IMFourPlay

Glimpsing Underneath the Towel: Performance Number Thirteen

Nobody died tonight!! (although we may have scarred a few audience members, but more on that later...) Energy was up, the orchestra was on fire, and the tunes were particularly tuneful this evening... Jim, Mark and I got to warm-up a little at the Red Chair event, which was a lot of fun. Then Jim, Keith and I rushed back to SAK for our 10:00 show.

There was some good onstage chemistry tonight. Charles played John, a daycare worker who tried to provide healthy alternatives for his students, Blaire and Sharon, with the help of the somewhat suicidal Mr. Snackman. Robyn was an adult student, Jackie, who hoped to get ahead of her friends, Roger and Veronica, with the assistance of her former gradeschool teacher, Miss Bray (whose motivation techniques oddly resembled an avalanche of demeaning blather!) Ron was a "Mouse Town" worker, Joe, whose dreams to make it big seemed almost reachable upon the unexpected arrival of Donald Trump (perhaps the most painful impersonation I've attempted on the SAK stage in quite some time!) Finally, I was Audrey, a beach-loving girl with a secret hidden under her towel, whose nude sunbathing addicted friends, Samantha and Rebecca, tried to push her into her crush, "Hardhat Jeremy." Oh dear. I don't usually take on the identity of a woman as my audience-inspired character, but there were only young woman sitting in the un-solicited section of the audience, so why not?!? (Mark has made this choice on several occasions to grand effect, and I still remember James Newport's fantastic "boy named Sue" character from the original run last year.)

Apparently, the audience wanted to know the secret lurking under Audrey's towel as she was selected to lead act two. (On a personal note, I really liked this whole family of characters and was glad that we had a chance to explore them all further.) Robyn's Samantha, while seemingly beautiful and all together on the outside, revealed her darker nature as she plotted to discover Audrey's deep secret. Enlisting the help of her father, Mr. Snack, she vowed to steal Audrey’s towel in order to find the truth once and for all. Meanwhile, Jeremy revealed that under his hard hat there was a soft heart (in beautiful song, of course). Finally, Audrey confronted her rival, in the full light of day, and proudly uncovered what had been hiding under her beach towel all along: a tattoo bearing the name (in black and white) of her long-kindled love, Jeremy.

The band was sizzling tonight. Fun parodies were flying left, right and center, with Charles getting more than his fair share but characteristically stepping up bravely to hit them out of the park one at a time with that effortlessly soaring voice of his. He was undeniably scorching tonight too. I got to Grease it up at the end of the second act as Audrey (no Little Shop parodies for me, although maybe that’s a little cerebral!) Robyn went gangbusters creating many a memorable moment as the villain, and Ron’s Mr. Snack gave a great parody of “Mr. Sandman” towards the close of the second act with the rest of us in support. (This character also served as the subject of one of the more memorable exchanges of the show: Charles as Audrey’s protective brother, John—“Where do you want me to punch him?” Me as Audrey—“Punch him in the snack maker.” Does that even make sense?!?!)

We weaved together some fun story elements tonight, with a reveal that was a little more fulfilling artistically and less bloody than last night. I feel slightly redeemed personally! Act two, in particular, zipped by almost effortlessly and was a great deal of fun to play in.

I start my rehearsals for Lost Comedies in earnest on Monday, so I’m going to start feeling slightly schizophrenic jumping back and forth between the lands of musicals and Shakespeare! We’ve passed the halfway point with this run though, so it’s time to look ahead…

Your towel-touting Director, David C.

Death Becomes Her: Performance Number Twelve

Another rather bloody ending to the show tonight... I'll take full responsibility for this one.

We had a moderate sized house tonight and a sound show. When we've had several very strong shows in a row, it feels a little anti-climactic when one doesn't quite have that special something, but our audience was still very positive and glowing in their comments as they left, and our post-show debrief did well to remind me that there really were many very successful moments in the performance. Our energy as a cast felt a little down tonight comparatively, and we also had some difficulties getting in sync with the band on several occasions. In short, the show felt a little anxious--which isn't perhaps surprising as this was our initial emotion offer! (Maybe we're all becoming a little too "method"!)

Act one introduced us to the usual oddball array of audience-inspired characters. Mark played Richard, a young unsuccessul tractor salesman whose anxious girlfriend dreamed of honeymoons while his boss, Pico, craved a competent worker. Darren was Bill, a man whose house was thrown into turmoil as his motorcycle-riding father tried to pull him away from his all-knowing wife and light-footed seventeen-year-old daughter, Bethany. Kate played Chivon, a service woman living in the barracks with three girlfriends who all seemed to inadvertantly thwart her ambitions for success. I took on the role of Scott (or was it Bob?), a compulsive liar who finally decided to reveal his true name and identity to his girlfriend, Sharon, in the hopes of gaining some much-needed distance from his roommate, Graham, and his estranged mother, Gloria. Some highlights from the first act were Mark's great searching solo to his girlfriend, Darren's playful trio with his wife and daughter, Kate's amazingly full-voiced "Potential" song as Chivon, and Jim's tough challenge to me with the song "Sherry" (Sharon?) as my final solo of the act. He really had me reaching for some high notes there!

Scott (or was it Bob?) became our focus for the second act as he tried to reconnect with his now lost love, Kate's Sharon. Mark's mother, Gloria, emerged as a fantastic villainess and enlisted the help of Corporal Gwen, a young woman with particularly dangerous fingers. As Scott searched high and low for his love, this evil duo jabbed him at every turn, until the show climaxed in a mother/son shank face-off. I particularly enjoyed singing a Sondheim-esque number with Jim on the keyboards as I begged Sharon to answer my calls. Mark and Darren also had a wonderfully playful villain duet, and Mark later provided a great show stopper as his seventeen-year-old daughter character. I also really enjoyed the energy of our confrontation song at the end of the act, and Kate and Darren provided a great unexpected love connection in the background as Mark and I slowly sung our last bloody but tuneful notes on the forestage.

