39 Steps: A Stile, Handcuffs on a Punchy Friday Night

Good Evening, 

Tonight was a good night. We are well into working on the second act of the play, and being about half way thru the process of rehearsal, we are all feeling a bit punchy. Much of that energy worked itself into much laughter and giggles tonight as we were reviewing scenes that we had worked on yesterday. 

TIme in reherasal is important, but at certain times, laughter is more important. As an actor I'm always in a strange place mid-way through, so as a director I can respect what it is they are all going through. One is trying to solidify the lines, remember where in the world they are supposed to move and be. And especially in this play, but really in all plays, trying to make moments as specific as possible. This play is physical and there are so many characters and so many moments, that it's a big challenge. These wonderful creatures (I dare not speak for them, but can mightily praise them) are doing a fantastic job! The play demands a great deal of them in terms of energy and creativity and they, if I do say so myself, have been meeting these challenges in a big way. We've got much work to do ahead of us. They know this and I know this. So, tonight as we approach the half-way point, doesn't it seem just right that we laugh so hard that we cry - at ourselves, the process and with each other. Yes, I say, yes! 

Tonight's laughter serves as a release. At least, for me it does. I know I'm punchy. As the wheels of time keep turning and more and more decisions have to be made, I long for the moments that release into joy. 

Over the next weeks as we finish our rehearsals and get to move into the theatre with the set and costumes and everything else, this world that is so alive right now, will grow and thrive and begin to take on a life of its own. I will revel in all these actors are doing and marvel at their energy and passion - even as I'm asking for more of it! 

And our final desire is to share this world with you and look forward to you joining in with your own laughter in...22 days.

- Bostin, Director

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39 Steps: Jed

Good Evening,

Jed Hancock-Brainerd, here. I am the last 1/4 of the acting crew on 39 Steps to post on the blog. I'm also the final member of Strange Attractor Theatre Co. to do so, the theatrical outfit Aram, Roblin, Rebecca, and myself make up. As Aram and Rebecca mentioned in previous posts, working on this play is a huge leap from the way we normally work together, as we tend to generate all the material we perform through improvisation. In our world if something isn't immediately fun it can be tossed out or morphed into something else. In the world of "straight" plays however, of which 39 Steps is a part, it is the actors', director, and designers' job to make everything on the page "work". This is a huge challenge with The 39 steps, where in addition to dialogue there are also physical bits that have become part of the DNA of the show. 

It's fairly rare, I think, that you find a "straight" play that has as strong a proposal for the physical world as it does for the verbal. These so-called "bits" in the play have become as popular, if not more so, than the snappy dialogue that this play employs. In many ways working on this play is akin to being asked to recreate a scene from a Marx brothers movie and to make it "work". It can be fun as the challenge for me is not to re-invent the wheel, but to allow all your own playfulness to shine through while executing the physical writing that is so much a part of this play. In this piece making the part my own has been and continues to be figuring out the timing, rhythm and breath necessary to make all these physical moments live in much the same way an actor would do with a piece of well known text. Once one of the moments is figured out you get to ride this crazy train on tracks that have been so well laid by the writer and team of actors that originally developed this piece six years ago. 

The final ingredient to this puzzle will of course be the audience and that's when we all get to really ride this roller coaster together. Look forward to seeing you all on the rails!

-j

See Jed and all the Strange Attractor folks in The 39 Steps in...23 Days!

39 Steps: 39 Stickers Contest!

Good Evening, 

I mentioned yesterday we had something fun in store for everyone. Today, we announce The 39 Steps Sticker Contest! 

Details: 

We have placed 39 stickers that look like this: 

all around Douglas and Juneau (Downtown and the Valley)! 

The FIRST person to find all 39 stickers will win a pair of season tickets! A value of up to $272!

There are other prizes as well:
The SECOND person to find all 39 stickers and submit them to the theatre will get a pair of tickets to any show of your choice this season!

Anyone else who finds all 39 stickers and submits them to the theatre will get two free tickets to The 39 Steps!

If you can't find all 39 stickers, that's okay...if you find at least 15 stickers, you will get a voucher for a 2 for 1 ticket for The 39 Steps! 

To win, you must submit (by emailing or coming by the theatre during office hours) a list of the locations and pictures of yourself near the stickers to win.

