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In tech week now on Millwood Outpost, a new play at Playwrights Local. We started rehearsals in February and are rapidly approaching the finished product!

The rehearsal process has been fun, but things really got interesting for me when one of the actors had to drop out and I jumped in to replace him. Memorizing a part in your own script is an eye-opening experience, providing a level of insight of which I was completely unaware. It’s been a very long time since I acted, so there’s an element of fear and exhilaration involved in getting on stage again, but I’ve been supported by a great cast, a great director, a great stage manager, and a great artistic director who was completely behind the decision.

As I wrote above, we’re now in tech so it’s great to see the final touches on the set come together alongside the lights and sound, which really deepen and complement the words of the play and enhance its meaning. A big element of the play is sound. I was very intrigued by numbers stations, which I’m not entirely sure how I stumbled on in the first place. Numbers stations, for those who don’t know, appear to be radio stations that broadcast repeatedly with minor variation. Many suspect that they are messaging systems for spies in the field. They have an eerie, loneliness to them, a sense of isolation in space and time. In this particular instance, the Lincolnshire Poacher. Using the wonderful voice of Juliette Regnier, I modified the Lincolnshire Poacher broadcast for the messaging of my play. I had a great deal of fun creating the soundscapes for the various radio interludes. I had a great deal of fun gathering many of the set pieces as well. I wanted a set design that was bare, to emphasize the drama and, of course, to make the play easy to stage.

I’m looking forward to the run and hoping to see many friendly faces in the audience!

Had my ten minute play Anima Animus workshopped online last night. You can hear the reading or download the script at http://www.tenminuteplayworkshop.com/. Also, if you’re a playwright and have a :10 minute play lying around you might consider joining in.

The process was fairly painless: a quick download and login of gotomeeting, a bit of an interview/introduction to get things started, and then off we went. Like other of the readings I’ve listened to there were technical glitches, this time in the vein of one reader’s computer crashing. Other times it has been connectivity issues. Nevertheless, I think Jen Whiting has really hit upon something that can and should be pursued: online readings.

Anima Animus is a play that I have not heard before. I doubt that I would have pursued having it read had this opportunity not presented itself. Now that I have heard it, even under less than ideal conditions, I will pursue getting this piece staged somewhere, and even have the idea of staging it three times in a row with the characters all switching roles after the play “re-sets.”