Gina's quotable quote of the night (the speaker wishes to remain anonymous): "I feel the floodgates of love filling up and I want to spill them all over you."

Mark, Jim and I are performing an excerpt of the show for the Red Chair function this evening. That should be interesting... (Just how exactly do you provide an excerpt of an improvised musical?!?!)

If those 10:00pm shows have been a little late for you, remember that September Sunday 2:00 matinees are just around the corner.

Your the-only-thing-better-than-FourPlay-twice-a-weekend-is-FourPlay-thrice-a-weekend Director, David C.

I've known Heather longer than any other company member--other than myself--and she generously agreed to return to her role as choreographer (and slightly ignored wife) for this year's production. As is our wont, we scheduled a telephone interview in our cars as we zipped between our various in-town gigs, while sipping on bottled water and chewing altoids.

Current favorite musical: A Light in the Piazza
Current favorite improv game: Opera

DC: Heather, you’ve been involved with music and musicals for the majority of your life, it seems. What is it about this particular genre that calls to you?

HC: I haven’t a clue. My poor parents could never get me to shut-up as a child. They had to create new rules and manners like singing at the dinner table is rude, or no tap dancing allowed on the kitchen floor. I just love to do it--no deep reason--there is just something about singing that lights up my heart. Ok, that’s a bit cheesy but very true.

DC: Since arriving in Orlando three years ago, you’ve already taken on an impressive variety of roles and projects with theatres in the area, working at Disney, Mad Cow, Orlando Repertory Theatre, Winter Park Playhouse, the Orlando Fringe Festival and now with OSF as the Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods. What has been your most challenging or rewarding experience here in your new home?

HC: That's a very hard question to answer as I think each project brings on new challenges. I found a recent reading of Streetcar Named Desire to be immensely rewarding, as I was fortunate to get to read Stella along with the amazing Russ Blackwell as Stanley and Brooke Hanemann as Blanche. When you're running a race with Olympians your personal pace definitely increases. I still hold My Fair Lady dear to my heart. It was directed by Alan Bruun at Mad Cow Theatre. He takes such joy in the text but also likes to work with what actors bring to the table which I really appreciate. (I'm not much for being a carbon copy of other people's previous performances.) Putting together Sondheim’s Company for a hurricane Katrina benefit in 3 days and without ever having the full company together until the performance was definitely one of my most challenging and favorite things in town. (Robyn Pedretti was also in this show and she was a hoot!) And much to my surprise I gained a new appreciation for pink and adore doing My Disney Girls Perfectly Princess Tea Party at Walt Disney World. I leave on a natural high every time I finish that show. It’s fun to purely entertain and pass along the magic. I love that as a performer in Orlando you can be involved in so many different kinds of theatre at one time!

DC: You recently made the decision to join Actors’ Equity – the professional union for stage actors. I know this has been something you’ve been toying with for a while. What finally prompted you to make the move, and how has the market changed for you now that you are ineligible for non-Equity work?

HC: This was a ridiculously hard decision that I've been toying with for years. I'll admit that what finally pushed me to take the plunge was seeing my two Boston Conservatory classmates in the national tour of Wicked. I realized okay, it's time to push myself to the next step. Since then, I've been to NY several times to audition for Broadway, which is a thrill! Locally, I was very concerned about how it would affect my casting, but many people, including my dear friends at the Winter Park Playhouse, encouraged me to join and so I decided it was the right time. The summer has been good to me and my casting has fortunately not come to a halt. Phew!

DC: While you clearly earn your bread and butter as a scripted performer, I know that you have dabbled in the world of improv as well. Do you approach these two styles differently as a performer or do you find yourself using similar skills and approaches regardless of the show format?

HC: I found that after I started dabbling with improv I was able to be a bit more risky in my rehearsal processes for scripted shows. Once you have to pull a full show out of the air it makes it a lot easier to find a few new choices in a show that’s already written. As for different technique, I’d have to say no, the key to improv is listening and that’s the key to scripted theatre as well. I definitely think that a little improv training made me a better listener.

DC: Wow! That's the longest coversation we've had in two months! Last one home turns off the lights...

To learn more about Heather's latest gig, go here.

Another Killer Show: Performance Number Eleven

There was definitely a darkness in the air this weekend, as Saturday's performance shared some of the zany edge of Friday's! Though the body count was considerably less, the stakes were equally high and as a company we had an awful lot of fun with our audience. My father, who has been visiting from New Zealand, has seen about half of the performances to date, and noted that he can see the form maturing. I'm inclined to agree.

Charles, pictured right, was our first audience character of the night, playing Matt, a "barrel technician" or refuse collector. Much to the disgust of his colleagues, Jim and Jill, Matt found himself slowly pulled into the web of Mrs. Witherspoon, a recent "divorcee" whose intentions seemed less than pure. Darren played the role of Jason, a head-over-heels in love young man who fought to keep the object of his love, Julie, away from her ex-boyfriend and former best friend, Tyler. Jason's former foreign pen pal, Gaston, shook things up even further when he advised Jason to think twice about Julie's love (to the tune of the Beetles "Michelle" thanks to the ever playful Jim Rhinehart.) Then came Kate as Marie, a counselor at Camp Idawile (sp?). Bob, an entertainer from AC Ducy, and a native American greeter, Joe, spiced up her world, along with a hyper-active six-year-old Jimmy, who sought a more positive parental model. Finally, I was Charles, a young man in transition starting out his college life in a ridiculously small studio apartment with Jerry, an online D&D buddy, whose domineering girlfriend, Marva, only made life more difficult for everyone. Only the girl next door, Marla, offered him any potential for happiness.

