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!

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...

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!)

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.

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!

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...

The Vermont Country Store

When I first heard about the Vermont Country Store I remember thinking to myself "Oh, so kinda like the real version of the front of a Cracker Barrel, then."  Little did I know...

The Vermont Country store is truly one of a kind.  It's about three-houses-worth of treasures - from candies and cheeses and syrups to home goods and soaps and nightshirts and old-fashioned games and toys.  It's a joy to get to go exploring in there almost every day.

Once you've made your travel plans to see the show and booked a place to stay, you'll be able to look forward to exploring for yourself.  You might want to even give yourself an extra day just to devote to it.

Take a peek inside after the jump...

The Weston Playhouse Regatta

The starting line...

Today was the day!  The annual Weston Playhouse Regatta!

Every year, the Playhouse community comes together  to race home-made boats (or at least flotation devices) down the West River from behind the Weston Marketplace to the dam just behind the Playhouse.  The rules are simple: a team can spend up to $25 for supplies, but the rest of their boat/raft/contraption must be made of found objects.  Every member of a team who helps to build the boat has to fit on it as it goes down the river.

There were about 7 or 8 teams competing this year (it was sometimes hard to tell).  There were teams from the scene, paint, and costume shops, a few members of Weston's 2012 Young Company, a stage management team, company management interns, some sound engineers...  And they used everything from plastic bins to water cooler jugs to sealed trash cans to try to stay afloat, all the while paddling along with shovels, duct tape-covered brooms, and maybe even a binder or two.  The scene shop (the men standing on the barge below) struggled getting under a few low-hanging branches, but they pulled ahead and won the race.

All in all, it was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon off.

And no regatta would be complete without the obligatory call of "Check yourselves for leeches"!

Mid-race...

Just another Vermont morning...

I ran to the market at the other end of Main Street this morning to pick up some milk, and this is the view that I had when I was about halfway there...  The West River with the Green Mountains in the distance.  Perfection.

Welcome to Weston!

Before our first rehearsal this morning, I took a little walking tour of Main Street to see the sights of Weston.  We still can't quite believe we get to live here for a month!

The Weston Playhouse (currently featuring Fiddler on the Roof)

The rehearsal hall/ actor housing (7 bedrooms for 7 actors!)

The Old Parish Church (right across from our house!)

The Weston Post Office

The Weston Mill Museum (and someone's lovely car)

The falls behind the Mill Museum (also visible from the back patio of the Playhouse)

The Weston Village Store

Weston Village Christmas Shop (open year round)

The world famous Vermont Country Store!  (It houses all the cheese...)