ENTER THE REHEARSAL HALL -- WHERE THE MAGIC BEGINS!

There is something magical about sitting in an audience as the house lights dim.

The buzz in the room settles into quiet anticipation as we wait to be transported into someone else's world, someone else's story. But what we see on the stage is just the culmination of weeks, sometimes months of work behind the scenes by artists of all description: actors, directors, designers, wardrobe people, carpenters, painters, sound and light experts and others.

This blog will give you a fly-on-the-wall glimpse into that unknown world, following the rehearsal process.
This will be your guide to the hard work, fun and weirdness of putting together a play
for a professional theatre company.

You'll never watch a play in the same way again!

Friday, October 19, 2012


Saturday, October 13 -- Aftermath

When my mother goes to the lake, this is how she makes coffee: she takes an old enamel coffee pot that doesn't have the basket in it any more, boils some water in it, and then puts several scoops of coffee in and boils it. I'm not sure how long she boils it; you'd have to ask her. That's the best I can describe Opening Night. It was like trying to swallow a big mouthful of her lake coffee before the grounds settle.You have to let the grounds settle, see? Or it's not even like coffee at all and you burn your tongue.
Just as we entered the building Rick Chafe told me "for at least the first twenty minutes you'll be wondering what play you're watching." Turned out to be true like so many things Rick says. It was an out-of-body experience. Bob and the cast did a magnificent job. I was worried about those actors in the scenes on the bridge and oh - my brother Glenn told me at intermission that what he and his friends used to do in Chippawa was run all the way across the bridge during a break in traffic and VAULT over the rail to dive in. Holy crap. Mum doesn't know about that though, so don't tell her.
So many people I didn't get a chance to talk to in the lobby after. I barely talked to my mother, I never had a decent moment with Bob. My whole loving family was there and most of our neighbourhood and lots of lovely friends (there really are no people like show people). They sold out of both The Brink and Selkirk Avenue beers which can only mean that Bruce McManus and I are now officially two of the cool kids. Everyone's been so kind and nice helping me along through all of this.
 
The whole next day I was what the youngsters describe as "a hot mess." Wondering what that was all about, and why would anyone put themselves through that kind of highly stressful, ridiculously vulnerable experience, etc. It must be because you just have to see if you can get something across. You're just built that way or something. Then I got an email forwarded to me by my brother Murray. One of his curling buddies had been at the show and wrote to say his father was a Hong Kong vet and he wished his Dad had lived to see the show because the story isn't told outside of history books, and not much there either. So there's a good reason to do something like this. And maybe it will be more comfortable, or at least more familiar next time? I don't know. Next time?
I'm starting to get my skin put back on and I got a little sleep. Looking forward to seeing it again soon. Now that the grounds are starting to settle it is starting to taste more like coffee. This is a cup of joe for which I am profoundly grateful.
And I think this might be the end of this blog.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Tuesday, October 9 - Day Twenty-Nine, Two Days Before Opening Night

RobYn Slade & Evan Hall, photo by Bruce Monk
"Are you excited?"

Everybody I talk to is asking me that. I keep saying "yeeeesssss..." because I am excited but it's more complicated than that. I was feeling mostly terrifically anxious until Saturday or so, when the SUPREMELY IMPORTANT QUESTION "what am I going to wear?" was finally settled. I'm going to wear heels for sure. It might help to feel tall. And about that same time, the cast went into tech runs and dress rehearsals and it is really too late to do anything about any of it now, so time to let all of it go as best I can. This play might suck. But at least in a couple of days I'm going to know.  It's a long time to wonder, while writing a play, how people might respond. There is no real way to know until...you know. One of my treasured advisers said "Even if it's everything bad a play can be, it won't change anything important. You will still love the people you love. They will still love you."

I'm kind of curious what I'll find to think about after all this. Maybe, I don't know, maybe I'll think about serious things going on in the world. Maybe I'll think about other people, wouldn't that be something? I follow the rehearsal schedule from home and the team has been plenty busy. Hope they're doing all right.  Hope they're not too tired, but I know they are.
 
Okay. Yes, I'm excited.
Wednesday, October 3 -- Day Twenty-Three

Went to PTE again today and sat in on a run-through of Act Two before I was called away to have my picture taken with a bunch of beer bottles. Boy, did that take me back. If you don't already know about the beer bottles I will tell you: in honour of PTE's 40th, Half Pints Brewery has made commemorative beer labels for two of their fine products. There are seven labels, each commemorating a different PTE show. So you will be able to come to PTE and order a Secret Mask beer, or a Selkirk Avenue beer. How cool is that? And you can even "Drink The Brink."

