'Small But Enthusiastic Audiences'

The review finally came out in the actual paper, (LA Weekly) with a photo which was good. It was the featured review of the week, which was also good. It didn't exactly translate into ticket sales, but it did give us some clout at the theatre complex (where we do the show) and the publicist did an upgrade on our website, plays411.bohemiancowboy. We did the show last night to a very  small audience, still, this show could play to one person in the house. It was nice that the 'three people' who sat in the audience knew the story and knew the country I was referring to, so it made it especially nice for me to play to that house. I don't find a small house intimidating, and like another producer friend of mine said, "Its a new show and a one person show" a little hard to sell. It takes time and patience, so I am not discouraged. As this show gets stronger, I am convinced that 'they will come'. A big show, $150,000 (last I heard) is opening in the theatre next door to us. Can you imagine? There are two big television stars in the show, though, so I guess they can spend the money. The lead actor, (I can't remember his real name) but he played 'Artie' on the Sopranos, the guy with the restaurant, one of my favorite characters on the show. Its a little strange having him walking around the theatre, I want to ask him, "So, it Tony gonna do the movie?" (Tony from The Sopranos) "How's the restaurant doing?" But I don't, ask, I mean. 

Last night after the show, we went to Canter's (the famous Jewish deli) with Aunt Linda, Scott, Kurt, and Curtis and Diane Oberhansly. Curtis and Diane live in Boulder, and Curtis had seen the reading I did last fall. They were so gracious about the show, and so genuinely enthusiastic, it made me feel really good. They were a great support as was my Aunt Linda. So, the show moves along. Our little russian neighbor hood continues to hum along, Trader Joe's remains busy at all times, and March approaches. Spring is just around the corner. 

I think i mentioned that we want to take the show to Austin, TX in April. My friends Lucy and Donnie Payjack are working on 'the Austin connection' for us. She's been great about finding us possibilities in that town, where if you 'throw a rock', you will hit a musician or an artist. The only sure booking I have, however, is in Boulder, UT on Father's Day. I will be there for sure! 

Alright, it has to be short today, as there is much to do before the 'show hour', have a great day, and please, where ever you are, 'go see a play!' The theatre needs your support! 

'Pick of the week' in the LA Weekly

Just wanted to let people know that the LA Weekly reviewed 'Bohemian Cowboy', and the review was spectacular--the reviewer got it! We were very fortunate to get this review since we almost cancelled the show, (Oscar night no reservations). We noticed, however, that there was one reservation, a reviewer from the LA Weekly on the reservations list. We scrambled a small but enthusiastic audience, (except for the old drunk harmonica player who fell asleep) and although feeling really beat up from the previous stretch of getting the show up, I gulped down a power bar and a banana and hit the stage. The show felt pretty good, maybe just a tad uneven (as Sunday shows tend to be) but we got through it. The next day, I was following up on where Plays 411 had listed up, and found the review online, (we didn't expect it until Thursday) imagine my supreme shock to read the review just hours after the show! In Phoenix, you always expected the review between five or ten days later, it was a new experience to read it the next day! 

Hurray! http://blogs.laweekly.com/ladaily/stage-news/stage-raw-bohemian-cowboy

So, we are now trying to figure out how to generate that review into seats sold. I'll be honest, up until now, the reservations haven't exactly been pouring in, but now there is a trickle. We will really work it the next couple of days.

After not being able to get my walking or working out in for the last couple of weeks, I finally walked last night and felt a semblance of relief from the weekend. I will have two more days to rest a bit before the weekend starts again, but am now a little more relaxed at the prospect of doing the show and feel now at least, we know what we have. I feel very humbled and grateful today. There is a part of the play where the son asks the father character whether he walked into the desert with 'intent'. The father replies that it is a question he can not answer, that the story and the mystery has to remain, as "its the only thing I could give you as an inheritance..." 

