Second Production Meeting Scheduled

Our second production meeting is this evening, August 29, 2005 at 6:00 PM in the basement of the McGrath House in Heritage Square, Oxnard, CA. The meeting will last approximately 90 minutes and will have the following agenda:

• Introductions & Roles - Introduce anyone new, and reintroduce existing folk.
  
• Audition update (Jerry) - Assign staff to help when Liz is unavailable. Pass out scripts.
  
• Music update (Jerry) - Introduce accompanist (if attending). Ensure piano in Petit is in working order (tuned, functional). Arrange music recording (if possible). Arrange for music to anyone who needs to hear the show. Hand over music to accompanist.
  
• Costumes update (various) - Identify necessary costume components. Identify folks who can assist with costumes. Arrange for callback/readthrough measurements to be taken.
• Set update (Sean, Bob) - Show design for set. Arrange for building details. Set timelines.
• Props update (Jerry) - Identify necessary props. Assign folks to work on/obtain props.
• Review timelines & action items. Poll for best time and schedule next production meeting.
  
• Close meeting.

That should do it.


- Sean

Creating Great Entertainment

I truly respect volunteer resources. In community theatre, it's generally all you've got to work with. The reason it works is that most people understand that a small amount of concerted effort by many people can accumulate into a really GREAT end product. When this happens, the modest efforts of an individual become magnified, reflecting a tremendous sense of accomplishment back on the volunteer.

To any who read this, I KNOW it's difficult to find time to volunteer, especially given the crazy lifestyle that we in Southern California live. Take our producer, Jerry Oshinsky for example. He is a partner in a DC lawfirm who happens to live in Santa Barbara. He has given his time and effort to make sure that I can focus on delivering a great show. I won't give the specifics of his hourly rate with the lawfirm, but suffice it to say that it costs him more to spend a half an hour negotiating a reduced rate on, say, costumes, than it does to just go ahead and pay the posted rate.

Also, our great company costumer, Connie, is a BUSY woman. Between A Delicate Balance, Ghost Tours, and her REAL job, she hardly has a moment to relax. She needs people who can help her with costumes, people who can spend an evening or two running some fabric through a sewing machine or who can go out and pick up costume pieces for her.

And I've been there too. During Little Shop of Horrors last year in Ojai, I drastically underestimated the time and resources required to complete the set, and the results were much less than I'd hoped. I know, I know, I know.

But, planning makes it all better. An unknown obstacle is always insurmountable. Know it, own it, tackle it, and it becomes a minor step in your path towards greatness.

So, I encourage any of you who can help, even in some small way, to join us at the production meeting on August 29 at 6:00 PM. I guarantee we will not give you more work than you can commit to, but we do need people.


- Sean

Mo' Dickerin'

I whittled it down to 139 hours, but that includes auditions (3 days), music recording for the rehearsal CDs (2 days), two weeks of vocal rehearsals (8 days), tech and dress rehearsals leading up to the opening (4 days), 21 performances (18 days), and one benefit performance (1 day).

I just want this done and over with so I can continue with the task of directing this show.


- Sean

Accompanist Wrangling

So, as I'd feared, we're now in the horse-trading phase of finding an accompanist, and it's a process I've never had to deal with myself. We're negotiating with the previously mentioned accompanist, and we're trying to find a happy medium. I REALLY want this person to work out, as they come highly recommended.

On my production schedule, I have a column that shows accumulated hours of rehearsal, etc. I used that to ballpark what time allotment would be required of the accompanist. Even DRASTICALLY pared down, the best I could whittle it down to was around 130 hours, and that was relinquishing Thursday music rehearsals, trimming the musician call to just 30 minutes before show time, and letting them arrive at 7:00 PM and leave at 10:00 PM for rehearsals rather than the 6:45-10:30 call for everyone else.

I hope it will work out.


- Sean

The Force is With Us

So, we've got ourselves a Cracker Jack accompanist for the show. I'll announce their name once all of the i's are dotted and t's are crossed. Ideally, they'll be joining us at the 8/29 production meeting, but we'll see. They come very highly recommended, and I look forward to working with them. They will be my right hand in making this a very successful and enjoyable show.

