The Joy of Accomplishment – yours AND others.

Posted onJune 24, 2013
Blog

So, the final show in my long list of shows has opened. Avenue Q had it’s first preview on Thursday and Opening on Friday. It was great. Really, truly great. The performers have worked so hard and paid so much attention to the details of puppet manipulation. They developed such strong characters and worked diligently to find ways to let the puppet be the star. It isn’t an easy thing for a performer to do – have you ever thought of that? A piece of felt on your hand needs to get all the attention and applause and adoration that you would normally get. The thing is, once they got the hang of giving the puppet the focus, the overal performances improved exponentially. There has to be a lesson in there, somewhere. Something about relinquishing control, or giving over to a higher power, or letting the show be more important than you are… I’m sure there are several lessons in there. I’m just glad they learned them.

I’m not too proud to admit that at certain points in the show, I well up. Not because the story is so moving, but because the puppetry is so moving. These performers picked up felt and fur only a few weeks ago and we spent time working on manipulation, eye focus, lip sync, character, breath, gravity and all of that sort of stuff that makes a piece of fur on your hand suddenly seem to come alive. Also, we had the great privilege of having a guest come to one of their final rehearsals to offer some pearls of wisdom – did you ever watch Fraggle Rock? Zoboomafoo? Well then, you know that the guest we had was someone of influence with these young actors. They took his words to heart. As I always do – and I hope he gets the chance to see what they’ve accomplished. It’s pretty miraculous.

If you get a chance…. go see it. Be prepared to well up… if you know how hard it is to learn to puppeteer. Or not, just well up cause it’s good. And worth it. Go.

The end of one… the overlap of the other!

Posted onJune 19, 2013June 19, 2013
Blog

This winter/spring has been intense. Intense with work and commitments all over the place. It’s funny how that can happen – the fall was empty and almost dull and the next season was incredibly packed. So packed in fact that was never any moment when only one project was on my plate.

January began with Sullivan & Gilbert, auditions, first rehearsals and all of those trials and tribulations. If you’ve been following this blog, then you will have read some of those stories. At the same time was Little Mermaid with OKTC, auditions, rehearsals and the show – all between January and March Break – INTENSE. And, if that were not enough, at the same time was Under Milk Wood. My commitment there was a little less intense, but it was another commitment that resolved at the beginning of March – my report to the board and the finishing up of all the finances took a little longer, but that was due to other commitments and my prioritization of them.

So in March, you’d think that life became easier, but no….. Auditions for Avenue Q, rehearsals, and such for that have been ongoing and I’ve been attending as often as possible, which is less than I’d like. With the end of Little Mermaid came the preparations for our Fringe Production: [They Fight!]. That just ended last weekend and we’ve already got a revival planned for July 3rd. Very busy and very challenging, but also very, very fun! If you missed it during the Fringe, I invite you to join us.

All this while teaching and trying to maintain any of my own personal projects that I’d like to continue. For example, I’ve not drawn a thing, in months. I’m looking forward to getting out the sketch book again this summer and seeing what I can create, even if it is just for me. Maybe I’ll share a few with you folks.

Balance is off somewhere in this plan. It wasn’t really my plan, but I did go along with it. It’s been a great ride, let me tell you, but I’m definitely looking forward to the opening of Avenue Q and the summer where I can be a spectator, if only for a few months.

It’s lonely at the top…

Posted onMay 20, 2013
Blog

It can be very lonely being the director.

Once the show is open, your job is done and you don’t feel needed anymore. You miss out on all the backstage fun, shenanigans in the dressing room, headset chatter, inside jokes, etc. It’s a very strange feeling because you’ve been so involved for so long and now you aren’t part of the final execution.

Sometimes you can even get filled with great anxiety over the performance itself. If something goes wrong, you are powerless to help. When the lights flickered due to dimmer patch problems in my production of Gondoliers, I was quite stressed and couldn’t sit still in the audience as I was desperate to help the show in some way. You really shouldn’t be trying to help anymore as your people should be completely equipped to deal with any problem, but that doesn’t change how you feel when you are helpless in the audience. You always wonder if you did enough for them and if you could have done more – and if so, what?

