That time of year...

This weekend, I caught the opening night performance of Phoenix Theatre Artists and Company One's second stage production CHRISTMAS BELLES, and boy, was it a great time. I did not work on this show, nor did I have the chance to read it, so going into the show on Friday night, I had no idea what to expect. I walked in the packed house, and the first thing I see is a banner running across the upstage wall reading, "Jesus loves almost everyone." When I saw that, I immediately laughed, and the show hadn't even started. (Don't worry. This is the only spoiler that can be found in this post. From this point forward, out of respect to those who have yet to see the show, I will give nothing away.) From the moment the lights went down, it was one hilarious moment after the next, and it was a rioutous good time, with a great, lively cast that leaves everything on the stage. What more can you ask for? I mean, really?

One thing I always ask myself when watching a play, especially one with which I am very unfamiliar, is: "How much of what I'm seeing being played out before me was written into that script, that is, intended by the playwright(s), and how much of it are choices the director, actors and designers made during the rehearsal process?" When watching CHRISTMAS BELLES, I found that I was asking myself this alot, and even now I'm still not so sure at certain moments which was which. You see, some directors view a script as a rigid text that must be adhered to, as a piece of literature or almost like a sacred scripture. Other direstors take a script and follow it more like a loose blue print towards discoveries possibly not intended by the playwright or originator of the work. And, of course, there's everything in between.

But, back to this show, what's interesting is that as I watched the show, I could not tell what was a directorial choice and what was originally written into the script. What this means, to me anyway, is that if they were indeed directorial choices, they did not stand out as being out of place, dramaturgically. That is, they were all bold, yet wholly justified, choices, that added to the new layers to the text, and brought out new ideas that still fit in with the original concept. (Again, I'm not going to give anything away.) And with theatre, when it all fits together, and you can't tell which came first, which came last, but it all seems to fit together naturally, you can't ask for anything more. Moreover, sometimes it's not about what was originally intended by a playwright or what a director decided to do, it's just about what you see before you. The best thing to do then: enjoy!

If you'd like to know more about exactly what I'm talking about, do yourself a favor, get in the holiday sprit and see CHRISTMAS BELLES!

Over and Out,
Max

Closing Night! (and some concluding thoughts...)

Hey, hey, hey!

Well, as it is well known by now, THE OVERWHELMING, sadly, has closed. The show wrapped up last Saturday with a truly brilliant performance given before a very enthusiastic and appreciative crowd. Not surprisingly, it's always sad for me to see a show wrap up. Everyone, from the actors to the crew to the design team, put so much into the show, and, in some ways, you don't want to see it ever end. There's so much preparation, so much that goes into the staging of a production, only to have the actual run just fly by. So much time is taken in getting the show ready and on its feet, and then, it's over so fast. But, this is the nature of theatre. In fact, this is what's so amazing and vital about theatre. You have to catch it before it's gone. Theatre is a must-see event that waits for no one.

What's amazing though, is how together we all created a coherent world on a formerly empty stage. We took a gutted playing space, a blank canvas if you will, and sculpted on it a fully realized, unified world by bringing together costumes, lighting, set, sound, and actors. What's amazing is how less than 12 hours after the show ended, the stage is back to its "natural" state, eager for the next company to come in and create any entirely new world. It took almost two months to create the world of the OVERWHELMING, yet it took mere hours to remove it. But, again, that's theatre for you!

Another thing I want to talk about is something that I brought up in a previous entry: the way in which the show changes over the course of a run. During the three weeks, I saw about 7 performances, and each one, however subtle, was very different from the next. Sometimes, the actors were doing things you did not necessarily want to see. Sometimes scenes moved too fast or too slow, or the actors skipped a small section of text, things that happen in all productions all the time. The kinds of things that only I or someone who's worked on the show, been at every rehearsal, and is intimately familiar with the text and flow of the show would observe, but that would easily pass by unnoticed by audience members. But, other things that changed were simply great to see. I saw so many of the actors become increasingly more comfortable in their characters' shoes and in the space. They realized new things about the text and came to a different, while still justified, delivery of a line. Sometimes, even a whole scene shifted dramatically, taking on an entirely new meaning, while still fitting in with the play as whole. What many people don't realize is that prior to the official run of a show, actors and stage management often don't have that many opportunities to run the whole show from beginning to end. I don't think many people realize this, but we ran the whole show in its nearly final state with all the actors less than 5 times prior to opening. With the myriad of things that needed to be figured out - all the scenes and scene shifts, the costume changes, the huge list of technical cues - it was hard to get in a lot of actual runs, not nearly as many as I'm sure everyone wished we could have afforded. Although the actors certainly covered it well, because they're all such skilled performers, they were still feeling out what the whole show was supposed to be from beginning to end and at the pace at which it needed to be maintained, even by opening night. The actors were still figuring things out during the run, and it was so great to see them continue to explore and try new things, while still sticking to the overall layout of the show as decided in rehearsals.

