Wednesday Update: Keeping all the plates spinning…

So much good stuff going on!

https://twitter.com/TonyCaselli/status/311892551210786816

Williamston Theatre presents Shirley Valentine, by Willy Russell!

Starring Julia Glander and directed by Lynn Lammers, this beautiful, witty show runs March 21st through April 21, 2013.  Get more info at www.williamstontheatre.org

In other news in my life, the show I’m directing at MSU,  Sweet Mercy, opens next week.  It’s a beautiful play about survivors of the Rwandan genocide that deals with humanity, loss, empathy and our place in the world.

And, I’m excited to say that in about a week we start rehearsals for the next play I’m directing, 10:53 by Annie Martin.

Plus, I get to work with students from Otterbein University next month as we present their Senior Showcases to agents and directors in New York and L.A., and then later in the Spring I get to re-mount the beautiful production of Ernie by Mitch Albom at the City Theatre in Detroit.  After 2 amazingly successful summers, we’re bringing it back for a 3rd year!

Right now, reading plays, picking next season for Williamston Theatre, and looking for some coffee.  🙂

Happy Wednesday, everybody!

kindness

 

Wednesday pic post!

Okay, this is the “it’s been too long since I’ve posted and I’ve been working too many hours and laid up too much with a sinus infection thank God for antibiotics” pic post! Some random things from the last week!

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my son giving me a tough look

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Me discussing a scene with actor Aral Gribble on the set of boom

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The boom set, with actor Sarab Kamoo

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Another shot of the set and Sarab Kamoo

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I officiated the wedding of my friend Megan Buckley to her wife Birdie Ball! It was a beautiful night!

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When shopping with the kids, may have found this Darth Vader hoodie that zips up completely over your head to give you a mask. That may be me using the force to choke someone… And it may not…

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I love this picture from boom, with Alissa Nordmoe, Aral Gribble and Sarab Kamoo.

Even though I had a lot going on (or maybe because I had a lot going on), and had a sinus infection, it was a terrific week. Loads of fun stuff, lessons learned, pictures taken. Looking forward to writing more about it. In the meantime, hope YOUR week was great!

Sunday Quotes and Rambling: Time

The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of 60 minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is.
C. S. Lewis

Well, season 6 at the Williamston Theatre has come to an end. In a few days, we begin our 7th.

That’s amazing to me. 6 seasons have gone by?! 36 productions?

Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.
Carl Sandburg

It feels like yesterday that John, Chris, Emily and I were standing in an empty furniture store that we had big plans for, amazed and excited, opening a bottle of champagne. I still have the cork.

You must have been warned against letting the golden hours slip by; but some of them are golden only because we let them slip by.
James M. Barrie

6 seasons. My kids have grown up in that time. Jeanne and I both hit the “20 Year” mark of being professionals in our field. My son started middle-school and joined the diving team! Holy cow – My daughter starts high-school in a few days! A thought to make my heart skip: in less time than the theatre has been open, she’ll be off to college.

Where has that time gone?!

Well, I type that question, and mean it, but I’m also okay with the answer – it has been well spent. It’s been 6 good years of love, family, work, friends, and a fair amount of challenges… and even some days I’d rather forget – just like anyone’s life. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.
Carl Sandburg

In the next few days, we launch into things that now we describe in short terms:

“Season 7”
“21st year of teaching”
“High School”
“7th Grade”

But in a year, all of those will have such different meanings to us all…
And we’ll look back and wonder how they went by so quickly.
And then we’ll start again.

We are time’s subjects, and time bids be gone.
William Shakespeare

Thursday Big Pic Post: Good Things Of The Week!

My Daughter and I ran the Warrior Dash!

(This is us coming out of the final mud pit, where we crawled under barbed wire, and headed for the finish!)

Of course, before the finish came the “jumping over flaming logs” part of the obstacle course…

And at the finish line, they gave us our medals and water!

In other life news, we’re doing very fun research for boom, the next show I’m directing at Williamston Theatre:

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And, because I thought it was fun:  Family and friends recently went to see a couple episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation that were showing on the big screen.  (They’re remastering the series, so there was a big event.)  We had a great time, and were laughing about being nerds when everyone suddenly realized our cell phones were a terrific mix of nerd-dom.  As we were looking at it, my son Max pulled his old-school Gameboy out of his pocket (complete with Iron Man sticker), and added it to the group – it fit perfectly!

