Months gone

Ugh, I hate that realization too many months later that something could have been done better. Timed tests blow, as it were. I woke up this morning, looked to my left and one of those unanswered questions clicked like a light switch. It looks like I'll need to direct this one again; do it better. That'll be much to the dismay of many. I'd probably use the same cast again, maybe switch out an actor or two just to mix it up. Actually, if the options were there I'd probably recast the lot, save one. It's not that I didn't like their work, in fact I loved it. All four of them will always have a spot in my heart, they helped put a piece of me together, reaffirm my love of directing.
I think I'd like to do some Shakespeare. Usually I'm not a fan, but I've been reading a lot of him this summer and I think I'd pick up a nice chair and hat to look spiffy in, because that's what it's all about, right? Making pretty.

directors notes

With some time past, I've decided to post my notes. They've been sitting on my netbook here, collecting dust and much like reading old notes from acting, I think reviewing these could serve as a nice refresher. I think I'll only post the notes from the final rehearsal... when I sort of lost it a bit. I'm actually surprised it didn't happen sooner. Enjoy:
"What was I supposed to do?" -- give head.

I'm dancing back here.

Nick, Stop raping natalie. Now.

House coat down.

IT"S THE HULK!!

I've been dancing back here.

Now nate and i are singing the 3s company theme.

OH! Your director has snapped like the verb form of snapple but without an 'L'.

Wow, nick cleans up nice.

We want to give Nick a superman curl in his hair.

HI HANK! WE MISS YOU
Oh, miss the rest of the cast, too.!1111!!

Nikki, careful with strong arm movements. You're a strong character who doesn't pick at their clothes.
Dude, I'd LOVE a big cup of copy right now.


"...wHhat?" <3

Great "IF! i do this..."

"You should have been swallowed." (Audience lets it sink in) "Pffft ahahah"

"Any other secrets?" OMG! YOU FOUND YOUR SCRIPT! E>

"Call me if you need me" ... How did Rob Gretta get on my stage?

Fall passes.
(Springs forward)
(Winter Behind)
(Summer... of our discontent)

Nick, button the next button if you can on that shirt... you're still a bit too 70's porn star -- I let's try buttoning to where we can't see the wifebeater

Natalie, wait for laughs to stop between "Champion" and your "...what"

They love it! I'm smiling back here.

I just realized there's a wire coat-hanger on set... I LOVE IT!

Nikki, great strength!

Nikki, Let's try more confusion of "Crushed cup" you weren't there for that conversation. you were naked somewhere, crying.. probably in the shower... waiting for the tears to wash away. Wash away quickly.

Nikki, great backing away.

Hank, we'll probably want to work on that last scene between you and Reese. Less flippant, and some concern needs to be seen.

Natalie, the ghetto hand wave made me giggle. I'm ok with it.

lol, Walt totally, "Ooo"ed slap. i giggled again.

Hank, you know she's good as soon as you see the Grey Goose bottle. It's just concern.

