A final note of thanks.

I've been putting off writing my last post on this blog because it means that the experience is actually over.  Today marks one full month since our final performance in Weston.  I'm (mostly) back in the swing of New York - 9-to-5-ing, dodging smelly subway cars, sighing loudly behind people texting while they walk - and (mostly) over my cheese withdrawal.  I've seen a number of my wonderful colleagues over the past few weeks (congrats to Lauren on her amazing concert that brought most of us back together!)

But before closing up shop on the blog, I have to thank a whole bunch of people for making this entire amazing experience possible.  Everyone - cast, creative team, staff, musicians, technicians - made their mark on our work in amazing ways.  So in no particular order (other than alphabetical, obviously), my heartfelt thanks go to:

Kate Absher, Krystina Alabado, Twan Baker, Renata Brewington, Heather Brown, Jacki Brown, Joe Calarco, Jen Caprio, Lindsey Carlson, Ed Chapman, Andrew Cooper, Evan DelGaudio, Alek Deva, Katrina Dideriksen, Stuart Duke, Malcolm Ewen, Emeline Finckel, Tim Fort, Rachel Fraley, Travis Gilmore, Jessica Gouker, Sean Hagerty, Debora Harry-Spencer, Jeff Human, Sarah Ishu, Jess Johnston, Caitlin Kinnunen, Tim Mackabee, Lauren Marcus, Sydney Maresca, Kaylin Martin, Elizabeth McLinn, Jacqueline Mullen, Meghan O'Brien, Aidan O'Reilly, Jakob Plummer, Jed Resnick, Ro Rowan, Anthony Rubbo, Peryn Schmitt, Elizabeth Schurra, Margo Seibert, Joel Shier, Molly Shoemaker, Rich Silverstein, Erik Skovgaard, Dana Steingold, Steve Stettler, Bridget Sullivan, Kelsey Tippins, Carolyn Voss, Bekah Wachenfeld, Andrew Wellons, Lorenzo Wolff, and Jeremy Yaddaw.



We don't know where this show will take us next, but we do know that every person above took it to places we never could have imagined and gave it a full and beautiful life for six weeks.

I always try to imagine what my career will be like.  I like to daydream about the places that art can take me and all of the things that I might be able to accomplish.  In my secret imaginary timeline, though, I don't think I planned on my first professional production being quite so monumental and emotional.  It was easy to imagine the fun we'd have and the kudos and the work we'd do - and, yes, those were great.  But the warmth and openness and heart that I brought back with me from Weston (and will carry with me and with the show) left the kind of imprint that you can't expect.  And beyond being proud or humble or sad or happy, I am grateful.

Thanks for following this leg of Pregnancy Pact's journey.  The birth is over in Vermont, but I can't wait until we get to knock up the rest of the world!

Closing night.

It was amazing to be back in Weston, even just for 19 hours.  And it was beyond amazing to get to see this production of the show one last time.

Just as we suspected, it had all settled beautifully.  No one was running on adrenaline anymore - not the cast, not the band, not the crew behind the bathroom mechanism - so the energy relaxed where it needed to and things were happening organically on stage.  Everyone was in really great voice and some songs sounded better than ever.  All in all, it was a great way to leave Weston!

And beyond what was happening onstage, the audience had settled in beautifully, as well.  The audience was responsive, vocal, and fully engaged.  It's amazing that in one short week we were able to build an audience for our show.  All along, the Weston community was engaged and open but after a few performances it also became a known quantity.  By the final performances, much of the audience came in ready for the show and were able to lead the rest of the audience through the sometimes rough emotional terrain.  The laughs were harder and easier.  The gasps were more audible.  The tension was more palpable.  Friday night's performance even included our first full standing ovation!

Our final talkback was with Branden Huldeen, the New Works Director at the National Alliance for Musical Theatre.  Steve and the whole cast joined us onstage for one last discussion about the future of musical theatre and were Pregnancy Pact might fit into that.

There were so many hugs and so many thanks that night.  It was a perfect way to bring a pretty perfect experience to a close.

Welcome back to Weston.

