage all of those connections come to mind.

Finding my fathers’ bibles as Thomas is a seriously meaningful event. To a minister a bible is “The Sword.” I don’t remember where it is, but somewhere the there is a verse that says something like “the word of God is like a two edged sword and cuts to the heart of man.” To a minister who to seminary, a bible is very meaningful. It is customized and personal to help them find the passages that are most meaningful to them. But it also leaves very little gratification in finding answers about personal traits of the man.

When Hannah says it is her markings in the bibles of Thomas’ father, all of that personalization goes away. Once she uses his bibles, the bibles are no longer the pure essence of who Thomas’ father was. It even upsets me, David, to think that my mother would mark in my dad’s bible. It is like marking the most private territory. I’m having a hard time articulating how upsetting the thought of my mother marking my deceased father’s bibles is to me. It would be like tattooing my father’s dead body. While that sounds harsh and a bit morose, that is really how it feels to me. The respect I have for what my father marked is profound to me as a son. And if it were tampered, especially with a BALL POINT PEN, I would feel so much disrespect. This is why the speech Thomas has about 20 different translations of Leviticus is so upsetting to me. Hannah means well, but she just stole any possible feeling of connection Thomas could have with my father.

The Busy World is Hushed - Blog 3 - David Dickinson

2008-01-16T08:45:00.001-08:00

This is entry three in a series of five by actor David Dickinson - playing Thomas in Actors Theatre's The Busy World is Hushed.

My Father’s “Seminary”
I remember finding one of my father’s notebooks from when he went to Ambassador College in the 1960’s. (This was the closest equivalent for him as a minister trainee in his church as going to seminary for an Episcopal priest.) What struck me about it was that his handwriting was similar to mine. He mixed printing with cursive the way I do. I know the ministers who taught him. I would take some of the same courses 30 years later when I attended the same school in his footsteps. There was fervency in his notes of discovering truth. I could sense that thrill that you have a connection to God through special knowledge… which to me is another seductive trap of religion. A trap that Thomas despises, yet for me and Thomas, seeing that fervency in our fathers is also comforting in some way. Even though you may not agree with what he believed, you understand the excitement of the discovery he was making. I take all these memories of seeing my father’s notes and connect them directly to Thomas

The Busy World is Hushed - Blog 2 - David Dickinson

2008-01-16T08:40:00.000-08:00

This is entry two in a series of five by actor David Dickinson - playing Thomas in Actors Theatre's The Busy World is Hushed.

The Absence of a Father
I lost my father when I nineteen. His absence in my life as I went off to college created a huge hole in my life. I’ve had so many questions about life that made me search harder because I didn’t have that male perspective as I went from adolescence to manhood. Multiply that by one-thousand for Thomas. As a son, when you lose your father you think of all the things you never asked. All the stories you know have a dark side to them because you can’t know your father’s perspective. What was my father really like away from home? Did he ever do things that he would be ashamed to tell me? What are the myths of the stories I have been told? Even if he were here, I’m still not sure I would know, but I could at least ask. Something about widowhood makes a woman protect her deceased spouse, especially in front of her children. The funny thing is children can usually feel the truth even if it is not discussed.

The Busy World is Hushed - Blog 1 - David Dickinson

2008-01-07T15:54:00.000-08:00

This entry is one in a series of five by actor David Dickinson - playing Thomas in Actors Theatre's The Busy World is Hushed.

Being a PK
Most every play I perform in I am able to pull things from my past, but Thomas hit very close to home for me as a character. I share a lot with him, but most especially my experience as a preacher’s kid or “PK.” Just like Thomas, I grew up with parents who read me bible stories. In fact my favorite story was of David and Goliath. I had this little picture book and I can still see the picture of the Philistine giant with the stone in his forehead and David with his sling standing over him. I thought it was just so cool that I was named David too. In the play Thomas says that his mother had him convinced he was the second coming of Christ. I know the feeling. My mother named me David after the king and James, my middle name, after King James of England who had the bible translated into English. At least that’s what I always thought: maybe that’s one of my own myths! Anyway, I guess that everyone’s parents try to make their children feel special. But the feeling of being connected somehow exclusively to a figure in the bible (and especially Christ) is so seductive for a child and a parent. All of us are searching for meaning in our lives and I think that Hannah’s desire to make Thomas her personal savior is a way for her to connect to God. And as a child, being told that you are more special because of knowledge you are given or a spiritual connection to God from your birth is seductive for a young mind because it feels so good and comforting. It also makes you feel different and set apart. In my experience, in this type of a situation religion is twisted so that instead of connecting humans together, it creates that idea of loneliness and separation.

Hannah embraces the idea of loneliness seeing it as a blessing. I have seen that separation in my own life, and I think this is part of the larger conflict between Thomas and Hannah. Thomas has been away from this perspective long enough and is now old enough to form an outside opinion about life. He believes that meaning is here and now: life is to be experienced, in the woods and in the city. Hannah keeps talking about that distant shore as if “real” life is there and not here on earth. Instead earth is only a place for being burnished in pain. From my experience, when a child tries to change the belief of a parent, things usually don’t go so well… I don’t want to ruin any surprises, but Thomas has an uphill battle coming home and he knows it.

A Christmas Carol - Blog 4 - David Barker (Christmas Present)

2007-12-19T14:14:00.000-08:00

We now enter our final week of performances and I can genuinely say, as I always do at this time, I am very sad to see the production approach closing night. This is my 3rd season playing the Ghost of Christmas Presnt along with ensemble roles and this project is unlike any other I have ever done. When I enter the dressing room area each day I have the feeling that I am among family. I like to turn the corner after passing through secuity, face thee long hallway of dressing rooms and beegin singing aloud "You will get a sentimental feeling when you hear, voices singing lets be jolly...," and someone somewhere in one of the rooms finishes the lyric. Its hard to believe but with a cast and a crew of this size, there is not one person I don't know on a first name basis, nor is there one person I don't feel comfortable being around! (I'm not sure they all can say the same for me, because I tend to be loud and goofy.) There is a true sense of warmth and friendship. But beyond that, this is a production that literally spreads cheer to hundreds of people every time we take the stage. And yet, with all its color, song, dance and special effects, the show transcends mere entertainment. I know each night when we gather behind the grand curtain for the opening tableau (which provides an opportunity to repeat a beautiful, bonding series of traditions as each cast member settles into the tableau often with the same sequence of behaviors which range from waves to hugs to high fives), that we begin bringing a classic story to life; an epic tale of redemption, forgiveness and hope.

