This Is How It Goes

ON THE NEWS

2008-01-17T08:58:00.001-05:00

We're famous!!!!!

http://www.whsv.com/entertainment

Daily News Leader

2008-01-10T10:30:00.000-05:00

We're on the cover of GO!

Poster

2008-01-01T21:22:00.000-05:00

We also have a poster designed by a BONA FIDE artist from C'ville.... Adam Zeitz. He's ass kickin'!

More Pictures

2007-12-20T21:27:00.000-05:00

POSTER!!!!!

2007-12-20T20:54:00.001-05:00

Coming Along!

2007-12-13T06:54:00.000-05:00

Another VERY good rehearsal... this time with the additions of black curtains and "The Wall of Racial Slurs".

Photo Shoot

2007-12-13T06:39:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday we all got together with a friend of mine named Alex Stevens. He's a television producer by trade, but I'd also consider him a professional photographer... I really wanted to get some shots that would grab people's attention on the poster. I wanted something very representative of the show and would showcase the actors. They are working really hard and pouring themselves into these characters. Interracial marriage is still something kinda illicit in this part of the country, so I wanted to really punch the idea of sex between a black man and a white woman... but without coming across too sleazy or putting the actors in compromising positions.... Here's what we've got. These are the "press photos". I just added the title of the show and the author. The ACTUAL poster is going to be much more involved and is being designed by an artist. I think they came out very intimate and visually appealing... what do you think?

More Fighting... but this time in the NEW Space!

2007-12-05T10:37:00.000-05:00

So... Claire is the cutest thing ever, even when she's getting slapped around by Marcus. I have an excellent shot of her flipping me the double bird, but I thought it may not be appropriate for this blog... what if someone important saw it! I'll just email it to all my friends!

We had a GREAT rehearsal last night... we were in the new space, where we'll be performing and I think it had an impact on the actors... They were full of piss and vinegar! Natalie choreographed Claire and Marcus's fight and it came off GREAT! It looks real as hell. Plus we had BC (British Claire... though she's actually Irish) with us and she did an excellent job looking bitchy and generally pissed off... And as a result we have our first pictures of this mysterious woman for the BLOG! Everyone's been asking..

The space is going to work out great. The reason I like it most is because it is small and intimate. I was originally shooting to have 50 seats, but I think 40 will be more feasible. The audience will be right there with the actors and they'll be able to pick up on all the little things the actors are doing...

Chris is an excellent performer... he kinda has to carry the show... keep it driven... He has great energy and I don't think he's gonna have any problem holding the attention of the audience.

Marcus has excellent stage presence. His voice is very melodic and he's well on his way to frightening us with his anger. It's all in there, bottled down deep and little by little he's letting it out for us to see! It's exciting for me to be on the other side as a director and to see how an actor has to reach down into himself to pull out the emotion he needs on stage.

Claire.. as I've probably said on this blog before, is doing a great job at being expressive. I don't think she's even trying... as I know she's busy doing 100 things right now, but she has a natural ability to convey what she's feeling on her face.. Maybe it's just because I know her so well.. (hey, it's been a decade now), but I just love to sit there and watch the things she does... And we're still ON BOOK! As soon as we put those books down, it's gonna go to a whole new level!

BC... the potato picker: on her debut performance on the American Stage, BC is gonna kick ass! We keep adding in stuff for her to do on stage and last night Chris suggested we give her a line... I mean hey, she does have and accent and all, and we all know how Americans become hypnotized by a pretty girl with a foreign accent!! :)

What else can I say... all in all, we're all doing GREAT!

a FIGHT broke out at rehearsal. For REALS.

2007-11-28T10:22:00.001-05:00

So... we did fight choreography last night. IT went GREAT! We're gonna expose our audience to some black on white/white on black violence. It should be interesting! Here's a picture of our beautiful fight choreographer, Natalie Tasillo. You wouldn't think she'd be into violence, but she's like a rabid squirrel... cute on the outside, but she'll bite your eyes off. :)

Chris and Marcus really enjoyed fighting... the thing is, the punches and grunts were more like caresses and groans... I wonder what effect that'll have on the show? At least it'll add another dimension that the playwright didn't expect!

We start out with Marcus getting serious:

Chris feels violated and exploited:

I'm just an innocent little boy and I feel abused...

I'm RICK JAMES... Beeotch!

Hate the game.... not the playa!

Not only is Mr. Terry an excellent stage manager and impromptu waitress, but he's also a very affectionate guy... here he is going in for the "goodnight kiss".

