These DRINKING HABITS Aren't a Sin

So, in three days this wonderful and hilarious little show I've been directing finally opens. The show's called Drinking Habits and it revolves around the nuns at the Sisters of Perpetual Sewing, a small convent in Shady Glenn, Anywhere, USA. The Mother Superior of the convent is a very strict teetotaler who won't even allow anyone to mention a name associated with alcohol. However, unbeknownst to her, the two other sisters in the convent have been keeping the doors of their convent open by bootlegging wine on the side and selling it to the locals.  A possible early frost threatens their harvest.  Meanwhile, someone submitted one of the bottles of wine into a major competition where is won a huge sum on money. The only problem is no one knows for sure who made it. A couple of reporters suspect it's the nuns and they show up to investigate, but get mistaken for a nun and visiting priest. Through in a priest who used to do magic tricks, a simple groundskeeper, and another nun who holds a secret and you've got a show full of hilarity and hijinks. If you happen to be in the Highland, IL area this weekend or next, you should stop by and check it out.

Striking the Set: TEN LITTLE INDIANS Blog 10

It'll be two weeks ago this Sunday that we struck the set of Ten Little Indians. It takes so long to build and paint a set; the number of manhours involved is enough time to be working a full-time 40+ hours job for a couple of weeks. Then, when the show is all over in a matter of a few hours everything is gone and the stage is left bare.

I like set strikes more than set builds. However, it's because I feel more helpful at tearing a set down than I do building it. At the same time, set strikes are usually bittersweet moments. For several weeks, sometimes a few months you have been working with a group of people on a production. You've all been working toward the same goal of putting on a great show (outside of the plot for The Producers, I've never heard of anyone trying to put on a bad show; even those places that do really bad theatre consistently try to put on the best possible performances they can give). When strike arrives, you know that the little company you've been a part of, that has been a family away from your family, is breaking up for good. You know things are over when the final curtain falls, but it's not until when the set is struck that things can really sink in. The fellowship is broken forever by that point and even if you were all to meet again and do the same production at the same place, it wouldn't be the same.

The sweetness part of a set strike is the realization that you're actually going to have a little free time now, that you can spend some time with your family and friends, and catching up on the things you've been neglecting the past couple weeks (or in the director's case months). It's nice to not have to be in an anxious and frenetic state of apprehension and excitement. But, sooner or later you hear the siren's lull again and the process starts anew. It's a different cast and crew; faces old and new; new memories to be made and old skills to use and strengthen.

Ten Little Indians was a fine little show. I was privileged to have a great cast. Some of my cast were theatre veterans and a couple had never acted in a production before. Each of them had to stretch and grow and reach new boundaries. They did a wonderful job and I'm proud of all of them. I know that some of them I will probably work with again while there are others I might never see again except perhaps in passing. That saddens me a little because though I'm an introverted extrovert, I really do enjoy people and it saddens me when I meet someone and get to know them and become friends with them, but then have to say farewell. No matter how big I try to make my tent, I can't keep up with everyone (not even with Facebook).

The stage is dark now, the seats are empty, and the theatre is cold. The experience was a good one for me. I was incredibly stressed at times (partially because of the show, but mainly because of things happening outside the production) and I had to not be as sociable after rehearsals as I would have liked (when you have to get up at 6:00am every morning and drive at least 45 minutes to work by yourself, staying up to 1,2, or sometimes 3 in the morning is just not an option). I probably made everyone mad at some point. However, I think overall everyone had a good time and the final product turned out great. I don't know when or where, but someday I'll direct again.

Director's Notes: TEN LITTLE INDIANS Blog 9

For those of you who weren't able to see the show, below are my director's notes that appeared in the program.
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“Good evening.” That’s such a pleasant greeting. Yet, that greeting is forever attached in my mind to a rather large and rotund British man: Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock used that phrase regularly at the beginning of his tv series to greet the audience. It’s such a pleasant phrase, yet when spoken by Hitchcock that greeting took on an eerie and almost supernatural aura of suspense. That’s why it’s the perfect phrase to welcome you to Hard Road Theatre’s production of Ten Little Indians.

Though we’ve updated the setting, Ten Little Indians is a play written by another Brit: Agatha Christie. Christie adapted the play from her novel of the same name. Originally published under a very un-politically correct title, the novel is one of Christie’s best known novels and the play is one her most performed plays. Both works are now usually published under the title of And Then There Were None.

Though murder mysteries have become fairly common, as far as I know Christie’s novel is the first of its kind. It’s the first story where a group of unrelated people who have never met are invited to spend a weekend together in a somewhat exotic locale by a mysterious host none of them have met, but the host turns out to be a killer who murders each of them off one by one and in a twist, the host…well, I don’t want to give too much away now, do I.

I hope you thoroughly enjoy tonight’s performance. The cast is a great mix. Some have never acted on stage before while others are hardcore theatre veterans. They’ve been lots of fun to work with and almost every night I reveled in seeing them discover and reveal different nuances of their characters. I’ve enjoyed working with each and every one of them and thank them for all their work and for making this experience such a positive one. I would enjoy working with all of them again.

