Heading into the Homestretch...

Last year, the evening Kilroy finished, as a joke to my family, I pretended to be looking online for a new script for the next (this) production.  Unfortunately, I got sucked into the experience and stayed up until past 1 a.m. looking at shows.  Silly me!

That was just the beginning.  As you know, it took a long time to pick out a script.  Some scripts didn’t have enough parts, or most of the lines were carried by only a few people.  Some scripts had inappropriate material.  Many of the new scripts Pioneer Drama is putting out revolve around high school activities or vampires.  Not going there!  Some scripts were, well, frankly, dumb.  Some scripts had plenty of parts, but they just weren’t challenging enough for our group.  You are capable of putting on a high caliber show, and I wanted a script that reflected it.

Some shows are too expensive for us and/or they don’t performance CD’s (which we need because we don’t have a band or orchestra).  There were a couple times I thought I had a show picked, and then I backtracked because something was nagging at me that it wasn’t right.  I’m pretty sure the rest of the members of the production team were getting concerned about me, possibly even my sanity.  ;-)

But, then we hit upon Willow Blues, and it was right.  There are plenty of parts (as Mrs. Conto and you family members/Chang’s friends/dragon dancers/sailors/thugs well know!), with interesting characters.  It’s a sophisticated, funny, elegant, lovely show, worthy of your talents!  (Plus, it was in our price range and had the materials we needed.)

But, it’s also been a difficult show to put together.  Without a DVD or youtube videos, it hasn’t always been easy visualizing the production. It’s harder to learn songs without a vocal CD  (Thank you, thank you, Mrs. Green, for all of you efforts!), and it’s just not as fun to listen to the music without the words.  With 2 different locales and so many different sets, it’s been hard to convey how everything should look.  (Huge thanks to Kathy Conto and to Cheryl for all of your work in organizing and making costumes and props!!)  And my understanding of the work involved in all of the set changes was naïve, to say the least. (Tremendous thanks to Sue Kluge for ALL of your behind-the-scene efforts!) 

I have to admit, there were times after rehearsals that I didn’t think it would all come together.  I was concerned that we wouldn’t be able to pull off a show and have the audience understand what was going on.  I worried that it wouldn’t look right.  I was having trouble ‘seeing’ the show.

But on Thursday, I saw it.  And it was splendid!

I can’t tell you how gratifying it was for me to see many of you having fun and enjoying your characters!  This is what I was envisioning when I first looked at the script.  Thank you for all of your patience and work this past year!

To be clear, we’re not quite there yet.  Some of you need to remember to face the audience when you speak.  If someone is standing in front of you, discretely move aside so the audience can see you.  And VOLUME!  Some more of you will be getting miked this week, but all of you should practice saying your lines clearly and loudly.  Practice your songs – know the words and sing them out!! 

Set changes are still difficult.  We’re moving all of Scene 12 to the front of the curtain, so that should help for setting up the puppet show.  We’re also going to run through all of the set changes at the beginning of rehearsal on Tuesday.  

We’re not quite there, yet, but if everyone works hard, I think we’ll peak at just the right time.  Have fun with your roles!  Not in a silly way, but so that we can see you enjoy playing your character. 

Enchant the audience!!