Women of Westport

The final performance of the 2010 season was September 19th. Many people ask us what we do during the rest of the year here at the Depot Theatre.

This is what the cat does:

Mo catches up on Zs. She wants her $2.

But we also get up to other things like playreadings and shows in the gallery. We read the play WITTENBURG to a about 2-dozen stalwart theatre-goers the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and this past weekend, we had the reception for the "Women of Westport" show, which is becoming a holiday tradition at the Depot.

Cynthia Schira, Dee Carroll, and Bill Johnston enjoy the reception.

Featuring the works of (in no particular order) Dee Carroll, Kathryn Cramer, Carolyn Vanderhoof, Meredith Johnston, Stephanie Ames, Cynthia Schira, Elena Borstein, Cheryl Raywood, Huberta Conway, Alison Weld, Elizabeth Hartwell, Maurya Teale and Linda Smyth, the show has been a local crowd-pleaser, as well as a great place to find unique hand-crafted gifts for the holiday season.

In addition to amazing photos and paintings, there are textile works, hand-painted ornaments, pottery and jewelry. Make a stop at the Depot Gallery part of your car-free low-budget trip to the Adirondacks - and come home with great gifts for your friends and family!

The Blue Galactic Diva Ascendant in the House of Mouse

Over Halloween, Artistic Director Shami McCormick traveled to Florida to join in some theatre classes at Rollins College. She recounts her activities and insights below. Managing Director Chris Casquilho wrote the awesome title for this post - you must read on to find out what it all means! -ed.

I just returned from a week away from the final throes of an Adirondack fall.  For the last seven days I have been in the land of the Great Mouse—Orlando, Florida.  I was there to spend a week at Rollins College where my sister and brother-in-law are faculty.  Jenny is the Department Chair of the Theatre and Dance Department and it is always interesting to be a fly on her wall!

Rollins is a small liberal arts college with a mighty Theatre department.  I participated in two courses: Theatre History (can you define Neo Classicism or explain why “Le Cid” was so controversial?) and a new course team taught between the Theatre and Physics departments (the week’s topic was the physicist Robert Feynman, portrayed by Matthew Broderick and Alan Alda in film and theatre respectively).

Being back in a classroom was both enlightening and invigorating.  Taking in-depth analytical looks at plays within the context of culture and history made me reexamine some of the choices I make as an Artistic Director.  When I look at creating a season there are several factors that come into play. Though I start with the merits of the text itself, I often find it difficult to do so without also thinking about our theatre’s size, resources, Board reaction, audience reaction, budget, casting and how many beds will be needed to house the actors! Going back into a seminar setting helped me focus my thoughts more securely on the theatrical literature at hand and think more critically about “why this play, at this time in this style”.

Indeed, the trip couldn’t have come at a better time as we are in the process of determining the Depot Theatre’s 2011 season which will be finalized this month.  The Depot’s Program Committee and I have been reading and discussing plays for several weeks as well as having conversations with Directors, artists and audience members.  One of the things we have looked at is how the Depot Theatre can best contribute to the theatrical field and serve the North Country.  As a professional company, our first obligation is to producing quality work and therefore we hire the best artists and staff to work on each project.  Our professional status also makes the Depot Theatre an attractive venue for playwrights and composers to debut new work.  Our winter play reading series has often focused on new work but producing new plays and musicals has not been a core part of our mission.   We hope to change that in 2011 and include new artistic voices alongside more recognizable ones so that you can see tomorrow’s classics in the making.

The experience at Rollins also suggested that the Depot Theatre provide more information to our audience about each play we produce.  “Why this play, at this time in this style?”  In 2011 you will find more information coming to you in emails from the Depot, in the playbill and in discussions with the Directors and artists associated with each show.

My trip to Florida also included a lecture by James Olmos (“Stand and Deliver”, “Battlestar Galactica” and the forthcoming “Green Lantern” amongst others).  It was a provocative and spirited discussion about cultural identification and the concept of America as a “melting pot” brought to life by Mr. Olmos’ insights as a Latino growing up in Los Angeles, his experiences as a baseball phenom, a musician, an actor and an activist.   Inspiring!

Other theatre related activities included talking to potential interns from the Theatre department (would you like to be a host family for a bright, energetic, user-friendly student for a few weeks this summer?)  I also got to see Stacy Norwood, one of our Equity Stage Managers who works at Universal Studios and at Orlando Shakespeare Theatre in Orlando during the winter.

I also made a visit to Sanibel (now relieved of many of its shells by yours truly) and was a [blue] alien galactic diva to my nephew’s astronaut for Halloween.  Several tropical smoothies later, I am back in the Adirondacks, but only for 24 hours.  I am off to New Hampshire and Northern Stage in White River Junction, VT to see a production of “The 39 Steps”!

1/2 Speed Fight Rehearsal

When fights are staged, they are staged step-by-step - also called "fight choreography." With the assistance of Wadhams, NY resident and head coach of the Champlain Valley Fencing Club, Paul Rossi, a series of small fights have been staged for GOODNIGHT DESDEMONA, GOOD MORNING JULIET. After the fights are choreographed, they are rehearsed, and then warmed-up before each performance. The "Fight Captain" is responsible for the accuracy and safety of the fights.