Of course, there’s the insecurity as the show progresses with regards to the work itself. Is it good? Will it hit the mark? Is it rich enough?

Perhaps that’s why I feel so compelled to attend most, if not all, of the performances of my show. Maybe I’ll get more confident as I progress. We shall see. Til then, I’ll sit in the audience and imagine what I’m missing behind the scenes.

First Preview Night

Posted onMay 16, 2013
Blog

So… we’ve made it through tech weekend – pretty near flawlessly.

We survived our black out in the middle of dress rehearsal last night and now we are at First Audience. My theatre does something we call Community Preview where at our Final Dress Rehearsal we invite, for free, members of our community who would not otherwise attend the theatre. They come in groups, because they are all members of groups – special homes, they have care-givers or case workers, etc. They mostly know one another – and yet they all sit spread through the theatre. It’s fascinating. Our house seats over 350 and tonight I see about 100 folks spread throughout the house, but they are all talking to one another – some across the rows and some from the back to the front of the theatre. It should be a lively night.

Two years ago, at our Community Preview for The Three Musketeers (the first in my Ken Ludwig Trilogy), near the end Milady was about to poison Constance with a beverage she said would calm her nerves. Someone in the audience yelled out, “Don’t Drink It!” They are a fun crowd and anything can happen.

Tomorrow night is Preview and then Friday is Opening Night! Months and Months and Months of rehearsal and it will all be over in the blink of an eye…. But that’s part of why it’s so addictive. The payoff is, generally huge enough to balance the effort.

I know I’m going to enjoy the payoff of this piece.

Here’s to a successful run!

Break your legs!

What happens on headset, stays on headset…

Posted onMay 13, 2013
Blog

Lots of things happen during a tech. Lots of jokes, lots of surprises, lots of mistakes, many funny, some not…. in our tech there’s also lots of food! Thanks to a tradition started by a cast member from Three Musketeers…. but one of the really fun things is the use of head set. These are put in place so that the crew can communicate to one another from vast distances and make certain that everything runs smoothly during the show… but often… other things might get discussed on headset.

That one actor who likes to be the last to their place… they’ll get discussed.

That funny line that never gets said correctly during the show… that’ll get discussed.

Costumes, Hair, Backstage stories… all of that will get discussed on headset – that and much, much more. It’s sort of in line with the idea of “be there or be talked about!”

It is one of my favourite “secret” aspects of the show. If you ever get the chance to be on a headset for show – take it. You won’t regret it.

Cue to Cue…. standing by….

Posted onMay 11, 2013
Blog

Today is setting all the lights and sound cues for the show. I really enjoy this process. It’s another one of those phases that feels tedious, but once it is complete, you’ve added so much to the overall look and feel of the show.

When you have an expert team as well, then the whole thing can be very entertaining and fulfilling. As my wonderful lighting designer builds each cue, I see dimensions of the set that weren’t apparent before. It is truly amazing what coloured light shone from different directions can do for furniture, paintings and costumes. Not to mention how different people look when light isn’t florescent.

As we work through each cue it constantly amazes me how people will work to their utmost when given the chance to try out their ideas. Any show will progress a great deal during this process, the actors are so focused in helping their tech team to practice and perfect their changes that I find their performances become even more focused than before. And of course the tech team is so focused as they know that they have a very limited amount of time to get their work perfected.

It’s all so very exciting. Isn’t it? If you’ve never experienced it, you need to do so.

Join us, next time… won’t you?

Here comes Tech Weekend!

Posted onMay 11, 2013May 11, 2013
Blog

There was a palpable energy in the theatre when I entered tonight. The cast was a buzz, the musicians were all present and the load in of some more last minute pieces were happening. More painting had happened, costumes were arriving and more details were being added to them. I’d stopped at Fabricland to pick up foam to repair a piece of furniture and all seemed to be on schedule. There was nothing particularly special about this night… but there’s something undeniable about the last rehearsal before tech. No matter how tired actors may be, they always want to give that little bit more in this rehearsal as they seem to realize that the focus for the next little while will be elsewhere – other parts of the show are needed to be brought up to snuff, really, really quickly in order to match all of their months of efforts.

