Tuesday, November 24, 2009

This week in playwright-er-ing


Earlier this month, I learned that my play, WILLIAM WEATHERSBY, will be given a workshop/reading in Theatre Exile's new X-hibition Series. Brenna Geffers is scheduled to direct. The public reading will be May 3rd, 2010.

I actually completed the current daft of this one long before WHISKY NEAT. So it's a little strange to work on the rewrite. It's like being introduced to myself from five years ago. And, let me tell ya, what a confused little shit this kid is.

At the time, I worried that this play would have a short shelf life. Without being fully able to articulate it, I think I was attempting to tap into a notion that I was sensing in those around me -- a sort of subconscious grieving for the end of the American middle class. I felt that my generation was perhaps the final representatives of this particular tribe, and I wanted to sing a beautiful elegy for us all. Well, unfortunately, for obvious reasons, the play feels even more topical now than when it was written. One thing I'm going to try this time out: not being the cynical bastard I used to be. I'll be looking for possibilities of redemption, both in me and in the play. You have to look in both places to find it in either one.

[LEFT: the Theatre Exile staff. I hear they have impeccable taste in new plays.]
Just for kicks, my three favorite Theatre Exile productions:
1. VALPARAISO (2004)
2. RHINOCEROS (2000)
3. KILLER JOE (2006)

Theatre Exile
1340 S. 13th St.
Philadelphia, PA
www.theatreexile.org

Monday, November 23, 2009

Deadlines in review


[Balloon sculpture by Jason Hackenwerth]

Last week I accepted an assignment to profile Jason Hackenwerth, a pretty well-known artist in the modern art world, for those of you that travel in those circles. I do not. And that's what makes it such a joy to write about. In a certain sense, I feel that every feature should be written from the perspective of the dumbest guy in the room. The writer is our conduit in this strange land, and we want him to ask the questions that we are too polite to utter: Is that thing right-side-up? You'd be surprised at the great quotes that can be launched from something as silly as that. The more sophisticated my questions, usually, the less I get in return. I don't remember that enough when I'm on the other side.

Primarily, Hackenwerth creates massive sculptures out of balloons -- you know, the long, skinny ones used for balloon animals. I've never seen anything like it.
Ran on November 6 in the Philadelphia Metro



The first year I worked for the Metro I wanted to cover street musicians. This was problematic, though, since they usually didn't have specific shows to promote. And without that, the story wasn't time sensitive for my editors. They sat on them forever, and I didn't get paid until it ran. I made sure all my pieces related to specific shows from then on.

One of the first musicians I covered was 20-year-old Anna Christie (yes, real name ). At the time, she was playing her heart shaped melodies in Suburban Station on a regular basis. Well, now she really does have gigs, lots of them, and she's working on her second album with her band, Sisters 3. They grow up so fast! What fun to write about her for the second time. Someday I'm going to find the right venue for the street musician profiles -- would be a blast.
Ran on November 20 in the Philadelphia Metro



I always have a good time interviewing choreographers. They are the kindred spirits of playwrights, I think. Young dancer Scott Park recently created a dance especially for Halloween. It's based on "white lady stories" -- ghost stories involving betrayed women.
Ran on October 30 in the Philadelphia Metro



Wrote a piece on local playwright Seth Bauer last week. He has two plays running at once -- New York and Philly! "Don't wait around for something fancy [big budget production]. Work with whose in the room." Great advice for any playwright, I think.
Ran on November 13 in the Philadelphia Metro



Four more career pieces for Metro: bartenders, IT technicians, social workers and HVACR repair. I love to get into the nitty-gritty of other people's jobs. I don't know why. I've never been particularly good at the nine-to-five myself. I have a feeling I'm a better listener to HVACR repairmen than the wives of HVACR repairmen.
These pieces generally run Mondays in the Boston, New York and Philadelphia Metros

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Week in review


The Leonard Cohen show was moved to the Tower Theatre by Live Nation. Fascists. I was subsequently priced out of tickets. Tried to pull some strings, and discovered that I have no strings. I did, however, come up with a fun way to highlight the big Cohen show in the Metro. I asked local musicians to share their first Cohen experience. I know mine: my father put a cassette of "The Future" into our Pontiac Grand Am on the way to a soccer tournament in Boston. We were driving over the George Washington Bridge into New York City. The music was somehow a seamless match to the landscape. Ran last Wednesday in the Philadelphia Metro




Last week I discovered a little feature on the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program. They created a special bus tour for the deaf with a non-profit called Art-Reach. I had to hold back my own experience as a tour guide to write this one. Keep it positive.






