An Unfortunate Unexpected Ending

[An email that we just sent out...]

To the cast and crew of Sons of the Revolution:

It is with great sadness that we have come to the decision not to proceed with PRT’s August production of SOTR.

Steve and I have had some long and painful conversations – just the two of us, and with PRT President John Goring and Producer Chuck Dent. The four of us have come to the conclusion that we are better off to stop now. Many factors contributed to this decision, and we thought we would help shed some light on things:

1. PRT admits it had bitten off a little more than it could chew by committing to a Fringe Show in June, their annual Summer Shorts in July, and then a full production in August.
2. Chuck was not able to be as hands-on a producer as originally planned because of an unforeseen change in his work schedule. Steve and I were happy to jump in and do what we could to make the show a success. But even with the two of us and Chad trying to handle the producing end, we were not able to accomplish all that needed to be done.
3. Chad had to leave the show partially because of unforeseen personal matters as well as a general uneasiness as he saw the show rolling faster and faster down the hill without many important components in place. While his departure was the unfortunate straw that broke the camel’s back, we want to be very clear that we feel no ill will towards him for the decision he had to make. He had already given us some great ideas and presented an amazing visual concept for the show. He still wants to be involved with this play’s future, and we absolutely hope that happens.
4. Steve and I also feel partially responsible in that we know we have written an extremely dense, challenging play that may be deemed unproducible by some. (At least without a Broadway-level budget.) Another play may have been able to overcome these hurdles, but we didn’t believe this one could. And we did not want to see a mad scramble to throw together a slapdash production. That would have been a disservice to us as writers and to the actors and artistic directors. So, we are taking this opportunity to go back to the drawing board and see if we can somehow remedy this.

We cannot say thank you enough to all of you for so generously giving your time and commitment to this play. We are deeply sorry for any inconvenience the cancellation may cause you as far as work schedules and other projects. Sons of the Revolution is not dead, it is just taking a much-needed break to come back even stronger.

To the cast: Avis, John B, Brett, Patrick, John C, Dennis, Josh, Annie, Eric, Jeff, Gina, Jocelyn, John W (and yes, even you, Bill): We couldn’t have been more pleased with each and every one of you. We give you our word that you will be contacted when the play re-emerges and is ready to go up again. If we have our way, all 14 of you will be seen in this show.

To the crew members who gave so much for so little: Chad, Debbie, Michael, Catherine, Tommy, Jason, Allen, Cathy, and Joan: We are still amazed that you believed enough in our work to offer your expertise in making the show a success. We will always treasure our short time together, and hope that someday we are able to work with you again.

And to Chuck, John, and PRT, we offer our thanks for their optimism and support that they and Playwrights’ Round Table have shown us in this project and others over the years.

We still don’t feel that these words can adequately express our gratitude and how much we appreciate each and every one of you. You have shown us much love and we are truly humbled.

David & Steve

P.S. We plan to keep our (geeky) blog about the show; you can always check back every now and then to see if there are any developments: http://sonsoftherevolution.blogspot.com/

Update 2005-07-01

Last night we had a great rehearsal where we just talked about some of the issues in the play. Chad asked for me & Steve to speak to the cast to help them understand where we got the idea for the play and what were our reasons for writing it.

Well, you know how Steve and I hate to talk about ourselves... but we gave everybody the low-down and slowly the dialogue started to grow into very lively discussions about the many issues in the play - gun control, power struggles with real and perceived weapons, pacificism, human nature, the death penalty, the agendizing of war, historical context, Manifest Destiny, societal ownership and responsibility, the Civil Rights movement... I think everyone enjoyed it - I thought it was just great, excellent, wonderful (for me personally anyway). We all did not agree, but we all didn't disagree, we were starting to think as a company and see deeper into one another.

A wonderful reveletory moment was when Annie told us that she does in fact own firearms. And her challenge with her character of the 2nd Legal Aide (Diana) is to speak her monologue where she talks about an incident where she recklessly and impulsively reaches for her gun. Annie's background is that of great responsibility and respect for firearms. And even though there are the careless ones out there (Diana probably falls into that category), they are the ones who make the news and give the responsible gun owners a bad name. A very interesting POV I did not expect. (And now the cast is going to be really nice to Annie, too...)

Welcome Eric Kuritsky to the cast in the role of the Rabbi! I have had the pleasure of working with Eric's wife Natalie last year in The 1940's Radio Hour (Bay Street Players, directed by SOTR actor Jeff Lindberg and featuring Josh Geoghagan, also in SOTR). I first saw both of them on stage about a decade ago at the now-defunct Acting Studio on South Orange Avenue in a production of Paul Rudnick's Jeffrey. They were both very funny (Eric was very convincing as a queen - he played the role done by Patrick Stewart in the film version) and I enjoyed it immensely. (WHITLOCK! That's the actor's name that he and I couldn't think of! Steve Whitlock!)

Sadly, we only had a full cast for a brief moment: Bill Welter, who read so wonderfully for the Revolutionary War Captain/Korean War Vet must leave our production because he has a trip planned to visit his son up in Boston during the middle of our run. Yes, it's a shame. Bill, we hardly knew ye... but it was nice to almost work with you. We'll just have to wait until next time.