Last but not least, our Props Mistress, the one any only Boogie Nights....

All kidding aside... we actually had a very serious discussion amongst ourselves last night. The last monologue of the play is very vivid and powerful and deals extensively with racial stereotypes... We discussed our own perspectives on race and I feel like we all made a good connection... We are heroes.

WE'VE GOT A PERFORMANCE SPACE

2007-11-28T10:07:00.000-05:00

Thanks to our WONDERFUL Visual Art Director Megan Hillary, we have secured the old Stonewall Jackson Elementary school on Beverley Street! It's a great space with plenty of parking, plus there is a Tea Bazar in the building and I'm hoping we can get them to stay open on show nights to serve the audience! We should be moving over there in the coming weeks... Here are some pictures of the space.

NEW GUEST SPEAKER

2007-11-24T10:02:00.001-05:00

I had coffee yesterday with Jonathan Coleman, author of "Long Way to Go: Black and White in America". He has agreed to be one of our guest speakers for the show. This is very exciting for us! Not only will we be producing an important theatrical work, but it looks like we may be able to reach out to the community to open a dialogue about race in general...

About Jonathan Coleman's book:

Amazon.com
Jonathan Coleman uses the city of Milwaukee--one of the most segregated in the country--as the lens through which to consider race in America. Black Milwaukeeans suffer an unemployment rate of about 20 percent, the result of the city's losing 60,000 jobs between 1979 and 1983 as it changed from a manufacturing to a service economy. The great success of Long Way to Go is that it shows us the human faces that lie behind the statistics, people like Georgette and Maron Alexander. After losing his high-paying manufacturing job, Maron Alexander found work paying $6 an hour, while his wife makes $5.50 an hour as a cook. They manage to feed their children and are sending their oldest daughter to college, but, at times, Maron Alexander can't help thinking that with his service insurance policy, his family would be better off if he were dead.

From Library Journal
Coleman's new book is a stunner. The former journalist and television news producer tackles the prickly topic of racism in the United States, particularly through the prism of both black and white citizens of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Coleman's narrative technique is superb, mixing investigative reporting with the storytelling style of the late Charles Kurault; the reader will become steadily engrossed while meeting people drawn from all walks of life as they spin their tales of how they view the specter of racism in America. While Coleman is sympathetic to most of the African American community members he meets, he intellectually distances himself from some of their ideas that he sees as ill-founded or self-serving. A brilliant work that approaches racism in America through the eyes, mouths, and hearts of those who have lived through it on the front lines. Highly recommended for all libraries.

BIG Plans

2007-11-13T06:38:00.001-05:00

Rehearsals are still going extremely well. Here are some more pictures...

More positive news is: WE'VE GOT A NEW ART DIRECTOR!!! Her name is Megan Hillary and she's totally KICK ASS. She has some really great ideas and I think she's going to bring a whole new dimension to the production. She's got a ton of professional experience.. and being an artist herself is extremely creative and driven. I'm really excited to see how this develops.

One idea Megan had was to hold an "Artists Reception", where the artists will be invited to watch the play and then represent their art to the audience afterwards, which will give them an opportunity to sell their stuff!

We're almost done blocking. Hopefully we'll be able to get our fight choreographer, Cory Vincent, in on it soon and she'll come up with some stuff for the fight scenes.

I just sent out an email to some people interested in leading some discussion on "Race in America". We will be holding these talks after the show on select nights.... more details to follow soon.

Rehearsal 2

2007-11-08T12:05:00.001-05:00

We blocked the "fight" scene with Marcus and Claire. This is gonna be a tricky scene, I think. Marcus has to act like a loud, angry and violent man. It's totally NOT his personality and I think it's gonna be a challenge for him! It'll be fun to watch the transformation. He's such a kind person in real life! Eventually, we'll pull in a fight choreographer to help with the actual slapping around.

My vision for this scene is to have Marcus really scare and intimidate the audience. We really aren't supposed to like him. At the same time though, I don't think we really like Claire's character either. We feel bad for her at times, but she's not really a good person.

Here are a few pictures of the blocking, plus a bonus shot of some of our production team! I took 4, but this was the only one that I could see Morgan's FACE! She kept looking away... :) Natalie has stepped up to be our Technical Director and Terry is there (one of the famed "Terries" of lore).

Enjoy!

2007-10-31T11:26:00.000-04:00

Read-Thru and FIRST Rehearsal!!!

