Category Archives: Theatre

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Theatre

Hold, please!

And so my current production, Little Me, enters tech week. Some people don’t care for this part of the production process, but for me it has always been a favorite. I enjoy – and am inspired by – the feeling of pulling different strands together and creating a finished product. That sensation is especially apt in a show like this, where actors, musicians, designers, technical operators, stage/crew managers and directors all work together on the same goal.

It fits right in line with my three Cs of theatre work: creativity, community and collaboration.

It will also be notable to work in our performance venue, the West Park Band Shell in Ann Arbor. The stage is just outside the main downtown area and has a sense of history to when regional development might have been more modest and less car dependent. And it’s outdoors which brings its own unique splendor.

Tech does have its challenges and can certainly be stop and go at times. But as we go through the work of the next few days I will be thinking of the big picture and the prize of opening the show to a live paying audience – just four days from now.

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Theatre

The Penny Seats are back on stage

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(photo by Davi Napoleon originally appeared with this article)

What is an ensemble? Who is an ensemble?

Some may ask that question with curiosity, delight, befuddlement or satisfaction. Some may not know the answer. Some may give a vivid definition in a few words or sentences. A unit or group of complementary parts that contribute to a single effect, for instance.

And some may be like Ann Arbor’s Penny Seats, and define what it means to be an ensemble. Though the very essence of that ensemble — the teamwork, the passion, the excitement — may not be immediately apparent to the audience member or casual fan in the theatre, it is always there with The Penny Seats. This ensemble works together onstage and off. They integrate the group into the fabric of the rest of their lives, starting with family and reaching right out to professional pursuits of law, litigation, news analysis, healthcare, dance, programming, teaching, music and beyond.

Their focus centers on the stage, as best seen in part of their mission statement, which reveals “We’re performers and players, minimalists and penny-pinchers.  We think theatre should be fun and stirring, not stuffy or repetitive.  We believe going to a show should not break the bank.  And we find Michigan summer evenings beautiful.” They even have a theme song that sings, “The Penny Seats are Nothing But Trouble”, with gleeful lyrics.

I was introduced to the Penny Seats sometime in late 2010, when my college friend Russ shared the news that he, his sister, brother in law, and other friends planned to create a new theatre company in Ann Arbor. In our undergraduate theatre pursuits, many of us were intrigued with the idea of creating a theatre company. Some friends in Boston got right to it in 2006, while other young graduates like me chose to navigate the professional world. It’s an open secret how that approach can require frequent geographic movement, and so I happily migrated around the country from Massachusetts to California and back again, accumulating production credits.

There was a natural excitement over the concept of The Penny Seats coming to reality; company co-founder and current president Lauren London reflected on that process here. I gladly contributed to the group’s initial Kickstarter campaign. I continued to pursue my professional theatre work, and this year, that led to a natural partnership of my coming to Ann Arbor to lend experience and enthusiasm to The Penny Seats as the producer for their third summer season. Over the course of the rehearsal process for Little Me, I’ve reflected on the group’s development.

In 2011 I sat in the West Park audience and admired the very first performance of The Penny Seats, noting “the free spirited versatility that the cast embraced, throwing themselves into their multiple roles with enthusiasm and commitment…The best thing about an opening night is knowing that the show can and will get stronger from here. I’m sure that will be the case with the Penny Seats, who wear their hearts and enthusiastic energy on their sleeves, their theatrical energy in their souls and their all-abiding dramatic flair around them, physically, at the West Park Band Shell in Ann Arbor.”

In 2012 I returned to catch the group in a different environment, as they performed indoors on a cold Leap Day night in Ann Arbor to find out “What Corbin Knew”. This time I noted that “The buoyancy and open-air theatrics of last summer have been exchanged for a tight playing space and awareness of unstated nuances. In several cases, what was not explained (or rather what was imagined) had more impact than plot dialogue and wordplay.Structurally, the show appears to be a comedy at first glance, but the director and the cast succeed in holding a slightly uneasy, uncertain tone for the first act that left me knowing something was going to happen. And yet, I still got enveloped in the farcical comedy, so that when the tone shifted, it came as a genuine surprise.”

