Sunday in the Park is officially open

What a whirlwind week it has been here in Door County, Wisconsin. From the top...

Last Sunday marked the closing of the second show of the season, Once a Ponzi Time. The acting company assists with what we in the theatre business call 'strike'. This is the process that involves completely taking down one set including the lights, the sound equipment, the props, cleaning the dressing rooms, etc. There's a lot to do. In the Peninsula Players world, another show is also put together immediately after strike ends. The show ended around 6 in the evening and we began tearing it down at 6:15. Most of the stage was cleared by 9pm and it was time for a pizza break. At that point in the evening, the actors are released from strike duty and the crew stays up until 4 something in the morning to get the next set up. Then, instead of having a complete day off, the actors get the morning and afternoon to themselves, then return to the theatre at 7pm for a spacing rehearsal, aka day 1 of tech. Now, in most houses in Chicago, tech is a 3-7 day process plus about a week or so of previews. Here, we have about a day and a half to tech the show before an audience comes and that first time an audience comes is considered our opening. Wednesday was our opening, but it really felt like we opened on Saturday.

Throughout the tech process, many things change including costumes and light cues and some staging to accommodate the overall picture. Sometimes designers and directors just don't know how something will look until it is physically before them. One of my costumes changed three times before finally settling on the one I am wearing in the show. Another thing that changes pretty often for me is hair. In this show, all actors portray a character in 1890's France and one in 1980's America. For wig designers, it is just easier to have all actors wear wigs for such a radical change in order for their designs to be exactly what they want. At the beginning of tech, I had a blonde wig for the 1890's look and then used my own hair in French braids for the 80's look. After one chunk of time on stage, the designer came back to me and said, how would you feel about using your own hair for the entire show. Now, think about this: the 1890's characters are replicas of the people found in Georges Seurat's painting and the point is to be as close to the painting image as possible. This is my character: Celeste.

Seated Celeste

Isn't she lovely gazing down at her pretty flowers with her parasol sitting next to her? My costume looks exactly like the painting. And now, so does my hair.

Post-show bang shot

When actors learn how to improvise, the first thing they are taught is 'Yes, and...'. You always say yes to what comes to you on stage and add the word 'and' to keep the momentum moving forward. I feel like actors do this in their real life as well. When the designer approached me about cutting my hair, I said 'yes, and... if I hate it, the hair will grow back by the time I get back to Chicago in September'. This scenario also demonstrates how actors, myself included, will go to any lengths for a role. Think about how many actors add or lose weight for a role, learn boxing to actually do their fight sequences, learn a special skill like playing the violin or dye their hair according to the requirements for the role. Now, I would not have been fired if I hadn't cut my bangs. It was completely my decision, but it also represented an opportunity for a change. And really, in the grand scheme of things, it is hair and nothing more. It will grow back. Complete disclosure, I love the bangs!

We 'opened' Wednesday which means double duty started for me on Thursday. I perform Sunday in the Park with George 6 days a week at night and rehearse Ken Ludwig's The Game's Afoot during the day. This next show takes place during the 1930's in America. I play a young starlet actress and am learning a mid-Atlantic accent for the role. We have about two and a half weeks to rehearse this show and then it goes up with the same strike/tech formula I just went through.

And now, it is time to enjoy the rest of my Day Off! Until next time.

Highlights from week 2

What a week it has been up here in Door County. As one of our interns put it, 'I need a day off to recover from my day off'. Over the weekend, we celebrated Christmas in July complete with Secret Santas and shenanigans. The theme of the evening-Color and Light- matched the show I am currently rehearsing, Sunday in the Park with George. The show is about Georges Suerat, a French Post-Impressionist painter, and the creation of his most famous work A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of Grand Jatte. Rather than blend colors to make different shades, he painted with dots of color.

Being the creative types that actors are, our decoration committee came up with the idea to put colored dots in the form of paper, theatre light gels, balloons, buttons, skittles, etc all around our lodge. It was beautiful! I didn't get a picture of the whole room, but the decorations on the table were also hanging in strands throughout the entire lodge in addition to what is pictured below.

Luminaries lighting the path to the lodge; Table decor; Christmas tree

The evening consisted of light snacks provided by the inner-chef members of the Pen Player company, an intern skit written by one of our resident actor/playwrights spoofing on A Christmas Carol, the opening of Christmas gifts and revealing of Secret Santas, the singing of the Peninsula Players anthem and finally dancing!

The wine rack my Secret Santa made for me by hand,

complete with the Pen Players double tree logo and

wood from the set of the first show this season

The next day, after sleeping in a tad, my roommate, one of the interns and I went down to the closest and cheapest laundromat around, about 40 minutes away. It was a day full of errands, maximizing shopping time while laundry was drying and finally Boxing Day with the company. We grilled out, swam at Nicolet Bay beach which is a part of Peninsula State Park and ended the evening with a very serious company volleyball game. I played in the last round and hit the ball approximately twice when I served. Go team!

