FOC-Blog

December 3, 2007: This is the point at which I should post something profound about artistic fulfillment, lessons learned, new colleagues found, etc.  However, since I had to work the “real” job today, and then go to a choir rehearsal (for Lessons & Carols on the 16th at St. Matthew’s) after having stayed up too late after last night’s strike, I really need to get a good night’s sleep!

Suffice to say, our four performances of Tartuffe over two weekends were a challenging but rewarding experience on so many levels.  I can’t thank enough all of those who took part, whether onstage, offstage, backstage, or elsewhere, but I’ll try – tomorrow!

November 30, 2007:  Our opening weekend performances went well, and we’ve got another brush-up rehearsal tonight for the 2nd weekend cast.  Normally, double-casting would alternate the casts on each weekend, but due to pre-existing travel plans by cast members, we’ve done it a bit differently this time.

“In any case” (a Tartuffe line), we’re looking forward to another weekend, which will by definition have a different dynamic than the first weekend’s cast.  It has been enjoyable to watch the two casts, since in both cases (two roles are double-cast, Dorine and Mariane) the performers deliver considerably different portrayals, each of which works entirely on its own terms.  This has the added benefit of changing the show for the rest of the cast, since even within the guidelines of everyone doing essentially the same stage movement, etc., reactions to things are bound to be different when one is reacting to a different actor in a scene.

All of this is to say that I’m personally looking forward to having another two chances to explore new things in my character, and I’m sure I speak for the rest of the cast.

November 22, Thanksgiving Day: One of the things that characterize smaller opera companies and small theatre companies in general, whether they’re completely volunteer-based, professional, or somewhere in-between, is the many hats that most of the creative persons involved tend to wear. 

In our case, our Orgon, bass-baritone Blair Eig, is also our technical director, and has spent a good part of his Thanksgiving Day in the company of our stage director, Deb Niezgoda, acquiring and/or building new platforms and a stair unit to supplement those available in our performing space, Bethesda Presbyterian Church.

Our Elmire, mezzo-soprano Andrea Schewe, is a professional costume designer whose work is published by Simplicity.  She has created her own costume for this show as well as coordinating costumes for the rest of us from Montgomery College and Imagination Stage, ably assisted by one of our Dorines, soprano Denise Young, who has been busy during this same period costuming various productions with other companies, including a last-minute rescue for Deb Niezgoda’s Elixir of Love at CUA.

Company member Kiersten Drumm-Whitehead arranged wigs for the men in the cast, having someone style them before bringing them by the church.

Our director Deb Niezgoda has procured most of the props seen onstage, as well as arranging to borrow the gorgeous furniture in Orgon’s salon. 

Meanwhile, your faithful Tartuffe has tried to keep the website up-to-date along with posting to the blog.  It was also my job to attempt to cobble together a logical rehearsal schedule around the conflicts of a bunch of busy singers.  I’ve also spent the odd hours printing “legal documents” on parchment-looking paper, creating mail to be received at the Pernelle household (including using sealing wax for the first time, which I’ve found is really fun).  I’ve also risked my online reputation by purchasing a cat-o-nine “scourge” on eBay. 

Some company members have volunteered to manage the house for the performances.

And everyone involved has pitched in with bringing various props and helping assemble and strike the set, since we’ll be sharing the space with the BPC congregation around our weekend performance schedule.

While it’s nice working at places like Washington National Opera, where everyone has a very specific job to do (and nobody would dare cross into someone else’s domain), this “everybody pitch in” style of production makes it feel like we’re all much more invested in the final product.  Anyway, these are some of the things for which I’m thankful on this fourth Thursday of November, 2007!

Monday, November 19:  We’re in the home-stretch!  Our tech week began last night as we worked our way through [most of] the opera, with both casts and conductor and performance pianist all together in the same room for the first time!

It’s always exciting (and disorienting) when all the technical elements start coming together.  Some of the cast chose to be in costume, since last night was also a chance for Andrea Schewe (who’s not only our wonderful Elmire but is also coordinating the costumes with Denise Young, one of our Dorines) to fit people.  We also had the lovely furniture provided by Mike Smith (whose wonderful collection of period pieces has graced the stage of many Elden Street Players productions) adding to the sense of period.  Of course we all work hard to create a characterization from the inside out (or whatever other acting terminology you like to use), but it’s a delight to see how putting on the character’s outer trappings can take a performance up to the next level, especially when that character can move around in the appropriate physical environment.