2007-10-31T09:24:00.001-04:00

We had our read-thru on Sunday night, at my house. It took us two hours to read through the whole thing. One important thing I noticed about the script is that LaBute takes the time to write in any PAUSE or BEAT that he wants the actors to take. I think that it's going to be very important that we follow those directions explicitly. There is no intermission and I really would like to keep the play to one and a half hours TOPS. It's hard to make people sit for much longer than that. I don't think it's going to be a problem though! All in all, it was an excellent read-thru! I think we're all excited.

The first rehearsal was last night, at the Waynesboro Boys and Girls Club. Marcus works there. We had some trouble securing a rehearsal space... so we chose the BAGC at the last minute yesterday. Hopefully we'll have something permanent worked out before the next rehearsal... We're in negotiation with Ampersand and Madison Monroe... I should hear back from them soon!

I started building the boxes yesterday. Claire suggested that I leave them solid black and add handles. I think she's right. The designs may be distracting, plus it would make the job of constructing them much easier! The handles will involve some router action, but I think I can get it done! That's the good thing about working with some experienced and intelligent people, they give good advice!

We had our production meeting last night as well. It went great. Everyone is excited and very helpful. I think we're going to have T-shirts made for the crew; solid black with white letters, denoting the racial slur of their choice! It'll be funny. Lights will come from MBC probably... we need to come up with a sound system. No major concerns here!

The rehearsal was great! We blocked the first two scenes and came up with some interesting "business" for the actors to do. I'm gonna have to update my props list. Even running through the scenes twice has given an increase in pace. I think it's gonna be great.

Here are some pictures from last night's rehearsal.

IT's a Thin LINE.

2007-10-24T18:50:00.000-04:00

Between offensive and colorfully riskay/on the cutting edge of theater...

I want this play to be an EYE OPENER. A little bit IN YOUR FACE, BALLS TO THE WALL kinda shit.

Here's my latest idea:

I am going to make several wooden boxes, a wooden table and a wooden box/couch thing. It'll keep the set simple and cheap and I have some woodworking skills. I want to use all recycled wood. I'm either getting it at the dump (I've done this before) or we're going to make "WANTED" posts in newspapers and craigslist and stuff. If anyone you know has some wood lying around.... let me KNOW.

Anyway, the "recycled" idea is cool. I want to take it a step further. I want to paint all the stuff with a similar motief. All Black, with white stars and red higlights. It'll emphasize the whole black/white issue. I want to take it a little further. What would you think of this print (or a variation) on some of the stuff:

Let me know what you think.

Ready to ROLL!

2007-10-24T16:46:00.000-04:00

Auditions are OVER. Goddamn.

We have a HELL of a cast though.

WHITE MAN - Chris Markham
BLACK MAN - Marcus Thompson
WHITE WOMAN - Claire Hensley
WHITE WAITRESS - Claire Reiley

I can't say much about auditions here. I can say that some of what happened was very unexpected. I knew I was going to run into some problems having my friends audition, but I didn't anticipate what I got. All I can say is that I'm glad it's OVER. We had a few very good actors and it was a struggle for me to choose. I really wanted to get a cast that worked well TOGETHER. I think I've got that.

I knew Chris from when we did "The Common Glory" together at Shenanarts. He was Thomas Jefferson. Actually, I was pissed for a while because I wanted that part! I was kind of an obnoxious teenager. I think he's going to be great for the part because he looks like a nice guy, but he's got a bit of a devious look behind him too, which'll be perfect for this role.

Marcus is the reason I choose to do this play.... I was trying to find something to do that had some real meaning. I had just seen him in "Poloroid Stories", with my wife. He's got a very commanding presence when he's on stage. The cool thing about Marcus though is that he's probably one of the most sincere guys I've ever met. One of the first deep coversations we had together even brough out some tears! In short, He's KICK ASS. I'm excited. I think it's going to be interesting to see him act like an asshole.

Claire Hensley is like my sister. I was a little concerned that my friendship with her would influence my decision in casting her or her performance in auditions. Neither was the case. She got the part simply because she did the best job. Her acting skills are superb, she looks the part, and she is comfortable interacting with Marcus and Chris. I like a person that can put their personal feelings aside when it comes to being professional.

Claire Reiley is one of my closest friends too. This will be her "Premere" on the American Stage. She did some acting in England (where from she hails) and was anxious to get back into it here. I thought this would be a good introduction for her. There are NO lines and the scene is only like 5 minutes long, but it will get her face on the stage and hopefully prompt her to venture out more (maybe a possible Barhoppers actress?).