The show followed Matt into the second act, and Charles rocked the house with his great rock 'n' roll stylings, with strong help, as always, from Jim and Keith--our boys in the band! Darren's Marva was revealed to be Mrs Witherspoon's daughter from one of her (many) earlier marriages, and both women announced their plans to continue their legacies as black widows. (I did my best to channel Sharon Stone from Basic Instinct throughout.) Charles and Kate also put me through the ringer a little! When my hyper character, Jimmy, reappeared in a scene and stole a little(?) focus, Charles revealed the "statue" of his wife that he had carved and made me pose on stage for what felt like an eternity! As the act continued, Charles' Matt had more and more narrow escapes from his new wife's plots, until the show climaxed with another bloodbath (partially thanks to Matt Cross with his trigger finger in the booth!) Charles gave a great musical ending as he forgave Mrs. Witherspoon for her mistakes while she died in his arms. Very musical theatre indeed!

In a sign that the show is clearly finding its grove, notes were done in about 10 minutes (which must be some kind of a record). I personally had a lot of fun with my colleagues tonight. I came into the show with a stressed voice, and while I had pushed a little last night, I felt that tonight I was able to still make strong energetic offers without over singing--a trap I sometimes fall into. Jim and Keith were particularly helpful in the pit, leading me into slightly gentler numbers when I had solos. I like to bat them out of the park with big vocal endings, but it was an excellent lesson in restraint for me. I'm trying to emulate some of the excellent singers in our company in this regard. I felt that there was a lot of good supporting and listening onstage, and we pulled the show into the gate with time to boot!

Speaking of restraint, we had a somewhat over eager audience member tonight who, for much of the first act, decided to loudly vocalize his own punchlines and color commentary. I don't think it was intended to be unruly and, thankfully, wasn't obscene in nature, but it was very reminiscent of a stand-up club heckler, and definitely disturbed others (including the performers). I thought he would stop when he noticed that others weren't behaving in a similar fashion, but when we passed the halfway point of the first act, I needed to address it from the stage as my Frenchman, Gaston. Taking a page out of Robyn's book, I walked to the downstage edge and closed a window, commenting on how rude the neighbors were. The audience understood my true agenda and applauded, and it seemed to do the trick. The overly-participatory gentlemen calmed down and I'm told, stayed for the duration of the show, so I think he got the message. That was definitely a FourPlay first.

I've just wrapped up my improv show at Rollins as well today. I'm slightly amazed that I've made it through this weekend. Not sure what was fueling me, especially since I don't drink coffee any more!

We starting a list of crappy rhyme set ups: up, him, now... Any of your own to add?

Your by-the-seat-of-his-pants Director, David C.

Attend the Tale of Theresa Todd: Performance Number Ten

Friday's show was certainly a departure from our normal material. It all started with the seemingly benign offer of "guilty" as the emotional starting point. Mark, with a touch of his usual finesse, got the ball rolling quickly by admitting as his dry-walling character that she (he was Theresa) had 42 bodies buried in the basement--much to the dismay of his sister (Robyn) and the surprise of his two rather odd girlfriends (Jay and me). The voting outcome was relatively clear right from this moment! Jay's audience-inspired character was a shut-in whose small house became crowded with unexpected guests and his butcher Dad. Robyn followed with a free-loading friend who had a crush on a local police detective and sought advice from an oddball fortune teller, Sai Pan. Finally, I dived into the shoes of a young man, with a younger child and an unhappy ex-wife, whose only solace was his balloon animals. (Jim offered a nice "beautiful balloon" parody for my solo at the end of the act.)

But as I said, Mark's storyline was clearly rich with violent potentials, and that was what the audience wanted, so that is what the audience got...! It was a fun second act in that it retained the structure, but reinvented the content in a surprising new way. One at a time, Mark and his murderous passion, infected the show, until nearly every character was pulled into his/her web or became the victim of his contagious intent. This even included Jay's adorable Barny character who uttered, "I'm five!" as he limped off the stage with a slashed throat. You had to be there! Mark gave a great Sweeney Todd parody in the second act, while Jay and I had our usual warped sense of fun in the antagonist duet, and Robyn provided fantastic comedic moments as both of Mark's ill-fated sisters.

My voice is still suffering from last week, so I felt like I ran out of vocal steam a little by the end of the night. Alas. Someone in the team noted that my characters all started to sound the same about half way through act two as my voice decided to shut down!

Some quotable quotes that Gina recorded...

Mark as killer Theresa: "The newspaper paints murder and bad people in a negative light."
Jay as officer Captain Joe: "I'm not stupid just 'cause I'm southern."
Mark as killer Theresa: "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the dead people room."
David as Joe's eager accomplice, Morgan: "If we catch her in the deed, it doesn't matter about the dead, 'cause the deed is better than the dead indeed."
David as fortune teller, Sai Pan: "I'm going to make this quick, 'cause man who makes it quick has time to watch big game."

Your sounding-more-and-more-like-Kermit-every-minute Director, David C.

In my list of debts for this show, John Carollo features prominently at the top! He generously came to my rescue as I became aware of FourPlay's design needs, although, as I'm sure he'll attest, I was unaware of just how extensive these needs were--ranging from designing the logo itself, to creating the flyers, posters, advertisements, t-shirts, program cover, providing the website and slide show elements... the list goes on. John is always, it seems, creating art, so I agreed to step out of my comfort zone and join him on a life drawing outing, with my pallet, box of water colors, and an eagerness to learn.

Current favorite musical: Hairspray (not that I have the use for any)
Current favorite improv game: Shoulda' said

DC: John, you have really been a knight in shining armor for this production, providing an enormous amount of design work and consultation. You clearly have a gift as a visual artist, and a generosity in sharing that gift. Do you recall how you became interested in the world of graphic design?

JC: Well, based on the recommendation of parents and high school counselors, I went off to college like a lamb to the slaughter to study business. After a semester and a half of Economics and Calculus, the results were disastrous enough that I needed to go in a different direction. I dabbled in art a bit as a kid, but more music, as I was in band and orchestra, and actually designed for and taught bands and drum corps for several years later on. There was a good graphic design program at another university, so I transferred and it turned out well. Design can be interesting, because you need to communicate the essence of a project or idea very quickly and clearly. The thought process behind the actual finished look is what I enjoy the most.

