Fin

"So, what have you learned, Dorothy?"

Through feedback I've solicited throughout this process, here are some of the key points for me to work on in the future:

• Heroics don't scale well - Yeah, Sean, you can do pretty much anything you set your mind to, but you can't do it all at once. Delegate. Disseminate. Diversify.
• Focus on character-to-character interactions - Humor and comic timing come naturally for you, but don't sacrifice core, honest interaction for a joke. A smile on an audience member's face for the whole show is worth more than three big laughs swimming in a sea of stupor.
  
• Trust the material and urge your cast to do so - Reinterpretation is clever, but sometime alienates your core audience.
• Don't accept a 50% solution - This show has shown you that you CAN achieve most of your original vision for a production, but as with the first point above, you will have to rely on relationships to achieve that.
• Exceptional planning pays off - The minor conflicts that arose over the course of the production were minimized by your early planning. A plan can always be adapted. It's the lack of a plan that breeds discontent and confusion.
• Accentuate the Positives - Provide constant feedback, especially that which is good. Then, when something constructive must be addressed, the communication chain is already established and tuned for improvement. Don't take for granted people who consistently deliver good work.
• Bad news doesn't get better with age - Address issues early and thoughtfully. Ask others for help, even if you anticipate they might not be able to assist. News travels quickly. A solution WILL present itself.

And the feedback channel is always open to me. Please offer any and all feedback on your involvement with this production, as it will help me make the next one that much better.

To build a community where the value of the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, you must provide an honest, earnest, and compelling vision for how the world will be improved by its existence.

That's what I wrote as the original vision of the show, and we certainly achieved that, both on stage and off.

With that, I officially close this blog, and look forward to the next chance to share the process with you again. I'll do my best to maintain links referred to here, but many are out of my control. Sorry in advance for that.


- Sean

The BIG Credits

Wow.

Great final show on Sunday! Thanks everyone for your hard work. It was nice to see everyone in the daylight at the cast party. Having worked together for over two months in the dungeon that is the Petit Playhouse makes you appreciate it when you get to see these great people in a more natural setting. In this case, it was at Lorraine's house in the backyard beside the pool.

Now's the time for the huge list of "Thank You's". Going beyond the simple acknowlegements in the programs (name only), I'd like to hilight the folks who really helped this show see the light of day (to extend the metaphor from the previous paragraph).

First, I'd like to thank Alex Lacamoire and Dan Schachner for their inspired arrangements of Stephen Schwartz' remarkable show. Alex in particular was very instrumental (bwaa-hahaha!) in providing the texture of music I wanted for this production.

Along those lines, thanks to Bill Wagner for his patience and professionalism in constructing the musical character of the show. The music was so important for this show that I cannot imagine having done it without our wonderful musicians, Bill Wagner, John Boyd, Josh Halpern, and Michael Schacht.

And to Tom Eubanks, ETC's Artistic Director and my co-producer, thank you for making this happen. I still remember the look on Tom's face when I suggested a year ago that we do Godspell in the Petit Playhouse. It was something between crazed disbelief and disappointment. Tom has always wanted to direct Godspell, but the small size of our theatre had always seemed too daunting. Tom saw the show at least once a weekend (on average), and found something wonderful to say about every performance.

Thanks to Leana and Emily Bowman as the wonderful mother daughter stage management team. The show simply would not have worked without their tireless efforts. Thanks too to J.C. Budzinski for her work on the show, serving as a pressure-relief valve for both Leana and Lulu. Thanks to Stacy Henderson, ETC's Office Manager for keeping things on track and the checks flowing. Thanks to Mary Pat Nally for her help early on in getting this show on track. I'm sorry you couldn't see it through to fruition, but thanks nonetheless.

Thanks to Arryck Adams for his inspired choreography, for filling in for Noah, and for bringing Tami Keaton into the mix. Thanks to Shawn Lanz and Chris for supporting Arryck, and to Mark Keaton for loaning us Tami. Thanks to Brian Harwell and Tiffany Story for the assistance and direction in the percussion section, and to Ellen Krause for her ear in "troubleshooting" the percussion arrangements. Thanks to A.J. Holmes and Ron Derrico for assistance during the audition process (accompaniment and administrivia accordingly). Thanks to James K. Shepherd for introducing me to theatre and to Scott Shaw for ushering Stephen Schwartz' great work into my mind.

Closer to Oxnard, thanks to Patrick and Sherry Mullins for arranging the alternate rehearsal space at Courtyard by Marriott, Oxnard, to Heather Behrens, Ruth Ballin, and Gary Blum for working with the city on the courtyard opening initiative (although unsuccessful). Thanks to Betty Kennedy and Karin Speights for keeping us on track and staffed for the house management. Thanks to Deidre Parmenter and Erin Fagundes for beating the bushes to help flesh out the cast. And thanks to Brian MacDonald, both for sharing Lorraine with us, but for also taking on the mantle of Board President for ETC. Thanks to Chris and Michelle Peterson for joining us and bringing new life and renewed interest in ETC for 2007.

