"She Stoops" Will Conquer the Historic Loring-Greenough House - Nov. 10 & 11!!

Beyond any doubt, the historic Loring-Greenough House will truly be a most appropriate venue for the next PlaYces production, She Stoops to Conquer.  This delightful play is a comedy of manners first performed in London in 1773.  From the get-go, it was a huge hit, and it's now a classic of both stage and screen.  

The Loring-Greenough House was originally built in 1760 as a country mansion for the wealthy Commodore Joshua Loring. It certainly will be exciting to see the PlaYces performance in the old place which has striking similarities to "Liberty Hall," the home of Mr. Hardcastle, and the setting of many scenes of the play.  Indeed, the wealthy countryman Hardcastle can aptly be compared to the Commodore Loring, who also was an ex-military man and quite the mannerly gentleman.  Added to all this is the fact that Loring was a Loyalist during the American Revolution, and fled his beloved JP home in 1774 - just a year after She Stoops was first performed.  Exiled in London, the Commodore and his family may very well have seen one of the first productions of the play in the 1770s!

There are tales of playful 18th century spirits cavorting in the Loring-Greenugh House, and we're sure that, if they have any choice in the matter, they will absolutely enjoy both nights of this captivating production - as we're sure you will too!!

Contributed by Ed Stanley, President of the Loring-Greenough House and Jamaica plain Tuesday Club and PlaYces partner.

www.loring-greenough.org

Taylor House Bed and Breakfast is excited to host "The Haunting of Hill House" October 21 and 22.  Taylor House was originally built around 1853 as a "summer house" off Jamaica Pond for the George Taylor family on Beacon Hill.  Though many of our guests at the B&B have asked if the house itself is haunted, I'd have to say it is more of a "happy house" since 1995 when we turned it back into a single family home from five apartments with lowered ceilings and paneled walls.  One of my guests dreamed that she saw someone hanging from the parlor chandelier.  I assured her this chandelier was added in the past 10 years and I'd never seen anything hanging from it, but the mirror in the wardrobe of that room has displayed my grandmother's face on her birthday from time to time.

Dave Elliott and Daryl Bichel, Innkeepers
www.TaylorHouse.com

It’s so strange to be writing a blog entry that doesn’t consist of hormonal angst peppered with meaningful song lyrics and the occasional rant against a homework assignment that just seemed SO UNFAIR.  Blogs have apparently matured since my high school self obsessed over who did or didn’t dance with me at the annual Snow Ball. 

Although--now that I think on it, the more “Baby with the Bathwater” seems to have in common with my prolific livejournaling self of yore.  Hormonal angst?  Check!  My character, Helen, even says “estrogen” and “testosterone” within the first scene.  Gender confusion, messy relationships, and inappropriate seductions abound--admittedly, my high school drama never got much farther than “does he think I’m pretty or not,” but the comparison can still be made (I’m sure I thought I was as compelling as “Baby with the Bathwater”). 

Meaningful song lyrics?  Never will you hear “A Bicycle Built for Two” the same way again. And don’t get me started on “Happy Birthday” or the theme song to the Mickey Mouse Club.  Sure, they’re no *N SYNC ballad, but Christopher Durang knows what he’s doing with his choice of songs.

And, yes, there are even lengthy rants against homework assignments.  Daisy rips apart an assignment on Gulliver’s Travels --something anybody who has ever faced an essay about Brobdingnag or Lilliput has no doubt fantasized about.

Despite the comparisons, I think you’ll be pleased to know that “Baby with the Bathwater” is decidedly much more entertaining, clever, intense, and all around more enjoyable than I ever was in high school; therefore, I’ll spare you the link to my high school livejournal.  You’ll thank me.  But if you come see “Baby with the Bathwater” this Friday or Saturday, you’ll thank me even more!