Tor.com has a very cool blog post by Irene Gallo, exploring paintings that have books in them.

This is just one of them, it’s a fantastic collection, check it out!

And the last pic of the day: this is The Wealthy Theatre in Grand Rapids.  I’ll soon be directing a re-mount of Ernie here!

Happy Thursday, everyone!

Pic Post: The Season, in Logo Form!

I’m incredibly excited about next season at the Williamston Theatre, and I’m in love with the logos for the upcoming shows! So, I thought I’d share them. I’ve added a blurb for each show, too, just for fun!

boom by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb
Something is about to explode. A grad student’s online personal ad lures a mysterious journalism student to his subterranean research lab for a “casual encounter”, but there’s nothing casual about this particular evening! She discovers that he actually fears the end of the world is at hand… and from there things get weird! Will they survive? Will their casual encounter lead to another big bang? What’s going on in the fishbowl? What’s our place in the universe? And who is that woman playing the timpani!? This epic and intimate comedy spans billions of years and will keep you laughing ‘til the unexpected end!

Ebenezer by Joseph Zettelmaier *World Premiere*
It’s a cold Christmas Eve in London, and Ebenezer Scrooge sits in a hospital room. 15 years have passed since his miraculous transformation by the Ghosts of Christmas. Now renowned for his generosity and selflessness, his spirit still yearns to bring cheer to the world, but his flesh is weak. Such a little thing isn’t likely to stop the old man, though, for he has a plan up his sleeve that he hasn’t shared with his two troubled companions – Miss Poole, the nurse assigned to his care, and Tim Cratchit, recently returned from war in America. Over the course of the evening, these two lost souls bear witness to events they do not fully understand as the spirit of Christmas descends on Ebenezer once again.

End Days by Deborah Zoe Laufer
It’s 2003, and sixteen-year-old Rachel Stein is having a bad year. Her father hasn’t changed out of his pajamas since 9/11. Her mother has begun a close, personal relationship with Jesus. Her new neighbor, a sixteen-year-old Elvis impersonator, has fallen for her hard. And the Apocalypse is coming Wednesday. Her only hope is that Stephen Hawking will save them all. Hilariously funny and achingly poignant, End Days takes us on a wonderful journey exploring love, loss and the healing power of family.

Shirley Valentine by Willy Russell
What can you do when you realize that you’ve hit middle age, and your life has been shaped by choices made by everyone except you? The heroine in this actor’s tour-de-force is an ordinary middle class English housewife. As she prepares chips and egg for dinner, she ruminates on her life and tells the wall about her husband, her children, her past, and an invitation from a girlfriend to join her on holiday in Greece to search for romance and adventure. Ultimately, Shirley begins the process of shaping her life into something wonderful. This one-woman play became an instant classic the minute it premiered!

10:53 by Annie Martin *World Premiere*
The worst part of a hospital waiting room is normally the waiting but, in the midst of a prolonged family medical crisis, Kathryn Fuller regards the waiting room as a welcome refuge from her increasingly chaotic life. However, the real world quickly invades her new home away from home, and she’s surrounded with her over-the-top family life, rebellious, love-struck daughter and a mysterious stranger who, oddly, shows up at the same time every night. What happens when the universe decides our lives need a shaking up, whether we like it or not? Will Kathryn get drawn into the ridiculous comedy, drama, and potential romance swirling around her beloved waiting room, or will she burrow deeper into her seclusion from the world?

Tuna Does Vegas
by Joe Sears, Jaston Williams and Ed Howard.
Aral Gribble and Wayne David Parker reunite for the finale of our “Tuna Trilogy” as the lovable and eccentric characters from the ‘third smallest town in Texas’ as they take a rambling romp in Sin City. The hilarity begins when oddball-conservative radio host Arles Struvie announces on air that he and his wife Bertha Bumiller are heading to Vegas to renew their wedding vows…but everyone in Tuna, Texas goes along for the ride! is both an affectionate comment on small-town life as well as a hilarious satire of the same. The eclectic band of citizens that make up this town are portrayed by only two actors, making this send-up on life in rural America even more delightful as they depict all of the inhabitants of Tuna — men, women, Vegas showgirls, Elvis impersonators and more!