Later in 2012, the group returned to West Park for a classic musical, “She Loves Me”. I was unable to attend the production, but by all accounts it was a case of the company hitting its stride. Certainly the production photographs indicate this confidence, with bright colors popping off the stage and actors comfortably in character in small and larger group scenes.

In between their shows, the group has made time to give back to the community around Ann Arbor. They launched the theatrical side of their game with a winter cabaret in 2011, and followed on with performances given for the 826michigan local nonprofit, as well as the Ann Arbor Senior Center. The tradition continues this summer with an encore Senior Center performance on July 21.

But most importantly, today The Penny Seats are once again ready to present an energetic, classic musical to the Ann Arbor community. Little Me tells the story of Belle, a girl from the “wrong side of the tracks” who finds her way over to the “right side”, through a series of captivating misadventures, on the way to her true love, Noble Eggleston. The audience is in on the joke, as most of her male suitors are played by the same actor. In this production, versatile Roy Sexton rises to that challenge, alongside Lauren London as Young Belle.

The group has again reached into a treasure chest of plays in pulling out this musical by Neil Simon. Who would have thought that Simon, best known for his New York comedies and various odd couplings, would have written a musical? It was certainly news to me when I first learned of the piece. Modern audiences may be unaware that the Little Me story began life as a novel, written by Patrick Dennis (also a named character in the musical), published in 1961. The best-selling book took its topic from popular “I/you/we can do it!” books of the 1940’s and 50’s, but was intended as a parody of those same publications. Clearly the material caught the eye of Simon and associates, where the musical followed the very next year.

In 2013 it seems that Little Me is enjoying a revival of interest. San Francisco’s 42nd Street Moon, a company charged with “presenting intimately produced performances of classic and rarely performed musical works”, staged the musical in May. A London, England, revival is planned for August. Looking ahead, Little Me will be featured in the Broadway Encores! program in early 2014.

All of which to say, The Penny Seats made a prescient and popular choice to stage Little Me right here in Ann Arbor throughout the month of July. Come on down to West Park and join in the fun. I’ll see you there.

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Theatre

Tipping the Balance back to Live

Over the past year or so I’ve regrettably gotten away from my once very frequent theatre going habits. I’m glad to be enjoying an extended stay in a more theatrically invigorating area here in Michigan. However, I’m noticing that travel distance and ticket purchasing seem to be a minor to moderate logistical concern, in a way that they weren’t before.

It also reminds me of the many audience studies I’ve observed in arts administration work – what drives you to see this production? Is there something holding you back from going to see it? How did you hear about the piece? Would you recommend it to friends? Show your enthusiasm on social media? (Hey, we’ve created a #hashtag just for that.)

I notice that aforementioned economics issue is a moderate concern for me, though I’d like it to not be the case. If be happy if the economic and social balance of theatre vs. film was switched to how it is in the UK for instance, where theatre is seen as a “night out” or regular event, while filmgoing is seen as more of a destination with correspondingly higher ticket prices.

So what should the first play of my extended stay in metro Detroit be?

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Theatre

People are People & Work is Work

Curiosity and boldfaced names have drawn me over to the 2013 Motor City Comic Con today. For a few of my preteen years I was an avid follower of these types of events, mostly in the form of Star Trek conventions, getting to meet (briefly) Mr. Data himself, Brent Spiner, and partake in various fan activities.

I also have a ticket for a special reunion Star Trek convention in Chicago in June, and might have to post a follow up entry on that experience.

My point in recording sensations from today’s event is to note that the feeling is different. No longer awestruck, I’m now… Curious. And sympathetic. And admittedly still entertained.

I think it’s a side effect of working in the business that I wonder what it must be like to be on the “vendor”/”talent” side of these events … Nod knowingly at a fellow vendor you saw at a similar event, maybe in a different state. Crack a joke with a former actor colleague you haven’t seen since… that one film you both are best known for. Pay close attention to the words of your fans – that may be reverential – and give them your undivided attention, even though economics and livelihood dictate you might be charging them a fee for a picture with you.

