posted by Rob on 10:23 PM |
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[ Thursday, March 24, 2005 ]
Man, are we at the end already?
Yup, that's right. "Welcome To The Terrordome" ends this weekend.
This very weblog has seen the beginning of this idea, through the outline, through some initial reactions, to the beginning of the production, to our notorious final rehearsal, and now, two jobs, two theater companies, one marriage, a handful of friendships and relationships, four drafts, three apartments, one front set of teeth, and one SWAT team later, we're at the end of the line.
It's weird how I feel about this show, for many reasons. It's my first full-length not done by Broom Street, as well as the first full-length show that I didn't direct myself.
Actually, I was a lot more involved with this than I had expected to be, mainly having to do with a series of personal and theatre conflicts leading up to the beginning of the rehearsal process--originally, I was only supposed to be available to clarify script decisions and whatnot, and ended up being full-on stage manager.
Not that I'm complaining--this has been a ride. Oh, not all of it has been pleasant--this schedule has been a nightmare, and trying to coordinate it with a production staff of just Kathy and I has been a bitch and a half. It doesn't help that when we cast this almost two years ago, a few of the actors hadn't done a lot of shows, and by the time we started rehearsal, they were all in demand--not to mention having to find spaces to rehearse (this led to a lot of general frustration, until we finally found the Atwood Community Center), and having to work around the cast's work and other theatre schedules--at one point, I equated the show to the filming of "Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow," with rehearsing with each actor individually and then putting it all together.
I'd be complaining, but WHY?!? Looking back, that's kinda what makes the whole thing cool.
Let's face it, we don't do theatre for the money, or to be famous, or whatever. We do it to be a part of The Story. I mean, it's been hard, but I can't say that it's been boring, that's for sure.
David Devilbiss, who designed our lights, told me that this is what he loves about the process--the whole seat-of-your-pants, crazy-ass, maybe-we'll-do-it-maybe-we-won't attitude. His lighting for the show is just great--and if you've seen the space, you know it's not the easiest space to light.
R. Peter Hunt, probably the member of the cast that I've known the shortest amount of time, is also wonderful to work with. He and I talked a little bit about the role of Almo, and what I told him I liked about his performance was that the character of Almo could easily be the most thankless role in the show--I mean, he's sort of the sidekick of the heavy...but Peter really likes playing the character. He said something about being the character who just reacts without speaking, or stands to the side...sometimes that can be the most interesting character to play. Honestly, the way he plays the role, I don't think anyone thinks of Almo as a secondary character.
And then there's Casey Sean Grimm, as Ives. Of course, I wrote this script with him originally in mind for Ives, basing the writing around his genuine intelligence, and wanting to give him a role I hadn't seen him play yet (of course, since 2001, he's played a variety crazy roles without needing help from me). One of the fun things about being able to sit in on the rehearsal process has been watching Casey evolve as Ives, and watch Ives become something crazed, then mean, then human, then all of the above. Like I say, I wrote this with Casey in mind, but it wasn't anything I'd seen him do yet--I just had faith that he could and wanted to. It's the bizarre relationship between him and Peter, as well as the even stranger dynamic that he has with Molly, that helps this be more than just "Death And The Maiden, 90210."
Speaking of Molly Vanderlin, she's another one who I wrote the script having her in mind. She was in Yoshi's Heroes, the first full-length show I did, as the character of Daisy, who was sort of the serious, tragic character of that show. It seems strange to say, knowing Molly, who's one of the nicest, sweetest people I know, to think that one of her great strengths is that she can bring an air of tragedy to a role. When she's sad, you're sad. The whole world is sad. That said, she also has a core of playfulness, too, which seemed right for Psychos In Love. Part of who Polly is is that she's smart, yes, but also funny, and a little wiley. Of the cast, Molly's the person I've known the longest, and I know that this has been a hard role for her, not just physically, but emotionally. This show is an emotional marathon, and Molly's been called upon to cry real tears while the audience is laughing. I'll be the first to admit that there wasn't alot on the page for the character of Polly (I had more or less intended her to be the center of gravity for the audience), nor could I think of a good way to get that backstory out there with being obviously expositional. She and Kathy Lynn Sliter, the director, worked out some general backstory, but for the most part, Molly just jumps into it and claws her way out. Without an actress who's willing to do that, none of it works. Speaking of such...
