Next Stop...Tech Week

This week has come and gone for me. I, unfortunately, haven't been at a single rehearsal due to my other job. But I have heard great things. In fact, after the conversation I had last night following the rehearsal, I am super duper excited to get back in the game of things and see this show come to life...
Only a few more things to get done before that can actually happen; finish off the prop list, help get all the costumes lined up, design the lights, get the set built, a little bit of painting, and then we are golden!
The show will be great...it's the anticipation of getting into tech week that's killing me. Once there and we are in the groove, there will be no stopping us, and we will knock out a fabulous show!

Ice Cream!

So, when I signed on as board member, and then member of the marketing committee, I wasn't thinking I'd be scooping ice cream. Oh well...

Since "Bright Ideas" is basically "the MacBeths try to get their kid into a good pre-school," we thought opening night's reception should be in the kid-like spirit.

So save room for dessert, it's "make your own sundae" time!

I have been charged with getting the foodstuffs, while someone else takes care of the decorations.

So join us opening night of "Bright Ideas" next Friday, May 7th at 7:30pm at the Sabes JCC (4330 Cedar Lake Road South in St. Louis Park, MN) and stay around afterward for some ice cream.

It's finally the time of year when it doesn't seem crazy to eat ice cream (because, during winter in Minnesota, ice cream is still tasty, but seems redundant, since we're all human popsicles).

So, see the play, have some inappropriate laughs, be grateful your kid isn't driving you to cause people to meet with "unfortunate accidents," and reward yourself with some ice cream.

Because if there are leftovers, I may be forced to take them home.

And this might derail my fitness goals for the year.

So help a guy out.

Come see the comedy, and help me finish off the ice cream.

Next week, back to a more artsy blog entry.

Tuesday Samurai - Meet C. Ryan Shipley

There's only two cast members of Bright Ideas left to introduce in the Tuesday Samurai, which means something really crazy - Bright Ideas opens in two weeks! Do you have your tickets yet? If not, get thee to urbansamurai.org immediately and get your tickets for the May 7th opening!

This week's Tuesday Samurai welcomes C. Ryan Shipley, who makes his USP debut as a bevy of characters in Bright Ideas.

I've started every introduction by asking how we met, and guess what? I'm asking you, too.

We met during How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying at Bloomington Civic Theatre (BCT), which was my first show here in the Cities. We were two of FOUR Ryans in that show. I will always remember standing between you and Joe Botten during "Brotherhood of Man" and feeling incredibly short for the first time in my life. I can't believe we have known each other for almost five years!

I am entering the "older than dirt" zone. That's probably really offensive to people older than me...like all the other USP company members. Whoops, I should probably move on. Where would our audiences have seen you lately?

Well, I've mostly performed in musicals during the past five years since I graduated from St. Olaf (blatant Golden Girls reference). I've worked quite a bit at BCT, most recently in Thoroughly Modern Millie and Crazy for You. I've also done five shows at Minneapolis Musical Theatre (MMT), where I first worked with [Bright Ideas costar] Courtney Miner in Summer of '42. I also got to play the role of Goat in The Robber Bridegroom, which is my most favorite role I've ever done...ooh, and I was in Zanna, Don't, too! Last year I was in DreamBoys, which was a blast. Then last fall I was in a production of Biloxi Blues with Theatre Or ([USP venue] Sabes Jewish Community Center's theatre company), directed by Claire Avitabile. I was incredibly honored to be in that show. So...I've done a few things here and there. *wink*

I somehow get the distinct impression that you do a lot of musicals...but Biloxi Blues and Bright Ideas mark a new chapter in your career, where you take on more non-musical roles. What's that transition like?

Lately I've been trying to do things that scare me: straight theatre, waking up before 9 a.m., eating at Hooters, etc. I think that musical and non-musical theatre each have their challenges. I am finding it very refreshing to sort of rediscover what I am capable of as an actor and to sort of remind myself that I have to be an actor first, even if I am doing a musical. Biloxi Blues was the first "straight play" that I've done since college. I was really nervous because I was cast with such fantastic actors and I wasn't sure if I could pull off some of the more dramatic scenes of the play. I remember there was one rehearsal where I made an entrance and Claire said, "You just made a musical theatre entrance." And I realized that I had actually done a sort of prep-step to come onto the stage. I felt like Kurt from Glee trying to play Judd in Oklahoma. Whoa...that joke was SO gay.

Sometimes the most accurate way to explain something is to make it really gay. It's the only way I know how to explain diamond mining in Botswana. But that's for a later (and much different) blog post. You play an insane amount of characters in Bright Ideas - do you have a favorite?

Hmm...I'm not sure if I can pick one favorite. I kind of love all of them because they are SO different from each other. I really love playing the airline steward, and Mr. Scott is pretty fun to play. We're having a hard time making it through certain scenes without laughing onstage because we are cracking each other up so much. I am enjoying the challenge of creating six very different characters and Jimmy has been such a fantastic help in shaping everything.

Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy! All I ever hear is how great Jimmy is! Ugh! Enough! He can't be that great. OK, I'm totally kidding. I think he's awesome - it's why we're so excited to have him direct for us! And it's not just his love for The Golden Girls...he really has a vision for this show and everyone has been having a great time with him. But this is your time to talk about Jimmy [LeDuc, Bright Ideas director] - 3, 2, 1...go!

I feel like this is one of those movie press junkets (that word sounds hysterically inappropriate, doesn't it?) and this is where I gush about my director. In all honesty, though, Jimmy has been one of the best directors I've ever worked with. In fact, Courtney and I were just talking about this on the way home from rehearsal the other night. He is very smart and knows how to communicate the idea he is trying to get across or the moment that he is trying to create. We all know what he means when he screams, "Blanche it up!" (He means, "Slut it up!") He screams that at me a lot. And not always during rehearsals. "Blanche it up, Shipley!!"

OK, I know this interview is about you, but I'm about to go rogue here. I can't say enough how much I have come to appreciate Rue McClanahan's performance as Blanche in my adult life. All the Golden Girls are funny, but I would go so far as to say hers is the most nuanced. So many jokes of hers that I didn't get when the series first aired make me laugh so hard now. But I really need to get it together. This is about YOU, Ryan, not ME, Ryan. That makes no sense. Anyway, what's next after Bright Ideas?

Actually, I'm assistant directing Mame with MMT as we speak. I am missing the first two weeks of rehearsal for Bright Ideas and then diving right in. After that I'm playing a groomsman in Colleen Somerville and Nicholas Leeman's wedding (they also happen to be the stars of USP's fall production, A Few Good Men). After that, I will be directing the first short play of An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein at the Minnesota Fringe Festival. Possibly a couple other projects in between and afterward...fingers crossed.

