Killjoy closes with the playwright by its side

This afternoon marked the closing performance of Killjoy at the Newport Theatre Arts Center. After a 5 week run I am ready to bid farewell to the murder and mayhem.

I am happy to boast that we entertained the playwright himself, Jerry Mayer and his lovely wife Emily. “You guys did a great job,” he said as we greeting him at the stage door. As a former television writer-turned playwright – Mr. Mayer wrote for such shows as M*A*S*H, The Facts of Life, and Bewitched.

I found Jerry to be a jovial and kind-hearted man. He joked that many of the lines in the show were actually things he had said in conversation – using his own phrases such as “I want to live as long as my taste buds are working,” as dialog.

His wife and producer, Emily stood by with an elegant amusement as we discussed the show. It was truly an honor to perform Killjoy for the Mayers.

As I take a brief break for the holiday season, I look forward to a new year of theatre projects. Let’s make 2011 a year to remember!

[From Lef to Right: Mark Kaufman, Alex DesCombes, Jamie Sowers, Andrea Pacquin, Andrea LaVela, Jerry Mayer, Emily Mayer, Brian Page]

Killjoy opens with laughs!

Opening night of Killjoy at NTAC – The Thursday night crowd packed the house, eager to laugh and comment on every uncomfortable situation. What an intelligent audience! By the time the first couple of lines were said, no one seemed to take notice of our leading lady’s tech-week injuries, which left her face black and blue. While the cast and crew have been struggling for the last week to put to finishing touches on the performance, all efforts were paid back in full by the mirthful patrons attending the performance. Whatever hardships we have faced along this journey, one thing is for certain – the audience loved the show!

Killjoy Gets a Bump on the Head

Killjoy’s final dress rehearsal before preview night – Just when it looked like we were back in the swing of things, our lovely and talented leading lady, Andrea LaVela, took a tumble during the blackout prior to Act 1 scene 2.

A terrible thud was heard in the darkness, and I turned around in the black to see the shadow of Andrea on the floor.

Apparently she walked up stage to retrieve a prop and tripped on the step to the upstage platform.

“What’s happened? Is everyone alright?” I heard the director call from the house. “We need lights up!” I called. With an empty house I had decided that in this case the show didn’t have to go on.

Poor Andrea knocked her head really good. It started swelling before we could get ice on her head. We kept her away from a mirror for a good 20 minutes. But once she insisted on looking there was not stopping her. “Ah! I looked like the elephant man!” she shouted.

It looked bad enough that we all urged her to go to urgent care, but the tough as nails Ms. LaVela would have none of our fussing. She finished the run sitting in our prop wheelchair with a bag of frozen spinach on her head.

Our invited dress (preview) is tomorrow night, and we open Thursday. Let’s hope the cliché, a bad dress rehearsal means a good show, holds true. We can’t afford any more injuries.

Finding Vicki's Truth....

I find myself on the cusp of opening Killjoy at the Newport Theatre Arts Center.

When I began this project I looked at "Vicki" as a modest and simple role. Playing the level-headed daughter in a modern romantic comedy/murder mystery with 52 lines cues and 5 entrances seemed mildly simple compared to my former projects this year – playing 4 separate characters in Almost, Maine and tackling Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II.

Yet, somewhere along the way I lost touch with my initial impressions of this play, and allowed the text to overwhelm me. There was a period in rehearsal when – much to my director’s dismay, I am sure – I could not find the truth in the lines.

My character became flat and hypocritical in my mind—I wondered what motivated her. I questioned her choice of diction, her actions, her relationships with her family. I could not connect the action. What was the moment before? I could not imagine what she was doing offstage, what she did when she was alone, what her relationship was like with her finance (who never appears in the show, but is frequently spoken about).

Worst of all, I could not figure out her function in the play. Here is a young woman who is about to enter into marriage with Lester – a man that “worships” her, despite the fact that he never appears in the play to support her. She is responsible, business savvy and intelligent, yet she shows her immaturity by calling her father “Daddy”. Her immediate family is completely dysfunctional, only coming together to plan her wedding—a wedding that is only important to the play due to a plot convention used to serve a piece of poisoned wedding cake to her despicable father.

Last weekend I finally had an epiphany – What if I approached this play as a film script?

In college I remember sitting in film class, with the camera over my right shoulder as my scene partner recited a rather lengthy monologue (as far as films go) from Sex, Lies and Video Tape. I remember my scene partner struggling, asking questions – Do I know about the affair at this point in the script? Have I made the decision to ask for a divorce? Etc. I remember my professor passing down these words of knowledge: Keep it simple. Play the moment.

What he meant when he said these words is something that he emphasized many times in class. When you make a film you will most likely be filming scenes out of order –so to think in terms of a timeline is often counterproductive. The successful film actor asks themselves these two things: What do I want in this scene? How am I going to get it? The rest is just listening and reacting.

So I thought to myself, what if I just play the moment? I brought myself back to the basics. I found myself in the moment, discovered goals and new tactics for my character. I listened to my mother, I listened to my brother and I listened to my father. And somehow through it all I think I got back to the roots of my character.

With only three rehearsals left, I am ready to put on my costumes for the first time tonight and hopefully discover the inner Vicki. Let’s get this show on a roll!

Killjoy Casting!

I am pleased to announce that I will be playing Vicki in Newport Theatre Arts Center’s upcoming production of Killjoy by Jerry Mayer.

The audition process for this production was quite unusual. I originally responded to a casting call for Room Service, by John Murray. But as luck would have it Room Service was canceled abruptly and I was left with nothing on my schedule. I just got the call yesterday, that NTAC decided to replace their production of Room Service with Killjoy and before I knew it I received the role of Vicki.

Our first read-through is tomorrow, so I have very little time to prep for the role. I do not even think I will make it out to Samuel French in time to procure a copy before our table read. I can’t wait to get the ball rolling on this production!