Hey, all, happy New Year! Here’s the followup to yesterday’s post about ACT ONE’s Festival 2012. As I’d mentioned, one highlight for me of the Festival was directing Will Eno’s Tragedy: a tragedy. This off-kilter comedy plunked us into a television news studio as our local team narrated the quiet, everyday events of the last night of the world. Maybe? The rehearsal process and run with my hilarious and wildly intelligent cast was pure joy from start to finish. Below, you’ll see Peter Josephson as Frank in the Studio; Robert Macadaeg as John in the Field; Chris Leon as Michael, Legal Advisor; Joe Berardi as The Witness; and Leslie Trentalange as Constance at the Home:
In addition to my cast, I loved collaborating with Stephanie Nugent, who served as set and lighting designer for this show and ran the lights and sound; Michael Kimball, who created an astonishing soundscape for the world’s end, and also welcomed me into his home studio to record a raucous half-hour of “radio broadcast” for our pre-show; and Michele Macadaeg, costume designer extraordinaire and impeccable human being. We also had the good fortune of a sponsorship for this production from The Atticus Group.
Jeanné McCartin wasn’t certain she loved the Tragedy script, but she gave kind kudos to our production. And she gave me and ACT ONE a huge boost at the end of the year when she made note of my new role as Associate Director in her assessment of top Seacoast arts stories of 2012. You’ll find us listed in the category “Major Moves.”
Once Festival ended, Stephanie and I turned immediately to the task of presenting a full reading of Make Sure It’s Me at the Portsmouth Public Library on November 14th. This play addresses the problem of blast-induced Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in the American military and it will be the centerpiece of a performance and community outreach project produced by ACT ONE in the spring and early summer of 2013. Our reading was phenomenally received and included several cast members who will be joining us for the full production at WEST in June. A big thanks to everyone who participated and attended, including representatives of the NH National Guard and the Krempels Center! To read more about the series of MSIM/nh events, click here.
As I write this, Stephanie and I are working on many aspects of the MSIM/nh project and also looking towards Festival 2013. Stay tuned for updates, and drop me an email if you want more information or to join the ACT ONE mailing list. I wish you all a marvelous 2013 and look forward to seeing you around the state and at WEST as our activities unfold!