REVIEW IS OUT!

Here's a link to our review in The Houston Press. As usual, DL Groover spends more time reviewing the script than the performance.

But you can read it for yourself at:

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/artattack/2012/08/houston_family_arts_center_tac.php?ref=navigation

I will be out of town on Thursday, but Tracy will be there in my stead. Please be ready to place your T-shirt orders!

TALKBACK

We had our first talkback Sunday afternoon and about 20 people stayed. It couldn't have gone any better if I had scripted it myself. 

Mario, Whitney, Patrick, Doug, Jeff, and Peyton stayed to participate. I know Rita sat out in the house and I think LD was out there, too. The actors onstage regaled everyone with how they prepared for their roles, what kinds of research they had done, and so on. 

The audience was VERY complimentary of all of your performances. One woman, in the front row, kept saying that the show was a real eye opener. We discussed the setting of the show being in a small town and at first, everyone thought that small towns were inherently better. People are happier there.

I was able to point out that Grover's Corners inhabitants, as you guys portrayed them, are no happier than anyone else. Simon Stimson certainly isn't happy. Mrs. Webb and Mrs. Gibbs lead lives that are filled with unanswered yearnings and missed opportunities. I think Jeff's Mr. Webb is committed to staying married and raising his kids, but I think he sometimes wonders if he didn't make a mistake at the altar. And L.D. shows us a Mr. Gibbs that is saddled with a burden of grief in his later years.

The themes there are universal. Some people may prefer small towns over metroplexes. But even in complex urban communities, people tend to subdivide their lives into smaller groups of co-workers, school groups, or church friends. You created a community of very real people that the audience particularly liked.

An older lady, who looked like she was a grandma several times over, noted that the two moms in the play seemed to be too busy to always connect with their children. She said that she felt exactly the same way when she was raising her children. Now, from the vantage point of her senior years, she has loads of time. She offered encouragement to the younger parents and it made me wonder why Wilder wrote about such nuclear families in the 1930's. There are no grandparents portrayed or even mentioned in the Webb's or Gibb's households.

Someone else (I think it was Estus' mom) asked Whitney how she went from being a bustling mother in Act I to dead in Act III. Another man asked how the show has evolved or changed over the years. (Our show is obviously the best production of Our Town ever!) Another inquired if Our Town had ever been made into a movie.

The best comment came at the very end. As I was wrapping up, one woman in row three waved her hand frantically in the air saying that she had a comment. She said that she and her husband had lived in New Jersey for 15-20 years and had just moved back to the Houston area. They had seen shows on Broadway on a regular basis during that time. AND everything that had seen at HFAC was as good, if not better, than what she had seen in New York!

I think it was Patrick (or maybe Doug) who told her that her check would be in the lobby at the box office!

You guys should be very proud of the work that you have done. You obviously touched a lot of hearts over the weekend.

Check the blog over the next few days. If we get a review, I'll post it here.

Just a reminder, we have a pick up on Thursday. No lights, no sound, just lines. It would be best to do all of your blocking, but you needn't pull out all the stops emotionally. I am actually out of town that evening, but I'll see if Tracy can "baby sit." I'm very particular that pick ups NOT dissolve into an evening of who can say their line in the funniest manner. That simply wastes time and some of you drive quite a distance to get there.

One more thing, Rita will be appearing in The Nacirema Society opening on Sep 22  (previews) and running through Oct 21 at Ensemble Theatre. Why don't we all get together and go support our Mrs. Webb??? Right now, all of those dates work for me except Oct 6. Would anyone like to attend the Friday Oct 12 or Sat Oct 13 performances? Post a reply and we'll put together a Rita-night!

Correct call time...

I'm still in rehearsal mode, apparently. Call time tonight is 7:00 PM, not 6:00. Enjoy your dinner!

FRIDAY AUGUST 17 Opening night!

We’re here! You have all worked so hard against really bizarre sorts of casting challenges. But I think the cast that appeared onstage last night was absolutely perfect! 

You guys are ready!

Patrick, I think this is the best role you’ve ever done. You’re Stage Manager transcends the boundaries of vintage sentimentality and yet still presents a heart warming tale. That’s a tough job. And you also cover a variety of other characters from all walks of life and even different genders! Bravo!

L.D., Doc Gibbs is subtlety nuanced; he’s open and gregarious with folks on the street, but not nearly as gracious with his own wife. And you still make him a likeable, lovable character. I absolute get lost in the scenes you have with Whitney; they’re too real for words.