In the case of FourPlay, I wanted to have it perceived as a local production of an established, national show..hence the "crisp" design treatment. The positive feedback from those involved has been great. As far as the "sharing" business, sometimes the right presentation package will help a great product that might otherwise be overlooked get more notice. FourPlay is a great product, and I'm glad I've been able to help increase its visibility.

DC: You're too kind. You are also a graduate of SAK University and a member of SAK’s Lab Rat ensemble, which performs regularly on Tuesday evenings in the Lab. How would you compare the processes and means of performance art with those of visual art? As you have pursued your craft as an improviser, has this changed the way you approach the canvas or computer screen?

JC: It is an interesting contrast. As an artist, you are really a creator/director. You plan, shape, fine tune and polish your creation to send it out into the spotlight, where it tends to get more recognition than you do personally. At SAK I do some of that (very QUICKLY) and then am also in the spotlight, which is not a role I am terribly used to. What you learn studying improv gives you a fantastic skill set for life, as all the work on going with your instincts, not hesitating about ideas, and basically just throwing yourself out there, no matter what may happen can really bleed over into other things. I think the confidence I've gained from my participation in SAK has probably been instrumental in my finally getting the guts to show my paintings publicly, and not just my design work.

DC: Speaking of which, your work was recently honored at a regional art show. Tell us a little about that experience and any future opportunities we might have to see your handiwork.

JC: As I just alluded to, I started painting years ago in college, but had never shown anything until last November. I've now had four shows in less than a year, and it is exciting and rewarding. The event you mentioned was the Downtown Art & Living Expo at Lake Eola. It was an outdoor art festival in May. I am the Resident Visual Artist with the Voci modern dance company, a collaboration which came about through my past experience as a costume designer and choreographer, and we team up sometimes with me showing art and painting during their performances. They were going to have a tent at this festival and invited me to share the space. I madly painted my butt off to have something to show, and out of a field of over 100 artists, I was thrilled and surprised to receive a Best in Show award (and some cash too). The funny thing is I had just done that painting a week before, after not painting in a while. I showed it to friends saying, "look, I've lost it, this stinks." And that was the prize winner. Maybe it didn't stink that much!

DC: Clearly you stink... of success! [Long silence]. Sorry, I won't interrupt again. Continue...

JC: August and September will be a busy time. I will be at the Urban Think bookstore on Central in Thornton Park Friday, August 25 from 6-9PM as the featured artist of that week's Friday Night Arts event. My work will be up there for a week after. The next day, Saturday the 26th, I will be one of 15 artists showing at the Red Chair Affair at the Bob Carr. It is a swanky event to raise awareness about Orlando cultural offerings. On September 9, a show opens with myself and three other artists at the Art House, a very cool space operated by the city of Casselberry. That show runs through October 31. What have I done to prepare for all this? ZERO. Time to get busy.

DC: Indeed! I’ve linked our readers to your home site before, nakedeyestudios.com, but describe what newcomers will find here.

JC: I just updated some of the portfolio gallery sections to include some newer work and added a new "Total Package" area, which shows some projects I've worked on where I created a design look that was applied to several parts of a campaign. There are also areas for the paintings and ceramics, and a place to sign up for the email list, to be notified about upcoming art show events, etc. OH, and people should check out the "Who Are We" area to meet my staff. They are sort of on the short side, but actually do contribute to the business. A few projects coming up include: a new client who is going to produce a line of novelty clothing – I'm doing illustrations/logos for that., an annual 44 page magazine project – I'm currently creating the storyline and thematic ideas for that, and some display kiosk work for an insulation company. A little bit of everything.

DC: I don't know how you do it...! Well it looks like we're done with the paintings. Perhaps you can help me figure out how you created a beautiful portrait while mine turned out to be an ash tray...

To learn more about John, go here.

FourPlay Appears in (Internet) Ink

It was a little time in coming, but FourPlay finally received some press! Thanks to Al Pergande of Ink19, you can get an outsider's view of the show. Feel free to check it out by going here.

In other news, it looks like the show is tentatively slated to make a guest appearance at the upcoming Red Chair benefit. We'll probably be performing that well-known number from the second act where that person sings with another person about that thing that has really made working or living at that place all-but impossible. Ah, I can't help humming it right now!

In other other news, The Lost Comedies auditions are this coming Monday and Tuesday at SAK. We're looking for a few good men and women who aren't afraid of Shakespeare or tights. If you know anyone...

In another other other news, ImprOvientation runs this weekend at Rollins with Rollins Improv Players. We perform nine hour-long shows over the course of two and a half days in front of approximately 550 students and their peer mentors. Rehearsals are going well, and it looks like we might actually be ready for our first show on Friday afternoon. I'll be performing over twenty-hours of improv this weekend. Eek.

In one last another other other news, I'm scheduled for my breakdown around noon on Monday, after my first regular class.

Your improv-a-thoning Director, David C.

Like a Phoenix From the Ashes: Performance Number Nine

And I think we're there... We've had a lot of really good shows in the run to date, but this was a pivotal weekend in that both shows really broke the learning curve. It feels as if the company has really found its groove, and the structure is now successfully sticking when needed. Gina, the Assistant Director, and I shared a sigh of contented relief in that it feels that our baby is now walking on its own with more predictability. Many of my worries of a week ago are fading into the past.

What a great house! It was large in number, spirit and generosity. I had a good number of my troupe from Rollins College in attendance, and I'm glad they got to see a strong performance as well. Mark, assuming the role of a young woman, started the show strongly as a young janitorial worker who had a snobby college friend, a masculine crush, and an 85-year old grandfather who had taught her the business. The toilet humor started flying early! As always, Mark delivered a fantastic solo as his character chose to abandon her family career in order to pursue her dreams (of GAP?!) Then came Ron as a young man living in a tiny bedroom at home much to his chagrin and the ire of his demanding and somewhat superficial girlfriend. Ron and Robyn's controlling mother created a great duet, and Mark added romantic intrigue as a potential rival. In one of our more interesting offers of late, Robyn worked in a Miami refugee camp as a kind-hearted volunteer. There she was pulled by the needs of a strange variety of characters, including Ron's quirky Pedro, an older man with deceleration issues, and Poppa, an obnoxious Australian who wanted to whisk her away from it all on the back of his kangaroo. Finally, we returned to the bathroom with my character, Jordan, who liked to take books into the toilet with him. At his weekly book reading meeting we met his rival, Graham, his mentor (?) Professor Wiggins, and the apple of his eye, Jordash. Heather, our choreographer and my wife, and my father, who have both seen the last several weekends agreed that not only were the characters unique and specific tonight, but that we also lacked our usual handful of random or ill-fitting personas--an indication of strong listening and sharing in general.

