So now, it's like, this is it.

It's opening night!  After a quick transition-through of the show this afternoon (with things we learned during our preview), we are ready for our first official performance.

I am officially excited (and still officially exhausted.)  From here on out I get to sit back and enjoy...

Well, that and participate in the talkbacks that are held after every show...  Tonight's special guest is Ralph Remington, the Director of Theater for the National Endowment for the Arts.  We're looking forward to discussing the show with him and with the audience after the performance.

To everyone involved:

Break water!

A sneak peak...

Playbill.com published a few of our production photos this afternoon.  Take a look at the show here.  (More photos will follow soon!)

Pregnancy Props

Only at Pregnancy Pact would the prop table include a retainer case, a can of tuna, lipgloss, and pregnancy tests.

Day Twenty-One

The time has come!  We had our dress rehearsal this afternoon.  The cues are mostly written and the transitions are mostly worked out.  We've still got time to rehearse some tomorrow to put whatever finishing touches we need before the official opening night.  But as of tonight, people are paying to see Pregnancy Pact.

People are going to start to come into town tomorrow and I'm going to be a host and be social and all that.  But before that happens, I'm going to enjoy having one last night with just me and my show.  Actually, I'm going to enjoy having one last night with just Julia, Joe, Rich, Andrew, Jess, Molly, Jakob, Krystina, Katrina, Caitlin, Lauren, Jed, Margo, Dana, Tim, Jen, Joel, Ed, Meghan, Sydney, Jeremy, Lorenzo, Anthony, Ro, Sean, Steve, Mal, Tim, Stuart, Bridget, Aidan, Peryn, Kaylin, Kelsey, everyone...  and OUR show.

Break water, everyone!

Day Twenty

Tech has come and gone.  We had another really productive day - working up to the finale of the show.  It continues to look wonderful and Joe is a master at figuring things out on their feet as they differ from the rehearsal room.  The steady focus of everyone involved kept us moving through the show.  It was amazing to see some of my very favorite moments in the show in their full theatrical glory tonight - sequences like "I Can't Wait" and "Leave Me Behind" that go beyond the realism in a lot of the script and can only live on a stage.  I can't wait to see it all the way through at our 2:00 dress rehearsal tomorrow!

And then, of course, there's that little fact that tomorrow night at 7:30pm, Pregnancy Pact gets its first paying audience.  It's a little overwhelming to even begin to think about.  There's a huge part of me that is thrilled and proud to show off the work that all these amazing people have done.

Then there's the part of me that wants to run and hide at the thought of opening it up to the world.  I know it's what every writer dreams of, but I never thought I'd have so much anxiety heading into the big day.  In a weird way, I almost feel like I'm losing a little bit of myself by putting it out there for the world to see.  It's almost like a line from "Hummingbird Heart" - "She's like a tiny secret that nobody gets to see, but I can feel her little hummingbird heart and I'll keep her from the world so it's only her and me."  There's something so private about my relationship to this show and it's scary to think that it's no longer just mine.

Baby analogies come easily with musicals (and have always been a part of the way we talk about this show.)  So when I got home from tech the first thing I did was check to see if "birth anxiety" was a thing and there it was, clear as day.  Message boards abound with postings from soon-to-be mothers talking about their fears and nerves - knowing that it's what you've planned for all along but scared that it's actually about to really happen.  I think Jaimek000's June post on the community board of babycenter.com just about sums up what I'm feeling right now:

Any others out there that are FTMs that are starting to get nervous? Obvs, I have known all along that I will have to deliver, but now that the time is fast approaching, I am starting to get nervous, worried, anxious...when, where, HOW??? LOL. The anticipation is both exciting and nerve-racking not knowing how its all going to pan out. I have the standard concerns of will my birth go smoothly?; will my baby be so big that I will need a c-section?; will everything be OK with baby? etc, etc, etc...ANY COPING STRATEGIES? I am starting to have butterflies over it daily!

Now I first had to realize that FTM in this case has nothing to do with the trans community and instead means "first time mother."  Then I read responses and the one idea that stuck out was that no matter what concerns you may have, you must remember that women have been doing this since the beginning of time.  Everyone worries, but it's part of life.

Now I'm thankful that what I'm going to experience tomorrow won't include any pain or require an epidural (hopefully), but I can't help but feel some of the same things.  And recognizing that this is part of the life of a writer is so important.  Yes, I'll probably mourn a little bit while I celebrate how amazing the production is.  But it just means that it's real!

The Commons

The Pregnancy Pact article in The Commons, Windham County's independent newspaper, has been published!  You can read it here.

Thanks to Weston's marketing intern Alek Deva for getting us such great word of mouth in the area!

Where to stay in Weston [REPOST]

So say you've already gotten your tickets and you know how you're getting to Vermont.  Now where do you stay?

The Inn at Weston

If you're looking to stay in Weston itself, the beautiful Inn at Weston is just down the road (walking distance) from the Playhouse and has beautiful rooms, a fancy restaurant, and swanky breakfasts and teas for their guests.  The Apple Knoll Inn is at the other end of Main Street (still walking distance) and is a bit less expensive.  The Colonial House is just a little bit further away (and still even a bit less expensive) but just as accessible!  You can make reservations online for all three!

If you're game for staying a little bit further away, you can look at the Best Western Colonial or the Governor's Inn in Ludlow (just to the north of Weston), the Motel in the Meadow and Stone Hearth Inn & Tavern in Chester (just to the east of Weston) or the Swiss Inn in Londonderry (just south of Weston.)

As if a musical is not enough to do in Southern Vermont, there is also a cool farm with a petting zoo, artisanal cheese, apple orchards and berry picking all within an hour's drive.  The theatre is also right next to the amazing Vermont Country Store (where you can eat your weight in cheese samples!)

Getting to Weston [REPOST]

So you've gotten your tickets to come up to see the show.  Now how do you get here?

The easiest way to get to Weston is to drive.  If you're coming from NYC, the drive takes just under 5 hours going up I-87 through New York or up I-91 through Connecticut and Massachusetts.

(Find out for yourself by entering the Playhouse's address: 12 Park Street, Weston, VT 05161.)

When it comes to public transportation, there are a few good options.  If you don't want to drive yourself the whole way, either Megabus or various airlines can take you to Albany (about a 90 minute drive to Weston).  Amtrak trains run daily to Rutland, VT (about 45 minutes away.)  And Dartmouth College runs a bus service between NYC and Lebanon/Hanover, NH (about an hour away.)

Day Nineteen

Tech began today.  This is my first time really tech-ing a show as a writer (and I haven't been involved in a real tech in any capacity since college) and these 10 out of 12 hour days are exhausting!