3rd and applicable assignment

Now that my show has ended and I’ve had some down time to process the
whole process, I’m here to mention some surprises I’ve encountered.
Foremost, my opening night didn’t go as well as expected.  It wasn’t so
much that anything went wrong, but their energy was fairly low and a lot
of the genuineness went out the window.  Maybe I should have mentioned
something about it before the show or perhaps I shouldn’t have ran it
twice each rehearsal in the two days prior.  Actually, one of my goals
was to not run the show twice a day; I’ve been in productions in which
that was asked of us and it was much more a hindrance than a help.  I
think that it has a much greater possibility to run the show dry.
However, at the time I knew we weren’t where we needed to be. 
A pleasant surprise though, was my cast.  They all went above and beyond
what was expected of them.  Natalie was a godsend during tech, as well
as spot on with lines and (along with Nikki) wonderfully professional.
At the get-go, I was a bit skeptical of casting a 17 year old in such a
serious and dire role.  Also, most of Nikki’s experience fell into the
musical genre, and I was afraid that would get in her way.  To her
credit though, I thought she played the role in a very realistic
fashion.  Hank was in the same boat.  We all know and love his antics
and they play beautifully on the stage, on the other hand that wasn’t
what my show was about.  One of my first stylistic choices was to do a
real slice of life show.  At points I even let them speak up-stage
because in life, there isn’t an audience to play to.  It was a fun line
I had them balance between keeping the realistic bits in and still
getting their emotions across.  I thought they walked the line quite
fine.  A bit of criticism for Nick now, I had fairly low expectations of
him.  After casting him I heard the tales of his missing rehearsals,
“getting around” to learning his lines, and generally unprofessional
behavior.  At the start, that’s what I got.  He was often late or
getting there just in time, (like hank) he ‘Gist’ed his lines for a bit,
and seemed more concerned with wooing Nikki than for the rehearsal at
hand.  He also neglected to tell me about a prior engagement until the
day before.  Another shot at him: while the rest of the cast was willing
to cancel plans to stay a bit later, he was too busy (he had gotten a
girls phone number and wanted to give her a ring.)  With that said, by
the end he had notably improved.  He was off-book, on time, and very
gung-ho by the end of the rehearsal period.  I would have been worlds
happier if he had started off that way, but we can’t always get what we
want.  
To the question of the day though, there weren’t that many surprises I
didn’t see coming.  For instance, I knew my cast would need more time
than they were given for lines, so I gave them very little, asking to
have them off-book at the return from spring break, about 2 weeks
earlier than actually expected.  (With the exception of Nikki who was
completely off-book upon return)  They were right on schedule.  I was
pretty proud. 
Oh!  One surprise I should have planned for: the working toaster oven.
I probably should have had that in earlier instead of waiting till the
last minute.  Natalie, having never worked with it beyond the 2 shows,
turned it a bit too far when angrily shutting it off and taking out her
bagel. It turned right back on.  Long story short, I ran backstage to
let Nikki know to turn it off the second she was on stage again.  When
she asked her motivation: “You’re motivation is to NOT burn the theater
down with everyone in it.”  She took it well and quite possibly saved
the show. 
As mentioned before though, not many unforeseen crisis.  Would I do the
show again the exact same way?  Hell yes.

Post-show

In good news, the second show went much, much better. All the lines were remembered and heard, there was genuine emotion on stage, and I didn't burn down Waller hall. Wouldn't that be a great act to be remembered for? When I went into this production, my first goal was to not have the "Elijah" play of the semester. For a bit I was quite worried that I would fall into that category; I wrote and directed the play myself and at some points so much did not go according to plan half of the set and blocking was made up on the spot. Rehearsals were called off because a dire cast member didn't show, the acting wasn't consistent in spots, and i maintained skepticism in reference to my script.
Oh, and I almost burnt down Waller. Not sure if too many caught that, but I had a working toaster oven on the set and during Saturday's show, Natalie got a little overzealous in turning it off and set it to "bake"... Then the rest of the cast let it go until I finally found one back stage and asked Nikki to turn it off. "Listen, your motivation for turning it off is 'Ariel wouldn't want to set fire to a room full of people'"
Now, I'm starting on another show with the working title of "godless" wherein an atheistic astronomer peers into his telescope and accidentally finds God. With any luck I'll get to put my directing chops to the test again next semester/year.

Post-open

What a let down. Really. Thursday night my cast was amazing. Near flawless... Now though, they lost it all. Lines were lost, jumbled, and all around shat on. The timing was off on the jokes, and i'm all around disappointed. This is what it feels like to work on something for months and have it all for naught. I have this feeling that the audience didn't take much, if anything, from the show. That's probably the worst bit. The good bits include: Nikki B in the second scene, Hank and the opening, Nat standing up at the end and Nick's monologue was alright. Of course, I'm probably being far too harsh, I still love my cast.
I can only pray tomorrow will be better. Too bad I'm an atheist.