Thanks to Marc Parmet for his friendship and camaraderie, and for providing an environment to support my external interests. Thanks to Jim Jones and Ellen Krause for their early support and feedback during the previews, and for being tremendous professional colleagues.

Thanks to Todd Weldon for believing in this production from day one and for providing an anchor to me and the cast. It was a difficult role, and an arduous end to nine months of continuous theatre work, but thank you again.

Thanks to Kamahni Huck for giving this production it's soul. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's trite and stereotypical to say that, but ethnicity aside, Kamahni brought an honesty and love for the craft to this production that no one else did. Kamahni managed to bridge all "cliques" within the cast seamlessly, and served to unify them both on stage and off.

Thanks to Lori Lee Gordon for her love, professionalism, and dedication to this production. "The answer is always 'NO' if you don't ask." Given that, I'm glad I amped up the courage and asked her to audition for this show, as I had convinced myself that she would NEVER be interested. The combination of distance (she's four miles further away from ETC than I am), perceived schmaltziness of the material (Godspell? That hippie show?), and other intangibles had me convinced that she wouldn't. Whatever it was that tipped the scales in our favor, thank you. No one else could have pulled off Day By Day and the revised Finale the same, masterful way you did.

Thanks to Sara Penman for joining this show, even though it meant relinquishing the remainder of the run to Erin. Ideally, I would have had BOTH you and Erin in the show, but I have no idea how I would have made that happen. Regardless, it was a pleasure working with you, and I can't wait to do it all again.

Thanks to Erin Fagundes.

Thanks to Noah Skultety for the playful energy he brought to the cast. Even though he drove me nuts, the show needed his quirky, slacker mannerisms. Despite the "careless" exterior, he offered a characterization that hinted at a vulnerability that belied that facade. Hahahahaha! Did I really write that? That's sweet. Seriously, this production would not have been nearly as much fun or as satisfying without Noah. The cohesiveness that Kamahni provided needed a chaotic force to provide tension, otherwise it would have been boring.

Thanks to Rudy Larrazolo for his energy, honesty, and physicality. He surprised me on a number of fronts. Even though he was still in high school, he was more mobile and self-responsible than ANY other "minor" I've worked with, and much more responsible than most "adults" I've worked with as well. Even though he's built like a football player, he dances and moves with the grace of a gazelle. And he is easy to work with on stage. He takes direction well and is not afraid to move and become physical as part of a role, even when it seems strange.

Thanks to Spanky for his love and talent. The "drama queen" bit is everything about who he is, and yet nothing. Spanky adjusts to the level of those around him and serves as a mirror to those he interacts with, channeling and focusing energy back as it is delivered. If you interact with Spanky superficially, that is what you will get back, and gloriously so. If you communicate with him on a more personal, truthful level, likewise, you will get that back in spades. He and I both detest intolerance, ignorance, and hatred, and that is at the level we connected most confidently. Thank you, my friend for making this the wonderful experience it was.

Thanks to Jessica May (J. May) for everything. I don't want to call her goofy again. I don't want to call her silly again. I don't want to call her childlike again. I've done that far too much here, and I want to be more complimentary to the talents she's brought to this show. She is beautiful. She is physically talented. And her voice was perfect for this role. The focus and consistency of character she brought each show was commendable. While I wish her luck in Irvine, I'm sad we'll have to wait almost a year to work with her again.

Thanks to Amberlee Peterson for blossoming before my eyes. Over the course of three months I've watched her grow from child to adult, from supporting actress to show-stealing lead, from over-committed and over-programmed kid to a relaxed and confident young woman with a whole life of opportunities ahead of her. Backed by two of the coolest parents and a loving and supporting brother (which one is the older one again?), I can't wait to work with her again on something new and exciting.

Thanks to Lorraine MacDonald for trying something new with something old (the show, not you). When casting was complete, Brian thanked me for making your day, but I want to thank you for making my year. Up until this point, even during Nuncrackers, Oxnard had merely been an inconvenient 73 mile round-trip drive that I had to endure to indulge in my passion of theatre. With the opening of La Dolce Vita, the Thursday night Karaoke, and the graciousness of both you and Brian, Oxnard is much more personal to me and not nearly as foreign. Thanks for your hard work and commitment to the production, and ideally we will share the stage soon.

Thanks to Arryck for bringing an honesty and joy to the role. As with Sara, my regret is that we couldn't have ALL of you on stage at once (other than that final bow on Sunday), but I'll take the great, collaborative moments over anything I've experienced before. I still smile when I think of the calm, cool, and collected look you had on your face when I detailed the songs I'd need choreography for (nine whole numbers that I count), and you looked at Tami and said, simply, "Yeah, no problem." She told me later that your comment as you walked out the door to her was, "I'm probably going to need some of your help on this..." Love and thanks again.

