Ten years ago Great Lakes Theater first produced one of my plays for their annual outreach tour, On the Dark Side of Twilight. It was a major step for me in a highly productive decade of playwriting, which included (among many other projects) six outreach tour scripts for GLT. But my memories of the rehearsal process and performing as a company member in this tour are particularly sweet.
It was the first time I would work with Emily Pucell Czarnota, for whom I would later write the part of Beatrice in Double Heart, and the last time (to date) to be directed in a production by Andrew May.
The script itself, while a representation, almost a parody of vampire literature through the ages, through it I had the opportunity to touch on many themes and conflicts which are very personal to me.
Costume design by Esther Montgomery Haberlen
Then there was the fact that three of us were to play over a dozen characters, with crazy, fast costume changes taking us through two entire centuries. And there was the music, the choreography, and the blood.
From my journal:
Sunday, February 14, 2010 I do not know if a record has been kept of all of the design elements for previous Great Lakes outreach tours. However, I am guessing we are setting a few records. No less than eighteen distinctive costume looks. We added most of those on Thursday night, and we rocked them. Then last night Richard added sound. I have not counted the sound cues, but they will be executed, in their entirety, by the three of us. We do not have a stage manager. And I wrote this monstrosity. This is all my fault.
On Monday we will have a much clearer idea of how long it is going to take to set up and tear down this set. Until then, I am just tossing in my sleep over it. I was happy to have the opportunity to spend a brief, casual, social moment on Friday night following our extended rehearsal. I am very happy with this company.
Costume design by Esther Montgomery Haberlen
Andrew appears to have been having fun with this production. There is a terrible amount of cracking up going on during scene work.
I blogged extensively about the performances as the tour progressed, but not here. It was on a different, discontinued blog. In the interest of nostalgia and celebration, I am going to re-post those entries here over the next three weeks. I hope that you enjoy them.
Director Andrew May (left)
Here’s a bonus feature, a sound cue used in the production. Read the context, and see if you can guess the voices!
Saturday, February 6, 2010 … as in the novel Dracula, the story is made up entirely of "source" materials: diaries, letters, newspaper articles, all first-person accounts. Our narrator seeks to uncover the mystery by sharing these antique documents with the audience, and explain just where and when we are.
Speaking of those "source materials," we had a great surprise this week. As the story winds on, the media become more technologically advanced, from hand-written letters and journals to newspapers and cassette-tape recordings to blogs ... and one radio broadcast. I am not at liberty to say who is featured in the broadcast. But it will sound very professional.
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