Yeesh, I thought I was busy, but listening to all you have coming up is downright exhausting! With all that theater work, do you have any time to kick back and relax...maybe watch some TV? Ooh! Wouldn't it be great if your life was a TV show? If I had to pick, I'd say I wish my life was like that of Meredith Grey on Grey's Anatomy, so that the life of me and my friends was dubbed over with my poignant and eerily topical musings.

Um, I've never seen Grey's Anatomy...is that bad?

Of course not. It's a nutty show, but the perfect example for this little exercise in silliness I've concocted. What show do you want your life to be?

My ideal life would be a combo of Buster Bluth from Arrested Development, Karen Walker from Will & Grace, all four Golden Girls combined, Kenneth Parcell from 30 Rock, and C.J. Cregg from The West Wing for good measure.

Wow, that sounds really complicated. How would that even work?

I'd be an anxious, drunken, horny, ditsy, old weirdo who is also the Press Secretary for the fictional White House. Wait. That is my real life. Bwah bwaaah.

Oh, you crazy kids and your Bright Ideas! (Yes. Yes, I did.) What is going on at those rehearsals? These interviews get zanier every week! I can't imagine what will happen next week, when the Tuesday Samurai presents the final cast introduction, Mykel Pennington. She would have been the first person I thanked when I won an acting award, but those Missourians wouldn't let me speak. Grr...

Maybe C. Ryan Shipley can help me find justice when he's promoted to Chief of Staff in the fifth season.

Bwah bwaaah...

Ryan Grimes

Managing Director

Urban Samurai Productions

Last Week of Rehearsal

Though there are two more weeks (give or take a day) until we open the show, there is really only one more week of actual rehearsing to be done. The last week is tech week, and that's much more about the technical delivery of the show than the content.

And so now I'm feeling the pressure, wondering where the time went, and getting really excited. It's a strange combo in my belly that could be mistaken for gas. I, however, know from experience that it is not. We've got some polishing to do, but I'm confident that the show is in a good place.

I know who else is feeling the pressure. The design team. While they've been planning the technical elements for weeks, sometimes months, the time has definitely come to put up or shut up. So there is some last minute scrambling, as there always is, because last minute saves are practically the definition of dramatic tension.

And we're dramatic folks.

Freesound.org

So having done sound a number of times I have searched the internet hundreds of times for a sound bank that has everything I want. An online site that has sound samples that real people like me have uploaded for the benefit of everyone. Until this show I have never come across that site. I have sifted through pages and pages of Google searches and have never been that impressed with any of the pages I've found. Sure, there have been some sites that have a couple of gems, but nothing that really blew my skirt up.

I spoke with a great friend that I play ComedySportz with who is also really into film production. He told me about this glorious site called freesound.org. It is a database of Thousands of FREE sound effects recorded by amateurs and professionals alike and uploaded to the site. An easy search and BAM! you have a plethora of sounds at your fingertips to download. They are easily manipulated in Audacity (another must for strapped-for-cash theaters) and have a polished, professional sound.

So get out there. Check this baby out. It will change the way you find sound effects. At least it did for me...

Week 4 flew by...

My goodness! Off book week was crazy stressful for myself. I can just about imagine what it was like for the actors;) But, much to everyone's dismay, it went without a hitch! Yes, there was stumbling, stammering, the couple exploitative remarks, the trying to convince me they "really suck" (which p.s. to all actors out there, that line doesn't even faze me anymore, I don't hear you/stop listening to you when you say this). But all in all, I am really starting to see a show:) And you can't go wrong there!
Despite the fact that I had to split my time between my real job and my want job, what I saw this week can be summed up in one word: crazygoodtime.
As I have said before, I am amazed at the talent of the cast, their ability to make me lose my spot in my book because they make me laugh so, and make me want to keep watching and not watch my book, is ridiculous. And could be the reason why I give out wrong lines, or skip ahead and can't find the proper spot when they do ask for lines.
So now, I am off to send line notes, yep, I am the evil person who does that:) And make sock puppets!
You can never go wrong with a show that involves sock puppets!

The Gay Thing

Something continues to mystify me.

If you take on the role of Macbeth, no one thinks you're a serial killer offstage.

If you play Richard III, no one actually thinks you're a hunchback.

So what's the big deal about playing a gay character?

OK, I realize that straight guys in theater take a lot of crap, like guys in ballet, or anything that isn't considered "manly."

Like they used to think any woman involved in theater must be a prostitute. And so they didn't let them get on stage for many, many years.

But you're an actor.

It's acting.

If you're not convincing as a gay man onstage, it doesn't make you more of a man. It makes you a bad actor.

Priorities, people.

Do your job.

Screw a goat on your own time for all I care.

And if I don't care, the audience sure as hell doesn't.

Grow a pair and kiss the guy.

Touch him.

Make me believe you care about him.

Or you're screwing up the story.

No one's asking for full-on graphic anal sex in full view of the audience.

This isn't cable television. It's theater.

No one's even asking for a little tongue.

We're asking for intimacy.

Terrifying as that is to contemplate.

There are auditions and a printed script so you know what you're getting yourself into.

If you accept the role, play the role.

Or step aside and let someone who really wants the job take the role.

There are all kinds of perfectly legitimate reasons to turn down a role - artistic, monetary, personal, moral, sexual.

But if you accept the role, you've committed to creating a character *who is not you* as faithfully and completely as possible.

Or you're just phoning it in.

These are the things that worry me. When I think about them.

Most the time I don't think about them.

I assume people are professionals.

And it's only when I run smack into the wall of someone else's prejudice or discomfort or whatever possesses people in situations like that to recoil, that I'm reminded.

"Oh yeah, that's normal for me. It's running through my brain all the time because that's just who I am. But most people live in the straight world. It's a stretch. It's a leap."

Stage combat is a lot more easy to process than kissing.

I'm hoping that isn't an issue with "Leave" when we start rehearsals early 2011.

But you never know.

It's been a challenge in the past.

I was reminded of that in the first chat with director Matt Greseth. He wanted to be sure I was OK with him directing. And at first I was confused by the question. Then he mentioned someone else's name and I realized what he was driving at.

He wanted to direct it, but would I be more comfortable with a gay man directing it instead?

The other three people who directed the play in its various incarnations prior to now were gay men. I didn't seek them out because they were gay. They'd all sought me out. Probably in part because they wanted to tell a story that meant something to them personally.

But if a straight director doesn't mind directing my play, I certainly don't.

I want to work with good people, regardless of orientation. Matt knows his new plays.