God bless us everyone!

A Christmas Carol - Blog 3 - Gene Ganssle (Fred)

2007-12-05T12:22:00.000-08:00

What a fun, exhausting, rewarding week!

There's always a joy opening "Carol". I should know; it's my 10th season as Fred. Even rehearsing in 90 degrees, you can't help but get into the Spirit of the Season.

We decorate our dressing rooms, do a Secret Santa adventure and adopt a St. Vincent de Paul family. There always seems to be baked goods and games brought to the actor lounge to share, and everyone - despite being extremely busy - saves a smile for each other throughout the run.

If you have a chance to come see us, I think you'll see the joy we feel in doing this show.

Have a Blessed Christmas,
Gene Ganssle

A Christmas Carol - Blog 2 - Mike Lawler (Marley)

2007-11-30T16:16:00.000-08:00

The cast of A Christmas Carol at Actors Theatre is a family.

Kim Bennett (our Scrooge) said it and I believe it. And while we are in rehearsal we are spending more time with each other than our families. But what a great time!

My name is Mike Lawler and this is my third year of playing Jacob Marley (Scrooge's deeased partner). What a cast! We get David Barker entertaining us during rehearsal breaks with some of the wackiest jokes ever heard. We're in our second week of rehearsal and he is still trying to get us to do a group improv to 'break the ice'.

5 year old Casey Likes is playing Tiny Tim this year. He is a 5 year old renaissance man. Not only doing a great job playing Tiny Tim but he has another project in the works. Casey is directing and starring in "PowerMan" which he will be shooting during the Christmas Carol run. He's holding auditions for the cast (though some parts have been pre-cast). There is lots of excitement about this movie. Rumor has that Matthew Wiener is either going to have a cameo as a Starbucks latte man or play Casey's sidekick. No decision yet.

Lillie Richardson just makes me laugh. She's fantastic.

I get to work with actors and actresses who are first-rate. I'm thrilled when I get to work with them in scene or song and I love watching them when I'm offstage. It's a thrill to work with Kim Bennett as Scrooge who makes me laugh and then rips my heart out.

I love working with Matthew and one of my favorite parts in rehearsal (and you never know when this will happen) is when he jumps out of his seat, comes around his table and illustrates his direction to me: Kim and I are working the end of the Marley/Scrooge scene. The scene reads like this-

Marley: "Expect the second (spirit) on the next night at the same hour, the third, upon the next night when the last stroke of twelve has cease to vibrate".

Marley begins to levitate

"Look to see me no more. And see that, for your own good, you remember what has passed between us!"

Marley rises out of sight

...and Matthew acts out for me what he's after. He kind of gets in Kim's face: "Scrooge three spirits are coming, here's when they're coming. Matthew then pulls away like he's being lifted up: "O.K. I'm outta here". He is so helpful and funny. And effective. Matthew set the bar last night- we are to achieve 150% in rehearsal of what we will deliver in performance. I'm sure we will get there. Matthew makes me believe.

Arthur Marks is a terrific music director and so supportive. He has blown us all away with his 6 octave vocal range and his talent as a dancer and actor. Actually, it's kind of depressing.

Robbie Harper, our Co-choreographer as well as our Bob Cratchit, is amazing.

It's a gift to be able to tell this story of spirit and reconciliation with great actors and an excellent theatre company. I have every confidence you will love A Christmas Carol as much as I do!

Mike Lawler

A Christmas Carol - Blog 1 - Matthew Wiener

2007-11-26T15:58:00.001-08:00

Better late than never. Time to kick off the Xmas Carol 07 Blog-O-Rama. Today is actually the last day we will be working in the rehearsal hall. Tomorrow is the day off and then we hit the stage on Wednesday afternoon. A mere 72 hours later we perform for our first audience.

Doing A Christmas Carol every year is unlike any other project I have ever been part of in the theatre. This is the 13th year I have directed this show – the 10th year for this adaptation. If we rehearse for approximately 2.5 weeks every year - that is about 32 weeks of rehearsal. Yikes – a normal show has 4 weeks. You would think we should finally be getting this right.

But every year the journey is slightly different. Although many cast members return year after year there are always some new people that have to be worked into the show. And these new people bring new energy and ideas – which to a certain extent we cherish but on the other hand the show is pretty much locked down in terms of blocking and lighting. We call this a “remount”. Which is supposed to be easy. But hardly ever is.

A Christmas Carol is a huge undertaking for Actors Theatre. Most of our shows are performed in Stage West (300 seats) and have an average of 3-5 actors. And the set usually just sits for the most part. This show is different: Center Stage, 750 seats, 22 actors, 2 stage managers, 2 followspot operators, 3 wardrobe people, 5 stagehands, a sound mixer, a sound runner, a light board operator, and of course – a musical director. In three days getting all these people to work together as a finely tuned machine is always challenging. But we do it. Year after year. After all - it’s just a remount.

Pursuit of Happiness - Blog 15 - by...just guess.

2007-11-07T10:50:00.000-08:00

Tuesday October 6, 2007 11:04 am

So here we are, ready to begin the last week of the show. I'm an emotional rollercoaster. This show has been an absolute dream to work on, which is a lot more than I can say for some other shows I've done in the past, let me tell you.

As we approach this last weekend, I start to become reminded of why it is that I do theatre. I originally started acting because I eventually wanted to be in broadcasting and TV, always thinking about what it would be like to have my own late night talk show or sitcom on the Disney channel. But as you begin to involve yourself into this wonderful world of community and art, you begin to see how acting is so much more than just trying to get noticed. When you talk to people after a show or in a post-show discussion and they tell you how profoundly moving the production was to them, or when some people actually cry at what they have seen on stage and they get caught up in the moment of the scene, it makes you feel lucky to do what it is you do. Being an actor is truly the greatest job in the world and I thank God every day that I get the chance to do it on at least a semi-regular basis.

I probably won't be writing too much more after this blog since I have a ton of homework to do this weekfor school, and also because I'll undoubtedly get caught up in the constant partying that always ends up happening during the last weekend of the show. As usual, this run was too short, but then again they always are. I've never really looked forward to seeing a show end, but this one is a hard one to let go inparticular because of the incredible cast I got to work with and because of the fun that I have in just doing the show. This is one of the few shows I've done that I can honestly say I could do over and over again for years and never get tired of it. There have onlybeen two other shows in my career that I can honestly say that about, so this one certainly has a special place in my heart.

