So lucky, so much goodness on the way!

Posted on March 1, 2016 by Tony Caselli

I’m so excited with the upcoming slate of theatre that I get to be involved in! Not only do we have 3 more great shows coming up at Williamston Theatre for this season, but next month we hold auditions for Season Eleven, and now we can talk about the shows we have lined up for that! And I LOVE ALL these shows coming up!

So, we’re in rehearsals right now for The Decade Dance by Joe Zettelmaier, which is a really funny, really thoughtful exploration of life, love, politics and race in 1970’s America. We just had the first read-through earlier this week, and I’m absolutely stoked about the show.

After that we have Chapatti, by Christian O’Reilly. This is a beautiful, charming, intelligent and theatrical love story that delves into the question of life, and love, after people have started to give up hope on either.

Wrapping up Season 10 is a hilarious and really warm comedy by Annie Martin called Summer Retreat. The show explores the relationship between a group of women from college through middle-age and how, as we grow, so does our love for our friends – even if we’re not all headed in the same direction.

THEN comes Season Eleven at Williamston Theatre!

First: Pulp, by Joseph Zettelmaier. I’m directing this one, and I can’t wait. It’s a noir/genre/detective/thriller/mystery comedy, and it’s a blast! And it’s a world premiere, and part of a Rolling World Premiere with the National New Play Network (of which Williamston Theatre is a member).

Second: The Nerd, by Larry Shue. An absolutely hilarious show, not nearly old enough to be called a chestnut… but is it old enough to be called a classic? Either way, it’s a popular piece that is well known for a reason: It’s hysterical. This will be our MSU collaboration show, and it’s a perfect showcase for our excellent partnership with Michigan State University’s Department of Theatre.

Third: Another world premiere, this one by Christy Hall. A Painted Window is a beautiful exploration of sisterhood, and aging, and wanting to be appreciated and understood and connected to the world. It asks the question “When it’s all over… when all we have left are the memories… will we want a do-over?”

In our fourth slot I’m directing a show I’ve been excited about doing for a while: 1984, by George Orwell. This adaptation, by Michael Gene Sullivan, explores some of the most prescient aspects of Orwell’s classic story, and some of the most socially relevant, in a terrifically theatrical way. What happens to people when their humanity is forcibly stripped away, when being different is a crime, and when people are afraid to think anything but what they’ve been told to think? Can compassion and empathy exist in that world? Can love?

Fifth is a Michigan premiere, a terrific play that was at the Stratford festival a few years ago called Taking Shakespeare by John Murrell. A charming, funny, poignant story where what seems to be a simple clash between people from different generations turns into an exploration of life, and the power of storytelling and taking chances.

Aaaaaaaaaaaand our final slot of Season Eleven is still TBA. We’re waiting to cross the t’s and dot the i’s on the rights, but I’ll let you know when it’s announced!

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that I’ll also be directing at the Jewish Ensemble Theatre next season! I’m excited to be working with Kitty Dubin on the world premiere of her new play Rights Of Passage!

So, when you add all that stuff together, and throw in the exciting Dark Nights in Billtown festival coming up in May (where we’re exploring several excellent Protest Theatre pieces), I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to be a part of so many great pieces of theatre.

So – what about YOU? What upcoming things in your life are YOU looking forward to?!

Too Much, Too Much, Too Many

Posted on February 28, 2016 by Tony Caselli

Closing of Too Much, Too Much, Too Many today at Williamston Theatre. Very proud of the work from everyone on the team, I loved working with them to breathe life this lovely little poem of a play.

THINK!

Posted on February 10, 2016 by Tony Caselli

Come then, and let us pass a leisure hour in storytelling, and our story shall be the education of our heroes. -Plato

“Don’t make me think for myself! Don’t make me feel something! Tell me WHAT to think! Tell me WHAT to feel! Don’t make me ask QUESTIONS and explore the answer!”

Sad. I get sad when this is the response to things. Especially things I’ve made, or that other storyteller friends have made. Sad, and frustrated. In today’s world, the ability – or interest? – in THINKING and exploring something seems to be fading away. So many people seem to be looking to get the easy answer: “Tell me how to feel!”

