Rehearsals from Saturday

I've checked in on a few of the rehearsals this morning and the evening is shaping up to be very fun. David Schmader's 'Macrophages' finds worlds colliding in the realm of plastic surgery and body modification, and the recovery process that follows. This one presents a couple particular problems for the design team in creating the set, costuming the actors, and getting them to and from the stage. It will be interesting to see what this one ends up looking like.

It also again shows just how cool the 14/48 band is. When presented  with the possibility of 'a particular, very not Enya, artist' being covered by Enya, the response from the band was 'I love that!'

Erin Stewart's 'Atomic' takes us back to Halloween as kids. And, more specifically, just how mean and nasty kids can be. It lacks the blood of last weekend, but makes up for it with pee. The show also has rather involved blocking, which came to light when I heard 'We're only on page 1!?'

'Whatever Gets You Through The Night' from Zoe Fitzgerald goes backstage at the theatre and brought my favorite exchange of the day as Lisa Viertel asked about tracking where her bourbon is. Charles Smith replied that it should just be in her hand the whole time. That gets you a long way down the path where this one is headed. There was also discussion of the possibility of a number of cameos.

And on another band note... last night's performance of 'Last Dance' by Sara Porkalob went over so well that she's been invited back. She'll be closing out the night with another performace. Without spoiling the song I'll just say that constantly carrying around your bourbon is a solid clue.

Breakfast and Coincidences

As expected, a lot calmer energy abounds in the room today as people go through the familiar patterns of playwrights talking to directors, actors catching up and grabbing a bite to eat, exchanging compliments and horror stories. Looks like people got sufficient sleep, but there is no denying, everyone could use a couple of extra hours.

Keni Cohen and Erin Stewart talk about the play
Photo: Agastya Kohli

Three of the playwright/director pairs are repeats of yesterday. Keni Cohen picked Erin Stewart's script again, Andy Jensen drew Lisa Koch and Peggy Platt again, and Charles Smith will be directing Zoe Fitzgerald's play - who by the way, wrote play #7 for yesterday, and for tonight!

Additionally, Keni picked Sydney Tucker as one of her actors, just as Andy Jensen picked Katie Driscoll again. So Katie and Sydney will be working with the same writer/director teams as they did yesterday.

Some other statistical fun facts - John Langs, who directed the smallest cast yesterday, has one of the two 5 handers. Sara Porkalob, who was in play #1 yesterday is in play #7 tonight.

Once again, the actors, writers and directors have left after the actor draw, and the designers continue to make lists and discuss options. We'll stop by a little later and see what fun things they're working on today.

The Saturday Lineup

Friday night at 14/48 was fantastic. How will Saturday stack up? Will things get really weird when the writers tackle 'Overindulgence'? That all remains to be seen, but here is the lineup that will answer those questions in less than ten hours.

Atomic
Writer - Erin Stewart
Director - Keni Cohen
Actors - Darius Pierce, Ryan Spickard, Melissa Fenwick, Sydney Tucker

Macrophages
Writer - David Schmader
Director - Anthony Winkler
Actors - Emma Bamford, Alyson Bedford, John Farrage

The Program
Writers - Lisa Koch & Peggy Platt
Director - Andy Jensen
Actors - Katie Driscoll, Kate Witt, Jesica Avellone, Sam Read

Atlas Movers
Writer - Keri Healey
Director - John Langs
Actors - Opal Peachey, Allison Strickland, Rachel Sedwick, Joe Zavadil, Chris Shea

No Apologies
Writer - Jennifer Jasper
Director - Hana Lass
Actors - Marianna de Fazio, Marty Mukhalian, Cody Smith,

Shorty Says Goodbye
Writer - Courtney Meaker
Director - Stan Shields
Actors - Danielle Daggerty, Scott Ward Abernethy

Whatever Gets You Through The Night
Writer - Zoe Fitzgerald
Director - Charles Smith
Actors - Sara Porkalob, Lisa Viertel, Trick Danneker, Ben Burris, Joe Ivy

Here we go Saturday

The writers and directors are meeting over their plays now, and it looks like Friday was so good the 14/48 gods are trying to recreate it. Three of the pairings will be the same as yesterday - Erin Stewart and Keni Cohen, Peggy Platt, Lisa Koch, and Andy Jensen, and Zoe Fitzgerald and Charles Smith. Zoe and Charles even find themselves in the same slot, closing the night. Your other pairings are David Schmader and Anthony Winkler, Keri Healey and John Langs, Jennifer Jasper and Hana Lass, and Courtney Meaker and Stan Shields.

Fourth time's a charm

One of the difficulties with trying to keep track of seven different groups rehearsing is the timing. They are all running on their own schedules and scattered throughout the building. I tried to catch a rehearsal of Zoe Fitzgerald's "Good Night" three different times, and every time they were on a break.

I finally caught it when they ran through tech, and holy smokes... This is a wonderful thing. Charles Smith directs Allison Strickland, Danielle Daggerty, Scott Ward Abernethy, Sam Read, and John Farrage. The scene with Read and Farrage is fantastic. What a great way to close out the show.

There are still tickets available and tonight is going to be a great night. Hope to see you there!

Rehearsals everywhere.

The various groups are now scattered all over the ACT building, from the basement to the 8th floor, with design, sound, and lighting people roaming back and forth to get everything in order as we hit 3 hours to tech.

The random casting draw has worked splendidly for Stan Shields, working on Keri Healey's noir 'Curtains!'.  Talking with Lisa Viertel and Kate Witt, they couldn't be happier with their team. After the first read through they were set on who everyone was going to be. Witt and Chris Shea have that midwestern earnestness, and Viertel... well, let's just say that there may be a bit of a bonus for Kitten fans. It seems Miss Viertel's Principal may have what you would call Matron-esque attributes.

Stopping in at rehearsal for Mr. & Mrs. Hargrove, the farce is getting ramped up as they work toward, 'Less romantic, more frantic!' As they rerun a scene, this is looking like a hilarious stop in the second half of tonight's schedule.

I am very curious to see more of Zoe Fitzgerald's 'Good Night'. I arrived right as they headed off to break, but Charles Smith has described it as a sweet little play that is not your typical play seven.