Plugging along

The "Conversations" progress is moving along nicely. The two missing tables arrived on the same day as the tablecloths that will cover all three tables. Some of the other fine details are getting worked out (venue, electrical matters, lighting and sound decisions and such like). Still a few holes to fill in and volunteers to locate, but it gets closer to a complete picture each day. We had production discussions earlier this week, and we regroup for another read-through next week. Then after Labor Day, we get down to the "real" rehearsal schedule.

In the meantime, Labor Day Weekend will include some labor. It will be move-in time for the KLT "The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon," and time to start setting up lights and programming of same. Plus hoping to grab and transport at least some of the flats and related items we need for our show. Busy weekend coming up!!

We are underway!

In addition to roughly a million little details of minutiae, trying to pull together the various pieces for putting this play on stage, we've now had the excitement of having the whole cast together in a room reading the script. Out loud. With laughter. If I'd had more sleep recently, I would be TOTALLY excited. As it is, I'm pretty darned excited, anyway.

The real revelation to me continues to be finding out that this is a funnier script that I imagined. I'm sure putting it in the hands of a great set of actors makes a lot of difference. Not that there aren't still some peaceful moments (as there should be) and a couple of touching moments (or at least I hope so) -- but both at auditions and last night, there was laughter among us. And that, for me, is a very good thing. I never wanted it to be TOO heavy, but I think current audiences want some humor when they go out.

We have a cast. We have a director who has clearly been doing ALL her homework (thanks, Myla!) We have a rehearsal space that should be ready in time if all the pieces come together in a timely fashion. Jim Lehman, who is a wood-working man and has done a lot of set-building for KLT, has most politely agreed to build the window units we need. And we have other volunteers coming on board who will help out so much. Not to even suggest I was ever a non-believer, but as these items come along, I believe more and more that we can really pull this thing off. Whew! That's a relief.

The cast is set.

We were able to have our final auditions tonight, and were able, after more tough decisions, to settle on the last role. The cast is complete, and we're only two days away from our first read-through. The pulse is undeniably starting to pick up.

And so, the very exciting cast of "Conversations in a Cafe" will be:

Kathy Anne Cissna (Susan)

Carson Elizabeth Gregory (Meredith)

Rebecca Clark Mills (Jenny)

Brad Phillis (Brad)

Cheryl Ann Roberts (Ellie)

Michael Shapiro (Joshua)

Scott Terrill (Carl)

Cameron Williams (Don)

Mary Lea Williams (Gina).

Well, very exciting to me, at the very minimum.

And off we go!

Auditions seemingly successful

I am very excited to report that our two nights of auditions for "Conversations in a Cafe," just completed, went very well, maybe even better than expected. We had more folks, especially men, than we anticipated, which made for some very difficult decisions about who might be right for which part. But ultimately, we were able to cast four of the five remaining roles at the end of the second evening, and we hope to do callbacks for the remaining male role soon. First read-through is a week from today, so we gotta get that finished!

Anyway, we saw and cast a good Don, Joshua and Carl from the first night's attendees, and found (to my great relief because, even though this is an ensemble show and everybody's important, I think of her as the glue that holds it all together), a fine Meredith on the second night. So we only need to nail down Brad at this point.

What was a great revelation and a lot of fun for me was seeing our pre-cast ladies reading with the candidates and starting to figure out that there is more humor and laughter in the show than I ever imagined. I've always said that yes, there are some funny moments, but we were coming across more in the short side segments than I thought could be found in the whole script. Seeing these characters spring to life after living in my head for four years is just more exciting than I could imagine. And having such a great group of dedicated people -- especially Myla, our director, who has already done a ton of work and not only understands the show as I see it but is already bringing new thoughts I never had to it -- is making for a collaborative effort that just thrills. Playwrights who have had a production have probably already been there. For me, it is new food for inspiration.

We begin the rehearsal process next Wednesday, and then we're off and running. Should be a fascinating but also hopefully reasonably painless process if we can make it that way.

We've done a bunch of the shopping for set items and more -- now have a base to connect with a small round top for our "bar height" table, and an order has been placed for the other two tables we need. A magazine rack and a chalkboard to hang; lots of discussions on set design/construction, technical matters ... it's all good. And it's all moving along. We hope!

Not much time for playgoing lately, but we did catch Stained Glass Playhouse's "Evita" a few days back. It was a reasonably good production with some stand-out performances, but I fear the show itself is not one that's destined to become a favorite. On the ALW front, I'll say "yes" to "Joseph" and "Jesus Christ, Superstar" and "no thanks" to "Evita," "Cats" and "Phantom."