What a rush!
Well, that's that.
The play I've been a part of since January (!!) had its final show on Sunday, and
now all that's left are memories .. but what memories they are.
It's funny how things kind of get under your skin after a while .. I started out looking at this production as a fun little side-project, that would get me out of the house a couple nights a week. When it started I was still job-hunting, and was mired in the midst of a cold, dreary winter. I didn't think that much of the script and had a few reservations about some of the cast, who seemed quite inexperienced, not to mention our director, who indicated he'd never directed a full-length play before. The script didn't strike me as being particularly funny, set, as it was in the midst of a dysfunctional family whose mother had died from alcoholism years before, whose father had basically abandoned his kids, and whose protagonist (me!) had hired an escort to pose as his fiancee while hid dad came back for an unexpected visit.
Like I said, it didn't scream comedy the first time I read it .. nor the second, for that matter .. nor even the third, fourth .. and so on.
However, as we began to get down to the business of rehearsal, something happened .. something even to this day I'm still not quite certain, but something quite amazing, nevertheless. Somewhere along the way, I think we actually became a little family .. within the context of the play, and what had started as just a fairly ordinary-looking script, became the story of five people who found themselves together for one very unusual night.
I can honestly say that I've never worked harder during a production .. the role was big, and challenging, and forced me to play against the type I'd usually been cast in, which was often either obnoxious goofballs, or tough guys .. my character, Joe Todd, was a slightly beaten-down ordinary guy, who felt trapped in a loveless existence, who was estranged from his family, and who really didn't see much future for himself. But through the course of the play, he discovers there is more to life than he'd anticipated, and a number of long-simmering conflicts finally begin to be resolved ..
But the big question, is was the play funny .. unequivocably, yes! We really didn't know *how* funny, though, until opening night .. we had an audience almost double the size we were expecting (over 100 people, the largest crowd of the run), and within the first minute of Act I, they were laughing .. and not just politely laughing, but really out-loud, full-hearted laughing and they stayed with us right to the end of the play, when a few audience members acutally began a standing ovation.
As one of the other folks in the cast indicated in her journal, it was really a magical night .. I've been involved in a number of community productions before but I can't ever recall people being so overwhelmingly *happy* at the end of an opening night .. all of us in the cast were a bit awestruck, I think, standing with smiles glued to our faces, accepting compliment after compliment, almost not believing that we'd pulled it off.
The second performance was probably our roughest .. I think we were all a little tired, still (opening night cast party went well into the wee hours), and maybe were still a little stunned from the glowing reception we'd had the previous night .. The second night was a good crowd, but quieter and responded differently than the previous night. I think we were all a little disappointed when that one was finished.
Third show, though, now that was the barn-burner! Again, we had a great crowd .. most of the cast had friends or family in the audience, and we were all better rested and, I think a little annoyed at the previous night, and were determined to do better. And did we? We *nailed* it .. it was, about as close to flawless as I've ever seen a community group do, and the audience, though slightly smaller than opening, was the warmest and most receptive group I believe I've ever performed before.
Afterwards, we all went to our director's house for an after-party, and it was one of the grandest nights I've had in ages. It is such a joy to spend time with funny, friendly, quirky and creative people .. people who can sit around at 1:00 in the morning, talking about quantum physics, and not only is it interesting, it's amusing as well.
So, overall .. a huge, huge success. Gerry, our rookie director allowed us the leeway to find our characters and not once did we ever feel pressured or rushed .. and I think this contributed to how comfortable the play felt once we finally performed. Katie, the rookie of the cast, who'd never before acted in her life, did a brilliant job as Carrie, the sister of my character Joe. Katie managed to find a wonderful balance in Carrie, who is a bit of a difficult character, but made it not only believable, but funny as well. Sue and Alian were the actors who played Ivan (Joe's dad) did a good job with their characters, giving them both a warmth and believability that was essential to the roles. But my biggest bouquets go to Nadine, who played Renee, the escort Joe hires to pretend to be his fiancee. I'd known Nadine somewhat from improv workshops we'd attended, and knew her to be a talented, and very funny performer, but I was astonished at the energy and humour she managed to put into Renee. I've had many great times in community theatre, but among the best are the scenes with just Joe and Renee, where Nadine was periously close to cracking me up, and on more than one occaision managed to do just that.
And so it ends .. but what an ending! I can honestly say, I threw everything I had into that play, and while I'm a bit melancholy it's over, I believe every performance we did was absolutely the best we could do, and I'm very proud to have been a part of it.
The play I've been a part of since January (!!) had its final show on Sunday, and
now all that's left are memories .. but what memories they are.
It's funny how things kind of get under your skin after a while .. I started out looking at this production as a fun little side-project, that would get me out of the house a couple nights a week. When it started I was still job-hunting, and was mired in the midst of a cold, dreary winter. I didn't think that much of the script and had a few reservations about some of the cast, who seemed quite inexperienced, not to mention our director, who indicated he'd never directed a full-length play before. The script didn't strike me as being particularly funny, set, as it was in the midst of a dysfunctional family whose mother had died from alcoholism years before, whose father had basically abandoned his kids, and whose protagonist (me!) had hired an escort to pose as his fiancee while hid dad came back for an unexpected visit.
Like I said, it didn't scream comedy the first time I read it .. nor the second, for that matter .. nor even the third, fourth .. and so on.