A Post of Good Theatre Things!

A quickie post about some Good Theatre Things:

I’m pleased to report that Ernie by Mitch Albom, the show I directed at the City Theatre in Detroit, has been extended again through August 12th!  Ernie, which opened April 28th, is a crowd-pleaser!  I was there this weekend and felt very blessed to sit and watch the sold-out crowd of nearly 400 people love the show from beginning to end.  Very proud of the cast, crew, staff and whole team.

In other Good Theatre Things:
The Williamston Theatre is honored to lead the Wilde Award Nominations this year!

The Wilde Award Nominations have been announced and the Williamston Theatre leads all the Equity theatres in the state of Michigan with a total of 10 nominations!! Our production of The Dead Guy received more nominations than any other production in the state! Here’s a complete listing of the Williamston Theatre’s nominations:

The Dead Guy
Best Comedy (Tony Caselli, Director)
Best Actress – Comedy (Robin Lewis-Betz)
Best Actor – Comedy (Chris Korte)
Best Teamwork (Ian Page, Chris Purchis and Michelle Serje)
Best Lighting Design (Genesis Garza)

Dead Man’s Shoes
Best New Script (Joseph Zettelmaier)
Best Actor – Comedy (Paul Hopper)

And The Creek Don’t Rise
Best New Script (Joseph Zettelmaier)
Best Actress – Comedy (Kate Peckham)

The Usual: A Musical Love Story
Best Set Design (Daniel C. Walker)

The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Detroit on August 21.

 

I’ve been honored to work on some wonderful projects with some wonderful people over the past year, and it still amazes me that I’m lucky enough and blessed enough to do what I do for a living.

In order to attract more of the blessings that life has to offer, you must truly appreciate what you already have.  –  Ralph Marston

Tuesday Miscellaneous

It’s a magical world, Hobbes, ol’ buddy…Let’s go exploring!
-Calvin

Max got 3rd in his diving meet!

AND he was named Diver of the Week by the Chelsea Aquatic Club!

The set is coming together nicely for Red White and Tuna!

This is going to be a ton of fun – don’t miss it: Red, White and Tuna!

Last week and this week have been a blast, as we’re prepping for next season and getting ready for our final show of this season at the same time. Next season includes a couple of world premieres, a collaboration with Michigan State University and a co-production with the Jewish Ensemble Theatre. (It’ll be my first time directing out there, I’m looking forward to that, too – they’re good folks out there, and I love the script!) Here’s a link to our upcoming season, and very soon we’ll have show logos to share too.

Um… this is awesome, and everyone should listen…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZdsozElwJA
Yes, it’s 15 minutes long. Just push play, and then keep working on whatever you were working on…even though it’s SO good you’ll want to keep watching the video! 🙂

Happy Tuesday!

Pic Post Wednesday!

Snapshots of a week full of theatre, family, and fun! It’s been a busy week, not as much journaling as I’d like, but it’s been a good kind of busy, so no complaints… Just pictures!

My son bought me this at a yard-sale. Yes, it’s a Klingon. Yes, it’s also a piggy-bank!
(Fellow nerds: Is this Gowron?)

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“Today is a good day to save!”

This is our closing week of The Understudy at Williamston Theatre. It’s been a pretty terrific experience.

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My kids are Rock Stars!

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Speaking of my kids, Max is laying here next to me, reading, as I write this post on my iPad. Look how cute this kid is!

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Tracking the progression of the set for the upcoming show (mentioned in last weeks Pic Post), here’s a picture of the updated model! Nice changes by the designer, based on discussions of both aesthetic and practical needs. Excited for this show!

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Lastly… This is awesome…

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…and so is this…

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Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Some nice reviews for “The Understudy”!

“A love letter and a workplace comedy” – good review from Encore Michigan!

Lansing City Pulse says “Parker and Caselli crackle with mutual distrust and animosity that slowly morphs into warm respect. Both believe the other to be an inferior actor. Watching them prove otherwise to each other is a treat.” – read the whole review here!

The show is a “hilarious theatrical journey”, according to The Greater Lansing Ubiquitous Theatre Online!

More reviews to come, but the important thing is that audiences seem to be enjoying the show!