In a very strange way, Dad's disappearance has created a story that the reviewer uses as an allegory for the whole country, 'nostalgia to despondency', and I think he's right. My Dad's disappearance allegorizes so many ideas about life and death, memory and future, etc. 

I suppose there is a great healing process I feel from putting myself through the process of writing and performing this play, and rather than dread going to perform it, I'm starting to look forward to where this play will take me. I feel there is another journey coming my way, a journey that I can't quite see, but definitely feel. My original intent was to create a show that I could tour, and I think that has been accomplished. We will have to see where the next part of this goes... thank you so much for you support, you have no idea how important the component of this blog has meant in this process... 

'Show Opens Well'

Opening night went off with only little 'glitches', but for the most part, was pretty well executed and received. The house was small, but then that is always the dilemma, how to get people into the seats. Still, the house we had was very alive and present, so they made it energetic to perform. I use the word energetic, because even after all the preparation, the rehearsals, the re-writing, the set building, the lighting design, the sound design, taking care of the box office, the press release, building the programs, sending out e-mail 'blasts', giving out post cards, more re-writing, more long hours of rehearsal, fighting back a cold, losing my cell phone, getting down to our last dollars, living so close to the bone, and then finally opening, I haven't reached the point where I'm actually 'having fun' performing the show. That will come as the show becomes easier to do. 

Preview night felt to me inside like a disaster, but Kurt actually said it was a good show, even though there were moments when I was totally lost. Can you imagine? The actor's worst nightmare, being on stage and losing where you are in the text! There are reasons for this which I will explain. This show has never been performed in front of an audience before, so as a performer, I have no idea what the reaction is going to be to any of it. The theatre is a small and intimate space, (but wonderful with very high ceilings), and when the lights are up full, it doesn't have the advantage on a larger stage of 'not seeing' the audience. Their faces are right there! When you walk on stage to perform, your adrenaline is pumping, all of your senses are on high alert, and you are extremely reactive and vulnerable. So, you are reacting to everything around you. Preview night, because the show has a narrative component, I was making some eye contact with audience, which is very tricky with a theatre piece. When you perform music, it is not as critical, and is somewhat expected. Breaking the 'fourth wall' to make contact with an audience in theatre, however, is much more difficult to do. But again, to reiterate, this show has never had an audience. The style, the movement, and the reaction of the show has not ever been established--making that choice threw me. Opening night, I changed my preparation to look over the audience's head to an X on the back wall, which changed everything. I was able to focus, and find my way through the show. I learned reading Stanislovski, (the great russian acting teacher) a technique of using the X on the back wall to re-focus and 'find place', and even though opening night I had to use it several times, it works, even though there it may be preceded by a short pause. 

So, opening night went off without to many little errors, (which is better than big glaring errors!) and the audience seemed to want to stick around and talk which is always a very good sign. Still, it will be quite a number of shows before I can really have an overall understanding of the 'general reaction', even though specific reaction changes based on the experiences the audience brings into the theatre. It will be quite some time before I really can completely relax and be 'at ease' with this show. It's new! 

Thank you all for the wonderful support and the following of the show. Tonight, the LA Weekly, (press) is coming, so I'm preparing a press kit and trying to find an audience so the critic won't be sitting there by himself! I'll write more later, just letting you know that the show is open and there is a definite 'buzz' about the show, and that will increase as we continue... 

'Art is Vital!'

Last night we were at the theatre until midnight, but came home afterwards and listened to every old western song you could imagine, from 'High Noon' to 'The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly'. The sound and music score to this play has been another amazing journey, and we may be going right down to the wire with it, but again, I use this word a lot, 'exhilarating' is the only way to describe it. I would go so far as to say it's 'addicting' if that word can be described in its lighter shades. I'm just about to down load the tunes we found from I tunes, which is really fun to do, (and they are only 99 cents!) I would say that 99 cents to have 'High Noon' on your computer is a steal! 