I probably just overthink it all. I see a lot of smiling faces at this event. I just might inhabit that fan role myself to speak with Ms. Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi) because there’s no time like the present.

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Theatre

August Osage County – will I ever get there?

Over the last several years, August: Osage County has become a title that I just keep missing chances to see. I can think of at least five instances where I could have gone to the show… but something else came up or prevented me from attending.

That feeling reached a new height last night when I learned (after the fact, of course) that Tara King herself, Ms. Linda Thorson, had played the lead older woman part in a production of the show earlier this year in Baltimore – just 70 miles from Delaware. I certainly could have attended, but am sad to say it wasn’t even on my radar screen. And it would have completed my mostly achieved goal of seeing all 4 of “The Avengers” actresses live on stage.

Ah, well. I can only hope Ms. Thorson finds another stage vehicle in the near future – and I find a dose of August: Osage before the Meryl Streep/Julia Roberts film version is released this fall.

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Delaware, Theatre

Shatner’s World included Philadelphia – and has now moved on to new worlds

William Shatner does not need to keep boldly going at age 80, almost 81. And yet, like any good actor, he keeps saying yes, or may be afraid of stopping, or he may just want to work as long as he can. Or some combination of those three factors. In any case, his latest career turn has taken him back to the theatre, where he got his start but has not spent time for quite awhile. So he turned to a knowledgeable and easy to remember subject: himself. He brought his latest enterprise to Philadelphia for one night only on Tuesday, March 13th.

With celebrity autobiography shows like this, it can be hard to pick out the drama. Well, their life’s drama is often splattered around the stage, but the dramatic throughline of their presentation can be harder to discern. I thought back to my seeing Carrie Fisher’s “Wishful Drinking” four years ago in Berkeley, and how I’d let myself get wrapped up in her forcefully glamorous aura before being reminded by my also in the audience friend to think critically about Fisher’s presentation.

The same challenges exist in Mr. Shatner’s performance, and yet he has become so iconic (treasured?!) that I’m sure a good chunk of his Philadelphia audience took pleasure in simply seeing him LIVE. He did enter and leave the stage to a standing ovation, the latter round of which I joined in on.

This show, “Shatner’s World”, seems to have arisen out of a “now what?” or “why not?” phase of Shatner’s career. Actually, the expression is more likely to be “I’ve got nothing to lose!”

He takes the audience on a merry-go-round of a live autobiography, from the streets of Montreal to the hustle of Los Angeles to the infinity of outer space, and beyond. His most famous credit gets its due, but is not as closely scrutinized as I’d expected it to be. Shatner offers hints of what seems to be a larger theme of achieving personal (serious) acceptance of the role, something I would have liked to hear more about but may be difficult to describe in a public setting.

He doesn’t shy away from describing other parts of his career, but does keep the focus about 90% on his public life. His three daughters are only mentioned briefly, perhaps by their request, and there is no examination of the challenges of maintaining an acting career over so many years.

Shatner gave several unscripted asides to the audience about a range of topics from lighting cues to the eternal question of mortality. I found those thoughts to be more intriguing than the scripted material, and can understand why he’s gained popularity for his open mic and written word skills.

I’m certainly glad to have attended this performance, and realize that it adds to a relatively wide spectrum of Star Trek actors I’ve either seen or met in person – Shatner, Nimoy, Stewart, Spiner, plus two instances of one degree of separation links to Colm Meaney and Marina Sirtis.

And yet, in keeping with my theatrical sensibilities and desire for human insight, I know I might have even more enjoyed being a fly on the wall (or assistant director!) in the rehearsal room for this project. What must it be like to be so closely associated with a persona and therefore make your public life in conjunction with that role? Us it possible to show another side of yourself? How do those close to you feel about that side of your life? Or do they feel fortunate that they know you in real life? Do fantasy and reality blur to an inescapable nebula?

