A glimpse into stage managing / calling a show...

     I thought it would be cool to throw together this little video of me calling a show my students recently put on. When you're working with students and parent volunteers, you have to accommodate for changes, obviously. Also, I had pretty much the same crew every time so I tried to hone in on what would work for them and the terms they were used to. In the end, we came to a solid system that made a complicated moment rather streamlined.

     Every gun shot and light cue was a separate cue and every light cue had an invisible auto-follow so the mover could get in place. The barricade shifts were done by hand, not by a track or mechanics. Also, kids are kids and things change from day to day. Marks are missed and lines are dropped, so this allowed for on the spot changes if the need arose. (Which, thankfully, it didn't... because my students are rockstars.)

ENJOY! 

A little reminder that this art thing still works...

I recently attended an amateur theatrical production with my mother and several of her friends. My mom likes to keep a tight schedule so her evenings are rarely open for heading to the theatre with me, or anyone else for that matter, so I try and make it a point to catch shows with her when she shows a specific interest in them. To be honest, she's still kind of learning theatre etiquette despite my fifteen years of doing this art thing.

Anyway, this one didn't exactly stand out to me more than most community/educational productions I attend. To be honest, several parts of the show were a little weak and while we were able to enjoy ourselves, both myself and my mother maintained a sort of "It was cute" mentality. (We've all been in those shows, myself included. Heck, I've DIRECTED those shows.)

Anyway, on the way out, as my mom and I kept most of our criticisms to ourselves, one of her friends couldn't stop talking about how much she loved it. Her monologue went something like this...
"That went by so quickly. It took me away for two hours! It's like nothing else was happening for a while."

Mother was rather quick on the response with,
"Well, that's the point."

And I was once again reminded that this silly art/thing still works. No matter how big or small the budget, strong or weak the talent... this theatre thing works. My entire perspective of the performance shifted a little when I got to see the GIFT this woman had just received by sitting in that audience. A little bit of magic...

A frequent visitor to my Starbucks, an older gentleman, is going through chemotherapy and as a certain silly shift walked by singing
"Everything is awesome."

He quickly interjected with
"I just watched The Lego Movie this weekend! I just love that movie. Makes me forget for a little bit."

What a gift. What a little, precious glimpse of magic.

I'm all about a pursuit of excellence, but its nice to be reminded that this art thing, this God breathed desire to create, is bigger than us. And, it works.

"It's supposed to be fun. That's why it's called a 'PLAY'."

     "It's supposed to be fun. That's why it's called a 'PLAY'." These wise words were spoken to me several times over the summer of 2014 while working on the Regional Premiere of Pasek and Paul's DOGFIGHT. The incredible Terry Martin practically made it his mantra as he would wrap up notes for the day. I've tried to take these words to heart as I've worked on other theatrical endeavors since that [freakin' amazing] summer. This weekend, especially, I was reminded what a useful tool we have in "play".
     I've worked on Les Mis plenty of times in my life. I've been in the show three times and this current escapade at the barricade finally has me wearing a new hat as I get to be one of the creative minds shaping the show rather than one of the tenors singing a partially monotone harmony in Red and Black. (#blessed) In order to shape the dynamic of our barricade boys, we invited them to stay late this past Friday for some character development. (Bro time.) We took an oath to not share what transpired that evening (Unless you're one of their parents. In which case, I'll give you a play by play of the entire evening. And pictures to prove it. Cuz I'd like to keep this job. :D) but it was competitive, messy, and awesome. The following day, it showed in their run-through. There was more camaraderie among the guys. They were more unified and their cause was clearer.
     It felt a little weird integrating such goofiness into one of the world's most cherished dramatic musicals. But, it was fun and it seemed to work so I didn't think much about it. The following evening I saw a production of Dogfight, the first one since I had worked on the show a year and a half earlier. Maybe I'm obtuse, but I never really put the jar-head-marines in Dogfight on the same level as the rebel students of Les Mis. But, I was reminded, watching six guys own those songs, and saddened because I freakin' miss the guys I got to share that story with. Because, we were brothers for those 8 weeks. And amidst the tense circumstances of that story, that show came with an overwhelming amount of play. From karaoke bars to steak-n-shake runs to GameCube in the green room; we played together on and off stage, in and out of the rehearsal room. It made cool things happen for us.
     Educational theatre doesn't always come with that time. An unruly deadline is met with the overprotective, though not altogether unreasonable, hand of leadership that keeps directors [teachers] and actors [students] a safe arm's length apart. I'll certainly be keeping my eyes open for more opportunities to maintain a sense of play in my rehearsal processes, be it with adults, teens, or kids.

NOTE: I'm frustrated I didn't even touch on play within a rehearsal room. Some of the best laughs come from working dramatic pieces. A good cry can be as healing and playful as a hearty laugh. Maybe I'll write a part 2. Or maybe I'll rehearse every play from here on out in a series of extended recesses. [Like, literal recesses. Like swings and monkey bars. Not that kids can have those anymore either. They might fall and have an authentic human experience.]

Rough Road Ahead...

   

     Thanks to our friends at TIMEHOP, everything is an anniversary. "It's been two years since I started putting chocolate chips in my pancakes." "Wow, can't believe that party was four years ago." "OMG! Six years since I fed that giraffe and called him my best friend! Where does the time go?"
     But every once in a while, that silly app actually brings perspective into my life. I took this picture a year ago because I thought it was ironic. This sign welcomed me with every turn into my subdivision for the first quarter of YEAR ONE: POST COLLEGE EDITION! I thought it would make a good blog post but every time I started it, I came up short. I didn't have anything to say.

