Open Wardrobes

...is in! Last week after returning from vacation I confirmed my venue (a classroom at North Central University) and so today I drove over to Minneapolis over lunch and dropped off my Bring-Your-Own-Venue application off at the Fringe offices in person. The deadline for the BYOV applications is Friday, and I was told that after that point they will read through them all and let people know. I've already emailed back and forth with the Fringe a little about what I'm planning and I didn't receive any indication that anything seemed amiss, so I don't expect it to be turned down, but nothing's for certain until I get the official green light. I hope to hear back early next week, at which point I will sign the contract for the venue and away we go! I've also spoken to my good friend and fellow actor/playwright Kevin Whitby about directing me for Fringe, and he has agreed. He's started his own one-man show which also includes a lot of physical bits and so I'm confident he's going to be a great fit for this. It's also encouraging to have that other half of the artistic team figured out; I've known for awhile now that I need something to direct me in this. It's the sort of play that really calls for a second pair of eyes. Kevin has read an early draft of the script and has been really excited about it (also very encouraging). So, despite the initial setbacks (which were not really setbacks at all, but instead I think a little divine nudging in the direction this should go), things are coming together. I am working on another set of revisions on the script and will start the process of getting a show photo once everything is official. I'm keenly aware right now of how close August really is. Assuming I get in, my opening night is exactly 4 months from today!

Last night Kelly and I went to Pangea World Theater's Conference of the Birds, the cast of which include my good friend and fellow actor/playwright Kevin Whitby. The play is based on a 12th century Persian poem of the same name which is in essence a metaphor for the path to enlightenment. I had the good fortune to work with the director Dipankar Mukherjee many years ago when he directed a show at Bethel and I am a big fan of his work, and this play was no exception. It was a highly physical play, as for most of the time the ensemble portrayed various kinds of birds, and the movement and dance that was incorporated into the piece was outstanding. In the post-show discussion the actors talked about how they spent entire rehearsals just practicing flocking together. That sort of commitment to the physical is emblematic of Dipankar's work and all that work on the physicality clearly paid off. The ensemble of actors worked seamlessly together on stage, and afterward Kevin told us that much of the movement is improvised with the actors reacting to each other essentially creating a different performance every night. The arc of the play consists of the birds of the world undertaking an arduous quest to find the Simorgh (a metaphor for God or the Holy). Within this are many different stories and parables and I loved the way all of the different stories were layered together. Again, the movement was perfectly integrated into the script, and the final layer which added to this even more was the live music (with occasional wordless vocals) done on traditional Middle East instruments. It was a visual and auditory feast that made you feel you joined these birds on their quest (and you really did believe they were birds).


From the acting perspective the ensemble worked together as a cohesive whole without a weak link in the bunch (and when you have spent hours flocking together that is no surprise!). Each had their moments as they played a character in the stories-within-a-story (kudos Kevin!). For me the standout acting moment was Masanari Kawahara's bit as the Hermit and that character's hilarious befuddlement as he tried to explain to the birds why he had done the things he had done (and always with this genuine air of surprise would he answer, "I don't know!").


Unfortunately the show closes today. I wish it ran longer so I could encourage everyone reading this to get out and see it. But even though it's too late for this one, keep Pangea on your radar for future shows and I doubt you'll be disappointed!

I've been on vacation for a couple of weeks and the blog has as a result suffered in my absence. A bit of an update on a couple things:


Anything Goes: I was not cast, but as I only auditioned for the one role (and was on vacation for the first week and a half of rehearsals) I can't say I was all that surprised. I look forward to seeing the show.


Lakeshore 10-minute play festival: I had word several days ago that the 10 plays were selected... and my The Last Anniversary was not one of them. Shoot. It would have been fun to have something of mine done on Lakeshore's stage, but there's always next year.


Fringe: More details to come, but things are definitely looking up.

With the Fringe still in flux (though still looking possible), I decided to audition last night for Anything Goes at Lakeshore Players (my hope being that between the two of them one will work out). Musical auditions always make me much more nervous that auditioning for a straight play, as my confidence level for singing and dancing is not always as high as for acting. I decided to sing Reviewing the Situation from Oliver as it's a fun song for a character similar in personality to the one I'd really like to play in Anything Goes. There were a lot of people there at auditions last night (though not very many guys) and so I had to wait a bit before going up to do my song. But, at last, it was my turn and I was sent up to face the music, literally. As I said, a singing audition makes me more nervous but when I reached the theater I was put at ease by a familiar smiling face in the audience. I don't know the director for this show, but I discovered that Laurie, wonderful Laurie, our stage manager from Greens is stage managing this show as well. So, feeling a little more relaxed I handed the pianist my music and took my place on stage as she began the introduction...


