We had a nice Hate Mail rehearsal this morning, followed by a good day of work at Williamston Theatre. Then I came home to work with my son on his Talent Show Skit (which is fun and silly!). It was one of those days where I was so busy that I just completely forgot to eat until about 3:30, when I realized I was about to pass out if I didn’t eat something! Then my friend Emily’s warning came true: “When you wait so long to eat that you’re really, really hungry, you make bad choices!”. I fulfilled THAT little prophecy by enjoying a couple of McDonald’s cheeseburgers and some fries. Ah well…

So this story about the dangerous Snakehead fish with the many sharp teeth is a little scary. I did a little Googling and found that there have been some cases of it in the U.S., in Maryland and Virginia. Yucky looking little thing!

Had a great conversation this weekend with a friend of mine about, well, friends. “Friendship.” Recently he’d had a person he thought was a close friend completely turn their back on him. Got me to thinking, I’m fortunate to have the friends I do. We all deal with our share of friendships that fade away over time, or giant arguments that can damage a friendship beyond repair. At least with those you have a clear understanding of what happened. His case, though, was one of the tough ones – this person just proved to be a false friend, only interested in maintaining a relationship because there was a very palpable reward for hanging out with my friend. When a better reward became available, this person jumped – just cold-turkey dropped all communication. Having gone through a similar thing myself in my past, I could relate to the whole thing, and we spent a good bit of time chatting about the topic. It’s funny, in the end I think it was helpful for both of us to chat about it, because a couple of things happened: A) some demons were exorcised, which was nice because I think that ultimately there are some experiences and people it’s best to clear from the slate and not waste energy on. And B) it helped me with a couple of moments in Hate Mail, which is all about a relationship that goes through many trials! And, C), it was a nice reminder that I’m lucky enough to have some very wonderful friends!

The other night we were at Border’s bookstore, where my 9 year old was excited to spend a gift certificate she’d gotten. The whole family went: we’re big readers, and love going to the library or bookstore.

As we’re walking around, she’s taking her time and reading the back of every book that looks remotely interesting, and we’re just enjoying being there. Then, as we stand in the “junior reader” section exploring chapter books, she takes my hand and sighs contentedly and says “Dad, bookstores and libraries feel really comfortable to me.”

That kid is made of awesome.

*proud smile*

Once again my friend Duncan, who is the Brew Master at Grizzly Peak in Ann Arbor, brewed up a batch of the beer he named after me:

(I love that there’s even a little picture of me BEING bitter on the chalkboard! *laughing*)

First off, the beer is excellent! Nice work, Dunc. Secondly, if you’ve not been to Grizzly Peak – GO! The beer is great, and the food is wonderful. They have the absolute best Cheddar Ale Soup on the planet, and with some of their homemade bread to dunk in it, it’s a little bowl o’ heaven. (This message paid for by Friends of Grizzly Peak. I’m Tony Caselli, and I approve this message.)

I love William Shatner. Can’t help it, I just do.

The new Indiana Jones trailer is online! I can’t WAIT for this movie!!

Apparently Madonna has directed a movie? Well, THIS REVIEW of it is hilariously unflattering, and includes the following blurb: She has made a movie so incredibly bad that Berlin festivalgoers were staggering around yesterday in a state of clinical shock, deathly pale and mewing like maltreated kittens.

Disney is re-opening The House Of The Future!

Curtis Granderson, centerfielder for the Detroit Tigers, has a great blog at ESPN!

SPRING TRAINING BEGINS!!

Detroit Tigers Pitchers and Catchers report today to Lakeland, Florida!

So, closing one show and starting another. Yep, it’s the way it goes in this business…just when you’ve gotten comfortable with a piece, you’re moving on to the next thing. Art got great reviews, and we’ve got 5 more performances for folks to see. It’s been a great process, and a great run!

Next up is Hate Mail! We just began rehearsals last night, and it’s going to be HILARIOUS! A newcomer to our stage, Hallie Bee Bard, will team up with Aral Gribble (who folks will remember from our productions of Every Christmas Story Ever Told!! and Fully Committed) to perform this incredibly funny two-person “epistolary play”!

Episto-what?!

Yep – epistolary play!

From the dictionary:

Epistolary.
(adjective)
1) Of or associated with letters or the writing of letters.
2) Being in the form of a letter: epistolary exchanges.
3) Carried on by or composed of letters.