     I could divulge and digitally regurgitate all that has happened since that photo. I could weave a delicate tale of woe about this past year featuring themes of loss, love, faith, forgiveness and several other alliterations that, honestly, wouldn't even come close to summarizing what has happened in the last year of my life. I've spent a year challenging how "unfair" the beginning of my adult life began. I wish I could say I spent most of my time looking at where I was, but I honestly spent more time looking at where I wasn't. I wasn't a working actor. I wasn't a professional director. I wasn't getting interviews. I wasn't in the city. I wasn't in New York. I wasn't near my college friends. I was hardly near my high school ones. This wasn't the plan. This wasn't the dream. This was real life. And sometimes, real life sucks.

     There's no point to this post. Sure, I've learned more in the past year about being a person than any previous season in recent memory. Still, I have no ribbon of wisdom to wrap up this package of experience. I'm sharing this today with the roughly four people who will read this to "publicly" declare that the sign was right. A rough road was certainly ahead. But the road was tapered with joy, mostly in the form of some of the most amazing kids I've ever met. And tonight/tomorrow I get to meet some more and while I've still got my eyes and heart open to the next adventure, I'm a little more ready to trust the season and take the bumps in stride.

     The road is still under construction. But that's cool. It's going somewhere. I'll make sure to write when I get there. In the meantime, I'm gonna learn a few more things.

"If you knew me, I'm fair."

     That's what one of my 9 year old students retorted upon being called out for allegedly "peeking" during the selection round of "Poisoned Apple." (For those of you who don't know this game, it is basically "Killer" where kids shake hands and one "killer" tickles hands as he shakes them and the kids try and find the murderer. Except, we don't call it that, cuz murder ain't cool. But, poisoning people into a deep sleep is totally apropos.)

     "If you knew me, I'm fair!" That's not even a grammatically correct sentence but it's all I can think about since I heard it. "If you knew me, I'm fair." I believe you, kid. I know you.

     The world makes us cynical. I don't want to get on a tangent about this, mostly because I'm sure we all agree. I've seen this kid in class. He's well behaved, a hard worker, and comes in every day with his lines memorized. He's the last kid I would incriminate with such a dastardly crime. Yet, we have this other student who has been so programmed to assume that others are out to ruin the game that he sends himself into a defensive state of mind before the game has even begun.

     In all my years of teaching and playing this game, or games similar. Kids usually don't peek. They don't want to peek. They want to play the game. That's who they are. Far be it from me to make a generalization about a child, but as I've gotten to know so many kids over the past years of teaching them, I would say that it is the nature of a kid to want to play the game rather than ruin it for themselves or others.

     How many times in my life have I called out God for peeking? How many times have I tried to incriminate my Father with a dastardly crime that is completely out of His nature? "If I knew Him, He's fair!" But sometimes, I don't. Sometimes, I completely disregard the nature of Christ and make a false assumption on the inevitable demise of this game I so badly want to play. Like the servant who received only one talent, I operate from my false assumption of my God and not who I truly know him to be.

     As an artist, even just as a human in today's world, I see people who have been hurt by the church almost daily. I hear people's tragic tales of hate and disdain and disgust unapologetically bestowed upon them from other people. It creates this fictional understanding of who God is and what He has for us. "If they knew Him, He's fair!"And it hits me that we might be the first chance someone gets to meeting Him and to knowing Him. Can we witness with delight, having seen the incredible game He wants to play? Can we set aside the cynicism the world has squandered on us and showcase the true, authentic love we know our Father is capable of? Can we be the beginning of the end of "If you knew me, I'm fair!" and the inauguration of "Because I know Him, I'm fair."

"I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you..." Ephesians 1:16-18

Into the Woods Director's Note

      “Once Upon a Time…” That’s a pretty bold way to start a story. Stories that start with “once upon a time” carry great weight within their “pages” be they physical pages in a book or verbal words within a spoken tale. These words begin stories that feature daring adventures, the conquering of abhorrent evils, and the pursuit of irrevocable love. The single greatest stories in the world begin with these four words. But, there’s one final caveat, one final promise that comes along with beginning a story this way.

            

     A “Once Upon a Time” is always met with a “Happily Ever After.”

     As an artist and follower of Jesus Christ, I am drawn to stories like this. I’m drawn to a story that from the beginning holds the promise of adventure, love, the overcoming of evil and a “happily ever after.” I’m willing to begin stories that start this way because that’s the story I’m promised in Christ. No matter how terrifying the dragon or cursed the witch, I have found my “Happily Ever After” in Christ because I chose HIS “Once Upon a Time.”

     For Into the Woods, we’ve chosen to focus on the marvelous array of characters within a “Once Upon a Time” and the way in which those characters must lean on one another to realize their happy endings. The way in which these characters rely on one another as they climb skyward towards their wishes, or "happy endings", is beautifully similar to our experience as Spotlight- McHenry County. We’ve had the immense pleasure, as a team, to intersect in this season. It has been an honor to grow alongside Trevor, Alissa, Jess, River and Shari as we lead some of the best kids and parents in the world through this journey through the woods. I consider it one of the many great adventures in my story and I can only hope it blesses you in the audience today as it has blessed us. May your story begin as our young narrator’s, with a thrilling and expectant “Once upon a time…”