PRODUCTION TEAM:

PRODUCER - Morgan Alberts Smith: Morgan is damn good. Plus she looks hot in Naugahyde Boots! Seriously though, Morgan has been an absolute pleasure to work with. We have a very similar sense of humor, she's on top of EVERYTHING, we seem to be on the same page idea-wise, she has kick ass media and advertising connections and she's a great person to turn to for advice. I'm hoping that we can team up for more productions in the future.

C.S.A - Patrick Smith: Patrick stepped in to this role after years of longing to be a CSA. It really paid off too. Patrick has an extreme attention to detail, which was invaluable when casting for one female role from a pool of many talented actresses. Thanks Patrick!

STAGE MANAGER(S) - The Terries! - The Terries are kick ass. When I found out that they were gonna do it, I said "Hell Yeah, I love the Terries". They've since decided to use this quote on their headstones.

PROPS - Brittany Bugge: For the longest time I thought Bugge hated me. Turns out, she doesn't. We've worked on quite a few shows together. It's good to have someone to abuse and torture. Right Bugge?

LIGHTS - Adam Patterson: I actually haven't really seen Adam since High School. He's cool as shit though. I wouldn't settle for anything less.

BACKSTAGE - Natalie Tasillo: Strangely, I don't know all that much about Natalie. I know she's a kickass backstage person because we've worked together before, but I don't know her that well on a personal level. Let's change that, Huh?

ART DIRECTOR - Heath Pecorino - I'm hoping Heath is going to wrangle all the artists we need for this show. Artists can be rougher than a bull, so I'm really gonna need Heath dog. I love Heath.

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR - Greg Beam. This is the "Mr. Greg" I spoke of earler. If you want to know more about him, click play below:

That's him. He's OLD GREGG. He's our art director. Don't play love games with him or he'll do to you what he did to Curly Jefferson. It's unclear exactly what he did to him, but it's definitely frightening.

LIGHT DEISGNER/PRODUCTION MANAGER - A. Brooks Hollar. What does the A stand for? I don't know. Brooks is the bomb though. He's gonna be the light of my life. no pun.

Thats our Team. If you want to hear our theme song, click play:

in JAIL.

2007-10-18T10:10:00.001-04:00

Oh. By the way. I want to do this with the play. It would be kick ass. I've started emailing.

http://prisonartsstl.org/index.htm

J

Propaganda

2007-10-18T09:31:00.000-04:00

There are a distinct number of issues that I believe are central to every human being. Sexuality, religion, family, race, interpersonal relationships, and morality. By tackling one of these issues in a theatrical setting, we are confronted with the playright's own ideas on that particular subject. Though LaBute is expressing his own experience with race, it is a central issue to humanity on the whole. Race in America has long been a contraversial topic. People all feel strongly about it, me included.

I grew up in Queens, New York. Queens happens to be the most racially and culturally diverse place in all of the United States. (This is a fact that is advertised quite frequently on posters in the #7 Train.)

One thing about New York is that everything and everyone is IN YOUR FACE all the time. If someone is pissed they are PISSED and everyone around them knows about it. ("Pissed" can be taken to mean angry or drunk. Either meaning holds true to the statement. ) I think I've inherited this trait somewhat. My philosophy on race is that we can't go around ignoring our differences. We should stand on the rooftops and shout them out. Our differences make up WHO WE ARE. Without diversity, we are living in 1984. (Not the year. The book). If you are white... you're WHITE. If you're black... you're BLACK. Fuck it. If you're gay.... GAY. Who gives a shit. Once we accept that we all have labels and stereotypes for everything and everyone, they will start to fade into the background and we can start to accept one another as people. It may be the single most important thing we all have in common. We're all just PEOPLE.

The subject matter of this play speaks for itself. My mission is to expose it to general audiences and attract them to it somewhat explicitly.

As we are planning to rehearse in the Dramatix space, I've designed these posters to give the community at large a glimpse of what we are doing. I plan to hang these posters on the storefront for the duration of our rehearsals. They are collages of important figures and events dealing with race in America. Enjoy!

Casting Pressures

2007-10-18T09:21:00.000-04:00

So far, the directing "process" for "this is how it goes" has been very positive for me. Here are a few "negative" aspects. (I'll try not to use too many quotes to denote sarcasm.

1. I think Ampersand should appoint a board member to be responsible for finding performance spaces for productions. I don't think that a director needs the stress of looking for a space. I have been in contact with some real estate people, but since they have their own jobs, it's hard for them to give me their attention. I really want to give my actors the confidence of having a performance space secured. At this point, we have NO definite space and this is through no fault of my own. I've been putting a lot of effort into looking for one, but there is only so many messages you can leave on people's voicemail.