We also finished most of the set last night and the lighting. The lighting looks great. Although the theatre is smallish, it has high ceilings which make lighting the show a dream. (I'm so used to working with low ceilings, its a revelation!) I did discover that I'm not as deft at climbing ladders any more, and have been a bit sore for a couple of days. I'm starting to allow myself to let the younger ones climb the high ladders. Still, I could not resist 'getting up there' to be close to a few of the lights. I also had to drive into the 'garment district' in downtown L.A. yesterday to pick up the material for 'the sun and the moon' on the set. I found some great material on the cheap, so it was worth the drive. While I was there, I dropped post cards off to a friend of Scott's to pass out and promote the show. Then it was back to the theatre, and then to Home Depot for some small tools, a hook, and a couple of small shrubs to experiment with on stage. Then is was to Big Lots! to pick up three small photo albums. Then back to the theatre to paint the moon frame, and then we did a run-through! There were many other small chores that needed to be done that I won't mention, suffice to say that this is the work in guerilla style theatre, but I can honestly say that this show will entertain you in some form whether you like me standing up there or not! There are always elements you want in a show so that the audience can 'take a rest' from what may get intense, (look at a photo, listen to a song, examine how the light hits a table, etc.) I'm not advocating a boring factor, just that in this show we have tried to create an environment that one can examine through the course of the show. We hope we can take you to 'The Valley of Fire', to the horse races, to 'The Circle Cliffs', etc., all while we are doing a play. Kurt, Scott, and I have thrown the 'clock out the window' now in terms of hours we work, which is pretty much around the clock except for the six to eight hours of sleep we are trying to get each night. Its going down to the wire, there's nothing like it! 

Scott and I had a conversation this morning about how difficult it really is to create art in an environment (our last administration) that does not view art as 'vital'. I think lots of people see it as something that can be cut out either when 'times get tough', or in the case of (our last administration) when capitalism is much more important, (look where that idea has got us). ART is vital, and the people who work at it work just as hard. Creating art takes a 'blue collar, sunrise to sunset mentality. It is also an amazing way to examine history, something that everyone seems to understand, yet seem to sometimes have the mentality that it was something that 'they did' long ago, or something historians do. We must never take this form of examination for granted, or we are doomed to fail as a society.  Its an ongoing process to chart  history as a rich subtextual encounter with a vital life that exists in the emotional heart of a life lived.  My own journey to chart my father's history and his relationship with the world has had to be all consuming to 'get at things' that made his life interesting. In this play, I am examining and redefining what's under the surface of a 'disappearing specialist'. Most people know about his last 'disappearance', but few know his history of this disappearing pattern he had. Creating the art is creating a beauty out of things we mostly read as tragic, and if that work doesn't get done, we will have facts without any real motives and emotion. I read scores of biographies, and its always the people in the stories that are seemingly unremembered that are the ones  most interesting to me. Does anyone remember Jackson Pollock or Eugene O'Neil's best friend? As a society, we sometimes make choices that elevate one person above another, but the people that create the support are so often overlooked, and so often the 'key' to the whole rise of an art form. I always love it when a painting comes up on 'The Antiques Road Show' of obscure painters who no one heard of until they are long dead and leave this amazing body of work. As you look at those beautiful paintings, you begin to realize that this was a life being lived, where there was this amazing observation happening. And there were family members, friends, and influences that helped mold this 'art call to action'. This is why it is important if you are not mining a creative vein, support an artist and you will be doing the world a great service. I was always so grateful to the people that supported me morally or financially to do what I had a passion to do through the years. Everyday, you got to where you prayed to have someone that would recognize what you do and lend a hand. In this current event, I am very grateful to Todd Campbell who recognized that by financially supporting this project, he could be a vital part of 'making it happen'. I am also so grateful to my cousin Cheryl, my mother, Aunt Ann, LaRena, Tom Jerome, the people of Boulder, and scores of others  who have mentally and morally supported me in this endeavor. (more on all of that at a later time.) It's so important, (even in tough economic times) to look around you and see how you can contribute to creation, every bit as important as giving your money to 'The Democratic Party'. You want change? Support an artist who is willing to explore other ways of looking at things, explore new ways of examining ourselves, explore ideas that are yet unchartered. It would indeed be 'a brave new world' if artists where given their own 'bailout'. What people don't realize is that most artists work in tough economic times throughout their lives, and only about three percent actually are augmented for their efforts. Support an artist today. Art needs you. In all of this rhetoric coming out of me this morning, I am so grateful to those who are supporting me, and I take my work seriously, and I will humbly submit to you, 'what I have discovered'...

