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.