Act two followed Jordan as he tried to improve his life by actually reading the books he'd been taken into the restroom. As he enrolled in college courses, his rival, Graham, turned out to be his biology TA, and thwarted Jordan's efforts at every turn. Robyn provided a great finesse in a scene where she played Graham's sidekick while burning the clothes of Jordash, a character she also embodied! Jordan entered just in time to believe that Jordash was now a pile of ashes. Robyn's character work and comedic timing was dynamite tonight. Mark, as Professor Wiggins, created some of the biggest laughs of the night, and as his former janitorial worker, nearly brought the house down when he counseled Jordan in the bathroom stalls of GAP to "spill it." Ron did great work as the villain, providing a wonderful twist at the final moment of the show, and his Pedro 10:00 number was one of the funniest and most playful we've had in a while. The final song of the show also built beautifully, with Mark leading a slow applause reveal, and Robyn emerging from the ashes (like a phoenix) just as the song culminated. Other than singing myself hoarse a little during the second act, I feel the show really went well for us all tonight, and the work was shared well and with generosity as we had on Friday.

The show is still getting out a little late. We keep starting late and having intermission extended unexpectedly. One of the difficulties of the 10:00 slot is that regardless of show quality, people get ancy around 11:45/11:50, and I'm keen that these delays don't make the show feel longer than it actually is (we rarely run past 90 or 95 minutes of actual performance time.) Has the show been feeling long to any of you blog readers? I'll keep fighting the good fight...

Your time-conscious Director, David C.

A Whale of a Show: Performance Number Eight

We had a slightly smaller house on Friday than we've been accustomed to, but we made up for it in story! The form really came together well tonight, and most of our notes at the end of the night were punctuated with laughter and joy. Our act one ran a little long - we're getting better at starting nearer the middle of a scene, but sometimes we lag a little at the end when it comes to our exits. High status characters can also be problematic - I found myself dominating a little in Chase's storyline, but he did a nice job of keeping focus, and his continual interruptions actually became part of our relationship, which was fun.

Chase was our first audience-inspired character: Al, a bomb-maker... An explosive beginning indeed! Kate was his beaten down co-worker, while Jay created a great spy character who went by the name of "Ghost" and I was a power-hungry sports-car-driving mega-industrialist just known as "Boss." Jim gave a nice James Bondish song challenge which Chase hit out of the park. We then met Jay's character--a restless young man trying to free himself from his dominating friend, bossy girlfriend, and bad-advice-giving mother. Kate took on the role of a SeaWorld employee who had the misfortune of living with one of her uppity underlings. Kate gave us another beautiful ballad in this position, while Chase and Jay's wacky sidekick characters provided some great comedy. Finally, I was Joe, another dream squelched character, who was trying desperately to escape his parents by catching the sun in his patio light catchers.

Chase's Al was selected for act two, indicating that we had a smart audience as there really were so many great and unique potentials for his journey! I particularly enjoyed the villain duet as Jenny (Kate's ill-tempered roommate) with Jay's "Ghost". It was a tango-inspired number that triggered Jim to whisper to us from the keyboard "Never again" as we left the stage! Chase led the act well, and while we were a little light on environment as a company, the stories really were quite well executed and playful. This is something we've struggled with at times. Kate had a great "awww" moment as her overlooked co-worker, and her sister duet with Chase was beautifully harmonic. The show also had a great culmination with Jay's Ghost trapping Chase and his boss (father?!) in a water tank by sewing them inside with an eyelash (you had to see it!) Chase had a great finesse calling his aquatic friends at SeaWorld to come to the rescue, and the show ended with strength (and a partial standing O!)

Story was hot, and this was a nice growth. Jay really is a fine story crafter and helped elevate this game in general. Along with Chase's refocused drive and Kate's always soulful crooning, we had a nice balanced night. I think I did some nice things too!!

I have members of my campus improv troupe (RIP) in the house on Saturday, so I hope we can keep this momentum going...

Your long-form-loving Director, David C.

300 and Counting...

Well, I've been with SAK as a member of the professional ensemble for about two and a half years now since relocating to Florida from Baton Rouge. I started tallying my number of Lab performances last year on my faculty website, largely to keep a record of my professional credits for tenure and promotion purposes. (These are the things you have to do in a tenure track position!) Regardless of the purpose, my little counter ticked over last weekend, and I realized that I had reached the 300 mark. Now that's not a golden anniversary or anything, but it has a certain ring to it that seems worthy of mention.

It's strange looking back. Prior to SAK, I had mainly been performing and working in long-form improv. In fact, while I had directed and hosted many short-form shows over the years, such as Making It Up As We Go Along at LSU with a cast of over 30 novice improvisers, it had been about eight years since I had regularly played in a short form show myself (Chicago Comedysportz in the early 1990s to be exact). I still remember my initial nervousness when I stepped onto the mainstage to play with SAK's veterans (Brendan was one of them, if my memory serves.)

While I am still avowedly a long-form junky, SAK really has rekindled my joy of short-form as a player. I think this attack has also re-invigorated some of my more experimental work.

Anyone else remember their first SAK performance as a player or audience member? (Has anyone else been so anal retentive as to tally their shows? I'm sure there are some really impressive tallies out there...)

Your number-crunching Director, David C.