'Acting For The Frosting'

Today we ran through the whole show without any stops. It was exhilarating. The show runs an hour and a half, which is a long time to be on stage without stopping. There are 40 pages of dialogue, broken  into seven movements with fifty four beats. It feels like being in the middle of a whirlpool, that finally spits you out at the other end. I'm always amazed at the response when you tell people you are doing a one person show. It is that 'look' that people give you, that look of, "you must be crazy".  The show is memorized. The structure of the set is up, with some painting left to do. The sound design is roughly sketched in, with more sound to ad this weekend. We are ahead of schedule, which feels good. I feel like we really have something. My collaborators, Kurt and Scott, feel it too. 

Each run through of the show is another opportunity to discover the material as an actor now. Today, was a very different run through than yesterday, because today I worked on the 'technique'  of 'planting and breathing' that I've taught and worked on for years. The great Lawrence Olivier said that acting is two things, "planting the feet firmly on the stage, and breathing", he is SO right. The most difficult technique to master on the stage is reaching a place of completely relaxing in front of an audience. To have complete technical control of the movement and text, so that the emotion can rise from within. Along with the planting and breathing, was the movement from one position to another, without interrupting the flow of gestures. It is magical. Although today was less 'organic' than yesterday, it felt very good to attack the show from a character's point of view. Today, there was much less of 'me' and more of some character that came through from the 'point of attack'. Now, I'll have to bring the authenticity back into the character of myself, since the story is one that came 'out of me'. Lots of interesting psychological obstacles. The entire show today was 'an act of emotion', which is what happens when emotions are 'mimicked' in a performance. Each run through becomes an exercise of separating the parts. In other words, 'this run through is about rhythm, this run through is about technique, this run through is about movement, this run through is about physical and audio projection, and so on...' These are the actors tools. Heady but really fun stuff. 

Tonight, I feel exhausted, a little anxious, and lots to be grateful for. Tomorrow, we will finish putting the outer coat of paint on the set, and get ready for the 'sponging'. The sponging is what gives the set texture, so that there is a dimensional look. After that, we will do another run through with props. Sunday, we will finish sponging, and hang the lights. There are six lighting areas to focus, two surprise specials, and three 'down specials', which will be one of the final elements of 'getting ready'. After the lighting and sponging are finished, we will do another run through. Monday will be our 'cue to cue', which is where we go through the show point by point, placing our lighting and sound changes. This is the longest rehearsal of the lot. It will probably take us four hours to do the 'cue to cue'. (A cue is a sound, line, movement, etc., that lets the light and sound board operator know when a change occurs). And then, Tuesday and Wednesday will be our full tech and dress rehearsals, to prepare for a preview on Thursday. In this situation, a preview is a performance with an invited audience, so that I can have some idea what the audience might react to. For example, if there is a line that creates a laugh from the audience, there may be an interruption of the rhythm, so I can be somewhat prepared to 'hold' for that particular laugh. In a new play, you don't really know what may be funny or not. It does not, however, just pertain to laughter. Sometimes, a 'dramatic moment' might hold the rhythm up as well. So, the show becomes a technical exercise as well as a repetitive exercise. It is almost ready. I hope some of you can come. I will have a great time telling you this story in this amazing form of theatre! Goodnight... 

