Flexing some rusty muscles

Charlotte here.

Due to a quirk in Damon's schedule, the reading he was supposed to direct has come to me. And, now that we all think about it, a woman directing Shaw's "Mrs. Warren's Profession" makes a lot of sense.

It has been my pleasure to get a cast together of great talents and forage my way through this script. Every time I read it, I find another question, deeper than the last and, while I find fewer answers, it is more the fun of discovering the questions themselves than a definitive answer.

Why does Vivie choose the life she does?

Why can't Vivie and Mrs. Warren see the parallels between their lives?

Why can't Mrs. Warren acknowledge the new world order?

Why are there no villains in this play? How can each character make so much sense when they all have such radically different views?

It is weaving these questions around the plot that is more fun than filling in the dots. And, so I hope to bring that to this reading - a sense of who these people are and their agendas, rather than a bold, commanding statement on why one person's world view trumps another. The world isn't so clear as that and if Shaw has made anything clear in his script, it is that.

It has been a while since I've directed. And certainly directing such good actors at that. I am humbled and pleased by the experience and beg patience of them and any audience member that graces our goodly BSM home (tea and cookies being a certain draw).

Our mission at PAC is to bring the classical and rare to life. This does not come without the price of women's roles and dilemma of serving them well. Bringing Mrs. Warren and Vivie to the stage with a women at the helm is one step in the right direction and one I hope, we the PAC, continue to explore.

Join us. I will not have baked the cookies but will certainly help you enjoy them.

"This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate."

Hello Peoples - Damon here blogging for the first time EVER.

I love Christmas Carol. Every Christmas I have to either see or read it once. That and also watch It's a Wonderful Life. But back to Christmas Carol . . .

We just had a very successful two night reading of a version that I adapted and directed. It's adapted for two people and we were lucky enough to enlist the talents of Chris Coucill, previously seen in our An Enemy of the People and Life is a Dream, and John Greenbaum, working with us for the first time.

We performed at Auburn Road Winery on Friday night - Auburn road you might remember was our opening night sponsor and provided all the wine - they have an AMAZING wine bar in Pilesgrove, NJ - GO AND CHECK IT OUT - every Friday they do a dinner that can't be beat. Scott Doninni was our gracious host and took great care of us and 60 people that turned up for this little fundraiser.

Last night we were back in BSM - and I love this place. Krista and Dan got there early and did a lot of the set-up and brought in candles and Christmas baubles and made the place festive - cookies were baked by myself, Krista, Charlotte and Mom and Dad Bonetti - the samovar for the hot apple cider provided gratis by Restaurant Associates and beautiful handmade cards on hand by Zura Young Johnson.

We had a wonderful audience, the performance was moving and funny at times, the cookies and cider hitting the spot.

But the reason for telling the story (especially because it doesn't REALLY fit our mission statement) is to bring out the good heartedness in all of us and to have a moment to celebrate that here we are - all out together sharing this moment.

Theatre is about community. Another unsaid mission of the PAC is that when you are at one of our shows/readings/events/etc. we try to make this clear. You could've stayed home and watched TV, netflix, played on the computer (as I am doing now) etc - but you came out to be part of this community. You've just made this night very special because there is nothing more valuable than time and you chose to spend your time with us. We take this very seriously and make a promise to never waste your time.

So, wishing you and yours the happiest of holidays this season - we look forward to spending some time with you in the future!

Not exactly dormant...

Dan here.
It's certainly something to be in the aftermath of Duchess. We've just begun to get our feet under ourselves again (everyone seems to be involved in other projects now) and the question on everybody's lips is "What are you guys doing next?" We tell folks about the readings coming up this season, but we all know what they really mean.
And this is not to slight the readings! I'm pretty stoked about them myself. We've got the wonderful Chris Coucill back in the fold for Christmas Carol. Not a project I was champing at the bit to do, but Auburn Road Winery comissioned it. Only after we began exploring the prospect of actually approaching this story did I begin to get excited. Damon is directing, and the first thing he did was get Chris on board. Smart doings. And Chris has always wanted to do Scrooge. But now, we've hit upon the idea of working from an adaptation Dickens did himself as a one-man reading. Now you have my attention! And live foley to boot!
Anyhow - it's really been a time pawing over scripts for the "next production." We want something for the Fringe too, but what is hard to say. Damon's directing the production next year and is itching for something funny. All of us are piling through old plays in search of one to light our fire. Lots of folks put their two cents in upon seeing Duchess. My personal favorite was a guy who grabbed my arm on the way out and whispered, "One word. John Marston's The Malcontent." Not exactly one word. But I do like the play...
I guess this post is just to address my excitement about the future, and yet try to capture a bit of the pensive nature of trying to calculate one's next move. It can't be a retreat - that much I know. But what? Victorian Melodrama? Scandanavian Psycho-thriller? Restoration Farce? Oof. So many possibilities. What do you guys think? We always love hints.
Til then.