Amy Sawyers as Nyx. Holy fucking shit. Nyx was the character I wrote with no one in particular in mind, and just hoped that we could find someone who looked teenage-aged, and could play it. About a year later, I was casting the show Bash for Mercury Players, and she read for it. Although I didn't cast her (she was too young for it), in the back of my head, I instantly thought of her as Nyx. Nyx is one of those characters that can seem thankless (she has the least amount of stage time, yet the arc of the show revoles around her). The thing about that character is that she's talked about and built up to so much that the real danger is not having a performance that matches that buildup. What I wanted with Nyx was to have all this hinting and buildup, and when she finally enters, it's like we're in a WHOLE NEW PLAY. And that's what Amy brings to the table. She's got this weird intensity, and is another actress who's not afraid to take a few bullets (or, conversely, lose a few teeth) to get it right. And I love how she exits the stage after her first scene--not like she's gonna do some damage, but like she's on her way to the prom.
And, last, but not least...
Kathy, Kathy, Kathy Lynn Sliter, our director.
The first thing I'd seen her direct was a script that I had read in advance, thinking it was seriously one of the worst scripts ever. And yet, the play was interesting, moving, touching, and emotional--pretty much all the things that the script wasn't. Usually, in theatre, the director only gets noticed if he or she is bad, or incompetant. It's just the nature of the medium. Kathy was someone who I eventually, worked with on Psychos In Love, where she acted for me, and somewhere in there, I gave her a copy of the script. She wanted to direct it, and I wanted her to. Kathy's gone from being a director I admired, to an actress I loved working with, to being my friend, to being my best friend, to being one of the most important people in my life. Part of what's kept us going on this is her determination and drive to not just push the script, but me personally as well. What she's helped to do is punch forward all of the dramatic elements, and force us to see the--of all things--humanity in the situation. She can take the horrific and make it human. (I feel a parody of "The Candyman" coming on.) Let's face it, this show would just not have happened if not for her.
So, to everyone involved (in no particular order), Kathy, Molly, Casey, David, Amy, and Peter, thank you, thank you, thank you. This was just some random thing I wrote during a Christmas break on a dare, but you've helped make it something I'm proud to be a part of.
Closing weekend, kiddies.
Go and do.
posted by Rob on 2:27 PM |
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[ Friday, March 11, 2005 ]
Tonight, finally, we open "Welcome To The Terrordome." Here's some art I was playing around with that we may not use for the front window. Click for more info on the show.
It's been a long, fly-by-night, occasionally stressful, ultimately rewarding journey, but we're here. I honestly don't know how the show will do or what to expect tonight, but right now, I feel pretty good.
Okay, so last night was our last rehearsal, at the Atwood Community Center.
We get to the scene where Casey punches Molly in the stomach, and Amy's big entrance, when we hear a sharp knock at the back window.
I look at Kathy, the director, who, judging by the look on her face, thinks the same thing I do: It's some drunk hassling us.
I go to the back door, and looking through the window, I see three female police officers, one wearing body armor and readying an AR-15 assault entry rifle, another with a 12 gauge shotgun resembling the one we use in the show, and the woman I assume is the lead officer (she's the one who knocked).
As carefully and as non-threateningly as possible, I open the door, and as I do, I see that the lead officer is pointing what looks like a 9mm Sig Sauer to the ground in one of those two-handed grips we've all seen cops do on TV, as she says to me, "So...rehearsing a play, huh?"
They come in to give a look around.
Casey, who didn't know there were cops at the door, is just sort of standing around with his hands in his pockets, and the second the lead officer comes in, she instantly says to him, "TAKE YOUR HANDS OUT OF YOUR POCKETS, SIR."
Casey, faster than the eye can see, pulls his hands out of his pockets and raises his hands, the universal sign language for "please don't shoot me with that AR-15 assault weapon."
"Haven't you people ever heard of blinds?" The lead officer says.
Kathy and I try to explain that the room we're in has no blinds, but we're kind of frazzled.
I look to the body-armored woman with the AR-15, who looks at me and smiles, sheepishly. Kathy, hours later, will refer to her as "the cute one." I smile back, just as sheepishly.
The lead officer asks, "What's this play you're doing?"
I tell her that it's called "Welcome To The Terrordome."
The cute AR-15 woman in body armor chuckles and says, "what?"
I repeat the title and the lead officer gives her a look, points to the back door, and says, "uh...yeah," in the kind of tone that could say, "it's possible that you're freaking these people out," but probably says, "there's no need to use that assualt rifle today."
The AR-15 woman walks out, quickly. As she leaves, it occurs to me that she's the youngest of the three cops, and was probably smiling more out of relief (that the situation didn't call for deadly force) than anything.
The lead officer walks forward. "So, do we have any weapons here today?"
R. Peter Hunt, who looks very relieved he made the decision to put down his shotgun before the cops came in, sort of points at the shotgun with his elbow.