It takes a tremendous amount of time and effort to put together a show. It takes more than just actors and directors to make a show work. A theatre production needs people to design and help build sets, gather props, find and create costumes, set-up and run the sound and lights, stage help to set and remove props, businesses and individuals to donate money, etc. If you have any interest at all in being involved in a future Hard Road production in any way, please let us know. We would love to meet you and help get you involved! Talk to one of us after the show, sign the registration book, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

So, sit back, but don’t get too comfy. This is a murder mystery, after all. But, do have a “good evening."

Opening Night: TEN LITTLE INDIANS Blog 8

Tomorrow night, the show opens. I'm excited and a little nervous. I'm not on stage, but my cast will be. I know they'll do fine, but for whatever reason, I've got those pre-opening night jitters. There's still some stuff to do. It'll get done, but nevertheless I still find myself thinking of several things at once. I've grown more absent minded in the past few weeks. A play production in and of itself is more than enough stress for a person to have at a particular time. However, there's a lot of other things going on that have increased my stress several times over: lack of money, vehicle problems, troubles at work, and the approaching anniversary of my Dad's sudden death two years ago. All of this compounded with the problems associated with directing a local theatre production in the final weeks has aged my old soul even more. Yet, I'm excited. A theatre production is a strange cocktail composed about half nervous apprehension and half pure exhilaration. I've had enough of the nervous apprehension and am looking forward to the pure exhilaration. So, if you're in or around Highland, IL this or next weekend, come on out and stop by and see TEN LITTLE INDIANS. You won't regret it.

Fading Away: TEN LITTLE INDIANS Blog 7

I mentioned in a previous post that I've been telling my cast for a little over a week that, "I must decrease and you must increase." That's really my function and role now.

Ten Little Indians opens this Friday. Hopefully, it'll be a big crowd. I began working on this show back in February. I read the script over and over and over. I talked to people about helping out with the show. I talked-up and promoted auditions. This summer I was busy gathering together the pre-show music. Up to this point, I've done all I can to make this a great show. However, things are just about out of my hands now.

When the curtain opens for the first time on Friday, it won't be me on stage. It'll be the actors I've been working with for the past 7 weeks. The show is their show at this point; I'm just some guy's name in the program. In the final days leading up to opening night, there's only so much I can do. The set is built. The crew is gathered. At this point, I'm more of a custodian than anything else. That's not to say my job is done, because it isn't. Yet, most of the job is and after Wednesday it will be completely out of my hands. I must decrease and they must increase and as a director of a theatre production, you must be comfortable with that. Some directors can't handle that; they micromanage things even after a show has opened. That's no good because all it does it create unnecessary tension. As a director, you have to have faith in your cast and trust your crew. By the time the show opens, you have to fade away-though you still might be needed, your job is done.

The Joy of Directing: TEN LITTLE INDIANS Blog 6

For me, as a director, one of the greatest joys is watching someone who has never acted before and see them evolve before your eyes over the course of a few weeks from a complete novice into the character in the play. Someone who has never acted before often begins with a characterization of what they think they should be doing; it's as though "acting" in their mind is completely removed from reality. It's true that the "acting" we see on tv, movies, and often on stage is lifeless and nothing more than cardboard characterization. However, real acting and theatre aren't like that. This can be a difficult concept for someone who has never acted before to understand. Yet, as a director, if you are patient, even the most untrained person can appear as a seasoned veteran. It doesn't always happen, but when it does it's an amazing thing to behold.

I've seen it happen in Ten Little Indians. There are two people in the show who have never been on stage before. They have grown leaps and bounds since I first saw them on stage 6 1/2 weeks ago during auditions. I'm very proud of them.

I'm proud of the whole cast, actually. The cast is an eclectic group with a huge variety of personalities. There have been some struggles, but they are starting to find their groove. I've been telling them for over a week that "I must decrease and you must increase." They are. When showtime comes, I'll be there, but it's not really my show. It's their show.

Set Builds: TEN LITTLE INDIANS Blog 5

Two Saturdays ago was the main day of set building for the show. I hate set builds. I'm not a very mechanically inclined person. I can use tools, but I can't build anything; I need someone to tell me where and what they want me to cut or drill. I was lucky enough to have a set designer/technical adviser for the show. Unfortunately, that person had to leave before noon which ultimately left me in charge. When your the director of the show, there are thousands of questions people ask of you during the process. At set build, the number of questions intensifies. You try to keep people busy and involved while they are there, but the work never seems to get done and before you know it the day is done and most everyone has left.

I've been lucky in the shows I've been in charge of so far, because the sets have been kept fairly simple. Yet, on the set build day that doesn't seem to matter. Things always become more complicated than they need to be and the straight-forward plan you started with gets bogged down in the slime of reality. It's even more frustrated when your set designer isn't there and even though you're an incompetent Doozer (that's a Fraggle Rock reference), everyone still looks to you for answers. I hate set builds.