After we continued with 'sectioning' the play into rehearsable chunks, we finished getting costume measurements from folks, and Chad went over the rehearsal schedule for the next two weeks. Afterwards, some of us went and hung out at Houlihan's. Of course Jeff was the hungriest of us all and after our food took forever, he was the last one to get served. Poor baby! But hanging with him, Josh, JavaJohn (that's what I call John Bateman because during Into The Woods at VCC he was never without a cup of coffee in his hand), Eric, Chad, and Steve was fun, and I especially liked getting to know Patrick and John W. Steve called me as we were driving home and said, "We have a really cool cast!" I concurred. We definitely look forward to hanging with them some more. And the others, too! Since I already know many of the people involved, I am dying to get to know Gina and Jocelyn better, as they are still strangers to me.

...and Mike Nichols will be our Water Boy...

Chad has in fact secured the assistance of his friend / Naked Orange Theatre co-hort David Lee to help us with coordinating costumes.

I originally thought he was kidding... It was a little crazy to imagine one of Orlando's highest profile and respected actor/director/playwrights pulling costumes for us. Talk about overqualified! But it is in fact true. Add him to the list. The list of artistic staff which still just blows me away that we have working to make our little [!] play a success.

What's next? Elaine Stritch will be playing a silent rock in the corner of the stage?

Update 2005-06-28

An email from Allen: "I have completed a set of baseline drawings for the theater. Both a ground plan and a centerline section. The only data missing is circuit layout. I am hoping to get into the space during one of the days that it is dark in July to map out the circuits and update everything. I have prints ready for Tommy (and Chad if he would like a set) as well as a set to give back to the theater for future users. I have a rough list of cues for the first act complete and working thru the second. I'm looking forward to the designer's meeting......"

Allen is da bomb for volunteering to do this work so thoroughly and for giving something back to the theatre (since this is going to be the biggest thing that the space has seen to date).

And, we also are pleased to announce our props mistress: Joan Cohen! She comes to us with credits all over Central Florida, not the least of which is the Wekiva Players whom she has already gotten to agree to lend us any props we may need. I first met Joan when she helped with our backstage work, props, and box office for Baby Jane! the musical comedy last year (produced by The Hat Box Revue) It is so nice to see her shining face again and have her on board with this great team.

Tonight's first read-through was wonderful. The talent we have in this show is top-notch, and I am so proud to have each and every one of these actors involved. The actors names are now proudly displayed in the sidebar. I will be sending them invitations to join in this blog as soon as we are sent a cast email list.

Tomorrow night: EDITING THE SCRIPT WITH CHAD. This is where we will be doing our last re-write so that there won't be any concerns about changes during the production. I'm already trying to prepare myself to let go of things I won't necessarily want to... it's all a part of the process...

But with the actors involved, this is where it starts getting REALLY EXCITING for me. (Even when I have to read the part of the Rabbi in arguably my worst accent: Eastern European.)

So Near And Yet So Far

The show is almost set and ready to go.

The cast is almost there. Chad is still contacting a couple of folks to come in and read to fill roles that couldn't be filled by the auditioners. I look forward to posting the complete cast list when it is complete. Hopefully we will have all in place for Tuesday's first read-through.

The production team is almost there. I ran into a friend at the Orlando Gay Chorus concert on Sunday, and after I told her about the show, she said, "Well if you need help with props or anything..." I thought. Duh. She has done props before. And, yes, in fact, Chad does want a separate props person. This dear wonderful woman was emailed the props list last night and I am fairly sure I will have a commitment from her in a short time.

Costuming still taunts us! Through Debbie's connections at The Rep, their costume manager Virginia has graciously offered to open up their shop to us. That is wonderful, amazing, incredible... but we still need a person to actually pull and coordinate the things. The previously mentioned costumer is unable to do it, and once again it looks like fate may be intervening. A friend-of-a-friend (whom I had met only briefly earlier in the year) called me to say she read the script and fell in LOVE with it. She was so disappointed she couldn't audition for the show due to a conflicting commitment. But she loved the script so much, she read it FIVE times. (I don't think I have read it five times in the last couple of years!) And she has done some costume work in the past with the groups up in the Sanford-Leesburg-Mt. Dora area. With Chad's & Chuck's OK, I have sent her off the info, we'll see what she says. Again, the dream is to have everything in place and a complete COMPANY assembled at the first reading on Tuesday. Cross everything you have two of!

The biggest news is that at our urging, it looks like the run of the show is now going to be THREE WEEKENDS! Yay! In that small theatre which only hold 70 people, we (meaning Steve, myself, and Chad) believe that four extra performances will give more people a chance to see the work and it will also generate additional revenue. So now the performance dates will be:

August 11-12-13-14

August 18-19-20-21

August 25-26-27-28

Thursdays-Saturdays @ 8pm, Sundays @ 2pm.

Again this is all subject to change. Something tells me that 8/11 could be a tech night/invited dress. I have to firm that up before I change the dates at the header of the blog.

And speaking of the blog header, I look forward to replacing it with our poster design which is going to be quite fabulous. Chad had been nurturing his pop-art idea and the original "movie-drama-poster" concept has been replaced with something more abstract and consistent with the overall vision of the show. Steve did up a dummy-design, Cathy is now researching and in the process of making it into a reality.

The budget continues to evolve, and it looks like Chuck is working it out (with the generous approval of PRT President John Goring) that PRT may share the profits of the show with the volunteer staff as well as fortifying the small stipend we are already offering the actors. That is, of course, contingent on the show making any profit at all, and we are fairly optimistic it will. This isn't carved in stone 100% yet. More definites to come later.

