Calibrating My Expectations

Well, even though we were lacking two folks last night (pre-arranged, no surprises), we got a great deal done. We were originally slated for a final vocal rehearsal, but Bill had a brain fart (we all do), so we're working out a schedule for several follow-up vocal rehearsals in May.

We finished blocking Act One. It's still REALLY rough, but, it actually works pretty well. We trimmed back the Prodigal Son section quite a bit, and interestingly enough, it wound up being twice as long as before. Lori Lee chimed in about half way through with, "Hey, I thought we trimmed lines OUT of this part..." TRUE, but it was 10:09 PM, and Todd, Noah, and I were being sillier than we should have. I'll keep us focused moving forward.

Saturday we'll be blocking Act Two. It's about half as big as Act One, so we SHOULD get all of the way through it. What's rockin' great about that is that EVERYTHING after that is just running it to tune it up.

Up until yesterday, I was pretty beaten down. The lack of a stage manager and percussion choreographer had my brain spinning extra CPU cycles worrying about it. I was ready to just accept whatever wound up happening as it presented itself. I have a bucket full of good intentions from people, but I'll take a few small but solid commitments over several dozen promises: commitments I can work with and build on, like rocks, even if they're small rocks. I can provide the asphalt to hold them together myself.

But my great cast REALLY blossomed yesterday, beyond my expectations, which were, admittedly, somewhat low. They energized me and mushed up the mountain that is Act One, and we're coasting down the sunny slopes of the show now.

And I also finished a large portion of the backdrop of the Austrian Alps for Sound of Music. That was a huge weight of my brain. All that's left there is to finish the grassy, flowery hillside, which should take thirty minutes or so during lunch today. I'll post pictures here after I finish.

- Sean

The Wee Space

It's funny, I never noticed before just how small the Petit Playhouse stage is.

Put ten actors, a four-piece band, and six funky set pieces (menhirs) into that space, and it gets REALLY crowded REALLY quickly. I might have to reduce the size of the menhirs to compensate.

On the gripe watch, Kamahni and Noah were absent last night. When phoned, Noah insisted it was a previously arranged conflict, although neither Mary Pat nor I could find it on our calendar or any lists of conflicts. And Kamahni was just a total no-show: no calls returned; nothing on the list of conflicts. Amberlee surprised me with a conflict late in the afternoon. She's opening Pirates of Penzance this coming weekend and had rehearsal, but she made a great effort and showed up after the other rehearsal was over, giving us about an hour and a half with her. That was a very good thing, as we just happened to be blocking a couple of her scenes at that point. I understand. I have a crazy schedule too.

All in all, we did pretty well. We blocked Act One through about page twenty one, which is about one third of the script. Mary Pat picked up the knack of blocking transcription very quickly, and while there may be a few missed items, we have plenty of time to compensate. Lacking Noah and Kamahni REALLY hampered us, particularly in the opening. I hope they plan on sitting down with Mary Pat and getting their blocking from her in the next week or so, because we're not going over this again until we run through it.

Wednesday is our last vocal rehearsal with Bill Wagner. I really hope we can schedule a brush-up in a month or so, and that we can get a rehearsal CD for the cast. We have yet to rehearse the music with the WHOLE cast, and Wednesday will not rectify that omission, as Spanky works on Wednesdays. But that was a known issue, and I have no problem with that.

Thursday rehearsal was cancelled, due primarily to an annoyingly high number of conflicts, but also to the fact that ETC's Martini Madness event is that night.

Here's the deal, and this is the first time I'm voicing this either publicly or privately: if I have any other unscheduled absences, particularly from people who have already blown rehearsals, I'm going to recast their roles. It's not fair to the rest of the folks who have busted their humps to get to Ojai and Oxnard for the rehearsals so far to have them limp along because of a few people who don't seem to have the same priorities. I'd frankly rather deal with someone who is dependable and bent on seeing the show through, even if they're not perfect for the role, than I would someone who can't bother to show up for rehearsal.

I mean, come on.


- Sean

Percussion

Here's a link to the style, sound, and feel I want for the beginning of the second act. Pretty neat group...

Scrap Arts Music Movie

Scrap Arts Music Website

We'll have twice as many people, so hopefully we'll sound 1/4 as good as them.


- Sean

Props to my homies...

It's payday on the Charlotte's Web investment!

With the chaos surrounding the Pink/Gilmer role (and my pathetic whine of a post a few days ago), Erin Fagundes sprang into action and not only found a great replacement, she offered to cover the performances when the new person could not do the show. The great replacement is Sarah Penman (sorry if this is misspelled). She picked up the music quickly at last night's rehearsal, and we're off and running. It was also great to finally have Rudy within our ranks, adding to the vocal mix.

So, I figured this was finally fate's pendulum swinging back my direction, right? I mean... crap, just read the previous twelve posts to see what's been going on. So good things were bound to start ROLLING in, right?