Whitney, your eyes communicate so much longing. You barely have to finish the line about Paris and I understand how much that dream means to Mrs. Gibbs. And the body language you use as you putz around your kitchen??? It’s transports a paper-bound Mrs. Gibbs to the depths of a real person with a soul.

Robert, wow! I can’t believe that you just stepped into this role two and a half weeks ago. You’ve had a baptism by fire. And you’re hitting your stride, right on time! The entire cast, me especially, owe you a huge debt of gratitude. Thank you for taking George from the awkward throes of teenage adolescence to a grieving husband who has had his life ripped apart. Very powerful performance.

Peyton, you’re absolutely adorable. Rebecca is a forthright and engaging little sister who has a sense of wonder about everything. You bring that out at EVERY rehearsal! And I have no doubt you’ll now do it at every show.

Jeff, I have seen you push Editor Webb all over that stage! I love the amount of experimentation that you did to capture a time pressed and weary husband who loves his family even though he is trapped in it. Great depth of character there.

Rita, playing Myrtle Webb is tough for any actress. The easy job is to simply make her a nit-picking shrew who nags her family and ignores their emotional needs. But I don’t think that that’s what Wilder was writing. You’ve given us a real woman who has issues and conflicts AND a great deal of love for her family.

Playing Emily Webb is certainly an accomplishment. But Sarah, you’ve created an Emily who is more than just a saccharine sort of ghost who warns us all to take time to smell the roses. You die and say good-bye to the world every single night. I love how you bravely take that plunge! Now you’ll have a chance to take an audience along with you on that journey.

Sam, you go from being an active, adorable boy scout to being dead- what a range! I’m so glad that you’re a part of this show. Keep those pants pulled up at the knee!

Shaun, you have only a few seconds to let the audience fall in love with you before they learn that your character dies before he has a chance to live. It takes a really fine actor to accomplish that. Thank you.

Mario, I just love Howie! You spent a lot of time working on this almost incidental character and made him so believable.  Howie doesn’t just recite lines, he embodies them. And that laugh fest you have with Reid every night about the drunken Poles in the snow? Priceless!

Matt, thank you for making Professor Willard such a character. There are so many ways to interpret this guy; you’ve made him into someone we’ve all known and encountered before, namely that nerdy science geek from chemistry class. The audience all knows someone like this, and they’re going to relate to that onstage.

J, like Robert, you’ve had to just jump into this whole hog. Stimson, as you play him, is a tortured man with demons chasing his soul. The easy way out is to simply play him for laughs as the town drunk. But you dig deeper than that. Thank you.

Michel, you bring Mrs. Soames to a wonderful level. She’s not just a simple gossip. Even though she loves to dish about the people in Grover’s Corners, she also is passionate about her cares and concerns. And she wants to be heard! You make her all of that.

Reid, you tackle two different roles with equanimity. You’ve made Constable Warren a self-important, swaggering cop who also manages to age before our eyes. And your Joe Stoddard is a delicate layering of polite funeral director and concerned clergy. Excellent!

Gia, you’re such a cutie! I love how you’ve learned to scale back your tremendous musical theatre skills into something more nuanced and reality-based. Keep up the good work!

Doug, your Sam Craig is a completely convincing businessman. In your performance, I see a man who parlays a business trip into possible new leads, and then into a home coming, and finally into a true episode of grief as he confronts his own mortality. All that in just two or three pages!

Emily, you’re a true ensemble member. You’ve read in for other actors who couldn’t make rehearsal, you’ve taken those small parts and made them perfectly real and genuine, and you’ve done it all consistently every night. I love listening to you ask about drinking every night. I hear the concern and just a little bit of self righteousness from this teetotaler who sits in the back every night!

Sophia, you’re also a trouper. You have a small role in this show, but you’ve shown that you have a real heart for theatre in making every small moment count. Continue making those small moments into much bigger ones.

Estus, you have graced our stage. And I mean that in all sincerity! Without you, our pack of baseball players would be immeasurably diminished and our school kids lacking that extra spark!

And Desi, I would like to have lunch with your Artistic-Lady-in-the-Box. Just that one line, and you’ve created someone who has life and depth and reality. 

This show would never have made it this level without the hard work and commitment of our AD, Katie. It has been a complete pleasure to partner with you on this show and I can't thank you enough for your innumerable contributions to the staging and directing of Our Town. 