In the past, it's been useful to have a gay man at the helm, because the actors haven't been gay (go figure). So a little "Gay 101" was in order. That looks more "porn scenario" when I type it than it ends up being in reality.

Basically it means there's someone there to assure the actors that "yes, we enjoy the same intimacies that straight people do" - it feels the same, it looks the same, just the gender's different. There's no secret handshake. A kiss is just a kiss. A sigh is just a sigh.

Holding hands looks more like a political act of defiance when we do it, but it's just two hands. The same nerve endings pulse beneath the skin.

(Don't make me quote Shylock in Merchant of Venice.)

The last time I acted in something other than a reading, I had to kiss a guy. A straight guy. It turns out I was actually more skittish about it than he was. He'd played gay before so for him it was no big deal. But looking back on it, I was unconsciously stalling, discussing pretty much everything with my director and acting partner to avoid, you know, actually doing the scene. Finally, the straight actor rolled his eyes, reached over, pulled me in, and planted one on me. When the first kiss was out of the way, he looked at me and said, "Now, can we get on with it?"

We spent the next couple of months kissing in rehearsal and performance, and we're still friends. I have to admit I've still got a soft spot for the guy. Not a crush so much as I just think of him fondly. After all, we'd "been through the wars together."

So I get it. If there's intimacy involved, gay or straight, it's a little weird.

As a writer, I don't ask anything of an actor lightly. There's always a reason something's there in the script. It's never unthinking or gratuitous. It's all about plot and character and relationships.

I have to watch "straight" theater all the time. And don't get me wrong, I enjoy it. I was weened on it. But when the rare chance arises to see a gay story, or better yet have the opportunity to tell one myself, I appreciate how special it is, and I want it done right.

Because at their base, most of my stories are about how, really, there isn't that much of a difference. If the audience grows to care about the characters, gay or straight starts not to matter. They want to see those characters happy, even if happy looks a little different than what they're used to. They want things to end well, or to leave with a little hope.

But they need to see those characters fully, for who they are. And humans are tactile creatures. They need to be touched. They need contact with someone who cares for them.

Four gay actors, the right gay actors, might make things a lot simpler.

But just as there are more straight people than gay people, there are more straight actors than gay ones. So, inevitably, odds are good that one or more of our actors in "Leave" is going to be a straight guy.

Look at it this way, guys. There are hidden perks.

You know how a lot of guys find the idea of two women together a real turn-on. A fair number of women feel the same way about watching two guys together. It's a great conversation starter. And you may get the chance to show the ladies just how great an actor you really are, to be crass for a moment.

Also, you get a chance to relax. Normally we're putting up so many walls between each other as men, it's hard to get to know one another at all. That's why sports and locker rooms and military barracks are such welcome escape valves. (And why the idea of an openly gay person in those environments, bringing the possibility of sex into an atmosphere already charged with intimacy, is something that meets with such resistance.) In a gay role, you're being asked to strip away all the barriers. You have permission to let your guard down.

Because we'll be able to tell if you're faking it. If you're hedging, or calling attention to the fact that "hey, I'm just playing a role here." There have been years of secret code and stereotypes and half measures on the way to full representation. Less than truthful doesn't cut it anymore.

There are four meaty, challenging roles for men in this play. The only "catch" is you need to be a convincing gay man.

But that's what acting's about - pretending to be someone you're not, so we believe you.

Just like the Marines, and our closing 2010 Urban Samurai show, we're looking for a few good men.

Four actors who are man enough to kiss another man. Touch another man. Hold another man.

You wouldn't think they'd be that difficult to find.

I'm still waiting to be proven wrong.

Thoughts from a conflicted parent

Yesterday, when I was supposed to post this I was caring for my daughter who was diagnosed with whooping cough and quarantined from daycare. She of course is completely fine and played all day, laughing, and having a jolly old time. Spending the day with her reminded me of just how much I miss with her throughout the workweek, which made it so much harder to go into work today. It also made me think how crazy it is that 70% of households with children either have two parents that work full time or a single parent that works full time. That’s the exact opposite percentage compared to 40 years ago. And it seems to me that our children perhaps make just as big a sacrifice as their parents in the race to increase or just maintain our standard of living versus inflation and a middleclass income rate that has remained essentially unchanged for the last 20-30 years. Which of course is the reality of the global market that is creeping in. At some point something is going to have to give. I feel like it’s going to come down to either people having less babies or people starting to live a more humble, frugal, existence. I guess we’ll see…

Tuesday Samurai - Meet Courtney Miner

In the last two editions of Tuesday Samurai, I introduced you to the actors portraying the couple at the center of our upcoming production of Bright Ideas (Marcia Svaleson and Josh Carson). Now let's turn our attention to the remaining cast members, who all pull sextuple (is that a word?) duty (if not more). First off, it's Courtney Miner, who makes her return to USP after a hilarious turn as the owner of The Girlhole in our raucous 2008 Minnesota Fringe Festival hit, Musical the Musical.

But my history with this lovely lady goes farther back than 2008. How is it that we first met?

When I first read this question, I thought, "Crap, I can never remember when we met and Ryan and I have had this conversation before!" But then, as I started to answer, I remembered! Magic!

We met at a group outing to see Triple Espresso, shortly after you saw me onstage in Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical. We hit it off because of my inappropriate sense of humor and love of reality TV.

Ah, yes...that seems so many years ago. You were hilarious in the "token lesbian scene" in that show! I just love to hear you laugh - it's what got me through way too many seasons full of annoying The Bachelor contestants. So, your list of acting credits is already sounding interesting - what else have we seen you in?

Well, I mostly do musicals, but have taken an involuntary hiatus. (a.k.a., Why don't you cast me? You know who you are.) Right before this I was in The Fresh Five with 20% Theater Company, playing an 8-year-old. In fact, most of my career has consisted of playing little girls and high schoolers. Little Sally in Urinetown, that little crazy murderer girl in Ruthless!, Gloria with a lisp in Summer of '42. Ya know...young nerds. That's what I'm good at. Young nerds.

Hush now, you're good at playing adults, too! And you finally get to play one - several adults, in fact. Do you have a favorite character of the multiple roles you play in Bright Ideas?

Well, I'm really loving Mom #2 right now, actually. She's a perfect blend of Blanche and Rose (from The Golden Girls). She has Blanche's southern accent and Rose's ditz factor. But my favorite might be Mrs. Heath in the opening scene. You'll have to come see it to find out why.

I think I have an idea, and I can't wait to see it! And it looks like the dream Josh Carson shared with me last week is coming true - The Golden Girls has been mentioned in every week's introduction so far. That must be the influence of Jimmy [LeDuc, Bright Ideas director].