And kudos again to our producer, Jerry Oshinsky. He hit the pavement hard to get this minor issue squared away, and I'm very comfortable with his approach to dealing with very talented people.

My script breakdown is on a page level, and I'll string together the detailed rehearsal schedule in the next week or so. I also need to nail down what I want for the set and put together a rough design for it. Last bit will be detailing and further delineating the props and costumes so we can assign them at the next production meeting.

Auditions are less than a month off!


- Sean

Pianissimo

"I'm really not a control freak."

These are the words usually spoken by a true control freak, just before they tell you how they want you to do something. In directing, this can be time consuming, unproductive, and detrimental to the production. One thing Tom Eubanks has begun to instill in me is the ability to let go: I've got a producer, I should use him.

And use him I do. Jerry has been a wonderful blessing in this process so far. He's marched off and tackled all of my obstacles thus far, and he's done so with absolutely no reminders or second guessing. THAT is what a producer is for... a large, sharp machete to clear the director's path towards the Shangri La that opening night should be.

Case in point: my major fret this past week was in finding an accompanist who could guide us through auditions, rehearsals, and of course the productions. I can't play or even read music all that well, and I don't know ANYONE in the area who does. I don't even know very many people in MY area who do, and that's 30 miles away in Woodland Hills. So I bubble it up to Jerry and CC Tom, and viola! Within about 30 minutes, we have a GREAT list of potential candidates. Within a few hours, we'd even managed to find at least one person for auditions, and another few leads for rehearsals and performances.

So the major upside to this is that I can continue my dissection of the script, blocking, pacing, etc. so that Nuncrackers is the best show I can coax out of these performers.

We've mostly finalized the production schedule, only a few juggles of the logistics remaining. For anyone interested, the most current version is available in PDF format here or in Excel format here. Our second production meeting is scheduled tentatively for 8/29 at 6:00 PM in the basement of the McGrath House in heritage square. We'll update timelines and further delineate between costumes and props so that the appropriate groups of people can begin working on them. As with last time, we'll pass out scripts to anyone who doesn't have one, and arrange to get a CD with music to those folks as well.


- Sean

Slicing & Dicing the Script

In drafting the rehearsal schedule, it was first important to break down the scene structure even more than the script does. There are a total of 26 'scenes' in the show, evenly divided between the first and second acts. I try to map out who will be in each scene and structure rehearsals to make the most of individual performers' time.

Particularly with the kids in the show, I need to be as economical with their time as possible. Even more so than adults, kids remember their parts (lines, songs, choreography) through repetition. The quicker I can get their parts ingrained in their minds, the easier it will be for them as time progresses. That will give them more creative license sooner in the process, allowing them to "own" the parts well before the chaos that is tech week.

So, for the kids, here will be the scenes that they will be in:

• Forward - Before the show begins "taping" the kids are introduced to the audience
• Nutcracker/Joy To The World - John & Louise (the older two kids) sing "The Cat's Away" prior to the "accident". Maria and Billy (the younger two kids) come in after and have a few lines.
  
• Santa's Little Teapot - The kids sing and dance in this, their main song.
• Christmas Box - Prior to this song, Maria comes in with some lines. Father Virgil sings this song to comfort her.
• Wassail Song (A Waffeling) - The first of Amnesia & the Kids' joke numbers. A capella with props.
• The Holly & The Ivy (Ivory) - The second of Amnesia & the Kids' joke numbers. A capella with props.
• Nutcracker Ballet - All the kids have lines and dance in this number
• Jesus Was Born in Brooklyn - Kids sing in the chorus and have blocking during the nativity scene, particularly Louise or Maria (depending on who looks more like Robert Anne).
• In the Convent - After this song, Louise holds cue cards for Reverend Mother.
• The First Noel (Leopards) - The third and final of Amnesia & the Kids' joke numbers. A capella with props.
• Christmas Sing Along - The kids participate in the chorus.
• It's Better to Give - The kids will sing in this and will have some blocking.
• Reprise: Christmas Time is Nunsense Time - Kids sing in chorus.

