Taking a Chance Again

Here we are, a week before another opening.  Ghost of a Chance opens March 28 and runs for two weeks.  We're in the crunch time where small things make a difference.  We've actually had extra time to learn lines, but it is a wordy play and a long play.  The problem I am having is not "too many lines" but rather too much space between entrances.  Having a small role means large chunks of time offstage just waiting.  It is so easy for me to lose focus at these times- to maintain character and keep my lines straight.  I don't appear for nearly an hour into the first act, appearing on in the last three pages.  I have a little more in the second act, but the problem is the same- focus.

For an actor, focus is a huge priority.  An actor must be able to split their focus successfully into three parts: regurgitating their lines, but with feeling; puppetting yourself to be in the right place at the right moment; and listening truly to your scene partners so as to react as genuinely as possible and to catch variations in their lines that change the scripted lines and require a different response.  Lose focus on any of these and you're pulling curtain on the next show instead of taking bows.

On another note:  This weekend I will be attending The Mystery of Irma Vep at the Liberty Theatre in downtown Tyler, Texas.  It is produced by APEX Theatre20.  The review will be my next entry on this blog.

and scene!

Acting on the Fly

OK, Thespies.  I have been requested to repeat an oft-told tale of an experience I had during the performance of 1776 several years ago.  I was playing the irrepressible Richard Henry Lee.  At one point in the show, Ben Franklin, with John Adams in tow, is manipulating RH Lee into proposing independence to the Continental Congress because John Adams is "obnoxious and disliked."  In his response, Richard sings the rousing "Lees of Old Virginia" while strutting and dancing around his companions.

We are performing this scene in front of the grand drape.  Two spotlights and full footlights and bar lights blazing.  Live orchestra (always with PCT) playing fortissimo.  I'm sing my heart out, as usual, and doing very well, I thought, when I glance down at the orchestra to see why the piano had dropped out of the mix.  There was our pianist face to me, pointing at my crotch!  ...laughing!  As casually as I can, I do a turn not in the choreo and check my fly: open all the way down with a little shirt-tail poking out.  So I throw choreography out the window and dance around behind John Adams and pull the zipper up.  No good.  It is broken, and so comes immediately back open.

Now, in my defense, I have not broken character, not broken rhythm, nor dropped a single note during this ordeal.  So I pull my topcoat over with flash, covering the offending fly, and continue the song.  Now this particular song has a gimmick.  I dance off stage as though leaving, there are a few seconds of reaction on stage, then I burst back on mid-song.  Dramatic and effective.  THIS time, when I stepped offstage, I see another actress diving for my crotch with a safety pin.  Up comes the zipper.  In goes the pin. Out I go onto stage without missing a beat.  Flourished my coat open and finished the song.

**The next week during a stunningly beautiful rendition of "Molasses to Rum to Slaves" by David Yeats, the whole back wall of the set came toppling down.  David, ever the pro, simply stepped in front of the grand drape line while the main drape closed.  Behind the drape, we repaired the set just in time to open it for the interjection "Mister Rutledge, please!".  Again all of this without missing a beat or flatting a note.**

Ghost of a Chance

Thursday February 6, 2014
Okay, kiddies, we're off again on another adventure.  This time the play is Ghost of a Chance by Flip Kobler and Cindy Marcus.  It's the story of a young widow who's come to sell the hunting lodge of her very late husband along with her fiancee and mother-in-law-to-be.  Things are rocky to start with but become downright crazy-making when her late husband shows up... still dead, but back all the same in a somewhat more non-corporeal way.  And the laughter ensues, which is why in this play, timing is soooo important.  We have a good cast to whom I will introduce you in the coming weeks.

The play is directed by Jim Vincill with music by nobody.  (It ain't a musical folks.)  And that little fact makes this somewhat unusual.  Most years, the Dogwood Trails show is a large-scale musical- generally a familiar face in the entertainment crowd.  Last year we departed from that model with a brand new musical- Ghosts.  This year we stray even further, but with a hauntingly familiar plot device...a ghost.  No spoilers...I mean...it's in the title.

More on Sunday as I begin introducing you to the cast along with a "how things are going" insider's view of the production.

And don't forget:::

Coming Summer of 2014

Auditions in May TBA

Nevermore? Nevermore.

Sunday January 26, 2014

Nevermore by Matt Ritchey, directed by Joshua Carpenter at APEX Theatre 20 has ended.  It ended joyously and sadly, as these things go.  The joy of a fulfilling and successful run.  The joy of finishing a project with new family (and finding that family).  The sadness of endings.  The sadness of partings.

The play, as described in previous entries here, is a "what if" tale that explores what might be if some of Edgar Allan Poe's darker stories were, in fact, semi-autobiographical.  I will not spoil the twists and turns and surprises that await a new audience, but suffice it to say, Poe would have approved.

The final performance, Saturday January 25th, was interesting.  For some in the cast, it was their best performance.  For others, not so much.  The biggest danger in a play such as this, in a venue such as this (a black box theatre) is overacting.  In a small intimate cast in a small intimate venue, "larger than life" can become elephantine.  It's like the difference in a movie of a close-up versus a wide shot.  Bigger might work in the distance, but up close, bigger can be a killer.  As an actor, I have to check myself a lot on this.  Most of my stage acting experience is in the large, proscenium stages.  When I have to go small, it takes an effort.