Listen, I love a nice, simple, clear-as-day episode of Matlock as much as anybody… I’ll happily sit and laugh my way through an episode of Three’s Company… but not everything should be that simple. Not everything CAN be that simple. They’ll yell – the people who shun imagination and critical thinking, they’ll complain – but we can’t give in, those of us who are artists and storytellers, we can’t give in and allow everything to be dumbed down and oversimplified. There is room for all sorts of storytelling – and we can’t allow the people who want every moment of life to be spelled out in snack-sized sound bites to take away our ability to SAVOR NOT KNOWING. To revel in asking the question. To go home at the end of the night NOT having everything laid out in a mindlessly digestible form, but having some things left unanswered rattling around in our brains, forcing us to analyze them using our imagination, our own sense of curiosity and wonder, our own life experience. It’s from THIS that we understand our life, and the world around us: From the sharing of moments and ideas, and reflecting on them, discussing them. NOT from having ideas explained and answers handed to us, but having ideas presented and the questions asked!

One way teaches us to be thinkers. The other teaches us to be nothing but consumers.

Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it.
-Hannah Arendt

Storytelling is ultimately a creative act of pattern recognition. Through characters, plot and setting, a writer creates places where previously invisible truths become visible. Or the storyteller posits a series of dots that the reader can connect.
— Douglas Coupland

The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon.
— Brandon Sanderson

Catching up on the good stuff

Posted on February 4, 2016 by Tony Caselli

Boy, January flew by. I was directing a play, which is part of the reason, but also it was a month of weird anniversaries and things. Over the last few weeks we had my birthday (yay 47!), the 2 year anniversary of me going into the hospital and going into a coma, and the 1 year anniversary of my father passing. All of that stuff led to me being in a weird place for several weeks, but I guess that’s normal.

Of course, adding to the weirdness was the fact that the play I’m directing is about, among other things, a family dealing with the death of the father. So, that made it a pretty emotional project. Fortunately the show, Too Much, Too Much, Too Many, is gorgeous and I got to work with wonderful people while creating it.

Here’s a shot from the show!

I really like the composition of this moment in the play. 🙂

Oh, here’s our video, too!

I’m also pleased to report that there is a ton of wonderfulness going on in my world, both with family and work. Got to see Maggie’s final home concert with the Chelsea House Orchestra, and next week I get to see the one-act play that my son Max on as Student Director! And this week was the birthday of my beautiful wife, which is definitely a day to celebrate!

Now, though – I’m off to the final preview performance of Too Much, Too Much, Too Many. It’s one of those pieces that reminds us, because sometimes we need reminding, that life is short, and putting up walls between us and our joy just doesn’t do anybody any good! Live your lives, folks – live for yourselves, and for the people you love – all we have is what we make with each other.

Every moment of light and dark is a miracle.

Walt Whitman

Old School

Posted on January 13, 2016 by Tony Caselli

Sometimes you just need to take your kid to Pinball Pete’s and show her what a real arcade is. Because weekends hanging out with your kids get fewer and fewer, and you need to enjoy them while you can.

“This is what my teenage and college years were like. Pizza, and these games you had to put quarters in. A lot of quarters. And Mountain Dew. A lot of Mountain Dew.”

Her reactions were great.

“What the?!? WHY CAN’T I CLIMB THE LADDER WITH A HAMMER?!”

“Pinball hates me.”

When we won the “match” at the end of the pinball game: “It gives you a free game?! That’s awesome!”

“Oh, I played this on my iPod!” … followed closely by “This is a LOT harder than on my iPod!” “JUMP! Stupid frog!”

We had a great time, though. I don’t even think Maggie minded when her old man whooped her in air-hockey! Plus, she got permission to swear at Ms. Pac Man… (I mean, to be fair, Ms. Pac Man really was being kind of a bitch.)

Thanks, Pinball Pete’s, for helping me share a little chunk of my childhood with my kid!

Merry Christmas Day!

Posted on December 25, 2015 by Tony Caselli

Christmas morning.

I love it.

Watching family open gifts, especially the kids pulling out all the stocking stuffers, is the best! Much hugging and love, lots of laughs, sitting on the couch, or the floor between the couch and Christmas Tree, everyone gradually donning new hats, or pajamas, or scarves or jackets, so that by the time we’re done no one looks the way they did when we started!