Trivia question:

Who keeps a picture of LillieRichardson (the Angel from Actors Theatre's Angels in America)on their dressing room mirror?

a. Joe Kremer

b. Katie McFadzen

c. Kyle Sorrell

Take a wild guess.

You got it....................(b)

Another Trivia Question: Which actor in The Pursuit of Happiness decided that Katie's name should now be Katie McFabulous?

a. Gene Ganssle

b. Lindsey Marlin

c. Joe Kremer

okay, okay, you got me. ..................................(c)

One more: Which stage manager for The Pursuit of Happiness gives us a "places" call in the style of a Gregorian Chant?

a. April Smith

b. April Smith

c. April Smith

d. all of the above

that's right..............(d)

Okay, last one: Which actor from The Pursuit of Happiness will probably never work for Actors Theatre again because he (or she) writes blogs discussing drunkeness and lewd behaviour?

a. Joe Kremer

b. Kyle Sorrell

c. Gene Ganssle

d. Katie McFadzen

e. Lindsey Marlin

f. all of the above except for (a.)

If you chose (f.) you are CORRECT!

Okay, okay, I'm just kidding.

It's (a.)

Talk to you all very soon. Much Love!

Pursuit of Happiness - mini-Blog 14 - by Joe Kremer (Imagine that :)

2007-11-07T10:46:00.001-08:00

Wednesday October 31, 2007 1:50pm

I'm procrastinating again. I should be doing homework but instead of that I am writing this blog.

So, have you read the reviews? Well, they're beautiful. It's a really good show and I think that everyone that has come to see it has really enjoyed it.

Thank you everyone that came to the show this past weekend. Thank you Alan for the candy. Thank you everyone else who hung out and partied with me afterwards. (And you know who you are.)

If you are a fan of this blog, let me know. We arehaving a talk-back at our show on thursday nite so let me know then. otherwise I'll just stop writing these damn things! hahaha! nah, i can't do that...this is much better and cheaper than going to my therapist.

much love. hope to c u this wkend.

Pursuit of Happiness - Blog 13 - by Joe Kremer (Spud)

2007-11-07T10:42:00.000-08:00

Monday, Oct. 29, 2007 3:28pm

I thought I'd write this blog real quick before I leave to go pick up my daugter from school. I want to tell you about my exciting opening night and all th epartying afterwards (which, let's face it, that's what you really want to hear).

So I was nervous as hell but I got through the opening night show. The crowd was so freaking amazing! Everyone did an absolutely fantastic job and I just LOVE this cast! They are soF-ing talented!

Okay, so after the show we all went to a cast party at My Florist Cafe. It was so awesome. I wore this big red shirt so I completely stood out, although I had brought a jacket to wear over it but it was too f-ing hot to wear. I hobnobbed with audience members, and I drank beer, and I ate cheese, and I drank beer, and I talked to people. It was so great...I felt soHollywood.

So then we left My Florist Cafe around 12:30pm and headed over to Kobalt, which is a bar over on Central and Osborn. It was so great to hang out with my friends and drink a lot, and hang out with my friends, and drink some more. I was in hog heaven! There was even a really nice lady that happened to be drinking there and came up to me and said I did a really good job with the show. Wasn't that sweet?! I should've got her number so I can call her if I ever feel like my performance wasn't that good.

There was a whole bunch of stuff happening at Kobalt that I'm afraid I can't talk about. Lets just say SOMEBODY had a camera and SOMEBODY was taking some pretty crazy pictures with that camera and there was a lot of booze involved. A lot more stuff happened but I really can't tell you what all happened. I'll just tell you that it was a great time and I am NOT looking forward to this show ending at all. I love everyone involved in this freaking show and the crowds have been great. Much love. Talk to you later.

Pursuit of Happiness - Blog 12 - by Kyle Sorrell (Tucker)

2007-10-29T09:57:00.000-07:00

Alright folks, WE ARE OPEN !!!

This is the most fun i've had onstage in a while!
Compared to most tech rehearsals, the proccess of the
last week was smoooooth sailing - thanks to the great
April Smith heading up a team of the most capable and
delightful group of designers, technicians and actors
in the valley. And I'm not just saying that because I
want to work here again and again, I mean it! As an
actor, there are times you look around at the project
you're in and go, "Why did I get into this line of
work?" THIS IS THE OPPOSITE OF THOSE TIMES. The
audiences have been warm and giving and it just makes
us want to give more back. It reminds us that the
theatre is the most unique and interactive form of art
you can indulge in.

Ok.. bla bla bla, praise praise praise, the point of
this BLOG is THIS ...If you are reading this and
thinking, "Hmm...I dunno if I'll have a chance to see
this show or not." or you are on the fence at all, GET
OFF IT! YOU NEED TO COME CHECK THIS OUT!

Whatever you're excuse is - we got the answer:

Mother-in law's in town?? Bring her. She'll love it!

Too much homework?? You gotta take a break some time
so laugh it up & you'll feel refreshed and be more
productive later.

Gotta wash your hair? Leave it dirty. The theatre's
dark anyway and no one's looking.

You're cat's sick? Give her a pat and some catnip and
get your butt to the theatre.

I promise you will feel as lucky as I do to be there
that night. You will laugh a LOT and choke up a
little, just like I do. You will feel the raw and
active direction of Ron May, the the poignant wit of
Richard Dresser, the sweet nostalgia of Ben Monrad's
sound design, the contagious energy of a superb cast,
and the joy of Actors Theatre.

(I know, kinda nice to write your own reviews, huh?
Well, come and see it and you can post your own!)

Pursuit of Happiness - Blog 11 - by Joseph Kremer (Spud)

2007-10-26T17:50:00.000-07:00

PREVIEW NIGHT BLOG
Friday October 26, 2007 9:39am

I am freaking out. This is probably the most stressed out I have ever been in my life. I'm sitting here in my philosophy class at ASU and I am not concentrating at all, whatsoever. How can I when this is PREVIEW NIGHT BABY! We are SO gonna rock the stage tonight and we will all live forever in ROCK AND ROLL HEAVEN! What makes me so damn sure? Come see the show and findout baby. A little Uber-confident? I don't think so. I've seen the show. I like it. You will too.