...which sounded nothing like the recording! Panic set in, for my greatest fear when singing is that I will start on the wrong note (not that I necessarily do, but that's the fear). Now from practicing the song I left that I was reasonably certain I could pick out the right note even without hearing it, but having also listened to a recording of the song many, many times I was certain that with the intro I would know my note. But the intro, for whatever reason (perhaps because in the musical it's played on violin?), sounded completely different to me and I was thrown. So I made a decision. I was going to commit to my note. I was going to commit to that note like I've never committed to any note before. I was going to sing with confidence and either hit the right note or fail spectacularly (which if you're going to fail is really the way to do it)! Well, I don't think I failed spectacularly, so I came away feeling good about the song.


Then came the dance part of the audition. Now you have to understand, I can follow choreography, I can learn dance steps, really I can. Last spring for the 10-minute play festival I had to do the Electric Slide while delivering lines. And in college I was in a touring group for a summer that did dance and rhythm pieces. So I can learn these things, just not that fast! The choreographer (who is clearly quite good) went through things so quickly I was barely hanging on. I threw myself into it as best I could, though I left that part of the audition feeling slightly less confident.


The auditions did not include reading from the script, and I am very unfortunately not available for callbacks on Wednesday, so we shall see. If I get the part, great, if not the audition itself is always good practice and I will be back for the 10-minute festival auditions.


I wish you could have heard that note. That was the note of committment!!!

Yesterday I had word that my 10-minute play The Last Anniversary was selected as a finalist in Lakeshore Players 10-minute play festival!!! The play is now one of 20 that their selection committee will sit down and read out loud before deciding on the 10 plays to be performed in June. Last year (when I didn't have a play in the running) I attended the readthrough which was a lot of fun. There was a wonderful variety in the 20 pieces and it's not often that you are able to sample that many writers' work in such a short period of time. I will have to forgo that event this year, for obvious reasons, but you can be sure I will be checking my email about every 5 minutes the next day waiting for the news! I have yet to have a 10-minute play produced (OK, so I've only written two), and I would love to have the first one be at Lakeshore.

I know, I know, I've been somewhat remiss in keeping up with my blog lately. (I'm going to blame it on work being busy and studying for a Chinese midterm.) But I've been continuing to see shows. Last weekend I saw fellow Greenies Sylena and Olivia in The Music Man, and last night I went to see Picnic at Lakeshore Players, whose cast included Greenies Jessica, Kate, and Jacob. This was not a play I was familiar with, and it is always a treat to see a new play (new for me, anyway, the play itself is decades old) that is just so good. As a playwright when a script is poor it is hard for me to get beyond that, but Picnic by William Inge was a well-written treat and so I'd say its 1953 Pulitzer Prize was well-deserved (I didn't know plays could win Pulitzers, hmm...). So kudos to Lakeshore for picking such a gem that my generation at least does not know as well.


And so the fine script left me free to enjoy the story and the characters. The cast was strong overall. The sisters, Madge and Millie (Kate, our water spirit from Greens), were both wonderful and worked great together. Madge is "the pretty one" and Millie "the smart one," with the irony that each is deeply jealous of the other. Their mother Flo (played by Martha Wigmore) also gave an excellent performance (and I have to apologize, my program is in the car and I don't remember the names of the actors I didn't already know!), torn as she was between what's best for her daughters and her own regrets. Rounded off by Allen, Madge's kind and devoted boyfriend, and Hal, the handsome drifter who sparks a new passion in Madge, were also solid. Jessica Scott as schoolteacher Christine also gave a sparkling performance which was all too brief given her sharp characterization, and Jacob Hugart plays older businessman Howard who provides a steady and calm contrast to Hal.


What I really enjoyed about the way Hal was both written and played was that he is not simply the stereotypical "bad boy." He brags, yes, but as Allen points out it's "because he's actually done most of the things he brags about," not out of ego. Hal is a likable guy with his own insecurities, and it is clear he envies the steady Allen, which makes Allen's betrayal of Hal (once the romance between Hal and Madge takes off) all the more tragic. It is the "good" boy that betrays his friend, and the "bad" boy who genuinely wants to start building a steady life with he girl he loves. And so Madge's decision at the end only feels right.


I also have to call attention to Picnic's fine direction, courtesy of Connie Mills. The mark of a truly good director is how little you notice it during the show and such was the case here. Everything flowed together seamlessly and I saw new things pulled out of actors I knew. Everything contributed to the whole, which resulted in one of the most enjoyable theatrical experiences I've had recently. So all in all, this is a terrific production which I heartily recommend. Last night was opening night, so in addition to the rest of this weekend there are still three more weekends to catch Picnic before it closes on March 29th.