Okay, so as I wrote yesterday, I was told I needed to write some Director’s Notes for the playbill of Summer and Smoke. Normally I hate them, because they wind up sounding so academic, elitist, blah blah blah. So I procrastinated. But I had to write them. So, in looking for a hook for the piece, fate stepped in. Here’s what’s going into the program:

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Director’s Notes.

Okay, truth be told, I’m not a fan of Director’s Notes. I prefer to let the
work and the piece speak for themselves. As I was struggling with what to say
in these, however, the universe intervened and opened a door for me.

Today in the news, an article appeared. “Unpublished Tennessee Williams Poem
Found”. Sure enough, a poem written by Williams in 1937 was found in, of all
things, the back of a blue-book exam from his student years at Washington
University. Williams didn’t finish at Washington – he left, looking for
something else. The poem, titled “Blue Song”, is an indicator of why. Henry
Schvey, who found the poem, had this to say about the author after reading it;
“It’s clearly someone who feels he’s lost his moorings or who he is, or, if he
has his identity, it belongs to a different place.”

That quote speaks volumes. It’s also, coincidentally, a direct tie-in with
SUMMER AND SMOKE. This play is about people who’ve lost their moorings. It’s
about people who want to fit in with the world, who want a connection, but can’t
get there. Or rather, don’t get there in any way they ever expected.

Searching. Finding yourself. Losing yourself. We all do it. Williams was
doing it in 1937. Tonight, you’ll see some of his wonderful characters do the
same. I hope you enjoy their journey. Thanks for coming.

Tony Caselli
Director, Summer and Smoke
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I like ’em. On top of that, today I took some steps toward casting the couple of readings the Williamston Theatre Project will be doing in the upcoming 12 weeks, and worked on some other things for our company-in-the-making. Crystal Woolard is helping with our logo, I’ll post an example soon.