I absolutely love my job. This is the kind of job that people dream about doing and believe me, I am taking full advantage of it. The other day I walked by a row of cubicles and told all the losers in them that they need to QUIT THEIR DAY JOBS and WORK ON THEIR CRAFT! QUIT YOUR DAY JOB! hahaha! What a bunch of dopes!hahahaha! LOOK AT ME! I'M WEARING FLIP FLOPS! JEALOUS? HELL YEAH YOU ARE! WELP, GOTTA GO TO WORK! HAHAHA! Okay, I'm just kidding, I didn't do that. Not everyone has sufficient mental illness to become an actor, but lucky for me I fit the bill. My therapist told me so. I love you all, I'm so glad you're here reading this. I have an absolute whirlwind of emotion going oninside of me right now and I cannot WAIT to get on that stage. The initial personal crisis I had when I walked into stage west and saw that set (which looks like it should be on the cover of AMERICAN THEATRE magazine) and into my dressing room that I share with GENE and KYLE (which is a dream of many girls I know) is now gone. I am feeling so GOOD about this show because it is so professionally done and constructed. My lines are learned. My costume is magnificent. My friends are here. I love my job.

I AM READY.

Pursuit of Happiness - Blog 10 - by Chris Wood - Actors Theatre's fearless and brilliant Technical Director

2007-10-25T10:11:00.001-07:00

The Stage is quiet. The set complete. No more construction. No notes to finish. The time in the process has come when I let go of this show and concentrate on the next. I received the preliminary plans this morning and its construction is to start soon. But as I am locking up the tools for the night I am overcome by a strange feeling. A sort of emptiness. There is no next Actors Theatre show for me. There are no more time lines and deadlines, no meetings and planning, no ordering of materials or watching budgets. For the first time in eight years there is no next show. I only received the plans this morning because my name has not been removed from the scene shop email macro button. Another person will be dealing with all the things that has filled my professional life all these years. Actors Theatre will go on, just not with me.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with me I have had the pleasure of being Actors Theatre's Technical Director for many a moon now. What do I do you ask? The short answer is that when you watch our shows, anything that does not move (actors) or is electrical (lights) is my responsibility either in planing or construction. Much like a Director takes the Playwright's words and gives them life, I take the Set Designer's vision and make it a reality. I have joked before that the Audience only sees Matthew's labors three or four shows a season, but they see mine every show making me, as they say, “the hardest working man in show business”.

In my Tenure at Actors Theatre we have tried to bring you a wide variety of things scenically. Some have been successful (I still remember the audible gasp from the woman seated in front of me when the curtain rose on the set from The Archbishop's Ceiling), some have been a challenge (just how do you build a $30,000 revolving door for Lobby Hero with only $200), and some just flat out did not work (you never saw the giant spaceship and levitating grass in Border Town, they were cut the day before opening). No matter what the outcome was however I always enjoyed answering the question “Can I do it?”. I like to think that in the end the answer was always yes.

So why am I leaving you ask? Well after much consideration, I have decided to return to the land of my youth in Oregon to reconnect with my family. But as I prepare to go, I realize more and more that I am leaving behind another family. My Actors Theatre Family. Little did I realize the opportunities I would have and people I would meet, as I drove that old moving truck through the painted desert and into town in 1999. I have had the pleasure to work with so many talented and gifted people in this organization, from directors to office managers and everyone in between. To be honest, someplace deep inside me is a dark desire that when I leave all hell will break loose and the company will come to a grinding halt. That will not be the case however, as you would be hard pressed to find a finer group of caring and passionate individuals anywhere else. The shows will go on without me.

Along with the staff of Actors Theatre there is another important member of this wonderful family. You. The patrons who support Actors Theatre. Just like a family, sometimes we disagree on things (not every show can be a musical or comedy) but you have always been there when we have been in need. I thank you. I am confident that with your support Actors Theatre will continue on for a good long while.

I wish I did not have to leave this wonderful extended family. I wish I could some how bend the laws of time and space so I could live in Oregon but commute to Phoenix. But I am just a guy who is good with a hammer and saw, I think a sci-fi teleporter is a bit out of my league. Maybe I could do it in about 20 years if I took some quantum physics night classes. Who knows. Well it is getting late and these boxes are not packing themselves. As Shakespeare said “all the world is a stage”, so I had better get back to preparing for my venue change.

Pursuit of Happiness - Blog 10 - by Lindsey Marlin (Jodi)

2007-10-25T10:08:00.000-07:00

PRE-TECH

All right, people...the blog war is ON. How many can we collectively post, huh? HUH?
Kudos to Joe's MADLIBS blog. That took me back...

To like, last week.

God, I'm pathetic.

Go '80's!

Anyway, we start tech tonight and I really can't wait. This is my Actors Theatre debut, so this is my first official night in Stage West.

It's a beautiful space, with its three tiers and intimate setting, and it will be a lot of fun to finally see the completed set within it. I'm looking forward to a possible tangible version of the "Slam, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle" as well (see my previous post)!

So, that's all for now. Updates post-tech.

POST-TECH

The "Slam, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle" be damned! Sorry, Gene. It's looking really sturdy, that door frame. Furthermore, the entire set looks lovely and our upwardly mobile little family even has "granite" countertops! And sconces! Very nice sconces, I might add (Go Kim!). We nearly completed the initial tech of Act I tonight, so in 4.5 hours, I think we made pretty good time. It's so fascinating, this theatre thing. All these people contributing to the "whole" of mounting a production. I mean, the teamwork, the unity, the ensemble...it's just so humbling, in my opinion. In a world where so much crap is occurring on a regular basis, where so much crap is occurring in the macrocosm, it's really nice to see the OPPOSITE occurring in this microcosm. God, I love theatre.

Anyway, this is way too deep and I've got to head to bed.