The fights are taken at 1/2 speed, then 3/4 speed, then full speed - for safety reasons.

Below, actor Marshall York (in blue) and actor/fight captain Patrick Toon rehearse a fight from GOODNIGHT DESDEMONA, GOOD MORNING JULIET at 1/2 speed. Most of the fights in this play are fairly comic and brief. Caroline Treadwell appears far right.



GOODNIGHT DESDEMONA, GOOD MORNING JULIET plays at the Depot Theatre in Westport, NY from September 10-19. Order tickets here.

Didn't there used to be six actors in this play?

Patrick Toon looks on as Sarah Hankins prepares her prop for deployment in rehearsal for GOODNIGHT DESDEMONA, GOOD MORNING JULIET which opens Friday, September 10 at the Depot Theatre.

Patrick clearly reflects on his approach while he tries to recollect whether there was a sixth member of the cast that has gone missing, or whether Sarah's prop is simply head and shoulders above the rest.

Playwright Michael Healey talks about THE DRAWER BOY

This great video features playwright Michael Healey describing some of his thoughts reflections and the background of THE DRAWER BOY - playing at the Depot Theatre August 27 - September 5, 2010. Depot production features John Christopher Jones, David Murray Jaffe, and Adam Petherbridge. Directed by Chris Clavelli.

Jean is distressing

Costumer Jean Brookman is wearing out a belt so our farmers in THE DRAWER BOY look like they've been out in the field for years. Similarly, Jean has been out to pasture for some time.

Jack not name, jack job!

The back of the bleachers in Spelling Bee are held up by two wagon brakes (as they're called in theatre lingo). New - they look like this:

The heavy duty ones are rated for a load of 800lbs each. After 12 performances of Spelling Bee, one of the brakes on the back of the bleachers did this during the first act:

The pit crew - consisting of Stage Manager Adam Petherbridge and Assistant Stage Manager Simon Quayle tackled it during the intermission, unbolted the bent brake and replaced it before act two started.

Entertainment: go live, or go home!

Atlas and Kelly hard at work

Running crew and stage management interns Atlas and Kelly are on top of it.

Someone with a notepad has probably counted the number of props and costume changes

Below are pictures of the prop tables and costume racks (keep in mind there are more costumes in the dressing room).

There's also a list of notes to help them keep track of what to do when.

This is all for FOUR ACTORS - who really never leave the stage except to fly through a costume change, pick up or drop a prop.

THE 39 STEPS is a mad, two-hour dash, and it's probably as funny backstage to watch as it is out front.

Press Release for The 39 Steps

The Depot Theatre’s production of “The 39 Steps” open Friday, July 23 in the renovated historic Westport, New York train depot. This comic thriller is a theatrical riff on the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film. The 39 Steps premiered in London in 2006 and won two Tony Awards for its Broadway run in 2008. It features four actors performing 150 different roles. The stage script was adapted by Patrick Barlow from the Hitchcock movie of the same name – which in turn was based on a spy-thriller by novelist John Buchan. The plot follows Richard Hannay as he sets out for a night of music hall entertainment only to be ensnared in a dangerous attempt to smuggle top-secret information out of the country.

Two actors play the leads – Patrick Toon as the dashing Hannay, and Margaret Loesser Robinson as the ingénue, Pamela. Two other veteran actors – Wynn Harmon and Michael DiLiberto – play the other 148 roles. The action takes place all over Scotland, England, in and around London – on trains and in out-of-the-way manors. The setting was condensed onto the cozy Depot stage by master set designer and former SUNY Plattsburgh Theatre Department chair, Tim Palkovic. Palkovic has designer a number of sets over the years at the Depot – notably Little Shop of Horrors, and most recently, Sherlock’s Last Case (2008). His designs are executed by SUNY Plattsburgh grad and Chazy native Kurtis Rivers – the technical director for the 2010 season at the Depot.

The Depot production is staged by former Depot actor-cum-director, Mark Shanahan. Shanahan last appeared at the Depot in “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” and has directed “The 39 Steps” twice before – at the Cape Playhouse in Massachusetts and the Alley Theater in Texas.

The stage version of “The 39 Steps” is a fast-paced spoof of the genre with hidden references to Hitchcock’s oeuvre throughout. Though the script plays more for laughs, the staging and plot keep the element of surprise that was integral to the original thriller.

“The 39 Steps” plays at the Depot Theatre in Westport, NY from July 23 through August 1 before touring to the Wood Theater in Glens Falls and the Lake Placid Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets to the Depot Theatre are available at depottheatre.org, or by calling 518-962-4449, and tickets to all shows are $22 each.

Tim Palkovic's Cool Set Drawings Part 2

Tim Palkovic, designer for The 39 Steps, makes such great set drawings. Come to the show at the Depot Theatre, and see how much of this you recognize!