Thanks to my lovely wife, Marya for her tireless support. Thanks to Kyle for the joy in his eye when Rudy and Noah jumped down to lick Kamahni, and when the mechanical Pharisee head sprung to life. Thanks to Maddy for being my favorite little princess in the world, and for singing the songs from Godspell with me in the truck. Thanks to my lovely young lady of a daughter Caitlin for keeping things in order while Mom and I are busy, and for giving me thoughtful and honest feedback throughout the development of Godspell.

And that's it. There might be one or two more follow up posts. This was the sort of thing I'd have preferred having written on personalized thank you cards (I usually do that), or in person, or at least at the cast part, but Sunday was a crazy day for me (another one, that is), and the words just weren't there. Thanks to anyone I might have inadvertently missed.

I'm very proud of what we accomplished.


- Sean



P.S. - I purposely held onto Erin's thank you until the very end, both because I love torturing her (apologies to Shawn) and because she was so instrumental in making this work. Erin was the first to extend the olive branch WAAAAY back in November when I invited Shawn, Arryck, and as many of their friends as they'd like to the preview of Nuncrackers. I let her know I'd be directing Godspell, and she told me about Charlotte's Web (see some of the earliest posts to this blog). Well, aside from the friendship we've established over the past eight months, I want to thank her for solving the "Pink" situation with a creative and selfless solution. You're a good friend and colleague, and I look forward to the time when we can get our families together more routinely and strengthen the bonds that tie. Thanks again, my sista.

The Adjustment

Last night was the night I had to give "the talk" to reign everyone in from the nether regions to whence their characters had drifted. I had seen the show the previous Friday and was utterly shocked at how much liberty had been taken with the material.

Now, minor disclaimer here: understand that the show is still a GREAT show. The quality is far and above anything I've been involved with so far, and I think it's a GREAT and entertaining show.

But the connections were gone. I could see it in the eyes of everyone. Chalk it up to fatigue. Chalk it up to a bad night. Chalk it up to... whatever. They were severed from their characters and from each other.

So they adjusted. I asked them to remember where they were at, creatively, six weeks ago when we started this. I asked them to reconnect with each other, and give the final five audiences the show that we started with.

The show was very moving. It was dialed back a bit more than I'd expected, but I believe it will come back tonight and for the final three shows.

I see the final performance on Sunday afternoon. The strike follows, as does the cast party.


- Sean

2/3 Done

Well, I've been busy completing the tech booth counter for the Petit Playhouse, so I haven't had a chance to post much recently. I saw the show last Saturday night, and it's better than ever. I had the chance to watch it from house right, which is something I'd not done before. It gave me a different perspective, and a good one. I was able to watch some of the stuff going on behind the front line a little more.

Everyone was great. The ad libs that were driving me nuts the first two weekends are now canon, and not much dilutes the core of the show. The cast is at the point where they HAVE to trust the material, as there's only so much a person can improvise successfully over a six week run.

We have a benefit performance on July 13. Details to follow.


- Sean

Excellent Review 2

Rita Moran's excellent review is available at...

http://www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/on_stage/article/0,1375,VCS_253_4808689,00.html

As usual, she's written a wonderful, well thought out review of a show that can be difficult to classify. Thanks to she and Mark Wyckoff at the Ventura County Star for giving us such a wonderful kick-off to the second half of our run.

I'm very proud of the entire cast and crew for delivering a consistently entertaining show. Thanks for all of your hard work!

Oh, and I started a blog for And Then There Were None, the Agatha Christie classic, to be produced in the spring of 2007 up at Conejo Players. Here's that link...

http://1stage.com/~sph/attwn/blog

- Sean

Erin's In

Friday night's show was pretty great, no surprise there. Erin had a great opening night, and Arryck jumped in for Noah perfectly. The rest of the cast seemed a bit drained before the show, but the energy on stage gave no hint of it: it was and continues to be great theatre.

This coming weekend will be the tough one, with a double bill on Saturday. If it's tough getting back into the swing on Friday performances, the energy drain of two back-to-back shows on Saturdays will take some getting used to.

Again, everything looks and sounds great. Look for a review from Rita Moran later this week. I'll post the link here.

- Sean

Audio Snippets 2

Here are some more sound snippets from the show in MP3 format.

• Alas For You - Todd
• Beautiful City - Todd, Kamahni, & Company
• By My Side - Jessica, Sara, & Company
• Day By Day - Lori Lee & Company
• Entre' Act - Company
• Light of the World - Company
• On the Willows (Instrumental) - Bill Wagner, Michael Deutsch, John Boyd, Josh Halpern
• Tower of Babel - Company
• Turn Back, O Man - Lorraine & Company
• We Beseech Thee - Noah & Company

- Sean