Until later,
Lindsey Marlin
Actor/Voiceover Artist
http://www.blogger.com/www.lindseymarlin.com

Pursuit of Happiness - Blog 9 - by Katie McFadzen (Annie)

2007-10-23T11:30:00.000-07:00

Oh, the pressure! To blog or not to blog...I'm the only one in the cast who hasn't yet so here I go...be clever...quick...say something smart, interesting and funny...uh...drawing a blank...and...I've... got...nothing. Except a whole lot of ellipses. I can say I'm thoroughly enjoying this experience. It's thrilling to finally work with Ron May and fabulous to get to work with April again after so many years. A talented team, indeed. As an actor who often works with the same group of actors over and over (an amazing group of actors, I might add), it's good to get out of my comfort zone and work in the rehearsal hall with new-to-me actors. Observation is the best way for an actor to learn and I'm learning things every day. It's been fun to watch Kyle, who often plays the hottie hunk type, dive head first into his awkward and socially inept character. The process of watching Joe dig deep and find his inner sleaze has been truly valuable. In addition to being a very funny, kind, and supportive performer, Gene has proven to be a master of "propography" (the ability to navigate the movement of many props while still speaking) and the "frosted mini-beat" (just taking a tiny little moment for a look or a breath before moving on to the next idea). I can't imagine Lindsay was ever the rebellious teen she has turned into in this show...she reminds me a bit of myself at that age. I can still hear my dad saying "you have a rotten disposition, Kathrine." I'm better now. My favorite thing, I think, is Richard Dresser's ability to put words together. Things like "existential paralysis" and "soul-crushingly dull" come to mind. Wanna hear more cool word pairings? Come to the show! And bring your friends! The only reason you're reading this is because you already support Actors Theatre or you're in the cast (or because my mom sent you the link). So turn some other people on to this great company...if you tell two people then they'll tell two people and so on and so on...(remember that commercial, crap, just dated myself).

Love, Katie

Pursuit of Happiness - Blog 8 - by Kyle Sorrell (Tucker)

2007-10-23T11:27:00.000-07:00

10.20.07

It’s 12:52pm and It’s all "gooooooooood." (ed note: that joke will make sense after you see the show :) )

I have now completely immersed myself in this "actor" culture and I think they have accepted me as one of their own. All except the bearded one they call "Joe." There is something not quite right about this one. He’s looking at me a bit funny today, and is no doubt hung over as usual.

After the scene’s goals are met, we break into a conversation contemplating the shapes and sizes of various types of potatoes.

Observers of The Pursuit of Happiness are asked the question, "How did we all get here?" So I pose these difficult questions to the Magic 8 Ball:

How did Katie get to be so funny? (I think she’s coming down with Tourrette’s)

How did Gene get so "goooood." (He really come’s alive with a tazer in his hand.)

How did Lindsey get to be so perfect? (I think she actually got a line note yesterday)

…and just how did Joe get to be so……...tall?

The world may never know. But l am eagerly awaiting my final initiation into the group on opening night. It’s called "cast bonding" and I can only hope it’s not too painful, and that I will finally feel the pleasures of the elusive "coolio" I am promised (see yesterday's blog about "coolio".)

Pursuit of Happiness - Blog 7 - by Gene Ganssle (Neil)

2007-10-23T11:25:00.000-07:00

Happiness 10/22

We're about to go into tech and I am having a blast.
This is has turned out to be one of the funnier productions I've worked on.
Now, The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow was funny, but on this show I'm actually dealing with a challenge that hasn't arisen for me for over 10 years:
breaking up during a scene.

I've worked with both Kyle (Tucker) and Joe (Spud) before, and they are doing such great work that it still makes me laugh. I have been gradually winning the fight -- most decent actors do, but I really think Kyle is now having fun seeing if he can still "get me".
I know he'll get to audiences.

Gene

Pursuit of Happiness - Blog 6 - by Joseph Kremer (Spud) Blog-o-rama part deux)

2007-10-23T11:13:00.000-07:00

Saturday October 20, 2007 12:03pm

Well hello. Here i am in rehearsal and i'm not going to lie to you people. I'm a little hungover. I think i can totally 'act' like i'm not hungover, but it's not going to be easy.

Our Artistic Director Matthew is coming to see our little run thru today and i really think it's important to at least look like i know what i'm doing. See? This job isn't that different from most other jobs, except of course construction :)

We're "working" some scenes right now. "Working" is the technical theatre term for "working on the scenes to make them a little crisper". Right now the one i'm watching is looking pretty crispy. fabulicious. I woke up this morning at 10:17am and had a bowl ofCorn Pops. i wanted something that wasn't too rich orfast foodish, so that seemed to fit the bill. Oh yespeople, I can tell you're jealous of the glamour. Just picture me sitting on the couch with a bowl of Corn Pops, hung-over hair sticking up on the top of my head with my dog Kramer starting at me with a look of disappointment. kind of like everybody looks at my character spud in the show. you'll see. my scene is coming up. gotta go.

Saturday October 20, 2007 12:40pm

Ok, I'm back. Well that went pretty well. i think ihave them all fooled about me being hungover. I don't think they suspect a thing, thank God. (ed. note from ron - the director: he fooled no one.) Ah...the glamour of this business that we call "show."Kyle's giving me strange looks today. i think he's getting into character. Oh God, wait till you see this guy on stage. he is so damn funny. Ok, back to work.

Saturday October 20, 2007 7:16pm

okay...so rehearsal is now over and i am at my house getting ready to start some homework for school. I'm sitting here at my computer desk wearing a t-shirt and jeans writing this blog mainly because it provides me with a wonderful and fully justified implement of procrastination. So here's what happened at the rest of rehearsal:

We had two more people come and see our little run-thru today. One of them was our "prop master" which is a technical theatre term for "the person in charge of things that we use on stage during the performance." The other one was a girl that works at the Herberger and helps us backstage during the run. I'm not sure with what but I'm very eager to find out. It did go quite well though. There were some things that i was sure Ron was going to give me some notes on, but he didn't. i hope it wasn't because he was sleeping while i was doing my scenes. (ed. note from ron - the director - i wasn't.) nah! Anywho, everyone did really really good. I really wish could tell you about the story a little bit so icould talk about which scenes i like the best, but everyone at Actors Theatre is afraid that i'll giveaway too much information about the plot and ruin the story. I guess i can understand that, it just makes ithard to discuss the show if i have to describe things like, "we were working the scene where Gene _____ me in the ______ and so i had to _____ on the stage, but i keep _____ on my _____ so I had to ask April for a_______."

You see what I mean? it's very difficult. I feel like i work for the CIA and can't tell my spouse how my day was at work.

wife: "How was your day honey?"

CIA agent: "Well, I was _____ the hell out of this______ when finally he started telling us where_____Bin _____ was. Then Agent ______ came in and told me about how when we get ready to _______ Iran we have to make sure that _______ is out of the country before the poisonous ___ starts to kill everyone."

wife: "Well that's nice dear."

