Well, it's now the time when all the work on the commission play actually comes to life.
After many discussions with Brian Zoldessy, the director, over casting and design, rehearsals for CLEVELAND HEIGHTS have begun. The cast includes some actors who took part in the various readings/workshops, and some that are new to play. Brian, being familiar with the pool of talent in Cleveland, was given a free hand in selecting the company.
Not able to be in Cleveland, I felt a complete trust that after several days of auditions, he would find just the right group of people to create a family. One of the most difficult challenges of a play like this to make the audience believe these people have a history together. Often they have never met until the first read through, and then there are only a few weeks until they need to convince an audience that they truly are a family. It is the task of the director and cast to go through the play, tell the story of their lives and begin to demonstrate a familiarity that gives the impression of lifetimes shared.
Brian and I have discussed carefully what kind of clothes they would wear in the different period as well as what music they would listen to. Then Brian, with his designers, created the living room of our family home. We needed a design that allowed freedom of movement, but that would include the clutter of a home that has seen many events. This is the location of the play, but more importantly, the center of family life. Indeed, people fall in love, grow old, fight, pass on, in this very room. It must feel real, lived in, specific to this group of people, but universal enough that anyone from Cleveland or any city could know that house, those people.
I feel strongly we're on our way to achieving that goal.
As I'm currently acting in a show, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST with Lynn Redgrave, I have missed the start of rehearsals, but I’ll travel to Cleveland the week of February 22 to collaborate on the final part of the long journey….from interviews to readings to production!
I'm so excited, like I know you are, to experience the world we created together. And I really feel that the JCC community created this play with me. Honestly, I might not have entered this world, this history, without Seth's and Anne's belief that I was the writer to be involved. Then, as I have written, I was immensely impressed and moved by your stories. I tried to do them justice.
I think, together, we have made an entertaining, thought provoking drama. I hope I'll see you there in a few weeks to share the experience.
After many discussions with Brian Zoldessy, the director, over casting and design, rehearsals for CLEVELAND HEIGHTS have begun. The cast includes some actors who took part in the various readings/workshops, and some that are new to play. Brian, being familiar with the pool of talent in Cleveland, was given a free hand in selecting the company.
Not able to be in Cleveland, I felt a complete trust that after several days of auditions, he would find just the right group of people to create a family. One of the most difficult challenges of a play like this to make the audience believe these people have a history together. Often they have never met until the first read through, and then there are only a few weeks until they need to convince an audience that they truly are a family. It is the task of the director and cast to go through the play, tell the story of their lives and begin to demonstrate a familiarity that gives the impression of lifetimes shared.
Brian and I have discussed carefully what kind of clothes they would wear in the different period as well as what music they would listen to. Then Brian, with his designers, created the living room of our family home. We needed a design that allowed freedom of movement, but that would include the clutter of a home that has seen many events. This is the location of the play, but more importantly, the center of family life. Indeed, people fall in love, grow old, fight, pass on, in this very room. It must feel real, lived in, specific to this group of people, but universal enough that anyone from Cleveland or any city could know that house, those people.
I feel strongly we're on our way to achieving that goal.
As I'm currently acting in a show, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST with Lynn Redgrave, I have missed the start of rehearsals, but I’ll travel to Cleveland the week of February 22 to collaborate on the final part of the long journey….from interviews to readings to production!I'm so excited, like I know you are, to experience the world we created together. And I really feel that the JCC community created this play with me. Honestly, I might not have entered this world, this history, without Seth's and Anne's belief that I was the writer to be involved. Then, as I have written, I was immensely impressed and moved by your stories. I tried to do them justice.
I think, together, we have made an entertaining, thought provoking drama. I hope I'll see you there in a few weeks to share the experience.