Speaking of Opening Night. I plan not to Drink The Brink until the lobby clears out most of the way. I have a feeling I'll need to keep my wits about me. What am I supposed to wear, do you mind telling me that? One friend advises me to avoid Looking Like I'm Trying Too Hard. As it turns out, this is a look that takes a considerable amount of effort to achieve. I showed my daughter a dress I was thinking of and she vetoed it on the spot. "You are NOT wearing THAT." Back to the drawing board.

Later today at PTE today I spent a pleasant half-hour telling Kevin Prokosh all about everything. Then I watched a whole run of Act Two, and it's looking good. Real good. It's still magic to me when you write some stuff down on paper and then they do it, and it looks very much like it did in your head, and better. The rehearsal hall is a wonderful place. And I can honestly say that this whole experience has done nothing to diminish my love of theatre. I'll have to get jaded another time.
Tuesday, October 2 -- Day Twenty-Two

It Bears Repeating:

At the Season Launch last night (which is when the donors are invited to hear Bob's overview of the season to come, over wine and cheese ) ,I was standing around the lobby feeling awkward. Then I noticed that they were short-handed behind the bar and was more than happy to pitch in. It gave me something to do, and Bruce Michalski (PTE's Publicity Coordinator) is good fun. I used to tend a little bar years ago, quite badly, and when my turn came to speak to the donors, it seemed appropriate to thank them for donating to PTE so that I could have a career in my chosen field and not have to tend bar. It bears repeating; thank you, donors.

A woman in the audience was kind enough to tell me that she "vividly" remembers two shorter pieces I wrote, one of them at least fifteen years ago. The other piece - I'd kind of forgotten about it - was a Short Shot about a guy wiring a Jeanne Cake with explosives and threatening to take out the whole airport unless the Jets were brought back, so that must have been a few years ago too. There may not always be hockey, but there will always be Jeanne Cakes. It was nice to feel I'd made a connection with an audience member way back when.

Wednesday, September 26 - Day Sixteen

There's nothing like it: putting in a five hour writing day on a scene you are determined to finally, finally get right. And then listening to your respected colleagues read it aloud (twice) and coming to the realization that not only haven't you made it much better, you may in fact have made it slightly worse. While the room fills with the faint, unmistakable smell of your own limitations. Nothing like it.

The rest of the afternoon was spent swearing in traffic and bursting into tears while trying to make supper. I think I might be a bit stressed.

But the nice, nice thing that happened today was going into the theatre and seeing the bridge for the first time. It's stunning, and I wish I had room to put it in my garden after.

You know, that scene is probably okay. It's just that I was trying for better than okay.

Tuesday, September 25 -- Day Fifteen


Talk about life imitating art. I can't go into too much detail about what happened at lunch today for fear of giving away some things that happen in the play. But it was pretty funny.

PTE provided the staff and cast with a nice pizza lunch today, with cake for the people with September birthdays and gifts for people celebrating milestone years working at this fine place. So we had a good time sitting around the big table. Alana was happy because 650 of the 1000 receipt books required for the show had arrived (sorry about the props by the way). They look like receipt books but they're blank and after the run is over, will be given to everyone to use as scratch pads or little tiny sketchbooks. We quickly discovered a small error on the front of the books, and from that moment, the conversation played out very much like the dialogue in the play. " Did you see this? Who proofed this?" Bob - just to keep the drama going like a good director should - tried to make everyone believe that Brian (the designer) was going to be really mad about it. Turns out the finger of blame is pointing right at Brian himself. For added entertainment value, this particular error prompted a series of wisecracks about male sexual performance drugs. What was the error? Well, I can't tell you that because it would spoil all your fun trying to find it when you come to the play. If you spot the error, you win a little tiny sketchbook.