Metro is now behind on my education series. Two weeks ago I gave them one on criminal justice degrees. Tough to write, since a number sources had strong feelings against the degree. Scheduled to run on Monday in Boston, NYC and Philly Metros





Finally, last week I did a piece on digital video production. Here's what I learned: you don't need a degree in digital video production to work in digital video production. Scheduled to run on Nov. 9 in Boston, NYC and Philly Metros

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Week in review

Began the week in a complete panic. My editor called first thing Monday: "Ahh... there's two women from Philadelphia Stories waiting for you in a Center City Starbucks." Add this to the pile of journalistic wisdom: On Sunday night, just before you tuck in, take a peak at your date book. You might have to interview somebody in a Center City Starbucks first thing Monday.

Deepest apologies to publisher/editors Christine Weiser and Carla Spataro, who were more than understanding. Philadelphia Stories is a free non-profit literary journal. Neither editor takes any salary from the publication. I couldn't believe it. It was fun to do a top five list of novels with them. I've got to read Middlesex. Showed up on both of their lists. Scheduled to run today in the Philadelphia Metro


Felt more comfortable with my education piece this week. Fun career to highlight: massage therapy. Philly masseuse, Matt Beck, offered some amazing quotes. Most of them totally unusable. According to the Board of Labor Statistics, massage therapists make 15 - 20% of their income in tips. My imagination is running wild. Scheduled to run Monday in the Boston, NYC and Philly Metros



Did another in the education series last week -- accountants. Well, they weren't as interesting as the massage therapists. Let me put it that way. Ran on Monday in the Boston, NYC and Philly Metros

Friday, September 25, 2009

Week in review


["Anthropocene" by Clark Gibson.]

It was hard to see my teensy-weensy pieces in the paper this week. I'm struggling to work in Metro's new format. Every smudge of newsprint by a freelancer represents a long chain of efforts: contacting the subject, scheduling, interviewing, researching, getting images, fact checking, writing... it can be frustrating to see it all boiled down in this way. On the other hand, I do like creating little pull boxes of information. Plenty of opportunities for that. I'm trying to embrace it as best I can.

On Wednesday I had a great visit with abstract painter Clark Gibson. I needed that. It reminded me what I love about this work. Many days I get to delve into the lives of rare people -- artists that have paid a price for who they are. Often their work has fused with their life, creating a voice profoundly their own. It's never the same story. I was proud of the piece. I hope it runs mostly intact.
Scheduled to run in the Philadelphia Metro on 10/2


Started the week talking to Gina Renzi about the Rotunda's 10th birthday. She's the lone employee of the beautiful venue, which had a former life as a Christian Science church... Saw some great shows there over the years. Seeing the Rock-A-Teens with maybe a dozen people on a rainy night in 2000 sticks out for me.
Ran today in the Philadelphia Metro
Click here for article



Finished another in a series of education pieces. This week: How to become a plumber! I disobeyed a direct order to make a Joe-the-plumber reference -- hope they forgot about that idea. I'm praying I never have to do a piece like this on freelance writing. There are no answers.
Scheduled to run Monday in the Boston, NYC and Philly Metros
Click here for article

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Week in review



Had a fun phone interview with famed New York jazz singer Jane Monheit on Monday. She loves Howard Stern. Who knew?
This piece ran today in Metro's fall arts preview
Click here for article





Finally completed the second in a series of education pieces yesterday. This week it was medical assistants and technicians. Anybody need to know anything about becoming a CMA, CNA or EMT? I feel like an expert. I found myself inspired by Michael J. Reilly, a practicing and teaching EMT in NYC. He's made his life's work about helping people in the toughest of circumstances. His comments on the failures of our health care system -- and seeing it everyday in life and death situations -- are something I'm still thinking about... Hope they run your quotes and photo, Michael.
This piece is scheduled to run on Monday in the Boston, NYC and Philly Metro
Click here for article

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Week in review/preview


Had an interview bright and early today -- okay, 10:30 a.m. -- at the Arden Theatre Co. with local acting legend, Frank X. He's playing Hector in the Arden's upcoming production of Alan Bennett's "History Boys."