I woke up with this tune in my head; watch and enjoy. See you all at 6:00.

T-Shirts and other fun stuff

Congratulations on a fantastic show!  I know our audiences will love what you and the production team have created.  There's a lot of information below, but it's all important, so please make sure you read carefully and completely, and ask Lisa, Katie or me if you have any questions.

T-SHIRTS:
Each shirt is $10, and you can order as many as you like.  All sizes are available.  If you want to order more than one shirt, you can mix sizes - just make sure to let me know exactly what you want on the order form, which will be backstage starting tomorrow.  I have found that the shirts seem to run just a hair small, so if you want a loosely fitting shirt, order a size larger than normal, especially if you've got a little "extra" around the middle or a large neck like I do.

As I mentioned last night, the shirts will have the show logo and performance dates as well as the HFAC logo on the front, and will have all of the names of the cast and production team on the back.

All you need to do is fill out the indicated information on the form and give me (or Lisa or Katie) your payment.  We can accept cash or checks made to HFAC.  If you need to pay with a credit card, let me know, and I'll figure out a way to run that through the box office credit card machine for you.  We'd like to get a final count by the end of this Sunday's matinee show so that we have a chance to get the shirts printed and distributed no later than the cast party.  We'll accept your order prior to payment, but you must pay before you can receive your shirt.  Duh.  :-)

PARKING:
In addition to the earlier note about where to park, please note that for tomorrow and Saturday that the Academy has a show PRIOR to our show, so the parking lot is likely to be full of parent's cars when you arrive at call time.  Your best bet is to park in the lot at the park across the street.  Their show today runs concurrently with ours, so parking shouldn't be as much of an issue since you'll be arriving before most of the Academy parents.  VITALLY IMPORTANT: Near the far east end of the parking lot there are often two spaces with reserved parking signs for one of the other tenants.  If the signs are posted (they are portable), and you park there, you WILL be towed.  Consider yourself warned.  If the signs are not posted, then you can park in those spaces.

CIRCLE:
As Lisa wrote yesterday, circle is mandatory for all actors and crew.  However, the prayer near the end of circle is voluntary.  While we'd love for everyone to stay for this short prayer, we certainly respect the wishes of anyone who desires not to participate.  Note that the motto recital, "Touching hearts, touching lives, in a dramatic way" is spoken immediately after the prayer ends, so if you skip the prayer, you may not get back to the circle quickly enough for that fun part of our routine.

POST-SHOW:
Again, as Lisa wrote yesterday, our patrons enjoy meeting the cast in the lobby after the show.  If you choose to participate in this HFAC tradition, you have the option of going to the lobby immediately after bows, or changing into your street clothes first.  We also understand if you choose not to participate or if you need to skip this from time to time as we know there are often other demands on your time other than this production.

CAST PARTY:
It looks like it will be on Sunday, September 2nd after our matinee.  That would put it at about 6:30 or 7:00.  Since the next day is Labor Day, hopefully most of you won't have to worry about making it an early night.  The party will be at Lisa and Mario's house, which is near Goodson Middle School in Cypress (about 20 minutes north/northwest of HFAC).  Her cast parties are always great fun, and you won't want to miss it.  We'll let you know by next weekend if we will have enough room for you to bring a guest (obviously the kids can have a parent present), and if you need to bring anything (if so, it's typically a dessert).  They do have a nice pool, so bring a suit and towel if you think you might want to swim.

Have a great final dress rehearsal tonight, and I'll see all of you at opening night tomorrow!

Tracy

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 15

Robert is out tonight; Doug, you've become the go-to guy to read in parts. Would you mind reading his part in again?

Here's some notes and reminders of what to do on show days:

• Call time is always 1 hour before curtain: 7:00 PM for Fridays and Saturdays and 2:00 PM for Sunday matinees.
• Please do not park right next to the doors of the theatre. Save those primo parking spots for your audience, some of whom might be arriving late. Park further down, at the ends of the parking lot, preferably facing Grant Rd, so that head in spots can be saved for the audience. You can also park across the street at Matzke Park.
• When you arrive, SIGN IN!
• LD will be giving you count downs to 3 different times, first to circle, next to house, and finally to curtain or places. Here's what happens during each:

1. 7:15 (2:15) is mandatory cast circle. Since our cast is relatively large, we'll do this onstage. (LD, can you leave the rollup door open until after circle?) We'll have a few brief announcements and last minute notes, followed by a brief prayer, and our traditional HFAC chant which is "touching hearts, touching lives, in a dramatic way." Please check props, if you have any. You are free to move about the stage or house. In respect for actors who are preparing for roles, please keep it quiet. You can certainly carry on a conversation, but be mindful that some actors are working very diligently to prepare for the performance.
2. 7:30 (2:30) The rollup door will be closed and the house is open. You can no longer go out on stage and must be quiet backstage. Get into costume and makeup.
3. 8:00 (3:00) Places. 