In the final performance, the author was present, having flown in from Los Angeles ("boy were his arms tired!") Thursday night.  His comments were generally complimentary, always insightful, and sometimes surprising.  One surprising comment concerned my character, Dudley.  Apparently he was supposed to be an over-the-top drunken sot comic relief character.  We, read I, played him more as a real alcoholic with a more sinister twist than comic.  Lenore and Monty he loved.  With this I heartily concur.  They both brought a quality to their work that was genuine, if a little creepy.  Okay, a lot creepy.

Matt Ritchey noted that the whole production was a surprise.  Carpenter's vision was different that his, and he liked it.  Ritchey said, "Everything on the page was there.  Everything on the stage seemed (similar)."  But the character interpretations were very different.  The actor-created backstories he found wonderful, even my twisted one.  "You put your child out there and it takes on a life of its own.  That's a good thing."

For this "child", it has grown and moved on to its next life, somewhere else in the theatre world.  I hope its new family cherishes it as much as we did.  Bon voyage, Nevermore.

Happy Birthday, Edgar Allan Poe: A Party to Remember

Sunday January 19, 2014

Saturday night was an extraordinary event.  On the eve of the birthday of Edgar Allan Poe, the APEX Theatre 20 group held a combination birthday party and performance to celebrate said birthday.  The performance of Nevermore by Matt Richey provided the third act of the day.

Act I was the inaugural Saturday Morning Sitcom "Happy Birthday Edgar Allan Poe" featuring Mother Goose and Friends.  The were flooded with well-wishing partiers from the younger set.  A good time was had by all.

Act II was an amazing late night party made up of Steam Punk, Neo Gothic, and just plain funerial clothing.  Food and drink was included in the ticket price.  There were some AMAZING outfits worn by even more amazing people.  Everyone was there for a good time, yes, but also to celebrate the natal anniversary of one of America's great writers.

Act III was of course, the play.  One of the best performances of some of the actors. (Not for all, but perfection is for wimps.)  All the performances were filled with the passion that this poet/storyteller engenders, from the unpredictable Poe of Mark Dwight to the macabre calm of Montressor from Slater Bonner.  From the ethereal beauty of the "lovely, lost Lenore" by Megan Clark Hutchings to the creepy old caretaker Dudley of John Lamb. The audience was enthusiastic in their reactions and response.  Quite gratifying.  The performance ended with live music from Lacey Carpenter on her violin.

The 4th Act was the "Poe Toaster".  Producer Felicity Enas told the fascinating story of the infamous Poe Toaster, of Baltimore followed by a reading of Poe's poem, Annabel Lee, ending with  a brandy toast of our own.  The night was amazing.  I was there, so I should know.  I just hope that there are many more of these themed nights in the future.

Closing in on Opening Night

Wednesday January 15, 2014
"Four weeks, you rehearse and rehearse
Three weeks, and it couldn't be worse
One week, will it ever be right?
Then out of the hat it's that big first night!"

Cole Porter knew a thing or three about opening nights and the chaos that leads up to them.

Most of the set is done. Most of us hit our lines each night.  Most of us have costumes and props ready to go.  Most of...   Things always get a little crazy as opening night approaches.  With a complex set with complex changes, there are always going to be glitches.  Like actors near castrating themselves on low tables in the dark during a blackout where things have been moved to new places.  Or no handle on the door.  With complex acting relationships between characters (and actors), there are always going to be nights that it "clicks"  or doesn't.  The trick is to keep moving and don't dwell.  Trust that it will be there when the curtain goes up.

On the set of Nevermore it's the same.  Actors with bruises, of body and ego.  Director stressing, as directors do (especially newbies).  Producers kibitzing, as producers do (as they're supposed to do).  Crew just trying to stay alive and keep things moving.  We have a talented cast.  Perfect? No...which is a good thing.  We have a talented director with a vision.  A strong vision is essential, but can sometimes get in the way when there are snags.  The set is lovely, but still a work in progress.  

We open in 3 days.  Whatever happens, it will be amazing!

Tech-nickel

Tonight was the first tech rehearsal of Nevermore.  For the uninitiated, a tech rehearsal is when lights and music and props and set changes are all attempted with the actors present.  Most of the time, it takes ages and is generally unpleasant for all as adjustments are made here and there.  The techies are busy adjusting endlessly what they've been working very hard to put together, and the actors can't get their rhythm rockin' because of those constant adjustments.

I say most of the time, because tonight's tech rehearsal wasn't so bad.  I did some of my best work tonight.  Well, other than coughing with an entire mouthful of "coffee water" substituting for Irish whiskey. *blushes*  Now that I no longer rely on the script, I can get into character and really start getting the meat of Dudley cooking.  This is my favorite time of rehearsal- off book and working.

We seemed to be working at an energy deficit tonight.  Hopefully tomorrow will see that solved.  I've arranged with "Poe" to do some energy exercises Kathy has taught me before rehearsal tomorrow. Maybe that'll do the trick.

I really admire the professionalism of most of the folks involved in the show.  There are bits and bobs, yeah, where a few more years of experience might smooth things out a bit, but hey- that's how you get the few years' more experience.  And they all seem very talented.

I have very high hopes for this show.

PS- I'll end with a candid shot of "Lenore" during out photoshoot.  This is from Kathy Lamb's "behind the scenes" shots.  She's really a lovely person, too.