Steelymags Debrief

                Better late than never I guess.  Also, I’m doing this out of order.  I should have done a post on my huge job change first.  I’ll catch that another time.  For now, Steel Magnolias. 

                The show went really well.  The audience loved it.  The cast was excellent.  We had a great venue in the Nancy Howe Auditorium.  (You’d know the story behind that if I’d done a post on the job change.)  Anyway, the Howe Auditorium is great.  Vintage look, perfect sized stage, huge back stage, cast bathrooms and dressing rooms!  As much as I like the Houghton Fire Hall (and I really do, that isn’t sarcasm), it was nice to be back in a traditional theatre space.

                All that sounds great, so why didn’t I like Steel Magnolias?  That’s not quite right, because I did like it.  I just didn’t love it.  There are many factors as to why, but it boils down to script issues.  Thanks to the far superior movie, the play has become this sentimental favorite, and because of that the inherent weaknesses in the script get glossed over.  But they are there.  First, the format of each scene is nearly identical.  Characters enter one-by-one, usually in the same order and all scenes end with everyone still in face.   There’s no deviation.  No one leaves a scene to allow the vibe to change.   It’s tough to work with that.  Also, it is written so that each of the 5 scenes takes place up to 16 months apart.  Which means a lot of the growth and drama happens off stage in between scenes.  This also causes problems.  The emotional conclusion feels forced to me because I don’t think you ever really get to the point where you care enough to be moved naturally.  In the hands of a capable actress (which I had) you can still make it work, but you should have the character journey to back it up, even with a lousy actress (Thankfully I didn’t have any of those!).  Bottom-line, it’s a fun show to do, but not that great to direct.  I had trouble connecting to the story and the characters.  I couldn’t find my hook.

                To be fair, I knew that going in.  I just figured I’d find it or make it work.  I think it’s fair to say that I made it work. It was a good show.  I just feel conflicted about it because I always felt like I was on the outside of it.  I feel strongly that a director shouldn’t direct a play he doesn’t like.  I broke that rule, and learned a valuable lesson.

                Again, let me be clear, it was a good production.  Cast if you are reading this, you each did an excellent job.  Really.  I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true.  My issues with Steelymags are with the script and my connection to it.   

                Anyway, sorry to be such a downy-clowny.  On a positive note, I’m really looking forward to finally starting work on The Odd Couple.  That’s about 10 years in the making, so I can’t wait to dig in.

               

Press Release: Steel Magnolias

The Valley Theatre presents Steel Magnolias

            This April the Valley Theatre will be staging Robert Harling’s classic play Steel Magnolias.  This hilarious and occasionally tear-jerking tale centers on the strong friendship of six women dealing with life’s ups and downs.

            The wedding of town sweetheart Shelby Eatenton (Sarah Badger) and eligible bachelor Jackson Latcherie is big news in the town of Chinquapin, Louisiana.  As the day approaches the ladies of Chinquapin rush in to the salon of Truvy Jones (Sally Murphy) to make sure they look their best for the lavish wedding.  Luckily for Truvy, she has just hired a new beautician, the meek and private Annelle Dupuy (Megan Specksgoor)! As the ladies, including the former first lady of Chinquapin, Miss Clairee (Debbie Young), fawn over Shelby, trouble is brewing at the Eatenton house.  Shelby’s father Drum and their cantankerous neighbor Ouiser (Nancy Murphy) continue a long-standing feud regarding the ownership of the large magnolia tree that sits on the property line.  Shelby’s mother, M’Lynn (Amanda Cox) tries to keep the peace all the while making sure that Shelby doesn’t jeopardize her deteriorating health by overexerting herself with the wedding plans.

            As the years roll by we see the bonds of these women tested.  Together they celebrate the simple joys of life and come together to face the inevitable tragedies.             
           Performances at 7pm on Friday, April 4, and Saturday, April 5, at the Nancy Howe Auditorium (155 N. Main Street, Wellsville).  Tickets are $8 and will be available or the door or for presale at the circulation desk of the David A. Howe Public Library. For more information contact director Nic Gunning at thevalleytheatre@gmail.com or online at www.facebook.com/valleytheatre.