Week #1: TEN LITTLE INDIANS Blog 4

Well, the first week of rehearsals went alright. For the first few weeks, we are only having three rehearsals a night. It's difficult to start out having more rehearsals than that unless you are working with a cast of seasoned actors; they understand the sacrifices involved and often embrace them. However, when you have a cast that includes people who have never done a show before, it seems to me it works best to start slowly and build from there.

The read-through this week went really well. It took longer for me to read through the script than I had anticipated, but beyond that it was good. The first actually rehearsal went well, too. We went through Act I twice and the second time went much better than the first. The second rehearsal of the week wasn't quite as good. We went through Act II twice, but about halfway through Act II all energy evaporated from the actors and things just started falling apart all over the place. I'm not worried, yet. The next time we run through Act II, if things haven't improved, then I'll start to worry.

Much of directing is just finding the right people and then slowly pushing them along in the direction they should go. The really exciting part is when people respond to that direction and then start developing their characters on their own and doing things completely unexpected, yet in character.

Rehearsals begin again tonight; it's week 2. I'm hoping it'll go even better than week 1.

Casting: TEN LITTLE INDIANS Blog 3

Well, last Monday and Tuesday were auditions. They went extremely well. There are only 11 roles in the play and 21 people came out. Everyone that came out and auditioned gave a great audition. There were a few roles that cast themselves and there were a few others that took me a lot of thought about: different variations, weighing the different possibilities, chemistry between actors, physical/age similarity, etc. Overall, it was a great audition.

I'm very pleased with the cast. It's a mixed group of people completely new to the stage and stage veterans as well as new people to the group and people who have worked and acted with us before. I think it's a fine balance. I'm looking forward to working with each of these people and seeing how things will come together.

Our read-through is tomorrow evening and the first rehearsal is the night after that. Things will begin somewhat slow, but the pace will quicken soon: only 6 weeks to showtime!

Casting: TEN LITTLE INDIANS Blog 2

Tomorrow night is the first night of auditions for the play I'm directing, Ten Little Indians. I'm very excited and a little nervous. Directing takes a huge amount of time and effort. However, no matter what anyone else might say, the most difficult part of directing and one of the most important parts is casting. Once you've cast your show, you've done about 60% of your job. If you cast the right people, nothing else will matter because with the right cast they will work together as a cohesive unit and be able to deliver a fine production no matter what the circumstances. It would be great if everyone likes each other and gets along, but I've been involved in shows where the leads hated each other in real life, but on stage they were magnificent together. However, if you cast the wrong people, you've got tons of problems you never expected. A person who just isn't right in a role is something that even a person who has never seen a play before can recognize. Then again the best actors can fit in almost any role no matter how large or small. Casting is huge.

Two years ago when I first directed I was worried that not enough people would even show up to auditions to be able to cast the show. For that show, 12 Angry Men, there were almost triple the number of people I needed who showed up. I'm not quite as concerned this time around because I think the people will come. Yet, there's still this little doubt I have that maybe there won't be enough people. You just can't be too sure. Here's hoping plenty of auditionees show up.

Prepping to Direct a Play: TEN LITTLE INDIANS Blog 1

I'm directing a play this fall: Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians. I tried to get a filmmaker I know to film the next seven weeks to make a documentary because the process of putting together a play and seeing it through the end is fascinating. I didn't feel comfortable doing it myself because I'm too close to everything to make it an honest piece. There's all kinds of drama and comedy and lots of pathos. The possible filming didn't occur, but a friend suggest that I blog about the experience of directing the show. I thought that was a good idea.

So, here I am, less than one week away from auditions for the show. I can't put into words how excited I am. I've directed one show (12 Angry Men) and produced (Harvey) another. Both were huge critical successes, but only the one I produced was a financial success. I've been involved in theatre on a consistent basis for over twenty-years and those two shows are among my proudest accomplishments. Though done through a local non-profit amateur troupe, they were on par with any professional production I've ever seen. I hope we are able to produce another high-quality production in this latest attempt.

My directorial debut two years ago was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I've worked at a lot of different jobs in my life and I've been blessed with some very unique talents. I'm a good writer and a great actor, but I've always wanted to direct, too. Two years ago I got my shot and it was the most natural thing in the world. Yet, that whole experience is forever marred in tragedy for me by the sudden and unexpected death of my father on opening night. I am hoping that I can finally put the bulk of the tragedy behind me by directing this show. It's something I need so that I can continue to move on and eventually pursue my dreams and goals in a place where there's more opportunity.

I'm taking a little different approach to the show than usual. For starters, I'm giving it a modern setting and taking it out of England and putting it in the good old U.S. of A. Perhaps more about that in another post. I'm almost done Americanizing and updating the script. Script-wise, about all I need to do is pick the scenes for people to perform at auditions. The scripts are here, the stage is reserved, and I've sent out the audition notice press release. Yet, I keep thinking there's something I've forgotten. If I have, I hope I remember soon because Monday night will be here before I know it.