From what I gather, it seems that Shatner DOES ask some of those questions in his recent documentary “The Captains”, interviewing all five additional captain-actors of STAR TREK about their personal and professional lives. I considered buying a copy of this film at the souvenir table, but changed my mind after seeing it can be purchased for $12 less online.

It is clear you are a role model and still very present figure, Mr. Shatner. Thanks for your commitment and perseverance!

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Community Theatre, Delaware, Theatre, Uncategorized

Recap to Move Forward

In order to move forward and regain some momentum with this blog, I thought it would be helpful to recap the shows I’ve seen thus far this year. I feel like it should be more than 10, though that is probably a case of wanting to see more shows than I actually have.
>>EDIT: Oh, yes, it is more than 10. Just.

More details to come. And here they are:

1. Vsnessa Schukis – Community Music Center of Boston

2. Copenhagen – Flat Earth Theatre Company

3. Body Awareness – The Wilma Theater

4. Fallow – People’s Light and Theatre

5. Dead Man’s Cell Phone – Bootless Artworks

6. Time Stands Still – Delaware Theatre Company

7. Peggy Shaw in Conversation – Hampshire College

8. Almost, Maine – Lewiston/Auburn Community Little Theatre

9. Romeo & Juliet – Salisbury School

10. What Corbin Knew – The Penny Seats

11. Totally Awesome Players – Delaware Theatre Company

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Theatre

Corbin knows what Ann Arbor needs to know

Once again this post finds me in the friendly outpost of Ann Arbor, Michigan. I’ve made a short yet enjoyable return to this area, primarily to support my friends The Penny Seats in their current and second-ever stage production, What Corbin Knew by Jeffrey Hatcher. Leap Day brought the second performance and consecutive sell out for the company. They have ingeniously enhanced the second stage “Mosh Pit” of larger local company Performance Network for this show. In fact, I see that the whole turn of events epitomizes my own cornerstone three Cs of theatre work: Community, Creativity & Collaboration.

Working on a script like this demonstrates a skillful broadening of horizons for The Penny Seats. The buoyancy and open-air theatrics of last summer have been exchanged for a tight playing space and awareness of unstated nuances. In several cases, what was not explained (or rather what was imagined) had more impact than plot dialogue and wordplay.

The show tells the tale of Roger Corbin, a successful yet somewhat mysterious contractor. He maintains a swanky skybox in a stadium venue, choosing to use the location to introduce two couples who did not previously know each other. Corbin has no way of knowing how the couples will find each other. The plot begins, and immediately thickens, when he’s the last one there to their introductory party… I could say a little bit more about the plot, but on the other hand, I like surprises.

The five actors worked strongly together, and while they seemed to be still balancing out the pacing of a few scenes/parts of dialogue, I’m confident those elements will tie together by the time the show resumes next week. Actors Melynee Saunders Warren and Russ Schwartz delivered particularly nuanced, vivid interpretations of the seemingly more urbane couple whose reality is a little different than that. Roy Sexton and Rebecca Hardin countered as a couple who seems to lead a perfect suburban existence, but has personal challenges to address. Matt Cameron explored the duality of Corbin, serving as the eyeglasses for the audience, but sometimes throwing those off to suggest Corbin’s individuality. Director Jacqui Robbins clearly led with a specificity and creative approach.

Structurally, the show appears to be a comedy at first glance, but Robbins and the cast succeed in holding a slightly uneasy, uncertain tone for the first act that left me knowing something was going to happen. And yet, I still got enveloped in the farcical comedy, so that when the tone shifted, it came as a genuine surprise.

Design elements made the production into a cohesive whole, most notably in a series of creatively colored outfits for the women, and a crucial photograph. The set itself didn’t need to be large scale, relying on imagination through sound design and use of entrances & exits.

I’m delighted to support and encourage a company like the Penny Seats and hope they continue to find success.

