Together at Last!

Last night the entire cast of Murder on the Nile were together at last! We have been slowly piecing together the show in segments and out of order for the last 3 weeks. It feels a lot like working on a film. It feels good to finally have everyone in the same room at the same time. 

Murder on the Nile Casting!

I have been waiting for the perfect project to take me back to the Long Beach Playhouse and it has finally arrived. I have booked the role of Jacqueline de Severac in Murder on the Nile by Agatha Christie! I am thrilled to return to one of my favorite playhouses in So Cal in this dynamic role. If you know the plot, no spoilers please! I don't want to give away the mystery!

Lots of Laughs in Waiting for Godot!

The Long Beach Playhouse is currently presenting their Studio Theatre production of Samual Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. This is probably Beckett’s best known works among his Irish avant-garde plays and poems. It was somewhat surprising to me to see so few people in the audience. Almost as surprising as the myriad of questions I had after reading this play in college. After all, what the heck is this play all about?

In short Waiting for Godot is about waiting, friendship, the human condition & faith. Vladimir (Anthony B. Cohen) and Estragon (Karl Schott) wait in a nondescript desert-like setting characterized only by the presence a lonely bare tree and large rocks. Andrew Vonderschmitt’s stylized set design is reminiscent of a Salvador Dali painting and provides a perfect setting for the surreal nature of the play.

The two men are waiting for a character named Godot. To pass the time, Vladimir and Estragon create various trivial activities talking, eating, and arguing through their day. They constantly tease each other and when the boredom becomes overwhelming, they contemplate suicide. However, the most entertaining part of the play is when Vladimir and Estragon receive a bizarre visit from what appears to be slave owner Pozzo (Steven Biggs) and his servant Lucky (Kyle Bryan Hall).

Surprisingly, considering Beckett is the source of this madness, there is never a dull moment in this production. It is as funny as it is thought provoking. All the actors involved give energized full-throttle performances, including Kyle Bryan Hall who doesn’t speak for what seems like an eternity, but communicates his character with gesture and facial expression, until the moment when he is asked to “think” and cannot be persuaded to shut-up.

There are a million ways to interpret this play (none of which are right or wrong) and LBPH does an excellent job letting the play speak for itself. This is a must see production for any theatre artist, student and theatre admirer. Waiting for Godot is a classic piece that does not come around nearly as often as it should. So please support Southern California theatre and purchase a ticket today. You will not be disappointed and you will be talking about the play with friends for hours upon hours.

Waiting for Godot at the Long Beach Playhouse Studio Theatre through May 7. General admission tickets are $22; $20 for seniors. Student tickets are $12 with valid student ID. Performances are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm. at 5021 E. Anaheim St. Call (562) 494-1014 for reservations and information. Tickets are also available online at http://www.lbplayhouse.org/.

"I don't want to live. I want to love first, and live incidentally" - Zelda Fitzgerald

Last night I read The Violet Hour and instantly became of fan of Richard Greenberg. I relished in the language of the play. It is not often that I stumble onto a modern piece of theatre with such thoughtful, eloquent and sophisticated language. Surreal and magical in every way, The Violet Hour explodes off the page, manipulating time and toying with the concept of fate. When a strange machine arrives in John Seavering’s publishing office, spewing out premonitions, reality is questioned and John must choose between publishing the memoirs of his mistress, or his best friend’s book. Either choice may prove disastrous for the unpublished writer, but both will lead to Seavering’s ultimate success. I immediately connected with this piece, especially the characters of Denny and Rosamund – who seem to be portraits of the young Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. When I reached their final, intimate scene together, I began to read out loud; as such an emotional journey could not be left on the page. There is something very sincere and real about how the words are spaced on the page and how they sound when spoken aloud. From an actor’s perspective, there is a special emotional journey for each character clearly reflected in the dialog, which somehow manages to be heightened yet conversational at the same time. The Long Beach Playhouse has included The Violet Hour as part of their season this year, and I sincerely hope that the production will do justice to this wonderful play. I can't wait to see it on the stage!

