Often, over the years, as I am stopped on the streets of
Shawnee and hounded for autographs and selfies, I am asked “How do you possibly
find time to direct and star in all of those award winning plays at Shawnee
Little Theater??” I realize in the span of a few minutes I couldn’t possibly
tell them everything that goes into the vast creative process. But it has made
me think about this- generally speaking, most people don’t realize the amount
of time and effort that goes into selecting and mounting a production at a community
theatre. They see the finished product and are pleased, and they know that some
rehearsal went into it. But when you share with them just how much, they are
often shocked. So I thought I would share the process with my masses of adoring
fans. I will go into detail what has happened so far in the effort to bring the
newest production at Shawnee Little Theatre to life. Strap in kids!
It all
started about a year ago. I serve on the Board of Directors at Shawnee Little
Theatre, and I have often taken an active role in the selections of upcoming
seasons. In early spring of 2015, we were frantically trying to put together
the New Season for 2015-2016. We had most of the titles settled, yet we lacked
a final show. It needed to be vast, epic, sprawling if you will. It needed to
tie the season together, and push us into the following year. We had thrown out
many titles, but nothing was sticking. Then finally, at a board meeting, our
fine SLT President said “I’ve had a bit of inspiration. What
about…..Spamalot??” (For those of you who do not know, Spamalot is a musical
based on the film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”.)
We all thought it was a
magnificent idea! Rebecca even offered to direct said musical- with one caveat.
“This is such a big show- I really need someone to help me….” And as she said
this, her eyes, in slow motion, turned to me. You see, 8 years prior, Rebecca
and I teamed up to co-direct one of the greatest shows ever performed in the
state of Oklahoma- “Urinetown”. It was a great experience- we worked really
well together, and in the process created magic. “Urinetown” was such a good
experience and fun show that, if given the opportunity, I would do the show
again. I can’t say that for most of the shows that I’ve been in.
So with our
previous history in mind, I told her that I would think it over and let her
know as soon as possible. But first , I wanted to see the show. Even though
“Spamalot” had played on Broadway years earlier and had toured, I had actually
never seen it. I went home, and over the next few days, I may or may not have
watched an illegally recorded production of it on a popular video website. And
I laughed, and laughed, and laughed! I called Rebecca and said- “I’m in”. And
the award winning duo of Bartley and Fry (or Fry and Bartley, depending on who
you ask) were reunited, much to the delight of theatre audiences everywhere.
Once a
show is decided, the next thing that must be done is to procure the rights of
performance. Every play or musical is has their rights controlled by a
publisher- Samuel French, MTI, etc. And if you want to perform that show, you
have to pay the publisher royalties for each performance. And, what most people
don’t realize, is that there are strict copyright laws- when you purchase the
rights, you are required to do the show as it is written. Often we’ll get
complaints about a show’s mature language- why couldn’t you just cut those
nasty words? Because- if the publisher finds out we have altered a script
without getting their permission, we could be restricted from ever doing one of
their shows again. So it is kind of a big deal.
Anyhoo- we set about requesting
performance rights to “Spamalot”, and we were happy that we got a quick
response- Yes!!
After
rights have been settled, then it is customary for a director (or in this case
directors), to begin assembling their production team. Over the years I have
learned that the key to success as a director is to surround yourself with
talented people, and then let them do their job. It makes the director’s job
much easier, and makes the director look brilliant! So Rebecca and I began discussing
in earnest who we would want involved in our production team. Since “Spamalot”
is a musical, one of the first things we needed to do was get a good musical
director. This is always tough- in every musical I have ever directed, I have
had a hard time getting a good musical director. Not because there aren’t any-
I have relationships with a plethora of outstanding musicians. But because they
are so talented, these are often very busy people, who usually don’t have time
to commit to such a long rehearsal period. I’ve been lucky in the past- I’ve
had the good fortune of getting some wonderful musical directors. Rebecca and I
put together a list of the usual suspects, and we quickly decided on one name-
Sherri Thompson, a local music teacher in one of our community’s grade schools.
We had both known Sherri for years, and were excited about the possibility of
working with a musician of her caliber. We made the offer early in the summer
of 2015, and waited patiently for her answer. After a brief waiting period, she
agreed, and we were set at musical director! (Yes, it meant that her husband
would have to be involved also, but sometimes concessions have to be made……) Now
that was set, we began piecing together the rest of our team- of course a
musical needs a top-notch choreographer. Once again, we had several
possibilities, but we finally settled on young Trevor Mastin, a local lad who
is attempting to make a career of theatre. He’s performed in, and directed and
choreographed numerous shows, so we felt supremely confident in our choice. And
to hold all of these lunatics together, you need a strong Stage Manager-
someone who organizes many of the little details, helps run rehearsals, and
controls the show backstage during the performances. We found another youngster,
Bethany McWilliams, a recent graduate of a local university, to take on the
herculean task of putting up with me. Luckily, Bethany has worked with me
before, and knows all too well that sometimes extremely talented people can
also be quite volatile at times. So by the end of the summer, we had our team.
Avengers Assembled! And we began preparing in earnest for the next phase, which
would be the casting of the show.
To be continued…….
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