From the Director

Welcome to Our Town!

Great job on the read thru last night. Thanks to everyone who filled in for some of our actors who had conflicts. There are still a few unassigned parts in the cast; Katie and I will be filling/assigning those in the next week or so.

Because of The Fourth of July, next week is a short one. Call for those days looks like this:

Monday July 2: George, Emily

Tuesday July 3: Stage Manager (hereafter referred to as "SM",) all the Gibbs family, all the Webb family, Howie Newsome and Joe Crowell.

As a review for those of you who may have missed it, here are Katie's and my expectations for you:

1. Arrive prepared for rehearsal: This means that you should have your script and a pencil with an eraser. Be ready to begin at 7:00 PM. Take care of dinner, bathroom breaks and phone calls BEFORE 7:00! I typically don't take a break during rehearsal, but you likely won't be onstage for the entire three hours. You can take care of other business when your offstage, but when your onstage, be ready to work.
2. Direction comes from your directors: Katie and I are going to work very diligently in helping you find and create a character onstage. I'm certainly open to your ideas about what you want to create onstage; part of my job is giving you a space where you can create! But avoid giving other actors direction.
3. Keep all drama onstage where it belongs: I love drama onstage, hate it in real life. If you have a problem or an issue with someone or something, talk to me. Or talk to Katie. Our goal is to give you a wonderful community in which you are free to make a character become real.
4. Check the blog once a day: Using a blog to communicate with cast is new for me, but if I use it like email, I'll probably post things in the morning. It should serve as a handy record for what's ahead and what we've accomplished

Now for today's trivia:

Fun Fact about Our Town #1: On page 1, Thornton Wilder gives Grover's Corners an actual location- "latitude 42 degrees... longitude 70 degrees..." This isn't actually in New Hampshire; it's in Massachusetts, about 1000 ft off the coast of Rockport in the Atlantic Ocean. Peterbourough, New Hampshire is believed by many to be the inspiration for Grover's Corners.

Homework for this long weekend: Rita and Whitney need to create a kitchen for their homes in Grover's Corners. Everyone else, Katie would like you to focus on mime this weekend. Take an action that you do every day (eating a bowl of cereal, shaving, driving to work, making microwave popcorn) and identify every action that has to happen. She's already talked to you about the space that objects have; make sure you maintain this space as you pick up a spoon or push multiple buttons on a keypad. Once our kitchens are completed in Our Town, we'll be doing lots of stuff in there. Start practicing now!

Lisa

Welcome!

Welcome to Our Town!

I'm Tracy Clayton, the Producer of Our Town.  I'll be attending rehearsals over the next two or three weeks to distribute the actor contracts Lisa mentioned during the readthrough Wednesday night.  The purpose of the contract is simply to indicate in writing how the HFAC core values apply to you as actors, and what we expect from you from the beginning of rehearsals through the end of strike after the last performance.  I'll also have other information to share regarding discounted tickets for friends and families as well as opportunities for your friends and families to earn free tickets by ushering and providing other services.

This blog will be a key component in the communications process during the production.  You should make a habit of checking it DAILY for updates.  While many things will be communicated during rehearsals, the blog will often be the definitive source of information, especially regarding rehearsal schedule changes, rehearsal room changes and key dates and deadlines.

In case Lisa didn't mention it last night, you are required to notify a member of the production team if you are going to be late or miss a rehearsal for which you are scheduled.  All it takes is a quick phone call or text message, even if you're only going to be a minute or two late.  Unless Lisa has given you alternate instructions, you should typically notify her.

You'll quickly find that our rehearsals start on time and end on time.  That means that you are expected to be in the rehearsal space ready to start at the appointed time.  Please be respectful of your fellow actors and production team by ensuring that you are not the cast member that everyone is always waiting on to arrive.  :-)

Important Contacts

Here is a list of names and titles you'll hear over the next several weeks.  You may not deal with all of them directly, but everyone on the list is here to help you in whatever ways we can.

Producer - Tracy Clayton (any issue or question not covered by someone listed below)

Director - Lisa Garza

Asst. Director - Katie Barton
Music Director - Teri Clark

Garza House Manager - Carla Conover (Ushers, Concessions)

Box Office Manager - Cami Starks (Cast and public ticket sales)

We've got a great cast, and I know that this production is going to be a super way to start our 2012-2013 Mainstage season.

Welcome to Our Town!