Covid Couldn't Rain On Our Parade!

 My first time back to New York since the fall of 2019 was a thrilling and emotional experience. We had tickets to see the two big revivals, FUNNY GIRL starring Beanie Feldstein and THE MUSIC MAN starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster.  We flew out two days after the Tony Awards. Just before leaving, an email  landed in my inbox from Broadway.com announcing that Hugh Jackman was out with Covid.  Fighting down frustration, disappointment and a little irritation that no one appeared to have masked at the Tony's, I decided to hold on to our mezzanine tickets anyway.  Then, in the airport, another alert popped up on our phones.  Beanie Feldstein was out with Covid.  Boom. Covid strikes again. Only a couple of weeks earlier,  a local production of OUR TOWN, to which I had been invited, closed because too many cast members had tested positive. 

Directors at every level from high school to Broadway have faced the same challenges and the same questions - Will the show go on? Can the show go on? The Covid cloud hung over my entire theatre season. Mask mandates.  Quarantines. Testing. My season theme  mocked me.  "A Season of New Beginnings"  seemed like a good idea in the spring of '21 when we mistakenly expected that we would be returning to normal. Nothing has been normal in the theatre except the constant anxiety that has accompanied any and all plans, schedules and performances. 

So when we got the news about Beanie and Hugh, it was an all too familiar feeling. The surprising silver lining, however, was the electric excitement that came with watching the standbys step into these iconic roles - ready, willing and able. As Fanny Brice, Julie Benko was extraordinary.  Life was imitating art as she belted out "I'm the greatest star, I am by far, but no one knows it." They do now! 

As Professor Harold Hill, Max Clayton was charismatic, charming and utterly engaging. He held his own with the superb Sutton Foster.  Thanks to audience cancelations,  our mezzanine tickets got upgraded to house row H center orchestra seats. We  clapped along to Seventy Six Trombones and cheered wildly at the curtain call. 

I felt a kinship with the Broadway theatre community at both of these performances.  I felt a surge of emotion, bordering on catharsis, as I entered the Winter Garden and August Wilson houses after three long years.  I realized how much I had missed Broadway. And perhaps more importantly, how much I love the theatre. Why this came as a surprise, I don't know. But when you come so close to losing what you love, there is a renewed appreciation for its place in your life. 

This has been a long tough road.  Like all theatre directors and educators, I'm desperately weary. But I'm also deeply proud to be a part of a community that has proven itself to be incredibly resilient, determined,  creative and supportive of one another. Bravo to the standbys, swings and understudies who have kept the stage lights on with their talent, professionalism and heart.  I learned an important lesson on this return to New York:  The show must go on! 

I Ain't Down Yet...But...

I find myself struggling during this open-ended time of waiting during the Pandemic of COVID-19.  I'm a highly organized person. As a director and theatre educator, schedules, deadlines and calendars rule.  I am also a problem solver.  I don't give up easily.  In high school, I was Molly in The Unsinkable Molly Brown.  My mantra is "I ain't down yet." But right now all bets are off. What happens when the show can't go on?

I remember a line from the play, I Never Saw Another Butterfly, the true story that bears witness to the children interned in Terezin during the Holocaust.  Irena, the teacher who inspires and motivates her students to write poetry and draw pictures about their experience, says to young Raja, "waiting days are long days."

These are long days.  I am waiting, like everyone, for this to be over. But that is not likely to happen any time soon.  Given the reality, what does that mean for my students who have rehearsed and were ready to perform their spring musical, Into the Woods in April?  At what point do I holler uncle?
I'm walking a fine line between tenacity and insanity.

We are not returning to school for the rest of the year. I have given up on the notion that we will be able to perform for a live audience. So what choices are left?   I've envisioned everything from the actors coming back when it is safe - maybe late summer  or even over Thanksgiving - performing with clear face shields. The cast members could apply their makeup, do their hair, dress in costume and warm up at home.  But is that even feasible?

There are a million dominoes. The set is installed but nothing has been teched. No light cues have been programmed.  Does this make sense? Or would we be better off figuring out a way to do an audio recording of the cast?  These students deserve some kind of "finished product," don't they?
Or is this just another casualty of COVID-19.  Another loss for the class of 2020?

I don't know. Will the answers come? At some point will the answer be obvious? Will it be dictated to me? Somebody, anybody, tell me what to do!?

Unwinding the show will have its own set of complications - set, props, costume returns. Negotiating contracts. Retrieving musical scripts and scores. What else?  I don't know what I don't know.
But what will the emotional toll be on those kids?

Waiting to mount the show some time in the future without any idea of when that might be seems unreasonable. Reassembling a cast that would then include graduates,  reinstalling the set, re-assembling the costumes.... at what expense? Is that even possible?

I always say, "safety first." This is the ultimate, "heads up!" call.
We cannot do the show until it is safe to do so.  That line is clear.
How long to hold on to a full scale production is not so clear. When do you cut your losses, regroup and create something lasting in a different way?

Waiting days are indeed long days.  I ain't down yet...but it's feeling like the iceberg is on the horizon.
I'm willing to row. But where is the life boat?

It's the Little Things

I have often been asked what differentiates a good production from a great one. There are many things that elevate a show to greatness of course. But I believe every element of a great production can be reduced to these two principles: attention to detail and finding the moments.

In educational theatre, directors are forced to wear many hats often leading them to feeling overwhelmed.  The nuances can be missed and artistic choices can take a back seat to the bigger demands of the job.  After all, getting a group of emotionally-charged adolescents focused and working together as a team while mounting a full scale production on a tight budget is a tall order. 

But the things that bring a show to the next level are also the fun things that bring about satisfaction with the end product and leave an audience recognizing the difference but not being able to pinpoint exactly what it was that made it so.  

So for what its worth, here are my top ten ways to take your show to the next level: 

1. Pick good material. It will never betray you.

2. Know the style of your show and honor it. Keep it consistent throughout. Beware of modern   casualness creeping in to body language and diction. 

3. If the script inherently calls for a dialect - use it.  Some plays are written with a rhythm and cadence that is driven by regional, ethnic, or cultural dialects. Guys and Dolls without the "Runyonese" loses the humor and kills the punchline.  Fiddler on the Roof  without the Yiddish inflection loses the melody.  "Right? Of Course right!"

4. Pay attention to punctuation...especially ellipses...

5. Analyze the text with your actors. There is nothing worse than students not understanding what they are saying or why they are doing what they are doing. The "aha" moment when a character's motivation becomes clear to the actor is thrilling. I have been known to take hours working over just a few lines in order for my actors to understand every word and subtext before getting them on their feet. If done well, a scene will practically block itself.  I'm a big fan of the  Atlantic Theatre Company's Practical Handbook for the Actor technique myself.

6.  Pay attention to pacing. Know when to pick up the tempo and when to slow it down. Know when to pause. Let the moment happen. Don't rush it. 

7.  Create interesting stage pictures that communicate the tension, emotion, atmosphere or meaning  of the moment. 

8.  Beware of cleverness for cleverness sake. Don't give in to the cheap laugh or clap trap. Schtick is schtick. Leave to the stand ups.

9. Whatever the budget, put the money where they can see it. Production values are important. Know how fabric works under light. Understand color, texture, line, and form. Don't let an actor go on stage looking bad. Shoes make the costume. Sorry. I know character shoes are the standard go-to for most musicals. Attention to detail in shoes not only gives the show a "look" - it will help your actors get in to character.  The old adage, accessories make the outfit is as true in costuming as in real life.

10. Remember it's a process. Young actors need to season. It takes time.