Saturday, January 28, 2017

Thank you.

Wow. We closed another show last weekend. It was a huge effort. Enormous. This is where I say thank you to the many, many people who made it possible.

This was a huge undertaking. There are so many people who made it possible. Thanks on our website seem paltry and inadequate, but it is what we can do. Honestly, it would be impossible to properly thank them. Just know that if you enjoyed the show - you saw power, trust, honesty in  performance, you were affected by this story - it was not just the people on the stage that made that happen.

First, thank you, again, as always, to our Kickstarter supporters. For reasons that are probably obvious, this show was not an easy sell. In addition, we lost most of the first weekend to snow. So financially, this show is tough. Our kickstarter supporters, those that gave a little more to be in our program and website - thank you! You made a huge difference, and your money went directly into putting the show on stage.

Let's not forget some people who were able to help us load the show in and out. Matt Spittler, Chris Hayworth, Matt Fields - thank you!

To Josh and Michelle (and everyone at Sonorous Road)- thank you as always. You have been as supportive as anyone could hope for. Not just folks willing to rent their space, but real companions in the journey, going above and beyond to help the show in any way you could.

To Kevin Ferguson at Cardinal Gibbons High School - Thank you. Being able to rehearse in your space is a huge HUGE help to our production. One of the single biggest contributions to our show every year. Thanks also to Ian Finley and Jerome Davis for being willing to make space available for us on a fill in basis. Speaking of fill-ins - Lauren Knott and Kieth Bugner - thank you! You were both able to step in to help us when Andy wasn't available to stage manage. Thanks for giving us your time and assistance!

Thank you as always to the other theatre companies that let us rent/borrow items. Justice Theatre Project, Theatre in the Park, and RLT and some others (you know who you are). This is a theatre community that really cooperates and helps each other. So happy about that.

To a number of people who helped us in ways big and small. Jeff Nugent - thanks again. You're help is just so amazing. Letting us borrow your help and your truck on short notice, helping with little details and big ones. And Nora Kelly - thanks for being willing to help when I needed a truck. Aaron Alderman - thanks for being able to drop in and help us record a very special song with Marleigh. Such a special touch to the show. Diana McQueen for helping us hang posters. Thank you, I just ran out of time, and having another person passionate about the show and willing to help was huge.

To our technical director Todd - wow. I rely on you in ways big and small, and you always have time and patience to help me. I really appreciate that. None of our shows would have been possible without you. I designed this set - and I promise next time (if there is a next time for me doing that job) I will DO BETTER. I will measure more carefully and communicate more fully. You did well to put up with me and roll with the punches. So thanks!

Will Mikes, our sound designer - thank you! In addition to designing the pre-show music and our ni show sound cue (only one this time!) Will recorded our curtain music with Aaron and Marleigh. Sound design is often under appreciated. I loved the mood that the music set for the show (mostly Phillip Glass by the way).

To Alyssa - our ASM and our Lighting Designer (by default). Thank you. You put in so so much work on this show. The lights were perfectly awful - bleak, washed out, unforgiving. And when Todd had to spend time working on the set (because I messed up... see above) you stepped up big time. You ran the cables and hung all the lights. And in the show, the office simply would not have been "alive" without you. Thank you.

Jennifer... well of course thank you. Those amazing AMAZING images? Jennifer did them all. The photography, the layout, the design, the look, everything. It was an incredibly professional job. Really blew me away. She also helped create the "color story" of the show (both the colors in the set and the colors worn by the actors) and she designed the costumes. You simply don't understand how important these things are until you have someone who knows what they are doing walk you through it. SHOW you. And then you see. If that wasn't enough, she also took the promotional images. And of course... well she supported me. Thanks for reminding me to center myself when things got crazy.

Andy, our stage manager, thank you. You have been a part of almost every production we have done. Your skill, professionalism, and humor are simply unmatched. There is a reason you are on the very short list of the area's best stage managers and directors. Thank you.

Marleigh - wow! we were so SO lucky to have you. To have an actor of your experience and caliber work with us is always special. One of the hallmarks of a great show is having great actors in supporting roles. Your work was invaluable to the project, it simply would not have been the same without you. And thank you also to Page Purgar and Steve McDonald for letting Marleigh participate in this show (and driving her back and forth...). We were so lucky to have all of you involved. [EDIT: I can't believe I forgot this paragraph in my initial posting! One of the dangers of doing these things is that you can forget people and feel horribly embarrassed and guilty after - please forgive me! The omission is one of my incompetence, not a lack of good will or your importance to the project]

Katie, thank you for being a wonderful actor and a wonderful human being. This is not an easy show for any young woman to take on. It is a great role, but one that is challenging not just in terms of line load, but the emotion you must take on. Una is not a comfortable person to live with for an hour, much less two months. Thank you for committing so fully, so bravely to this process and this script. Thank you for speaking your mind and your truth in rehearsal, in public, and on stage. Thank you for being a damn good actor and friend, and for working with us on this show.

John, of course, thank you. You know what a big undertaking this was for both of us. Your work on stage, and as a production partner... what can I say. We did it again. What we put on stage was simply the best work we possibly could have done. The standard of quality of that production was among the highest I have ever seen in the region (or outside of it for that matter). That final performance - I mean, I am biased of course, but it was easily among the best things I have ever seen performed. Good work.

And finally, thank you to our audience. It wasn't the easiest show to see. Not all art is. But that show had a power and yes, a beauty that I hope you appreciated. So thank you.

I'm going to take a nap.

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