Happy Birthday Edgar

Today is Edgar Allan Poe's 305th birthday!

I offer my experience with the Master of the Macabre as a tribute of sorts.

A bit of history first....

In the fall of 2010, I was privileged to be a part of the show "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" with Reedy Point Players of Delaware City, DE. I was cast as the Headless Horseman and it was a real treat to play that role. The show was an original work by a first-time director who, unfortunately, had more training writing for film than for the stage. It was an interesting part, but a also difficult show. Three weeks into the rehearsal process, the cast discovered that our writer/director was adding a third act. And had not yet completed the script.

And in the words of the poet, all hell broke loose....

Basically, with six weeks 'til the opening I, along with a few other members of the Reedy Point Players company, had to corner him, duct tape him to a chair, and get him to complete SOMETHING so that we would be able to perform it on opening night. A script was finished, the show was performed. I count it as one of the more... interesting experiences I've had in theatre.

Despite this, I still was interested in directing a show for RPP. The idea of directing a Halloween-based work was what I was looking for, which lead me right smack into the works of Mr. Poe. I had staged a dramatic reading of some of his works a few years' previous for a Halloween event, so I knew what I wanted to do... I just could not find a script. I had reviewed the offerings of several script houses, but not found anything that really spoke to me. Most were smaller one-acts of his individual stories. I was looking for a full-length play.

In May of 2011, I decided that I would propose a play for a fall production in 2012. This would give me the time I needed, almost 18 months in total, to come up with something better. Or in a worst case scenario, WRITE something better.

How little did I know how the fates would conspire against me.

About a month later in June, I was out on a lunch break when the my email on my smartphone started to blow-up. The show proposed for fall 2011 was in trouble. The director, citing family issues, had backed out. There were a few messages back and forth between members as to what could be done. Then I saw the email that made my blood run cold....

"Let's just see if David wants to move his show forward...."

**GASP**

I quickly called Melanie and told her what was going on and what I was thinking. I would write the show, then direct it. I respectfully asked her permission to do so knowing that the question of moving my show forward was coming, and probably coming quickly. She said, "If you think you can do it... Just DO it."

I thanked her and hung up.

The very next call came from the President of RPP, asking if I would be interested in moving my show forward. I told her, yes I could do it. We exchanged a few pleasantries, asking about friends, family members and  various other theatre related things, then ended the call.

As I hung up, I realized I had just committed to directing a show that I did not have a script for. My 18-month plan was shot and I now had 5 months to come up with a show. A show that I had not even started WRITING yet.

I decided to make the best of it, and started to work creating what was to become "Edgar Allan Poe: The Masquerade". I still had the sides I had created for the evening of Poe done previously, and used that as my starting point. After two weeks of creative, yet frantic, adaptation work, I had a rough first act complete. It was then that I met with the board to make them aware of my plan.

Upon initial presentation, most were... politely sceptical. All were shaking their heads....

After all, hadn't the company just gone through a similar situation just a few months previous with "Sleepy Hollow"? I assured them that this would be different. I offered a rigid timeline for completion of the draft, and a date for a first rough read-thru. All before they would give permission.

Then pulled out my ace... copies of "Edgar Allan Poe: The Masquerade", Act One...

The affect was magic. With a bit of trepidation, they decided to endorse my made plan. Three weeks later, I had a working, two act script at the read-thru. The overall feedback was positive, other than it being a bit long, with the reading taking about two hours. I was given permission to hold auditions in mid-July, with performance dates in October around Halloween.

It was one of the most amazing and productive periods of my life. I had an amazing group of collaborators in my cast, who took to the idea of originating characters and dialog from a work-in-progress very easily. Where at first they were hesitant, they free gave opinions and ideas as we moved forward. I looked to them for suggestions throughout the rehearsals to bring the work to life.

And it worked.

The length was tackled slowly over the rehearsals we staged that fall. As I switched gears to become the director, I found myself asking my cast, "Who WROTE this crap?", before returning to the rough draft, often with a chainsaw, to bring  the script down to a more palatable form. By the time the show was ready for performance, it was lighter by almost a full 30 minutes. While working over the script I also contacted the group Nox Arcana, who graciously allowed me permission to use their music as background and mood for the show. I had a great cast, a good script... and when we opened, a truly frightening show. A show that managed to scare quite a few audience members. One co-worker of a cast member complained of nightmares after seeing the show. The response was a confident, "... then, we did our job!"

I am very proud of the show and the people I had the opportunity to work with. A better group of collaborators I'll probably never find. I hope have it performed again, someday soon. Til then, I offer my thanks to my cast and crew and especially Edgar Allan Poe on his 205th Birthday.

Until the next time the show is staged show, I'll just...

EXIT, PURSUED BY A BEAR

The Theatre Community (and vice-versa) - Part 1

I just read a very interesting article. I'd encourage you to take a moment and read it yourself.

Go ahead, I'll wait....

http://www.clydefitchreport.com/2014/01/is-your-theater-a-community-or-a-clique/

There... see! Not too painful I hope.

This article got me thinking about the community of theatre in the theatre community (or the lack thereof) that I have seen. Made me think about some of the theatre 'experiences' I've had over the past 20-odd years.

Some of it wasn't pretty... especially when I started out.

I believe I had much the same starting experience as many others had. I came to theatre a bit later than most, being a band geek for the majority of my high school career. When in college, I joined the student theatre group that was producing comedies and musicals and, unfortunately, due to poor grades, was unable to audition for the fall show my sophomore year. It was a small production of "George Washington Slept Here", an older comedy/farce, with a rundown home of historical significance as the show centerpiece, which slowly breaks its new owners. Think "The Money Pit" with Tom Hanks, but for the stage.

Without naming names and pointing fingers, I can say that it wasn't a great show. It actually had quite a few difficulties. Originally written and produced in the early 1940s, the script need updating to be a bit more current and the transition to fall of 1990 was not as clean as it could have been. Most of the cast was composed of the incoming freshman class, and the rest were completely new to Harrington Theatre Arts Company. It was a transition show, as many of the "Old Guard" had just graduated. It was somewhat profitable and many years later people still laugh about how bad that show was.

But that show was the "clique builder" for the next 3 years of my college theatre career.

And I wasn't in it....

If you were not in the cast or on the crew of that groaner of show, you were an outsider. That horrible experience was the common touchstone for the movers and shakers of the student theatre company from that point forward. It was the show were everyone met and bonded. If you were an 'outsider', you became one of the people NOT chosen to be a significant part of any shows that were to follow.

And this was my path for the next several years. All of college in fact... and even a little beyond.

It was a hard lesson to learn as a member of the only group producing musical theater. The only way I was able to crack that mold, even a little bit, was by auditioning for the only other student theatre group, E-52 Student Theatre, and land a staring role as Pale in a production of "Burn This". That show both shocked and surprised many of my peers, as most were unaware of what I was capable of. Truth be told, so was I, until that show. Through the character of Pale, my rage and frustration were on full display. Which may have made me even MORE of an outsider...

Even a great performance can do so much. And that break was not enough. Or maybe it was even too much. And some of the 'lessons' I learned while in college were very hard to unlearn as I moved out into the arena of community and regional theatre, once I graduated college.

Take a moment and think about your current theatre experience... how is that working for you? Are you an insider or an outsider? Leader or follower? Is your theatre a clique or a community? Nothing is truly black and white, so take another look at the article tagged above. If nothing else, I hope it starts a conversation.    

More on cliques and community and theatre later... for now, I will simply...

EXIT, PURSUED BY A BEAR...