Hedges MacDonald Journal
May 11 - Last night was one of our best shows. Kelly Curtis has never been better, and the audience was very responsive. The show has brought in good houses and a broad spectrum of different ages in the audiences, despite the relative unfamiliarity of the play. After the show was my cast party (a new tradition at my new address) celebrating the combined birthdays of Stephanie Leach and Ashley Wilbur, with miniature birthday cakes for each of them. In attendance was Stephanie,s mom, who came from Detroit to see the show. She had just directed a play which had opened the night before. It was a show Stephanie had been scheduled to direct before her decision to relocate here (at age 19, it was a very independent one). Because their dates and ours are identical, our Heidi will never get to see how her mom handled the show, We hope our new theater group and the strong friendships she is making among us is worth the sacrifice. Hedges Macdonald
hedges@chartermi.net

May 9 - Last night the show opened. All the last minute struggles that are frequently required to pull a show together paid off with a debut performance that was flawless, with all the lines and scenes flowing harmoniously in an hour and a half show that truly entertained its audience. Afterwards the group enjoyed a typical post show social Hour at Brady's Bar where they were joined by the rehearsing cast of the upcoming mainstage show, RUMORS and our director Bill Dungjen's brother Brian and his roommate, Brett Nichols, a state policeman. Midway through the evening, a strange looking woman tapped on the door leading to the bar's back room, and, upon being admitted, announced that a man had been shot and was lying down the street. Brett immediately led a group of the men south down Union Street toward Eighth but could find no body of anyone anywhere, the alarm obviously being false. Meantime someone called 911, and police cars, a fire truck, and an ambulance all arrived in vain. Brett found himself stepping into his real life policeman persona as he discussed the hoax situation with the other officers. It was a scene worthy of our play's scenario, which involves the escape of two fugitives from prison, aided by a female accomplice posing as a policewoman in a stolen uniform, who struggles with another character for a gun in the act one climax until the gun goes off, and someone is shot. The actress playing that role, Stephanie Leach, is making her Old Town Playhouse debut after appearances in Detroit theaters that go back over an almost ten year period; she will have cause to remember this particular opening night over and above the rest. Hedges Macdonald
hedges@chartermi.net

May 6 - We had our last regular rehearsal Tonight before the final dress. This is the first show I've ever worked on where actors could call for lines this close to opening, but a lot of things about this show are unusual. I found myself making contributions that are normally the business of the producer or assistant director, except we didn't have them. Our stage manager, Jessica Greenwood is brand new to the Playhouse, so technical director Bryon Kuhlman and I showed her the ropes and acquainted her with the overall backstage environment. The cast sign in sheet and party schedule sheet were my handiwork, and a quick trip over to River's Edge for some aluminum foil to line the inside of a jar's lid was speedily accomplished. Today was the fifteenth birthday of our sound person, Ashley Wilbur. Her birthday is only 3 days later than that of a character in the show whose 15th birthday figures importantly in the plot. Dane Moeggenberg's sister, Ashley, best known for playing Dainty June in GYPSY, came aboard on the stage crew today. During the previous show, my cast party was built around her 18th birthday; my cast party this Saturday will focus on the other Ashley, although Miss Moeggenberg will likely be in attendance.
Hedges Macdonald
hedges@chartermi.net

4-10-2003 - A year ago at this time I was directing one of the Death Defying Acts. Now I am seated with the script in my hand feeding out lines. Different job but not entirely different, considering the struggles with memorization involved in a 2 person cast. There is a lot of wonderful bonding involved with this particular group. People who 6 weeks ago hadn't even met are seemingly becoming best friends ever. This is the show that Sunday night improvs built. Five of us first met in these sessions, just weeks before FUDDY auditions. Now some of our little extended family are running the improvs, while David Avis and Turner Sato prepare their own show for Holiday Inn. When I suggested to Turner last summer that he revive the then dormant improvs, I little realized what the result would be. I am very proud to see a group that I inadvertently helped get together working and polishing what promises to be a hilarious two week run. Our debuting actress, Stephanie Leach and first time stage manager Jessica Greenwood and assistant stage manager Ashley Wilbur are welcome new additions to our active roster, and Bill Dungjen is making a promising debut as director, trying to minimize everyone's rehearsal schedule to the most basic essentials, so that the show does not have to dominate our existence--- at least until tech Sunday (Then the fun begins, right?).
Hedges Macdonald
hedges@chartermi.net