I'll have a full scene breakdown later, but this should help me figure out how and when to schedule the kids. I'll likely try to stick to the Saturday rehearsals for them, except for when we get to full runthroughs, tech, and dress.


- Sean

First Production Meeting

In attendance at the first production meeting were:

• Sean Harrington, director
• Jerry Oshinsky, producer
• Liz Martinez, stage manager
• Bob Decker, technical director
• Leanna Bowman, Elite BOD president

We first discussed the production schedule. At issue was whether or not our Saturday rehearsals would conflict with Teatro's performances, and if we needed to find an alternate space. Teatro only performs in the evenings, so there will be no conflict. Minor conflict might occur on 10/24 if Teatro waits until that Monday evening to strike, but we'll adapt as necessary.

I presented a tentative audition form which is more detailed than the traditional form used at Elite. It shows a condensed rehearsal schedule in calendar form on the right side of the sheet so that auditioners can quickly mark conflicts. Also at question was the appropriateness of the legal disclaimer at the bottom of the form. Jerry (a lawyer) suggested that it was not technically correct, but altering it would make it seem excessively "legal" and might scare some off. Decision was to leave as is.

Audition dates are still as mentioned in previous posts on this blog. Jerry would like to attend, but will likely be traveling on business. He will likely be available for callbacks. Liz is available for one of the audition dates, but not both. I will, of course, be there for all of them.

Tentatively, we will be rehearsing Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings, and Saturday mornings. If there are excessive conflicts with folks we want to cast, we will determine a change at that point. Total number of rehearsals are only 24, so on the calendar, I politely labeled the days leading up to the readthrough as "Self Rehearsals". I will make sure the scripts, librettos, and CDs are available by then.

Jerry posed the question as to how to go about the announcements for auditions. Leanna offered him her contact information for each of the local papers for the "free" announcements, and we agreed to go ahead and foot the $20 bill for a BackStage West announcement. Jerry also asked for the list of local universities I wanted to target, and I rattled them off again for him. Bob suggested that CalArts and the SF Valley colleges might be too far, but I mentioned that I was already traveling at least that far, and that we should go ahead.

Next up was a discussion surrounding Bob's availability for scenic elements. His courseload at Oxnard High will allow him to focus more on theatre, and he wants to give his tech theatre kids some good projects to work on. I agreed that I'd do a set breakdown and design and get it to him as early as possible to focus them on it. I also asked if they'd be available for some of the prop construction, and he responded enthusiastically in the positive.

We also began to discuss the importance of costumes in this production. With at least five full nun's habits required, we needed to get a handle on them as soon as possible. I told Bob that my plan was to minimize the set budget as much as possible and redirect it into Connie's costume budget. Jerry suggested we ask the local parishes to see if any of them have habits we could borrow. "The answer is always 'no' if you don't ask..." he reminded.

I brought up the suggestion that I'd like to audition men for the role of mother superior, and someone suggested that might offend any parishes if we were able to borrow habits. I mentioned Tom Eubanks' (our Artistic Director) interest in the role, and everyone got a kick out of that notion. "We can bill him simply as S.T. Eubanks..." (Samuel Thomas).

Back on the subject of costumes, we will likely need to find a good pattern and just make them ourselves. I will update my measurement form and possibly take measurements at callbacks to get a jump on it for Connie. We will also need habits for Agnes of God, so we should go ahead and make them if possible.

I also suggested that Liz might make a cameo as Sister Mary Leo and that she would likely need a habit as well. We'll see how this develops. If we go with understudies, this might be covered, allowing Liz to focus on her stage management tasks.

Next order of business was the accompanist. Bob rattled off several names and suggested that Linda Steigler (the original director) would have a list of available musicians if we were short. Jerry will need to confirm with Tom who we will be using. Bob gave us Linda's phone number in case we needed it.

I passed out scripts and music to all who attended. We talked a bit about the 2006 season, and then closed the meeting at around 7:15 PM.

One thing I didn't get to ask was the specifics of the holiday benefit performance. I have put two dates on the production schedule, letting potential cast members know that they will need to make themselves available. Hopefully, we can find and confirm these dates before the next meeting.

