Dinner with Friends no more
This weekend may have been even more crazy than the one I blogged about a couple of weeks ago. Saturday I started off at 10 AM with a costume parade for "Macbeth" and "Taming of the Shrew," then Steph, Elena (our amazing stage manager), Melissa (my Lady M), and I went out to Pt. Fermin to look at the Ocean and do table work on the Macbeth and Lady Macbeth scenes. And then I returned to Little Fish to do an 8 PM performance of "Dinner with Friends." Today, I began at 10 AM with a Macbeth rehearsal, then I had a 2 PM matinee of "Dinner with Friends," and finally had a 4 hour rehearsal of "Taming of the Shrew." I don't say this to brag, or complain, or for any other reason than to mention that my heart is full, and my tank is low.
But I really want to talk about "Dinner with Friends" in this blog. It's been a journey for me since I pitched it to Suzanne and Lisa last August. As a company member of Little Fish, we can suggest things, and usually (eventually) we get to do them. Well, I have loved this play since it came out. I did a scene from it many years ago as a showcase, and I had actually started to work on it a couple of years ago. But the production never happened.
Fun facts
-when I did the showcase and later started to work on it as a full production, I played Tom.
-When I pitched it for Little Fish, I wanted to play Tom.
-On the audition form where it asked what part I was auditioning for, I put Tom.
-On the audition form where it asked if I was willing to play a different role, I put no.
-Mark asked me at callbacks if I would be willing to play Gabe.
So, we had auditions and I was asked to consider Gabe. For some reason, I didn't respond to Gabe. (And the reason was that the one time I had seen the play--many years ago--I really didn't like him). Also, the fight scene between Tom and Beth is one of the greatest scenes in contemporary drama. It is dynamic!
So I told Mark that I would think about it. And I actually did. I reread the play. And I realized that I was no longer Tom. I had become Gabe. And what's more, I really liked Gabe. And for anybody who may have known me pre-1997, it may be a shocker for you to realize that I am saying that I discovered in this moment that I like myself.
And so I was cast. With three wonderful, lovely, talented, mindful, artistic, professional actors. And we had our first read, and as I think I wrote in another blog (although I'm never really sure, because I seem to blog straight from my subconscious...and since I am not actually one of the 4 readers of my own blog, I don't really ever know what I've written...and yes, this has been a problem in the past) that first read was so connected and authentic that it actually scared me. Because when you start off like that, you know that you have something that could be really special. And that adds a certain pressure.
And so rehearsals began. And we got to know one another. (I had known Renee and Mark for 15 years but I only knew Christina and Doug from seeing them in plays). And rehearsals began going really well. Christina and I had a very easy chemistry from the start as Karen and Gabe. This is such a wildcard in casting a show. You really want to put the people who are best for each role in their roles, but you just have to cross your fingers and hope that they click. And whatever chemicals that are necessary for a successful pairing of a couple that can complete one another's thoughts just happened to exist with us. And we instantly became really good friends and fell into a really easy rapport. I can't begin to explain how important this is. And one of the best things about this show for me has been that everybody who has talked to me of it, has mentioned my work in relation to hers. We were a unit. Our journey really spoke to so many people.
And so we continued rehearsing and dissecting the play. Going deep into the relationships between these four people. And we finally put it all together and had our first run through. And then the rains came and leaked into our electrical system.
And then we had to cancel the show.
We didn't know if we would get to do it. We didn't know if Little Fish would ever re-open. But our San Pedro community is amazing and they rallied for us and helped us rebuild the electrical system (and Lisa, Suzanne, and the board decided that we might as well put in new air conditioning to boot). But in the interim, I went off and did "Macbeth Revisited." Renee went off and got married and also did another show. Doug and Christina also dove into other things.
We got word that we were reopening. We came back after nearly 2 months and had 10 days (only 5 of which were rehearsal days) until we opened. I was still performing in "Revisited," and also started working on the SBTS summer. (see previous blog). And let me tell you, taking 2 months off in the middle of a rehearsal process isn't ideal. That week we had to rediscover so much. It was more like remounting a previous production than finishing a process. But, it came together. Not sure how. It's a mystery. And we opened on a Wednesday. And for good measure, we took another week off until our second performance. Then four more days. This was crazy. It was impossible to gain momentum. But we all loved and trusted one another.
