OPENING NIGHT!

Wow. It’s here.

The Gender Agenda will premiere as a student-produced show for the first time tonight at 8:00p. Wow. Crazy!

After Tuesday’s run through, I’ve seen a tremendous change in my cast–their confidence has sky-rocketed. They feel so ready. And I know they are ready.

They know this show inside out, upside down and backwards—I know that they are all a little concerned with the intimate audience, but I know that they will be amazing.
For the past two nights I was bored with drilling lines, so instead we played some improv games–which they all got really involved with–and then for a test, which turned out to help a lot, was I would read a random line in the script and then they had to say their next line.

TIP: Drilling lines is boring. And no one likes to do it. Find ways to make the lines more interesting. Talk over what each line means, and try to help the actor associate each line with something that they will be able to remember easily. For find a game with a good reward system so that they will WANT to learn their lines.

I have full faith and confidence in them and that they will shine tonight and tomorrow night.

There are still some seats available at the box office–reserve your tickets!!

Preview/Tech Rehearsal

I think that people learn the best when they learn from their mistakes.
A brilliant example is tonight’s Preview/Tech rehearsal. A few people came to see the show–and the cast when in full speed ahead.

I was so proud of them–they had a few hiccups…and there were parts where I didn’t know where they were (haha)…but all in all I think it went really well.

They know now what they need to work on and correct for Friday and Saturday night.

TIP: Running a show with even just a few friends can do wonders to see where your show falls short. That way you can ALL look back and see where you need to work on. It’s one thing for the director to see what to fix, it’s another for the actors to see (and experience) for themselves.

Also, I feel as though lately I have been loosing my focus—a director also needs to never loose focus—but I feel that I have and to my cast, this isn’t fair. I feel as if I have been so worried about the lines that it has taken away from what is truly important: the message of the play, the characters’ wants, what each line means. So until opening night, I will hard not to take away from what is really trying to be said rather than just spitting out words.

My cast is brilliant! And they are going to give the best show ever! I’m so happy with them! They have worked so hard and it is certainly paying off!

“The Currents”

http://www.colby-sawyer.edu/news/goulter.html

This is a link to the article published by Colby-Sawyer’s “The Currents”, an online magazine about upcoming events on campus.

Another article:

http://www.colby-sawyer.edu/academic/capstones/goulter.html

Read it! And come to the show!!

One Week to go. Tech Week looming.

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Recently, I was contacted by the college’s communications office and together we put together a small publication effort to advertise a bit more for the show. From ‘The Currents‘ there will be a story featuring ‘The Gender Agenda’ with a link to this blog, as well as a piece in The New London Shoppper.

So for everyone just joining us….feel free to read the last few posts….and please leave comments!

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Back on current thoughts…. 

In exactly one week ‘The Gender Agenda’ will premier at Colby-Sawyer College as the first student produced production of this show!

Tonight was our last rehearsal before tech/hell week and I have high hopes for my cast. They are all working very hard and I know how much they want this play to work.

I was feeling a little frustrated last week…but I feel a lot better now; Jerry is the best person in the world to talk to if things are seemingly out of control or otherwise just plain not working….specifically when it comes to theatre.

 So 7 days….7 days left. And it all comes down to two nights under the lights—all 17 of them. Haha.

Two weeks to show…….

…..and right now, I’m starting to feel frustrated.

I hate telling my casts what to do, in anything I’ve directed, but I’m having a hard time letting go of what we had before our other Jan dropped out and what we have now. It’s like we have an entirely different cast and it’s like we need to start from square one all over again.

I guess, I’m hoping that after we get costumes tonight and after the set is done, it will all come together.

I just wish there was something more I could do.

“It’s all a part of the process”

No truer words could be spoken…

When life throws lemons at you…duck so you don’t get hit in the head…then pick them up, and make lemonade.

It’s about solving problems and making things work.

Things come apart, “stuff” happens…

Either way, long story short, we’re three (or four?) weeks to opening night and our actor to play Jan dropped out….again. So we had a god-send step up and join the cast last night and we will go forward and work our way through as best as we can.

So the cast change:

Jan: Margaret
Ruth: Kallyn

Big change, but I’m still happy that at this time yesterday I was ready to start over. But after I had my slight meltdown, I called a meeting, and everything fell into place. So it worked out.

TIP: It’s okay to have the meltdown, the panic attack, the anxiety, the spiral downfall. But you need to pick yourself up, and move forward. Life will happen. But, as Jerry said, “it’s all part of the process”. He could not be more right.