We’re making a new play, at Williamston Theatre, and we’re looking for input!

Anyone who lives in the American Midwest, or lived there at some point in your life, we need your stories and thoughts!

We’re creating the 3rd installment of our 3 Season project Voices From The Midwest. We’ve done shows exploring the lives of both men in the Midwest and women in the Midwest. The final installment in this project will be Home: Voices From Families Of The Midwest, in Spring of 2010.

We’re creating these productions using input and submissions from folks all over the Midwest. The submissions are used to create scenes, stories, dialogue, songs, or just as idea-starters for the writers of the project.

So, help us create this exploration of life in the American Midwest!

Download the MS Word or the PDF version of the questionnaire, and fill it out as much or as little as you like – answer one question or answer them all – and email the completed document to us at the WIlliamston Theatre! (The email address is in the questionnaire!)

Go HERE to find the links to download the questionnaires!

I would love love LOVE to have all of your input on this show.

Thanks in advance for helping!

What a couple of weeks it’s been!

Opened A Picasso at Performance Network. Reviews are still coming in, but they’ve been all positive. The performances are generally being regarded as “WONDERFUL!”, which is nice to see, because both actors are wonderful! 🙂 In fact, a new review just came out from the New Monitor: “Taut, compelling” and “Performance Network has saved the best for last”!

Began rehearsals for the re-mount of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged at the Williamston. It’s going well! The show is so much fun! Performances start next week!

My kids are away at Summer Camp. This has been a tough thing for me! They’re having a great time, and healthy and growing and making friends and all that stuff… but it’s the first time they’ve gone. It was hard to just leave them in the woods with strangers, you know? Everyone says Summer Camp is a good “growth ritual” and “rite of passage” for kids… well, I’ll tell you what – it’s the same thing for the parents!

The Detroit Tigers are in first place by 5 games! After last year, I didn’t expect this at all, but I’m loving watching this team play this year!!

My wife, Jeanne, is training for a triathlon. She’s been working out and running and swimming and biking – it’s amazing. I’ve been so inspired that I started biking to try and get my big belly into shape! This morning’s trek: 4 miles on the hilly, dirt, Island Lake Road. Fun, sweaty, and freaking exhausting. I know some folks bike lots and lots… I’m still adjusting, and 4 hilly miles is tiring! But I’m loving getting back in shape!

Time to go – shower, eat, check the mail.

Maybe I’ll have a letter from my kids! 🙂

A Picasso opened last night to a great response from the audience! Surprisingly, 2 reviews are out already!

Both are positive reviews – feel free to check them out here:
Encore Michigan
Ann Arbor News

Good things said about both actors, I’m pleased to say, as well as the set and technical elements! Ann Arbor News critic Jenn McKee wasn’t as taken with the script as a lot of folks I’ve spoken with, and I disagree with her on those comments, but those differences of opinion are what makes the world go ’round, right? 🙂

So, a couple more weeks of shows left! If you’re in the area come see the show, check out a pair of great performances, and enjoy a night at one of Michigan’s professional theatres!

Some images from A Picasso, which is in previews now and officially opens on Friday.

I’m having a blast with this show – great script, great actors, great set lights, sound and costumes – it’s been a blast to rehearse.

Click to see the pics!!

And now, a Brain Dump of Random Things To Clear My Head Before I Go To Bed:

Played hooky (hookie?) from work today.
Haven’t had a full day off to be with the family in a while – won’t have the chance again for a couple more weeks. So today was a day spent working around the house, running errands, shopping to get the kids ready for summer camp, grilling, beginning the goal of getting my fat butt in shape by going for a bike ride, and answering a handful of work emails and text messages. I liked it! The family time was much needed!

Best quote of the day? From my son, while on a bike ride: “C’mon Dad, go faster than that! You’ve got a lot of weight to work off there, buddy!!” *sigh* Out of the mouths of babes…

Last night we had callbacks for “It Came From Mars”, the co-production next season between Performance Network and Williamston Theatre. Man, we had a great time. It went a little slower than I would’ve liked, but I love callbacks. Lots of good actors, you get to give a bunch of fun direction to them, you get to mix and match types and see which pairings just feel right for the show – it’s a ton of fun.

We open “A Picasso” at the Performance Network Theatre on Friday – I’ve loved the process on this one – a two person cast, both came into the project at the top of their game and it’s been a blast putting this story onstage. Audiences seem to like it a ton.

