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Photo courtesy of Northlight Theatre
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Arrived in
Seattle
after the longest cross-country trip since Lewis and Clark. Because my given name is William H. Jones but I work under the name BJ Jones the airport security folks decided to shake me down “Crash”-style, as my ticket didn’t match my passport. Afterwards I joshed the guy who frisked me, asking if he wanted my phone number, but evidently with the advent of Homeland Security we lost our collective sense of humor. Hey I was the one who got bumped off of two flights and spent 8 hours in O’Hare! I recommend that by the way, for Saddam’s punishment. (Or Cheney’s.)
It’s great to finally be in
Seattle
where Laurel Garcia the company manager met me at the airport and got a big hug from me. Kate Godman our casting director has been amazing and supportive, and put together a wonderful casting session for me, from which we found a brilliant cast. Richard Ziman and Michael David Edwards are terrific actors and great guys who read beautifully together today at the first read thru. One of my mentors once said that casting was 80% of the job and if that’s true, we are well on our way. The whole staff has been terrific and I feel right at home.
The script is funny and as audacious as all Richard Dresser’s work can be, but I was thrilled that the cast sensed the nuances that are also there in the script and how moving it can be. Dresser writes with the authority of a seasoned playwright who knows how to structure his “music” strictly and the actors have to be able to hear that music, to play through the line and not go fishing for extraneous laughs. Our team senses this, and is rigorous in their approach to the material.
We also got a chance to talk with some of the board and subscribers about the play and its context in our world, showed them our set and talked about lighting and costumes. It’s all very exciting and fresh. The first day of rehearsal is always rich with promise and tinged with nervous excitement and this day was no different, and all in the best of ways.
Michael Edwards by the way is a new father as of last week and comes to us starry eyed with love of his new daughter Mirren. It’s such a great time for him and we are all thrilled.
By the way Eleanor the uber-volunteer, plied us with food and laughed long and loud during the first read thru, and assures us that she doesn’t always do that. Good to hear but Richard III is not a barrel of laughs. I’ll take what I can get though, and I was pleased to hear her enjoying Mr. Dresser’s work.
What a joy to be here in one of
America
’s great theatrical capitals. It’s an honor to work for Bart Sher, and with his extraordinary team.
OK off to bed. I bought some flowers for Wendy our stage manager. It’s a ritual for me since stage management is the hardest job in show business and they deserve our affection and appreciation. I am all about caring for your stage manager; can you tell I am an actor? I start blocking the play tomorrow, always a blast, but it takes a lot of energy. Good thing there’s a lot of coffee in this town.
More anon….
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