He's pretty friggin' great, actually. I love his drawl and he is unabashedly his own person, no matter what. His insticts as a director are spot on. Every suggestion he's given has worked inside my dull, egotistical actor brain. So, he's brilliant, actually.

The only improvement I would suggest? If he were a little bit MORE of a Golden Girls fan, I think he would be an even better director.

OK, now you're just poking fun at my mutual love for The Golden Girls...or maybe you're just saying if Jimmy was as big a fan as me he'd be a better director. What does that mean for me? Never mind...this isn't about me! This is about you - do you want to tell me about your upcoming theater projects?

Nope. I got nothin'. I am, however, ramping up for the big musical audition season! I'm learning a new song. Rhymes with "Schmeverbody's Smirl".

Ooh! If my rhyming skills are still up to snuff, I think that may have been a suggestion from me. I can't wait for you to try it out! Perhaps you'll have to drop by and sing it for USP at our auditions for [title of show].

I'm super excited for Urban Samurai's next season. It's right up my alley. (That's what she said.)

Oh, you! This here column is a classy piece of real estate! (I can't even type that with a straight face.) It's like we're hanging out and watching TV and saying whatever comes to mind. That can only be done with a movie you've seen before and don't need to pay attention to - like one of those guilty pleasure movies from when we were younger, the kind you know you shouldn't like but will watch if it's on TV and puts a smile on your face. Is it awkward that my favorite would be The Craft starring a nutty Fairuza Balk and a scaly Neve Campbell? Please tell me I'm not alone in this!

Mine would have to be Teen Witch. With Robin Lively (what happened to her???), Zelda Rubenstein (R.I.P.), and that hunky dude that also played the jerk boyfriend in Son in Law. But there are so many others...like Mannequin (Andrew McCarthy, Kim Catrall, James Spader, Estelle Getty...SHUT UP) and She's Out of Control. (Tony Danza as an overprotective parent...what a stretch from Who's the Boss, eh?)

I don't know...was the name of his "character" Tony? Can he play anyone but himself? I haven't seen that one, and can't say that I care to, but I LOVE Mannequin. I think I asked my parents to rent that at least once a month. If only I had a Delorean and could go back and see what my parents said about me behind my back as a child. It's probably no different than what they say behind my back now.

But I need to stop making this about me! This is about Courtney...well, at least it was. It's over now, but I'm sure it made you want to know more. You'll just have to get your tickets for Bright Ideas, which are currently onsale at urbansamurai.org. And don't forget to check in next week when I introduce you to C. Ryan Shipley.

Until then, "I bind you, Nancy, from doing harm. Harm against other people and harm against yourself."

Ryan Grimes
Managing Director
Urban Samurai Productions

Perfectionist ahoy!

I find myself thinking about stage parents. You know the type. The ones that dress their three year olds up like adults and make them do pageant shows. The ones that live all their unrealized dreams through their children. Thank god I never had parents like that. But they exist. And Genevra is one of those parents. And it's one thing to be a perfectionist yourself, to have an insatiable desire to achieve, but I think it's something else entirely when you do that to someone else. Namely, a little someone like a child. So I'm spending a little time trying to get into the headspace where that's okay. I feel a little 'Mommy Dearest' coming on.

And this is the interesting part of being a villain. They are so much more satisfying a character to play, because they are so flawed. Someone who always does the right thing, who's never unhappy, never conflicted - that's some boring stuff. To try to see the world through the villain's eyes, to make it justified, necessary - that's a challenge. And Genevra is even more satisfying, since we see the descent to 'evil' happen. The fascination is in watching her make the wrong choices.

So strap that toddler to his high chair and make him memorize the constitution so you can make him recite it on command! It will really make your day.

Yup...I'm Kevin Bacon

So as you can see from Matt's post I have been cast is Ross in A Few Good Men. I couldn't be happier. A weird part of me thinks this role will let me work out my chilhood want to be a lawyer. In fact, I wanted to be one right up to the point when I found out they have way more paperwork than trial time. I wanted to get up in front if a group of people and cross-examine or as the play says I wanted to be good at "making an argument." Unfortunately I have to wait till this fall to begin work on this one. Until then...Bright Ideas!!!

I had the opportunity to watch a run through on Wednesday and I was already laughing a lot. It was just the first stumble-through and already it is brilliant. I'm so stoked for you all to see this one. It is gonna rock your socks clean off your feet. In fact, if you're not careful, it might rock your whole feet off.

Auditions Complete

Well auditions and callbacks are in the bag, and I have emerged with a stellar cast. I wrote before about how the women blew me away in auditions. Well the men did not disappoint. I had an incredible turnout for the mens audition, and much like the women making cuts to get to callbacks was very difficult.

I scheduled three hours for callbacks, thinking that three would be plenty. How naive of me!!! I would like to commend and thank all the actors for their time and talent, it must have been a long night for them.

The fight for the lawyer roles was particularity tough. I read many actors in many combinations, and EVERYONE was bringing it. It got to the point that I was hoping an actor would do something outrageous like throw up on my shoes, so I would have SOME reason to take them out of the mix.

In the end I put together a truly incredible cast. Here they are. Congrats guys!!

Pfc. Louden Downey - Troy Zimmerman
Lance Cpl. Dawson - Derek Ewing
Lt. j.g. Sam Weinberg - Dave Gangler
Lt. j.g. Dan Kaffee - Nicholas Leeman
Lt. Cmdr. Jo Galloway - Colleen Somerville
Capt. Issac Whitaker - Peter Simmons
Capt. Matt Markinson - Mark Kreger
Pfc. William Santiago - David Freeman
Lt Col. Nathan Jessup - Zach Curtis
Lt. Jon Kendrik - Mike Rylander
Lt. Jack Ross - Nate Hessburg
Cpl. Jeff Howard - John Egan
Capt. Julius Randolph - Jim Pounds
Cmdr. Walter Stone - George Calger
Dave/Orderly - Christian Spalding
Cpl. Duns - Aaron Koningsmark

This show is gonna ROCK!!!!

Matt Greseth
Artistic Director

Week 3 Complete!

What a week this has been...
I will start off by addressing the A Few Good Men auditions and callbacks. What an amazing turn out from lots of talented actors!! I had the privilege of sitting in on the callbacks...and holy balls, these people made that decision very difficult. It was great to see these actors and know that this is just a portion of the talent pool in Minneapolis. I am proud to say that I live in a city where there is such a talent pool to choose from. And then, to get to see these people on stage! I am already excited to be working with this group of actors for A Few Good Men in the fall:)

As for Bright Ideas, we are still trucking along. With auditions and all, I wasn't at a portion of the rehearsals this week...but these actors continue to crack me up! Night after night! I can't wait for the next couple of weeks to fine tune this piece, and then of course, get an audience in front of them! It will be fun times!
Our first act off book date was Thursday, and I was quite surprised. After all the talk right beforehand, I can honestly say I was a little nervous. But all in all, things went well, and we are right on track!
Now it's just a matter of consistency, consistency, consistency!

