Opening January 11, 8:00; A FEW GOOD MEN written by Aaron Sorkin, creator of TV’s West Wing, at Curtain Call Theater, Latham, NY, till February 9th. REGIONAL PREMIERE-A RIVETING COURTROOM DRAMA
Keeping the audience on the edge of its seats, the plot skillfully unravels the path to justice as two lawyers fight to save a wrongfully imprisoned Marine. The heat is turned up on traditional, judicial thrillers with strong doses of military intrigue, sexual tension, and conflicting dilemmas of duty honor and the law.
I designed the set with minimal pieces. I started out with 3 tables and 12 chairs, during rehearsals we talked it down to using only 2 tables and 6 chairs and a stool. The show when rehearsing felt like musical chairs, but the limited space on stage felt better with less chairs. It moves better now that the chair movement has been choreographed and cleaned up. The show was also edited down with the design of the backdrop. Originally I had designed text and barbed wire on the back painting of the American flag. After finishing the painting of the flag itself, I felt that it would be cleaner to cut the other layers, and stick to just the flag, and I am happy with that decision. The show is clean, and crisp, from the uniforms to the text. The set needed to match those ideas.
If you can make it to the show, don’t miss it.
Home Made Theater Opens Snow Queen on December 7th Friday to a crowd of over 250. The audience loved the show, they were lively and receptive. They particularly enjoyed the cue cards displaying some lines to help their involvement in the performance. I designed the set based on an image of a cave, and added the feeling of it closing in with moving icicles and cave walls. At the start of the show 2 of the 3 icicle borders were barely in view, but by the point in the show where we are supposed to be the coldest, they had dropped 5 feet lower, and the 2 portal pieces upstage also closed in to feel more trapped. At one point grandma says how the ice is melting, at that point in the show, we move them back into their original position. They show had a few misses though from the crew. One scene was brought up a bit too soon; where the gate to the castle was not yet fully positioned. The audience had a view of the whole ‘gag machinery’ which made the gate open automatically. This show has many little gags. The flowers have to weep or die, that was done thanks to Mary Fran Hughes, and a mountain or volcano cracks open to expose a magic mirror, which also is a gag, that must crash or break into pieces. All gags ran low tech on wires, the lower the tech the easier for the running crew.
All together it is a good fun show for the whole family, for the holiday season, however you celebrate it.
Friday November 30th, Curtain Call Theater opens IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, RADIO SHOW, in Latham, NY. I designed the scenery and John Miller designed the lighting, with Direction from Phil Rice. This was a fun show from the beginning, always taken back to the holiday times every time I sat through rehearsal. I enjoy at times closing my eyes, and feel I am really there, with all the sound effects or foley that is backing up the great performances from the actors, as they change persona’s for each character portrayed. It feels as if there is a cast of dozens, but when I open my eyes, still it is only 5. With the voices for Mary and George being played by Erin Bulman, and Ben Katagiri; and the multiple roles played by Josh Mandel, Joanna Palladino, and Alexander Stern. This is a great show if you are looking to get in the holiday spirit. Playing till December 29th. Check out the pictures in my Gallery pages.