In a few days, we will start releasing clues to the locations via our Facebook and Twitter accounts. Look for them! 

THE CHASE IS ON!

GO!

And we look forward to seeing the winners in...24 days! 

39 Steps: Getting the word out...

Good Evening, 

So far, this blog has been pretty centered on the rehearsal/tech aspects of putting this show. No show is complete, however, without many wheels turning behind the scenes. I'm hopeful that we can highlight some of those here over the coming weeks. 

Beyond productions meetings, sets being built, walls being painted and the actors working through their parts to figure out the why's and the wherefore's, there is an office a buzz with activity. Since The 39 Steps is the first show of the season, there are season ticket brochures being printed and sent, orders coming in, program ads being sold and much more. Much of that happens throughout the year as well, but there's always the beginning of the season push. 

In addition to all of that, we've been meeting on how to best market the show and begin to think about how to engage the audience and others in getting the word out. Since I am not only the director of 39 Steps, but also new on staff here at the theatre and working in areas of development and marketing, I'll look to share some of that process with you here. 

Tune in tomorrow for an announcement on one such activity we've come up with that will be fun and get everyone excited for The 39 Steps in...25 days! 

39 Steps: Roblin

Good Evening, 

Today we have a post from Roblin Gray Davis, who is acting in the show. Enjoy Roblin's post and see all he's doing and more on stage in...27 days! 

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What a pleasure it has beeeeen! (Practicing my Standard British dialect there.) There is little as enjoyable as the creativity demanded of the rehearsal process. Playing alongside fellow performer funny man, Jed Hancock-Brainerd, I have the grand challenge of playing a multiplicity of characters with a variety of dialects. The two of us together form a dynamic superclown duo supporting the fantastical story of The 39 Steps. This demands constant playfulness, a grand willingness to try and fail, and a sensitive but resilient spirit. It is great fun to discover the heart of playmaking - le jeu, or pleasure and joy - in the simple act of playing together as an ensemble in the rehearsal hall. It is especially pleasurable to be working on a show originally created by actor-creators like myself but with the full support of Perseverance Theatre behind it all.

It is the end of the second week of rehearsals and we've continued to dive headfirst - starting today into the second act. And phenomenally made it a quarter of the way through thanks to the methodical and ever positive leadership of our director, Bostin, and the kind efficiency of our stage manager, Nikki. The first act of this show is a doozy and the second act just keeps on going. I can't wait until we start jumping around on the stage in costume! But until then, living inside our imaginations in the black box of the rehearsal hall and finding the space where all of our imaginations meet each other is the key. Yours truly, Roblin

39 Steps: Peek in Rehearsals

Good Evening, 

It's a sneak peek into rehearsals with some pictures ---

See the full gallery on Posterous

And an update on Akiko and here fantastic scenic painting job --

And last, after rehearsal Art Rotch (Artistic Director for Perseverance and The 39 Steps Lighting Designer), Kathleen Harper (Production Mangaer and Props Master) and I did some some testing on the "shadow play" --- testing the fabric we received, the props Kathleen had mocked up (that's also her in the picture) and the light source Art was thinking about using. It's all a go and we were all pretty pleased with the results.

A great day all around...gonna be exciting to see how all these elements come together in...28 days... 

39 Steps: Dialects

Good Evening, 

Working on this show is extremely fun. Part of what makes this show so fun is that four actors take on the entire canon of characters in Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps. From London to Scotland, many different characters appear and it requires swift characterization in body and speech. 

So, working with our dialect coach, Christina Apathy, is a key part of this process for the actors. It's amazing to see how the voice affects a character. We decided to start with what would be "right" about a dialect, but with this kind of show - a satire / send-up - we will surely be playing with what everyone sounds like and finding the extremes in terms of how that specific character speaks. 

In the coming weeks, I'll have the actors talk more specifically about their dialect process and if, and how, it has impactd the way they worked on the show. 

Enjoy this video of a recent dialect session and get yourself ready to see if you can disguinish who is who and where is where on stage in...29 days. 

[also a fun announcemnet coming next Wednesday about a fun contest we'll be doing...stay tuned]

39_Steps_Dialect_Work.MOV Watch on Posterous