Spent most of the day on that same benighted scene I've been trying to fix for months. Think it's maybe 10 to 15 percent better: we'll find out tomorrow. At the end of the day today I had the pleasure of watching a run of Act Two. The boys made me cry. And here I thought my days of boys making me cry were behind me.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Sunday, September 23 -- Day Thirteen:

Got up early,  got out the scissors and did what needed to be done with Act One. Then I put on some nicer clothes (from the Bay's Junior Playwright Department) and went to the Free Press News Cafe Arts Brunch. Everyone was dressed very very nicely, with Cherry's shoes a highlight as usual.  Brunch was tasty and we all remembered to use our cutlery. Evan HALL tried to steal Bob's bacon. We got interviewed, Bob and Cherry and I, and Bob did a really smooth turnaround when asked if any famous people got their start at PTE. He spoke instead about how PTE was one of a half-dozen companies who changed Canadian theatre forever by producing Canadian plays. PTE is why people like me have careers. Then the actors read a scene and it seemed to go over well. My dear mother and brother were there, and it's so nice to have fans.

After all that glamour it was back to rehearsal and I delivered my newly trimmed Act One. The actors kindly refrained from audible cheering when bits they can't stand ended up in the compost, but I did sense that the cuts were righteous. It was decided that I still have time to take one more kick at Scene Three, which has been driving me nuts for months now. It just has to be better, and I have a couple of days to make it so. Wish me luck.

Saturday, September 22 -- Day Twelve


Went in to watch the first what-we-in-the-theatre call "Stumblethrough." This means that the actors attempt, defying all known laws of probability and physics, to run the whole play after only having worked the individual scenes a couple of times. They must also try to remember where all the props are supposed to be (sorry about the props by the way) and what they're supposed to be doing with them. The actors and Stage Managers did amazing work, and seeing the run allowed me and the design team to see how things are shaping up. What I found out was that Act One is about eleventy-hundred minutes long. Time to get out the scissors. After the rehearsal, the BSSC (Brink Snacks and Social Committee, RobYn Slade, Chair) adjourned to the Current - see how we keep the water theme going even in our off hours? - for some well-deserved refreshments. Then I went to a movie with my husband, who looked familiar. I think he's the guy from the wedding but it's been a while.
Friday, September 21 -- Day Eleven

I haven't blogged in a couple of days, since I haven't been in rehearsal and have nothing to report. I've been home with sick kids, plus I know I'd only be in the way. They are doing scenework and I have to say I'm feeling just a little bit guilty. Bob emailed to say that yesterday's rehearsal was "all about packing boxes." I am also an actor, and I know there are some things you end up doing in a play that make you want to write to the playwright and say: "Really? was there no way to write this that would avoid me having to do this?" So actors:  I'm sorry about the box-packing scene but no, there wasn't any other way that I could think of and the story has to be told. So I'm sorry, but not really.
Also: I have not been cleaning my house as I said I would. Nor have I learned to play the guitar. Guilty.

And when you type the word "guilty" several times it starts to look weird. It's probably a word we could all stand to use less often. It's weird-looking and what good does it do?

Tuesday, September 18 -- after the day off:

All are agreed that one day off is not sufficient. All casts in the history of Equity have agreed on this. I was glad to get back to rehearsals though, because when I'm not actually there I have too much time to worry. But it's time to face facts: short of rethinking the whole cockamamie idea, there's not all that much I can do at this point. I can sit in on rehearsals as I did today, watching for small adjustments I can make to help the actors do what they need to do. But that's not the same as being needed at this stage in the process, is it? I'm sure they can do without my smartass comments. There are one or two scenes that I will really need to sit in on, but otherwise, I'm on call if needed. One concern: if I stay home I'll have to clean the house, and I am simply not ready to face that.

I think about music a lot these days, I guess because it helps me somehow to think of one creative process in terms of another. I was listening to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours. I finally bought the CD the other day out of some need to satisfy my inner fifteen-year-old. Listen to those folks build a pop song! (This really does relate to playwrighting. Be patient. And if this isn't highbrow enough for you, I'll do one on opera some other day.) So when Lindsey Buckingham recorded those guitar solos, did he plan them carefully or just try whatever came to mind in the moment? Either way, I'm sure that there were a number of takes to get them to sound so inevitable. Or maybe not. Some of those tunes, the whole thing sounds inevitable: backup vocals, drums, Stevie Nicks' voice-that-doesn't-fit-with-her-face, the works. Once you've heard any good song (or aria, okay? Geez), it seems as though there could never have been any other way to do it. And this is what interests me (this is the part about playwrighting): how does a good pop song, a good painting ,a good anything, manage to be both surprising and inevitable at the same time? How do you create something with that inevitability that isn't predictable? My brother the very smart guy and excellent musician Lloyd Peterson says the other good thing about Lindsey Buckingham is how he leaves a lot of room for silence in those solos. That's good for plays too.