Three Men and a Maybe: A Wise Women Debrief

The bottom line is, I liked Wise Women.  The script is solid, it has a good pace and a lot of laughs.  It manages to be Christmasey and sentimental without feeling like a Lifetime movie.  What I didn't like was doing a show in the black heart of winter.  It was so cold.  Freakishly cold.  Unfortunately that led to a short supply of audience and even a cast member.
Opening night was solid.  We had a respectable crowd and it was going well.  However two scenes into the show and Michael, who was playing the role of Donnie, still hadn't arrived for his entrance which was coming quickly in scene 4.  It was really looking like he was going to get stuck in the snow and I'd have to make a return to the Valley Theatre stage.  Luckily, he made it just in time for me to pin the WWII symbols on his uniform sleeve and send him on stage to dance with Rachel and hit on everyone else.  The End.
Not really, because the next night the weather was even worse and on top of that, somehow a duplicate Facebook event sent out a message that the show was cancelled.  After dragging my pals into a web of social networking we were able to get the word out that the play was on.  Then midway through the afternoon Michael called saying that the weather on his end was awful and that he didn't think he'd be able to make it.  This created an interesting problem.  There are only 2 men in the play, 3 if you count the director (spoiler alert: me).  With Michael as an unlikely maybe, it looked like I'd have to suit up afterall. Luckily Sally had kept the costume so that she could sew the symbols on and I'd seen the show enough to have a decent handle on the lines.  Now we just needed people to show up.
People did show up, but they probably could have carpooled in one Astro van. The weather really was terrible.  I couldn't blame them for staying home.  The show went really well.  We got some great pictures. And I played Donnie.  I hadn't done the last-minute-fill-in schtick in a while, so it was a fun challenge.  I hadn't been in a Valley Theatre play since Art and had only briefly been on stage with Amy and Rachel.  I'd never acted with Bekah or Sarah.  It was fun.
In the end, Wise Women, was a great experience.  Those of us who were involved in it and those who braved the arctic tundra to come see it really enjoyed it.  Like any show with low-turnout (Guilty Conscience, Glass Menagerie), I'm just disappointed that more people didn't get to see it.

P.S.  In all likelihood, Wise Women was the last time I'll have the pleasure to work with Ben again.  I hope not, but probably.  That's sad, but I take pride in what a good actor he's become.  I hope he sticks with it.

Addendum: 6/26/14.  Unbeknownst to me at the time Wise Women ended up being my last chance to work with Amy.  I would have liked to have known that ahead of time so that I could have really taken it in.  Still, It was nice to go out with a bang and in a small show with most of the core group.  I'm proud of her.  It's been really great to work with her and watch her progress through the years.  Please keep acting, Amy.

Benefits of Theatre

This blog post originally appeared on the HMAC website:

I recently wrapped production on my most recent directorial job, Valley Theatre's Wise Women (which co-starred Miss Sarah!).  This production was really rewarding for me because the cast was made up of all people I have directed before.  Having them together like this made think back to the first time I worked with each of them.  All had a certain amount of natural talent at the beginning, but I've been able to watch it refine over the years.  They seem to grow more natural on stage with each production.  As they become more comfortable their confidence builds, and that is something that is valuable off stage as well.
In my semesters teaching acting at HMAC, I've really enjoyed that chance to work with younger actors.  It gives me a chance to lay a strong foundation of the fundamentals of acting.  I'm able to focus on the little subtleties that I don't often have time to deal with in a typical rehearsal environment. Having a handle on these basic principles (posture, projection, expression, gestures, etc.) will help them to stand out that when they go out to auditions for plays, but it is also applicable outside of theater.  They are things that will be helpful when you are talking in front of groups, in regular social settings or even with jobs down the line.  My theater background has hugely beneficial to me in my day-to-day life, and I really think it can be a great tool, particularly for building confidence.  Wise Women was a lot of fun, but I'm really looking forward to getting back into the HMAC classroom with a fresh crop of students. 

Wise Women is go for launch!