• During the show, keep it quiet backstage. Kids, bring some sedate activity to keep yourself occupied. A game with the sound turned off, e readers, comic books, knitting, embroidery, yoga- these are all quiet things that don't disturb others. Performance time is NOT a good time to play a group game or run around. If you really want to be a good performer, practice being a good actor backstage.
• Each intermission is 10 minutes long. 
• After the performance, you may exit to the lobby to greet your audience. This is not required, but we have found that out audience loves to meet and congratulate you.

Katie and I can't repeat this often enough: stay focused, keep up the pace and sell your audience the best performance that you have!

UPDATE ON PHOTOS

Picture day will be tomorrow, Wednesday the 15th.

Once again, Emily is photographing the entire show from start to finish. Just do what you normally do and don't worry about getting in her way. She's very good at being unobtrusive.

We'll take the cast photo immediately after the Act II wedding scene. Everyone is all together at the same place, same time, and you're all dressed nicely. Simply exit as you normally do, but troop back onstage. Between Reid, Mario, Matt, and Doug, could we get the ladders back onstage for the photo?

Tomorrow, I'll go over our typical pre-show routine at HFAC from call to curtain.

Reminders: Everyone sign in when you get there tonight and no one in the house after we start unless you've been blocked to be there.

TUESDAY AUGUST 14

Great job on your first tech rehearsal. We had a lot of ground to cover last night and you guys did it; we finished all three acts! Tonight will go much smoother, and faster.

One change for tonight- no photographs yet! I apparently didn't book the photographer when I thought I had. So please wear costumes, but we won't get pictures done tonight. I'm hoping for Wednesday. Will keep you posted.

One last thing, for Family and Friends night on Thursday, you can tell your peeps that we'll probably start between 7:15 and 7:30. I want to give our outliers time to get into costume and makeup before we begin.

Thanks again for being patient and (mostly) focused for a grueling tech rehearsal. The end is so close I can smell it!

SUNDAY AUGUST 12 The home stretch!

Lots of info today! And no fun fact at all. Sigh.

 TALKBACKS

I’m in the process of scheduling talkbacks with the audience after all of our Sunday matinees. Depending on the audience, the talkback might last 20 to 30 minutes.

I’d like to know if any of you have an interest in participating. It would be too much for all 21 of you to stay every time, but I’d also like to give all of you a chance to entertain questions from the audience and share your thoughts on the show. I’ll have a sign up sheet posted backstage if you’d like to be included in a talkback. You have four different opportunities to sign up. This is completely optional!

FLOOR

After looking at all those stripes that I painted, I’ve decided that discretion is the better part of valor and have staged a retreat. The lines are going! I will still paint the house “blueprint,” but in a much more subdued color. The back wall now has a lovely texture on it that hides a lot of the seam lines.

LIGHTS

John was in the theater half a day Friday and almost all day Saturday setting lights. "Amazing" doesn't even begin to cut it. He has taken the lighting at HFAC to a whole 'nother level, and you guys are going to look like professionals at The Alley. If you see him around, be sure to thank him for his artistic endeavors.

BOWS

After much consideration, I have decided to alter bows a bit.

The beauty of an ensemble bow is that it gives the audience one huge picture all at once and they’re usually so overwhelmed, that they instantly rise to their feet. And I want you guys to get a standing ovation EVERY NIGHT! But I do want to also give you all a moment of glory, particularly since some of your parts don’t give you lots of stage time.

Let’s see if we can accomplish this right out of the shoot on Monday night. It has to go quickly, beofre the audience tires of slapping their hands together.

Step 1: Everyone enters the stage, just as before and bows a single time. Stay in this same position until it’s time for your second bow; don’t shuffle around.

