RUINED at The Huntington Theatre

For the past week I've been Assistant Directing the production of RUINED directed by Liesl Tommy. I've been helping to maintain the integrity of the original staging concept of the show which ran last month at La Jolla Playhouse.

RUINED has transfered very very nicely from La Jolla Playhouse in California to The Huntington Theatre in Boston. The set and props, costumes, lighting, music and sound, the wonderful cast of actors, the powerful text and Liesl Tommy's amazing directing come together at The Huntington and makes a great impact. Everyday I find myself so humbled to interact with such cohesive GREATNESS! If you're in the Boston area I hope you can see this thoughtful production. Let me know what you think!

Below are a couple of Playbill.com news spots about the production. Click the images for more information:

Carla Duren and Pascale ArmandTonye Patano and Carla Duren

Ruined by Lynn Nottage at La Jolla Playhouse

Today I began rehearsals for a production of Ruined, a pulitzer prize winning play by Lynn Nottage. It will begin performances in November at La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego. It is a production being directed by Liesl Tommy. I'm assisting Liesl and I couldn't be more proud and more excited to be apart of this journey. Today was a meet and greet with the cast....today I had the privilege to be in the room with very gifted and talented talented artists.

This is my news. I feel so fortunate and grateful. More to come. 

Click below for details:

Opening Day for CHURCH BASEMENT LADIES!!

It's opening day (which means we have two shows today - a matinee and an evening show). I just walked into the Royal Theatre here in downtown Macon and outside there are busloads of theatre patrons. (Mostly in red hats and purple.) A big smile spread across my face thinking about our show they've come to see and the big KICK I hope they will get from seeing our production. 

So excited about my cast:

Regina Harbour as Vivian Snustad

Dawn Trautman as Karin Engelson

Karen (real Karen) Pappas as Mavis Gilmerson

Laurie Sutton as Signe Engelson

Kevin Albert as The Pastor Gunderson

We also have Todd J. Davison as Music Director and Jason Baskin on Percussion.

Laura Walters is our Stage Manager.

So happy to be open and to share our show with an audience! I will miss this group.

Now it's back to NYC and on to the next! 

Going back to Macon!!

So I'm going to Maples Repertory Theatre in Macon, MO to Direct a production of CHURCH BASEMENT LADIES. A sweet sweet little musical comedy inspired by the books of Janet Letnes Martin and Suzann Nelson, authors of the best-seller "Growing Up Lutheran".

Church Basement Ladies is a celebration of the unsung stories of the women who keep the "East Cornucopia Lutheran Church of the Prairie" in rural Minnesota going.  Set in 1964, it revolves around the hard working women who reveal their hopes, dreams, prejudices, and the local gossip as they organize the funeral, wedding, and fundraiser food. 

Rehearsals begin Monday, September 20 and opening day is Wednesday, October 6th. The show runs October 6th - 17th so if you're in the Mid-MO area, come out and see some fun theatre!

More info below:

Observing CAPEMAN rehearsals

So these days I'm in rehearsals ... but not for my own production. I'm observing rehearsals of Paul Simon's The Capeman. It's a concert production of the musical based on the life of Salvador Agron which is being produced by The Public Theatre. It has a quick rehearsal process, a tech rehearsal at The Delacorte Theatre in Central Park, then three performances playing August 14th, 15th and 16th, 2010.

Thanks to Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director of The Public, I have the chance to observe director Diane Paulus who recently directed Hair on Broadway and choreographer Sergio Trujillo (Addams Family, Jersey Boys and Next To Normal). This is a great gift to me having recently graduated from my MFA Directing program at Brown/Trinity Rep. It's helpful to contextualize everything I've learned in school and see how it may apply to a major musical production rehearsal process.

I feel very, very fortunate to be in the room during this process and happy to observe such a gifted creative team as they work on a fascinating piece of material with a brave and talented cast.

 Click below for more information.