Saturday night I went to the TTC Season Announcement Cabaret. Dave had spoken to me earlier about directing The Vagina Monologues and remounting Pirates again next summer in Frank Sinatra Park. At the cabaret I found out that they were also bringing back Rocky Horror, which they'd done last winter and which was awesome and hilariously fun. And I ( Read more... )

So, my show opened Friday. I got there around 7:30 and hung out backstage. Several of the kids in the cast gave me little birthday gift bags, which was totally unexpected and adorable. I received three different candles, two boxes of dark chocolates, and a Christmas ornament. How sweet! I also gave a few last-minute notes and worked a slight ( Read more... )

Come see all my wonderful actors in my play!


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After a thoroughly crappy two weeks ago, last week and this past weekend have turned out wonderfully.

I'll start with A Christmas Carol this weekend. I've been blockingblockingblocking the past several weeks--blocking and then drillingdrillingdrilling. Again and again. Polishing and perfecting the timing, the movement, the text and the acting ( Read more... )

A Christmas Carol is going very well. We are almost completely blocked now--just the finale and the last Cratchit/Scrooge scene in the office to do, and both of those are easy. My cast is an absolute dream this year--extremely capable and everyone really seems to be enjoying themselves. One girl in particular, Theresa, warmed to me after our ( Read more... )

My right shoulder has been aching for a couple of weeks now. I strained it in my sleep (I think) and a couple of days later got a massage at Athens Nails in Astoria. MISTAKE. It felt good at the time but it's been hurting ever since. I'm hoping it'll heal on its own, since I'm not sure what to do to help it.

Rehearsals for A Christmas Carol ( Read more... )

I've been at DeBaun the past couple of nights, busy with Christmas Carol auditions. There were many people who signed up for appointments and didn't bother to cancel which irritates me VERY MUCH. Extremely unprofessional, people. What was even weirder, our monitor came in last night toward the end and asked if we could see a couple of walk-ins ( Read more... )

I had my first production meeting for A Christmas Carol Tuesday night. Almost all of the technical staff from last year are back, including Matt, Carl, Michael and the costumer and makeup designer. I have a different SM, Shawna, and producer--Bob Reed, the guy who started the Theater Company. I'm gonna miss Gina a lot--she and I clicked on a ( Read more... )

I had a great meeting with Dave Z. today. We talked about the next couple of seasons--I started off by pitching, hard, Hair, a show that I really want to do right now and have been thinking about for the past couple of weeks. I have most of it blocked in my head already! In particular I know exactly how I want to do the finales of both acts. I ( Read more... )

Check. It. OUT.

"I feel that this is artistically the strongest production in the three years," said Zimmerman.

Great balls of fire!