The big takeaway of the day?  My goodness we are so lucky to be surrounded by the people working on this show.  I've spent weeks singing the praises of Joe and Rich and the 7 actors and 3 stage managers (Jess, Molly & Jakob) who've been in the rehearsal room all along.  And they're all still immensely praise-worthy - the work they've been doing is on full display here.  But when you add in the work of the designers and their crews it becomes a fully realized show.  You've read about Tim, Joel, Jen, and Ed.  The work they have all done is fantastic from the start.  From the hyper-real bathroom set to the washes of beautiful color in the lights to the parade of pitch-perfect hoodies and the full sound coming out of the pit, they've found a way to illuminate this story that goes so far beyond my wildest imaginings.  And they're supported by such a wonderful group of people, working literally around the clock under the supervision of Production Manager-extraordinaire Bridget Sullivan, to realize this world.  I can't wait to see the rest tomorrow!

I wrote a whole long description of everything I saw today - the amazing popcorn counter, the pink glow of "This Is It," Kaylee's incredible red jeans (to name a few) - but there is no way to truly get across how wonderful it is to see this all come to life.  I feel like a fountain of gratitude - trying to say "Thank you" as much as I possibly can.  Even that can't really be enough, though.  I know that this is what they all do, they're professionals, and they aren't just doing this for me and Julia.  But I can't help but look at the proof for the program and see all of the names and feel humbled that what was a couple of new songs three years ago is now no longer just mine.  And while that was a pretty scary thought a month ago, I couldn't be more excited to share this with everyone in that theater.

We've got another 10 out of 12 tomorrow, so look for another late-night update then!

New England Cable News story

New England Cable News did a piece on Weston's recovery from Irene that included some rehearsal footage of Pregnancy Pact.  Check out the video featuring our wonderful stage manager, Jess Johnston, and the Playhouse's Managing Director Stuart Duke - along with Rich and the cast.

Irene: One Year Later

I distinctly remember logging onto Facebook a year ago today.  I had been at a friend's wedding just outside the city the night before that was certainly soggy, but the great fear of Irene tearing through the New York area had subsided and it seemed like little damage had been done.  So by the time I got back to the city (by cab, since public transportation was still shut down) I was shocked the see the first photos coming out of Weston.  Every photo was more startling than the last.  At this point, I had only spent a week up here in the middle of the winter, but even without knowing the full, green lay of the land it was obvious that something major was happening.  And all we could do from New York was keep on watching the photos as they were posted and send all the positive energy we could muster northward.

The photos on the second day, though, were inspirational.  We got to witness an entire community come together - the volunteer fire department were pumping out the remaining water, Weston residents showed up with tractors to help clear out all the debris, the entire cast and staff of Saint Ex broke out their galoshes and started shoveling mud.  Over 100 members of the community showed up to help.  For every heartbreaking photo of a baby grand piano over-turned in the orchestra pit, there were ten photos of the Weston family working together and unearthing treasures and turning everything around in short order.  Within five days, Saint Ex had been re-staged (without an orchestra pit) and re-opened for the remainder of its scheduled run.

And that's what is so magical about the Weston Playhouse to me.  It isn't only a regional theater, it isn't only an artistic home - it is a full-fledged community.  My time here has been made so much more special and the work we've done here has been that much more rewarding because of that.  I can walk to rehearsal on Sunday morning and run into someone coming out of the church next door who asks how the show is going.  The cast can call up the Klonskys and request some quiet time with their dogs over a home-cooked meal.  You get to know the guy at the candy register at the Country Store and you can invite your waitress at the Bryant House to the show.

What I've always valued most about working in musical theater is the collaboration and the community.  It's what inspires me and what gives me the most joy - finding more in yourself because of those who surround you.  And I'm so grateful for the year-and-a-half I've spent getting to know everyone up here at Weston, because this is a community in the truest sense.

Thanks to the Playhouse community in Weston and everywhere across the country, a full and exciting season is wrapping up with Pregnancy Pact.  Yesterday I took a walk around town to take some photos to show you just how different it was up here one year ago today.  The first photos in each set were taken by Producing Artistic Director Malcolm Ewen on the day of the flood - I tried to re-capture each photo this year.

The dam behind the Playhouse flooding.

The same view today.

More photos after the jump!

Jeanelle

We're in!

The banner hanging in front of the Playhouse.

The Playhouse is officially knocked up.

Everyone has been working so incredibly hard for the last two days getting Fiddler moved out of the theater and Pregnancy Pact moved in.  And I just stopped by to check it out and I honestly couldn't believe how amazing everything looks.

Now I had seen the model set and renderings and we've been talking about everything during rehearsal, but seeing it all being built and finished in person is an overwhelming feeling.  Just like watching the actors bring to life everything that's always been in my heart for these characters, seeing the world come to life is both exciting and a little bit of a shock to the system (just in realizing how real it all is.)  It's the wide-eyed naif talking again, but I don't think I ever could have imagined this for myself and for this show.  I am beyond humbled and grateful to see it all come to life.  And it just makes me all the more excited for you all to get to see it beginning Thursday!

Day Eighteen

Our third week of rehearsal is done!  The time has flown by up here and I'm trying not to think about having to return to regular life in a week...

Rehearsal began with one final run of the show in the rehearsal room.  Knowing that we had our sitzprobe a few hours later, there was some vocal marking going on - but nothing else was held back.  Now that we're a few runs in, the show has really settled into a larger arc that was exciting to watch.  The wonderful moments that were already there get more specific and more amazing each time we pass them by.  There were some designers and assistants there watching the run to prepare for tech - trying to track the moving set pieces and figure out the quick changes and all those things that are about to be thrown into the mix.  I'm so happy that the show is on such solid footing and can easily withstand everything new that's on its way!

We moved our rehearsal to the Playhouse living room to sing through the score with the full band for the first time.  The musicians are wonderful and have jumped in feet first over this weekend.  It was exciting for me to get to hear the score all the way through again - including a few new moments that were written for this incarnation that I've never heard with full orchestration.  It makes me re-appreciate just how wonderful Julia is all the more in situations like that!  I think (I hope) it was just as exciting for the cast to get the full effect of the score for the first time.  I can't wait for the music to color all of the amazing work they've already been doing when we move into the theater!

The girls singing a nice open vowel...

Cello, violin & bass!

As the sitz went on, we got to peek in on all the work they're doing in the theater.  So far we've only seen the portals in the set design, but it's already beyond exciting.  I can't wait to stop by on our day off to keep checking it out!

