UPCOMING HG EVENTS Continue reading

We leave tomorrow for ESTAFest (Eastern States Theatre Association Festival) in Rome, NY. We’re taking ROUNDING THIRD by Richard Dresser. We performed the play for six performances last month, and had to edit it to less than 60 minutes. We’ve been through this before. We’ve entered shows at the state level, and a few times have moved on to the regional level. I’m not sure why this time it feels different. All the entries have been strong, and each time I think this may keep moving up the festival circuit to the next level. There have been some times when... Continue reading

It is perhaps the highlight of the holiday season for me…the singing of Handel’s MESSIAH with a whole bunch of community people. When Charlie Jacobson conducts the downbeat on that overture, I nearly dissolve into tears…every year. I think I’ve heard the Christmas portion of the MESSIAH more times than I’ve heard any other piece of music. My parents were both soloists and I grew up hearing the bass and alto solos sung around the house like most people these days watch people text. And Dad was a conductor so every year either a church choir or a community choir... Continue reading

Here it is three days after closing the show and I haven't written. In fact, it seems like a long time, so let's backtrack. The show opened to rave reviews on November 4. We sold out the first weekend, so made the decision to extend the run by having one more performance on November 13. We sold out--or nearly sold out for the last four performances. We had strike (dismantling the set and putting away all the props and furniture) following the performance on Sunday. Strike is often a sad experience, but this one was more so than usual. As... Continue reading

Perhaps the lack of any entries to this blog last week reveal the final flurry of activity before opening night. 12-14 hour days were filled with painting the tiles on floor, tiles on the wall, wallpaper on the walls, getting trim up, finding some final props, running nightly dress rehearsals, cleaning up backstage, taking reservations (we don't have a secretary or box office manager,) writing newspaper articles, fixing the old sofa (that we found abandoned in a barn,) final focusing of lights, reworking the sound cd...and a few minutes for meals. It was indeed a flurry....and I took my first... Continue reading

Too many loose ends. Still lines not memorized and that has me worried. A scene that isn’t memorized just doesn’t work. Duh. Some moments are classic and working really well…very funny, very moving, very human. The challenge is to get all of it at that depth. What did W.C.Fields say about working with children? I love working with children, but there is an element of lack of consistency that always has me worried. Again…great moments…but not consistent…yet. Two of these guys are young and never been on stage before so I’m asking a lot of them. Tempo is a current... Continue reading

Now I’m dreaming about all that has to be done. Too many loose ends; not enough time. The set still has lots to be done—those pesky doors! And painting! I want wallpaper on all the walls…but to purchase wallpaper and apply and distress it…well, maybe easier to paint and make it look like wallpaper. I love doing this, but wish I could have a few days to devote only to it. Of course, on top of the play which opens NEXT WEEK!!!!!! are the rehearsals for the choir concert on Sunday. Not to mention getting ready for the cabaret this... Continue reading

More sheesh! Now that TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA is over (still playing in area high schools, however) we have the stage available to begin building the set. I’m going back and forth as to the layout of the set. I’ve been working with one plan for the past six weeks, but now I’m second guessing. Rudy and Georgie’s bedroom…where the heck is the best place for it. It all works in my head and with the current blocking, but for some reason I want it more toward the audience; but the only place is far stage left…and maybe that’s too... Continue reading

Sheesh…look at how long it’s been since I wrote about this process. Don’t think for a moment that the process has not been ongoing! Rehearsals have been wonderful…lively and focused…and a lot of fun. This cast has a sense of humor. A sense of humor is necessary—and a blessing—with a cast because there are so many ups and downs in the process. There are phases. One of those phases is “OK, what in the world did I ever sign up for this play; the weather outside is just too beautiful to be spending in a dark theatre with no windows.”... Continue reading

Well, another one down. The young fellow I was hoping would take the part of Georgie is not going to due to a concern about homework not getting done. I certainly don't blame the parents for saying no to his participation, but, of course, I'm disappointed that he can't take the role. In situations like these I tend to get pushy and overstep my purview. I begin to argue with parents...my bad. Try to cajole them and work to have them change their mind. As a parent I would probably be ready to smack me if someone tried that with... Continue reading

Georgie is getting to me. And I read the news release from a few years ago when the actual “Georgie” died. He appears to have been well-loved by his family, and indeed many in Buffalo as his father took him with him to many civic and business meetings. Georgie was like his constant companion. I think the age relationship in the play is pretty accurate: Rudy is 12, Georgie is 13. He had Down Syndrome. He lived to be close to 60. The playwright discusses how acceptance and tolerance were simply the norm: Georgie was part of the family and... Continue reading

We “auditioned” the fellow for Georgie. I think we could have made it work in terms of his abilities, but he appears to be too old. He’s late teen-aged years, but almost looks older, and it wasn’t until he was working with the other kids in the family that it became clear that he simply appears too old. George is actually supposed to be 13, though there is no actual reference in the text/lines. He is almost the “family pet” in the sense of “teacher’s pet,” the favored one by the others, the darling of the family; and in my... Continue reading