CIA agent: "Damn it's hard to talk to you about my day. Well, i'm off to Cambodia."

wife: "Goodbye dear. Have a nice trip. Bring me backsome hash."

You see what I mean?

Okay, this has gone on long enough.

I have to dohomework.

much love!

I'll write more tomorrow.

Pursuit of Happiness - Blog 5 - by Kyle Sorrell (Tucker)

2007-10-22T13:39:00.001-07:00

10.18.07

(To be read in the voice of Will Shatner...)

Tuckers log, star date 10.18.07, 6pm. It’s been two and a half weeks now since we landed on planet "Pursuit of Happiness" and everyone seems to be adjusting nicely to the strange environment we call "the rehearsal hall." The inhabitants of this creative atmosphere call themselves "actors" and seem to live off of mainly skittles and coffee. They have peculiar rituals like speaking to themselves in the hallway, or pretending to be in love, and tirelessly repeating bits off dialog they call "scenes."

The fearless leader of this entertaining clan is called "Ron" and he offers insight on how to extract the most interesting and humorous ways to perform their rituals. When pleased with their work, he rewards them with the promise of something called "coolio!" but I have not yet seen him produce such a thing. I must probe further to find out exactly what this "coolio" is. I suspect it’s some kind of sweet carbonated beverage.

I admit the strange energy of planet "Happiness" is contagious and I often find myself erupting into laughter while watching these specimens at play.

Pursuit of Happiness - Blog 4 - by Lindsey Marlin (Jodi)

2007-10-22T13:34:00.000-07:00

Hello! This is Lindsey Marlin, and I play Jodi in The Pursuit of Happiness. Ron asked us to blog, so here's my first installment.

Enjoy, ruminate, go and get some snack food.

We are officially one week away from opening and three days away from the start of tech. Are we ready? Sure we are! Granted, we are still working out some of the minutiae (I love this word), but that is to be expected. One thing I love about all of this pre-tech stuff is the notes. Lots o' notes. Notes occur during tech, too, but pre-tech notes seem to be a little more juicy. So, we just keep playing with new things and seeing where that gets us. It's a funny show. It'll be great to have an audience.
As for the rehearsal process, the entire thing has been nothing short of wonderful. First off, behind the rehearsal table, you have the dynamic duo of April and Ron. April is our fearless stage manager or stage LEADER, as Katie likes to say, and Ron is our brilliant director.

The amount of insight pouring forth from this table is seriously palpable. I mean, it's scary. In a good way, of course, but it's so nice to know that you're being both challenged and taken good care of.

Now, I'm not sure if I should be ending sentences with "of," something about that is striking me as B- work, but I'm going to let it slide for the sake of blog-dom. But I digress. As I was saying, Ron is so insightful, it's scary, April is so on-the-ball, it's scary, and Joe is just scary. HAHAHA. Kidding. Only when he's teaching us things that we never wanted to learn (man-toe?). Or did we :)? Kyle and Gene share with us the highs and lows of real estate, and Katie brings us laughs, stories of Childsplay, and Skittles. Rehearsal is a little like home! We've created an amazingly talented little 6-week family!

So...let's talk happiness. It's a good word: Happiness. It's not as good a word as sphygmomanometer (bonus points if you actually know what this is), but it’s close. Contrary to Jodi, perhaps, I think that happiness is something we actually have to pursue everyday, and I think this is because it is ultimately so elusive. If you don't choose it, if you don't go searching for it, you're not going to find it, I think, with any regularity. You may find it on occasion, "happy accidents" as it were, but it's going to be difficult. Very difficult. Especially if you're negative a lot! Like me :)! Well, I’m Italian. Not that all Italians are negative. But I'm working on it, the happiness part, and thus the daily pursuance!

So...the things that make me happy?

Well, there's the usual fare: my family, friends, and dogs. But as far as other, more esoteric things that make me happy, let's break out the bullet list...
-The fact that my February birthday is no longer freezing since I now live in the Southwest
-Heroes, on NBC, Mondays at 8PM
-The "clicky" thing that locks and unlocks my car doors
-Bowling!
-OSU Football (Go Buckeyes!)
-Gene Ganssle's patented, "Slam, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle," hand gesture as he slams the imaginary front door and imitates the most likely still moving door frame of our set...
And I'll stop there. :)

Come and see the show. It'll make you happy.

PEENT!

Lindsey Marlin

Pursuit of Happiness - Blog 3 - by Gene Ganssle (Neil)

2007-10-22T13:32:00.000-07:00

"Happiness" rehearsal 10/19/07

If you wanted to peek inside my head right now, you would find I have a lot in common with "Tuck". (Tucker - the character in the show)

There's always a lot of strangely mixed feelings as I move into tech. rehearsal with a show.
Don't get me wrong: this show is very funny and very wonderful, thanks to great scripting, casting and direction.
But it's the challenge of making everything come together.
Last night I was trying to balance all of the specific work with all of the notes and changes, along with three pages of line notes (April hears ALL) and incorporate it all into the run.
All I can say is I'll need to run it some more. But we are very close to having another unique and wonderful Actor's Theatre show. That's the reason, despite all I've just said, I love working here!
Come and see why for yourself.
Gene Ganssle

Pursuit of Happiness - Blog 2 - "Gauntlet o' Blogs" by Joseph Kremer (Spud)

2007-10-22T13:23:00.000-07:00

October 19, 2007 2:05pm

Well here we are, exactly one week before opening. My name is Joe Kremer and I am an actor in The Pursuit ofHappiness. We are just now beginning a "stumble thru"which is a technical theatre term to describe a"stumbling through the whole show". Ha. It's really neat to see the whole show come to fruition. It never ceases to amaze me how these "shows" which is a technical theatre term to describe "the show", come together. I am getting ready to begin my first scene. Am I nervous? Nah...I know my lines. I got my costume. I got my props. We made tremendous strides in the rehearsal last night and I made a breakthough in a scene that was certainly my weakest one. That's a feeling that is very hard to explain, this feeling of "making a breakthrough". But now I'm going to try and tell you how it feels: Try not going to the bathroom for like three days. And then finally the next morning, go. That's about it.

Ok, my scene is getting close. talk to ya in a bit!