Next time you read a rehearsal report, tech will be in full-swing...  Crazy.

Movin' on up...

Goodbye Lloyd Rehearsal hall...

Hello Playhouse!  Load-in has begun...

Day Seventeen

The band has arrived!  Julia and Rich spent the morning rehearsing with them.  I stopped by just long enough to hear the second half of "Love Me Better" - and they sound amazing already!  They are: Jeremy Yaddaw on drums, Anthony Rubbo on guitar, Lorenzo Wolff on bass, Sean Hagerty on violin and Ro Rowan on cello.  (Hard at work in the photo at left.)

Our rehearsal was more of the same wonderfulness - we worked on a few scenes before doing another run, followed by working through a few notes from the run.  It's fascinating to watch Joe and actors adjust things based on the larger picture.  I've never been a part of a production that had that kind of luxury of time before, but since everyone's been at the top of their game all along we actually have time before tech to work through the overarching trajectory of the show.  In a show with emotions this high this often, it's interesting to see actors work through emotional pacing the same way they might work through their vocal trajectory once they know the show as a whole.  I guess this is another "Duh, you wrote it" moment, but that pacing can be intense - in a show that aims to lead the audience such a specific emotional journey we don't want to peak too soon or else we might lose them.  And watching the actors and Joe and Rich work through this, I just can't get over how good everyone is at their jobs and how lucky we are to have them all (still and always, I guess.)

Tomorrow is a big day - we have a run first thing and our sitzprobe (sing-through of the score with the full cast and band) after our dinner break.  It's also the day we bid farewell to the Lloyd Rehearsal Hall. But that means we're just one step closer to tech - and one step closer to letting all of you see what we've been up to!

The Boston Globe

We're just all over regional media this week!  Our interview with Andrew Doerfler of The Boston Globe was in today's edition of the paper.  And so you don't have to purchase a digital subscription, the text is copied below!  We're really happy with the article, though we do laugh at the GIANT photo in the print edition.  (It was the only high-res photo we have of the two of us - from publicity for our Ars Nova Uncharted concert - and we sent it in a little last minute, not knowing it would take up half the page!)

The article continues after the jump...

G FORCE
‘PREGNANCY PACT,’ THE MUSICAL
AUGUST 24, 2012

“Pregnancy Pact” is the first professionally produced musical by composer Julia Meinwald and bookwriter-lyricist Gordon Leary. It’s inspired by the headline-grabbing 2008 story of a group of teenage girls at Gloucester High School who made an agreement to get pregnant and raise their children together. The tale of the pact, which their principal outlined to Time magazine, was swiftly debunked — but for artists, the appeal of the narrative has lingered. “Pregnancy Pact” runs Thursday through Sept. 8 at the Weston Playhouse in Weston, Vt. Information is at 802-824-5288 andwww.westonplayhouse.org.

Q. The pregnancy pact story has been adapted into a Lifetime movie, an off-Broadway show [by Medford playwright Kirsten Greenidge] called “Milk Like Sugar,” and now a musical. What about this story compels so many people to dramatize it?

Meinwald: The thing that is most interesting to us about the story is the psychology of the girls who made the pact. Whether or not it actually happened, people seem to believe it could happen, so we wondered what could have been going through a girl’s head.

Leary: What lends it to be a musical [is that], within that psychology, there are a lot of high emotions. They have a need for love and family that they don’t get from their parents. That’s what makes it sing.

Sansanee

Rutland Herald article

Our article in the Rutland Herald came out on Thursday, and we couldn't be happier with it!  It's always interesting to see how a 30-minute conversation becomes an article, and I think (aside from sounding like the wide-eyed new writers we sometimes sound like) the nice conversation we had with Jim Lowe turned out well.  And hopefully it will warm some local people up to the show who might have been scared away by the warnings about language and sexual content...

Read it below!  (It continues after the jump...)

‘Pregnancy Pact’: Weston premiering timely and poignant musical

By Jim Lowe
August 23,2012

In 2008, Time magazine reported that after a rash of pregnancies at Gloucester High School in Massachusetts, nearly half of the girls admitted to a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together. But is this the stuff of musicals?

Next week, Weston Playhouse Theatre Company will open the world premiere production of “Pregnancy Pact.” With book and lyrics by Gordon Leary and music by Julia Meinwald, the new musical will run Aug. 30-Sept. 8 at the Weston Playhouse.

“Pregnancy Pact” follows six teen girls, and a couple of their boyfriends, as they attempt to find a solution to their loneliness and fear. Their contemporary rock-style songs represent their feelings.

“Because the phrase ‘pregnancy pact’ kind of stuck in the collective consciousness,” Leary said, “we were interested in going beyond that term and really thinking about what would motivate the teenage girls to do that.”

West River Farmer's Market

For the last two Saturdays I've heard stories about the magical farmer's market in Londonderry (right next to Weston.)  The actors have gone and raved about it but I hadn't had a chance to go.  Until today. And it didn't disappoint.

There was everything you could ever want - amazing produce with some of the most beautiful tomatoes you'll ever see, fresh baked bread and fresh made donuts, hand-made quilts and hand-knitted scarves, pottery, potted flowers...  I made it out with some bread, some fresh hummus, a handmade pizza (pictured at the bottom), a pack of Carrot-Curry-Flax gardenburgers, and a fresh-squeeze lemonade.

It's so nice to take an hour out of our musical-theater tunnel vision to take in just how amazing Vermont is.  So why not plan your trip up to see one of our Saturday performances and stop by the market yourself?

Photos after the jump...

The Black Suits

We just got back from a field trip down to see the workshop production of The Black Suits at Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, MA.  The show, with an amazing score by fellow NYU-alum Joe Iconis and book by Joe and Robert Maddock, is truly, honestly sensational.  It follows four high-school-aged friends who have a garage band one summer as they face growing up and apart in a life with limited choices.  It was amazing to see a show with such amazing emotion and honesty about adolescence while we work on Pregnancy Pact.  It felt like a total kindred theatrical spirit at times (I should be so lucky) and was inspiring to those of us who made the journey down!

The cast is amazing - Jason Hite, Ben Platt, Harrison Chad, and Will Roland make up The Black Suits, with Sarah Cetrulo as the girlfriend and the always amazing Annie Golden as a rock and roll mentor.  Director John Simpkins and MD James Sampliner brought the show to such a fully realized form - it's hard to believe that it's a workshop!  The story is heart-breaking and heart-warming AND it has one of the most exciting and natural scores I've heard from a new musical in a long time.  I've been hearing about it for years and it basically surpassed ALL of the hype and talking up that it's gotten.