Someone responded to my discussion of the McCarthy hunt and the Salem witch trials and Rudy’s questions: “Really, Putnam? You’re talking about them in the same sentence? There’s no comparison.” Of course, the degree is different, however the concept, I still contend, is the same. I think groups—particularly strong powerful groups—have a fear of self-examination. I think individuals have a fear of self-examination. If we examine too closely we may turn up something that will change things or that will hurt or that will threaten our safe existence. America in the 50s was afraid of losing the “peace” we’d achieved... Continue reading

We have been considering producing THE CRUCIBLE. In fact, we've considered it a number of times over the last 20 years. It's a rough play. Witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts in the mid-1600s. Arthur Miller wrote it as something of a response to the McCarthy "witch hunt" of the 1950s. Root out the communists. I'm currently reading Barbara Kingsolver's latest book THE LACUNA. It deals, in part, with a writer who becomes the object of suspicion during the McCarthy era. It's frightening, frustrating, haunting... I mention this because OVER THE TAVERN deals with this. It takes place in the 50s,... Continue reading

The first rehearsal with everyone (except Georgie) in the cast. This moment of hearing all the voices for the first time really jazzes me. After all the struggle of coming up with a cast, this moment is kind of the litmus test: did I choose correctly? Even though I encourage the cast members not to worry about expression and delivery of lines, it's difficult not to evaluate just what we've come up with. I think I am fairly objective at these moments and am able to look beyond the un-polished-ness of the read to see the potential. Of course, that's... Continue reading

Had a rehearsal with Chet and Ellen (Jeff Ryan and Deb Sawyer). They have two scenes alone and we read through them a few times each. Hearing actual voices is one of the great leaps in the process. I’ve read the script a number of times silently, but now hearing voices is a whole new experience. Great fun…and deepens the relationship with each character exponentially. I love getting to know characters in a play. One time years ago someone indicated that they felt I didn’t live my own life…that I was living in the characters of the plays I directed.... Continue reading

One more cast. Hunter Brion joins the ranks in the role of Rudy. I auditioned a few boys and had a very difficult time deciding. Won’t go into all the deciding factors, but the guys were all so close, and I’m sure they could all play the part well, that the decision was tough. Hunter may look more closely related to the other “family” members, he’s a bit smaller than the others, and he seemed to demonstrate more energy. As I said, it was a close call and I hated to have to say no to the others since they... Continue reading

One step at a time. In the midst of the wonderful frenzy of opening GRACE & GLORIE, I've been able to solidify another cast member. Marie Coll has accepted the role of Sister Clarissa. Marie has never been in an HG play before and is excited about getting her feet wet. Whew. I'm meeting with a few boys this weekend for other two roles. Last night at the final rehearsal for G&G I found myself again marveling at the power of live theatre. Watching these two women inhabit the skin of Grace and Gloria is a privilege. That performance last... Continue reading

Sheesh…days since I’ve written about this process. I’m just not in the habit of writing as I go through it. I should get a laptop so I could get more down on paper and out of my mind. Yesterday I wrote the auditionees whom I did not cast. I emailed those who supplied an email address. I just don’t have time to call them, however. The cast list that I have so far should go up on the website tomorrow. No…why wait? The whole purpose of this blog is to chart this step by step. So, as of this moment... Continue reading

Now the frustration increases because I’m way past the time I said I’d have the cast posted. And I don’t have a cast selected so I’m allowing that to get to me…and it should. Well…I should just choose a cast; but so far, it’s not clicking. No one is really just fitting into place. Sort of…but not completely. I’m calling back a few people here and there just to read with someone else or to see if I can get them over a hurdle they may have demonstrated during auditions. And through all this I have a show opening up... Continue reading

How wonderful it would be if I had only to ponder the casting of this show! This week, I have over 12 hours of rehearsal for GRACE AND GLORIE, a CABARET IN THE GALLERY to prepare for tonight (Friday), the set to complete for G&G, interviews for the director of the Deane Center, meeting for the Black Box of the Deane Center, the choir kick-off (7 hours), the National Anthem at the Little League World Series on Wednesday, driving over to Mansfield to see if the high school auditorium will work for the winter drama camp for kids instead of... Continue reading

Call backs. They’re just what it sounds like: I call back a few people to audition again. I probably only use call-backs less than half the auditions I have. I use them when there are just too many people who could skillfully fill a role, or if I want to see the dynamic between actors who hadn’t auditioned on the same night, or if I’m having a difficult time seeing a particular actor in a role but there is something nagging in my mind that says perhaps he/she could play the role. If I don’t call back an actor, it... Continue reading

Hurrican Irene is blowing up the coast. I'm worried about our poor OBX vacation spot that is going to be hit hard. I hope the people and the place remain safe. What worries me even more is that one of you is in NYC and another in Philadelphia. I know,... Continue reading

So someone asked me the other day who all auditioned for the play. (This was a person who had not auditioned and had no real vested interest beyond curiosity.) I gave this person the list. “Oh, well you’d have a difficult time convincing an audience that these two are related,” said the person about two actors I was considering—but hadn’t told this person—for father and son. “No way an audience could suspend their disbelief with that relationship.” Really? That threw me back to second guessing. I’m always wondering if the audience will buy it? Of course, that’s the whole challenge... Continue reading

Every day I have a few emails delivered to my inbox that are supposed to encourage me. Sometimes they don't. Today, this one did... Deb, when walls close in, skies turn gray, and dreams seem like they're awfully far away, you're probably just forgetting that the same "hands" that created... Continue reading