LBPH Opens "Our Town"

Our Town – the classic American drama by playwright Thornton Wilder opens this week at the Long Beach Playhouse. The play depicts the fictional, average town of Grovers Corners through the everyday lives of its residents. Keeping true to the premise of the play, LBPH’ s production utilized minimal sets (designed by Andrew Vonderschmitt) and almost no props. The actors mimed much of their physical actions, the only spectacle being the glorious costumes designed by Donna Fritsche. Director Sharyn Case leads the actors through solid performances. Brain J. Page is average, but dependable, as the stage manager, the only character permitted to break the fourth wall as the omnipotent narrator. He carries a strong vocal quality and visual presence, but seemed uncertain at times and lacked the proper enthusiasm to propel the story. Erica Farnsworth delivers a superb Emily Webb, just as Wilder would have intended her growth from innocence to adulthood and beyond. She asks, “Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it?—every, every minute?” Farnsworth deliveries subtleties only present in a veteran actress and a well-developed character arch. The play is a long three acts, for which the playwright intentionally paced the show to describe the transience of everyday life. While there are some pacing issues and a couple lack-luster performers, the LBPH delivers an authentic example of this masterpiece of the human condition, which every student of the theatre should attend.

Performances are 8 pm, Fri. & Sat, 2 pm, Sun. The play runs until March 6. Tickets are $12-22. The Playhouse is located at 5021 E. Anaheim St. For more info call 494-1014 or visit http://www.lbplayhouse.com/.

Lutz Closing

Yesterday was the closing performance of The Lutz Radio Hour. The show proved to be a strange beast, portraying actors in their final radio performance, when in reality we also faced our final curtain. I returned to the theatre after our holday break, completed our final three performances and said my farewells. I send thanks to the fabulous and ever generous Andrew Vonderschmitt for giving me the opportunity to work with a talented cast of players. I am so grateful to have met so many new daces, and developed so many lifelong friendships.

2009 has been a busy year for me, providing another six, magical productions to my experience. In 2010 I plan to focus on finding a new project, and completing my graduate school applications. I hope that this coming year will be prosperous, exciting, theatrically stimulating, and career building. I pray that I will find the path toward success, however vast or rocky that path may be.

Lots of Lutz!

After four weeks of rehearsal for The Lutz Radio Hour, we are ready to open! We have our final invited dress rehearsal tonight at 8:00 PM. At this point in the process I am eager to have an audience to test laughs and fill our empty house with bright buzzing energy. I am very proud of this show and the humor I know it will bring to our audiences.

Enter Laughing closed with a bang! It has been a blustery ride and I am glad to finally close this moonstruck chapter in my theatrical pop-up book. Although I always lament the closing of a show, I was also relieved in many ways. I am ready to devote my entire being to Peggy and move forward with The Lutz Radio Hour.

Peggy Beaudette is born

Rehearsals for The Lutz Radio Hour are begining to come together. I have created the characer of Peggy Beaudette for the project. "Peggy" is my favorite role form The Women, and "Beaudette" is my grandmother's maiden name. Peggy will be grounded in the reality of the play as an actress performing several rolse in the radio performance: Tammy Tap-Shoes, Cousin Effie, Peeler the Elf, Bobbysoxer, etc. I am still developing Peggy as a character, but thus far I find her to be a beautiful perfectionist trying to cope with the pressure of impressing the unknown producers in the audience. She doesn't maintain any relationships outside the walls of the studio, and knows that losing her place in the radio show will leave her lonely and longing for the companionship of her fellow radio performers. I find Peggy constantly evolving as I negociate her through the framework of the play. This is a very exciting time in the process and I look forward to continuing rehearsals this week with our director, the talented Andrew Vonderschmitt, leading the way!

The Lutz Radio Hour Casting!