I saw X in "Ghosts" at the Lantern back when I was a freshman at Temple -- way back. It was one of my first weeks in the big city, and I had such a powerful reaction to the play -- both Ibsen and X. It's a production I remember like yesterday. This is the second time I've interviewed X. I was nervous both times.
This feature is scheduled to run in the Metro's Fall Arts Perview on Sep 17
Click here for article


Looking forward to tomorrow's interview with dancer/choreographer Jumatatu Poe. He wants to meet at 11 a.m. What's up with all of these early rising artists?

I love writing about dancers. I find myself so thoroughly cleansed of cynicism when I sit in a dance rehearsal. I have found no other place with such unabashed generosity.
This feature will run in Metro's Fall Arts Preview on Sep 17
Click here for article



Started the week working on a new series of pieces for Metro's Education Guide. Every week I'm set to profile a different trade degree. This week: Hotel/Restaurant Management. It was tough going at first, as it is with any new beat, but Heather Flemke and Kamila Piszczek from the Restaraunt School were kind enough to point me in the right direction.

I think this assignment may be part of my karma for being the worst waiter in Philadelphia history. (Seriously, ask anybody at Davio's.)

My assignment for next week: Medical/Nursing Asst, Nurse Aide/Tech.

First question: what is a medical/nursing asst, nurse aide/tech?
These pieces are set to run on Thursdays, I think

Inspiration!


This is fast becoming one of my favorite books of all time. I hope one day to work for the Uncle John's Bathroom Reader team. They really know how to PUNCH! a sentence.

Through Uncle John Corp, I've finally realized the kind of baseball story I'd love to write. I don't want to write about the game or the pennant chase -- borrrrring. I feel drawn to more practical stuff, like a piece on how not to swallow your chewing tobacco during a headfirst slide. Hell, I could give ya 16,000 words on pine tar alone. Any editors out there? Tell me that doesn't sound like amazing copy.


My favorite novels if they were a baseball lineup:

1. Wildlife by Richard Ford, CF
2. The Crazy Hunter by Kay Boyle , SS
3. The Road, 3B
4. Moby Dick, RF
5. Lady Chatterley's Lover, 1B
6. Affliction by Russell Banks, C
7. Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Takes a Swing at Baseball, LF
8. Catcher in the Rye, 2B
9. Rubican Beach by Steve Erickson, P

No designated hitter in my lineup! The DH is a moral crime against humanity.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

The week in review


I started the week getting down to business with Philadelphia Live Arts Festival Producing Director, Nick Stuccio. I met him at the fest's new digs in Northern Liberties, and I was thankful that he was so candid about the not-so-pretty side of the non-profit arts world -- fund raising. Would he take money from Haliburton?...
As I was leaving, photographer extraordinaire, Chris Gabello, was setting up for a portrait, so the article will have a great photo at least. I found myself already pining for the days of Metro's recently axed Art's and Culture section, when Chris and I worked together on these pieces weekly.
This article is scheduled to be the cover of Philadelphia Metro's entertainment section on Thursday, Sep 3.
Click here for article.


Today I did a fun Q&A with actor/creator/performer Geoff Sobelle about his latest creation with Pig Iron Theatre Co.. Geoff is always a hilarious interview, and I hope he doesn't mind my including some of his sass-talk in the piece.
This is scheduled to run in Metro's entertainment section sometime next week, I think.
Click here for article





Upon my editor's request, tomorrow I have a phone interview with local "Top Chef" contestant, Jennifer Carroll -- a conference call with about eight lawyers, so she doesn't give away the show's ending. I hope they carry "Top Chef" on Hulu, never seen it.
I think this will run Wednesday, Sep 9, somewhere in the Metro -- news or entertainment.
Click here for article.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Final Week (this week)


[Luigi Sottile and Elena Bossler in WHISKY NEAT]

I sat in a room tonight where seventy people sang together. All is not lost, dear reader. Thieves broke in and stole the amplifiers – in this building that I go to on Sunday nights. The musicians stood at the front, cried out as best they could, and eventually we joined them with our untrained voices to amplify the music. In a sort of selfish way, I suppose, I could not help but think of WHISKY NEAT, and its temporary home on 7th and Spring Garden Street.