Step 2: All kids trot forward in a single line and bow. Please put taller kids on ends and shorter ones in the middle. So Desi and Emily should be on the outside, next should be either Peyton or Shaun, with Samuel, Gia, Estus and Sophia in the middle. Split center and move to the sides and upstage. Patrick, you should be at the back of the pack by now.

Step 3: Adult roles move forward and bow: Matt, Mario, Michel, J., Reid, and Doug. Michel is in the middle, but all bow at the same time. If you can sort by height, great. If not, don't sweat it. Split center and move SL and SR. Kids should be upstage of you.

Step 4: LD, Whitney, Rita and Jeff move to center and bow; ladies first, then gentlemen. Move SL or SR.

Step 4: Sarah and Robert move to center, bow individually, move SR.

Step 5: Patrick takes center and bows.

Step 6: Now comes the tricky part. I really don’t like the curve, so I want to see if we can make two  straight lines. All kids from step 2 move to the front, with all other actors in a line behind them. One more company bow, recognition of tech crew with the right hand, one final bow, and lights.

Whew! Remember, don’t clap for each other. I do think it would be a nice gesture for you to show your appreciation of the tech crew by applauding them a few times, right after you extend your hand to them.

SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK

On Monday and Tuesday, I’ll be focusing almost exclusively on tech. Katie will be taking notes for you. If we have time, she can give them at the end of rehearsal. If not, she will probably be happy to post them on the blog for you. (Thanks, Katie!)

Here's what else is going on this week:

  

Monday

Julie Montgomery, from HFAC Marketing Committee, will be on hand to videotape interviews with actors. These will be posted on HFAC’s FB page to generate interest and buzz about the show. In the past, these videos have tended towards the why-should-someone-buy-a-ticket-to-this-show kind of format. And by “interview,” I mean a short, two or three question kind of thing.

Since our cast is so large, it’s not necessary that she videotape everyone. Even if she did, she wouldn’t be able to use all the footage. But I did want to make leads available to her in a timely fashion. She will set up around 7:30 (not sure just where; she may rove around some.) Towards the end of Act I, as soon as you have exited, I’d like Julie to see Rita, Whitney, and LD. At the end of Act I, she can see Jeff, Sarah, and Robert. Julie will snag other adults and kids as she can. I’m not sure Patrick has much free time to be interviewed at all. L

On Monday, you may wear costumes or street clothes tonight, whichever is easier for you. I recommend practicing costume changes, but there will likely be a number of restarts as sound and lights finish their programming, so you may gain a false sense of security as to how much time exists between cues, so be careful.

Tuesday

Tonight is photo night so full costumes and makeup for everyone!

Emily Talbot, our photographer, will take pictures of the entire show from start to finish. She doesn’t use a flash and her camera is very quiet. She’ll be all over the stage; just pretend she’s not there. She’s the same photographer that took the stunning publicity photos of some of our leads a few weeks ago.

She’ll also take the official cast photo. The best time to stage this is between Act II and Act III, immediately after the wedding. You’ll all have on your wedding finery, so immediately after exiting backstage, troop right on through the backstage area and re-enter from SL.  I’d like both ladders in the picture to give us some levels, plus all the chairs from the wedding will be there.  (Picture includes tech crew!)

It’s important for everyone to be serious about the photograph. There’s just no time for clowning around and silliness.

Our sound design and board operator Jean will not be here tonight; Tracy will be running sound, so there may be some missed cues. Please be patient!

Wednesday

Straight run through tonight. I’d recommend that you do all costume changes tonight, particularly if you’re concerned about making everything work.

Robert, who will be going back to college at Baylor in Waco, needs to move back into his dorm today in order to prepare for classes beginning again. That’s a 3 or 4 hour drive, one way. I don’t want him doing that all in one day PLUS moving, so he won’t be at rehearsal tonight. In his absence, Doug, could you read Robert’s lines tonight? You needn’t do all his blocking, just have your script handy and stand on stage.

  

Thursday

This is Family and Friend night. If you have family or friends who have already purchased tickets, they may come and see tonight’s show. You’re ready for an audience!  We need to run through the entire show without stopping, from opening to bows.

We're almost there, folks. I'm so proud of all of you! See you on Monday.

MONDAY AUGUST 6

Only 4 more rehearsals before tech week. And tonight will be the first rehearsal for J. Blanchard (Simon Stimson.) Please welcome J and help him with entrances and exits, please!