This week, we had more than half of our 7 total performances. Weds, Fri, Sat, and the matinee today. Today was so lovely. Despite my exhaustion from the weekend I mentioned above. And some really amazing things happened (maybe because I was so tired and could only exist in the moment). I will miss this show. I will miss this amazing cast. I will miss this director. I will not miss the stage manager, but only because she is doing SBTS with me.
And I will miss Gabe.
And Karen.
And Tom.
And Beth.
But I really want to talk about "Dinner with Friends" in this blog. It's been a journey for me since I pitched it to Suzanne and Lisa last August. As a company member of Little Fish, we can suggest things, and usually (eventually) we get to do them. Well, I have loved this play since it came out. I did a scene from it many years ago as a showcase, and I had actually started to work on it a couple of years ago. But the production never happened.
Fun facts
-when I did the showcase and later started to work on it as a full production, I played Tom.
-When I pitched it for Little Fish, I wanted to play Tom.
-On the audition form where it asked what part I was auditioning for, I put Tom.
-On the audition form where it asked if I was willing to play a different role, I put no.
-Mark asked me at callbacks if I would be willing to play Gabe.
So, we had auditions and I was asked to consider Gabe. For some reason, I didn't respond to Gabe. (And the reason was that the one time I had seen the play--many years ago--I really didn't like him). Also, the fight scene between Tom and Beth is one of the greatest scenes in contemporary drama. It is dynamic!
So I told Mark that I would think about it. And I actually did. I reread the play. And I realized that I was no longer Tom. I had become Gabe. And what's more, I really liked Gabe. And for anybody who may have known me pre-1997, it may be a shocker for you to realize that I am saying that I discovered in this moment that I like myself.
And so I was cast. With three wonderful, lovely, talented, mindful, artistic, professional actors. And we had our first read, and as I think I wrote in another blog (although I'm never really sure, because I seem to blog straight from my subconscious...and since I am not actually one of the 4 readers of my own blog, I don't really ever know what I've written...and yes, this has been a problem in the past) that first read was so connected and authentic that it actually scared me. Because when you start off like that, you know that you have something that could be really special. And that adds a certain pressure.
And so rehearsals began. And we got to know one another. (I had known Renee and Mark for 15 years but I only knew Christina and Doug from seeing them in plays). And rehearsals began going really well. Christina and I had a very easy chemistry from the start as Karen and Gabe. This is such a wildcard in casting a show. You really want to put the people who are best for each role in their roles, but you just have to cross your fingers and hope that they click. And whatever chemicals that are necessary for a successful pairing of a couple that can complete one another's thoughts just happened to exist with us. And we instantly became really good friends and fell into a really easy rapport. I can't begin to explain how important this is. And one of the best things about this show for me has been that everybody who has talked to me of it, has mentioned my work in relation to hers. We were a unit. Our journey really spoke to so many people.
And so we continued rehearsing and dissecting the play. Going deep into the relationships between these four people. And we finally put it all together and had our first run through. And then the rains came and leaked into our electrical system.
And then we had to cancel the show.
We didn't know if we would get to do it. We didn't know if Little Fish would ever re-open. But our San Pedro community is amazing and they rallied for us and helped us rebuild the electrical system (and Lisa, Suzanne, and the board decided that we might as well put in new air conditioning to boot). But in the interim, I went off and did "Macbeth Revisited." Renee went off and got married and also did another show. Doug and Christina also dove into other things.
We got word that we were reopening. We came back after nearly 2 months and had 10 days (only 5 of which were rehearsal days) until we opened. I was still performing in "Revisited," and also started working on the SBTS summer. (see previous blog). And let me tell you, taking 2 months off in the middle of a rehearsal process isn't ideal. That week we had to rediscover so much. It was more like remounting a previous production than finishing a process. But, it came together. Not sure how. It's a mystery. And we opened on a Wednesday. And for good measure, we took another week off until our second performance. Then four more days. This was crazy. It was impossible to gain momentum. But we all loved and trusted one another.
This week, we had more than half of our 7 total performances. Weds, Fri, Sat, and the matinee today. Today was so lovely. Despite my exhaustion from the weekend I mentioned above. And some really amazing things happened (maybe because I was so tired and could only exist in the moment). I will miss this show. I will miss this amazing cast. I will miss this director. I will not miss the stage manager, but only because she is doing SBTS with me.
And I will miss Gabe.
And Karen.
And Tom.
And Beth.
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