Nope. The pendulum stopped just this side of "Happy & Stress Free" and veered awkwardly into the "Don't Bother Trimming Your Nails For a Few Weeks" territory. Our percussion choreographer sent an email this morning detailing his inability to work on the show: personal stuff, which I totally get. As I responded to him, "Personal stuff comes first," but I am bummed that I won't get to work with him... oh, yeah, and that I have to find a new percussion choreographer for the top of the second act.

If anyone knows a good percussionist who would be willing to devote three rehearsals to teaching a bunch of enthusiastic actors how to build a wall of sound (again, somewhere between Stomp and a Cozy Cole drum solo), forward them to me at sph@1stage.com or 818-648-6636.

Back to the positive stuff.

The show SOUNDS great. This cast is further along, vocally, than almost any other one I've worked with. The show READS great (mostly). There are some LOOOONG sections in the script that blocking, pacing, and some minor editing will cure. And quite honestly, the show LOOKS great from a cast standpoint. We have a nice continuum of ages, ethnicities, and personalities across the cast: they will provide a PERFECT melange of characters for the audience to feast upon.

Happy birthday, honey.

- Sean

Production Calendar

So, I'm making use of Google's new Calendar function for the official Godspell production calendar. There's no direct "view only" address for it. You must sign in (or sign up) with a Google account to view it.

I've already sent calendar invites to cast and crew. If you don't have a message in your inbox (based on the email address you gave during auditions), or if you want it to go to a different address, let me know via sph@1stage.com.

Otherwise, here's a link to the ICAL address (you might need to right-click to copy and paste):

ICAL


- Sean

Just Friggin' Shoot Me...

It's official: the role of Pink/Gilmer is cursed. And that's pronounced "curse-ed" for extra, Shakespearean effect.

Let's run it down.

Couldn't get anyone I wanted for the role from the first THREE auditions. Held another audition. Got a great actress who'd worked at Conejo and who gave a great audition, but who turned the role down the following day. Scrambled, found no one. Got a minor threat from another cast member that they might have to bow out. Worried about that. Worried even more when three cast members didn't show up on Saturday rehearsal. Made some calls, no responses. Got a name from Tom, followed up. Got her to come in on Monday for audition. Forwarded the schedule. Great audition. Offered the role. She accepted. Next day she reviewed the schedule more closely and found conflicts with her job. I scrambled, found someone to fill in for the missing days. Got a follow up call from the actress declining the job (the main one, not the fill-in one). Went again to vocal rehearsal lacking a cast member.

Did you follow that?

So, in addition to lacking one cast member due to a school trip, one cast member who's car malfunctioned (they're fine), and the un-castable role, I also have tech crap for ETC and Agnes of God to work through, sets for Sound of Music and Music Man to get complete, and Passover dinner this week, I'm a bit stressed.

Somebody please find a great singer/actress for me. The role can be shared. We are flexible. The other ladies who've auditioned but who weren't cast simply didn't fit the role. This role needs to be fun and bubbly and a "firecracker".

Send them my way.

- Sean

Vocal Rehearsals

I love working with talented people.

Bill Wagner is one of those people. When I found out I'd be working with Bill on Godspell, my goal was to make sure it would be enjoyable and rewarding for him. He's busy. He's talented. Those two traits make for a person who's in high demand. Early on, I jockeyed with Tom (ETC Artistic Director) to increase the budget to properly compensate the musicians. That helped. And I wanted to make sure that we had the best possible music for the show, so I gleaned the best of the best arrangements to give Bill and the guys something to really sink their teeth into. And I made sure that we focused the vocal rehearsals to get the most bang for the buck while we were with Bill.

We've had two vocal rehearsals: last Thursday and Saturday. Thursday was great, but we didn't have a quorum, so the group vocal parts we learned were slightly out of context. Saturday suffered from the same problem, but it didn't have to. The Mod Squad (Noah, Kamahni, and Amberlee) had a hard time getting things together for the 10AM rehearsal, so we were three important voices shy. Jessica, however, was there, and she picked up her parts quickly, especially the "Day By Day..." underverse in the reprise of "Beautiful City" after the finale.

Tonight we should have everyone except Rudy (on a school trip until Thursday), and we're still lacking someone for the Gilmer role. I have two candidates for that, so I'll try and nail it all down today. I can't FTP out from work, so I have to do all updates to the ETC website from home during lunch. Today's crazy, as I have to also deal with Agnes of God stuff, but ideally I'll have printed rehearsal schedules for everyone else tonight, updated CDs, a contact list, and a copy of the ETC Policies & Procedures Manual for Mary Pat, so she can read up on her responsibilities.


- Sean

The Cast... (sort of)

"I'd like a little less drama in my drama, please."

Seriously, this has been a stressful week for this production. Actually, for me, not the production, because up until yesterday, I was the production. Now, this is not me being big-headed: Arryck and Tami provided immense help with the choreographic auditions; Tom has provided moral (literally) support for my efforts; and everyone I know has been out beating the bushes to get the best possible performers in to audition for this show.