'The Russian Jewish Soldiers and the Sounds of the Desert'

Today we took in sound clips designed specifically for the play. It was very exciting. Somehow, I've written a play that lends itself perfectly to the sounds of the desert. Scott's composer, (I call him Mercutio) put together some great sounds to underscore the play. I also sketched out the set design we have collaborated on, which we are very excited about. Tomorrow, we will meet with someone who will possibly build it for us, if not, we will get out our tools and build it ourselves! Don't worry, building a set is great work, (if you can get it)  and great fun to have--it is very zen in its execution, much like painting a very large painting. And, alas, we worked on the specific blocking of the second to last scene in the play. I still have about four pages of memory work, but I'm almost there! After tomorrow, the play will be completely blocked out and memorized. Then we will begin adding all the frosting, and start our run-throughs.  I will be able to run through the play twice with each rehearsal, with Kurt taking notes. This will give me approximately nine or ten run- throughs before we open. I am very excited tonight. There was a section in the last part of the play that I was worried about, very tricky in its execution, very hard to get 'off the tongue'. Today at rehearsal, however, I was able to find the rhythm of the piece, and it works! The text in a play, (especially a monologue) is much like a music score, it has to be played as notes. So, if you can imagine, we were sitting down, making cuts that stopped the piece, re-writing some of the text, and then 'standing up the finish'. It was exhilarating!

 I am so fortunate to have Kurt, who has written eleven books and also performed his one man show, 'White Meat' in NYC. This is our ninth collaboration, over the years we have a trust that works magic going down the wire with a new play. There are several of my plays that would not be what they are without his input. I have to give him credit. When we first started collaborating, we used to argue profusely about text leaving the plays. I would fight for sections that he said needed to be cut. Now, I pretty much trust him across the board, and so we get things done very quickly, and he is usually always right. We have also written two screenplays together, one of which is being shopped around here in Los Angeles. Kurt is also one of the foremost experts on physical training, so we are working out as well. I've never worked with someone with as much discipline. When Kurt agreed to do the project, (he lives in NYC) he said he would do it if he could keep the rhythm going on the novel he is writing. One of the deals we made was that I would also read and comment on it as we worked along. He is writing the second draft of his novel, which is about a writer who goes back to a 'hunter gatherer' existence in contemporary New York. Guess what, its brilliant. In fact, I would be so bold as to say I have not read a better piece of fiction in the last ten years. Kurt is fortunate in that he has a very good literary agent, and I'm sure this book will find its publication date. He also has a play, 'Friend of the Family' based on a short story by Dostoyevski, which we have given to the Artistic Director of the company, David Fofi, after he said that Russian plays do very well here in Los Angeles. 

One last Kurt story. Next to our apartment, is the clubhouse of the Russian Jews who fought the Germans in Russia during World War II. Kurt managed to propose a series of interviews with these aging Russian-Jewish soldiers. They have given him a translator, and so he has been compiling the story of these soldiers in his 'spare time'. He has even found a USC graduate student to help with the story. Its quite the scene. When we leave for rehearsals in the early afternoon, all of these eighty (some in their nineties) men come out to say 'hello' to Kurt.  They are now 'fighting' for the interviews! This is a all a play within the 'play'. There are many other stories we are living here, I'm sure there are anecdotes and happenings that we will not even realize until we are long gone. My advice to all. Don't be afraid of adventure, its the marrow of life. Life is so short, and so sweet. Good night. 

