Posts Tagged ‘project’

Actresses Anna Delrosario (left) and Sarah Bialobroda in the midst of a scene.

Some closing thoughts from “Voices”, for posterity.  You can download the playbill if you’d like, in case you missed the show or forgot to take yours!

Both shows went very well, and I was extremely pleased with how everything came together.  At the receptions following the shows, we received many compliments, a few pledges of support, and general incredulity that anyone was able to produce a play in a garage of all places.  GO TEAM!

As of this point, finances are as follows:
Infrastructure: $910.53
Operations: $318.63
Production: $102.38
Patronage, Donations, and In-kind Support:  -$95.00
NET: $1236.54

I expect future productions to be less expensive overall due to (hopefully) increased and continuing patronage, as well as the fact that infrastructure costs have probably leveled off for the most part.  The plus side is, we now have a 9-piece lighting system and a very nice curtain setup!  Thanks to Courtney for the loan of all the sound equipment.

We have two patrons, who wish to remain anonymous, that have actually given money to us (thank you!), plus several more who have pledged their support in the near future.  There seem to be a couple local businesses at least interested in what we are doing, but I have yet to talk to them directly about partnerships.  Also, we now have three playwrights in various stages of tentativeness thinking about writing scripts we could potentially produce.  Not bad for a startup!

Wow, what a heady experience… may the garage theatre live long and prosper!  The production team will be taking a couple of weeks off for some well-deserved rest, and then we will be getting to work on the planning for our next production (look for a post soon).

Meanwhile, here are some photos and some playbill text from “Voices”:

Anna Delrosario, as the spirit of Jeanne d'Arc.

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“Voices”, by Hortense Flexner.

Yvonne, a young peasant girl, fears for her small town of Domremy, France, ravaged  by the shelling of World War I.  She stops to pray at the ancient church sacred to Jeanne D’Arc, a ruined basilica in the woods near her village.

This sacred ground, believed for centuries to be infused with the spirit of Jeanne d’Arc, is known for being the place where Jeanne first heard the voices from Heaven.

Yvonne speaks, and a Voice responds… we are offered a glimpse of  her county’s past, and learn of the power of the spirit to overcome life’s worst horrors.

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Shows are:
Saturday, June 20th, 7:00pm
Sunday, June 21st, 7:00pm
Running time is approximately one-half hour.

Sarah Bialobroda, as Yvonne the young peasant girl.

Tickets are FREE.

Prior reservation is REQUIRED.

Please RSVP to productions@avthespians.org with a firm head count. Your seats are not reserved until you receive a response email confirming that we can accommodate your party. Due to the small nature of our theater (27 seats), please do not reserve seats that are not definitely going to be filled.

Theater location is on the west side, near 65th W and Avenue L. Address and parking information will be sent out to all confirmed guests.

Reception to follow.

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Starring:
Sarah Bialobroda
Anna Delrosario

Yvonne and the spirit of Jeanne d'Arc before the church.

Producer & Artistic Director — Nalin A. Ratnayake
Production Stage Manager — Courtney Marietta
Technical Director — Jeremy Gruca
Scenic Design — Lucas Nemeth
Lighting Design — Jessica Katzman
Sound Design — Juliana Katzman
Costume & Properties — Anna Delrosario

Thank you so much to the cast, crew, and the audience who came out to support our debut production this last weekend!  Both shows and both receptions went very well, and we are already getting pledges of support and patronage from several folks.  I’ll be posting a big update tonight (probably late) with pictures, the project financials, lessons learned etc.  Also, stay tuned for an announcement of our next production.

Just a quick note before I scramble off to get the next show and reception ready…. what a beautiful opening night!  I am so very pleased at how everything has come together, and I think everyone was impressed at what we can do with our rather unconventional theatre space.  One more to go!  I’ll post a longer review when I have time.

I can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong… tech week is usually a hellish nightmare of panic; yet this week for us has gone more or less as smoothly as we could have hoped – knock on wood! It has been quite a bit of money and many many long nights, but this project is finally reaching its… beginning!