Decoration for Upper Proscenium

Train Scene

Sightlines from Seat A9
(this is how we figure out where we can hide things where the audience can't see them)

"Mr. Memory"

Elevation Sketch and floorplan of "Hotel Scene"

39 Steps Rehearsing

The 39 Steps started rehearsal this week. Directed by Mark Shanahan and starring Patrick Toon, Margaret Loesser Robinson, Wynn Harmon and Michael DiLiberto. A comedy/thriller based on the Alfred Hitchcock film. The 39 Steps opens at the Depot Theatre in Westport on Friday, July 23rd.

Pictured above are Michael DiLiberto and Wynn Harmon as the Clowns.

Below are Margaret Loesser Robinson as Pamela, Patrick Toon as Hannay, and Director Mark Shanahan.

Kurtis makes us all look good

Kurtis Rivers (technical director) grinds a weld on a door frame for The 39 Steps. He's bringing the frames to rehearsal tomorrow so the actors can get used to using them in blocking. What we really like about this photo is that it really looks like work, which adds an air of legitimacy to the whole place. He's working where people can see him which is a big plus.

Rehearsal stills - Gene and Jeanne

Here are some of the early still shots from rehearsals of "What a Glorious Feeling."

Pictured are actors Hilary Rushford and James Patterson portraying Jeanne Coyne and Gene Kelly as they rehearse a dance for the film "Singin' in the Rain."

"What a Glorious Feeling" is a coproduction with Adirondack Theatre Festival and sponsored by Glens Falls National Bank.

Local sponsors at the Depot are Normandie Beach Club and the Westport Marina/Shipstore.com

You can purchase tickets to the Depot Theatre production at depottheatre.org

Preset

The following is an exchange between our stage management crew. It is a lampoon of the complexity of the preshow setup and the set changes at intermission.

Our staff is funny and we love them...

Due to the enormity of this production I have felt it necessary to create a preliminary preshow check list for B- and her team- At the Depot we will have to enlist the help of Box office and local towns folk to accomplish everything in an efficient manor. When we are in Glens falls I expect B to distribute task out and at the depot we will allow a free for all.

B's Preset and intermission check list:

Preshow:

Please bounce on the trampoline at least 12 times to ensure that the springs are "giving" correctly.
Open trap door and jump in- please secure harness each attempt
Raise and lower elevator 2 times at both the slow and hyper speed
Load glitter drop, bubble, fog, hazer and rain machines.
Check thunder sheet- please be sure to yell "thunder rolling" before each check so not to alarm anyone or allow them to think it's really thunder.
Feed all live animals at least 2 hrs prior compensating for "digestion" time.
Please call both to and from the on stage telephone.
Load the flash pots just before house open- (not more than 15 minutes)
This is a good times to remember that when working with pyrotechnics in small (ity bitty) confined spaces a fire extinguisher should always been in the general vicinity- please comfort all local business each night before the show that we are highly aware of the ramifications of our actions but are trying this anyways.

Tune the piano

Put on each set of dance shoes and make sure they don’t slip on the deck.

Intermission

Open trap doors and take out the zamboni - a once over should do it.

Load the flame thrower and free tee-shirt launchers.

While the audiences is getting liquored up place a giveaway blow horn under each seat.

Don’t forget that the actors vodka intravenous drips should be loaded prior to the end of act 1.

Re tune the piano.

6 minutes and 43 seconds left to the top of Act 2- get Krista into the sleeping bag and place her(in the bag obviously) center stage. Make sure her head is the LAST thing you set down- wouldn’t want a repeat of what happened in rehearsal.- Can’t grow actress’ on trees!

Set out the new dive tanks for each actor (Hilary’s is the only one that goes SL other than Kenney’s)

Preset Flippers with tanks.

Post show is a little more complicated due to the mechanisms with the dancing water fountain so I will work on that and get it out as soon as possible.

If you see anything I missed please feel free to add it cause frankly B doesn’t have too much to do for this show.

Thanks,
S

S,
You forgot about my live 3D hologram preset and take down as well as the live feed video camera. I'm disappointed. I thought you were more detailed than that. I'm glad I got a chance to look over it.

Best,
B

Depot teams up with Adirondack Theatre Festival

GLENS FALLS -- The Adirondack Theatre Festival has seen cutbacks in state funding, but it's not skimping on productions this summer.

In fact, the first show out of the gate, "What a Glorious Feeling," will run for four weeks instead of the usual two.

The nonprofit is figuring out how to do more with less, thanks to a partnership with a Westport theater company. (That's us! - ed.)

Read the rest of the article in the Glens Falls Post-Star...

Tim Palkovic's Preliminary Drawings for 39 Steps

Here's a really great peek at the earliest sketches of our production of 39 Steps from designer Tim Palkovic. The action of play takes place all over England - in trains and hotels, in the country-side - all portrayed on one tiny stage with 4 actors, some brilliant props and an energetic crew.




These little guys might be part of a shadow-play scene.



... as well as these little dancers - though Tim tells us they are can-can girls and that he has to adjust where the dresses are so they are accurate. He's a stickler for details!