Lucky for you, The Black Suits and Pregnancy Pact BOTH have performances all next weekend.  Plus, Pittsfield is less than a two hour drive from Weston.  Which means that those of you in NYC should definitely make a full weekend of New England theater going out of it!

Congratulations to everyone involved!

Kaylee

Day Sixteen

After such a wonderful run yesterday, everyone was pretty exhuastedly pleased.  The cast has been giving their all and wound up with tired voices and a few back spasms so we forwent (that's a word, right?) a run to do some focused work on what we saw yesterday.  Rich got some time to clean up a few musical loose ends and allow the cast to review any material they needed.

Twan trying not to rub it in...

Joe took another look at the Act Two opener, a dream lullaby in which the girls revel in their future lives with their babies.  There was some question about how clear it was that we were in a dream, and Joe's solution is all at once simple, theatrical, and really really beautiful.  It goes hand in hand with Julia's gorgeous music for the scene.

The only collateral damage was the elimination of our infant ensemble.  Twan will still make appearances in other parts of the show, but the rest of the babies aren't as lucky.  As you can see, they didn't take the news all that well - especially the one with the pink swaddle...  Twan gave them all a pep-talk, though, so hopefully they'll keep their dreams alive.

We ended the day doing some final staging for the finale, including a discussion about the tone of the end of the show.  It's a tricky thing to pull off - seeing these girls off into the rest of their lives - but it was immensely helpful to get to discuss it with the cast and hear their thoughts, as well as all of Joe's insights.  It's a really powerful thing to watch!

I was also busy making a full, updated script for the designers for our run-through tomorrow.  It's completely crazy to think that we've only got two more rehearsals until tech starts - and only one week until we are officially open!  Tomorrow is another run (after a morning trip to the local farmer's market to boost all of our energy...)

Paging Mariah...

The cast likes to think about what life would be like for a swing in Pregnancy Pact.  With a score like this, you've got to be a musical savant who has a three or four octave range who can hold tight 6-part harmonies.  Experience with babies preferred.  Acting experience optional.  Age unimportant.

So who can it be?  Besides a unicorn.  There is only one...  (After the jump, obviously.)

#followfriday

See what the girls of Pregnancy Pact are up to on Twitter:

@DontBeMaddie123
@brynnifer99
@NotOKaylee
@jeanelleybeanz
@Sansaneener
@2NsinJENN

And while you're at it, follow the Weston Playhouse @westonplayhouse!

Julia and I had a Bad Date

Susan Haefner in Bad Dates

We got to run over to Weston's Other Stages space (at the Weston Rod & Gun Club) to catch tonight's performance of Bad Dates, starring Susan Haefner.

We've been fans of Susan's since we worked with her in 2008 on our musical Disappeared, and it was so wonderful to get to see her in full-force in this sweet one-woman show by Theresa Rebeck about a divorced mother putting her life back together through a series of disastrous dates (and quite a few pairs of shoes.)  She gave such a charming and dynamic performance, and it had the audience almost literally rolling on the ground.  (There were truly a few women I thought might fall out of their chairs at a few points.)

Aside from the joy of watching Susan for almost 2 hours, we also got to see the truly magnificent set designed by our housemate up here in Weston, Jim Sandefur.  The combination of Roy Lichtenstein paintings and a seemingly endless parade of shoes (mostly red) painted on the walls, on the shelves, and even in chair form were really, truly delightful.  We miss him at Goodwin house!

You're still able to catch Bad Dates through September 9th.  As I said before on here, you can catch a double header of it with Pregnancy Pact on the Wednesday or Saturdays of our run!

(Side note:  We heard a story about a group of people who left the show at intermission a few nights ago because they thought it was too risque...  Let's hope they heed the warning of strong language and sexual content and steer clear of our show!)

Day Fifteen

Today we ran the show.  For the first time.  All the way through.  The whole thing.

We started by staging the last few scenes, which continue on our emotional rollercoaster of the last few days.  Some things are incredibly hard to watch and hear and feel (over and over) so it was almost refreshing to get to the run and get to see the big picture.  There's an adjustment in remembering where all the characters begin after working so hard for the last few rehearsals on where they wind up.

We had some of our friends from the cast of Fiddler on the Roof sit in on our run to check out what we've been up to.  (Their show closes on Saturday - only three more chances to see it!)  It was so interesting to have new people in the room.  I was afraid it would put some undue pressure on the cast to feel the need to "perform" for their first time running through the whole show, but I think it was an educational experience - especially with the unknown quantity of a brand new musical - to hear some reactions.  It certainly didn't jeopardize any of them - they were as on point as they always are.  The run was officially called a "stumble through," but there was no stumbling going on in the Lloyd Rehearsal Hall.

It was a lot to watch.  The second act is especially difficult for me, straddling this world between author and audience, because my reactions are still so emotional.  Not that I want to separate the two - I'm proud to have written something that hopefully gives actors the room to really move people, and I don't want to be cold and calculated about it.  But it can be hard to feel that kind of punch in the gut every day since it doesn't get any easier with each viewing.  I've vowed to just give myself over to it every night from here on out (mostly because I don't have any other choice!)

Basically, everyone left tonight exhausted and happy (and ready for bed.)  On to another run tomorrow!

Take it to the bridge...

Thanks to Krystina for the photo!

One of the big things about being in Weston is not having consistent cell phone reception.  (And by not consistent, I mean maybe once a day you get one bar long enough to know you have a voicemail before it slips away again.)  The town is located between two mountains that block it out for the most part.

But among other magical things that happen here (ie Country Stores), there is a small bridge just beyond the Playhouse where most people magically get full reception.  You'll often see the cast there in the morning...

It's a good thing to keep in mind as you plan your trip up!

(I happen to revel in the fact that I can't communicate too much with the outside world.  If you don't choose to go to the bridge, you get a real, honest-to-goodness getaway!)

Cory

Day Fourteen

I'm happy to say that today wasn't quite as hard to get through.  That's not to say that the material we tackled today was any easier - we actually hit the two hardest-to-watch scenes - but I at least got to wear my writer hat a little more than I have recently.  After a few hours of music review to start the day, we staged two more scenes in Act Two.

I am still reveling in the seven actors in our show.  Their willingness to follow these characters into the crazy depths of the story is amazing to watch.  Early on in the process, Joe said (I'm knowingly paraphrasing) that it may be hard for them to understand the logic of why these girls (and boys) choose to do what they do, but understanding and committing to the emotional journey can illuminate who the girls (and boys) are.  And what I saw them giving today (and yesterday, when the reckoning in the story began) was pure emotion.  All raw and ugly and injured and happy and pained.  It's just so rewarding to see the game of my story raised consistently.