As a younger man, I had a notion that I would feel a greater sense of wholeness at this moment, as my work is being presented with this level of professionalism and visibility. I did not, however, anticipate the pain in being so exposed – to have one’s heart lay in state before a gathering of curious onlookers six nights a week. But as I sit here now, it is my feeling that this heartache reveals a deeper reason to share the work with you, dear reader.

It is not easy for any of us to reveal ourselves -- to cry out as best we can, and in so doing further disclose our imperfections and weaknesses. Especially when there are brutal forces and people everywhere – yes, even in this, my beloved city of Philadelphia. We live in tough neighborhoods, all of us, even those of you that don’t. You put your hood up on the walk back from the el, look straight ahead and reveal no emotion, no weakness. Or you keep your little notebook hidden, as I do, from your workmates. Or maybe you keep secret that movie that made you cry, knowing that others will think less of you. Or maybe you simply mention it in a way that lets others know you are above it.


There is a part of me that doesn’t want you to come to this play in this final week – that wants to lock the doors, and keep my little vision to myself, perfect and untouched. But I am not choosing that tonight. I know you know these characters as well as I do. Who better to share it with? I know, like me, you have been on both sides of brutality. And because of brutality, like me, you feel a painful separation at times from those around you.

In this very imperfect play there are five very imperfect characters. They live in a heightened brutality, yes, but unfortunately it is not entirely alien to any of us. Each of them are victims and perpetrators in their own ways. As we all are. And yet, incredibly, they each hold out hope for a genuine intimacy – to one day look into the eyes of another without being above or below. That is my prayer for us too, dear reader. That prayer may seem almost completely drowned out by the staggering power of brutality, but we can amplify it. I have heard us sing together.

FINAL PERFORMANCES:
Wednesday, Apr. 22, 8 p.m.
Thursday, Apr. 23, 8 p.m.
Friday, Apr. 24, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Apr. 25, 2 p.m.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

The Run


Luigi Sottile (left) and Nathon Emmons in the opening scene of WHISKY NEAT.


I have been instructed by late night public television to write five things I am grateful for each day.

FIVE SMALL DETAILS THAT DELIGHT ME ABOUT THE RUN OF WHISKY NEAT

1. The way Luigi (as Handsome) and Elena (as Alex) share a laugh after Alex says, "You're full of shit."

2. That moment when the lights go down just before the show. For a moment a loose myself in a wonderful way: what will the lights come up on? "Guys and Dolls?" "Endgame?" What will be revealed by the coming light?

3. Being anonymous: Audiences who don't know I'm associated with the play in any way.

4. The conversation about the play and writing that I had after a visit to a lecture class at Temple U. The student had seen the play and related. It made her feel like more of who she was.

5. People who order whisky after the show (or whiskey).

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Tech and Final Rehearsal

THINGS I WROTE INTO THE SCRIPT THAT APPARENTLY MAKE LIFE DIFFICULT FOR DESIGNERS

1. Tuxedo
2. Kicking shit out of guy
3. Spitting on floor
4. Ceiling
5. Sex
6. Stabbing guy
7. Weird stuff
8. Red wine
9. Cowboy hat
10. Stabbing guy second time


Nearly completed installation set for WHISKY NEAT at the Latvian Society. Design by Simon Harding. Mar. 29, 2009

Left to right: Terry Smith (production manager), Paul Moffit (Lighting Designer) and Mikaal Sulaiman (Sound Design) at a technical rehearsal for WHISKY NEAT at the Latvian Society.

You know shit is getting intense when actors start stretching like this before runs. Actor Brian Cowden stretching before a rehearsal run of WHISKY NEAT at the Latvian Society.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Rehearsal # 11 & 12

Goodbye to the 1812 rehearsal space! Later suckas. We're moving into the Latvian Society! And they do traditional Latvian dances and serve us rich coffee while they build our set. Pete: I'm sorry I locked the bathroom key in the bathroom. Okay? Happy now?

It's strange the lines that actors enjoy. They're never the ones you expect.

BEST LINES IN WHISKY NEAT ACCORDING TO CAST AND CREW:

Brian Cowden: "Smell it."
Elena Bossler: "I think Tommy and Terry might be machines."
Luigi Sottile: "Smell it."
Bruce Walsh: (A beat.)
Kevin Glaccum: "Dave."
Keith Conallen: "Smell it."
Nathan Emmons: "Chicken ass."
Lindsay Galbraith: undecided


Keith Conallen at a rehearsal on March 21. He drinks his coffee with a spoon to make the scene better. Love that guy.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Rehearsals # 8, 9 & 10

I'm becoming less and less useful. My idea to use actual whisky fell on deaf ears. Bean counters. But I did get to change a few lines because they can't actually smoke in this "Latvian Society." And then I made a few script changes in which I just put "quotes" around a few "phrases" just to keep busy. When I gave the the pages to the actors, I said, say it like "this." They just stared at me blankly.