That's all for now! More news as it is available!

Update 2005-06-16

Allen did a walk-through with the folks at the Studio Theater last night and he was pleased to find more instruments there than he recalled working in the space for Fringe 2003. There is a concern about enough cabling, but the folks at the theater have said they are willing to work with us. They are very pleased to have us putting on the space's first "full size" production.

Our potential costumer has a script and will be letting us know.

Callbacks for actors are tonight at the Lakewood Center. Some stragglers and add-ons will also be there. I plan to keep out of the way!

We are in the process of adjusting the budget for various reasons - as we are acquiring trade-out advertising and favors for sets, costumes, and printing, we are able to beef up the areas where there were expenses we didn't foresee. Chuck is hoping to work out something to pay the actors a little more than we planned. I applaud that and wholeheartedly hope that it works out!

New 150-Word "Blurb"

A first draft of a press release has been composed by Michael. It includes this new 150-word blurb by Steve, tweaked by everybody:

"Sons of the Revolution is a fictional account of an ex-Marine who is found guilty of a violent act of terrorism against the U. S. government. This soldier’s lawyer is committed to saving his client from the death penalty. During the sentencing phase of the trial, it is revealed that the soldier's family lineage has been involved in every major American conflict throughout the country’s history. Soon, the spirits of the soldier’s ancestors are interacting with the present day and affecting the final stages of the trial. This compelling new drama explores violence and its impact on American history, culture, and lives. Written by David Almeida and Stephen Miller (Leaving Neverland, Whipping Wally Wonker), and directed by Chad Lewis (Shakespeare's R & J, PIE-FACE! The Adventures of Anita Bryant), this play marks the first full production for Playwright’s Round Table, an organization that for seven years has been committed to developing new local works of theatre."

Chad is now finding inspiration from Tommy's set design: Tommy's intention was to paint the backdrop with a very 'pop-art' version of the American flag. Chad is looking to take the pop-art theme and build on it in both the costuming and the poster design. To which David thinks to himself - WOW! THIS ISN'T JUST GOING TO BE A PLAY, IT'S GOING TO BE ART! Steve did up a preliminary idea, and Cathy is already on board with creating something fabulous. Chad has contacted our to-be-named-hopeful costume designer and told her about his idea. If anyone can get somebody interested in a project and acquire their buy-in and commitment, it's Chad... I am further optimistic about getting this costume person.

Did you hear about my faux pas (among several) at Sunday's auditions? Somebody was running late, so I grabbed my phone to call them and find out where the heck they were. Before I got an answer, I realized Debbie was already making that call. Duh. Right. That's what the Stage Manager kinda does, isn't it? Sorry, I'm not used to that. With Utmost, we've always had to do everything ourselves - that's what producing for Fringe will get ya. All I know is that I have been more excited and thrilled about auditions than I can recall in a long time. I so jazzed and looking forward to callbacks! The actor in me is dying to see who will be the chosen ones to bring this show to life. After that I'll need to calm down. And remember we have people who know what they're doing - and it's probably best to get the hell out of their way.

Still moving...

No peace unto the wicked.

Back at the grindstone... I am actively wooing a Costume Designer/Coordinator. Will be getting a script to her this week.

That is the magical missing piece of the puzzle that we need to complete our Artistic Team. We are assuming props can be handled by Catherine in her ASM duties.

As always - send hopes, prayers, and happy thoughts our way.

Castin' Stone

Audition turnout was very good, and the talent was really superb. Callbacks are happening this Thursday, we look forward to seeing some more of the possibilities that we have with the exceptional people who came out to read for us.

Other developments from our production meeting this past Wednesday: Welcome to Allen Overlander as our official Lighting Designer.

Still seeking a costume coordinator... working on it though!

And the biggest news is that, depending on actor availablity, we have decided to schedule the show to run for a third weekend if at all possible. Not carved in stone yet, because it also entails budgetary adjustments. But it looks very very possible. We will see!

We have a production meeting planned for next Wednesday, June 8th, to assemble the artistic staff together and prepare for auditions. I can't wait. That we have so many talented people on board still gives me the warmest of warm-fuzzies.

Our friend Allen Overlander is interested in doing the lighting design, and once he & Chad have a chance to meet & talk, that will most likely be locked in. Allen ran the light board for Leaving Neverland, our first full-length play that was done at Theatre Downtown in October 1999. He was also our beloved sound-cue-God during My Big Fat Gay Wedding. It was an hour-long show with 20 songs and sound cues... we knew that would be asking a lot from one of the Fringe techies, so we came with. I remember being so amused at a rehearsal during tech week when I realized he was lip-synching our songs as we performed. He heard them so damned much, how could he not know the words by heart?

Speaking of which, Steve, I am starting to work on the lyrics for the "Love Theme From Sons Of The Revolution" that we're going to surprise Chad with...

Happy Memorable Day Weekend

Still further activity:

I have been getting inquiries here and there from the flyers we gave out at Fringe, as well as the postings on Florida Acting and Central Florida Performing Arts Alliance web sites. I have sent out script excerpts and the pdf versions of the audition flyer to about 8 or 10 people.

I also put together our "wish list" email in which I sent all of the info to the list of about 30 actors who we imagine would be good in the show in some capacity.