Contributed by Anne Colpitts, cast member, Baby with the Bathwater (PlaYces)

The UFORGE gang was very excited to be approached by Divine Stage Works for this play reading series.  The opportunity to work with them and additional members in our community like the Taylor House B&B and the Loring-Greenough House, only helps validate our organization's mission.  We were anxious to learn more of everyone's involvement and how the machine that is Divine Stage Works will work to bring this innovative concept to the public.  After many email exchanges and Google calendar requests, it was finally time to meet as group of partners and collaborators.  

One thing UFORGE knows is that opportunities to mingle business to business can be limited since most of our time is...well, running the business!  So this meet & greet was something everyone was looking forward to, and as expected everyone was extremely enthusiastic about the series and having the chance to mingle with each other.  

We were impressed with Divine Stage Works' thoughtful approach on the selection of each play for our "environments".  UFORGE was a bit concerned as the rights to the original play presented to us were unavailable.  Everyone knew that material based on art and galleries was limited.  Without missing a beat Divine Stage Works presented us with Christopher Durang's, "Baby with the Bathwater", a hysterical and satirical dark comedy about a dysfunctional family.  This selection, worked perfectly since the gallery's August assignment exhibit is "Family Masterpiece" which focuses on creative collaborations.  Coincidence?  Probably!

To add to the gallery's collaborative nature, the UFORGE team discussed the notion of an interactive wall to set the "stage" for the show.  The idea, called "Make.Art.Now.", was presented to our collaborators, Divine Stage Works, and well received.  We knew and loved that it would involve the public and give them the opportunity to create the characters and vignettes noted in Durang's "Baby." It had to happen fast, as we only had two days to execute the mission. Successfully, we managed to find an array of vintage frames, paper and various drawing materials in time for Jamaica Plain's 1st Thursday Art Stroll (our guinea pigs! Muhahaha!).  

At first, the public had no idea what to think of the blank papered walls and asking themselves, "Is this the art?".  As the staff began to mingle and chat about the interactive wall and the series, the "Make.Art.Now." began to take form.  JP is full of talent, including our local mailman, George who graciously took the lead and started things off.  As people circulated throughout the night, the fun was apparent.  For us, it was awesome to see a creative space like ours have so many people "playing" and expressing themselves through art.  The resulting images are both playful and hilarious -- a true testament to the spirit of our surrounding arts community.  We definitely look forward to seeing the results each week and during "Baby With the Bathwater" as we replenish the materials for new artists to leave their mark!

Contributed by Brian Crete, UFORGE Gallery Creative Director and Gallery Administrator and PlaYces Partner

www.uforgegallery.com

Being an English teacher, I’ve read a lot of plays focusing on a lot of different things: imagery, symbolism, subtext, characterization, etc.  But – this being my first time as the prop designer for a show – this is thus the first time that I have read a play with an eye to the props.  It has really been a fascinating experience, because there is so much more to think about than meets the eye. 

     Every stage direction becomes loaded:

     Someone blows her nose.  Ok, that means tissues.  Or, wait, maybe a handkerchief? Which one would fit this character?  What would it say about her? Maybe Lenny would use a handkerchief in its quaint old fashioned way as a tie to the past.  But Meg? Definitely a tissue: disposable, no muss, no fuss.

     See?  Each prop gains its own meaning.  I’ve gotten to think about not only the symbolism of each item the sisters touch, but also about the milieu in which they exist and the zeitgeist which they reveal. 

     Being the prop designer has really allowed me to understand so much more about what goes into putting on a play than simply being an actor (when I was Rebecca Nurse in The Crucible a few years ago, one night someone handed me a cane to walk with and I was like, oh, ok, thanks – never considering the work that went into obtaining that cane). 

     It’s been great collaborating with the production team and cast when determining what a certain prop would look like and why, or simply how to obtain a certain prop.  The trickiest part is definitely thinking about getting the food, which has to be replaced nightly (except for the fake ice cubes I made, which came out pretty good if I do say so myself!).