Re-cap?

All right. I just watched 'Julie & Julia' and while I would like to think that the glow of my computer casts an artistic patina over as I blog about my exploits, I'm sure that is just movie magic. Here I sit in my dining room on a Thursday night, having consumed a bowl of popcorn and wondering how it is that I have a Thursday night to do such a thing.

Well, the show closed, that's how. (It's Charlotte, by the way). And now I have time on my hands. And predictably, it was easy to get through Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday - possibly because the ability to have time after work was rather a novelty. And now that has worn off and I wonder why I am not backstage, overhearing the comings and goings of the characters of Malfi or steeling myself for the hangman's noose and hoping my shirt doesn't rip any more than it already is.

Ah - the ethereal nature of the theatre. It's so tangible while it's here - the space comes alive, even when the audience has yet to enter it. Once we completed load-out on Monday, the space looked a little more naked, just waiting for something else....

In other news, Dan encouraged that I write about the other side of all this. There were some low points. I am happy to report that none were internal or caused by any of us - it was rather the outside world that conspired against the fragile world we had created...

I'm talking about noise. We had to compete with it - most memorably, an event outside our very windows the one night my parents had flown thousands of miles to attend the show.

I wish I could say this was an isolated thing but my experience here in Philly is that no theatre is safe. You can often hear sirens, trains, motorcycles, hollers, screams and yes....the eponymous DJ. It doesn't matter if it's the Adrienne or the Wilma - noise is everywhere in our city of Brotherly Decibels....

All in all, though, we pulled through. And now what? Dan and Krista are very busy with rehearsals and shows for both the Wilma and InterAct. Damon is teaching and gearing up for a show with the Walnut...and me? I'm waiting. Waiting to hear about some stuff. I wish it was more glamorous than that but I'm afraid not.

I have a list a mile long of all things I SHOULD be doing but as always happens when a show closes that you dearly love, a sort of malaise sets in and I find myself utterly unable to complete a task. It will pass, I know that.

And meanwhile, the PAC plots. We are planning all goodly things and though we are taking a small rest, it is indeed only that, small.

I hope to post more when I have some productive things to say. Let me end by saying that I hope Webster would be proud. The world we had won't soon be forgotten, as elusive as it was....

Thoughts - Exciting & New

Charlotte here.

You may have noticed a dearth of posts from our first week through opening. Sorry. Apparently, putting up a show is quite time consuming. I knew this intellectually but in actual practice, it really did take up a lot of time.

But what a time. Last week was one of the most memorable in my career. And I say this from two very different standpoints.

As an actor, to be able to dive into this world, to be the Duchess, to experience her joy, her fear, her betrayal, her lust and her death has been an honor I could not have fathomed. It has been immensely surprising how some of her scenes just leapt to life for me - I didn't have to agonize over choices and intentions - they were crystal clear. One frustrating thing is that sometimes, I, Charlotte, stood in her way. I was distracted or hungry or tired or thinking about programs or lights in the dressing rooms or other such things at a time when I should have been in her world. I'm not going to pretend every scene, every line, every moment is a home-run, but I feel connected to her in a very organic way and that will always remain one of the highlights of this experience.

As a producer, I feel a happy exhaustion. Producing, at least at this stage, is all about hauling and carrying. A producer must make sure that things that are needed are delivered. So, if you are a first-time producer, you have to do the hauling and carrying (someday, we might be able to pay others to do it!) You need lights? Ok. Cable? Ok. Mirrors? Sure thing. Programs ? Got em. Food for the gala? Sho nuff. Risers built? Let me rent a truck. I have never moved, dragged, fire-man lifted or hauled by sheer will so many things in my life. Only moving house could produce that same bone-deep fatigue.

But here's the payoff: when I sit backstage waiting for an entrance and I look around at the dressing tables littered with water bottles, combs, ties, cups, newspapers and all the other detritus of a show in progress, I realize: we've made this happen. People are here. The tell-tale signs of a show being performed are here - in the very nature of the objects that surround it. The mirrors, the hangers, the clothing racks, the clip lights - all are here (dragged and hauled and otherwise purloined by the weary producers) to this very space and time to bring this world into being. If exhaustion is the price, it is one I will gladly take and wouldn't trade any of it for a minute.