Speaking of raising the game of this show, I don't know if I've ever quite adequately covered just what incredible work Joe is doing.  As I wrote the show, I didn't force myself to set limits when it comes to production. There's no unit set (we skip around to various locations throughout), there are some feats of staging to accomplish in a few songs, there's a male actors playing different characters (sometimes within the same scene [in a "realistic" tone])...  But Joe has not only taken everything in stride and made it work, he's taken it to a new level of theatricality and ease and intelligence.  He's finding all the beauty and the love and the humanity in the world of the show to convey everything we've written in ways we never imagined.  We trust him so wholly with our work, and it's clear in the rehearsal room (and in my rehearsal reports) just how wholly the actors trust him with theirs.

And once you make your way to Weston to see the show, you'll know just what I'm talking about!

(Sometimes I wish it wasn't late at night by the time I write these, but with a 12-8pm rehearsal schedule I always find myself trying to be coherent while battling end-of-day exhaustion.  Imagine how much gushing I could do with full brain power!)

Sneak Peek Trailer

Joe's done such a wonderful job filming and editing these trailers.  I don't know how he runs an 8 hour rehearsal day and sits in on fittings and production meetings and everything he does up here AND finds time to make these amazing trailers.  But however he does it, I'm in awe!

More character teasers to come...

Media Blitz, Part Two!

Julia and I had two more back-to-back interviews this morning.

First, we spoke with The Boston Globe's Andrew Doerfler about the show.  He had a lot of questions about the relationship between our show and the original Gloucester story, naturally, and we talked a lot about fictionalizing the debunked story and the audience's expectations.  We got to talking a bit about the educational component of the run, as well.  His column should be published this weekend.

Next we spoke with Richard Henke of The Commons, and independent newspaper in Windham County, VT.  We talked about our great relationship with Weston and the development process, along with the state of musical theatre today.

I'll provide links to both articles (and the previously mentioned media coverage) as they are published!

Brynn

Day Thirteen

Today was a difficult day.

Rehearsal continued to be spectacular.  The actors are, as always, gamely tackling new staging while growing old scenes in leaps and bounds as we run the show.  I've gotten so accustomed to the joy of seeing the characters in new ways and getting re-acquainted with them out of my head - in effect becoming my own audience member.

Not to give anything away, but today we reached a scene where all of the joy the characters experience catches up with them in a very big way.  I sat there watching Joe stage it and felt such an overwhelming sadness for these characters.  I feel silly even letting myself think that - I mean, I am the one who invented these girls and their story and actively put them through the wringer (after all, I could have chosen for them to all just be easily happy in the end).  I've always thought that good writers love their characters enough to hurt them.  And I seem to have gone out of my way to do that here.  Because watching this scene, which is held together by some of Julia's most beautiful music that is so masterfully sung by Katrina, I had a visceral physical reaction.  My stomach was twisted in knots and I just wanted to jump up and say "Give me two days and I'll write a new script to make all the pain go away!"  It has been hard to come back from that feeling at the beginning of the day, and I have to say I don't think I've fully recovered.

So many things have surprised me about this process, but none more than this odd shifting in my role as writer.  I'm so grateful that we have such amazing people surrounding us who I trust so completely that I'm able to take a step back and really watch the show for the first time.  The rest of the show doesn't get any easier, so I think I'm in for a rough few days emotionally.  Maybe it's just masochistic, but at least I can take comfort knowing that I'm doing my job in moving at least this one audience member!

Meet the Designers, Part Two

We're excited to have Sydney Maresca join the pact as our Assistant Costume Designer!  I first worked with Sydney in 2008 at NYU on a production of Cheer Wars - so she is well-versed in my second act opening dream sequences.

In New York, Sydney has designed Hand To God (Ensemble Studio Theater), The Lapsburgh Layover (Ars Nova), The Yellow Brick Road (Lucille Lortel/TheatreworksUSA), and a number of shows with The Debate Society including Buddy Cop 2, You're Welcome, and Cape Disappointment.  Her work has been seen in touring productions for TheatreworksUSA and The Debate Society, along with opera and dance, and circus pieces nationally.  She's also designed for the short films Robin's Big Date  and Robin's Big Speed Date along with music videos for her ukulele band The Hazzards.

Jenn

Meet the Artists (But Really, Artists Meet the Community)

Today we had the chance to meet some of the Weston community at a small reception and "Meet the Artists" panel at the Playhouse.  Julia and I were invited -  along with Joe, Rich, actors Jed and Margo, and our newly-arrive set designer Tim - to come along and discuss the show with Producing Artistic Director Steve Stettler and take questions from some of the regular theatergoers.

First off, it was enlightening to hear everyone else on the panel talk about the show from their perspective.  I mean, of course, we've all talked about it together.  But hearing everyone else talk publicly and candidly was both surprising and exhilarating.  We're so used to answering our usual set of questions about the show and it was great to throw others into the mix!

Moreso, though, it was wonderful to interact with people from the Weston community.  During the reception, we were hearing that a few audience members had read the script and were a little nervous about the subject matter.  But by the time we started to get questions from the audience everyone was open and intrigued.  There was a real willingness to recognize their own reticence with the subject matter and move beyond that to engage with the material and some of the issues it explores.  People were willing to be challenged.

I have to confess that when I sat in the audience for Fiddler on the Roof I looked around at all of the people watching and loving the classic show and thought to myself - How on earth will they react to us?  The audience is always an unknown quantity and the final collaborator in the process.  After today, though, I can't imagine that there is a better community to have in the audience for our world premiere.

Meet the Cast: Twan Baker

BABIES

Twan Baker is the newest addition to the Pregnancy Pact cast and we're so lucky to have him.  He's gotten much acclaim for his work in Into the Woods and we're excited to have his expertise up here in Weston.

Twan is thrilled to be making his Weston Playhouse debut!  Off Broadway: Ordinary Days.  Regional highlights: Into the Woods (Pittsburgh CLO, Kansas City Rep, Baltimore Center Stage, Westport Country Playhouse), Fiddler on the Roof (Pittsburgh CLO), Moon Over Buffalo (Cape Playhouse.)  TV: Law and Order as Dumpster Baby.  Twan dedicates this performance to his parents and teachers.  Please follow him on Twitter @Twan_Baker!

Maddie

After a great shoot on Saturday, Joe has started to put together some really great teasers and trailers for the show.  Be on the lookout for more over the next week and a half!  But for now, meet Maddie...