Upon returning to Weston this afternoon, I found this on the front porch of the actor's house.  Lauren was playing some of her original songs, backed by Sean, Ro, Jeremy, Lorenzo, and Krystina, Caitlin & Margo on vocals.

I've only been back for two hours and I'm already going to miss it all over again.

Until then, we've got one last performance to go!

The student matinee.

Friday morning, Pregnancy Pact had its long-awaited and much-discussed student matinee performance.  I am so disappointed to have missed the chance to be in the theater full of real, live teenagers, but I did get some really great reports from everyone who was there.  Roughly 120 students saw the show and participated in a wonderful talkback afterwards with the cast, Laura May Ackley, and two teen mothers who work with Laura's Lund Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program.  They were a great and vocal audience during the show and they had what sounds like a meaningful post-show discussion.

One of the participating schools was the Austine School for the Deaf in Brattleboro, VT.  The show was performed with two sign interpreters, Christopher and Aimee Robinson (pictured below with the cast.)  If there was any performance I was heartbroken to miss, it was this one.  They came to the show on opening night and I got to hear a little bit about their interpreting process - it sounds fascinating.  Between the two of them, they covered all eight roles with different postures for each character.  They provide a full performance of their own at the side of the stage to compliment what's happening in the scene.  I can only hope that Chris and Aimee join us in the future so I can see them in action!

After the show, Lauren ran into a group of students at the Country Store and had a chance to talk with them off-the-record, without the pressure of the talkback.  She sent Julia and me a list of highlights from that discussion, including:

"You were a bitch, but then you weren't...you guys took a turn!" 

"We didn't want to come, but then we did and we actually had fun." 

"These gummy bears are really good." 

"YOU'RE GOING STRAIGHT TO BROADWAY!"

While we never intended the show to be used as a teaching tool - and we certainly didn't write it with an easy lesson at the end - we are so honored that Weston saw the opportunity to show students something that isn't easy and isn't pretty.  I've never wanted to speak for teenagers with my writing, but it means so much to hear from them that they connect with the material and see what's onstage as an honest depiction of life (albeit with characters making extreme decisions.)

All hats must go off to Weston for being brave and daring enough to present the show - wholly unedited - to these schools.  And all hats must be put back on and go off again to the schools, administrators, and teachers who gave our show a chance to reach this audience.  We are beyond humbled.

Pregnancy Pact: The Rite of....

Joe's hard-hitting expose on the things actors do to keep themselves occupied during tech.

The show must go on...

Julia and I may have had to return to the city (and our day jobs), but the show is still going strong in Weston. We're loving the reports we're getting of the performances both officially and on Facebook.  My favorite quote so far was overheard by our drummer, Jeremy Yaddaw - a woman left the theater saying "I surprised myself by really liking it!"

The amazing talkbacks have continued, with Steve and the cast jumping up on stage to continue the discussions with the audiences.  Over the past three performances the guests have included Steve Trombley, (President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England), Jon Bliss (minister of Weston's Old Parish Church and a former educator and mental health worker), Stephen Stearns (Artistic Director of the New England Youth Theatre), and Psychotherapist & Family Counselor Jim Carew.

Tomorrow morning is our student matinee, complete with a sign interpretation, and our penultimate performance.  I can't wait to get back for the closing night on Saturday!

Steve, members of the cast, and Old Parish Church Minister Jon Bliss

Steve, members of the cast, and Planned Parenthood of Northern New England President & CEO Steve Trombley

Steve, members of the cast, Stephen Stearns & Jim Carew

Thanks to our extraordinary cellist/photographer/all-around-wonder Ro Rowan for capturing these talks!

A star is reborn!

Our very own Twan Baker is headlining a photo exclusive on Playbill this week!  Take a peek behind the scenes at Pregnancy Pact to see just what Twan and the rest of the cast were up to while performances began.

Twan giving notes to Julia & me...

One weekend down.

Performances are well under way!  As you can see from the production photos, the show is looking phenomenal - and you'll have to trust me that it's sounding and feeling just as wonderful as it looks.  I truly could not have asked for a better result to my four weeks up here (or better people to share it with.)  And it's only getting better and better with each performance.