The newest wrinkle added last night was having our conductor, Shawn Burke-Storer and our performance pianist, James Dennis together.  As with most new elements, this was both reassuring (it’s a complex score, and being able to rely on cues when needed is a good thing) and unsettling, since Shawn and James were getting used to each other, while still getting used to us.

Last night we had the furniture set up on the stage in the church’s Fellowship Hall, but starting tonight we’ll be in the sanctuary, where the performances will take place.  This involves putting up the platforms that create a playing area extending from the altar area of the sanctuary.  While this is, of course, yet another new element, at least it also means we’ll be in our home for the remainder of tech week and the run of performances. 

I’ve taken off from work this week in order to take care of last-minute details: a few more props are still needed, more emails must be sent to drum up an audience, and last but not least, I need to be well-rested to (a) get over this nasty cold and (b) have time for further study and character work.

Ah the joys of opera on a shoe-string budget!

That’s our new nickname for A View from the Bridge, the William Bolcom opera that had the last performance of its run at Washington National Opera this evening.  Your BlogMeister was in the chorus and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, rather intense though it was.

It so happens that John Del Carlo, who played the lawyer Alfieri in View, was the original Tartuffe in 1980.  I had only a brief opportunity to chat with him about the experience, but he said he had fond memories of the production, and told me about various other cast members and what they’re doing these days.  Susan Quittmeyer, who sang Elmire, is now married to James Morris.  Our own Elmire Andrea Schewe knew Susan at Manhattan School of Music.  Thomas Hammons, the Orgon, sings at the Met along with John DC.

Tonight’s performance started late because of technical difficulties which resulted in there being no projections on the big background screens.  So no atmospheric pictures of the titular Brooklyn Bridge, the docks, the tenements, etc.  Still, as evocative as those are, the real atmosphere is onstage, with such a strong cast and effective direction.

My favorite moment in the show is the scene with the tenor aria, “New York Lights.”  A couple of weeks ago during a discussion of Don Giovanni and the tenor aria “Dalla sua pace” being lovely, but essentially grinding the story to a halt, a tenor colleague of mine said, “Yes, kind of like ‘New York Lights.’ “  I had to respectfully beg to differ, and suggested that he probably had only listened to the aria without watching what’s happening on stage.  As Rodolpho explains to Eddie and Catherine about the beauty of the views at home but how they don’t compare to the New York lights, we see Catherine watching Rodolpho with rapt attention, while Eddie watches her just as intently, powerless to stop the growing attachment.

Anyway, it’s unlikely tonight’s audience knew they weren’t getting the full visuals as conceived as part of the original production, nor would they have missed them, given the intensity of the performances.  They went wild at the curtain calls, and the composer took a curtain call to rousing applause from the stage and the audience.

Since tomorrow starts tech week for Tartuffe, I’d better get to bed to rest up and get over this cold.  But first I think I’ll treat myself to a brew from the fridge. . .

I had intended to launch this blog early in the rehearsal period for Tartuffe.  You know what they say about “good intentions.”  So here we are just over a week from opening night and I’m finally posting my first entry.

Of course, I had also intended to music-direct this show and wield a baton during the performances, rather than a scourge (more about that later).  However a lack of baritones at the auditions caused Deb Niezgoda and me to rethink things.  Given the number of talented women who sang for us, we were in the enviable position of being able to double-cast most of the women’s roles (though we had to bid adieu to one of our Elmire’s, Eve, due to family commitments).

So I reluctantly agreed to take on the title role, right around the time Blair Eig agreed to tackle the significantly-longer role of Orgon.  Interestingly, Orgon is the role the playwright Moliere played in performances of his work.

It has been an interesting experience, to say the least, to oversee music rehearsals, as well as musical details during staging rehearsals, and then switch hats to sing Tartuffe.  Add to the mix my responsibility for scheduling rehearsals, rehearsal venues, rehearsal pianists, etc. and you’ll understand why I was glad to be required to shave off my ever-whitening beard to achieve period authenticity in the role.

I really must sign off now and get back to work.  I’ll put a link to this blog on the website and see what comes of it. . .