Meet the Cast: Dana Steingold

JEANELLE

Dana Steingold was with us at Weston, again playing Jeanelle, when we came up for the 2011 New Musical Award presentations.  She also appeared in the 2010 Rodgers Award readings of Gordon's musical Cheer Wars.

Dana appeared in the 1st National Tour of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee as Logainne.  In New York, she's been seen in The Visit (Ottile), Anyone Can Whistle (Baby Joan, City Center Encores!), Perez Hilton Saves the Universe (Culture Project), and Spidermusical (Mint Theater).  She's appeared regionally as Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods (Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Westport Country Playhouse, Baltimore Center Stage), Calvin Berger (Bret, George Street Playhouse), Hairspray (Penny, North Caroline Theatre), High School Musical (Kelsi, North Shore Music Theatre), Adam Gwon's Ordinary Days (Deb, ATF), and Surviving the Avalanche (Barrington Stage.)  She has her BFA from New York University.

Day Twelve

After a few finishing touches with staging, we ran the first act of the show this afternoon.  It is so beyond anything I could have envisioned on the Megabus on August 6th.  There's not much more to say than I've already said - Joe, Rich, and the actors continue to do more and more amazing things every day.  And I really cannot wait to get to share it with an audience!

Sometimes, as I write these rehearsal reports, I worry that those of you reading either think I'm a wide-eyed naif who can't believe it's all coming true OR think that I'm trying to cover up all of the trouble we're having.  I'm happy to say that while I may be wide-eyed, there is no covering up happening!  It really is as wonderful as I make it sound.

So have you gotten your tickets yet?

The Lloyd Family

Christopher and Sam Lloyd, Sr.

One of the longest-standing connections the Weston Playhouse has is with the Lloyd family.  We first learned about them when we got to our first rehearsal in the Lloyd Rehearsal Hall and read the plaque on the wall (the text of which is included below.)  Their story shows how the Playhouse is truly an integral part of the community up here - and a family affair!

Sam Lloyd, Sr. first appeared on the Weston stage 60 years ago.  Through that time, he's shared the stage with his wife, Barbara (a wonderful Grandma Tzeitel in the current production of Fiddler on the Roof), his son Sam (who went on to appear on Scrubs), and his brother Christopher (who rose to fame on Taxi and went on to star in the Back to the Future series and, of course, Clue.)  Most recently, Christopher Lloyd was seen at Weston in Death of a Salesman in 2010.

Read all about Sam, Sr. after the jump!

Meet the Cast: Margo Seibert

BRYNN

Margo Seibert is a new face in the world of Pregnancy Pact but is a frequent voice in new work, especially at NYU's Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program.

Margo has been seen in New York in Taming of the Shrew with Old Vic New Voices and The Joshua Schmidt Songbook at the Barrow Street Theatre.  Regionally she's appeared in Sarah Schlesinger & Mike Reid's In This House (Two River Theatre), Candide (Goodman Theatre/Shakespeare Theatre, dir. Mary Zimmerman), Adam Gwon's The Boy Detective Fails (Signature Theatre, dir. Joe Calarco), Saving Aimee & The Hollow (also at Signature), Folger Theatre, Ford's Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, and Studio Theatre.  She's also been seen on HBO's Boardwalk Empire.  Read more about her at www.margoseibert.com!

Day Eleven

If yesterday was the day I cried, today was the day I smiled.

Basically, today was just joyful.  We started the day by going to an area school to do a little video shoot for promotional materials.  (Be on the lookout on here and on Facebook for what eventually gets put together!)  We shot footage of the first few scenes that take place in the bathroom, there's footage of the girls singing and putting on makeup, of them running through the halls, delivering lines, just generally being their wonderful selves.  And while Joe was filming, I snapped a few good photos (including the wonderful one right here.)  It's amazing to see casts come together.  I know you always want it to happen, and an environment like this is ready-made for cast bonding, but it's still so heartening to see.

When we got back to the Lloyd Rehearsal Hall, we sang a little bit and then jumped in to stage the Prologue.  That alchemy I talked about yesterday was in full effect - with everyone on the same page, we wound up only needing about half the time that was allotted.  We moved on to "Nobody Knows" and the joy of the day came to life in the staging.  Even with stand-ins for moveable set pieces as Joe put it on its feet, the energy and excitement of the moment came through.  It was hard not to smile watching (and listening to) them.  And, as is the trend lately, we finished with time to spare.  (Because they're ridiculously hard workers, though, the cast requested some extra music time when we finished staging for the day.  I don't know how they keep up their energy for 7 hours a day!)

Tomorrow, with Jed back in town, we run Act 1...

Meet the Cast: Jed Resnick

CORY / JUSTIN / BOYS

Jed Resnick is new to Pregnancy Pact, but has been working on new musicals with many of our friends for years.  We're lucky to have him on board playing all of our male characters!

Jed is making his Weston debut with Pregnancy Pact. He is currently taking a leave from the Off-Broadway company Avenue Q at New World Stages, having also appeared in the show on Broadway and the national tour.  He also toured as Mark in Rent.  He's been seen at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, Peterborough Players, Brown/Trinity Playwrights Rep, NY Fringe Festival, and NYMF (most recently in Swing State this summer.) He is currently t developing a children's series "Monica's Mixing Bowl." Jed is a proud alum of Brown University and member of AEA.

Day Ten

Today was the day I cried.  Not full-on crying, but I found myself being really emotional.  A big part of it was probably from not sleeping much last night (I'm still adjusting to this whole fresh air overnight thing and haven't gotten the hang of how much to open the windows so as not to be awake and freezing by 6am.)  But part of it was that we tackled two of the more joyous moments of the show - "Hummingbird Heart" and "Let Me In."  There was something about the day that just felt locked in, like everyone on the room is now fully on the same wavelength.  Not that we weren't before, but it felt like the getting-to-know-each-other-and-the-piece period is behind us.  The actors all have a mutual respect and camaraderie after a week of staging and we're far enough into the process that they're fully comfortable with the entire row of creative staff that watches them for 8 hours a day.  It feels easy enough to keep getting some really hard work done.

And I think I've been in my own head, worrying not only about rewrites and staging but also just hoping that everyone likes my work.  Even though it's about 15 and 16 year old girls, there's so much of myself and my heart and pieces and parts of my own life tied up in these characters that it's really overwhelming sharing it sometimes.  And today I kept having moments of a kind of unspoken understanding with both actors and characters, where I felt like the girls aren't just mine anymore.  Not like I feel like they've been taken away from me, but more that everything that was on the page and in my head has been brought into the physical world so completely that I don't have to guard them anymore.  More than anything, it's allowed me to take a brand new look at them all.