'The High Wire Act'

Yesterday, we finalized the set design. We were finally able to get into the theatre where we will be performing,  so it was finally visually available to us. The set is fairly simple, but maximizes the ceiling space,  which is tall. Thursday, we will begin to build out the set. It will take two or three days to build the actual structure, and then we will select the colors after we have a little time to 'live in the space and on the set'. We also began to talk about the lighting design, but the most fun, (and most intense) has been formulating the 'sound design'. This play lends itself to sound. Kurt has some very strong instincts on the sound, and Scott found us a great composer and sound designer. He came to our rehearsal on Saturday and seemed to really like the show. Afterwards, he had some great ideas, and so sound will be a big part of this show. Although I won't go into detail, (you'll have to eventually see it) I will tell you that much of the show takes place in the desert, and there are many cowboy motifs, so use your imagination. Think wind. Think a soft waltz. Think a single car on a highway. Think of an echo in a canyon. Think of a choir. Those are some of the sounds that play against the tableau of the play. As a performer without other actors, the design elements become very important. For example, a good lighting design can draw emotion out in the same way you might feel on a night when there is a full moon. A soft blue light can soften you and draw out melancholy. The sound of wind can inform a section of text in new way and so on... 

Although our crew and staff are rather small, there is still a definite 'buzz' we are getting from the show. At a certain point in any show you can begin to get an idea of what you have. There are always elements of a 'new' play that you still believe need work, however, like a new song, a new poem,  or a new novel, in the first presentation there is always a certain 'raw' element that will makes it work in spite of flaws. Because this work was supported financially, however, I was able to devote everyday for a number of weeks to get it beyond the initial drafts that occur in a new piece. So, although this play will go through a 'tweaking' process, I feel it is fairly mature in its development. We are very excited at this point about the play. If we can get the design elements where they need to be, we believe we can carry the piece beyond the 'cookie question'. (the cookie question is: While watching a play, the audience member begins to think about the cookies they might be serving at intermission or after the play instead of what is happening on stage.) The first job of the production, (and the play) is to stop cookies from coming into the audience's head. We think we can do that for 90 minutes! 

Our biggest worry is the financial one. We are down to the last of the grant money, trying to get the show opened with minimum funds. Although we have spent money on a publicist and getting out show and name out there, its is always hard to build a new show in a short period of time. So, our ticket sales are abysmal right now, but we are sure if we get people in, we can build an audience. If our ticket sales don't happen, we will be broke, (but happy with our work) here in Los Angeles.  There is a saying in any endeavor and is true with this one, "it takes money to make money".  In tough economic times, when people are holding onto their money, its hard to convince people that theatre is still 'vital' to their lives. The stakes are high, but when they are high, that is what can create great art. I really believe this show more than any I've produced, has the potential for great things. Because its only one actor, and the design elements will be fairly mature when the run is up, it will be easy to take to other cities. With a little more financing, this show has the potential to make a really great profit. I have an offer to take the show to Austin,  Texas for three weeks in April, but it will take some money. If there is any one out there who wants to 'partner up', let me know immediately, and we will take on those sixteen shows. I also have a place to take it in Kansas City.  It will take at least the rest of this year to get the show 'known' for touring venues, but by the years end, the show could easily be making a thousand or two thousand dollars a night, depending on the venue. If you are looking for an investment that is different from the stock market, my email is Rshurtz57@gmail.com.  I used to be very timid when it comes to asking for financing, however, I've been doing this along time now, and am convinced it really is worth something!  Another way you can help is make a small donation or buy some tickets! plays411.bohemiancowboy.

Lastly, I will try to keep you as informed as I can with the details of the play as its coming down to opening. There is much to be done, but now the energy to do so really begins to kick in. The hours become extremely long, but at this point, we would spend our last twenty bucks on a gallon of black paint. This is the 'addictive' part of the show, when miracles happen, and life is transformed into another dimension. Who knows, by next week, we could sell out all the tickets, its so hard to know... 