However, as we began to get down to the business of rehearsal, something happened .. something even to this day I'm still not quite certain, but something quite amazing, nevertheless. Somewhere along the way, I think we actually became a little family .. within the context of the play, and what had started as just a fairly ordinary-looking script, became the story of five people who found themselves together for one very unusual night.
I can honestly say that I've never worked harder during a production .. the role was big, and challenging, and forced me to play against the type I'd usually been cast in, which was often either obnoxious goofballs, or tough guys .. my character, Joe Todd, was a slightly beaten-down ordinary guy, who felt trapped in a loveless existence, who was estranged from his family, and who really didn't see much future for himself. But through the course of the play, he discovers there is more to life than he'd anticipated, and a number of long-simmering conflicts finally begin to be resolved ..
But the big question, is was the play funny .. unequivocably, yes! We really didn't know *how* funny, though, until opening night .. we had an audience almost double the size we were expecting (over 100 people, the largest crowd of the run), and within the first minute of Act I, they were laughing .. and not just politely laughing, but really out-loud, full-hearted laughing and they stayed with us right to the end of the play, when a few audience members acutally began a standing ovation.
As one of the other folks in the cast indicated in her journal, it was really a magical night .. I've been involved in a number of community productions before but I can't ever recall people being so overwhelmingly *happy* at the end of an opening night .. all of us in the cast were a bit awestruck, I think, standing with smiles glued to our faces, accepting compliment after compliment, almost not believing that we'd pulled it off.
The second performance was probably our roughest .. I think we were all a little tired, still (opening night cast party went well into the wee hours), and maybe were still a little stunned from the glowing reception we'd had the previous night .. The second night was a good crowd, but quieter and responded differently than the previous night. I think we were all a little disappointed when that one was finished.
Third show, though, now that was the barn-burner! Again, we had a great crowd .. most of the cast had friends or family in the audience, and we were all better rested and, I think a little annoyed at the previous night, and were determined to do better. And did we? We *nailed* it .. it was, about as close to flawless as I've ever seen a community group do, and the audience, though slightly smaller than opening, was the warmest and most receptive group I believe I've ever performed before.
Afterwards, we all went to our director's house for an after-party, and it was one of the grandest nights I've had in ages. It is such a joy to spend time with funny, friendly, quirky and creative people .. people who can sit around at 1:00 in the morning, talking about quantum physics, and not only is it interesting, it's amusing as well.
So, overall .. a huge, huge success. Gerry, our rookie director allowed us the leeway to find our characters and not once did we ever feel pressured or rushed .. and I think this contributed to how comfortable the play felt once we finally performed. Katie, the rookie of the cast, who'd never before acted in her life, did a brilliant job as Carrie, the sister of my character Joe. Katie managed to find a wonderful balance in Carrie, who is a bit of a difficult character, but made it not only believable, but funny as well. Sue and Alian were the actors who played Ivan (Joe's dad) did a good job with their characters, giving them both a warmth and believability that was essential to the roles. But my biggest bouquets go to Nadine, who played Renee, the escort Joe hires to pretend to be his fiancee. I'd known Nadine somewhat from improv workshops we'd attended, and knew her to be a talented, and very funny performer, but I was astonished at the energy and humour she managed to put into Renee. I've had many great times in community theatre, but among the best are the scenes with just Joe and Renee, where Nadine was periously close to cracking me up, and on more than one occaision managed to do just that.
And so it ends .. but what an ending! I can honestly say, I threw everything I had into that play, and while I'm a bit melancholy it's over, I believe every performance we did was absolutely the best we could do, and I'm very proud to have been a part of it.
posted by xiz at 5:16 PM
1 Comments:
"While Norm Forster is prolific and in many ways, a skilled playwright, I find his writing doesn't have the inherent depth and complexity like that of David Mament or George F. Walker. "
No, but then he's never claimed to be .. in fact, if you read his bio, he was a broadcaster and kind of fell into playwriting by accident, having been involved in community theatre in New Brunswick for a few years, and decided to write a play for them .. the first play he wrote was 'Sinners', which I've seen, and it's quite a good, unpretentious little comedy.
"I remember thinking early on that Drinking Alone could be a good show...but only if we believed in it. I thought, 'If we can make these characters real, the audience is going to care.' And it may have taken time to get there, but we did. Actually, Katie had it almost immediately. That girl really does have killer acting instincts..."
Hey, don't forget yourself in there .. Katie does have great instincts, and it was easy to see her as my sister .. but I thought your portrayal of Renee was very real, too .. given the wacky lines you had to say at some points (the perogie handpuppet bit, for instance, or 'Carlos') .. I think the audience bought it all the way.
"And Joe. Joe, who I'd had such affection for from the very first time I read the script. I remember the first rehearsal back after Easter, I was watching you go through your paces and I knew somehow you'd found him. Your Joe was a sweet, funny -- admittedly downtrodden -- guy that I knew the audience would love and root for."
Gawrsh .. high praise and I thankya .. I sort of remember that rehearsal .. I think it was around the time we were just about off-book at which point the fun in the play really started to open up.
"It was fun, sometimes challenging, sometimes downright scary (dress rehearsal)! But in the end, all I can say is that it was a wonderful experience and I'll never forget it! "
Right back atcha, DQ .. Just as we started rehearsals, I went to OLT to see "Maggie's Getting Married", another Norm Foster play, and thought "wow", I hope we're somewhere close to being that good. I think we were. I believe we could have taken that production, and quite proudly put it on just about any stage and done well with it. And ya can't ask for much more than that.
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