Our dream stage manager has said verbally, "Yeah, I'll probably do it." I'm taking that as a yes, and so I am pleased to announce it will be... DEBBIE DEAN! Her work with the Civic and now the Rep has been superb, and she has got to be THE best SM in town. There is also talk that our friend CATHERINE GOODISON may be ASM'ing. That would also be a WONDERFUL thing. Yay!

We are throwing out times for a production meeting early next week - also hoping to kill multiple birds with one stone and meet with some of the actors who can't make it to the actual audition times due to other commitments.

Good times!

Moving Forward...

Many many back-and-forth emails yesterday about the play. Both Chad and Chuck, now at the mid-point of the Fringe Festival and more relaxed with their respective productions, are looking to move forward with pre-production for SOTR.

Audition dates and a location have been set. Steve designed a fab little flyer that we will start handing out and emailing to folks who we want to see at auditions. (I also posted it here, scroll down to the next entry to see it.) I have posted the audition info at www.orlandoperforms.com and www.floridaacting.com.

Meetings with Chad & Set Designer Tom Mangieri will be happening by next week.

Chad has spoken to our Dream-Stage-Manager and hopefully we will have a response very soon.

Chad is asking us to run him out more copies of the script for himself and for his beau Jason Donnelly, who we are led to believe will be doing Sound Design - yay!

FASCINATING FACT/ASIDE: Jason is originally from Easton, Mass., right next to my home town of Brockton. In fact, my family lived in Easton until I was 3 when we moved to Brockton. But Jason's and my paths would never have crossed because he's about a decade younger than I am (curse his soul). He would have been in junior high when I moved to Florida. Steve and I adore Jason - just like Chad, he is a sweetie and a cutie. And just like Chad, he is another one to add to the list of the many people that we have wanted to worth with and are finally getting a chance to do so.

I am totally jazzed. This show is gonna be great.

Auditions Are Set

Click the image above for all the necessary info.

Schmoozin'!

Steve and I have both been seeing a lot of Fringe shows this weekend. Shrewd little entrepreneurs that we are, we actually knew that scheduling SOTR post-Fringe would create a plethora of opportunities for us during Fringe itself:

TALENT SCOUTING: We have already found at least 2 new actors whom we would love to have read at the auditions.

ARTISTIC STAFF: As we waited in line to see The Miss Sammy Show, we made the acquaintance of Marcie Singhaus, sister-in-law to Miss Sammy and costumer to the stars. (She used to own and run Costumes Unlimited over by the old Mark Two.) So, just for fun, I said, "Hey, how would like to costume a drama about violence in American society spanning over 200 years all the way back to the Revolutionary War?" Her immediate reply, "You're going to need a heckuva budget for that." (Don't you love people who just tell it like it is?) She said, "Send me a script, I'll take a look at it." I honestly don't imagine we could afford her, though we would get amazing things from her. I forgot to mention this to Chuck, but I know he has some other folks who might be more in our price range. I also mentioned the show to my costumer friend and former Sleuths-mate Kate Singleton as she whizzed past me to catch a show. We need to nail some of this stuff down, but at the same time Chuck is deeply involved in Welcome To The Family! for PRT, and Chad is a maniac producing both Eye Candy and Pie-Face! The Adventures Of Anita Bryant. They're a little - preoccupied, so we're not attacking them on this stuff just yet. (Though, to his credit, Chuck has actually been working on securing a location for auditions and has been sending a round of emails to ask about costumers. You go boy.)

When we ran into Tom Mangieri he introduced us to a friend of his by saying, "These are my friends David and Steve. They have written an amazing play and I'm doing their set." WOO HOO! (Now the question is can we afford HIM?)

TALKING IT UP: It has been very nice and complimentary that so many people approach us with, "Are you guys doing something this year?" Each time that is asked, it is music to my ears because that means Utmost Productions made our mark these last two years. And that is a wide-open opportunity for us to reply, "No, but we have this great drama being produced in August..." Throw in a "Chad Lewis is directing," and you always get one of those raised-eyebrows-that's-impressive nods. Yay!

Any and all of the actors on our wish list that we ran into were reminded that auditions will be the second week in June (Todd Feren, Michael Colavolpe, and Nikki Darden come to mind).

Other buzz that was buzzing...

We went to say to hi to David Lee who kiddingly pulled us aside and said, "We need to talk about this director you've hired..."

John DiDonna came up and hugged me from behind and said, "Who did you get to direct your show?"

So, we're just out there doing what people in show business do: whoring ourselves and becoming well-oiled duplicitious creatures of self-promotion.

And isn't that what the Fringe is all about?

A closing thought from Dave McConnell's InterActions: "Some people say, 'There's no business like show business.' I'm all, 'Okay, and there's no surgery like ass surgery, WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY?'"

Ready, SET...

Well, I don't want to jinx it, but a certain set designer wants to help us.

It's very impressive folks.

Now to "set" him up with our wonderful director, Chad Lewis.

Wonderful News...

After a wonderful dinner/meeting last night with myself, Steve, and Chuck, we are thrilled to announce that the director of SOTR will be:

CHAD LEWIS!

And there was much rejoicing! Last night I was dancing around the house like Anne Reinking in Annie singing "We Got Chad!"

I've heard things... I've heard things...

I certainly don't want to jinx it...

But we have a certain meeting set up for this Friday to get together with a certain someone about a certain position we need to fill for a certain play.