So I'm either going to sit in on rehearsals, clean the house, or learn to play the guitar.

If you don't like Fleetwood Mac, you could read Steve Martin's autobiography (Born Standing Up) which also told me lots of good stuff about playwrighting, even though it's about standup comedy.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Sunday, September 16 - Day Six

End of the first week and I think I would be feeling quite positive and optimistic right now if it wasn't for the fact that I AM SO TIRED I FEEL LIKE MY LEGS ARE GOING TO FALL OFF.

They managed to get through all of the blocking for Act One - looks great. And they would have got through Act Two except I kept interrupting them. The next to last scene, the "Penultimate Scene" as we call it, is giving me a headache so I thought I would spread the suffering around by asking them to read about eight versions of it. Well, three, but it felt like eight. As they blocked it, some things became apparent and they moved some stuff around, cut some things and it now has a viable shape. So we'll go with that. For now, anyway. Answers may continue to suggest themselves.

A day off (Monday) is a wonderful thing. Time now for a cold drink, a hot bath, a little time with my neglected family and a long sleep. Hope Bob and the cast and the SMs are doing likewise.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Friday, September 14 - Day Four

The PTE Playwrights Unit is getting its own swanky office/library/workroom with desks and comfy chairs and everything. It's not ready yet, so in the meantime I have a desk I can use in the Stage Management office. Why do I suddenly have the urge to be very very organized? Wayne and Peter (thank you both) got me a couple of lamps because flourescent lights make my muse shrivel up and die. 

Next to the desk there is a window overlooking the Rehearsal Hall. When I look in, I can see them working away and it looks just like a real play: very exciting. At about 2PM I looked in and Steven was wearing his character's paper printer's hat. A couple of hours later, half the cast, at least one Stage Manager and the director were all wearing them. Good times.

I am finishing up the major changes and creating a nice clean script so the actors don't have to keep writing stuff in and inserting pages. I have one more scene to rework, and then I'll stop monkeying with it (mostly) so they can learn it. And I hearby promise, promise, PROMISE not to make Lillian's monolgue any longer. I am aware that it's driving Megan to a brink of her own.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Thursday, September 13 -- Day Three

Dear women who work full time:
How the hell do you do it?
Sincerely, Ellen

The whole wife-and-mother kept me up pretty late last night. Then I slept in this morning which has caused a minor disaster or two.And I still didn't get time to finish the grant applications which are due Monday. See, if I don't apply for grants now, when The Brink is over I have no work. Forever. Oh well, I'll get them done, somewhere between helping with math homework and hearing about the soccer game and finally, finally, finally fixing scene three.
Wednesday, September 12 - Day Two

The changes I made last night, most of them, seemed to be right. Until Karyn the Stage Manager pointed out that I had a character speaking in the new pages who wouldn't be on stage at that point. Try again.


Mid-afternoon, one of the actors (who shall remain nameless) started to nod off during the discussion. I cannot say I blame this particular actor. "Table work" means long hours of reading and discussion and is very tiring. Besides, we were discussing some other actor's scene. Having been an actor, I know that other people's scenes are frankly not very interesting. What was amazing was how this actor (who shall remain nameless) managed to sleep with his/her eyes open. Such talent!

Seriously, I'm not taking it personally, or as a comment on my script. Bob wisely chose that moment to give us our break and then kept us awake the rest of the day by simulating gunshots and reading the stage directions in a way that made them come alive. What a great group. Blocking starts tomorrow which will be good in two ways. First, I will finally get to see things happening (or not) and second, all that standing and moving around will help everyone stay awake, even actors who shall remain nameless.
Tuesday, September 11 -- First day of Rehearsal

It is 12:07AM (Wednesday morning) and I have just spent a couple of hours working on some changes. I only worked on the smaller, more manageable ones. There are a couple of scenes that will need a longer look than I can do tonight. GREAT first day though. At the meet and greet I felt just like Snow White when she's all alone and she has all that housework to do. Then the bluebirds start making the beds and the squirrels sweep with their tails. That's how it felt to finally get to the rehearsal hall and have all those nice smart creative people around. It takes a village to make a play. Whatever goes wrong from here,  Scott Henderson will fix it with lighting.