Until next week...

Structure

Just because you can make a play longer doesn't mean you should.

In the case of Leave, which is kicking off Season 2011 for Urban Samurai, I feel like parts of it could use a little more room to breathe.

The trick is, which parts?

If you've already made your point succinctly, there's no point in belaboring it and repeating yourself.

But if the characters get a chance to grow and deepen, feel more like people and less like mouthpieces for the author, that's all to the good.

When you start poking at the thing, to make any real changes, everything needs to be up for grabs. Then you can sort out where the strongest stuff is, and where it might be better.

Picking it apart, how about the way it begins and ends?

Right now, the script begins and ends in a graveyard. And the grave marker never goes away.

The character of Anne visits the grave. Someone she knows is in it.

Given my penchant for ghosts, I suppose it could also be her grave.

Except that she says, among other things, "If I'd done everything I could, everything I should, this boy wouldn't be in the ground."

So, not her.

Over the course of the next hour and a half, we meet four young men.

"I shouldn't have let him go back," she says.

Well, that means, in the context of this story, the military. One person isn't involved at all, so he's safe.

Two are active duty, one is inactive but former military who would go back, under certain conditions. So we have three to choose from.

At the end, we find out whose grave it is, and how and why they died.

It's not a mystery story.

But I still think it's important that we know up front, "Somebody's going to die."

That's the kind of world in which this story exists.

To do a play about the military and pretend nobody dies is cheating.

I did that in earlier drafts.

Of course, in earlier drafts, we were in "peacetime."

It's important to know the stakes.

You will get to know these people. Hopefully you will grow to care about them.

And you are going to lose one of them.

I suppose I could just bring the graveyard and death in at the end.

But that feels like a sucker punch.

"Ha! Gotcha! Didn't think I was going to kill one, did you?"

Maybe you forget it's coming. Maybe you stop seeing the grave marker on the side of the stage. Maybe that's good. But I think it should still be there.

Hanging over everything these people say and do is the fact that some of these words will be the last thing these people say to each other. Some of these things will be the last thing they do for each other.

Suspense. A foreboding. A sense of dread. I don't know.

If the play gets longer, the real trick is to make the audience care enough that they want to come back from intermission, even though they know one of these characters won't last the night.

Because it's easy to put aside the paper, click to another site, turn down the radio, change the channel on the TV, and avoid dealing with it.

We're still at war. In two countries. And soldiers and civilians on both sides are dying every day.

Most of the time, you'd never know it.

And there's something wrong with that.

Of course there's romance and comedy and sex and conflict. In fact, that's most of the play. It's not all one big downer. Death's just one part of it. But it is part of it. It's a mix of things, like life.

Trying to figure out how to keep the mix balanced, while the script grows and changes. That's the tricky part.

I think it still starts and ends with the grave. Now, where does it go in between?

Formative Years: Thoughts on modern day child rearing

As opening night draws closer and closer for our production of Bright Ideas by Eric Coble I have been investing some time in researching and exploring the issues raised in this play partly for marketing purposes but also as a parent of spirited 17 month old.

Parents want their children to succeed, to work hard, and get ahead. To have more opportunities then they did. Which is a reasonable enough aspiration. But as a culture of competition has become ever more prevalent in society, many parents not only want their child to be successful, they want or even expect them to be the best, brightest, most talented, and attractive child around. Right out of the gates they’re enrolling them in music courses, early learning programs, language immersion, swimming lessons, baby yoga, and on and on. They fear that if their child isn’t a bilingual musical virtuoso gymnast with an IQ of 187 by the time they’re five then they as parents have failed them.

For these parents anything less than the best for their child in these formative years can mean the difference between raising a future doctor or a future shift manager at White Castle. They will do anything it takes, pull any string to make certain their child is known and treated as an over achieving prodigy, regardless of their child’s actual ability. This is called “Push Parenting,” and as our society becomes continually more cutthroat the pressure mounts on parents to push harder on their kids to perform beyond the bounds of reality.

On top of this, a majority of parents in this country both work full-time, which has caused the landscape of childcare to change dramatically. Childcare services and private pre-schools have never been so highly regulated, expensive, or in such high demand. It has been readily documented that many of the most popular day-care centers across the nation have such a long waiting list that often your child can reach the age of 3 before their name comes up on the list. This only adds further stress to parents, particularly those pressuring themselves to find not just suitable but exemplary care that will help lay the foundation for their child’s acceptance into law school.

Eric Cobles’ play Bright Ideas draws directly from this mentality. Using his astute observations and sharp satiric wit, Coble tells the story of Generva and Joshua Bradley, two parents that have had their three-year-old son Mac on the waiting list for the premiere preschool Bright Ideas Early childhood Development Academy since before he was even born. Now teetering at the top of the waiting list, Mac is drawing dangerously close to turning four and the grim reality is setting in that if they don’t do something now, something drastic to get him in, it will swallow any hope for a bright future.

Tuesday Samurai - Meet Josh Carson

In this week's Tuesday Samurai, I continue my series of introductions of the cast of Bright Ideas by chatting with Josh Carson, who makes his USP debut as well-intentioned dad, Joshua Bradley.

As I pointed out last week, I happen to have known all the cast members before mounting this production. How did we meet, Josh?

We met ten damn years ago (A decade, Ryan! A friggin' decade!) at the University of Minnesota, where we were taught the difference between theatre and theater. (Theatre's art. Theater pays. Here's your degree.) All the college stories worth telling are being withheld until the release of my explosive, controversial tell-all, Just Joshin'?.

Ooh, I've always wanted to be a part of a scandal! Where may audiences have seen you previously?

For the last year, I've been on the front lines of interactive theater, whether it be the drunken best man in Tony 'n' Tina's Wedding or the drunken bingo caller in We Gotta Bingo. When I was cast in Bright Ideas, I was anxious to finally be playing a character that wasn't going to be groped by the real housewives of Eden Prairie or wind up shirtless, suckling at a bottle of vodka by the end of the night. Then I saw the script and realized that I'm not quite out of those woods yet. Ooh, teaser!

You've always been a big tease! Is that how you found a way to relate to your character?

