Journals:Reviewh

Cast Becca - Bonnie Deigh Howie - Rodney Woodring Izzy - Carly McCall Nat - Denni Don Hunting Jason - Tom Cilluffo

Production Director - Cinder Conlon Producer - Michelle Dungjen Asst. Producer - Thomas Webb Stage Manager - Jeanie Gifford Properties - Bette Killian Set Designer - Brian Dungjen Set Construction - Al Thompson Set Dresser - Bradley Roswell Costumes - Kathey Verstraete Lighting Design - Jacqui Jones Lighting operator - Karen Haspas Sound Design - Don Kuehlhorn Sound Operator - Elizabeth Stewart On Book - Jean Maslowski House Manager - Cheryl Woodring

Bonnie Deigh:October 10:
 
We opened last night, with a performance that wasn't flawless - I don't know that live theatre ever is - but was certainly powerful, and very well received.  They laughed; they cried - in all the right places - and, when it was over, they got on their feet to applaud.  I'm so grateful that we have the opportunity to do such high-quality, gutsy drama - in such a perfectly intimate setting - here in Traverse City.

October 3:
Tech Sunday, and the magic begins to happen.  The set is built -- today, the bed has a frame.  Costumes are all here -- we look fabulous.  Carly puts on makeup -- beyond chapstick.  And the Diva has come into her own -- I have a dresser and a hair stylist.  (Yes, I love it.)  All the sound cues and audio/visual aids are in place -- along with their engineer, my theatre charm, Don.  (I can't do a show without him.  Fortunately, it seems that I'll never have to.)  The TV cameraman was there as well.  It's amazing how a TV camera can break your concentration.  Nevertheless, we're right where we need to be, and we'll be ready for a great opening on Thursday.
September 20
 
Each of us knows his or her own lines pretty well.  Cinder knows all of our lines, cold.
September 17:
 
This play is about character.  It's an excavation into the human heart.  And so it calls for table work:  time spent thinking, feeling, discussing.  What's going on with your character at this moment?  Why does she say these words?  How would she hold herself; what tone of voice would she use?  What is her relationship to this other character -- and how does it  change?  We need to ask these questions, ponder these questions, play with these questions.  And -- oh yeah -- we need to learn our lines.
 
"Acting is more than remembering lines in public," a wonderful director once told me.  Uh-huh... but remembering the lines is a good place to start.  And I'm getting older.  My once effortless recall has weakened; my once sharp mind has softened.  I forget so many things:  calculus... Latin... everybody's name... history -- including my own.  What about lines?  Can I still ... ?  (Please?)
 
Yep.  It's still there.  Phew.
 
September 10:
 
A grief counselor came to talk with us this evening.  Ostensibly, she was offering us her broad knowledge and experience to inform our characterizations of grief.  She could explain some of our characters' words and actions; we could compare our own interpretations with hers.  And we did -- and were gratified to find that she agreed, for the most part, with our work. 
 
What surprised me was the outpouring of personal stories.  My teenaged brother... my high school pal... three of my classmates... my best friend's husband... my mother... my eight-year-old cousin... my seventeen-year-old son.
 
The counselor talked to us about her respect for the play and her support for our production.  Grief, she believes, is an essential life process that shouldn't be cloaked in mystery.  Death, she said, touches everyone.  Indeed.
September 2
 Theatre in the round.  Wow.  Cross stage left... no, your other left.  My left or her left? ... The director's left.  Reflexively, we cheat out.  Which way is out?  Bend down to pick something up off the floor... uh, maybe not.  Remember those 20 people looking at my butt.  Try a different piece of business.  An important moment, conveyed through facial expression... except to those 30 people who can't see it.  Man oh man... Challenges are good.  New learning experiences are good.  Stretching your limits is good.  Repeat mantra.
August 31, 2008
I'm so glad to be working on this, my favorite type of show.  The leave-'em-laughing comedies are a grand ol' time, and as the experts will tell you, it takes some real skill to be funny.  The leave-'em-humming musicals are grand events, theatre with a capital T, gotta sing, gotta dance (ouch, my back!).  But when we get really real, when we touch their hearts and let them cry -- well, that's grand art. 
 
And you thought we did this for fun!
 
We've been doing table work, digging into each character's thoughts, feelings, motivations.  I love this stuff, and Cinder excels at guiding it.  My fellow cast members are intelligent, insightful -- if we can convey what we're coming to understand, this will be one hell of a show.