First problem: I had no stage manager. Fortunately, this problem was solved yesterday in the personage of Mary Pat Nally. She and I were in Charlotte's Web together, so that was another big dividend paid out from that wonderful production. Her intra-personal skills and powers of organization made her an ideal choice. And she wanted to be involved with the production from the beginning. Whew, one major load lifted from my brow.

Second problem: the person I'd cast for Pink (Gilmer) was not able to reconcile her schedule with ours, so she opted out of the role. Bummer. She was awesome and would have rounded out the cast nicely. Unfortunately, this problem is still unresolved.

Third problem: one person I've cast is double-booked and has made another commitment that doesn't resolve itself until this coming Tuesday. And he's committed to making sure his role is covered in the event he cannot continue. Tuesday it is, but presently unresolved.

Hey, so, really, only one and a half major problems. Not too bad, now that I think about it...

Oh, wait, yeah.

I also have to finish up some significant tech stuff for Agnes of God (set lights, finish painting the set, help dress the house), ETC (get the tech booth platform in, table set up, and dressed before Agnes of God opens), Sound of Music (Austrian Alps backdrop, Mother Superior flats, step units, platform facings, French doors painted and ready...), Music Man (Marian's piano cleaned up and painted, platform cleaned and faced...). Maybe that's the stressful part.

[Wait, caffeine break. Diet Dr. Pepper.] [Ffffffffft. Gurgle gurgle gurgle. Hissssssss. Gurgle. Hisss. Sip. Ahhhh.] [I'm back.]

So, the Godspell cast:

• White - Todd Weldon
• Grey - Kamahni Huck
  
• Brown - Noah Skultety
  
• Green - Spanky
  
• Blue - Rudy Larrazolo
  
• Violet - Lori Lee Gordon
  
• Orange - Amberlee Peterson
  
• Yellow - Jessica May
  
• Red - Lorraine MacDonald
  
• Pink - TBD

And the production staff:

• Music Direction - Bill Wagner
• Stage Manager - Mary Pat Nally
• Choreographer - Arryck Adams
• Percussion Choreographer - Brian Harwell
  
• Producer - Tom Eubanks
• Director - Sean Harrington

And last night's vocal rehearsal was pretty great, all things considered. It was a more of a music "read through" than an out-right rehearsal, but I think we'll get more of that on Saturday, when we go up to Ojai to work with Bill there. Since Mary Pat was just coming into the mix yesterday, I still had a boat load of administrative stuff to deal with, so that should be done or delegated by Saturday.

It's strenuous, but I think the hard part is over. I hope.

- Sean

Fun Stuff While You're Waiting

Hey, so amid all this audition stress, I got the artwork back for the t-shirts today. They will be a nice quality white tee with black ink. The cast and crew will each get two and will be instructed to color it themselves and wear it around to advertise the show.

Tie dye is certainly an option, but fabric paint or colored Sharpies will also work. Or if anyone wants to try their hand at batik, knock yourself out. I want them to be as unique and creative as the individual cast members.

Here's an image, if you want to try it out in Photoshop or Paint ahead of time:

From time to time, I might be giving out a shirt or two to anyone who reads this. In fact, let's make it a contest...

Take the above picture and edit it in your favorite paint program and show me how you'd decorate it if you had one. Make sure the writing is still legible (it is, after all, an advertisement), but have fun with it. To save my email box, please keep the final size of JPGs the same dimensions as the ones above, only decorated. While the contest is open to anyone in the world, I'd prefer not to mail the shirt.

Send your entries to me via email at sph@1stage.com with the subject "Godspell T-Shirt Design". Deadline is a week from today, Tuesday 4/11/06 at midnight.

Have fun.

- Sean

Audition Update 2

Monday 4/3/2006 at 11:00 PM.

Another audition will be held on Wednesday 4/5/06 starting at 7:00 PM.

I have a lot of great people who've auditioned, but I don't have a "matched set" of performers yet who will provide the strongest possible cast. If you or someone you know is interested, please have them contact me via phone at 818-648-6636, or simply show up on Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM.

Again, minor rehearsal schedule conflicts are workable. We have plenty of time and can accomodate as needed.

Rehearsals this week will likely be rescheduled, but look for updates here.

- Sean

Audition Update

Monday 4/3/2006 at 8:00 AM.

The show has not yet been cast. We're still in need of a few performers who are strong singers and actors, both men and women. If you or someone you know is interested, please have them contact me via phone at 818-648-6636.

Thanks to all the exceptionally talented performers who came out to share their talents with us this past weekend. If the show had fewer characters in it, I'd have the perfect cast, but we have a few more roles to fill first.

Again, minor rehearsal schedule conflicts are workable. We have plenty of time and can accomodate as needed.

Rehearsals this week will likely be rescheduled, but look for updates here.

- Sean