All in all, it was fairly productive evening. I look forward to future meetings as we get closer to production.


- Sean

First Production Meeting Scheduled

For those interested in working on the production of Nuncrackers, our first production meeting will be Monday, August 8, 2005 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM in the basement of the McGrath House in Heritage Square, Oxnard, CA. The McGrath House is just south of the Petit Playhouse.

We will be handing out scripts and music to the production team and will introduce everyone involved. First order of business will be to nail down the production schedule, followed by a brief discussion of my vision of the production as well as that of the producer. We'll discuss budget and begin to categorize production elements in terms of priorities and cost.

It should go quickly, and we probably won't use the whole two hours.


- Sean

Casting Call

In our phone discussion last night, the producer and I realized that we'll need a casting call written up for use by the publications announcing the auditions, as well as for the Elite website. To that end, here is my first pass at a casting call, complete with character descriptions...

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Short Version -
Casting Call - Elite Theatre Company's winter production of Nuncrackers by Dan Goggin. Roles for 5-6 women, 1-2 men, 2 girls and 2 boys are available. Please prepare a short song and bring sheet music for a piano accompanist. Auditions are Saturday, September 10, 2005 from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, Sunday, September 11, 2005 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Auditions will be held in the Petit Playhouse, 730 S. "B" Street in Oxnard, CA. Visit www.elitetheatre.org for full casting details.

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Long Version -
Casting Call - Elite Theatre Company's winter production of Nuncrackers by Dan Goggin. Roles include:

• Sister Mary Regina - Woman, 40-70 (or man in drag). Slight Irish accent.
  Singing range low E - mid D.
• Sister Mary Hubert - Woman, 30-50. Strong gospel voice.
  Singing range low G - high F#.
• Sister Robert Anne - Woman, 25-50. Strong singing voice, brooklyn accent. Puppetry or trumpet playing experience a plus.
  Singing range low G - very high A.
• Sister Mary Paul - Woman, 25-40. Strong country & western voice.
  Singing range low F# - very high A.
• Father Virgil - Man, 25-45. Good speaking voice.
  Singing range low G - high F.
• Sister Mary Leo - Woman, 25-45. Light singing only. Bit part.
  
• Louise - Girl, 14-19
  Singing range low Bb - very high A
• John - Boy, 14-19
  Singing range low G - high F#
• Maria - Girl, 7-14
  Singing range low Bb - very high A
• Billy - Boy, 7-14
  Singing range low G - high F#

Auditions will consist of a song, cold reading, and a brief movement exercise. Please prepare a short song and bring sheet music for a piano accompanist. Alternately you may bring an accompaniment CD (no vocals, please). Sides for cold reading will be provided.

Auditions are Saturday, September 10, 2005 from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, Sunday, September 11, 2005 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Callbacks will be Monday and Tuesday, September 12 - 13 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Rehearsals will be held from September 26, 2005 through November 10, 2005. Performances will run from November 11, 2005 through December 18, 2005.

Auditions and rehearsals will be held in the Petit Playhouse, 730 S. "B" Street in Oxnard, CA.

Visit www.elitetheatre.org for full details.

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- Sean

Whipped Cheese

Tom Eubanks gave me the script, score, and reference audio CD for Nuncrackers in early June of 2005. I read through the script twice and perused the score, then spent an afternoon listening to the CD.

My first impression of the music was that it was really cheesy, and that for some reason, Dan Goggins had an unfortunate habit of changing key after almost every verse. The opening number "Nunsense Time" grated on my nerves so much that I had to skip to the next track after only about 30 seconds. Track two, "Santa's Little Teapot" wasn't much better, although I'm a sucker for kids singing in holiday shows, so I endured the whole track.

Sister Mary Anette's "Twelve Days Prior to Christmas" was a fun, funny, marching number, and for once, I thought that I might be able to do something with at least ONE of the numbers in the show. Next up was Father Virgil's "Christmas Box" which again bugged me. Perhaps it was the timbre of the performer's voice, but it seemed flat and uninteresting... another ho-hum.