We will certainly report certain details as soon as we are certain that they are... well, certain.

Blurb!!! (excuse me...)

The blurb is now on our blog. Is it now a blog blurb?

One man trained to kill. Another fighting to save his life. This compelling new drama explores violence and its impact on American history, culture, and lives.

Panning For Gold

Michael just sent me a note telling me that today he sent out 28 solicitation letters to various companies and businesses seeking donations and/or ad sales for the production. You go, Michael! He was able to squeeze this in before frantically packing his cases to take off tomorrow morning for a two-week trip to Egypt. God bless him! (And watch over him that he has a good trip and returns home safely.)
Amen.

Inching Closer

Depressing as it is to have missed our self-imposed deadline of having a director hired by April 30th, we do have something in the works as of earlier this week. I am optimistic. Continue to stay tuned!

Slowly But Slowly

Thanks for posting the update Steve.


The answer to your question is YES we were insane to write this piece.

The Oedipus cast party and the Ice House play were both wonderful and made us feel like something was happening...

And with the 'slowness' that we are now experiencing will come the inevitable whirlwind of activity which I'm sure will keep our heads spinning. The calm before the proverbial storm.

The current slowness is waiting on a response from a possible director. We don't want to give the wrong impression that the director search is not in motion, that someone is not doing their job, or that nothing is happening there. It's the inevitable having to WAIT for someone to give you an answer when you want to know RIGHT NOW yay or nay so we can move on to the next thing on the list.

We are refraining from giving specific details on this because we don't want whoever it turns out to be (and/or whoever reads this blog) to feel like we are settling for a 3rd or 4th choice or to speculate and ponder why we asked who we asked in what order. It is what it is -- it's interesting to note our potential director list actually consists of several #1 dream candidates. And we are at the moment in the process of exploring those possibilities. And we are really hoping to be able to stick to our self-imposed deadline of April 30th to have someone locked in.

But I will say I was a little proud of myself for seizing the opportunity to crash this party for pleasure AND the ulterior motive of getting a little business done.

The Revolution is Temporarily on HOLD

We will return you to the regularly scheduled program as soon as humanly possible.

Note any frustration in my voice?

Well, April is inching to a close and we do not have a director just yet.

We did get to go to the Oedipus cast party (which we crashed) and talk up several actors we would like to audition for whomever the director may be. Oh, the plotting, the scheming…it’s so shameful; that part of “show business” which is all “business.” David’s better at this part, as he absolutely flourishes in the public eye. Blossoms and flowers in a flamboyant show of light and color whenever he has an audience, our David does. I just sit back and judge, really.

Hey, each team member has their roles.

Speaking of roles - Michael, Chuck and I met for another pre-production meeting. The budget projection is approved, and we have permission to get Cathy Thompson involved as a graphics designer. So I guess it isn't a total tire-screeching halt we're experiencing, just a slow-down for construction.

David and I have recently seen a slew of good theatre here in town with lots of inspiring actors.

We have seen Moon For The Misbegotten, Everyman, Oedipus, Western Civilization, Sweet Bird of Youth, Ladies of Eola Heights, Love/Now, and just last night the absolutely wonderful Three Days Of Rain at The Ice House Theatre in Mount Dora.

Anyway, we could almost cast our entire play from the actors who made up these shows. (Sadly, there are eight shows listed above – plus David saw Hay Fever alone – and there’s still one or two roles I could think of that we would need more people to audition for…)

Sheesh, are we insane for writing a 13 person play?!?!?!

Director On Board?

We are working diligently to lock in a director... hopefully something will materialize soon... cross everything!

Michael is on Board!

We had our meeting Monday night with the PRT board (John Goring, Dave Womble, and our producer extraordinaire Chuck Dent). Michael Slaymaker showed up and agreed to do ads and marketing! YAY!!!

David was late...he was doing something stupid and pointless, "working out" I think it's called...

Anyway, Michael is one of those poeple who has the gift of grabbing people by their ankles, shaking the money out of them, and then having them ask him when he's coming back for more as he gathers up his largesse. He has been an integral part of David and my past productions, and I am feeling all warm and fuzzy that he's involved in this one!

David, sign him up to the blog!

On The Right Track!

Tonight's meeting with Chuck went swimmingly well. He and Steve and I seem to be on the same page for this show, and that is a wonderful thing. We walked away with some semblance of a time line and a list of people we want to contact about availability for being involved in the production. Michael Slaymaker will hopefully be on board as our Fundraiser/Marketing Manager, he just needs to make a pitch at the next PRT board meeting.

You will notice the title graphic now includes dates because we are told they are now solid. Yay! I will probably change it when we solidify our poster design with our graphic designer Dave Womble.

Of interest to the public-at-large:
· We are hoping to have a director hired by the end of April
· Auditions will probably be the first week in June
· Rehearsals will most likely start mid-June

No conflicts with Fringe! Yay! Woo hoo!

A Snail's Pace...

We have managed to set a date for our first 'official' production meeting - next Monday. A week away, but thank goodness - for the moment - time is on our side. Maybe we'll have pinned down a director by then...?

And if the August dates are really-really-truly official as far as the Studio Theatre, I have yet to get confirmation of such. I am just flying on the assumption that it is (or will be) a done deal.

Wouldn't it be hilarious if we ended up having to do it in June after all! Ha ha ha ha ha.... huh... yeah.

