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.

Clue the Musical: Maples Repertory Theatre

Friday, July 16th, 2010, is opening day for our Production of Clue: the Musical at Maples Rep in Macon, MO. It's a musical based on the classic Milton Bradley board game Clue. The live version has 216 possible endings and the audience gets to play along and guess the murderer, the weapon, and the room. The book is written by Peter DePietro and it's a ton of fun to see come to life. I look forward to coming to rehearsal every day and working with such a fun and talented cast. The show runs from July 16th to August 1st. If you are in the Mid-Missouri area check it out!

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Oklahoma!: at Maples Repertory Theatre

At the moment, I'm in Macon, Missouri choreographing a production of Oklahoma! I'm having a great time working on this classic musical with my former Brown/Trinity classmate Michael Perlman who's directing and with Music Director Kevin Casey. Oh, what a beautiful feeling when I finished staging the ballet. It is a satisfying honor to tread a path emblazoned by Rodgers & Hammerstein and Agnes De Mille. Performance dates run June 18th-July 10th 2010.

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Graduation Day!

Today I graduate from Brown/Trinity Rep with an MFA in Directing. What a special day this is because in addition to graduating from this fantastic three year program, today I'm the Symbolic Degree Recipient for all of the 2010 graduating Masters at Brown, which is such a terrific honor. And to top it all off.....it's my birthday! 

Today will be a wonderful, special, magical day, full of fabulous classmates, my awesome family and my lovely, lovely friends! Joy, unspeakable Joy!