Coffee being enjoyed by Jeanne and I, Maggie immediately begins brewing water for tea in her super-nifty new electric tea kettle. (“It GLOWS!!”, she yells from the kitchen.) Max is trying to decide which side of his reversible Star Wars jacket he wants to show off first, the Light or the Dark. Jeanne rises, starts preparing our traditional Christmas Day breakfast: eggs, sausage, cinnamon rolls, and pomegranates!

Best laugh of the morning: My wife (because she a: knows me, b: loves me and c: is awesome), got me Superman cologne. Max got Batman cologne. I sprayed some on, and declared “I smell like Truth And Justice!” Max, in his spot-on Christian-Bale-as-Batman impression, whisper-growled “And I smell like THE NIGHT!!”

Ah, I love these mornings together. Grateful to be here for them.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

Happy Christmas Eve

Posted on December 24, 2015 by Tony Caselli

Gratitude

Posted on November 29, 2015 by Tony Caselli

Days with my family spent making dinner, relaxing, watching movies, having a blast getting my butt kicked in Zombie Dice AND Ticket To Ride, all of us going to a great Opening Night at the theatre, my sister-in-law and her amazing soup …and there’s still stuffing in the fridge that I can eat tonight!!

You choose your path…

Posted on November 23, 2015 by Tony Caselli

“One of the fundamental differences between the Victim Orientation and this one [Creator] is where you put your focus of attention…For Victims, the focus is always on what they don’t want: the problems that seem constantly to multiply in their lives. They don’t want the person, condition, or circumstance they consider their Persecutor, and they don’t want the fear that leads to fight, flee or freeze reactions, either. Creators, on the other hand, place their focus on what they do want. Doing this, Creators still face and solve problems in the course of creating outcomes they want, but their focus remains fixed on their ultimate vision.” – David Emerald

“It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?” – Henry David Thoreau

“Never confuse motion with action.” – Benjamin Franklin

Random Thoughts On A Saturday Afternoon

Posted on November 21, 2015 by Tony Caselli

I’ve made a habit of making a fruit and vegetable smoothie as one or two of my meals per day over the last couple of weeks, trying to get a little healthier and slimmer. I need to go grocery shopping, so we’re out of fruit and veggies. I have, therefore, decided that Captain Crunch is a totally acceptable substitute. I glanced briefly at the back of the box, it seemed pretty full of ingredients and stuff.

Today is our first real snowfall this season. It’s beautiful. Here’s the view out our front window.
Of course, we’re still in the honeymoon stage. Another few weeks of the slush and shoveling and cold and I’ll be ready to drop you, Winter and move on – don’t take it personally, Winter, it’s me, not you. Well, it’s actually you.

This last month has been so full of fun. A chance to see a bunch of theatre – the tour of Antigone, with Juliette Binoche. I liked it, but I’ll be honest, it felt a little heavy-handed. The first time we took a long pause to watch someone sit, or walk across the stage for 60 seconds, was interesting. The next couple times just felt indulgent and staged. That said, I liked the scenic, lighting and most of the multimedia designs, and the acting was terrific. Every time I go to the Power Center in Ann Arbor I’m reminded of what a cool space it is – I should go more often.

Saw American Hero in Detroit, at the newly minted Detroit Public Theatre. A nice inaugural production for this new company, hoping to see great things from them in the future!

I also got to see the wonderful production of Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf at the Performance Network. Man, what a beautiful, moving production. Just clicking on all cylinders – it’s fun to see a big ol’ classic brought to life in a wonderful way.

We’ve just started previews of Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol at Williamston Theatre. It’s a great piece, full of magic and redemption, fun and theatrical storytelling.

And, most importantly, my kids were in a terrific High School production Beauty And The Beast, and I am incredibly proud of them. Maggie was Belle, Max was Lumiere, and they were just terrific. I’m a big softie, obviously, and watching them together onstage in these fun roles that they just crushed, well… I’m an emotional guy, what can I say. Maybe it was dusty in the theatre, or someone was cutting onions nearby, who can say… (Warning: Proud Parent Photo Post Imminent…)