Few people, if any, have put more time, energy and love into SAK Comedy Lab than Dave Russell. As the Managing Director and Artistic Director of SAK and Producer of FourPlay, Dave and I are in close competition for "longest job description on a business card," and that doesn't include the myriad of non-SAK related work he does in the Parks. Dave and I also placed highly in the recently held OVAs (Orlando Verbosity Awards). As such, I sat down with him, a court stenographer and 15 reams of paper for our little chat...

Current favorite musical: High School Musical - Don't laugh, I have kids! I have seen that movie over 100 times and the tunes are quite catchy!
Current favorite improv game: I love so many improv games. One that offers me the greatest thrill is the 4 letter word game. We start with a 4 letter word from the audience (not profane - “slip,” for example). The first speaker must use “slip” in their dialogue. The second must change 1 letter (can be any letter) and use it in their dialogue. As dialogue goes back and forth, each improviser continues to change one letter. It’s like that puzzle game – can you get from “slip” to “fine” in ten or less steps? Man, its a brain buster, and the audience loves watching the improvisers' heads almost explode.

DC: Dave, I believe you’ve been involved with SAK since its inception. I’d love to know a little about those early days, the SAK founders, and what the original company looked like.

DR: In a way, SAK has led a double life. I was not one of the original members of SAK, but joined the troupe in 1983 (SAK was officially born in 1977 in Buffalo, Minnesota). The original troupe was Craig McNair Wilson (now a writer in San Francisco), Terry Olson (a name recognizable to anyone in the Arts in Central Florida - he is now the Orange County's Department of Arts & Cultural Affairs administrator) and Herb and Bernelle Hansen (Herb works at Walt Disney World as a performer and Show Director and Bernelle lives in Minnesota).

When I joined, SAK was performing street theater mostly at EPCOT Center in Walt Disney World. SAK also performed at Renaissance Festivals (its roots trace to the Minnesota Renaissance Festival), Faires and Expos around the world. In 1989 our production and performance contract with Disney ended. At this point Disney was building a comedic/improvisational pool of performers of their own with the opening of the Disney MGM Studios, Pleasure Island and eventually Animal Kingdom. Up to that point we were pretty much the only comedic and improvisational performers on property.

Having a lot of eagerness and energy to continue performing together, we eventually opened the SAK Comedy Lab in downtown Orlando in 1991. This was a second birthing of sorts for SAK. I am one of the founding members of that company of performers. In those seminal days, we had a troupe of about 12 performers creating and performing plays that we developed improvisationally, most notably Las Vegas Hospital and Fun With Science. We also developed a competitive improvisation format that was part TheaterSports, part ComedySportz, and part our own twisted version. That morphed into our very popular show Duel of Fools. Many of our original company members have gone on to do very well in television, film, writing – all kinds of disciplines. Of course the most notable is Wayne Brady, but SAK alumni include Paul Vogt (MadTV), Joel McCrary (Princess Diaries 1 & 2), Jonathan Mangum (Drew Carey Show), Aaron Shure (Writer, Producer, Everybody Loves Raymond), Paula Pell (Writer, Producer, Saturday Night Live)... And the list goes on.

DC: After your early years with SAK, you departed for the West Coast with several other former company members (as has often been the case historically). Describe the years you spent in Los Angeles with Houseful of Honkeys. What type of improv and theatre work did you get up to?

DR: The L.A. experience (as the cool dudes refer to it) was wonderful and not wonderful at the same time. There are a ton of improv groups in L.A. Some of them are pretty good, a few are great, and a lot weren’t very good at all. The Houseful of Honkeys was one of the higher end improv groups, thankfully. It was sometimes difficult to get the masses excited about improv because so much mediocre improv was being passed off around town as actual entertainment. Also, many of those groups were exploring and performing long form improvisation – much of it transplanted from Chicago where many L.A. improvisers had their roots. Although I love long form improv, its a tough sell to an audience when it’s not packaged properly in my opinion. I think it’s many times like jazz music. There is jazz music that everyone likes, and jazz music that is most appreciated by other jazz musicians who understand and appreciate the subtle musical nuances and tonal explorations. It’s the same with long form improv. So many forms leave the audience thinking “what the heck is this? Is this a show?” Other improvisers love it and appreciate it and understand the subtle nuances, but most of the general public tilts their head like a confused dog. I myself like performing long form. I just like it with a little show value spice – LIKE FOURPLAY!!!! Oops. Producers plug, sorry about that.

Long form can be fun and a rewarding theatrical experience, but the Honkeys style was short form story-based scenes, songs and games. Very much like SAK in that respect - not surprising though, seeing as though we all came from the SAK stable. As the Houseful of Honkeys, we were very lucky to make a place for ourselves in the L.A. improv world. Ask any improviser in Hollywood and they will have heard of the Houseful of Honkeys. The toughest thing we faced was finding a performance home. In Orlando, we had our own theater. None of us knew how long the SAK train would choo, and the lure of Los Angeles was very strong indeed. But we were not in a place where we could have/run our own theater. You think real estate is expensive here!!! So we parked ourselves in suitable locations – coffee houses, small improv venues showcasing many groups, etc., whose owners and operations would eventually change. We were very lucky, however, to hold a spot at the ACME Comedy Theater in Hollywood for quite a while. This is a theater similar to the Groundlings where they perform sketch comedy mostly and utilize improv workshops for material development. It was unheard of for an outside group to play there regularly. The Honkeys played there for 3 years.

DC: Several years ago, you were lured back to Orlando and to the SAK family. What brought you back to these parts and had SAK changed a lot in your absence?

DR: Lured to L.A. - Lured back to Orlando. Boy do I sound flighty. My move back to Orlando and holding the reins at SAK actually happened through a series of events that all worked together with serendipitous timing. SAK was at a bit of a cross-roads. Finances were already tough at SAK and the direction was seeming to move away from our original vision. So we were faced with a “what should we do?” Should we close SAK down? Find a new leader? Let it continue on its present course? At about the same time, in L.A. I and my family (I went out there with my wife, and now we had 2 kids - whoopee!!) were finding it increasingly challenging to have a comfortable living out there. Much of my work was as a consultant with theme parks and production companies and many of those opportunities had dried up after 9/11 (which is by the way my daughter’s birthday. “Happy second birthday honey – oh look at the news...” Interesting day.) In addition, we’d just amassed a huge debt when my appendix exploded. What a rotten thing for an appendix to do on very limited medical insurance coverage. So moving back to Orlando was a great opportunity for us to settle down financially, work to get back on track and hey, at the same time I can run SAK.