Tech week belongs to the tech crew: John Wind on light design, Jean Furter on sound design, and Sedric Willis our light board op. (Be sure to thank these guys!) I’d like everyone to be pretty much picture perfect by next Monday so that focus can be given to the tech crew. They are the ones who make you look good on stage.

Speaking of looking good, some of you have asked about costumes for the wedding and funeral scenes. I’d like to keep the overall feel simple and neutral. Sarah wore her “wedding gown” last Thursday; it’s a simple white sundress in a very flattering cut. She doesn’t carry a bouquet, but I may try a small, wedding veil on her this week.  It communicates that she is a bride and it looks good on her. That’s all it needs to do.

Howie Newsome is wearing cargo pants and a nicer corduroy shirt. He’s not the kind of man who would own or wear a suit. It keeps his look outdoorsy, but it’s a few levels nicer than his work clothes.

The baseball players should wear trousers and perhaps a polo or other short sleeved shirt to the wedding. Their taunting scene with George wouldn’t make sense if they wore nick slacks or, for the girls, dresses. I'll have four identical baseball caps for you to wear this week.

The Webb’s and Gibb’s families would wear semi formal clothing- nice dresses for the ladies; slacks and long sleeved shirts for the men. They’d probably also wear a tie and a jacket.

Mrs. Soames would certainly be in a dress. Sam Craig would likely wear a suit. The key is to keep it simple and in a neutral palette. Likewise, accessories like necklaces or earrings should be simple and flattering. Pearls or simple chains would be good choices.

With the exception of the baseball players, you can all probably wear nearly the same outfits for the funeral scene. If some of you can switch to a black dress or black jacket, great. If not, that’s OK. I usually wind up attending two or three funerals a year, and believe me, I’ve never been to one yet where EVERYONE wore black.

Let’s keep up the pacing tonight; the show in its final form simply cannot run three hours! (And we haven’t even been taking intermissions.)

 Fun fact #11

On p 30, Mrs. Gibbs says “Myrtle Webb! Look at that moon will you! Potato weather for sure.”

What, you may ask, does the moon have to do with potatoes?

There is a great deal of folklore about the four phases of the moon, the varying rate of gravitational pull, tides, and gardening. Just as the moon pulls the oceans into high and low tides, so the moon also pulls moisture up or down from the soil.

In the first quarter, the new moon, water is pulled up high in the soil. Seeds swell and sprout more easily and the increasing light makes leaves grow faster. Crops that grow above ground and produce seed outside the fruit do best when planted in this phase. Examples: lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and grains.

In the second quarter, the gravitational pull is less but there is even more moonlight. Types of crops that prefer to be planted in this phase of the moon are ones that produce above ground but have seeds inside their fruit. Examples: beans, melons, peas, peppers, squash, tomatoes.

In the third quarter, after the full moon, the gravitational pull is once again strong resulting in increased soil moisture. But the light is waning. This is the best time to plant root crops. Examples: beets, carrots, onions, peanuts, and, of course, potatoes.

In the fourth quarter, gravitational pull is decreased and light is at a minimum. This is a time of rest.

So the full moon that sparks romantic thoughts for George and Emily makes Mrs. Gibbs think of planting potatoes.

This circa 1900 farmer appears to have planted a bumper crop of root vegetables.

THURSDAY AUGUST 1

I’m very disappointed to tell you that Mike Hudson (Simon Stimson) came to me last night to let me know that he’s dropping the show. He accepted a part at a theatre whose rehearsal calendar conflicts with our show dates.

I’m pleased when an actor gets an equity gig, but not when it happens at the expense of another show. I now have to start looking for yet ANOTHER actor who can fill a role. Not someone who auditioned, who both wanted to be in and earned a spot in our show, but rather someone who is available and is doing me a favor. And I have to spend valuable rehearsal time going over back to basic blocking and motivations with this new person, things that have already been done weeks earlier, instead of focusing my attention on your more finessed performances.

I will endeavor, for your sake, to find the best possible actor to play Simon Stimson.

Please look at this as a lesson in why and how you should commit to a show. Decide when you audition if you truly want to be in a production, regardless of the size of the role. Don’t entertain second thoughts a few weeks before opening. Be open and above board when noting rehearsal conflicts. Be extremely careful when you’re cast in one show and then decide to audition for someone else.

