And that's a wrap.

After six weeks of rehearsals and two well-received performances Crimes of the Heart has wrapped production.  As with the close of all shows, I'm left feeling bitter/sweet. CotH was great to work on (which you'll know if you've already read my last gushy post).  Even so, putting a show together is a burden even in the best of times.  So while I miss the people and the sense of satisfaction theatre gives me, it's nice to have some free nights.  My DVR isn't going to clear itself off.  Still, the end of this play had more significance than I realized.  As Hilary and I were walking home after the set strike she said something along the lines of "It's sad because this is the end of an era." It was the end of an era.  I was just so consumed with bringing the show together that I never had the chance to think of that.  She was absolutely right... 

I started directing for the college back in the fall of 2009.  For my first show I wanted something small and simple.  I wasn't sure what kind of turnout I'd get for auditions, though I knew I'd be low on men.  George Batson's House on the Cliff was exactly what I was looking for.  The script was fun and surprising, there was just one setting and only six characters (2 guys, 4 girls).  After an extra audition and a fateful 11th-hour cast change (Thanks Michael) I ended up with Eric, Rachel, Carly, Michael, Alice and Amy P. plus Hilary and Kara in the tech booth (a tradition that would continue through all of my college plays and even some of my Valley Theatre shows).  I've certainly done better shows in my life, but nothing will ever be able to kick House on the Cliff out of my heart.  I loved it and would do it again in a heartbeat.  The final cast was great. The show was cool and original.  It was a success.  I loved that set.

For spring of 2010 I took on Rachel as a student director and eventually settled on Jake's Women.  HotC was retro and classic, so I wanted something modern and unique for my spring endeavor.  I've always been a fan of Neil Simon, so when we stumbled on this lesser-known gem, I was hooked.  Jake's women was trippy and unlike anything I've ever done.  The cast was made up of 7 women and one guy.  The Jake character is the driving force of the show.  He never leaves the stage (except for a quick potty break).  A role like that requires a very strong actor.  It was a gamble.  I'm just going to go ahead and say it:  Eric shocked me.  It never crossed my mind that he could pull out a performance like that.  But he did, and the show was great.  In fact I was convinced I could never top it, and I was okay with that, because it was that good.  Carly and and Amy P. came along for the ride as Jake's therapist and sister, respectively, plus a new gaggle of talented actresses.  The DVD of this show is good (again, thanks Michael), but I would love to see this live one more time. 

That brings us to fall of 2010.  I wanted to work on a classic cops-&-robbers type.  HotC had mystery elements, but it's a thriller at heart.  I wanted something a little more straight-forward.  Somehow I stumbled on Dragnet, a forgotten stage adaptation of Jack Webb's classic radio & TV show.  Dragnet was an old-school favorite of mine from Nick-at-Night.  Its quirky pacing and setup really puts it in its own genre.  This involved a cast of 10 (5 & 5).  Unlike the previous shows this had the action divided between the Hamlin residence and the Police Station.  Rather than having big scene changes I made the decision to stage it like a TV set with the Hamlin residence using most of the space and setting aside a portion to be the police station.  It worked very well.  Once again this boasted a great cast with some familiar faces including Michael as Joe Friday, Eric as Frank Smith and Carly as Nora Hamlin.  Dragnet also introduced me to Ben and Amy C.  Despite a hoarse voice due to illness Michael was a pitch-perfect Friday.  This was his last production as a student and he went out with a bang.  The show was cool, off-beat and exactly what I wanted.

After the larger cast of Dragnet I wanted to go back to a small cast show for spring '11.  Instead, I went bigger.  Father of the Bride had a cast of 15! I had been in a professional production of Father of the Bride ten years earlier, playing the role of Ben Banks.  For the first time I was directing a show that I had once been in.  It made for an interesting experience.  The production I was in cut out most of the supporting cast, for this production every role was cast.  It was both daunting and challenging.  The cast included Eric and Rachel together again as the father & mother of the bride.  Amy and a few of the Dragnet cast returned, but this was primarily made up of all new people, including Tricia and Chris as the happy couple.  Both had been around Houghton for years and finally decided to try out for FotB.  Tricia was a fun and wacky Kay, maybe not the obvious choice but definitely the right one.  Her energy made the character more believable and likable than a traditional straight-laced Kay.  Eric & Rachel handled the chaos of the large cast like pros and deftly managed the curve balls and responsibility I threw their way.  Though we didn't know it at the time, this would be their last run in a Houghton College production.

My next production was Cinderella with Valley Theatre in September of 2011.  Though not a college production nor part of this narrative, I mention it because Ben, Eric and Michael stepped in to make up for my lack of guys. Having them on board was a big help to me.  They were steady, reliable and made good use of the minor roles they were given.  Little did they know they would be returning to Valley Theatre in a handful of months.

Fall of 2011 saw what may go down as the best production of my career, The Glass Menagerie.  Like Jake's Women before, if this is my peak then so be it.  It was an amazing experience and an even better production.  I was hesitant to do GM. It isn't the type of show I'd normally consider, and I was concerned that the audience turnout would take a hit.  But, I liked the script and it was more in line with what the college was looking for in terms of notoriety. It is a show of 4 characters; an intense show, where each character has to give a gut-wrenching performance.  The cast was set with Carly and Ben as mother & son with two new-comers (Amber and Dan) as the daughter and her gentleman-caller.  Rehearsing with that small of a cast was a wonderful experience.  It was a true collaboration.  I couldn't be more proud of the cast.  I absolutely loved the atypical set design.  The show managed to be fresh, modern and emotionally raw.  Though the turnout was predictably low the people who were there had an unforgettable experience.  Despite the aftermath, I would change nothing about this show.  It was great.  Though I didn't know until after, this would be my final production directing for Houghton College.  Had I known, I probably would have gone for a bigger show to give more people a chance to participate.  The abrupt cancellation of college productions was jarring... and personally upsetting, but in the end I look back with fondness and pride on those three years.  I could do worse than having The Glass Menagerie as a swan song.  At least we went out with a bang.  But, I couldn't let it end there.  With the Spring of 2012 quickly approaching, I felt an obligation to, both those students who had grown to depend on the play, as well as the community who had made it a tradition to attend.  Thus, Valley Theatre's production of Crimes of the Heart was born.

While I couldn't go out and do a giant show with every student I've ever worked with, Crimes of the Heart gave me a chance to have a proper goodbye with those students I'd worked with the most... Eric, Rachel, Carly, Amy & Ben (plus Michael and Kara as crew).  Having those who founded Valley Theatre with me along for the ride made it that much better (Amanda in the cast, plus Mike and Hilary as crew).  Our final performance of Crimes of the Heart was a sell-out success and made for a great epilogue to this story.  What started back in 2009 with House on the Cliff at Houghton College was brought to a proper close in Valley Theatre's 2012 production of Crimes of the Heart.  And while I know we'll still see each other and most likely work together again we are now taking our first steps into a new era.

In all honesty, I wouldn't change a thing.