It's always a little sad when a show comes to end.  Wise Women has been a lot of fun to work on, and, while I'll be glad to have some free time again, I'll miss it.  Amy made cast t-shirts, so at least we'll get a souvenir!  I'm hoping the cold won't keep too many people away!  Anyway, we open tonight!  Shows run Friday 12/13 and Saturday 12/14 at 7pm down in the Houghton Fire Hall.  Here's my brief director's note:

We’ve talked about doing a Christmas show for several years now, and finally the time was right.  I read many scripts before stumbling across Wise Women.  This one stood out to me because it was sentimental without being cheesy, fun without being too light and the characters seemed lively and interesting.

The cast has been great to work with.  They are all people I have directed before and most have worked together at some point or another, so we had a really easy dynamic that just made things fun.  Anyway, I hope you enjoy the show as much as we enjoyed putting it together.  Oh, and Merry Christmas. -NG

Theater: hate/love/whine/hate/love.

Every time I'm gearing up to do a play, one thought runs over and over in my mind:  I don't want to do this.  It's taxing, it's complicated, it's time consuming, it's a pain.  It would be nice if I could say that once the show starts I don't feel that way, that I am swept away in the magic of theater - but that's not really true.  My feeling of not wanting to do it continues throughout the run, any time I'm not currently in rehearsal, working on the set or watching the finished product.  When I'm actively working on the show, I love doing it.  It's exciting.  It's good old-fashioned fun.  So why don't I remember that when I'm not doing it?  I have no idea.

I'm currently directing my 16th show (Wise Women with The Valley Theatre), and I've felt this way basically every time.  I guess that's due, in part, to my pessimistic nature.  I can't fathom the idea that I might actually enjoy myself, despite all of the evidence to the contrary.  It's a really attractive quality of mine.  I remember and forget how much I enjoy it with each rehearsal, and by the end all is well because I'm happy that I did it.   So basically all of the complaining is just a big waste of time and energy for me. I think it's probably my wife who suffers the most from this phenomena, because she's had to endure a conversation like this one at least a dozen times:

Me: I don't know why I do this.  I hate it.

Her: No you don't.  You enjoy it.  You find it fulfilling.

Me: You don't know.

Her: Trust me.

Me:  Seriously, this will be the last show I do.

Her: No it won't.  You say that everytime.

Me: I don't think I do.

Her:  You do.  

Me.  Well, whatever.  I don't like it.  It's dumb.

Her: You're wrong.  Whenever you come home from rehearsal you are all energized and talking about how much fun all had.

And so on...  (At this point I usually fake a headache or starting singing showtunes to change the subject.)  What it comes down to is that I hate directing plays, it's draining, and this will probably be my last one.

So, in conclusion.  I love directing plays.  It's fulfilling in a way nothing else is.  I'll never stop doing it.  And you should come see Wise Women next weekend (12/13&14) because it's a great show and we've had a ball doing it. I'm just a whiny-pants.

Wise Women '13!

Press Release: Wise Women

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we are doing our first Christmas show, Ron Osborne's Wise Women.  The press release is below.

The Valley Theatre Presents Wise Woman, A Christmas Story    

This December, the Valley Theatre will be presenting Ron Osborne’s poignant Christmas comedy, Wise Women.  You won’t want to miss this enjoyable holiday tale set during the turbulent World War II era.

                In order to do her part for the war effort Florence Dunleavy (Rebekah Brennan) agrees to take in two boarders for the holidays, the meek Sarah Ruth (SarahBadger) and her sassy friend Jiggs (Rachel Stowe).  Florence’s daughter, Rose (Amy Coon), is less than thrilled with the arrangement  but her resentment soon turns to opportunism when she realizes that one of the these two interlopers might just be her ticket to seeing Frank Sinatra’s Christmas concert at the USO!

                Jiggs injects some much needed life into the Dunleavy home by bringing home her fast-talking beau (Michael Blankenship), introducing young Rose to a shy marine (Ben Layman) and convincing Sarah Ruth to join the Miss Bombshell USA pageant!  As conflicts arise and tempers flare, long held resentments and a few family secrets come to the surface.  Can this group of wise women come to terms by Christmas?  You’ll have to come find out for yourself!

                The shows run Friday and Saturday, December 13-14 at 7pm at the Houghton Fire Hall on Rt. 19 in Houghton, New York.  Tickets are just $5.00.  For more information or ticket reservations contact director Nic Gunning at TheValleyTheatre@gmail.com or find them online at www.facebook.com/valleytheatre.