This is a great, fun format for a play – the two characters converse and deal with each other through letters. (And eventually postcards, telegrams, laptop computers and notes on the fridge!!). There are lots of opportunities for exciting staging, as well as doing something a little different and challenging in the playing of a piece like this. Sally Converse-Doucette has given us a really beautiful, fun theatrical set that, frankly, I think is really COOL, and I can’t wait to get it built and start playing on it! 🙂

Okay, it’s cold. Really cold. The last several days have been the kind of cold where you don’t even think about it in terms of “Well, I’d better bring my gloves”, you think about it in terms of “There’s one more thing that could kill me.” When the HIGH for the day is 8, and the wind chill all day is between 15 and 25 BELOW, the cold takes on a whole new meaning: It gets lumped in there with things like “a vat of boiling acid”, or “a rabid crocodile” – stuff that you know could just kill you and move on, but you don’t really think about it much. Of course, now that I’m thinking about it…It’s funny how many things are on that list that we never really give much thought to.

So, while I’m trying to stay warm today, I’ll be having a good time in our first rehearsal for Hate Mail! I love this play, it’s hilarious, and mean, and ultimately sweet. The cast is great, and the Set and Costume designs from Sally Doucette are wonderful!

And we had a GREAT round of auditions yesterday for Talley’s Folly. I have to say, yesterday was one of those days that make me love working in the theatre. John Lepard is directing the show, so I got to sit back and watch him work with actors while I just threw in my two cents occasionally. What made the process so great, though, was the quality of the whole thing: Talley’s Folly, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1980, is such a beautiful, lyrical, moving play – and spending a few hours watching some really good actors bite into some of that gorgeous language was a treat. It’s a great thing when you can come away from auditions thinking A) That was fun as hell, and B) We’ve got some really good options for casting this play!

One more thing that makes today good:
Pitchers and Catchers report in 2 days for Spring Training.

Although this story takes place in San Francisco, and it’s about a ballet rather than a play, I think it’s something that people who do live performances can relate to no matter where they are! I want this guy in my audience every night!!

Read and laugh! 🙂

Len Kluge of the Lansing City Pulse had some very good things to say about our production of Art at Williamston Theatre. Some high praise, some moderate criticisms, but basically a nice vote of support for the show and a vote of confidence for the company, as evidenced by the following:
Williamston Theatre has once again proven itself to be a valuable and developing presence in local theater. While “Art” may not be perfect, it’s still pretty good art.
So, we’ll gladly take that in the hopes that it continues to convince folks to give us a try, and buy a ticket! 🙂

Got a chance to see Vino Veritas at The Purple Rose Theatre Company this afternoon (while the area was smushed by a huge snowstorm!). Some wonderful performances in this, the cast was a treat to watch. Hoping to see several more shows in the next couple of weeks! (Thanks to Courtney for reminding me about the Breathe Art production ofOleanna!)

The whole area was hit by a big ol’ snow/sleet/freezing rain storm today – that was fun! The show at BoarsHead was cancelled, lots of cars were in ditches, and I had to use the snowthrower to clear 5 inches of snow from my driveway when I got home! Wheee!

Word of the week:

Peripety
(noun)

A sudden and unexpected change of fortune or reverse of circumstances (especially in a literary work); “a peripety swiftly turns a routine sequence of events into a story worth telling”

A nice review came out this weekend that included the following phrase:

“The play is brilliantly performed. Tony Caselli and the cast (Bruce Bennett, Paul Hopper, John Lepard) have refined every moment of the play, physically and vocally, to a delightful level of precision and timing.”
Robert W. Bethune
Encore Michigan/Between The Lines

Opening Night went well, and the weekend of shows was great. More reviews will come out, and hopefully they’ll be good and continue to boost ticket sales! And I’m really glad that in both reviews so far the cast has been praised – they’re all wonderful on AND offstage! In fact, just because I can…here’s a picture of them!

In other theatre news, I was glad that I got to see Rabbit Hole at Meadow Brook Theatre this weekend, starring my friend Sarab Kamoo (among others.) What a marvelous production. I mean, Wow. The script, the acting, the direction, the set – just one of those experiences that lets you leave the theatre with something that you will hold onto for a long time. It’s not a cheerful play – it’s devastatingly sad, but at the same time it’s incredibly hopeful, and this production of it was just terrific. Inspiring. Made me want to A) hug my kids, and B) make the best theatre that I can.

In family news – my wife Jeanne had her birthday today, and we had a wonderful time! The kids and I got up early and blew up balloons, and the kids hung up a big banner they had made, and put little notes all over the house. When Jeanne woke up we sang and did presents and snuggles (Max made a wonderful little ‘robot’ named Larry (?!) for her, and Maggie made her a special Birthday Wishing Well, so she could make a special birthday wish. So cool.) Then, off to Cafe Habana in Ann Arbor for breakfast/brunch. (And Oh MAN was it good! This was the second time Jeanne and I have been there, and I’m pretty sure it’s now going to be a place we try to go to a LOT!)

Lastly, a Sunday Night Quote:

“The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own. No apologies or excuses. No one to lean on, rely on, or blame. The gift is yours – it is an amazing journey – and you alone are responsible for the quality of it. This is the day your life really begins.”
-Bob Moawad