October 19, 2007 2:47pm

Okay, all done. My Act I scenes are now done and I'm feeling pretty good about them. I'm watching the rest of Act I now and it is very entertaining. This is the stuff that's entertaining to me, watching the whole Act I and seeing all the things that we've changed and added since the first day. If you've never done a play before this process is very intriguing. It's one of the reasons that stage acting is so addicting, why actors quit their day jobs, why actors leave their spouses and try to do this full time. Ummm...but I digress. When you see a play on stage it is certainly not the same play that was being rehearsed in the first week. Really incredible to watch. Right now Kyle (Sorrell - playing Tucker) is cracking me up in his scene. I usually don't laugh out loud during rehearsals, but I can't help myself with this one. I love this rehearsa ltoday, it's going very well so far. For those of you that don't know how our schedule is, let me break it down for you:

- We arrive at the Herberger at about 2pm and start rehearsing until about 6pm or so.

- Then we break for dinner for an hour and come back at 7 and rehearse some more.

The other day Ron asked me how it was on our side (as an actor) working for eight hours.

I thought about it for a second and said it wasn't hard at all...rehearsing for eight hours is not like working across the street at a consruction job for eight hours. Believe me, I know, I've worked those jobs. When you do what you enjoy doing the time you spend doing it doesn't feel like work. For me rehearsal is always over too soon. That's what I really meant tosay.

More later.

Blogette: the set.

2007-10-15T16:41:00.000-07:00

ha. rhyming things make me happy, too. ron again. posting a color rendering of Kimb Williamson's gorgeous set. (click on the image and you can see it full size!)

and this is just a drawing.

wait 'til you see what it REALLY looks like :)

you'll be happy. very happy. so get your tickets already!

Pursuit of Happiness - Blog 1 - Ron May

2007-10-15T11:52:00.000-07:00

i suppose leading by example is never a bad thing. and if i really want the cast and design team to blog...guess i better start. and seeing as i don't have rehearsal this afternoon, i really don't have any excuse.

for those of you unfamiliar with our blog, my name is ron may - i'm the director of The Pursuit of Happiness - the 2nd play in Richard Dresser's comedic trilogy riffing on "Happiness in America".

rehearsals thus far have been nothing short of a blast. i can honestly say i don't think i have laughed this hard in rehearsals in like...ever. seriously feels like putting the 'play' back into the idea of doing a 'play'. i'm sure a lot of that has to do with how close to home a lot of this play hits. lord knows going into 'theatre' my family tried to be supportive - but always wanted to know why i wasn't going to law school. (insert retching noises here...not that there's anything wrong with going to law school, but...for me, the idea resonated as soundly as tin foil on a filling.)

i remember everybody seemed to know better than i did what i should be doing. and i can't say i didn't often wonder if they were right. i certainly don't NOW, but theatre is as big a gamble to try and get into as anything...so i guess i can see where they were coming from.

ah, hindsight.

there's been a lot of very cerebral ruminating in the process about 'what does happiness mean?'...'what IS happiness'...

it's sad that my responses tend to come off a bit more flip than most.

while there's truth that my friendships, my relationship and my cat make me happy...few things rival the unbridled schoolgirl GLEE i get from stupid things...

- like the fact that project runway is coming back to tv in a month.

- amercia's funniest home videos. which is beyond weird. i used to hate this show more than i hated paying bills. now...i can't get enough it. show me a grandmother losing her dentures in a bagel or someone (especially a kid) walking headfirst into a glass door? i'm putty.

- the giddy anticipation i have for the film version of sweeney todd. christmas can't come soon enough.

- saturdays. because saturday nights are the nights i don't 'watch what i eat.' and i should own stock in del taco as a result.

- cake!!! we fat kids love our cake. don't judge.

- people farting in public at wildly inappropriate moments. (not that there are sanctioned 'appropriate' moments to rip one, but...)

- overheard in new york. one of the hands down funniest websites ever ever.

- the comic i put in this blog.

...to name a few. (and keeping the NC-17 answers out of the work blog.)

the question also comes up of "if you're UNhappy...what would make you happy?"

honestly?

come see the show.

you'll see me smile so hard you'll think i had work done.

and by the time the show's over...you'll be smiling so hard everyone will think YOU've had work done.

or took a lot of prozac. give or take.

hope to see you at the theatre!

You will never be happier than you expect. To change your happiness, change your expectation.
– Bette Davis

Lieutenant of Inishmore - Blog 9 - Beau Heckman (playing Christy - middle of photo below)

2007-09-28T16:12:00.000-07:00

I'm so sorry that I have not posted a blog before now.

The process for this show has been like none other for me. From having a life cast taken of my face, a process not for the claustrophobic, to gun classes and a trip to a gun range. Oliver turned out to be an amazing shot, while I on the other hand, should just stick to acting! Any show as laden with special effects, as is ours, is bound to have its challenges, and we had our share. Luckily, our special effects man was up to the challenge.

The time in the rehearsal hall was full of laughter and challenge. I very much enjoyed watching everyone discovering the wonderful collection of characters that make up this play. One particular challenge that occurred to me early on was how to be a "villain" to an "antihero" while still managing to be occasionally funny.

The run of the show has also been full of surprises. Knowing from the start that this material was not going to be for everyone, it has been interesting and sometimes challenging, listening to the wide ranging reactions of our audiences.

All of these experiences have been an amazing ride for me. I owe many thanks to our special effects man Cory R. Starr and an amazing crew(costumes and laundry included) led by stage manager April S. Smith. Really, this crew has stepped up to every challenge and performed above and beyond with the clean up that is required after this show!

We have only three performances left at this point and I must say that this has truly been an honor to work with old friends Cale Epps, Kerry McCue, Tim Shawver, and David Vining as well as new ones: David McCormick, Colin McFadden, and Oliver Wadsworth.

I look forward to working with you all again.
Also Much Thanks to Matthew, April, and Cory.....you are all amazing!

Lieutenant of Inishmore - Blog 8 - Tim Shawver (playing Davey)

2007-09-17T11:55:00.001-07:00

Well, it is just a few hours until opening night of The Lieutenant of Inishmore and I am contributing my first blog. I would've blogged sooner but I every time I tried I felt overwhelming remorse that the time would be better spent working on my lines. My thinking being that Matthew (the director) or April (the stage mamnger) would read it and think, "Oh, Tim has time to blog, but not enough time to get off book." ("off book" being an high-falutin theater term for knowing all your lines.) But opening night has arrived and I can blog guilt-free.