Dress for Success

If you dream that Dustin Hoffman comes to see the premiere of Sons of the Revolution in a lovely Dior dress and matching hat, is that a sure sign of success?

I think it is!

Had this dream TWICE now!

**DAVID COMMENT**
I'll take anything as a good omen. Even if it's Estelle Getty hang-gliding naked over Mount Vesuvius wearing beagle-puss glasses.

I won't tell you HOW many times I've had that dream...

It's official! Sort of.

Just got word from John Goring by way of producer Chuck Dent that John DiDonna has told him that it looks like it is most definitely almost set that we will most likely be able to move the show dates to the middle two weekends in August. John D has to work out some details with another group, (I think it's the Jester Theatre Co.) but it should be manageable.

But they are not advertising it or making it public yet because it's not 100%. (So this is different from where we were earlier today how?)

Nonetheless, I am encouraged and feel that this is going to land as we want it to. And it is a good thing that, in spite of the continued lack of definiteness, Chuck has been keeping us in the loop and giving us updates. Things could be a lot worse.

So, the next step is that Chuck, Steve, and I will be having a meeting to brainstorm and start our list of potential directors and actors, plus secure a space for auditions.

Picture Perfect

I created an account at www.villagephotos.com to host the images for this blog, including that !#$%^&*@ graphic that has been giving me trouble. Now it's there and it's there to stay. Woo hoo!

The PRT Newsletter arrived by email today. I was glad to see that Ash was able to cast Welcome to the Family! for Fringe. The only entry about SOTR was congratulations that our play was chosen. I guess let's view the glass as half-full: it didn't say anything about being produced in June... but that is because it didn't list any dates at all.

The waiting continues...

Graphic Violence

So I am told that the graphic does work. And sometime at work I do see it. And other times at home it isn't there, just that sad little box with an X in it. What is the deal with that!? This stuff makes me wanna shove a fist through the screen. All I ask for is consistency, and when a fucking machine can't give it to you...

No word yet on the official new dates. We just wait... and wait... and wait...


EDIT from Schmacko* Nice post, David... And our play is on the prevalence of violence.... Hmmm...

Wha-Wha-What?

And now the graphic works. Sometimes. I think it's our mind-numbing, slower-than-dialup connection we have at my work. Let's just say I hope if you are reading this, you can see the stinkin' graphic. !#$%^&*()_!@

I, too, would love to see a Seth Kubersky involved in our show. Though I have concerns that giving a brilliant technical director this play in the Studio Theatre is like giving Julia Child a filet mignon to prepare in an Easy-Bake Oven. But I digress... the size of venue, while it is an obstacle, is one that I believe can be overcome. The original June production dates were an obstacle that I don't believe we could have overcome. And soon that concern will be gone...... (Right? Please Lord!?)

I agree with Steve that the naked graphic I posted is not as usable now that the nightmare sequence is gone. (Folks with scripts, some of you have it in there, some of you don't. I can't keep track.) I just thought it was a fun kick-back to way-back-when. It still boggles my mind that this play has been with us for SIX YEARS.

Speaking of cutting the nightmare scene, Steve and I do have a final round of rewrites that we need to do. Minor stuff. But I guess we'll do them after the production dates are nailed down and we need to start wooing directors. (Mike Nichols? Joe Mantello? Hal Prince?)

More Good News

Word last night from PRT President John Goring by way of our Producer Chuck Dent is that John DiDonna, Orlando director/actor/producer extraordinaire and our contact for the Studio Theater says he thinks that August is open. We will know for sure as soon as he checks with someone named Dorie. I replied that our dream times would be the middle two weekends in August. I checked with Steve that we were in agreement and Michael Slaymaker also confirmed that he would be available for hire as our Marketing/Fundraising Director at that time. I am optimistic...!

I also did up a cool graphic of the title of the play to be displayed at the top of this blog page. It looks awesome from home, but won't display at work. D'Oh! Back to the drawing board...

Any New News?

I’ll let David fill you in, but we’re still crossing everything we have two of that this thing can go up in August. Added bonus: Michael Slaymaker will be able to help us with publicity if we go with August. Since he is basically the lord and god of all things fund-raising and PR, I believe that everyone feels that he would be a boon to our production.

Throw that bone in and we’ll see what we get.

Soup.

On other subjects – Cathy’s “superhero” nudie logo for SOTR – OMG David, I almost forgot all about it. But now that we’ve cut the nightmare scene, I’m not sure it makes as much sense. It’s cool you still have it though.

And I have the original cast list of the workshop a couple years ago somewhere – when I find it I promise to publish it here.

Another inspiration moment that is in Sons. I remember back in my junior year in college, when the Persian Gulf War was going on and CNN had 24/7 coverage. It wasn’t the war that gave me nightmares, it was that damn theme song and logo they threw up (regurgitated) onto the television screen every 5 minutes! My small Iowa college had the giant projector screen in the Student Union perma-set to CNN. I wanted to scream because every time I walked through the main room, that damn theme song was playing and that damn logo was burning itself into my retinas.

I started to remember all the stuff about “mediated reality” that I had learned in Modern Media class. I grew angrier. I read 1984, and in there, Orwell describes the same sort of mediated brainwashing. I felt like I was being manipulated. I wanted to stuff my fingers in my ears and scream with my eyes shut every time I got wind of the media covering the “conflict.” Isn’t it sad that the media can kill any concern I should have had with their “Chinese Water Torture” method of “covering the news”?