Personally, I know it is one of my last chances to give my people on stage any more advice that I have left to improve their performances and I’m always reluctant to let go of the whole project, even though I know it is completely necessary and part of the process. It’s a very draining and energizing process at the same time.

Our production is a show within a show – a backstage story that examines the beginning and middle and end of things. That’s always the way of life, isn’t it? One thing starts and another ends… Just as my job is almost done, the show opens. Just when actors memorize their lines, the characters come to life. The performance itself has a beginning a middle and an end – each character in the story does as well. We cycle through it all and experience each phase.

Even productions as a whole… we finish one show, celebrate it’s ending with a cast party… take a little break and then begin the next one.

That’s the key, isn’t it – relishing the process and each phase along the way. It moves quickly, so you’ve got to pay attention, or you’ll miss it.

4 Weeks! You rehearse and rehearse!

Posted onMay 10, 2013
Blog

Here I am again… spending my evening in a darkened theatre preparing for an opening.

My job as the director is almost complete, but the final stretch is the busiest with all the tiny details coming together. It’s frustrating and exhilarating and you always wonder if it will ever come together. But somehow it always does – “it’s a mystery.”

In Kiss Me, Kate! a musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew the cast sings of their nerves before the show opens.

Four weeks! You rehearse and rehearse…

Three weeks! And it couldn’t be worse…

One week! Will it every be right…

And out of the hat is that big first night!

So… soon it will be first night. Very soon. There’s always nerves involved and there’s always something that you wonder if it will ever work or ever conform to your vision, but time will march on no matter what efforts you may make to the contrary. So you do the best you can and you spend all your free time with your team and your cast and crew to get every last detail perfect. Each show has it’s own particular hurdles, be they technical or artistic and no matter what, you cross your fingers that the efforts of your team will be fully recognized.

Perhaps that’s why I feel the need to attend almost every performance of the shows I direct. I get so connected to the entire project and feel the need to morally support it right through to the end. I suppose if I directed shows that lasted a whole lot longer, I wouldn’t attend all the performances, but here in my community, most shows run for about 8 performances, maybe 10 and it’s over before you feel it’s even started. You’ve got to make the most of it.

That’s a good life lesson, don’t you think? Making the most of something because you know it isn’t going to last – no matter how hard you try.

My share of the task/load/project

Posted onApril 26, 2013
Blog

Everyone’s got to do their share, right?

They sure do and in theatre the share can be any size… but whatever you can give is worth it. Believe me.

Last night we had a mix up in our rehearsal. It turned out to be a great mix up as it meant we got to rehearse on our stage a little earlier than originally planned, but it meant moving a fair bit of stuff from one room to another and then packing it all away out of sight and mind to be safe from the Big Event that’s coming into the space this weekend. That kind of task could be unbearable or a heavy burden on one or two people, but that’s not what happened.

What happened was this, everyone volunteered to help move a little something. That many hands made all the stuff transfer and then disappear into protected areas in minutes. Something that would have taken the Director and Stage Manager hours to do on their own took minutes. That’s what happens in theatre – EVERYBODY chips in – even folks who can’t carry heavy things can help – and they do. Hold a door, pick up a coffee, turn pages for the pianist, whatever – it doesn’t matter what it is, every little bit really does help.

So, I’m asking you, right now, what are you going to contribute? I don’t care if it’s big or small or minuscule… just do it, okay? Someone will appreciate it.

How to “stay professional” when kids make you laugh…

Posted onApril 23, 2013
Blog

I think it’s impossible. I do. Plus, I think it’s a waste of time. Kids are funny.

Like today… we’ve got a special event that’s pulled a number of folks out of the class, so we’ve chosen to watch High School Musical – it is a music class and they are singing along, so it’s all good. But at least one of them knows every word and is saying all the lines with the film. They are singing along and enjoying the character relationships. “Everyone loves a good jazz square…” I mean really – how cute is that?

What I mean is, people are funny, aren’t they? And laughter is the best thing to help you through your day. So, why should we have to be “serious” around students all the time?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m very rarely serious when it comes to my students. We play all day – it’s a great job. But I know some folks who are never NOT serious when it comes to their job. And I think a little play time is necessary.

It keeps you young.

Just sayin’.