What an experience this rehearsal process has been! There is nothing quite like hearing things from your director like, "We'll have a dowel rod in that fake arm so when you cut it off we hear a snap." or "Which of these tools do you think you would use to decapitate this dead body?"

I shouldn't focus so much on the gore. As much as the blood is a big part of the show, it is not the MAIN thing. And gory as it is, the comedic (even farcical) tone of the piece keeps it from becoming morbid.

So what is the MAIN thing, if not the gore? FUN! I don't think I have ever had such a good time on stage. I love being funny. The sound of laughter that I helped create makes me want to explode inside. And this play is so very clever, so very surprising, so very everything that a good comedy should be that it takes me hours to wind down after rehearsal to get some sleep.

I'm sure that if you reading these blogs you already have some interest in the production. But in case you aren't quite sold yet let me just say that if you do come to see it, that you may not see anything else like it in your theater-going life. Even Martin McDonagh's other plays (great as they are) are not as unique as this particular work.

Well, I'm heading down to the Herberger now. Sorry if this blog was too much of a commercial. Maybe once were open I'll post another one about craft and process and all that crap.

Thanks for indulging me,
t.shawv

Lieutenant of Inishmore - Blog 7 - Oliver Wadsworth (playing Padraic)

2007-09-10T13:28:00.001-07:00

Hey hey hey! I’m Oliver and I play Padraic in Lieutenant of Inishmore.

Before this play I had never shot a gun before. Padraic is an Irish Terrorist whose specialty is knocking off his enemies at point blank range.
Sooo, as an actor, I thought it would be a good idea to reconcile our differences. David McCormack, an ex marine who plays James, suggested we go to Caswells Shooting Range and I jumped at the opportunity. He told me that his own personal firearm was very similar to the stage gun I would be using in the show and that I was welcome to borrow it. And then he said that just the thought of going to the shooting range gave him a hard on.

Hm. Interesting.

What the heck was he talking about?! I was excited but more excited/scared than excited/hard on. Clearly I was entering into new terrain. The land of manly men and their firearms! The night before we went I had a dream that I was at Caswells aiming at the target when I got a fit of giggles that I couldn’t control. The owner decided that I had become a danger to the other patrons so he approached me with a smile on his face and a semi automatic behind his back. I never knew what hit me. As my spirit left my body it floated over to the Shooting Range Rules posted on the wall. In bold lettering, right below "No alcoholic beverages" was written, "No giggling like a prepubescent girl!".

That morning, I got to the shooting range early and nervously pawed over the notes from our crash course in gun use given by Cory Starr, a former policeman and the Special Effects man on the show.

The range opened and our group of four, filed in and split the cost of ammo, eye and ear protection and extra gun. It all cost about $20 an hr. per person. I let everyone take a turn at the target before I did – all under the guise of gentlemanly courtesy. Beau Heckman, who plays Christy, was a first time gun user like me. I watched him approach the target with a swagger and confidently fire off four rounds. After him came David and Cory, who took turns pulverizing the target. Jokes were made about how the silhouetted figure didn’t have any more brains!
Then it was my turn. I held the gun with my thumb pointed up the way I had been practicing at home with my imaginary gun. Cory told me that if I fired the gun like that I would probably break my thumb when the magazine snapped back. I thanked him and then put my thumb down.

I fired some rounds and I felt a rush of adrenaline as the loud noise of the gun put me into high alert. When I finished, I turned back to the boys and couldn’t help grinning ear to ear. This was really fun! More than a little scary! And yes, I thought I had a wee bit of a hard on, if not physically, at least metaphorically.

Then we decided to compete. A round bullseye target was sent out to 60 feet, twice the distance of the previous spot. Each of us had two shots.

David shot slightly down and to the left and blamed his breathing. Beau looked like a pro again but didn’t seem to be hitting the target at all. Cory managed to get one shot right to the edge of the bulls eye.

As for me, I got one shot four inches off center and my second shot was a near perfect bulls eye!!
I was sure that the guys would lift me on their shoulders and parade me all around the Valley of the Sun like a victorious gladiator but instead we went out for burgers and French fries.
I used to pride myself on being modest and soft spoken. Those days are over. Some of my friends have noticed the change. They seem to be giving me a wider berth these days. I have pinned the target with my bulls eye to the rehearsal hall wall and to any newcomer that walks through the door. I bark orders, directing their attention toward it, and gloating over my natural abilities with a gun.

Lieutenant of Inishmore - Blog 7 - David Vining (playing Donny)

2007-09-10T13:20:00.000-07:00

Hello......David (V) here, finally adding my thoughts to the Inishmore Blog. I've enjoyed reading everyone else's thoughts during the last week, but somehow couldn't find the time and energy to add my own! Yesterday's run-through was an excellent end to a very good week, I thought. As I watched and listened while I was off stage, I was so impressed with how solid
and confident everyone looks. In my own scenes I was especially pleased with how strong my relationship with Davey (Tim Shawver) had become this week. All the scenes between us took a big step forward, but the "blaming" sequence in Scene 8 ("and pegged stones, Padraic!") in particular really caught fire Sunday afternoon, which made the tricky timing seem effortless.
As we were walking to our cars after rehearsal, Tim and I were agreeing that it is such a pleasure to work with such an extraordinary cast--everyone is so committed to the work and keyed in to the play and each other. That's made it possible for all of us to tweak and fine tune so many hilarious moments
during the past few days.

I'm very eager to start adding the costumes and technical elements to the mix starting Tuesday night. All sorts of lovely surprises, horrendous problems, and glorious solutions will occur, I'm sure! I plan on getting lots of rest so I have the stamina to stay focused, energized, and cheerful. I'm especially eager to start working with the electric saw on the "real" Brendan corpse and to work out the decapitation moment, coordinating all the physical moves with the blood spurts.

On a sad note, I awoke this morning to discover that my own beloved old cat, Ian, had died during the night. Although certainly not "wee" (he was twice as big as our mini dachshund, Heidi!), he had a very "Wee Thomas-y" look about him, black and white and sweet as can be. By all evidence, he "died peaceful, in his sleep, like." I was glad to have the day free, to give him a good send off and to have at least a 24 hour buffer from all the dead cat humor in the play. To paraphrase Donny, "It's incidents like this does put actors off comedy."