For a while now, I've felt that my show was ahead of the curve. Now though, we're sorely behind. In worse news, the migraines are coming back. That's personal crap though, and I've been trying to compartmentalize the personal and the professional. For the most part, my show's going well but unfortunately, a bit of backtracking was done and I'm not sure it was all my fault for doing more tech work yesterday than actually rehearsing. Tonight blocking was wrong, lines were changed, and all the emotional work we've done was off. I think my one cast member is having issues keeping their outside life separate from the show. Namely, a fucking game. Now, I'm playing it too, and it's good fun, but when rehearsal time rolls around, my head is in the studio and studio only. I made note of it earlier tonight, but only in passing. He has one run to get his focus back, or I make no promises on the kindness of the words that will leave my mouth.
I mean, I've taken lengths to keep nice with my cast and it's served me well for most of them. In good news though, choosing Nate Moser as my stage manager was probably the smartest thing I've ever done since I've been doing things ever. He's on top of things, he catches technical stuff that slips under my radar, and keeps me sane. He's also just as enthusiastic to be involved with this as my cast.
Well, I've just taken actions to hopefully ensure my full casts' attention at rehearsals.
Fingers crossed it works.
ciao

A copy of my script

it's viewable at:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=ddr5krrv_0twf79zck

A few production stills

Today was a pretty productive day; so much so that I was able to snap a few shots of my cast. These are being posted in no particular order, really. In good news, the refrigerator will be available Tuesday and the couch Wednesday. Tyler and I seem to be meshing our shows together well, though it looks like we're proposing a notable set change in 15 minutes.
In bad news, a cast member seems to be dropping the ball. I won't name names, but they've missed two rehearsals, and were in no way prepared with a costume idea as was requested. Meh, as long as he is off-book by tomorrow, most will be forgiven. I've let my cast know that starting tomorrow, a call of line will not only get them their line, but also a nerf dart fired at them. They seem to be okay with it. Well, after I let them know that I won't aim for face they were okay with it. I'm shooting to have the show ready for open Wednesday so that we have two - three full runs available to us.

3.13.09

Tonight was another amazing rehearsal. I'll admit, I feel a bit guilty. I think because I've seen so many great things come out of my cast, I'm pushing them harder... Mayhap too hard. We spent a half our working solely on Hank's character, Adam. I don't think I've ever seen Hank so deep in thought. It made me proud, and at the same time worrisome. I don't want to burn out my cast, or worse, make them not enjoy rehearsal. We've all worked on shows which became work at some point and I do believe that it makes the show suffer more than anything. Beyond that, I'm friends with all of my cast... I don't want to strain that. I think Hank was proud of himself... Nat seemed a bit bored by the end of the half hour, but took it all in stride. I'm also pushing Nikki fairly hard. My stage manager thinks that it may be because the rest of my cast is farther along than she is.
Still, things are going swimingly.
Other news:
I have a 2-3 hour rehearsal scheduled for tomorrow.
My cast is doing pretty well getting off-book.
I have a new netbook to help with my organizing.

Wow.

I know that I'm speaking far too soon, probably, but I adore my cast. Tonight was our first full rehearsal and I was wowed. They were all justified, convincing, funny and quick. I also found out that my metaphor carried between scenes well. My stage manager is doing a fine job despite his never doing it before.
This isn't to say that "Hey, let's open now!" but more along the lines of us being further than I thought we'd be. They all surprised me in areas I thought I'd have to work more on. I'm now rather glad that I took those two full days to sit down and talk about what I wanted from each character/actor and addressed concerns early on.
If only I could get the MPR a bit more... oh well... shit in one and, wish in the other... see which fills up first. (The shit-hand will probably overflow well before the wishing hand.)

