It's Open!
And thank fortune for that. I don't know if I could have taken much more at that pace. Getting the tech together was a challenge - I ended up doing some 10 hour days toward the end, there. But we got it done, we got it up, and frankly, I'm damn proud of it.
The response has been fantastic so far. Lots of great feedback, lots of people asking all the questions I wanted them to ask, making the sort of comments I was hoping for. Not just "it was great" but really picking out the parts that I was most proud of. Comments about how we made it fresh, lots of great stuff about the fights, lots of chatter about the way we made the relationship between MacBeth and his wife the lynchpin of the show. Also lots of talk about the way we played 5.1 (the "crazy" Lady M scene) which, by going back to the first folio, we constructed in a way very different than most productions do. Lots of love for the direct audience address, which is the crux of my style. I'm pleased.
Did I mention we sold out opening night, and on Sunday we had to turn people away? We were almost full for the preview on Thursday!
Of course, I fully expect that the newspaper reviews will have nothing to say about any of that. They certainly will focus on the smallness of the stage, or the fact that someone's tie didn't match, or some other nitpicky thing that trivializes the whole production and ignores all the deeper issues we explored. Whatever. I mean, when the Willamette Week is ripping on the show before it even opens.....
"Bubbling cauldrons, roving forests and severed heads in the uncomfortably intimate Shoebox Theater. Can such things be?"
Well....no.
You see, we don't have a bubbling cauldron. We don't really show a severed head. And if you read the script, you'd know that the forest doesn't roam around - in fact, that's the same misunderstanding of the prophecy that MacBeth makes. And look how things turn out for him. Fact is, if you'd read our press release, or know ANYTHING about our company, you would know that our freaking MISSION STATEMENT says "The NWCTC is dedicated to performing great plays by great writers, placing the emphasis on text and authorial intention rather than directorial conception. By cutting back on stage pyrotechnics and limiting our use of set and costume, we focus the attention on the word and story that we try to tell."
And wow. Every time I sit in our theatre, I just feel, like, soooo uncomfortably intimate. What does that even mean? It's intimate. We LIKE that. There's only 30 seats. What makes that uncomfortable? (Uncomfortable for reviewers, I would imagine. We can see them.)
Shame they had to review on Saturday and Sunday, the two shows that Kendall missed. Alex did a great job filling in, but man, Kendall is amazing with a sword. He takes the fights from great to astounding. But that's okay. We still kicked ass.
I'm so proud of this cast. There's isn't a weak link among them - everyone plays their part excellently. Everyone worked so hard. And we never could have done it without David and Lauren - we threw a lot of tech at them in the last few days - and though it was hard, they got it done. And without Paul and Allison, the show would be nothing. They created a MacBeth and Lady MacBeth that noone should miss. And the witches! And....
I could go on forever.
Just come see the damn thing, ok?
The response has been fantastic so far. Lots of great feedback, lots of people asking all the questions I wanted them to ask, making the sort of comments I was hoping for. Not just "it was great" but really picking out the parts that I was most proud of. Comments about how we made it fresh, lots of great stuff about the fights, lots of chatter about the way we made the relationship between MacBeth and his wife the lynchpin of the show. Also lots of talk about the way we played 5.1 (the "crazy" Lady M scene) which, by going back to the first folio, we constructed in a way very different than most productions do. Lots of love for the direct audience address, which is the crux of my style. I'm pleased.
Did I mention we sold out opening night, and on Sunday we had to turn people away? We were almost full for the preview on Thursday!
Of course, I fully expect that the newspaper reviews will have nothing to say about any of that. They certainly will focus on the smallness of the stage, or the fact that someone's tie didn't match, or some other nitpicky thing that trivializes the whole production and ignores all the deeper issues we explored. Whatever. I mean, when the Willamette Week is ripping on the show before it even opens.....
"Bubbling cauldrons, roving forests and severed heads in the uncomfortably intimate Shoebox Theater. Can such things be?"
Well....no.
You see, we don't have a bubbling cauldron. We don't really show a severed head. And if you read the script, you'd know that the forest doesn't roam around - in fact, that's the same misunderstanding of the prophecy that MacBeth makes. And look how things turn out for him. Fact is, if you'd read our press release, or know ANYTHING about our company, you would know that our freaking MISSION STATEMENT says "The NWCTC is dedicated to performing great plays by great writers, placing the emphasis on text and authorial intention rather than directorial conception. By cutting back on stage pyrotechnics and limiting our use of set and costume, we focus the attention on the word and story that we try to tell."
And wow. Every time I sit in our theatre, I just feel, like, soooo uncomfortably intimate. What does that even mean? It's intimate. We LIKE that. There's only 30 seats. What makes that uncomfortable? (Uncomfortable for reviewers, I would imagine. We can see them.)
Shame they had to review on Saturday and Sunday, the two shows that Kendall missed. Alex did a great job filling in, but man, Kendall is amazing with a sword. He takes the fights from great to astounding. But that's okay. We still kicked ass.
I'm so proud of this cast. There's isn't a weak link among them - everyone plays their part excellently. Everyone worked so hard. And we never could have done it without David and Lauren - we threw a lot of tech at them in the last few days - and though it was hard, they got it done. And without Paul and Allison, the show would be nothing. They created a MacBeth and Lady MacBeth that noone should miss. And the witches! And....
I could go on forever.
Just come see the damn thing, ok?
posted by Brian at 6:22 PM
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