It wasn't until Sister Robert Anne's "Jesus Was Born in Brooklyn" that it all clicked in gear in my head. The theatricality of that song was what gave me hope for the show. I knew almost immediately how to stage it for maximum impact. The mock Andrews Sisters styled "We Three Kings" added to my love of the show, and Sister Mary Hubert's gospel inspired "Better to Give Than Receive" cemented my desire to knock this one out of the park.

So, the show itself presented itself as a heaping helping of whipped cheese, but I was starting to get a good sense of how to make it work.

I found and purchased a DVD of Nuncrackers, featuring Rue McLanahan and John Ritter. I reveled in the thought of John Ritter as Father Virgil, but alas, he was merely a guest storyteller for the Nutcracker sequence. It at least got me thinking about how that role could be done well with the right performer. The DVD itself matched the script pretty well, with the exception that a few songs were reassigned to account for Rue's less than great singing voice. What really helped was to get a visual sense of how the thing flowed, and what was necessary in the script versus what was a nice to have.

When I'd seen Nunsense in the late 1980's the company had a man playing the Mother Superior, and I'd like to see if those casting options are available for this production as well. Already, in fact, two men have approached me wanting to audition for the role, and a superb actress has expressed interest as well. Ideally, I'd like as large an audition pool as possible so that, if possible, I can either double cast or use understudies. I've seen other productions held at the mercy of a single performer who either flames out or becomes ill. If I make this option clear from the beginning, perhaps it will soften the perception that a performer would "lose" some of their performance dates. I believe it will strengthen the cast.

So those were my initial impressions after first reviewing the show. Now, I just needed to break the scenes down a bit and slice and dice the technical elements so that our support team can rise to the occasion.


- Sean

Welcome to Nuncrackers

Welcome to my first entry for the production of Nuncrackers. Here I will be documenting my point of view in bringing this show to stage, hopefully offering you a more in-depth view into what is required to create a musical production.

My name is Sean Harrington. I came to be involved with the Elite Theatre Company through my friendship with Tom Eubanks, ETC's Artistic Director. We met during the 2004 Ojai Art Center production of Little Shop of Horrors which Tom directed and in which I acted, technical directed, and provided a heaping helping of production support. I think the trials and tribulations of that show cemented our professional and personal relationship, and ushered me into the inner workings of ETC.

In the late spring of 2005, I got a call from Tom that started with the words, "I've got some good news and some bad news..." which, to me, from Tom, usually means a boatload of work is headed my way. The director who had been slated to handle Nuncrackers, ETC's winter 2005 show, had become unavailable. Tom and I had already discussed my working on another musical in spring of 2006, but he needed to have this position sewn up so that he wouldn't have to trust someone he didn't know with the pivotal holiday show, or, more than likely, so he wouldn't have to direct it himself. Either way, I was now directing a musical for the winter holidays.

I'd just finished Brighton Beach Memoirs, a show I loved, and which was well received at the New JCC at Milken where it was performed. The problem was that I was essentially the only person, other than the cast, working on the show. I directed, built the set, arranged for costumes, paid for the production, ran the lights and sound, and served as stage manager. The show was not well publicized by the JCC, nor was it supported well from a facilities standpoint. Everything that we did for the show had to be aggressively negotiated. Thank goodness my wife served as the producer, otherwise we would have been further back-burnered than we were.

ETC has always been a pleasant place to put on shows. The board of directors are very enthusiastic, and the calibre of people there was superb. I'd worked with Tom on the early 2005 production of Nevada Belle, and I knew most of the pitfalls in dealing with the space: two large pillars in the house, seating for just over 50, no crossover, greenroom, or dressing rooms. But all of these were known quantities before I'd even contemplated directing there.

The next hurdle was getting my brain around Nuncrackers and how I'd approach it given the constraints before me. I'd seen Nunsense produced, and I like the silliness of Dan Goggins' work in that show, but sequels always bugged me in theatre, and I was concerned that second helpings of an already schmaltzy show might not carry well.

Anyway, I'll get into these details in the next series of posts. Thanks again for joining us, and I hope you enjoy the insight presented here.


- Sean