Williamston Theatre Project reading went well, great responses to the script Rounding Third so we’ll probably be putting it into our first season.

Previews of Take Me Out are going fine. Some things working well, some not. The 30 hour workweek on this Equity contract is a pain in the ass during previews, because you have no time to work things and, take my word for it, there are things we need to work. The good news is that the moving set pieces (that I would eliminate if I could) have worked for 3 previews in a row. Of course, working in the sense of “moving when they’re supposed to” is different from working in the sense of “hey, that’s not distracting at all”, but I digress…

My daughter has conquered her fear of the back-dive in her diving class, and I’m very, very proud of her! She’s been scared to death of diving backwards off of the diving board, and yesterday she worked with Jeanne and did it over and over and then in her diving meet she did it in front of the whole pool! Also this week, my son has conquered his need of the guard-rail that used to keep him from falling out of bed at night. SO, great things with the kids, although both things are more signs that they’re growing up. Although this thrills me, it’s also a bit sad every time one of these milestones is reached. Today, for example, we had to buy new booster seats for the cars. Why? They’d finally outgrown the old ones. *sigh*

I can’t get my Itunes to burn a disc. It keeps telling me “none of the items in this playlist can be burned to a disc”. Anybody got an idea on why the hell it would keep doing that? I don’t get it…
EDIT: I got a tip, and got the thing to at least start trying to burn, but now I’m getting the error; “Cannot burn disc. Device did not respond properly.” What the heck?!
Anybody? I’m gonna have to call the repair shop – at least the thing’s still under warranty…

That’s it.

How was YOUR day?

Allrighty, tonight is first preview for TAKE ME OUT, the show I took over directing for Jim Posante at the Performance Network.
I’ll do some in-depth posting on this experience later. Wish us luck, though!

In other news, we will be getting high-speed internet at home, finally, next week! Hooray! The era of slooooooooooooow dial up is gone from our lives. My IMac G5 has been waiting patiently, and now we can let it loose upon the world.

And, tomorrow is the Williamston Theatre Project reading of “Rounding Third” by Richard Dresser. This fun comedy is one we’re considering for production, so we’re having a reading of it open to the public to get some feedback, and build some interest. Wish us luck on that, too!

Today we mourn the passing of a legend. James Doohan, best known for his portrayal of Montgomery Scott, “Scotty”, on the original Star Trek, passed away this morning from pneumonia and Alzheimer’s.

At 85, he’s the second member of the original crew to pass away. DeForest Kelley, who played Dr. McCoy, passed away in June of 1999.

Bringing to life one of the most beloved characters in the Trek mythos, Doohan starred in the 3 years of the original series, did several voices on the short-lived Star Trek Animated Series, portrayed Scotty in all of the original Star Trek movies as well as the film Star Trek: Generations, which bridged the gap between The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation. In addition, he made a memorable appearance in The Next Generation, when his character Scotty was found after being in a transporter induced state of suspended animation for over 70 years.

Read more about the career of James Doohan.

A quick posting of 3 “action shots” from the All-Star Game.

Photos!

A quick note – we took the kids to see March of the Penguins, a great indie-documentary. What a great film. If you get a chance, go see it. Check out info at This site.

That’s it. Now back to Tech Rehearsals for Take Me Out. (There are lessons here, people, I’ll share them later…)

Okay, I know I owe pictures and other updates, but this enraged me today, and I’m posting quickly about it.

So, here’s a news story about a coach who payed a player to hurt another player, because the coach didn’t want to put him in the game.

Why so enraged, you may ask? Because it was in a T-BALL LEAGUE for 8 year olds!!!

Some people should simply be eliminated.

EDIT: Next day, an article came out with the guys lawyer refuting the charge. Fishy, fishy, fishy, but in all fairness I thought I’d put that link too! Here it is.

Well, the last couple days have been awesome. I’m exhausted, and now after the All Star fun, I’ve gotta go back to the real world again.

However, I will post a nice big entry all about the Home Run Derby, the Red Carpet Event, and the All Star Game asap, with photos and everything! In the meantime, for the rest of the week I’ve got to rehearse 10-3 in Williamston and 4:30 to 9:30 in Ann Arbor for the One-Act Show and Take Me Out, respectively, and I’m going to stay up late tonight to pay my bills, then try and get some sleep.

Well, the baseball event I’ve been waiting for all season has arrived! Today begins the All-Star Festivities in Detroit! I gave up my tickets to Sunday’s events, (the Celebrity Softball and the Future Hall-of-Fame game) because with the schedule for the show I’m suddenly directing, it was just impossible. Plus, by giving up Sunday, I get to see Monday’s Home Run Derby and Tuesday’s All-Star Game!

Whoohoo! Can’t wait! I’ll try and post some digital pics!

We just put this out to the public – hopefully we’ll get some response from it!

Wish List

The Williamston Theatre Project is a new 501(c)3 not-for-profit arts organization. We are in need of items to set up our office, shop and theatre. You may have something we need! Please review our wish list and let us know if you would like to donate any items to us. All donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Computers (preferably Apple)
Printers
Fax Machine
Copier
Computer software
File Cabinets
Desks/Tables
Chairs
Answering Machine
Janitorial supplies
Professional services including accounting, legal, contractors and janitorial
Tools (cordless drills, table saw, etc.)
Shop supplies (screws, nails, paint brushes, etc.)
General office supplies (reams of paper, staplers, paper clips, hole punchers, etc.)
Storage space
Sound board
Light board, dimmer packs
Extension Cords

If you have something that you would like to donate, please contact Development Director Emily Sutton-Smith at emily@williamstontheatre.org or (734) 968-4294. If your business can donate goods or services, sponsorship packages are available and can be tailored to meet your marketing needs.