And the benefits of all this? A terrific opening. A cast that not only delivers on stage depsite heat and Phillies games and all the other distractions in an actor's life but expresses their passion and professionalism backstage as well. A crew that is inspiring, loving and kind.

And a kick-ass show. I am allowed to say it, I think. This show is good. As good as anything I've seen. We deliver. I know we do. You feel the audience is with you. And we a review to prove it. Say what you will about reviews (and we all do), this show deserves the write-up it got and we hope for more. But more than that, it's the encouragement we receive from our peers that helps us. This show excites people. It is story-telling in a simple form and it is thrilling to see theatre so simple, especially in this day and age of apps and blockbuster movies and the like. Simplicity - today - is actually a novel idea.

And now the conundrum. Where are the hordes of people breaking down the doors for tickets? I don't know. I wish I did. We have people coming to see the show, yes, but if you figure if theatre were like a math equation, it would read like this: Good Show + Great Review = Full House. Well, artists are not known for their math skills and so it stands to reason that it doesn't quite compute like that. We are picking up in terms of sales but not at the rate we would like. There are two parts to every venture: critical success and financial success and rarely the twain shall meet.

And so I encourage anyone reading this to "lead Fortune by the hand" unto our merry show. It's a memorable night.

P.S. Anyone notice how listy I've become? Being a producer will do that to you. Loves me some lists.....

Dan here.
We're nearing the end of our second week, and things still seem to be humming along pretty well. We've had the incomparable J. Alex Cordaro with us for three consecutive days working out the combat, and it's all looking pretty sharp. There's a fair amount of mayhem in the latter half of this piece, and it's nice to be able to put it into the hands of somebody you can trust. We have a few more scenes to power thru in order to get this whole thing on its feet, but everything still feels under control. I meet with the musicians Sunday to work through some sounds - then next week they join us and start helping us fill the room. So many incredible things are happening. Martin Campos has been leading his workshops - and last night he brought a group in and they watched a pretty good chunk of rehearsal. Even after his group left, Martin hung around and kept his eyes open for us. Really an incredible guy to have in the room and very generous with us. I'm very excited to see how people respond to his work. Incidentally, he did the painting we've used for the Life is a Dream poster and materials. Gorgeous piece, and he'll be lending it to us to hang during the reading.
Every day I spend in the room working on this project I feel more blessed. I've had this play in my head for nearly ten years, and to see how strong it can be in the hands of a thoroughly capable cast is deeply warming. It's criminal how Webster is overlooked - or worse - remembered only as the bloodthirsty kid in Shakespeare in Love. There is such vitality, humor, and humanity in this play to balance the horrors. It takes a room full of thoughtful and generous people to bring it all across. That said - the more you feel for these folks, the harder it is to watch when awful things start happening...

First week wrap-up

My, oh my. Charlotte here.

We got through our first week. And actually, the words 'got through' imply that it was a slog or difficult in some way. Quite the contrary. It was pretty amazing. We have blocked/worked through a large chunk of the show and are even sewing in the seeds of all the interesting layers that we have yet to find...

And here's the interesting part, the energy never lagged. Sometimes, I've been in a rehearsal process where you can tell the energy is dipping...not here. Aside from one night when I was just zonked by the end (but in a good way ya?), we kept up a terrific pace. Everyone was so willing to jump right in and go there....

And when Martin's group of artists came into the room to observe us, it really became real. What are they seeing? What do they think? How does what we do translate into art in their hands? Can't wait to see what happens....

Administratively, we are also on a fast and furious clip. After getting our swag in the mail, we are spreading the word on every conceivable surface...I think Damon tried every piece of metal at the Fringe Bar to affix the 'Life is A Dream' magnet. The most successful spot? Bathroom stall. Because we are that classy. Hey, everyone needs to read sometimes....in the oddest of places. But press releases, meetings, emails, licking envelopes and lists, lists, lists abound.

Speaking of 'Dream' it goes into rehearsals tonight....the PAC officially launches a two-sided offensive...I believe in military terms it might be termed a panzer....or not, I just thought it sounded cool.

Ok. This gal has to learn some lines. My revelation this week? The more I dive into this world, the more I love this gal. The Duchess is so much more than just a classical character hidden in some dusty book.....

Be well.