The Battle Rages On

I'm not just listening to the Deep Purple song.
So last night I was driving through the blizzard that chose spring break to ravage Allentown. Long story short, I finally know exactly what I want to say with this show. I mean, I should know it and whatnot since I wrote it, but I was wrong. Not afraid to admit it. I was reading an article on the 4+ hour movie "Che" and Soderbergh was saying how he didn't realize what it was really about until it was released. I guess I should be glad this hit me early on.
The Battle Rages On. Jason and I discussed the plot development last week and the inverted triangle came up. You have the hero that falls then rises again to audience approval. Well this play will have an inverted inverted triangle... So yeah, right-side up. Anyway, here's a breakdown.
In scene one we establish Reese and his philandering ways. At the change, Reese recognizes his flaws and is reunited with "the only girl to make him squirt" which is my stiff upper-lip British way of saying "One true love" (There's such thing in the universe I made up) As the lights rise on scene 2, Reese has grown slightly. The hero has risen at this point. Shit happens and he returns right back to where he was, a manwhoring-douchenozzle.
Nick Barber is playing a manwhore. It just seemed fitting. With Adam (the brain in the bottle) I wanted to try something new. We've all seen Hank in his goofy physical humor and how he can play innocence. He's a damn funny guy. He's very physical and large (not a shot, just saying, he's very theatrical in movement) and I would like to challenge him by limiting his physical action. By my logic, he will be putting more thought into what he does and be much more selective about his choices in action. That all makes sense in my brain-meats.... my squishy, squishy brain-meats.
Going back to Nick, during his audition I he made me question what my own reasonings were for the characters actions. He brought something I didn't see and I'd like to see what else he has. He also took direction well. All of my auditioners did, actually.
Natalie brought an down to earth honesty to D'Arcy that I liked. A bluntness, too. I think it will also be a challenge for me to direct her. I remember watching her in Henry IV and how she had that forwardness but at the same time was reserved on stage. I'd like to break her of that. Really open her up to the audience. I wonder if she can cry on command.
Another risk I'm throwing into my show is casting a high schooler. Will's friend Nikki B auditioned. She was good, but I'll need to break her of the high school acting I noticed. Crossed arms, choosing to yell right away, covering her mouth... Most of what I noticed was technical, but she was genuine in the emotion and should be fun to work with. I also need rehearsals to finish by 10pm... Fucking Cinderella laws.

At our pre-break meeting, the cast seemed to mesh really well. Natalie seemed a little nervous, but she also had another meeting after. Beyond that, I noticed a good chemistry, especially betwixt Hank and Nick which is probably best because well, their characters are best friends and I want that honesty conveyed.

The Battle Rages On... I can't get it out of my head. That's probably a good thing. Battles rage on... she show must go on... they both carry connotations of going forward... never being finished. I need to look into this. It's like a recycling symbol. Yup, that's the path my show takes... a giant recylce sigul. I need to look into that... reduce reuse recycle... It's about restraint. How long can a person be restrained? How many turns of the wheel? The story never ends. It's a never ending story. That goes on and on and on and on and on. Like Journey.
Capitulation, bitches.

Audition night

I just held auditions. There were 4 people for a 4 character cast. Luckily, I foresaw this and at the 11th hour made a Hail Mary play. Apartment #4 is no longer being produced. And oh I'm just ecstatic. There are several shows that, in my opinion, cast their shows far too early. Not only may their cast lose steam, but it was a good bit of unfair to the rest of the class, now left struggling. Luckily, most of my cast I am happy with. Only one person has set up an appointment with me for tomorrow. Of course, his docket is very full. Oh, and I can't wait to schedule rehearsals after break.
Instead of the script I slaved over earlier, I've dug out "The Come Around" from playwriting. In good news, it gives me a reason to reexamine all of the relationships in that. The happy ending in it kind of irked me, and I wanted to see where they'd be three months later. Now I have that opportunity. It'll be taking a big twist and completely ruining that happy ending that the first scene saw.
Anyway, I'm not in the best spirits, to be honest. I'm at auditions and the show has hit more rocks than Homer Simpson that time he fell into the gorge. I'll keep plugging away, but already anxiety is high.
Also note to anyone who has yet to audition: If people say they'll be coming, doubt it. Here I note Odessa Kettman. No idea who she is, but she's the only one who took the trouble to sign up for a slot and never showed. Also, make clear where you have your auditions. I had more than one person not sure where to go. (about half of them.. that's right: 2)
Well, off to disect more of the auditions. Make sure I have the roles right.

Auditions

Apparently I'm a bit behind in this whole process, but I signed out the MPR for Monday, February 23: 6-9pm. I'm throwing up a sign soon and hopefully the whole ordeal will go without too many painstaking experiences.
Here's to hope... Well, hoping for hope... Fingers and toes crossed.

Working with actors?

Now, I have my doubts about anybody acting like this here, but I suppose it's an example of how things can go. This is a world-class Bale freak out on the set of Terminator: Salvation. Welcome to Hollywood.
http://www.wwtdd.com/post.phtml?pk=18491
Now there's a way to get blacklisted.

Tuesday.