I loved watching every minute of last night’s rehearsal. Robert, you’re doing a great job as George and I’m pleased that you’re ramping up so quickly. Whitney, LD, Rita and Jeff, you’re fascinating to watch; it feels like I’m looking in the window of someone’s house and surreptitiously observing what’s going on there. Sarah, last night when you said good-bye to the world, the sadness and loss in your face was palpable. And it was all the more powerful because you simply stood there and experienced letting go of everything that you loved. 

Show posters should be coming in tonight and more promotional materials for you to have on Monday. Take them to work or, when school starts up again, to your classes. You have taken on a sometimes stodgy American classic and given it new dramatic depth. I’m very proud of you all.

Research and Reminders

Hi gang!


Program bios are due this week! It never hurts to get them in early!

**Please check yourselves on your mime work. We really need to be conscious of the space required for everything. This video is a silly take on what we're actually doing while we mime.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkxFbz1a3As

*Keep working on your lines. If Lisa hasn't given you license to ad lib please avoid all paraphrasing. 

I saw this painting at the Chicago Art Institute. It made me think of our kitchens. This image has so much life.

Take a second to listen to Handel's Largo. Mr. Webb mentions it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rq1Iv3DkwVs

Robinson Crusoe-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinson_Crusoe

Whistler's Mother-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whistler%27s_Mother

WEDNESDAY JULY 29

Lots of news today!

First, welcome Robert Lewis! Thank you for stepping in to fill the role of George. I want to encourage everyone to not only welcome Robert, but help him find his place. He has a lot of ground to cover, but we’re an ensemble; we all work together to make this show the best that it can possibly be.

Second, it’s time to start bringing in costume pieces. Some of you already have; this helps you define your character even more because you move differently when you wear different clothing. Try to wear something that you would wear to do the same activity that your character does. What would you wear to attend school or to fix breakfast? How about addressing a meeting? Leading a cart horse around outside? Attending a wedding?

Overall the rules are simple. 

• Keep colors in a neutral palette. See July 8 blog entry for color swatches.
• Keep options simple. Most of you should be able to manage just fine with a pair of trousers, two shirts, a jacket and overcoat, for instance. You don’t need a completely new outfit every time you set foot onstage. Try and use pieces for more than one scene.
• Dress for the weather. Act I is a mild spring day and evening. Act II is rainy until the drug store scene. Act III starts off rainy and mild but during Emily’s regression, it’s bitterly cold.
• Try to avoid a major shopping spree. That is, unless you just like to buy new clothes. 

 Mario has brought in some great weather related pieces if you want to get an idea. He wears a raincoat in Act II but changes to a coat, gloves and knit cap for Emily’s 12^th birthday. Jeff did the same about a week ago. Thanks, guys!

Note: There is now a costume rack backstage for you to keep things on. I'll add individual dividers to separate your stuff from everyone else's. If you hang it up correctly, you should have no trouble finding it again later. Put smaller things, like gloves, into the pockets of your coat. If at all possible, label the all small stuff!

Third, I’ve made an executive decision: We won’t be recording the song “Blest Be the Tie.” I know you all sound lovely and we’ve already devoted a few hours to working on it. But Robert needs the rehearsal time more than I think you guys need to hear yourselves sing during the show. (Did you know that our Robert actually recorded our ASTB tracks? He’s apparently an amazing music director also! Please thank him for doing that, particularly since we won’t be using them now.)

Lastly, I’m seeing absolute gold onstage. The Webbs and Gibbs spouses look so real, so MARRIED. I can see the longing and frustration in your faces even as you go through the motions of your day. Doug, your Sam Craig has a whole range of subtle feelings going on during your one scene in the cemetery. Patrick, you communicate that you care very deeply about the people in Grover’s Corners. And that care is going to be translated to the audience in a very short time.

Kids in the show, I would suggest that you watch these actors every night; you can a learn an awful lot.

Fun fact # 10

This man cared about his congregation so much!

"Blest Be the Tie That Binds" was written by John Fawcett (1740-1817.) He was a preacher at the small Baptist church in Wainsgate, England in 1772 when he received a call to move to a much larger, more prestigious church in London. He preached his farewell sermon, then loaded his family and belongings on a wagon for the move. As his tearful parishioners surrounded him to say their goodbyes, he made a snap decision to stay with these people whom he loved. He wrote “Blest Be the Tie” to commemorate that event.

It’s fitting that Wilder chose this song, which speaks to community life in such a poignant way, to frame his play.

The touching melody that you guys learned was written by someone else, a Swiss composer named Hans Georg Nageli.