It's a widely known fact that the hardest part of acting is learning to respond to a new name. Well, my character's name is Josh, so 85% of my work is already done. It does get a tad confusing during rehearsal, because statements are thrown out like, "Josh is so spineless," or "Josh is extremely off-putting," or "Josh clearly has an alcohol problem." And I'm all, "You guys are talking about Character Josh, not Me Josh, right?" Then nobody says anything for a solid six minutes. Then I say, "Why'd everybody stop talking at once?" And they say, "You guys remember Troop Beverly Hills?" And I say, "Why are you changing the subject?" And they're all, "We didn't." And I'm all, "Why won't you look me in the eye?" And they're all, "We are." And I go, "You're not even facing me!" And then they're all, "Tori Spelling was the evil Wilderness Girl in Troop Beverly Hills, isn't that crazy?" And I yell, "Quit making this about Troop Beverly Hills!" And they're all...wait, what was the question?

I'm not sure anymore. All I know is that I don't think Tori Spelling was in Troop Beverly Hills. I'll have to IMDB that...or maybe Jimmy [LeDuc, Bright Ideas director] would know. He's full of knowledge.

Jimmy is, in many ways, the perfect director for me because he speaks in very specific pop culture references. This has sped up the process considerably because I can suggest that I'm essentially playing evil Phil Dunphy and we'll both instantly be on the same page. Also, there's the Golden Girls obsession. I hope that's brought up in every interview.

I try to bring up The Golden Girls every day of my life. Is that not normal? But I totally get the evil Phil Dunphy reference. Modern Family is my favorite new show of the season, and if you're a fan of that show, you'll certainly love Bright Ideas! But enough TV...any upcoming theater work you want to tell us about?

After Bright Ideas, we're remounting the smash hit Saved by the Bell Show at the Bryant Lake Bowl (featuring the real Mr. Dewey! If you know what I'm talking about, you already got your ticket). A few buddies and I are developing a sketch comedy with the theme of breaking up. (Write what you know, eh? Sigh...) And once upon a time, I used to write and produce my own shows to some slight acclaim. I keep threatening to make a comeback, whether people want it or not. However, that comeback suddenly seems more likely within the year, so stay tuned.

I definitely will! I loved Video Guy...that was the first Fringe show I ever saw. I'm so old... Time for a Three Musketeers bar. How about you, Josh? What's your favorite candy?

Dots. No question. Everytime I eat a package of Dots, I stick two of them in my teeth, preferably red, and pretend to be a candy vampire. Every. Time. And, yes, I'm thirty.

Hey, there's nothing wrong with re-living the simple joys of childhood. I've been known to whip out a few childhood habits here and there...but that's for your scandalous tell-all book to reveal.

Thanks to Josh for the crazily hilarious chat! I wouldn't have expected anything less. And way to call Tori Spelling's role in Troop Beverly Hills - I stand corrected. What a career that nutty lady has had! Be sure to come back next week when I put one of my favorite people, Courtney Miner, in the Tuesday Samurai hot seat.

Have a good week, candy vampires!

Ryan Grimes
Managing Director
Urban Samurai Productions

Memorize!

I am deep in the thick of memorizing lines for Bright Ideas, which reminds me of one of the most common questions I'm asked as an actor. "How do you memorize all that?" Is asked me more often than I can count. And I'm sure every actor has their own unique method that works for them. For me, repetition is everything. So I carry the script around like a security blanket. I often fall asleep on it at night (cause osmosis might work, right?) In short, I just look at the damn thing until I can see it with my eyes closed.

Wouldn't it be marvelous to have photographic memory? Then I could look at the script ONE TIME and be good to go. Wow, that would be sweet.

The more often I look at the script, however, the more I find in it. As often happens when you revisit a thing again and again, different things jump out at me or take on new significance; perhaps because of something that happened at rehearsal, or perhaps just because. So repetitious reading helps not only my memorization but also my character development.

Speaking of which, I am still mapping out my character's descent from normal but slightly anxiety stricken woman to ca-caw crazy psycho mom. It is delightful to look for the clues throughout the script that lead me down the path to complete madness. I will be sure to keep you informed of the progress. Meanwhile, I am abusing sock puppets. That's right. You heard me. If you want to know why, you'll just have to see the show, huh?

And if you have any sure fire ways for me to memorize a ton of lines by Thursday, shout em out.

The OCD Ninja (on reading 243 of Bright Ideas)

I really can't wait....

Next year's season is going to be so fun. Seriously. I honestly cannot wait for it to come. What sucks is we have so many cool things happening between now and then with this company that the awesomeness factor jumps clear off the charts. I have been listening to [Title of Show] very frequently in my car. As a matter of fact, I even got caught singing really loud at a stoplight. Yup, my windows were down. I got two big smiles and a honk from behind as I realized the light had turned green as my face had turned red. Good times.

A Few Good Men is already shaping up nicely. As Matt said, there were a plethora of talented women that came in and auditioned. It was very fun working with all of them. Even though I had to read the same side like 40 times, every person brought something different to the table which made each and every read interesting. I am so impressed with the level of talent in this city. Now it's on to the men....

Week 2 Completed

In the midst of the season being announced and A Few Good Men auditions beginning, Bright Ideas is continuing rehearsals:)
Week 2 of Bright Ideas has brought a lot of fun to the rehearsal process. Blocking act 1 is out of the way, and act 2 is well underway. We are moving at a steady, well really, rather quick pace! Which can only indicate the awesomeness that is the cast of this show! Typically, during the rehearsal process, I am so focused on the technicalities of the process; the who moves where, and on which line sort of thing. But this week...well let's just saying I was really paying attention to character development this week, and nearly peed my pants on several occasions. Now, I realize the script is some pretty funny stuff, but the way in which the lines are delivered is all actor...and these actors are going balls out! And things can only keep going up, once the props, set, and costumes all come into play.
So here's to the week that was, and the week to come...perhaps I will bring extra clothes to rehearsals:)

Plotting It Out

So there's a play in rehearsals (Bright Ideas)

And a play in auditions (A Few Good Men)

And then there's the play in development (Leave)

Leave (or The Surface of the World) is moving ahead on two fronts.

Matt Greseth and I sat down over the weekend and mapped out some key dates on the calendar between now and the opening of Season 2011 in February.

April 22, once Matt has auditions and casting for A Few Good Men behind him, the two of us will get together and pick the script apart scene by scene - get an idea where the strengths and weaknesses are in the script as a one act, and where the potential expansions lie, further explorations of character, situation and subject matter.

