Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Monday, August 20, 2012
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.
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
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...
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Meet the Cast: Dana Steingold
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?
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
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| Christopher and Sam Lloyd, Sr. |
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!
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Meet the Cast: Margo Seibert
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
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
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.
Friday, August 17, 2012
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...
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"!
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!)
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