I would love to get some techie involved who can really bring this ridiculousness to light in a very funny way in our play. Someone really impressive in the technical area like Seth Kubersky (director of Theatre Downtown's recent smash production of The Rocky Horror Show). I think whoever blesses us by being a technical director would really be allowed to be creative with the music and projection (I hope) and sound effects, but I think the Newscaster scenes would especially be a blast.



Another thing to put on our wish list, I guess.

Developments (and Lack Thereof)

A little birdy told me it looks good that the show dates will be able to be postponed until August. Keep the faith!

Julie Gagne of Valencia Community College's Theatre Department mentioned to me that she has some ideas for edits that we can make. I will be contacting her to get her input. I hope she doesn't suggest we cut the albino Albanian who eats poi on a pogo stick...

We are starting to drum up some interest in the play among our theatrical friends. Over the last several weeks, I have sent copies of the script to Matty MacDermid, Jeff Lindberg, Josh Geoghagan, Marcie Shwalm, Ashland Thomas, Kurt Jenkins, and others. Response so far has been very positive. We figure it couldn't hurt to plant some seeds casting-wise in hopes that our director - whoever s/he is - will sow and nurture them.

I am through with my commitment to Into The Woods at Valencia, so I am looking forward to several weeks (hopefully months?) of rest before we have to jump into pre-production of SOTR.

Also, I had a realization re-reading my previous blog in which I talked about how we conceived the play together, Steve birthed the play alone, and we have raised it together -- that makes him the "mother" and me the "father" of this play. Cause when you think maternal, you think Steve. And when you think of male role model, you think of me. Oy.

That's all fer now!

The Authors, Miller and Almeida, 1998

Logo Idea by Catherine Thompson, 2000

One of Our Inspirations

David listed a few things that inspired our creation of Sons of the Revolution: George Carlin’s very funny speech on the war-like nature of our country, the Gary Sinise character from Forrest Gump, and of course, the Oklahoma City bombing and the first Persian Gulf War.

I would like to list a few others over the next few weeks.

One "inspiration" is definitely my early realization that terrible brutality against Jewish people didn’t start and end with the Holocaust.

I remember in the early 1980s getting hold of a 1976 Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Irving Howe called World of Our Fathers. Yes, I was 12 – I WAS a VERY precocious child... (Seriously, I have always read a lot - and that has helped immensely with my part in the writing of this play.)

The book I read oh, lo, those many years ago...was about the 19th-century Russian Jews escaping the bloody pogroms of the shtetl to come to the “relative peace” of America. However, when these Jewish immigrants arrived here between 1888 and 1910ish – after passing through Immigration – they were met with hatred and even violence – the same sort of hostility America often still has today toward many other immigrants.

Anyone who has read or seen Ragtime (the movie or the musical, both based on the beautiful E.L. Doctorow book) has some idea of the violence and its affect on American history.

I still feel so lucky that David and I were able to include this aspect in our play. I believe it adds a powerful facet to the questions our script asks about humanity and its application of brute force and violence.

Curtain Up!

Salutations and Welcome!

This blog is intended to chronicle the journey of an exciting theatrical work entitled Sons of the Revolution, written by David Almeida (davidroz) & Stephen J. Miller (schmacko). As we progress, we hope the producers, artistic staff, and performers will all be contributing to some sort of "whole" that might be greater than the sum of its parts.

The play has been selected to be presented with a full theatrical production by Playwright's Round Table of Orlando, Florida, our home city. Production dates are currently in limbo, pending (what we hope will be) a postponement from early Summer to late Summer/Early fall. Currently on board is our producer, PRT Board Member Chuck Dent. We are thrilled to be working with Chuck and we genuinely like him and feel comfortable that he will steer this project to success while giving us authors the creative input necessary to see that our work is presented with our artistic vision in tact. (That's what the date change is about. They picked our play, we said, "Thank you," and immediately followed it with, "We hate the dates, can you change them?" And they're actually trying for us. God Bless Them every one!)

So, while we're waiting for the news of when the play is actually going up... leave us turn back the clock.

Steve and I wrote the play in 1999 after the success of our campy gay dramedy Leaving Neverland (LONG before the Johnny Depp film Finding Neverland was in production!). When asked what our next project would be about, we would reply, "The history of violence in American culture." !!??!! Definitely not our typical type of project. Yet at the same time it was a theme about which we were surprised to discover we both felt very strongly. After the Oklahoma City bombing, America was still reeling from the notion that there could ever be a terrorist act committed on American soil. This had never happened before in our entire history, why now? We both realized a short while before that we had something to say on this subject. (And, yes, we came up with this before the 9/11 terrorist attacks.)

Picture it. Orlando. 1998. I believe we were riding home from the Pat Andrews-Fred Berliner Christmas party some time in December when Steve confessed to me and my then-boyfriend Glenn Rilke that the Oklahoma City incident was horrible, yet at the same time he also thought it was somewhat of a miracle that such an act hadn't happened sooner - and to a much more severe degree. Expecting me to be somewhat repulsed by such a statement, I surprised him when I said, "I have thought the same thing, too." I then started quoting a George Carlin stand-up routine where he takes America to task for the fact that it has been involved in some type of war every 20 years in our very young 220 years as a nation. He went through our systematic elimination and/or conflict with every non-white culture on the planet. The routine was capped with, "When was the last time that we attacked white people? Germany in World War II. Why? Because they wanted to dominate the world - BULLSHIT, THAT'S OUR FUCKING JOB!", followed by his wonderful vocal sound effects of bombs being dropped. A different album of his contained references to how Americans are a war-like people. If there is a social or political problem, how do we combat it? Declare war! The War on Poverty, the War on AIDS, the War on Drugs... this is something deeply ingrained in our collective psyche as Americans and history shows that it dates all the way back to the birth of our nation. Americans didn't become this way, we were born this way. (Do you see why two gay playwrights would be attracted to the subject matter?)