But I do find this "fight call" concept totally fascinating. Like: "let's practice beating the crap out of each other, so we don't actually beat the crap out of each other." I love it! And boy do I hope they're "acting," because if not Brian Cowden is sure getting his ass handed to him every night. And if that were the case, I would feel a new sense of guilt for having scripted a "ball grab."


Throw Down Part I: Brian Cowden gets socked one by Nathan Emmons during fight call... Don't worry. It's make believe. I think.

Throw Down Part II: Cowden begs Emmons to stop. Sometimes I want to scream at them to stop. Then the director reminds me that theater is pretend.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

WHISKY NEAT: Interview Part II


My friend Brendan Huffman was nice enough to take my picture in front of the SEPTA add for my play. He told me I had to smile or he would sock me one.

THE SECOND QUESTION FROM A CURIOUS TEMPLE U. STUDENT
(I went back and added some stuff to my answers. I always think of just the thing to say afterwords.)

2. What inspired you to write this play? Did you change DASEIN's
story line at all for WHISKY NEAT?

I'm not sure I know what inspiration is -- at least not as far as writing is concerned. My plays are just these very powerful daydreams. Not sure how to explain... There are times I become aware that I am daydreaming of something very specific: a world that seems as real -- more real even -- than this one. It's more of a choice to further explore that world or try to shut it out. I've never had much success at shutting it out completely. There are some I have the courage or misfortune or obsessiveness or luck or stupidity to follow. And some I don't for some reason. I've never figured out why. These dreams, of course, contain many elements from my everyday life, just as any normal dream tends to have these elements. For instance, I worked as a parking valet at maybe half-a-dozen restaurants around Philly, so that is a central element to the play. For some reason the dream that began as DASEIN never left me. I don't know why. Perhaps because it was pretty much my first experiment with real narrative. My plays before that point -- before I was 24 or so -- were these sort of strange experiments with rhythmic language. Almost every line of WHISKY NEAT is completely different than DASEIN, and it's more than double in length. It's the same characters though. The through line is the same in the sense that the same big dramatic event occurs. (I don't want to give anything away by mentioning what that is.) But DASEIN was closer to a short story in structure. It really just had one dramatic movement: a big bang happens and we watch how the characters deal with that. In a full-length drama there needs to be -- for me at least -- a kind of ricochet effect. There are a chain of events -- an arch rather than a snapshot.


Elena Bossler didn't truly get started with us until March 14, the day this little clip was taken. Notice that on her first day of rehearsal she sort of casually throws the script on the table, and continues word perfect. In this little moment her character, Alex, is talking to Handsome (Luigi Sottile) about her BMW. I was actually attempting to take a still photo, but had the wrong setting on the camera.

Friday, March 20, 2009

INTERVIEW Part I

The other day I got this really cool message from a Temple student. I think she was writing an article for the school paper. She asked me questions about my play, and I had a great time answering them, though now I think I may have freaked her out with my insane theater-nuts passion or something because she never got back to me. Anyway, here's the first question. It took me back to college days, and I wound up digging out some artifacts from 2002!

Hi Mr. Walsh,
Thank you so much for getting back to me. If you could answer these questions by this Thursday or Friday that would be fantastic. You can just send them to this same e-mail.
Thanks again!

1. I see that Whisky Neat originally premiered as Das Ein at the 2002 Philadelphia Fringe Festival. What can you tell me about its reception by the audiences?