'The Fourth Wall'

As of last night, we are two weeks from opening night. To give you perspective, I still have nine pages of material to memorize. I've been averaging two- three pages a day, depending on the material. When the material is in 'strange sequences' or shorter beats that connect in abstract ways,  it is more difficult to memorize. If it is a straight forward narrative, easier, and if it is written as a scene with two voices, its harder than hell. Yesterday, we ran through the entire play, the parts I didn't have memorized I used the script. It did feel good to finally get through the entire show, albeit script in hand the last fourth.  The play itself has a very complicated structure, which I've been explaining as I go along.  There is a rule called 'the fourth wall' which all theatre students learn early on. This is the imaginary wall between the audience and the actor. As the actors are playing scenes on the other side of the wall, they make no direct contact with the audience. Imagine a wall of a living room, for example, that is removed,  allowing the audience to 'peer in' to see what is happening in that room. This allows for a certain 'distance' the play has from the audience. When that 'fourth wall' is broken, there is a direct connection between the audience and performer, which is always a little 'tricky'. If I'm 'in your living room', telling you a story,  and if I am looking directly at you, the audience is almost another actor, listening and reacting. Then, there is the musical part of the play. Most of the time, when a musical performer is playing, the connection to the audience is direct. Those are some of the distinctions of performance, and there are other variations of the 'fourth-wall rule'. The point is that the writing in a play has to also take on these different dimensions and styles. If one performer is on stage performing, he needs the support of different styles of performance to rest the audience, engage the audience passively, and engage the audience completely. I hope that helps explain a little of the difficulty of doing a 'one person show'. 

Its been raining here in Los Angeles for three days, which is an added challenge in any city. I've been waking up most mornings now with some slight anxiety, but it usually goes away as I rise and get to work. I've also been doing my very early morning ritual of working on the memory around four in the morning, as I naturally wake up. The days are very full now, as we start to bring the elements together for production. The photos, the set, the lighting, programs, there are variables that must be attended to that are separate from the performing. 

Last night after rehearsal, we went and saw a play at The Ford Theatre by Jim Leonard, who taught playwrighting at ASU for a year in the late twentieth century. It was absolutely brilliant! Jim moved here to L.A. after his stint at ASU, and has been writing and working mostly in television, it was great to see that he is still plying his craft in the theatre. I don't have time to get into the specifics of the play, suffice to say it was everything you would want in a play and plenty more. It is great to see a playwright working at the height of his powers. If any are interested, its called 'Battle Hymn'. 

It's time to get to rehearsal, thanks everyone, for supporting theatre and a new play. 

'Bohemian Cowboy Goes For the Lock In'

Today was perhaps the biggest writing day of the year. I got up, made a strong pot of coffee and went to work on getting to the end of the play. As I said yesterday, I've been laying a foundation for the last section for the last couple of weeks, today I had to finally 'get there'. Trusting in the process is always the key element of working on a play--I knew it would arrive, I just didn't know when. Kurt and I had a lock date of this Wednesday, which means I had to have the final script by then, so we can begin 'locking it' down. 'Locking it'  just means that the changes made are minimal from Wednesday on,  so that we can finish the blocking,  and get completely memorized-- so that we can move onto other parts of the production. Even though I feel like I got to the end of the play, and have the structure and the text in place, I have tomorrow morning to get one more pass at the third section. I'm pretty picky how the script looks and feels with the words on the page, so I will also continue to insert my break-downs, which are really helpful in the final shape of the play. Breaking down the 'finished' parts of the play allow you to see if the rest of the text is in 'the kind of shape' to take on the extreme form of the finish.  It is exciting. I'm really excited about the third act or section, which was once the weakest link in the play, now I feel that it is the strongest, which it should be. I learned early on that so many plays in the world have the strong first act and a weak second or third act. Its because its always easier to create conflict and raise questions than it is to get resolve and answer the questions. I think that pertains to life as well. Fighting often becomes what is normal and easiest for most of us to do. Anyway, I'm probably preaching to the choir. 

On the production side of things, we finally have our projector which will be used to project some photos into the mix. That will be a great production challenge. Saturday, Kurt, Scott, and myself had a production meeting about the set and production design. We went through lots of possibilities, but still did not make a final decision on what it will be. We sent the script off to Kurt's cousin, Lance, an artist and designer at The University of Delaware for some possible sketches or ideas. We haven't heard back yet. Luckily, we are not lacking for design experience, and so I'm thinking that the design will come together 'going down the wire' as I believe it should doing guerilla style theatre. That's what gives it its vibrancy---RISK! 

