“Learn as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die tomorrow.” – Gandhi
“Learn as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die tomorrow.” – Gandhi
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I'm Tony Caselli. I'm a professional stage director, and Artistic Director of the Williamston Theatre, in Williamston, Michigan.
On this journal, I spend a lot of time talking about running a theatre and directing, as well as a lot about my wife and kids, my love of baseball and science fiction, and a great deal of other things. Feel free to join in, I'd love to chat!
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RUNNING NOW:
Ernie
May/June/July 2012
In the Spring of 2011 I directed the World Premiere of this new play, by Mitch Albom, all about legendary Detroit Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell. It was wonderful to work on and a huge hit with audiences! I'm in rehearsals RIGHT NOW for the second season, and we open it on May 3rd! Check it out at www.ernietheplay.com, or come down to the City Theatre in Detroit and see it!
The Understudy
By Theresa Rebeck
May 17 – June 17, 2012
(FOR A CHANGE OF PACE, I'M IN THIS ONE INSTEAD OF DIRECTING! IT'S A TON OF FUN!)
Jake is a mid-level action film star seeking legitimacy by acting in a Broadway play. Harry is a middle-aged journeyman actor who may or may not be just a little bitter about understudying a mid-level action film star in a Broadway play. Roxanne just wants to run the rehearsal without anyone killing anyone else. Take a trip behind the scenes as a trio of theatre professionals struggle to balance ego, art and commerce in this biting, thoughtful comedy that highlights the ridiculous and fleeting nature of fame.
COMING UP:
boom
September 2012
"A grad student’s online personal ad lures a mysterious journalism student to his subterranean research lab under the pretense of an evening of “no strings attached” sex. But when a major global catastrophic event strikes the planet, their date takes on evolutionary significance and the fate of humanity hangs in the balance. Will they survive? What about the fish in the tank? And who is that woman pulling levers and playing the timpani? An epic and intimate comedy that spans over billions of years, boom explores the influences of fate versus randomness in the course of one’s life, and life as we know it on the planet." I've wanted to stage this play for several years now, and I'm very excited to finally get the chance to do it!
End Days
January 2013
"Sixteen year old Rachel Stein is having a bad year. Her father hasn’t changed out of his pajamas since 9/11. Her mother has begun a close, personal relationship with Jesus. Her new neighbor, a sixteen-year-old Elvis impersonator, has fallen for her hard. And the Apocalypse is coming Wednesday. Her only hope is that Stephen Hawking will save them all." This is a beautiful and poignant comedy that I can't wait to work on!
10:53
May 2013
"The worst part of a hospital waiting room is normally the waiting but, in the midst of a prolonged family medical crisis, Kathryn Fuller regards the waiting room as a welcome refuge from her increasingly chaotic life. However, the real world quickly invades her new home away from home, and she’s surrounded with her over-the-top family life, rebellious, love-struck daughter and a mysterious stranger who, oddly, shows up at the same time every night. What happens when the universe decides our lives need a shaking up, whether we like it or not? " I love working on new plays, and I can't wait to work on this beautiful, moving piece!