Mindy Eschedor (music director) and I began with Doug Scholz-Carlson, who plays "Jason". Doug has appeared in our productions of MAN OF LA MANCHA and EUROPERA, along with many Rough Cuts works-in-progress. He also serves as Artistic Director of the Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona, where I saw him this summer in the title role of HENRY V, played with a wonderful sense of humanity and compassion. Doug sounded great as we did a little table work, sung through his songs, and discussed his character -- an architect, designing his life and that of his partner Claire. We had a great conversation about apparent contradictions in the score about Jason's character, with Doug embracing the complexity and depth that are revealed when we all grapple with ambiguity. We took a little field trip to view a miniature patio/retreat/garden, tucked away near a local apartment building -- a potentially useful visual reference point for Jason's beautiful song of yearning, "Favorite Places".
Max Wojtanowicz arrived in the afternoon. He plays "Warren", an artist's apprentice with a desire to be more visible to the world. Max spoke of Warren's journey of arrival -- asserting his vision and deciding to a truly make a go of it, and how his unexpected friendship with Deb (to be played by Jill Anna Ponasik) triggers a bold statement of farewell to the old and an embrace of the new. The artistic journey is of special interest to Max, as he has expanded beyond performing to include writing and producing (FRUIT FLY and SHELLY BACHBERG PRESENTS: HOW HELEN KELLER AND ANNE FRANK FREED THE SLAVES: THE MUSICAL). We all agreed that we'll want to avoid the typical "musical theater" vocal and staging conventions (which have their place in other pieces and venues), exploring how to tell this story within the Nautilus aesthetic of "emotional realism" instead of "theatrical naturalism".Earlier in the day I spoke again with Victoria Petrovich (scenic and costume designer) out in California (she's Head of Design Faculty at UC San Diego) and Jon Hegge (technical director), all of us figuring out how to turn Victoria's beautiful vision of transparent windows and walls into a real-life set designed to fit into our little studio. We'll have more on that in later musings, which will include commentary from the cast and production crew. Tomorrow, we meet with Kersten Rodau, and are then joined by Doug for an afternoon of duets!
As of today, we are 80% toward our fundraising goal at Indiegogo (http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ordinary-days/x/4403375); that campaign ends Friday at midnight. Please help us reach 100% by making a donation -- every little bit helps! And after a pre-sale period for donors and dedicated patrons, tickets are now on sale for the general public, with discounts for students, seniors, and Lowertown residents. Check out http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/455244 for more information and to purchase your tickets -- it's going to be a wonderful little show!