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Theatre

It’s a CREATIVE business

I returned to my alma mater, Hampshire College, last night, and greatly enjoyed the opportunity to offer alumni support to performance artist Peggy Shaw, who has released a new anthology book. I discovered that her troupe, Split Britches, has developed a WordPress site and performance archive right here.

On a personal level, seeing the breadth and rapt attention of the student audience assembled in the Red Barn, where I once performed my final Hampshire theatrical production, reminded me of creativity and enthusiasm and their important role in the theatre business. It may seem obvious to note, but I feel that those goals are something that (I) someone might lose sight of in the professional theatre world, where the focus is often on what the production might do for the (company’s) revenue, and for the freelancing artists, if and where the next gig is coming.

It doesn’t have to be that way!

Where’s the love for the independent art? The art that speaks to people and where the personal investment of the cast and crew shines through? I’m sure it is there, somewhere, and I want to find it again. Not to forget about it.

On that business side, I’m reminded of the musical Curtains, which I saw in 2010 at PCPA Theaterfest and even features a song about the theatre business – excerpted below.

CARMEN:
BUT LET’S FACE IT YOUR COLORATURA SUCKS BAMBI,
THOUGH IT BREAKS YOUR MOTHER’S HEART,
FORGET ABOUT THE PART,
IT’S TIME FOR YOU TO KNOW
WHY I REALLY BACKED THIS SHOW.

YOU ASK ME FOR MY MOTIVES
WELL, YOU NEEDN’T BE SO SMART,
IT’S A BUSINESS.
IT ISN’T MAKING HISTORY,
IT ISN’T MAKING ART,
IT’S A BUSINESS.

SHAW AND IBSEN TAKE ‘EM AWAY,
AND DON’T BOTHER ME WITH MOLIERE,
THOSE RUSSIANS NEVER PAY.

SO GO ON CRITICISE ME,
PLEASE, PROCEED WITH YOUR ATTACK,
IT’S A BUSINESS
I PUT ONE MILLION IN
AND I EXPECT TWO MILLION BACK,
IT’S A BUSINESS

SO, WHAT CRIME HAVE I COMMITTED
IF I’ PUTTING UP A FIGHT
IT’S A BUSINESS

AND I WANT THOSE PAYING SUCKERS
OUT THERE GIVING ME THE BUSINESS
EVERY NIGHT

CARMEN:
Am I getting through to you Elaine?

BAMBI:
I’m sorry mother but to me the theatre is a temple

CARMEN:
What so it should only be filled on Shabbat? Give me a hand fellas.
(they clap) Very funny. You know what I mean back me up.

CARMEN:
THE NOT FOR PROFIT THEATRES
DON’T NEED TO TURN A BUCK
THAT’S NOT BUSINESS

GUYS:
THAT’S NOT BUSINESS

CARMEN:
SO GIVE THEM LYSASTRATA
AND I WISH THEM LOTS OF LUCK
I DO BUSINESS

GUYS:
SHE DOES BUSINESS

CARMEN:
DORKY SCHMORKY
MONEY MISSPENT
YOU WON’T SURVIVE YOM KIUPPUR
YOU’LL NEVER GET THROUGH LENT

I ONCE KNEW A PRODUCER
WHOSE PROTENSION KNEW NO BOUNDS
IN THE BUSINESS

GUYS:
IN THE BUSINESS

CARMEN:
HE MOUNTED SAMUEL BECKETT
I DON’T MEAN IT LIKE IT SOUNDS
IT WAS BUSINESS

GUYS:
IT’S WAS BUSINESS

CARMEN:
SO NOW HE’S DOWN THE CRAPPER
WHILE I’M WORKING IN MY PRIME
IT’S A BUSINESS

GUYS:
IT’S A BUSINESS

CARMEN:
AND THE SHOWS I DO DO BUSINESS
CAUSE I REALLY KNOW MY BUSINESS
AND I’M GIVING THEM THE BUSINESS, HONEY
ALL THE TIME

BAMBI:
But what about the great poets of the stage

CARMEN:
Honey I put on the ice man cometh and nobody cameth

CARMEN:
TO STAGE HANDS
TO THE DRESSERS
TO MUSICIANS IN THE PIT
IT’S A BUSINESS

GUYS:
IT’S A BUSINESS

CARMEN:
THE OWNER OF THIS PREMESIS CLEANS UP IF WE’RE A HIT
HE’S IN BUSINESS

GUYS:
HE’S IN BUSINESS

CARMEN:
UNION WORKERS DON’T WORK FOR FREE
HEY HARRY ON THE SPOTLIGHT
BLINK TWICE IF YOU AGREE

See!