DC: You recently launched a Help Save SAK campaign. The company has been buffeted by rising parking costs, hurricanes and shrinking budgets, and yet people keep coming through those brightly painted yellow doors! What is it that gives SAK such staying power, in your opinion?

DR: That is a question I ask myself over and over again, late at night, eyes wide open at 2am. The other burning question is – should we continue to do this? Is it worth it? The answer is a resounding YES. The Help Save SAK campaign is an effort to get the word out and find ways interested folks can help us remain a force in comedy improvisational entertainment here in Orlando. The main thrust is a call for people to spread the word about SAK to as many people as they possibly can using word of mouth, myspace, e-mail, and also ask (or remind) folks to come to our theater – come often, and bring a friend.

As to the staying power? It’s just starting to sink in. When I came back, SAK was in a very challenging place financially and emotionally. My plan at first was to prepare to shut it down, but do it in celebration for the wonderful years we’d had and not crashing in flames. We slowly started to work our way back and then a funny thing happened. I found myself standing in our theater on numerous occasions – sometimes as a performer on the stage, sometimes in the house, sometimes in the lobby as our audiences were coming or going. I just loved what I felt. Everyone seemed so filled with joy. College students, high school students, little kids 10 and 12 years old, their parents, somebody’s grandma and grandpa. All laughing and smiling and filled with joy. Our mission statement is “To create an audience, people who want joy, by playing together.” Playing with our audiences and creating a joyful environment where they are encouraged to participate with us is a SAK signature. From our street performance days when we’d narrate Romeo and Juliet in 20 minutes and pick senior citizens to play the parts of Romeo and Juliet to the shows you see 5 nights a week on the SAK Comedy Lab stage to the Corporate shows we do regularly - people are filled with joy. How can you not want that to continue - despite the hardships and challenges. God has always been gracious to help us when the chips are down. These economic and operational trials and tribulations help bring those who know us closer in to us. That’s actually not a bad thing. We would just love for LOTS more people to know about us.

DC: Here, here! Oh dear, the stenographer's fingers seem to have caught on fire and I'm not sure if the internet actually has enough memory for me to publish all of this, so we'd better stop here. But thanks so much for all the great stories.

To learn more about Dave, go here or here.

DR: One final note: Slip, slit, slot, soot, foot, fort, fore, fire, fine.

Hello Cornelius: Performance Number Seven

Although we're three weeks into our run, Saturday was actually our last opening night for one of our own, Jay Hopkins, who joined us for the first time after wrapping up his obligations with Mad Cow's Constant Wife. (That's Jay with the fun "just-ache", or moustache of justice, standing in the foreground below.) It was neat to see his excitement and feed off his energy tonight. Along with Charles, Kate and myself, there was a good playful mood tonight, and a real sense of supportive ensemble. His lovely wife, Diana, also provided some much needed shirt drying during intermission...

A really nice show tonight. We ran a little long. Some of this was some old challenges with starting on time from the 8:00pm show and an intermission that can tend to get lengthy as we try to quickly recap our storylines before launching into act two. Some of this was, quite frankly, us enjoying ourselves just a little too much at times as performers, especially when it came to sharp starts and ends to scenes. Some of it was that we had some good story potentials to explore when we got into the second act. Our run time, once again, is actually within the ballpark of our goal, that is, approximately 90 minutes of performance. But when these factors make our end time creep up on the midnight hour, it feels long for audience and cast member alike, so it's something we need to keep an eye on. When you see the clock ticking close to midnight, the show is going to feel long even if it is, in fact, the expected actual time in terms of performance minutes.

Our new way of getting ask-fors from the audience is working well (although Jay's personal example may have added about 2 minutes here!!). Charles was a mortgage broker who found potential love when his trainee turned out to be a former high school crush. Jay returned to his former high school as the new principal, and sought advice from his old coach and mentor as to how to motivate the seemingly obtuse student body. Kate struggled with her dorm living situation when her roommate invited an elderly gentleman she'd meet online to join them as a third wheel. I enlisted my younger brother, Barnaby, to help me escape the control of my mother and over-critical grandfather. My character, Cornelius, with his brother (played by Jay) went into the second act as the stars. Can anyone say Hello Dolly!? We had some fun adventures as we tried to find and claim our manhood, only to discover, ultimately, that we needed our mother after all and that "home is where the sweat is" (the fitting title of our closing song)! It was a hot evening in more ways than one.

There were lots of strong moments. Charles' mother character was extremely strong and provided a great motivating force for the second act. He also provided a suitably nasty senior citizen internet stalker in Kate's storyline that got some great audience response. Kate had yet another stand out solo set to a Billy Joel parody in the second act as an over controlling grandfather (yet another brilliant stroke from our maestros Jim and Keith) and crafted some poignant moments as her torn student looking for some personal space as her major character in act one. Jim also pimped me into a very fast-paced jazzy number as Jay's high school secretary/adviser in the first act. This was one of those songs that moved so quickly that I didn't have a second to contemplate my lyric. A bit scary, but a whole lot of fun. Jay had a great opening night overall, but I was particularly fond of his Barnaby character that was so joyful and earnest. I really enjoyed playing alongside him as Cornelius' journey unfolded (particularly as he spun me around during a dance break!) He also had several unexpectedly quick costume changes offstage as he moved quickly amongst his four characters of the evening. Fun, fun, fun.

A really strong show overall. We had strong story elements which really can make all the difference.

I have my first pre-production meeting and a primer workshop for The Lost Comedies on Monday, and go into rehearsals for ImprOvientation on the campus of Rollins College on Wednesday, so I have to start to shift my gears a little...