May 20, once Bright Ideas is open, we'll touch base once again. My writing group will have had its last three meetings before its summer break, so whatever hacking away I've been able to do in the interim will be ready to dig into. It'll also be good to touch base one more time before I head off to Omaha for

The Great Plains Theatre Conference, May 29 to June 5

My reading is first thing, 9am on Monday morning May 31. So, death slot, basically. I'm contenting myself with the thought that

1) I'll get getting out of town and just having the chance to be a writer and nothing else for a week

2) They're paying all my registration fees, putting me up (in a dorm - ah, nostalgia), and feeding me

3) The workshops look interesting - might jumpstart this, or other, ideas for future use.

4) It's not wall to wall events. There's breathing room around the edges and I'll just be able to kick back and scribble, bat Leave around a bit

5) It's an opportunity to work again with my pal Marty Marchitto, a director who's done three of my scripts, and whose instincts about new work I trust implicitly. He'll have a lot of insights to share.

6) Marty works with good actors, so I'll be able to pick their brains, too.

7) Whoever shows up to see the thing (there's gotta be *some*one, right?) will no doubt have their opinions and won't be shy about sharing them.

8) Seeing the script in another context, between the incubator it grew up in during 2008, and the next level it will be entering during 2010/2011, can only be a good thing.

9) Since networking and socializing terrify me, this will be a learning experience. Like auditioning, you only get better by doing. There will be plenty of other scripts being read and writers to meet, and (gasp) gatherings where mingling is kind of the point.

10) Again, I get to be a writer for a week and get the heck out of town.

June 10, a debriefing session with Matt about what I learned about the script at the conference

After the Minnesota Fringe Festival, Matt goes into A Few Good Men mode in earnest.

October 10, A Few Good Men and Season 2010 closes

November 7, a reading of whatever the new version of Leave exists with the company, and of course, more feedback

Early December - auditions, by which time, the bulk of the rewrites should be done, the new structure in place

Of course, in the process of auditioning and other actors getting their hands on the thing, we'll all see things we didn't before, and the tweaking begins.

Early January, rehearsals begin, and the last of the tweaking.

February, Season 2011 and the new version of Leave arrive in front of an audience.

All of which, when I lay it out like that, seems like no time at all.

Tick tock.

Matthew A. Everett
www.matthewaeverett.com
USP Board Member, Resident Playwright

Bright Ideas opens in 28 days
Great Plains Theatre Conference starts in 51 days
Minnesota Fringe Festival arrives in 118 days
Leave, via Urban Samurai, 10 months off

More than A Few Good Women

With Jimmy LeDuc steering the ship of Bright Ideas, I am free to get the ball rolling on our upcoming production of A Few Good Men. Auditions for the women were last night and I'll be seeing the guys this Sunday and Monday with callbacks for everyone on Tuesday.

I am constantly amazed at the level of talent in this town. I saw close to 30 women last night, and as there is only 1 female role in the show I planned on inviting no more than 5 women to callbacks. Narrowing the field to 5 turned out to be a pipe dream at best.

Given the fact that the movie that was made from this script is so iconic, it is important to me that I find actors that will be willing and able to bring their own take to the production. I was presented with audition after audition of very talented women who showed me potential sides of Joanne Galloway that I had not even considered. It was an incredible experience, and my hat is off to the actresses of Minneapolis.

After a long deliberation I narrowed the field down to 7 women (the list really could have been 10-12), and I am not looking forward to the gut wrenching task of choosing only one from that group. Don't get me wrong, having more choices is better than having none. But this is going to be one of those times when any one of the 7 could kick some serious ass.

I love and hate auditions as a director. It is the beginning of the exciting process of creating a new piece of theater. But it is also the time I have to tell some very talented people no.

The guys are this Sunday, I'll let you know next week how much worse my ulcers are :)

Matt Greseth
Artistic Director
Urban Samurai Productions

The grant is in and the show is going on

Hello my lovely readers, real or imagined. I'm happy to say that our MRAC grant proposal was submitted last week and unlike last year I didn't crawl in an utterly destroyed shell of a man. I entered the MRAC office with our proposal standing tall, confident, proud, and even feeling a little sexy in a grant writing kind of way.

Tonight is the first night of several nights of auditions for A Few Good Men. We have at least 4 Bahgillion people auditioning. There's a lot of excitement for this show in the local acting community and I'm certain that this excitement will be spreading over to the general populace like a pandemic of awesomeness as we approach opening night.

And then there's Bright Ideas, opening May 7th, which will be followed by you laughing your face off. I am currently doing research on the subject matter of the play which covers the mentality of many parents that feel the early formidable years of a child's life are not just important, they're almost a matter of life and death. Currently I'm reading the book Toilet Trained for Yale: Adventures in 21st-Century Parenting by Ralph Schoenstein and essentially what I'm getting out of it at this point is that I need to get my 1 year old enrolled in pre-calculus before the week is out. More on this as it develops in my mind.

Tuesday Samurai - Meet Marcia Svaleson

It's still Tuesday, I swear! I'm so sorry to be coming to you late again, but I'm very excited to start a series of blogs over the next five weeks leading up to the opening of Bright Ideas on May 7th: I'm going to introduce you to each of the five cast members.

You'll already be familiar with our first featured cast member: Marcia Svaleson. She's the ninja of our company (and Sunday blogger) and will be appearing onstage in Bright Ideas as the desperate mom with a mean pesto recipe.

Marcia, I realized that I have a personal history with each cast member. How did we meet?

We met at the audition for Protection Program, and the first thing I said was, "Hey, Matt, look...this guy's taller than ME!" And then we had to hump on stage in American Apathy. That was maybe my best theater moment.

Made all the better by our kick-ass blond highlights. Now you're working on Bright Ideas - do you personally relate to your character?

Yes, because even though I'm not a mom, if I were, I would be a psycho mom. And Genevra definitely starts out normal and becomes crazy crazy. Like, ca-caw crazy.

Is working with Jimmy [LeDuc, Bright Ideas director] as awesome as I think it would be?

Well, on our first night of blocking rehearsal he showed up in a bright yellow Golden Girls t-shirt. I think that says it all, don't you?

'Nough said. Nothing endears me to a person more than a mutual love for The Golden Girls. Any theater projects coming up you'd like to talk about?

I'm really stoked about next year's season. I can't stop talking about it.

I've noticed. I think it appears right before this blog post, in fact. Not that I blame you. I've just about messed myself over Season 2011. OK, not really, but I'm really excited. Moving on from uncomfortable topics, just to prove that I'm not all business, I want to ask what your favorite nut meat is. Mine is cashew.

I do enjoy a good cashew. It's between that and almond. Peanuts are for special occasions; they remind me of drinking in bars.

Ooh, or Texas Roadhouse. But that's a treat for me when I'm visiting my parents in Iowa. Or happen to be in Coon Rapids...which never happens.