After the curtain call of the final performance and after the audience had departed from the lobby, the entire cast, crew, and C1 staff came together in the theatre and raised a glass to commemorate everyone's efforts. It was the first time in a while I saw everyone in the room together at the same time, and it was quite moving. You could feel the real emotion that was present among all of us collectively. Everyone knew they had just wrapped up something really important, and pride was resounding off the walls as hugs and kind words were exhanged. It was a joy to take on this play, and everyone certainly knew it without ever having to say it.

The book may be closed on this show, but the best thing you can do is move on to the next. Company One is following up this great show with an equally challenging yet inspiring show, THE GOOD NEGRO. I can't wait to see what happens with that. And honestly, who possibly could?

Over and Out,
Max

Russ likes Japanese food...

The show is getting closer!! That means a lot of running around for me. In the last few weeks I’ve made some follow up e-mails and phone calls to businesses and clubs in the Boston area that expressed interest in either coming to the show, or buying advertising. Most restaurants that I called were really fun to contact for a couple reasons. First, the people even if they couldn’t make a commitment on the phone seemed genuinely interested in the show. Secondly, I came to realize just how many family- owned Japanese restaurants there are in Boston. Sometimes there was a bit of a language barrier and it was cool to be able to get our message out there despite temporary obstacles! It makes you realize how many small, family-owned companies make an imprint in our city. Third, it reminded me of just how much I love Japanese food.

This week however I start postering and leaving postcards at businesses all around Boston. That way, when someone is waiting to get their hair cut wondering what to do on July 17 there is a poster/postcard right there. This is also great because the owners of the establishments ask about the show, any of their customers also ask, and the word is spread!

So hopefully by Wednesday there will be a green poster with a frog on it saying AFTER THE QUAKE everywhere you go.

-Russ

Ballads and Bonding

Nik Walker, coming at you with round two. Thanks to Alex and eclectic_liz for commenting on my last entry. Y'all make me feel special.

Question: Why is it as hot as you know what here in jolly old Boston? What was it today, 100 degrees? God, why are you so mad at us? Not cool, man. Not cool.

Sunday, after rehearsal, some fellow ASSASSINS kiddies and I beat the heat by going to the cafe next door for some ice cream. It was mad chill bonding with them - we gotta to do it more in the future. Blake Pfeil and Danny O'Connor, our Guiseppe Zangara and David Herold (respectively), are ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS. If you see them on the street, please go up to them and ask to hang with them; they will definitely show you a rollicking good time. Also with us that day were Penny Hansen of the ensemble and Meredith Stypinski, who is playing Emma Goldman. Actually, as we speak, Meredith is right now at a callback in NYC for a touring production of Oliver! Break a leg, Stypinski.

This past week, we blocked two of my three Ballad scenes - "The Ballad of Booth" and "The Ballad of Guiteau". David and I are having a ton of fun playing around with the racially charged tensions in "Booth", especially because I happen to be a black man, and Booth is, as demonstrated in the scene, a blatant racist. I'm excited about Company One's casting decision in this instance...putting a black man forth as the representation of America in this particular show is an incredibly bold, fertile and provocative move, especially now in the midst of the Obama Mania that has swept the nation. It could potentially put a new spin on the show that's never been explored before. I've done some research, and I really can't find any other place where The Balladeer has been cast with a person of color. Anybody have any thoughts on this? I'm definitely interested to see how this pans out by opening
night.

Well, I gotta bounce. Liz Fenstermaker, the show's dramaturg, is coming to rehearsal tonight to give us historical contexts for our characters and help us out with any queries. I always love that stuff. That's right. I am pumped to get edu-ma-cated.

Talk to you soon.
-Nik