Any one have any thoughts on the new way we elicit our initial offers from the audience? (Has anyone noticed that we've tweaked this?!?!)

Your soon-to-be-thrice-directing Director, David C.

On Style and Substance: Performance Number Six

Another good house that included original company members James and Krisha tonight. Great to see them back in O-Town! Act one was pretty solid, although there were some focus/sharing issues in places and we ran a little long accordingly. Act two was more problematic, although there was still much enjoyment from the house. The show, however, veered a little from north in terms of its energy and style. I don't really want to re-hash it all again here as we had a lengthy chat after the show and I've just sent out my lengthy notes for the rest of the company. There were some good lessons to help us move forward though, and is often the case, when the show slips into territory that doesn't quite match my intent as the director, it helps me and the company further fine tune our definition of the production's overall goals.

And so, with that in mind, I offer some quick tid-bits:

1. The show is really an earnest attempt to create a "legitimate" musical (what exactly does that mean?) With that in mind, we need to fully commit to our characters and their worlds in order to enable a journey of note and interest. Needlessly commenting on the choices of others in the creative equation can steadily undermine the viability of this world and lower the stakes.

2. FourPlay is really an ensemble piece that demands a great deal of generosity on the part of all those involved: performers, musicians, technicians... We need to strive to support our fellow players and work to move focus appropriately throughout the performance while accepting offered gifts with good spirit and joy.

3. Laughter is merely one form of audience response, and while we surely want good doses of this (as it is a musical comedy afterall), we shouldn't be afraid of pursuing some softer or more sincere moments as well.

4. There is no substitution for passion and active choices. At the end of the day, we need to find and connect to our characters' drives and use these to fuel our journey. Over-the-top personas and choices create great energy and humor, but ultimately, they need to be in the service of something that is relatable to us individually and to the audience as a whole. This attitude also serves the notion that FourPlay celebrates that anyone's life, no matter how seemingly simple or unassuming, is worthy of being musically dramatized.

And that, I think, sums it up quite nicely.

Although we had a smashing gala opening by all accounts, I am currently unaware of any posted or published reviews. Does anyone know differently? Does anyone care to share an informal review of their own?

Your style-polishing Director, David C.

I was personally relieved when Gina agreed to return to this year's production of FourPlay as my Assistant Director. We developed a great directing chemistry last year, and it continually amazes me how often we're on exactly the same page when it comes to what needs to be done next in the process. Now that we've reached the performance stage, Gina is instrumental in keeping the show running smoothly and strengthening throughout the run. Gina agreed to meet me on the roof of the Centroplex Parking Garage where we caught some rays, sipped on unsweetened iced tea and enjoyed a little Ben and Jerrys.

Current favorite musical: As you could probably tell by my audition for the show, I don't know musical theatre, but know more than I did before I worked with FourPlay. I'm a big fan of Disney movies, though. Does that count? They sing a lot.
Current favorite improv game: Scene Three Ways or Alphabet, Shoulda Said, Shakespeare (I like the torture)

DC: Gina, as someone who was inextricably involved in last year’s debut production of FourPlay as well as our new and improved version 2.0, how would you characterize these two processes and products, and what distinguishes our current offering?

GD: What does inextricably mean? No, really, what does that mean? One question into the interview, and I'm stumped.

DC: Sorry about that. Let me try again... You have a unique perspective each evening, as our eyes in the house during the performances. For those who have seen you frantically taking notes in the house, what are you looking for as the production unfolds?

GD: My job is to watch everything to review later. Any one of 4 main characters can be chosen as the story we follow in Act II. I look for the character who will pose the biggest obstacle(s) to the hero in Act II. Also, we see 16 characters the first half - 4 are inspired from the audience, but the other 12 are made up instantly. The actors are coming up with real relationships with these crazy characters on the spot, making up lyrics, and changing costumes, all the while having to remember what they've created. I help them keep track of that. I write everything down, and at intermission, my job is to remind the actors of the little stuff they do and say ("Chase, don't forget you said your character's dad's left eye was eaten by a baby pig.") and to also find possible connections between any of the 16 characters ("Robyn, you said your character grew up on a farm - maybe that farm had pigs.") Then we save the little gem that maybe Robyn's pig ate Chase's dad's eye for later. Maybe they use it, maybe they don't, but they have it in their back pocket as a possibility. We review the characters at half time, and I try to keep that short so our audience doesn't have to wait too long. If you're waiting for a long time, my apologies, but you have to realize how inextricably linked these characters are. It's not always easy.

DC: Nice word usage! You’ve been involved with SAK for some time now as an Apprentice, Host and member of the Generation S ensemble, but as of late you’ve taken on another role and project. Tell us a little about the process of co-creating SAK’s inaugural High School League. How did this idea come about, and where do you see it going?

GD: Improv is pure joy. Somehow we talked about how cool it would have been if improv was around when we were in school and how cool it would be to offer something like that now. Then someone asked why we didn't, and we didn't have an answer...so John Hunter (co-creator & all around swell guy) and I figured it out and helped develop the program. We had 4 schools involved this year, and they got to do 2 shows. There was such joy surrounding the project. Eventually, we think it'd be great if schools could have a whole improv season where they have matches against other schools, and it becomes something in which your school just has to be involved!

DC: I became involved in improv during my high school days in New Zealand. I'm glad that you're giving this opportunity to students in our area. As an improviser, you’ve also been involved with several interesting projects outside of SAK in the last few years. Are there any particularly interesting highlights that you’d like to share?

GD: Why yes, David, I worked with you in a Fringe show. It was a grueling rehearsal schedule by this slave driving director, but one of the most amazing shows I've ever done, which I can't really describe because "you had to be there." Also, John dared me to get something out of my car when I was naked two nights ago. That wasn't so much of a project as a one-time thing, but it was "interesting" and "outside of SAK," and John said it was a "highlight."

DC: I'm not quite sure how to respond to that...

To learn more about Gina, go here or, apparently, wait outside her car late at night.