I’M NOT DEVOPID OF CULTURE
BUT MY FEET ARE ON THE FLOOR
IT’S A BUSINESS

GUYS:
IT’S A BUSINESS

CARMEN:
I DO THE KARMA SUTRA
WITH A RICHARD ROGERS SCORE
THAT’S GOOD BUSINESS

GUYS:
IT’S A BUSINESS

CARMEN:
YES GREEN’S MY FAVORITE COLOR,
AND I DON’T MEAN ON THE GRASS
IT’S A BUSINESS

GUYS:
IN A BUSINESS

CARMEN:
AND THE SHOWS I DO DO BUSINESS,
YES I’M GOOD AT DOIN’ BUSINESS,
AND IF YOU DON’T LIKE MY BUSINESS SWEETIE,

BLOW IT OUT YOUR…

GUYS:
IT’S A BUSINESS

CARMEN:
BUSINESS

ALL:
IT’S A BUSINESS
IT’S A BUSINESS
IT’S A BUSINESS

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Delaware, Theatre

Finally picked up the Dead Man’s Cell Phone in spaces where Time Stands Still

I had a very enjoyable double header of theatrical outings right in my backyard on Thursday and Friday night, but might have waited a little too long to write about them. It is interesting to notice how the energy wanes after seeing the show, although the positive impression lingers. What I may mean to say is that writing about the experience now feels more like a chore or task to do, as opposed to the riding of enthusiasm and creativity in that post-show mood.

Thursday evening brought a visit to the Bootless Artworks Theatre Company for their production of Dead Man’s Cell Phone by Sarah Ruhl. This was (at least) the fourth opportunity I’d had to see this play, and it was worth the wait even after reading the full script last fall. It was a pleasure to see storefront theatre in action, too, strongly reminiscent of my old friends at AlterTheater in San Rafael. Emphasis was placed on evocation rather than realism, and I felt that worked well in the context of the play alongside some subtle lighting cues. It seemed that some of the acting styles of the ensemble clashed a bit, but the cast did individually work well with each other to tell the story and move the play along.

Friday brought a return visit to the Delaware Theatre Company for their Regional Premiere of Time Stands Still, enjoying its first outside of NYC production following a successful run with Laura Linney in the lead role. This version has vaulted to the top of my shows seen for this year, and I’ll be curious to see if it lingers. The production offered a stunning natural realism shared by the actors, designers, and director. A spacious and evocative set led the viewer into the lives of Sarah and James, connected journalists based in NYC but with their hearts and minds elsewhere in the world. Their longtime friend Richard and his new lady-friend Mandy occasionally dropped by to see how things are going. As the play begins, Sarah has been injured while photographing a (un-named) war torn country oversees. It’s clear this predicament has troubled James, but their path from there is anything but what I expected it to be.

As I said above, the specificity was admirable throughout the show, whether having rain appear in the back of the stage, real food being cooked in a kitchen area, and other natural-seeming loft decor. The one distraction for me involved a television running on one side of the stage while crucial character development occurred on the other. My eyes were drawn to the novelty of the TV, but in doing so, I missed the initiation of a plot thread. It was interesting to notice that the story continued during the scene transitions, with the actors functioning as their own in-character run crew while using a gracious and considerate level of body language.

Since this was a co-production, it will now move to the Act II Playhouse up in Ambler, Pennsylvania. I’m pleased to know that more audiences will have a chance to visit this distinguished work.

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