I have been cast in The Lutz Radio Hour at the Long Beach Playhouse! Last night I had the privilege of auditioning for Andrew Vonderschmitt, the artistic director of the LBPH. This show marks the beginning of a Christmas tradition he hopes to activate, bringing a holiday show to LBPH audiences every year. Not only will I be a part of this new, exciting tradition, but I will also appear in back to back productions in the main stage theatre. I start rehearsals during my run as “Wanda” in Enter Laughing. We have a very short time to rehearse this sketch-like comedy Christmas show of 1947. I am eager to begin the process.

Enter Laughing Opening!

This weekend we added the final element to our show: the audience. Previews went rather well on Thursday and Friday night. Saturday's opening night champagne reception proved thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable. Enter Laughing continues to improve with every performance. I would like to take my hat off to Murray Rubin, Jerome Loeb, Sam Dawson and Skip Blas, who seemed to be the audience favorites of the night. Thank you to everyone who came out to support the show this weekend, especially my fabulous family adn friends!

Wanda has gumption

When I got to the playhouse last night I put on my cherry dress with my cream pigskin heels. The hair designer was waiting with a little brown curly wig. He placed it on my head, softening hte hair line and placing pin curls. When he stepped back Wanda stared back at me in the dressing room mirror. I am so thankful to be at this point of the process with such a fabulous crew to support us. We are one rehearsal away from our invited dress, and two days away from previews. I know our opening on Saturday night, which is almost sold out, will be wonderful and exciting. I am eager to have an audience in the empty red seats we have been playing to for the past 5 weeks.

Off book for Enter Laughing

Last night was the first night off book for the Enter Laughing cast. I think it went well consdiering we were missing our leading man due to illness. Ordinarily I am well off book before the deadlkine, but this time I struggled a little more than usual. It has been many months since I have strayed away form the Bard. I always find Shakespeare the easiest to memorize because of the melody and rhythm of the verse, It comes more natural to me, like learning a song on the radio. With Enter Laughing, I had to adjust my process since I have not had enough repetition to learn my lines solely through rehearsal. I have taken my script to bed with me the last two days, trying to engrave the lines into my subconscious. I once read that encoding immediately before sleep improves recall. I studied my lines for an hour today adn then took an hour nap to cement them in. It seemed to work. Soon they will be second nature and then I can really start to play. Now that the book is out of my hands I have the freedom to create and explore everything that is Wanda.

Reading Wanda...

It is 10;00 PM, and I just got back form my first read-though of Enter Laughing. I always think of the first read-through as a spectacle all in itself. Everyone is getting to know one another, making introductions, trying to remember names, nervously looking around. I love the moments when discoveries are made, or when bold laughter fills the empty rehearsal space. I am very excited to work with this talented cast of players in the historical Long Beach Playhouse.

I am still trying to figure out my character. Who is this young woman named Wanda? Why does she love David? What fuels her fire? What does she dream about when she snuggles down under the sheets at night? Where does her sense of forgiveness come from? Where does she hold her pain? Her happiness? Her love? I find her quaint, but wonderful in every way. I know I will find the place where Wanda lives in myself.

Enter Laughing Casting!

Good news! I have been cast as Wanda in Enter Laughing at the Long Beach Playhouse, directed by Glendele Way-Agle. After 5 nerve racking hours of callbacks, I survived all 4 cuts and landed the role. The cast was announced in the theater lobby and my friend Brandon squeezed me tight when we saw his headshot on the bottom of the pile smiling at us. In a room full of talented actors I was thankful to have him there. We haven't attended the same audition in over a year, but we seem to bring each other luck. I breathed a sigh of relief when my name was called. I hardly get nervous anymore, but I have to admit my stomach was in knots fo rhte last half hour. It is a gratifying feeling the first time I hold the script in my hand, knowing that the risks I took were validated. Our first read-through is Monday! I am excited to begin Wanda's journey