I think that's what was overwhelming today.  We started working on the scene before "Hummingbird Heart" and the barrage of lines in the scene were getting confusing, so the actors just sat down and read through the scene into the song for their own sake.  I got back from pouring coffee and was half-listening while mostly trying to avoid the flies that were out in full force today, and as Margo started singing I heard the lyrics in a new way.  I've easily heard that song sung a hundred times (at least) but listening to it today made me re-realize just how much I love the girls in this story.  And when it was up on its feet, every time it got to the amazing vocal harmonies in the bridge I had to make sure to hold perfectly still so the tears that kept welling up didn't leave my eyelids.

By the time we got to "Let Me In" I thought that I'd be able to be a little more clinical - after all it's a complicated song that I've always had a few reservations about lyrically.  So when we got to staging the verse I've always been least sure about (involving the popular girl's confessional moment) Krystina stepped forward and sang the lyrics simply (and, as always, beautifully).  Seeing it sung in relation to the other girls on stage cut right to the heart of the character and I saw so many new colors in the moment and wound up understanding the girl in a brand new way.  That moment of discovery might have been the most emotional experience today.

I expected to learn a lot while we were up here, of course, but I don't think I expected to have my eyes opened the way they have been.  All I can to do is continue to revel in the way that Joe and Rich and these actors are giving us more than we ever thought we had in all our years behind music stands.  And probably (hopefully) cry a few more times...

Happy opening, "Bad Dates"!

Theresa Rebeck's one-woman play Bad Dates opens tonight at Weston's Other Stages space in the Weston Rod and Gun Club.  From the Weston Playhouse website:

Weston favorite Susan Haefner stars as Haley Walker, a single mother who juggles raising a daughter, running a restaurant and reentering the dating scene.  You'll be wiping away tears of laughter, sympathy and familiarity at this recent Off-Broadway hit.

The show is directed by Producing Artistic Director Tim Fort, with sets by Jim Sandefur and lights by Brad Peterson (our housemates so far in Weston), costumes by Meggan Camp, and sound design by Jeff Human.

We're excited to get to watch Susan Haefner onstage again!  We were lucky enough to work with her on our musical Disappeared at Prospect Theater Company a few years ago, and she's been on the road for the last two years with Billy Elliot the Musical.  She's just a truly lovely person - both onstage and off - and we can't wait to see the show!

(You might even want to make your trip a double-header of both Bad Dates and Pregnancy Pact on September 1, 5, or 8!)

Media blitz!

In our quest to continue to knock up Vermont, we've begun to knock up the regional media!

On Monday, Caitlin appeared on WAMC/Northeast Public Radio to discuss the show with Joe Donahue, alongside Susan Haefner (opening tonight in "Bad Dates" at Weston's Other Stages space) and Producing Artistic Director Steve Stettler.  You can listen to the great interview here.

On Wednesday, New England Cable News dropped by rehearsal to shoot some footage for an upcoming feature on Weston's recovery from Hurricane Irene that spotlights Pregnancy Pact.  The trick was finding a group singing moment that we had staged that didn't have any fine-able language - and I think they got a good 20 seconds' worth!  I'll be sure to link to it here when the story is aired.

Jim Lowe from the Rutland Herald swung by on Thursday to interview us (along with Joe and Rich) for a feature he's writing on the show.  He stuck around to watch us run what we've staged so far, too, so after reading the script and hearing our demo, he's got a great taste of the show and we should have an exciting article.  I'll post this one when it comes out, too, of course.

And tomorrow we'll head to a local school to film some trailer footage in a bathroom...  Be on the lookout for the media blitz to continue!

Meet the Designers

JENNIFER CAPRIO
COSTUME DESIGNER
Jen's credits include Broadway's The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, In Transit at Primary Stages, Striking 12 at the Daryl Roth Theatre, Masked at DR2, Girl's Room (QTIP), Wanda's World (AMAS), Serendib (EST), The Atheist (Center Stages), Broadway Bares (BC/EFA), Out of Iceland (Culture Project), and The Collected Works of Billy the Kid (Edinburgh Festival.)  Regionally, she has designed at Florida Grand Opera, Minnesota Opera, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Williamstown Theater Festival, Geva, Humana Festival, Virginia State, George Street Playhouse, Playmakers Repertory, Vineyard Theatre, North Shore Music Theater, The Hangar Theater, Cleveland Playhouse, and Barrington Stage Company, among others.  www.jencaprio.com

ED CHAPMAN
SOUND DESIGNER
Ed has previously designed sound at Weston for Saint-Ex, A Funny Thing Happened On the Way To the Forum, Betrayal, Ain't Misbehavin', Avenue Q, and Damn Yankees.  Recently he returned from a two-month project in China as the sound designer for The Joker's Game, which is the first Broadway-style musical ever produced in China.  Other recent designs include Annie with Sally Struthers at Theater of the Stars in Atlanta and Fiddler On the Roof at Barrington Stage Company.  He is currently the Production Sound Engineer for the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Clybourne Park, now on Broadway.

TIMOTHY R. MACKABEE
SCENIC DESIGNER
For Weston: Saint-Ex, Death of a Salesman, The Marvelous Wonderettes, Rent, No Child...  Broadway: Fela! (Associate Set Designer, Broadway, West End, Africa, Amsterdam, UK & US Tour).  Regional: Yale Rep, Asolo Rep, Florida Stage, Philadelphia Theater Co., Studio Theatre, Maltz-Jupiter, North Shore Music Theatre.  NYC: Good Ol' Girls, Mel & El: Show & Tell (Ars Nova),  Single Black Female, Trout Stanley (Culture Project), Gorilla Man (P.S. 122), Our Lot, Those Who Can, Do (Clubbed Thumb).  TV/Film: The Today Show, Football Night in America, Margot at the Wedding.  BFA: North Carolina School of the Arts, MFA: Yale School of Drama.  timothymackabeedesign.com

JOEL SHIER
LIGHTING DESIGNER
Joel is Member USA 829.  Designer: "Ghost" Light Sessions (Broadcast), Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, The Memory Show (Barrington), Fugitive Songs (Off-B'way) as well as various productions for PPAS.  Assistant/Associate: Broadway: Ghost (Tony/Drama Desk Nom.), Follies (Tony Nom.), Wonderland, Godspell, The Addams Family, The Little Mermaid, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, Lestat.  Tours: Wicked, Sweeney Todd, Storytime Live!, Thomas & Friends!.  Select Off B'way/Regional: Toxic Avenger, Good Boys and True, New Century, Saving Aimee, Witches of Eastwick, productions with 2nd Stage, Lincoln Center, Signature, ACT, Roundabout.  Other: Broadway Bares 17 through 22 as well as various other television and live events.