     So, I invite you, as you sit and enjoy Crimes of the Heart, before you let your disbelief become too suspended, to consider as you watch a character pull a matchbook out of her purse, or another spoon oatmeal into her mouth, that these moments are in part provided by your humble obtainer of the common property of the company.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I.

Submitted by Barbara Hoffmann, Crimes Props Designer

Phew! Life as a PR girl is never dull or boring. In fact, it's exciting. You can't be in this business if you can't handle change or go with the flow.  Things never go as planned cuz ya know, life ain't perfect. Nor did the original plan for our Divine Stage Works Crimes of the Heart party.  Last year's Father of the Bride party was such a success at Club Cafe we wanted to do something similar but a little closer to 'home' (Jamaica Plain). 

The party planning didn't start out as smoothly as my mom's dancing skills were last night ;)  We originally planned the event at a venue on the outskirts of Jamaica Plain.  Long story short, a week before our event we found out that the bar had double booked us and we could no longer hold our event there.  Boooo.  So I sprang into action mode (on a Sunday at 9am which isn't easy for me). I contacted Peyton, found a new venue (Costello's!) http://costellostavern.com/]  within the hour and done done done!

Costello's has been nothing but amazingly helpful and accomodating to us.  Over communicating (in a good way), offering us great food, staying in our budget and allowing us to take over the neighborhood bar that Costello's is with our signature drink menu we made up!  Many fellow theatre friends from the Footlight Club http://www.footlight.org/index.shtml  joined us as did our partners, friends and family (my mumise showed up!).  About 35 people showed up and everyone had a great time, ate good food and sipped on "Hurrican Camille or Meg's Bourbon Sidecar" cocktails while in the background I jacked up the jukebox with Elton John and the Jackson 5.  We also included the opportunity for people to buy tickets at a discount. And we did REALLY well!  We sold about 25 tickets. Yay!  The night ended with my mom and me dancing and having a little too much fun...if you know what I mean.  All in all a great success! Cheers to everyone who came and to Costello's!

xo,
Liz

One of the things that I really love about this production is that I get to fake smoke in it!!  Yes. I'm really actually excited, and for a whole host of reasons: one of which is that while I like being onstage, my hands seem to hate it and always rebel by getting fidgety. But they feel like the world is their oyster holding that fake cig.  So, check! That problem is solved.  Now I just have to work on the "arm thing" Peyton told me about...essentially it's sorta the human equivalent to T-Rex arms.  I guess I keep my elbows kinda locked in at my sides and just flap my forearms about ineffectually, just like a T-Rex minus the clawed hands. Yep. It looks as cool as it sounds. 

Anyway, I digress. Fake smoking is awesome reason number 2: I don't smoke in real life, have never done it and get kinda complainy when people get smoke on me. Nor have I ever done it onstage, but I think it looks so cool in movies and onstage. I know it is not PC to say, but notice I wrote in movies/plays.  My feelings for it in real life are much more 'not so much', because of the awful smoky smell I mentioned and the yellow teeth thing; I own a Sonicare, the BMW of toothbrushes, and stained teeth are its nemesis. 

Reason number 3: I wrote that I could fake smoke on my resume--my acting resume not my work one (jobs don't consider it a 'skill"), even though I had never done it before!  Why you ask?? Because I knew I would be so fantastic at it, and I AM!!!  But feel free to come to the show and form your own opinion; however, if you think I'm terrible, keep your opinions to yourself because I can't have you ruining my creative process!!!!  I'm kidding naturally, feel free to tell any out of state family all about it.

Submitted by Brooke Casanova, Crimes Cast Member ("Meg Magrath")

So, I am sitting at home sick with a cold, but thankful I do not have rehearsal tonight so I can rest up for tomorrow’s work-through of the first part of Crimes (off book-eek)! Things have been going really well over the last few weeks and despite some really bad weather, the process has been seamless. We had a great table work session where we dug really deep into the world of the play, the issues and the characters, along with a great dialect rehearsal over Peyton’s apartment in Cambridge one Sunday, which was a lot of fun and really helpful.