One of the things we had to do Monday was pick up our projects from a local art studio called Hands On. You can paint ceramics, make glass tiles and artwork, make jewelry and do metal works, including learning the basics of welding. There's also a farm attached to this little property and we actually got to meet Henry the Rooster up close. He wanted to paint his own ceramics.

A few of us from the company went there last Friday on Adult Night. It means what it says. We brought some wine to sip and browsed the projects until we came up with what we all wanted to do: paint ceramics! I made a guac, salsa and cheese dip tray and a vase. 

The bursts of color on the vase, in the guac portion of the dip bowl as well as the outside of the entire dip bowl happened because I used a special kind of paint with glass crystals in it. When the ceramic is fired in the kiln, the glass explodes with color leaving what you see in the pictures. I can't wait to use both the vase and dip bowl AND to go back next Friday for Adult Night to do glass works. 

Oh and I'm rehearsing a play. :-) The show is coming along nicely. The entire thing is staged, so our rehearsals from here out will be focused on shaping and fine tuning and memorizing and fixing the brain farts. We start tech rehearsals next Monday, which means we add lights, costumes, sound and get to be on stage. While tech is the time we all dread going through, it is one of the most magical parts of the process.

On closing this post, I'll leave you with a recent and YUMMY discovery. I cheat with dairy as a lot of you know, but this actually tastes like the real deal without my stomach being angry with me. Until next time!

So this is Christmas

IN JULY! 

Here at Peninsula Players, we celebrate Christmas in July complete with Secret Santas and necessary gift-giving shenanigans. In order to get my first gift from my Secret Santa, I had to give everyone a high five at lunch time. A few people had my gifts throughout the cast and staff, so when I got to them, they held up the present instead of a high five. Tonight, in order to get my gift, I have to give a speech at Bar Night. Some of the best shenanigans included a public performance by Cher, several renditions of Christmas Carols, interpretive dancing, scavenger hunts, a murder mystery game as well as some word scrambles. All shenanigans are optional of course, but if you want your gift and don't mind being a little silly, we just say go for it! Sunday we will do a Christmas feast and the opening of presents after the show. There have even been committees established to take care of the decorations and food. The theme this year is AWESOME! I will post pictures when I can; it is all super secret until the party of course. Monday, the day off for the entire company, we will be doing a traditional post-Christmas Boxing Day full of beach time and BBQ-ing in Peninsula State Park.

So upon closing this little update, I would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas.

IN JULY! 

One of the many beautiful sunsets on our beach property.

We made it

My roommate and I made the trek up to Peninsula Players in Door County Wisconsin together this past Wendesday. My car was packed to the brim with all of our luggage and shoes and toiletries and bikes and... well you get the picture.

The lobby of my apartment

We had a good drive up despite the rain. The first day here was mostly a get-settled-and-oriented-to- your-surroundings type of day. We met a lot of company members and interns at dinner, then saw Once a Ponzi Time, the current show of the season on its opening night- a hilarious little farce written by a company member.

Thursday, we started the day off by making a trip to the Target that is 40 minutes away to pick up those pesky little toiletries we each forgot and some necessary room snacky-type things. Then it was off to our first rehearsal which consisted of a meet and greet, designer presentations and a read through of our little show, Sunday in the Park with George. I'm so humbled by the 'Chicago Greats' I get to work with this summer. Holy cow!

I'm going to be leading a pretty tough life these next couple months. I can see the water from my window and hear it as I go to sleep. The room I'm in is an attic/loft type space that is ginormous. We could throw a little dance party up here. It's got a certain charm to it. We live above the Costume Shop and in the same building as the Administrative Offices and Box Office. Here's the outside of our building.

The window above the double doors is ours.

Meals are served in our lodge, but most people eat outside in the Beer Garden at all times of the day, myself included. We have two fabulous cooks who spoil us to bits with the amazing food they make, theme meals for holidays and are making sure my gluten free needs are taken care of. I'm not the only gluten free person here, so that's nice too.

Our main Fourth of July celebration is happening tomorrow night, but yesterday, one of the company members read the Declaration of Independence aloud. We could hear the creaking of the pine trees as he read. I've never witnessed a reading of the document that gives us Americans the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is so well written. Even when studying American history in school, I never read the entire thing- which I'm not sure if it is because I cliff-noted it or we just only focused on the main portion. With the Fourth of July being my favorite holiday, this will certainly be one I will always remember. And it is a week long celebration here with fireworks at different little towns along the peninsula each night!

Today was our first music rehearsal. We have been eagerly anticipating this first music read through as it sets the tone for the whole process of making this show come alive. I got goosebumps as we ran the Act I finale. I love many a Sondheim show, but this music certainly has some of his richest harmonies and yet at the same time remains so simple in its structure. 

It is hard to put this place into words and pictures. I've tried taking pictures of the grounds at all times during the day and night, but the pictures just don't do it justice. Since we are a repertory company (meaning one show performs while the next one rehearses), we have a lot of time in the evenings to explore and have fun and eventually learn music and lines. I will leave you with the view from my room. Until next time!

My view of the Beer Garden with the bay behind it