2. It is really hard to hold auditions when a majority of the people auditioning are your friends. I know that they only mean well, but I feel under pressure to cast them. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but I'm only going to cast people that I think will best fit the role. I think one way to help with this is to have other people serve as casting directors. I think this will help. So far, I think my producer will be at auditions with me to help decide.

3. I am the type of person that lives by my word. If I SAY I'm going to do something, I DO it. Period. I feel that if a man can't hold true to his word, then he isn't a man. There are so many creative people out there that have GREAT ideas, but fail to see them through. I don't want that to be me. I can be a little impulsive at times and even a bit too intense, but I think that if it helps me to get the job done it's a good thing. Not to point any fingers, but when you are working on a play it's a COLLABORATIVE effort. There have been a number of occasions so far where people let me down. It sucks.

Audition Scenes

2007-09-20T21:29:00.000-04:00

Today I compiled the audition scenes. It took me about an hour. I really wanted to pick scenes that would be a challange to those auditioning. I wrote a note for each scene so that the actor will know what's going on and what I am expecting from them.

No big deal.

I setup an alternate audition date with Jaquie because she can't come to the open auditions.

Not much more to report today!

Background

2007-09-19T21:23:00.000-04:00

Greg Beam suggested that I start a blog. Since I do EVERYTHING that Greg says, here it is! Ironically, this whole thing got started by a suggestion by Mr. Greg. One night this past summer I was up late watching TV. I had my computer open and iChat was running. Greg happened to be online, so I started talking to him. One thing led to another and before long he suggested that I think about directing a play.

I NEVER thought about directing before. I've been acting for a little over 10 years now. Most of the stuff I do is with the local community theater that's available to me in Staunton, Virginia. There's quite a bit actually. I have a love/hate relationship with theater. Usually it's more hate than love honestly. I never could figure out why that was! That is, until Greg suggested that I direct something. I realized that my dissatisfaction with theater stems from the fact that a good portion of the stuff I've done is CRAP.

Theater is supposed to entertain. I can understand that. But it can be SO MUCH MORE. Theater has the power to be a vehicle for social change.

The morning after talking to Greg, I was on my way to work and I realized that if I directed a play, I could pick something that could actually INFORM or EDUCATE an audience and expose them to something of social value. I knew that I wanted something dealing with either RACE or SEXUALITY - two areas that are commonly ignored in contemporary American society in the name of POLITICAL CORRECTNESS!

That day at work I read a bunch of plays. I came across Neil LaBute and he struck me as a very powerful playright, who was tackling important issues. Also... his writing was ENTERTAINING. Two for the price of ONE.

That day I submitted my proposal to Ampersand and waited eagerly for their approval. Got it.

** Here's a little disclaimer about myself. I tend to go BALLS DEEP when I get into something. I either do it 0% or 150%. **

From there, I secured Morgan to be my producer. An excellent choice. She's top notch. From day one, she's been on top of stuff and willing to match my enthusiasm for this project. I'm very happy.

We've decided to transform this project into a production that bridges theater with visual art, music and social awareness. To accomplish this goal, we plan to assemble a team of local artists and use their works as set pieces which can be related to the overall picture of racism and bigotry in America. We've secured an excellent local musician, Lola Mullen, to perform some of her work every night before the show and plan to showcase a series of local musicians's recordings as post show entertainment. Each artist and musician will also be given the chance to offer their works for sale to the patrons of each night's show. In addition to this, we plan to assemble some "guest speakers" to lead discussions, panel sessions and public talks on race relations in America!

As you can see... this is a very AMBITIOUS project. We're totally going BALLS DEEP!

I plan to use this Blog to keep all those interested informed on the progress of this venture. I plan to take plenty of pictures and chronicle the whole process of directing the show!

For now, we've got Auditions happening on October 22nd and 23rd at 7PM - 15 E. Beverly Street in Staunton.
The performance dates are January 17-19 and 24-26, with a pay what you can night on January 16. The show will start at 8, but we will open the doors at 7:30 for a half an hour of live music by Lola Mullen. AS for a space - we're looking at a number of buildings downtown, with the possibility of using a space in the Masonic Building. Rehearsals will most likely be held at 15 E. Beverly Street.

I have a line on someone to serve as my Art Director - responsible for assembling and coordinating the "art" portion of this production.

We're still looking for people to work backstage, run props and costumes and possibly lights.

I think that's all for now, but I'll keep you posted!

J