Well, there you have it, folks. Marcia and I talked about nut meats, onstage humping, and how tall we are. That's how we roll at Urban Samurai. Or, as Marcia might say...

I do what I want.

Be sure to come back for next week's Tuesday Samurai, when I chat with Marcia's onstage husband, Josh Carson.

The 2011 Season is here!

I'm dancing with glee! The season is here, and we finally get to announce it!

Leave, or The Surface of the World – World Premiere – February 11-27, 2011

Season 2011 will open with the world premiere of a new, expanded version of this “don’t ask, don’t tell” drama by local playwrightMatthew A. Everett. Seth is a young Marine serving during wartime. Nicholas is his civilian husband who waits back home. In addition to the strain on their relationship caused by distance and absence, they must hide their love for one another behind code words and secret identities because of the United States military’s policy barring gays and lesbians from serving openly.

[title of show] – Regional Premiere – April 22-May 8, 2011

USP will present the regional premiere of this surprise Tony-nominated smash created by Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell, which debuted at the New York Musical Theatre Festival and ultimately ran on Broadway. A love letter to musical theater and to the joy of collaboration, [title of show] is a musical about two struggling young writers writing a new musical about two struggling young writers writing a new musical. In the span of 90 minutes the pair, along with the help of two friends, write and perform their show-within-a-show at a musical theater festival while learning lessons about themselves as people, friends, and artists.

Rumors – September 23-October 9, 2011

Season 2011 will close by honoring the tremendous impact that Neil Simon’s work has had on our company and live theater by presenting Rumors. At a large, tastefully appointed Sneden’s Landing townhouse, the Deputy Mayor of New York has just shot himself. Though only a flesh wound, four couples are about to experience a severe attack of farce. Gathering for their tenth wedding anniversary, the host lies bleeding in the other room and his wife is nowhere in sight. His lawyer and his wife must get “the story” straight before the other guests arrive, but as the confusions and miscommunications mount, the evening spirals into classic farcical hilarity.

Baby tunes...

So sound is coming along nicely for "Bright Ideas". Turns out there is some amazingly cool music being made for youngsters by current artists. Or at the very least has a modern sound. It isn't all these songs played with an acoustic guitar and some guy in a creepy high voice singing. I found tunes by They Might Be Giants, Parry Gripp, and even the Barenaked Ladies. I think many of these songs will work great for the the child-esque theme of the show. If they don't work, then I have a supremely kick-ass CD for when I have a kid.

Collaboration

Our first week of rehearsals has just wrapped up for Bright Ideas. The week was a short one, one spent more on a first read and characters than anything. But one thing that has already begun to develop is the collaboration process.
As a stage manager, I have worked with hundreds of different actors and directors. Which ultimately means, hundreds of different personalities. No two people that I have come across have ever been the same in their method of acting or approach of directing. Also, as a stage manager, I get a chance to observe throughout the process. I see everything and I hear everything. Through this observation, I can pick up how the dynamic will be during the rehearsal process. And with this show specifically, I can already tell it will be an amazing trip. The juices have begun to flow between the actors and our director, ideas are coming out, one idea is building on another idea, and from this, I appreciate the process of collaboration more and more. I contribute my two cents in quietly where needed to the director, but for the most part, I just sit back and enjoy this process and learn.
The next few weeks will be a fun rehearsal process, ones that I am greatly looking forward too...

Picking A Play Apart

The most liberating thing I ever learned about writing was that you didn't have to get it right the first time.

You could always rewrite.

That took a tremendous amount of pressure off getting that first draft done, which was always the hardest thing to do in the first place.

Once it's out of your head and down on paper, it's much easier to manage, and to fix.

And of course, the more you write, if you're learning anything, the better your first drafts get.

But you have to give yourself permission to write badly, or you'll never write at all.

You need the manure to grow the flowers.

The friends who make up my writing group over the years have seen some pretty horrific first drafts - which, being good friends, they're always happy to remind me of and kid me about, particularly when I get a little full of myself.

An actor friend once described them as "poop drafts" - where I get just everything on my mind to just plop out on the page, vomitting it all up, good - bad - or indifferent.

Then the sorting begins.

The trickier thing is to know when to leave well enough alone. When does rewriting become a game of diminishing returns, where you're actually doing the script more harm than good by continuing to play around with it? When have you learned all you can from a story?

They say good art is never done, it just stops in interesting places.

This particular story stopped in one place in 1999.

It stopped in a very different one in 2008.

The question is, does it still have a little traveling to do, or should I leave it alone?

Right now I'm revisiting the script for "Leave," which is going to be part of the Great Plains Theater Conference at the end of May, beginning of June. In fact, I just got an email the other day saying the reading of "Leave" would be bright and early, first slot on Monday morning June 1, 9am. So I have a couple of days to drum up a little good will and hopefully get people to show up and watch the thing.

And I have exactly two months (minus a few hours) to tinker with the script, if I want to.

The possible revision of "Leave" is really prompted by the upcoming production by Urban Samurai, however. That's still 10 months out.

The 2008 version of the script had a space it needed to squeeze into - a 90-minute space on the Bryant Lake Bowl calendar. And it did. Just barely.

"Leave" landed on Lavender Magazines Top Ten List for theater in 2008, so in its current form, it packs a punch.

But it always felt a little cramped to me.

In having my first talk with Matt Greseth, who's going to direct, he zeroed in on one place in particular that interested him.

The story is about the emotional fallout caused by the "don't ask, don't tell" policy barring gays from serving openly in the military. A former soldier and a Marine argue their positions. The ex-Army guy wants to serve, but won't go back into the closet to do it. They want him to do their killing for him, they'll have to accept him as he is. The active duty Marine feels like this is a cop-out, that the other guy's a coward. The larger question is, why do we even force people to make this decision? And since we do, why would you want to serve a country (perhaps at the cost of your life) when that country doesn't value who you are as a person? Why do you still feel a sense of duty to a country that would ask you to do that?

The scene, and play, as they stand address this to a degree, but Matt feels there's more meat to dig into there.

So that's one spot that might grow.

I've reread the script, backwards, a scene at a time, from the end to the beginning, to study the current structure.

The squeeze is going to be tight at the conference, so I could change, but probably not expand, the script - they deal with long one-acts, not full-lengths.

But if the story feels good at full-length, Urban Samurai would present it in that form. We have the theater for the evening. How much of the evening we use is up to us.

So...

Where do the rewrites lie...?

Matthew A. Everett
www.matthewaeverett.com
USP Board Member, Resident Playwright

Bright Ideas opens in 35 days
Great Plains Theatre Conference starts in 58 days
Minnesota Fringe Festival arrives in 125 days
Leave, via Urban Samurai, 10 months off