As we started to bounce around ideas of how we could make such a vast statement in one play, our main characters emerged: a Soldier who had served in the American Armed Forces and the Lawyer who would be defending him at his trial. Character traits flew - the Soldier would be the latest in a long line of Service Men and every one of his ancestors fought in one of our wars. (Inspired by Gary Sinise's character in Forrest Gump.) He would be stricken with Gulf War Syndrome, the unexplained series of ailments that befell many of the men and women (and their offspring) who served in Operation Desert Storm after their return home.

As a playwright, I know that the best ideas take work, but the writing itself comes easily -- if you have a good idea, a solid foundation, and do your work so that you understand your subject matter. At that point it takes on a life of its own. In my case, I was also blessed with an extremely disciplined co-author who took it upon himself to do the research and create the framework and outlines for what we knew would be a sweeping, epic journey. I make no bones about it. I could never have written this play by myself. I think Steve could have done it without me, but it probably wouldn't be quite as good. (At least God I hope not.) He put a much larger amount of work into this piece than I did in its formative stages. Steve is a much better playwright than he is an editor. And I am a much better editor than I am a playwright. That is why we work so well together. Steve and I conceived SOTR, he birthed it, but we have raised it together.

Playwrights' Round Table did a staged reading of the play in June of 2002 at the Maitland Jewish Community Center under the direction of the wonderful Mark Mannette. It was extrememly well-received, though we were also concerned that our opinions may be very unpopular. And the biggest of all our fears - was the show entertaining? ENTERTAINING - that is a touchy word to use in Orlando... Unfortunately due to our local theme-park culture, its connotations imply smiling young dancers, lovable animal characters, pyrotechnics, flying doves, puppets, 3-D glasses, etc. Let me clarify here that we meant it in the most textbook sense of the word: Did it entertain you? Did it keep your attention? Yes, you can write an "important" play about hot social topics. Yes, people can sit there and say that they disagree, agree, or at the very least appreciate the work you have put into it. BUT - would the people sit there and say they were glad they were taken on this journey? That they felt something for the characters? That it made them think or ask questions of themselves? That the play was worthy of their time? Response was a very strong yes, during the talkback facilitated by PRT's David McElroy. It definitely deserved a life beyond this reading and needed to go to the next level. (Hey, we should post the original cast here at some point. Steve, do you have that? I might have to dig a bit to get it...)

Anyway, let me shut my pie-hole for the moment and let the Divine Mr. M throw in his two cents' worth and talk about the conception, and creation of the play.

I hope our dear readers find this blog entertaining, too...

The Synopsis

"It is the mid-1990s and public defender Daniel Kinderland is fighting to save his client, an American soldier, from the death penalty.

"Defendant William Westfall is a highly decorated Marine found guilty of domestic terrorism. After being honorably discharged after Operation Desert Storm, Westfall comes home to mysterious medical illnesses. He also finds the US Veteran’s Administration unable or unwilling to provide answers. A year after Westfall’s tour of duty, his wife gives birth to a severely deformed child. As Westfall’s marriage falls apart and his daughter’s health slowly fails, the soldier’s frustration, rage, and sense of powerlessness culminate in an act of terrorism against his country.

"Sons of the Revolution opens after Westfall has been found guilty. Attorney Kinderland is making a last plea for Westfall’s life before the sentencing phase. Kinderland praises the Marine’s service and appeals to the hearts and minds of an unseen jury. Slowly an expansive odyssey emerges that traces defendant Westfall’s own ancestry through every major US war or conflict since the beginning of the nation. The “ghosts” of Westfall’s family tree emerge to complete a tale of American military service, US history, and its accompanying violence.

"Simultaneously, lawyer Kinderland is guided by the spirit of his dead great-grandfather, a rabbi who fled the violent shtetls of Russia for the relative peace and hope of America. Kinderland’s heritage and its beliefs in pacifism and the sanctity of human life are challenged by Westfall and his crimes.

"Thirdly, we see the media coverage, political machinations, and strong personal emotions that surround the court case and create a miasma that precludes objectivity and understanding.

"Sons of the Revolution is an epic play achieved with just thirteen actors. Many performers are given the chance to play two or more strong, varying roles. Characters encompass two centuries in the Unites States’ past. Overlapping scenes and non-linear structure combine with brisk storytelling to create a unique theatrical experience. A very successful workshop at the Maitland Jewish Community Center was roundly praised for its complexity, wit, and balanced insight.

"Sons of the Revolution is an absorbing script about domestic terrorism, American history, and the agendizing of violence into national and personal ideologies. It is not a play that offers easy answers, but instead provides challenging questions in an entertaining and dynamic drama."

Well, all of that may not make it on the back cover of the DVD. But this is what Steve submitted to PRT that ultimately aided in the play being chosen. Him be writing good, ain't he?