Interestingly, one thing I think I’ve learned on this project: if it’s a piece with accents, EVERYONE will have an opinion on how they’re sounding. (Not in a bad way, they just will.) I don’t know why this has surprised me: I’m no stranger to directing, which means I’m no stranger to having every aspect of a show and my work dissected and criticized – it’s part of the deal for anyone who directs. But it’s been fascinating, the diversity and conflicting comments you get on accents: “It’s perfect, and I’ve LIVED in Germany” to “It’s not German enough, it sounds too American” to “It’s too German, I had to work to understand it”. Or “The Spanish sounds too much like French” backed with “The Spanish is perfect! I felt like I was in Barcelona!” to “Well, he didn’t use an accent much, or did I miss it?” The variety and directly conflicting nature of these comments has me thinking a lot! I wonder if it’s an American thing, because we’re so isolated from authentic European accents? Or is it just a subjective thing, like any other part of the show – do accents fit in with “It wasn’t my kind of humor” and “I thought the set was too blue” in the world of spectator observations? When done right, I believe that after a few minutes the accent should basically disappear (not actually, but the audience should become so at ease with it that it should SEEM to disappear.) I think what I’ve decided is that you embrace the accent, make it not SO thick that the audience can’t understand the actor, and then you just work to be consistent with it and tell the story. After that, it’s like any other aspect of the show: do your best to use it to tell the story and keep the audience involved. Anyone who’s made it this far into this entry got any other thoughts on accents in plays?

Holy cow – I just checked the score and the Tigers got hammered 11-2 tonight. Yikes.

Any iPhone users out there reading this? The new OS 3.0 Update comes tomorrow – very excited about that! 🙂

And now, a busy day tomorrow – so I’m off to bed!

I LOVE this!

(Click the Pic to embiggen!)

Re-posted from the journal of dramaturgca!

With so much going on in this part of the world, this little journal feels like it’s been neglected lately. That’s my fault – I’ve let myself fall out of the habit of updating it because of my recent schedule. I’m aiming for a nice break coming up in about 3 weeks, and I can’t wait!

I’m not complaining – my schedule is of my own doing, and I’m grateful for the work and opportunities I’ve been afforded.

But on the flipside of that, I’ve learned a good lesson the last 6 months: “If you’re pretty sure you should say no… say no!” I made a schedule a year ago that I knew was going to make January thru June really tough this year, partly because we needed the money, and partly because there were several good opportunites to do worthwhile projects with worthwhile people. So although I’m right now feeling a little tired and wrung out, it’s a good kind of tired: a lot of work has been done, some great collaborations built lasting relationships and friendships that I’m lucky to have, grateful to have. And it’s been a great time of learning, as well; theatre lessons, life lessons, old lessons that I’d learned long ago and forgotten, and some brand new ones!

“Practice rather than preach. Make of your life an affirmation, defined by your ideals, not the negation of others. Dare to the level of your capability then go beyond to a higher level.”
Alexander Haig

So, a couple more projects to bring to completiion and, then, a short summer break. I’m looking forward to the break – a lot of quality family time! I’m also, though, looking forward to what will come after the break – a series of very exciting new projects and a schedule that I’m a lot happier with because it allows me the time to really dig into the projects. Also, it allows me more time to focus on the families I want to be with: my family at home, and my families at my job. Less running from place to place to place, which is how I’ve felt the last 6 months, and more focus on the handful of things that are the most important to me. That’s what I’m the most excited about in the upcoming year; the people I’ll be spending it with, and the time I’ll be able to spend with them working on what we’ve chosen to work on… whether it’s bringing a great script to life, or a ferocious game of Uno over a bowl of popcorn!

“In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.”
Albert Schweitzer

Wow.
In the last month, 3 of Michigan’s Equity theatre companies have lost their Artistic Directors.

2 have been removed by their Board of Directors, and one resigned without an official reason given by the company.

With the big economic difficulties facing this state, the theatre industry is being hit quite hard. It’s interesting to wonder – is that the real reason these things are happening?

Are the cuts and cutbacks and layoffs that are affecting the Michigan auto industry, and all the related industries, now clearly affecting how the arts organizations in the state are behaving?

Are we, theatres and theatre artists, suddenly to be held to only the bottom line of finances? Or is there more going on and are the three events happening so closely together merely coincidence?

As an Artistic Director, I certainly empathize with the 3 who no longer have their jobs, and the events of the past month sure have me evaluating my own life and work.
This is a tough time to be running a business that has too often been labeled “an extravagance”, or “expendable”.

Still, right now I can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing. I mean, sure, I’d like to make more money, but the reason I say over and over that I like making plays, and working with quality people, and doing my job… is because it’s true! I’m going to keep doing it as long as I can. I’ve been wondering the past week if running a theatre is like being the manager for a Major League baseball team: the catchphrase there is that managers are basically “hired to be fired” – meaning, of course, that you’re only keeping the job as long as things go really well – the minute things start to go south, you’re the fall guy. Is being an Artistic Director like that? I don’t know. I don’t have the answers, I’m just thinking about recent events, and trying to make some sense out of them…

Well, either way, I’m not going to worry about it. Like any aspect of our lives, if we let fear be our guiding factor then our choices will not be good.
I will continue my efforts to work with good people, make good plays, and do my job.
I will continue to enjoy myself, and work to help those around me enjoy themselves.
I will continue to stick true to my principles, beliefs and values.

And that will either work, or it won’t!

The Lansing State Journal came out with their VERY positive review for Flyover, USA this morning!

Kate O’Neill, for the LSJ, had many kind things to say, including Everything about this production works.

and

Williamston has another hit on its hands, one that Midwestern men – and women – won’t want to miss.

For the whole review, Click Here!