Although I'm spending much of my time sequestered here in the apartment working the last few days, I took time out to watch the Super Bowl, one of the best in recent memory.  The Cards lost but respectfully so, Arizona football can at last hold its head up high!  We ordered some pizza from whole foods (really good!) and watched the game from beginning to end. 

Tonight we will go to the gym and get in a good work out, have a little dinner, and hit the sack, and then one more writing session in the morning before rehearsal starts for the week. As I mentioned, the rehearsals have intensified since the middle of last week, and now every minute will be used from here on out. With this show, we have to perfectly execute precisely to bring the show in to opening with a professional sheen on the stage. It will definitely be a challenge! Once again, if you are planning on coming, you can buy tickets or make reservations at plays411.bohemiancowboy. We'll talk soon. 

'Getting to the End...'

Friday night marked three weeks until opening. We have today off, Monday off, and then its just two weeks of rehearsal and the tech week. The last two rehearsals have taken on an intensity that wasn't there before, we are getting closer.  After writing and re-writing for weeks and weeks, and then rehearsing and trying out new material, I think I finally have the material I need for the ending. As I said before, several pages of writing may be very good but that doesn't mean it belongs in the script. That is the tricky part. Friday, I brought in five new pages of material having to do with the Hamlet overlay, a semi-subplot, (for lack of a better way to put it) As I read it up on the stage, half way through the pages I realized that most of this material could not be used, however, it was material that still had to be written to get to 'other material'. Isn't that crazy? Knowing there was three weeks until the opening, even though I knew where I 'sorta' needed to go, I was in a panic for most of the night. I slept restlessly Friday night, and then got up early and wrote new pages. I took the 'essentials' of the pages, and reduced it to one and a half pages, and then had to write 'beyond' that. I hope that makes some sense. During all of this, I am memorizing and standing up pages and pages of the monologue. Lately, I've been waking up at about three in the morning, memorizing for a couple of hours, turning the light off and repeating until I go to sleep again around five our six. A couple hours after that, I've been getting up, making coffee and writing until rehearsals at one in the afternoon. It's been a fairly intense schedule, but its yielding its fruit. 

Sometime today, I have to get to another 'writing session', so that I will sleep tonight. At yesterday's rehearsal, we finally 'hit' the third act turn. Two sections of the play have been identified and locked in, except for the last part of the second section. A turn has to happen in the story, to get to the third section, which becomes the home stretch. It usually reveals itself through lots of writing and rehearsing. When it finally revealed itself, it was very emotional. Doubly because this play is very personal. There were some elements of the story concerning my father that had to be faced, the main element is dealing with the possibility that he could have been abducted. The search for him in the desert was prolonged and intense. I have always let myself believe in the idea that my father walked until he succumbed to the elements. I never faced the other possibilities. Now I have, and that was a painful part of the story. So much of this process has been 'the process' of dealing with his 'disappearance', but more importantly, dealing with how and what made him a 'disappearing specialist'. No one deserves to have his life end with no one to 'be there', but his life is full of disappearances. The fact is that he learned this trait very early on.

The writing became more difficult when I realized that the story I was telling was not so much about me, but about him, and how his life effected mine. I had to reduce the story to a theme that would have maximum impact at the end of it, instead of some colorful stories. It is still a journey that has a ways to go, but for whatever reason, I've been given this opportunity to develop it. 

There is another 'L.A.' story that is 'developing', but the only thing that I know right now is that  one of the 'random' people in the photo we took for the postcard happens to be someone that a friend of Scott's knows, and wants to meet with me about the play. We are getting a great 'buzz' down at the Elephant theatre where we are doing the play, and although the ticket sales are not going through the roof, I think we will get an audience for this play. I believe that the 'ghosts' in my life are working overtime to secure this play in the history of a family. Have a great and 'super' Sunday.