So far we've had about 700 people see the show.  The experience of sitting in an audience as a writer and being relatively anonymous is pretty amazing.  You truly can feel the pulse of the room as the show goes on.  Each audience is different - Thursday night's preview had a pretty guarded feeling, while Friday's opening was very vocal, and this afternoon's matinee was incredibly attentive and invested.  At intermission you hear so many things - some unsolicited praise, some private scrutiny, some big questions - that you never get to hear when the audience is made up of mostly friends and family.  It's hard to notice empty seats at intermission (although not wholly unexpected given the challenging subject matter and language.)  But it's even harder not to glow when you feel the audience getting it - when you hear the knowing laughter at the beginning of "This Is It" and the gasps at the end of "Let Me" and the shock at Maddie and Brynn's confrontation.  That thrill matches the intensity of all of the other wonderful milestones we've had during this process in Weston.

And that thrill wouldn't be possible without the eager, brave, and thoughtful audiences here in Weston. I'm so thrilled that the Playhouse staff decided to put a talkback after every performance.  We've been lucky enough to participate in all of them so far, and each has included a wonderful guest.  Ralph Remington, the Director of Theater and Musical Theater with the National Endowment for the Arts (which awarded Weston with a $60K grant for this production), was the opening night guest and discussed where Pregnancy Pact fits into the world of contemporary theater.  After the Saturday matinee Julia and my professors from the NYU Graduate Musical Theatre Program, Sarah Schlesinger and Mel Marvin, were on hand to talk about the development process and what kind of life a new musical can have in store (and how wonderful it is that Weston is devoting itself to new work.)  Saturday night's guest was playwright Dana Yeaton, who is on the faculty at Middlebury.  This afternoon we were lucky enough to have five of Weston Playhouse's student ambassadors - area high school students who develop a relationship with the Playhouse over the course of the season - and a local high school guidance counselor on hand to discuss the show's real-life implications.

The talkbacks themselves have been rich with the personal stories and honest reactions of audience members - from an obstetrics nurse turned midwife to social workers and mental health experts and teachers and, of course, parents.  Everyone agrees that the subject of the show is not the most comfortable to watch or think about (and we certainly knew that as we wrote it - it's one of the things that attracted us to it.)  But we've had healthy groups of 30-40 people staying for the talkbacks who really want to discuss the issues the show raises.  Apart from compliments and questions about the writing process, the talkbacks have been incredibly personal.  The parents in the audience have wondered what they can do to be better parents.  The community members in the audience have wondered how they can continue to discuss what's raised in the show.  People have shared their own hardships and experiences and teen parents and parents of teen parents.  And while people might wish that we could tie the story up a little more tidily in the end, so many have recognized that this is a story that both sings and doesn't end easily or definitively.  They've recognized that this isn't a show that's just about teen pregnancy - this is about the adolescent feelings of loneliness and the need for love, family and identity.  Yes, our story follows girls who take those feelings and translate them into extreme actions, but having an audience that allows themselves to see past the salaciousness and into the emotions of these characters has let us feel like we're doing something right.

And just when we hit the heights - it's time to leave.  I've got to head back to my day job this week, though I'm counting the hours until I can come back for the closing performance on Saturday, September 8 at 7:30pm.  And I've asked the cast to send me reports for the blog all week - especially after Friday morning's student matinee performance.

You've got 5 more chances to see the show.  It's really good, but I know I'm biased.  Come see for yourself!

A few production photos...

"Prologue"

On the phone

In the bathroom. 

"All of Us"

At the movies

"Something To Prove (That We're In Love)"

"This Is It"

"Hummingbird Heart"

"Let Me In"

End of Act I

"Nobody Knows"

"Secrets"

"Leave Me Behind"

"Let Me"

"I Got This Instead"

Everybody in the pact!

Knockin' Up the Radio

Julia and I had two radio interviews in the days leading up to opening night.

First, we spoke with Susan Keese of Vermont Public Radio (you can listen here.)  In addition to some interview clips with Julia and me, you can hear a little bit of the script along with excerpts of Margo singing "Hummingbird Heart" and Caitlin singing "Love Me Better."

We also had a live interview on Friday with Edgar B. Herwick III on Boston's public radio, WGBH.  Live radio was new for us...  and you can listen to that interview here!

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.