Actually, the play was titled "Dasein" -- one of Martin Heidegger's philosophy terms. I have no idea why I titled it that. Azuka spelled it "Das Ein" in their marketing materials. I have no idea why they spelled it that way. It's all very mysterious to me. The Fringe show wasn't much of a premiere. It was a 40-min one-act with 3 performances. At that time, I hadn't figured out how to write anything without the pressure of a physical performance planned for a specific date. I asked my friend from college (Dan Kutner, a Temple guy now in New York) if he would direct a play by me. I told him I was working on it, but I really didn't start until after I asked him. I knew the guys that ran the space from a previous show, so they agreed to deduct their money from the tickets. I think I paid the actors -- also my college friends -- $80 a piece for the whole thing. We had no set. We used the door to the theater as an entrance in the play. It was all very ridiculous actually, because there was supposed to be a television in the play, but we had no way of cueing something like that, so people just sort of mysteriously pointed the remote toward stage right. I guess it went over well enough. Fringe audiences -- God bless em -- tend to put up with a lot. The language and the actors had a certain energy that can be entertaining in a small space. Dan did a great job keeping it moving, so you didn't really have a lot of time to start wondering what the hell was going on. I nearly puked the first night -- the first and last night I actually sat with an audience at one of my plays. It was the first time the actors had done the piece in front of people. The lights didn't work. My dad was there. The toilet broke in the men's room. It was horrific. But by the third one, I think people were genuinely laughing and having a good time with it. But "Dasein," for me, was really just the seed of an idea for "Whisky Neat."


Director Daniel Kutner (seen here living it up as a professional director in New York City) believed in my one-act, even though I hadn't written anything yet. He also didn't read into the fact that I had to take an incomplete in Theater 110 our freshman year. I owe you one, Dan.


All this talk about 2002 got me digging through my filing cabinet. I never did find an explanation as to the play's title. But I did discover the original listing in the Fringe guide.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Rehearsal #7

Alright, so I wasn't actually at "Rehearsal #7." But I did do a fair amount of fretting about the play while at work. That's pretty much all I do at rehearsal anyway, so I figure everybody's happy. So here, then, is a top ten I thought up at work, while waiting on images from the Museum of Art. (The Cezanne thing looks cool. You should totally go.)

REASONS WHY PLAYWRITING IS A LONELY BUSINESS

1. Typing works fingers not abs
2. People always approaching you with “totally awesome” ideas for plays
3. Talk backs
4. Audiences always ask for more “sass-walk” at talk backs
5. Theater industry peaked in 1895... in Russia
6. Kinko's customer service has gone down hill
7. Sometimes co-workers refer to you as “Playwright-er”
8. People hate theater
9. Lavish lifestyle can isolate one from peers
10.No event category for plays on Myspace


This is me fretting at a rehearsal on March 14. It looks pretty much the same at work.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Rehearsals # 3, 4 & 5

Please forgive me for a bit of self-pitying. There is a moment when you realize your play is in the hands of another. And I've been with this babe (I call the play babe sometimes) for over two years. So these days after rehearsal, I put on Tom Waits and cry in my Makers: "My baby's gone!" There really isn't a lot of reason for me to be at rehearsal to tell you the truth. There just isn't much left for me to do.

But I like the guy she's with now. He has a generous laugh and he responds to her finicky moods with sensitivity. He yells at actors when they are rough with her music.

Here he is:

Director Kevin Glaccum reluctantly allows me to take his picture at a rehearsal for WHISKY NEAT on March 16.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Rehearsal #2

REASONS WHY I THINK LUIGI SOTTILE IS A GREAT ACTOR:

1. Doesn't need real scotch to wince like he's drinking scotch
2. Brings his own pen
3. Willing to take off pants on second day of rehearsal
4. Not drunk
5. Doesn't need real mirror to look in mirror
6. Chose this play over HAMLET
7. Can recite entire "Abe Froman" scene from FERRIS BEULLER'S DAY OFF
8. Good hair
9. Sass-walk
10. Doesn't ask to use bathroom often during rehearsal


Sottile, left, seen here gracefully receiving direction from Kevin Glaccum during a rehearsal on March 12.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Rehearsal #1


First rehearsal, 3/10/09.
Left to right:
Bossler: Alex
Conallen: Terry
Walsh: Sick crazy happy writer
Sottile: Handsome
Cowden: Tim
Emmons: Not pictured [late (traffic)]
Glaccum: Not pictured (too cool)
Galbraith: Not pictured (calling Emmons)


Things I notice that make Equity theater different from Fringe:
1. Coffee is provided
2. It's not anybody's living room
3. There are lots of pens and markers provided
4. Copies of script are free
5. Director's pants are nice
6. Script has ending
7. Director asks me what stuff means
8. Music stands
9. Sound designer is not me
10. None of the actors deal weed "on the side"