I tell the officer--who instantly recognizes Peter's shotgun as being real (it used to be the shotgun of a Madison cop, in fact)--that the shells in the shotgun are dummies. She carefully unloads the dummy shells from the shotgun, but one of the shells won't come out.
"Whoop! We got a feed jam, here," she says.
I swear I am not making this up.
"Okaaaaay," she continues, "any other weapons?"
Casey indicates the plastic sawed-off shotgun prop he has for the show without touching it or going anywhere near it. The lead officer checks that too. Casey has to show her how to break it open.
The other cop, who also seems generally amused (we've all gone from being freaked to being relieved), notices the beer cans we use for the show.
The lead officer says, "so do we have alcohol here, tonight, or is that--"
"It's watered down apple juice," Casey says.
As the second cop looks at the beer cans and ascertains that they do not have beer in them, she notices something on the table: "What is this?"
Kathy, the cast and I, all simultaniously say, "Oh."
I say, that's a spring-loaded police baton. It's made so--
"--It's been adapted for stage purposes," Kathy says.
Yeah, I say. Yeah.
The second officer picks it up. Amy Sawyers, who plays Nyx and has been training with it, looks as if she's debating whether or not to show her how it works, but decides not to.
The lead officer smirks a little, and says, "Okay, so we got two shotguns...beer cans..." She points to the baton on the table. "...That thing..." she notices Molly, who's been quietly watching this whole thing with her hands cuffed behind her back with my handcuffs. "Nice handcuffs, ma'am."
"Thank you," Molly says.
"...So, yeah, I'm thinking you could have invested in some curtains."
So, I guess somebody called, huh?
"Yup," the lead officer says, "he and his wife are outside."
They are?
"Yeah, along with half a dozen other officers."
Peter looks out the window: "Holy--"
Just then, another female officer wearing body armor comes in, holding open the door, and a man in a suit walks in, smiling and relieved, and saying "I gotta see this play!"
He apologized to all of us, but we all say, no, no, that's totally okay, and I admit to the lead officer that, yeah, we probably should have contacted the operations officer.
"Yeah," she says. "We probably still would have come, but we would have called you first."
"We honestly didn't know we could be seen from the street," Kathy says, and notes that this rehearsal, she for some reason sat in such a way that although you could see the actors, you couldn't see her.
The man who called the cops introduces his wife to us, and Casey shakes their hands, assuring him that he really is a nice guy. Kathy offers him tickets to the show, and I give him (and the cops) a handbill.
I notice an odd-looking gun in a holster on the lead officer's belt. It looks like a Glock 26 at first, but when I look closer, it looks more like one of those disc-guns from the 1960's, but black.
Excuse me, I say pointing to the same point on my own body, but what's this gun you have here?
"Ah. This is the controversial Taser gun they just had the big meeting about." She takes it out of the holster and shows it to me, taking out the green front-piece, unloading it.
Coooooool.
"Yeah," she says, "They're fun."
"Oh, man," Kathy says, "we're gonna be here all night, now."
I gave the cops a handbill, they take our numbers, and everyone leaves, smiling.
Silence.
We all look at each other.
I say, Well, that's making my weblog tomorrow.
"Did you see the size of that fucking gun that cop had?" Peter says.
The AR-15? Yeah. Holy shit.
"Dude," Casey says, "they sent a SWAT team! We got SWATTED!"
Amy asks Kathy, "what do we do now?"
"Just pick up where we left off."
"Can we have a cigarette, first?" Peter asks.
Kathy wholeheartedly agrees.
"You know, they were probably waiting out there for a while before they made their move," Casey says, "they came in about five minutes after I punched Molly. How did the punch look, by the way?"
"Dude, that punch was fucking awesome."
Yeah, that was a good punch.
"Really?"
Dude, I say, it was so good it forced the police to MAKE THEIR MOVE.
Anywho, it opens tonight. Please come and see what all the ruckus is about. Enjoy some more rehearsal photos below.
Oh, and if any of the ten officers who showed up should happen to be reading this, I think it goes without saying that you're comped.
Casey putting Molly's bruise makeup on. Aw.
Amy stretching while Peter gets some notes.
Yeah, I think it was somewhere in here that the cops showed up.
Ahem.
posted by Rob on 12:14 PM |
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[ Tuesday, March 01, 2005 ]
A special set of snaps to bookbear for calling up The Stephanie Miller Show and giving a shout-out to Psychos In Love for killing off Ann Coulter (amongst other right-wing wackos)!
(at least I think it was him--I didn't tune in until after the call had started--please correct me if I'm wrong.)
posted by Rob on 8:49 AM |
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