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...