Dan here -
Great, fascinating, terrifying first night of rehearsals. It was the first time we actually had all of the cast in the same room at the same time. At the end of last week we met to do three days of table work and called people in smaller chunks to parse this beast out. Those days were fulfilling and ecouraging - but last night was something else all together. Many of the cast and guests had never been in BSM's space before and it's wonderful to see people react. We sat at tables right in the middle and everybody huddled around. And not just the cast - designers (naturally), and Martin came to hear the play, some interested third parties - it seemed like tons of folks. The read went relatively briskly and we chatted about characters and why we are even here in the first place. Katherine Fritz's costume designs were a hit. It's always wonderful to see folks getting the first glimpse of how their character might look. Jokes and ideas and additions whirred around as the whole room crowded around a Mac to get a peek.
I'm spending most of the evening trying not to let folks see how hard I'm sweating. It's been a few years before I've directed anything, let alone a project of this scope. We started at the top of the play, and it became an exercise in trying to make ten people in an opening scene not look like just a bunch of folks standing around. Not as easy as it looks, even with a game plan. Still, much cheered by the work and the commitment folks seem to be bringing. Tonight it's just me and three or four others to sort out scenes between the Cardinal and his randy lady. Should be fun.
Also - huge box of goodies came yesterday: Posters, postcards, business cards (with individutal character shots like Tops trading cards), magnets - oh my. Gotta get these sprinkled around so people can see what we're up to. And huge thanks to Aaron Oster for the gorgeous photos you'll see on all of this stuff, and his design expertise to make it all come together.
I'm starting to feel like a commercial or something. I'm out.

Strange but helpful???

Charlotte here.

I may come to cringe at this analogy but here we are the night before we go into some serious workshops leading up to rehearsal and since I have spent a portion of each evening with the script now, I find I am thinking about this world more and more and realized that I needed a modern parallel.

And I just found it...and like I said, I may cringe at this in hindsight but that is what this blog is for - to chart the progress from beginning to whatever conclusions we come to at some point in the future...

Maybe it's because I have been watching too much tv thanks to the damn Instant button on my wii (Netflix) but I found a modern parallel that only just clicked into place. I just finished the third season of 'Weeds.' Think what you want about the show - the central character, Nancy Botwin, is living a 21st century version of the Duchess's life. A widow, on her own, forced into a man's world and doing whatever she can to survive. This means lying, it means cheating, it means dealing and weaving and ducking and getting dirty in the process. She will do what she needs to do...and yet, you love her. You love watching her and root for her - yes, the drug dealer, to survive.

I have read some commentary about the Duchess being a martyr. She isn't. She's trying to survive. And she will lie to do get and do what she wants and she will deceive. Would she rather not? Sure. Would Nancy Botwin rather not deal with gangsters and shady cops? Of course...but that is not the world they are living in and it forces them to get creative. And do they have another choice? Perhaps. Nancy could get a job. The Duchess could remain single and bow to the wishes of her brothers. But they would be killing something inside themselves to do that and it is that touchstone of life and passion that drives them to make the choices they do....

Ok. Big breath. Let's do this.

First timer.

Hello,
This is Dan, and I've never blogged before.
It's invigorating and more than a little terrifying gearing up for this beast. I've just finished slugging through the first two weeks of rehearsal working around folks' schedules and trying to create something that makes sense. At present, I'm pretty happy with it. Had a great meeting yesterday with our costume designer Katherine Fritz and feel quite confident with the direction that is heading. I was in Ohio last weekend and spent a great deal of time just re-reading the play and trying to see how it looks and moves in the space. The images are becoming startlingly clear, but I don't want to get so firm in my ideas that I can't let folks surprise me in the room.
Katherine had never read the play before and I asked her for her initial reactions to the text. She remarked how unexpectedly fresh it is, and the unpredictable nature descending into pretty shocking violence in the later part. I agree that this is part of the appeal, but am also very keen to thread bits of that threat of violence earlier in the play. It has an amazing volatility, and I think we can embrace that without sliding into Grand Guignol or Melodrama. A great challenge. And the language is just so goddamn rich it's humbling.
So, that's what's going on in my head -
Dan

Getting near the Go....

Hello again -

This is Charlotte.

We are very busy with all things PAC related. Damon is busy setting up space, rehearsals, bands, food and all other sundry details for our upcoming reading of 'Life is A Dream.'

Krista is busy with all the PR and making sure the word is out there about us!

Dan is busy thinking deep thoughts about Duchess and setting up our rehearsal schedule.

We start our three workshops at the end of this month. It's strange to actually think we'll be doing this soon. After all the planning and what if's and wishes and dreams to actually see the whole cast sitting at a table and finding out just what this world is going to be is quite daunting but incredibly exciting too....

And what about me? I'm procrastinating, if you want the honest. I should be poring over the Duchess trying to figure out just who she is....but I've been putting it off....I'm not sure why - humbled and terrified I suppose.....but I do hope to put that nonsense away soon (perhaps tomorrow) and actually start digging into what this gal really wants and needs....what makes her tick.

If it sounds like we're busy....we are.