Day Nine

First off, it was just a beautiful day today in Weston (as is evidenced by the open doors of the rehearsal room a few posts below...)  That's enough to start any day right, but the day didn't disappoint.

After a little bit more blocking, we were able to run the first 45 minutes of the show straight through this afternoon (sans the prologue, to be staged on Saturday.)  And it is looking so wonderful.  It's so wonderful to get to continue the trend of smart and thoughtful and giving people working on our project - everyone involved is so smart and thoughtful and giving and open and professional and every other wonderful thing you associate with the best of musical theater.

The most exciting part of the day for me came at the end, though, when we staged a song called "I Can't Wait."  For those of you who've followed the show for a while, it replaces "Knock Me Up" as the penultimate song of the first act.  While we love "Knock Me Up" (it was the third song written for the show before we had characters or a story, even) we found that the moment needed a little more gravity.  So while we were in residence at CAP21's Writer's Co-op in February we tackled a new song while retaining the original bridge ("Don't Look At Me.")  The song's been in our pocket ever since.  We hadn't even heard it sung in full until we got here last week and it was such a relief and triumph today to see it work so well.  It's a very tough moment emotionally - with the girls all trying to get pregnant and stay emotionally detached - and Joe and the actors hit the nail on the head.  The staging is thrilling and the vocals from the girls are achingly beautiful.  I'm so grateful to them all for going there for us in this moment so intensely (so intensely that we rewarded ourselves by calling it a night a little early and then eating delicious nachos...  Like you do.)

Sex Questions from Seventh Graders

I just came across this amazing series of ten questions about sex posed by seventh graders.  I've spent the last few years trying to live in the minds of girls who are only a few years older than these anonymous question askers and exploring these exact topics.  We think of kids being so mature today, but these questions show just how innocent and confused and bashful and honest 13-year-olds can be behind that facade of sometimes-false maturity.  It makes you want to laugh and cry and give them a hug.  (And it makes you want to let them have some real sex ed classes, of course, but that's another story.)

A new meaning to "Open Rehearsal"

One of the major pleasures of rehearsing at Weston on a beautiful day in a rehearsal room with barn doors.  And we have so much belting we can drown out the noisy squirrels and cars driving by...  Let's just hope the church next door doesn't mind a little language!

Meet the Cast: Lauren Marcus

JENN

Lauren Marcus is brand new to Pregnancy Pact but is no stranger to new musicals, having worked with some of our favorite writer friends!

Lauren has been seen in New York in ReWrite (Urban Stages), The Plant  That Ate Dirty Socks (The Lortel), Strange Tails (Ars Nova), The Children's Hour (Astoria Performing Arts Center), Hams on the Lam (West Village Musical Theatre Festival, Best Actress Award 2011), and Hope's Arbor (Gallery Players).  Outside of New York, she's appeared in Hello Dolly (Paper Mill Playhouse) and The Improvised Musical (Edinburgh Fringe).  She holds a Bachelor of Music from NYU and an MA from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama.

Day Eight

Bellies and shoes.

As predicted, I have to gush a little bit.  Every day we add a few more pages to our workload, and every day the world of the show grows.  I'd make a gestational joke, but I'm too serious about how exciting it is to watch.  We're getting little tastes of costumes here and there - today a few pairs of shoes and a whole bunch of pregnant bellies (from all trimesters) were dropped off to use in rehearsal.

It was so nice to get to some humor after the thrillingly intense few days at the start.  Being Pregnancy Pact, of course, a lot the humor comes in the form of sexuality and boy is it sexual.  Through both of the scenes we blocked today, we just sat there thinking of what the room will be like at those two student matinees.  I am so sad not to be able to sit in the theater and experience the show in a room full of teenagers.  I'll have to ask someone else to write a guest blog post that day to let everyone know what it's like.  In the meantime, I'll just keep laughing at all the ways Joe and actors take what I already thought was pretty funny on the page and make it genuinely hilarious on stage.

After rehearsal we went with the whole cast to see the Playhouse's current production of Fiddler on the Roof and the late-night cabaret with members of the cast.  The show was great, headlined by David Brummel and Joanna Glushak.  (And I can always count on Chava to give me a good cry.)  The highlight of the show has always been and will always be "Do You Love Me?" - it is such a wonderfully simple and unexpected moment from those two characters - and the two of them were especially great in that song.  It was great to finally get to see a show in the theater and visualize what we see in the rehearsal room on the stage.  And the cabaret was truly hilarious.  It was about last year's flood after Irene and took some amazing songs (everything from Queen to Showboat to Destiny's Child) and rewrote some lyrics and made everyone laugh their faces off (myself included.)  The Avengers made an appearance, as did the Queen, and even the infamous cow costume that was rescued from the flood last year.  It was a hilarious and joyous way to look at just how far this theater and town have come in less than a year!

Weston Playhouse: A History

If you've followed Pregnancy Pact over the last few years, you've heard a lot about our wonderful relationship with the Weston Playhouse.  And about this time last year, the country got to learn a little bit about Weston after Hurricane Irene flooded the theater and the amazing community banded together to bring it back to life over the course of a few days.  But Weston has a long and rich history - that you can read all about in the season's program!

I stole the text from the program and put it after the jump, just so you could get to know it ahead of time...

Meet the Music Department

RICH SILVERSTEIN
MUSIC DIRECTOR

Rich has been on board with Pregnancy Pact since our first table reading on Mother's Day 2010 and has music directed the Uncharted concert at Ars Nova, the Weston Playhouse 2011 New Musical Award performance and demo, and the NAMT Festival of New Musicals presentation.  His other music directing credits include Ryan Scott Oliver's 35mm (Galapagos Art Space), Musical of Musicals (Cincinatti Playhouse), Zanna, Don't! (York Theatre), Songs for a New World (Riverside Church), and a Broadway-themed episode of The Apprentice featuring Kristin Chenoweth.  Rich is also an AEA actor whose credits include work at Goodspeed, Cincinatti Playhouse, Bard Summerscape, and New Jersey Repertory Company.


ANDREW COOPER
ASSISTANT MUSIC DIRECTOR/COPYIST

Recent credits: Titanic and Mozart's Don Giovanni at Baldwin-Wallace, and Lizzie Borden at Cleveland's Playhouse Square.  Upcoming: Follies at Baldwin-Wallace and the premiere of his own The Pokémusical (Book & Music by Alex Syiek.)  Andrew will return to his second year at B-W in the fall, where he is pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Music Theatre Music Direction.