Day two and I rant. Of course, I'm not even sure what to rant about, exactly. I'm tempted for writersblock, but that's not it. It's more writer-malaise. What are some methods for conquering this little ankle-biter? I just have this feeling that if I open up the script it won't be truthful, it'll just end in me ending the show with the homeless man coming in a few moments earlier, filling the entire cast with lead, picking up a guitar and leaving.
I'm trying music, which usually works, but it's sending me into sunshine-puppy land. I can't find that neutral I seek where I see clearly what needs to be done. I'm trying the same playlist I used the night I wrote these 25 pages. (Lots of Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, acoustic stuff, etc. The Commodores made it in there, too...) The words didn't click so hot, but the feel did, I think, giving this set of songs another shot. Maybe this will go better with all of my lobes in working order.
Chyannnnyway. Back to the grind.

Opening

Good morning, Vietnam.
Here we have the first of what will be many bloggings. It seems I've dropped the ball thus far, but I plan on remedying that post haste. To begin with, let me apologize once again for wasting such a large portion of class on Thursday. I can assure all those concerned that it shain't happen again. Beyond that, many thanks for all of the help in getting my script back on track. Back in the vecinity of some semblence of two parallel strips of metal, for that matter. Sad to say, that was a damn sight better than the first slight against God my brain pumped out.
As an small inventory, here are a few of the things I'll be keeping in mind as I rework the piece.
-Something drastic needs to change with Ando's death.
---Roland calls the cops
---It is cut
---It's not Roland who comes back
---Give Roland a monologue in the radio station as a summation of the events.
-----Roland describes the most likely course of events while Ando makes the motions.
-Kat's character <--What?
---I was tempted to give her a parallel story to the Ando/Ruby relationship, but it seemed a bit too predictable. I think it's important that the Roland/Kat situation stay plutonic, if only to make the Ruby/Ando betrayal sting more. Even a hint, I think, that a romance between them would deminish the impact of their lovers' drunken accident. At the same time, I think that stregnthening the Ando/Ruby cheating-plot wouldn't be going amiss in the slightest.
---Something I was shooting for with Kat was that friend who is more of a space-case and doesn't handle the a stressful situation overly well. Just an electron bouncing around constantly without discernable rhyme or reason. Perhaps I was off in my decision, since it appears that this either went over heads, you had to be in my head, or I completely missed the mark. (That latter option's looking pretty good, right?) Her arc was supposed to come full circle in the end scene when she stands up for Ando's memory. This probably either needs to be flushed out more or dropped entirely. I understand that this is Ando's story from Roland's mouth, but I don't want that "And here's how Roland grew" tale. It wouldn't be true. If a member of a close-knit group passes, it's only logical that everyone be changed.
-The opening scene: wtf? (This flows into me blathering on about writing and my "art")
---I think it's perfectly clear that a lot of my effing up could be tuned up here. I'll need to make the relationships a hundred times clearer than what they are right now. Beyond that, I'll justify more and do a good deal of cutting. One of the notes Jess gave me is similar to one I was given last semester for "Come Around" and that is, "They are really well spoken--too well spoken-- it seems for band bums." (I'm not trying to take a stab at Jess, in fact, I probably owe the most thanks to her for the input.) However, when I write, I don't like to write down. I think it's not only insulting to me (I learned me some big words, n' I want to scribble them on things) but insulting to anyone reading/watching my work. (wow, that's not pompous... not a jot.) I guess it's a mix of me writing the pattern in which I think and writing the world the way I'd like it to be. (The more I write the more snobbish I sound.) I'll also take this moment to mention that I know my english isn't spot on and I'm sure there're more than a few spelling and grammatical errors in this post alone, but I do what I can. At the same time, I write to make myself laugh not only with lines but also structure, rhythm and the like. I'll admit it, sometimes while writing I get that smirk George Bush gets when he says something right. You know, just that little chuckle that says "Boom Baby. I did it good. Well. Damn, there it goes." Mayhap this is where I've crossed paths with another issue. Directing Vs. Writing. I dove into this project looking to direct it, and that may be why it reads so poorly; I know that this will be bouncing around in my head and I don't need to note all the details because it'll be me filling them in later. This is what many, including myself, would call a big bout of stupid. It's definitely something to work on.
Anyway, I think I've gone on enough for right now... I assure you though, much more is churning in my upstairs brain-meats.