 This past Monday we got fitted for some costume pieces as well – very 70’s! At this point in the game, we have already blocked the entire show and did our first work through of each scene. We ran entire scenes without stopping, then sat down and discussed the scene and where we needed to be and what we needed to do, then we worked through it again, but with start/stopping.

  Our rehearsal schedule is pretty short, but I feel like we are getting so much done – and everybody has been a pleasure to work with! The three sisters are working so hard and really developing these great relationships that are so natural, as well as the other characters.  As for me, the role of Doc is proving to be a pleasure and a challenge! The role is not one I would typically play so I find great interest in finding new ways in every rehearsal to build upon the character. The challenge lies in the fact that he is only in a few scenes. But so much has to be brought across in them, and the audience really needs understand and feel the relationships on the stage and the story that is being told between the lines.

Well I am going to go take care of this cold, but I will be checking in again soon to let you all know how the process is going! Take Care

- Matthew

Submitted by Matthew Finn, Crimes of the Heart Cast Member ("Doc")

Four evenings a week, I enter the cluttered, eclectic, slightly worn down kitchen of the Magrath sisters in Hazlehurst, Mississippi, the scene of Crimes of the Heart.  There is a stove, a refrigerator into which incriminating evidence gets thrown and a kitchen table and chairs where the bonds of family are tested over lemonade, a bowl of oatmeal, and a frosting laden birthday cake.  Of course, if I believe only what my eyes are capable of seeing, there is nothing but blue tape on the floor to mark the room’s dimensions and appliances as well as a few wooden chairs.  On the surface, I appear to be in an empty performance hall.  Add six talented actors, one intelligent and experienced director and two dedicated stage managers to the mix and perceptions start to change.  Things are no longer as they seem.  Our creative minds and inexhaustible imaginations transport us back to the wake of Hurricane Camille, where fallen debris and broken off shingles aren’t the only damage that need to be assessed and repaired by this family.

            Eventually, with the help of carpenters, sound experts, lighting designers, costume and makeup artists and one properties master with a lot on her plate, our empty space becomes the reality of the 1970’s south.  For our efforts to be truly realized though, we count on the audience to suspend their disbelief and travel with us to this place and time where gender roles are changing, societal norms are being tested and the only skeletons meant to leave the closet are those that decorate a home in late October.  To ignore the limitless possibilities of art and the imagination, to remain firmly grounded in the here and now, to be confined by the four walls of a performance space—these are “crimes” and as you’ll soon see, far too much must already be accounted for.

Posted by Adam Musto, Crimes of the Heart Assistant Stage Manager

As always, the discussion started over a couple of drinks...how will this image broadcast the show's appropriate themes, how will it intrigue our audience, etc.  Photographer Matt McKee, Divine Publicity Manager Liz Laneri, Artistic Associate Elissa Jordan and I were a bit stumped at first on this one for "Crimes," going back and forth between two concepts - funky, dark collage or photo based.  We made our decision after meeting #2 and a little research on Chekhov's Three Sisters.  The shoot was scheduled, and we invited the crew to Matt McKee's wonderland of a studio to capture our image.  Maureen Festa costumed the Magrath sisters (played by Amanda Kelly, Brooke Casanova, and Cheryl Bellows) in their 70s garb; Make-Up/Hair Designer Catherine Moniz expertly slapped on blue eye shadow and teased up Babe's blond hair while Matt, Liz, and I began playing with layout - background, font style, tag line, color, etc.  The postcard image was coming to life then and there-  the studio was alive with magic and collective brilliance.  We began the shoot.  The girls were posed, and Matt did his thing, while I helped the Magrath sisters battle that threatening "storm," raging overhead.  All of this, too, with one pink gun and a bottle of Beam.  It was an awesome night, and I am so proud of what we captured.   

To learn more about Matt McKee and his services, visit www.mckeephotography.com