This weekend will be proof of concept.  Proof that yes, in a small space not designed for the purpose and with common materials, we can indeed display fine acting, creative scenic design, innovative light and sound, and stunning costumes.  Proof that we can indeed make art in a garage.  Proof that in some things, beauty really does lie in essential simplicity.  Thanks to many hours put in by a very dedicated team, we are READY.

This the phase that is nailbiting for a director… one has already let go of the wheel, and now paces the deck nervously, waiting to see where the ship will sail.  Yet with this team, I know I need not worry; “Voices” is in good hands.  So I will just pour myself another glass of Merlot, and revel in it!

Playbills printed, still need to fold them.  Next show flyer and patronage solicitation printed.  All seats laid out and theatre space swept. Just some cleaning of the downstairs area and setting up for the reception, and my list is done.

Thanks to AV Press staff writer Julie Daniel for a wonderful article in today’s “Showcase” magazine!

We have one seat remaining for tomorrow’s show, and two left for Sunday at this time.

Ooof, exhausted… signing out for tonight. Though what’s the point?  I’m too excited to sleep despite my tiredness!

Wow… Where do I even begin?

I feel a bit like I did when I was 9 months pregnant… Happy, excited, and completely and totally terrified!  This is really happening!

Everything looks awesome.  The show has completely come together — Anna and Sarah have really captured their characters, and the play is quite moving.  The set looks amazing (yay Lucas and Jeremy!), the costumes are great (go Anna), the music fits perfectly (hooray Jugi) and the lighting is beautiful (good work, Jess)!

Now all we have to do is put it all together.  Wow, that makes it sound so simple.  If only… We have our first tech rehearsal tomorrow night, and we’ll see how complex everything turns out to be then.  Fingers crossed everything works out.  Being completely untested technology, as it were, I’m expecting a few bumps in the road.  I’ll let y’all know how it goes.

Oh, and look for us in this week’s AV Press Showcase!

–Cam

We had the final normal rehearsal today before entering into tech rehearsal on Thursday. All I can say is “WOW”. I am totally blown away by Anna and Sarah. As they will testify, I can always find something nitpicky and subtle to hone in on no matter how good we get; by the third run-through tonight, I was speechless. I totally forgot that I even had my notebook, I was so absorbed… these ladies have put in a huge effort, and they have made art in my garage – I can’t wait to see it with the full tech in place! My work as artistic director is finished. I leave the show in the very capable hands of Courtney the PSM and Jeremy the TD as we go into tech rehearsal.  I concluded my comments this evening by quoting one of my favorite characters (on the screen): “Number One, you have the con.”

“Just” the Producer stuff left, and there is plenty of it.  Confident in the artistic direction of the play, I can now focus entirely on getting the house and theater ready for opening night.

New seats available!!!

When we actually laid out the seats tonight for the first time, turns out we can comfortably fit 28 total.  This means that there are now 2 seats open for Saturday, and 8 seats open for Sunday.   Get those RSVP’s in!!!

The following is copied from an update on the Antelope Valley Thespians web forums, March 2nd 2009.

The AV Thespians Productions project is the first time I’ve messed around with producing, and mostly the first time I’ve directed in any formal capacity. Obviously, I’ve underestimated both tasks. I’m very glad I got some great volunteers for the production crew that actually know what they are doing. In the meanwhile, I’ll be posting some lessons learned here as I go.

At this time, AV Thespians Productions is operating out of my house. Indeed, we will even perform plays there for the time being. I did the measurements and the CAD drawings (yes, I’m an engineer) and determined that we could fit about 30 people in the front great room of my new house. Sound and lighting equipment selection is underway, and pending a few more actors volunteering, rehearsals should begin by the end of the month. I’ve got a great production team whose experience I appreciate very much, and I’m usually too dense to quit once I start a grand scheme, so this is happening!

Feel free to contact me with ideas if you have any. Again, I’ll be posting here semi-regularly with insights and mistakes I make.

The thread for show ideas and requests is here: http://www.avthespians.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=275.  We would welcome your input and ideas.