It's both easier and considerably more difficult to do a show in an apartment.
Benefits: Cut down on costs, and more time to rehearse in space.
Drawback: Actors get turned into human light switches.
The lighting for our show is actually going to be very cool, but it was VERY tedious yesterday to spend a big chunk of our 8-hour rehearsal on assigning individual actors to flip specific light switches... Oddly enough, it was also the FIRST TIME we were able to have all actors in the same room at the same time. 4 days before we open!!
Anyway, the show is in great shape - but we've been busting our ass. A bit more tightening to do, but we're gonna put up something special...
But I definitely have respect for the computer now. ;)
Bobman
Monday, September 14, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Creative solutions to zero-budget problems...
So for anyone who's been following our adventure, you'll know that we have decided to purposefully NOT SPEND ONE PENNY on this production (for a 16-show run!) as a creative response to the recession...
Here is the update on a few production problems.
1. The program. We had been offered free photocopies, but many audience members wanted us to be a little more inventive. So I have decided that we will post the program online! Instead of a physical program, we will have an electronic program - available both at this blog and at our Facebook group (named after our show). It will have the added benefit of being available to people who don't get a chance to see the show. The main benefit of a program for the creative team is the chance to promote bios - so it'll be a nice way to get some extra publicity.
2. The venue. The main way we circumvented all costs on this show was Jason Morneau's excellent idea to produce the play in his apartment. He's got a very cool space 1 block East of Ossington/Queen - and that saves us several thousand dollars. It's a very creative space, and works really well for these particular plays. The seating is going to be very chill and casual - almost like hanging out at a house party to see a play - but admittedly it does limit the number of seats we can make available. We originally thought we could squeeze 40 people in, but the latest report is 25 comfortably. I liken the show to when Radiohead will play a 200-seat club to promote their future tour. I'm writing/directing a sample of what could be a larger run... If we sell out every show, we're the hot ticket in town. If audience response is tepid, we're not scrambling to fill too many seats. It's pretty much a win-win for us, and the price is certainly right...
3. Flyers. Now many audience members wanted us to come up with something different - like writing ads in chalk at restaurants or doing the whole thing electronically. Well, we tried and tried and decided that we're going to take some donated flyers from a local print shop. Julie Tesolin has some friends who are willing to make us some flyers for free, and with no better alternative presenting itself, we opted to go with them. Better to have donated flyers than no flyers at all. We are still trying to sell tickets after all...
In summation, I feel we've done a pretty sweet job at producing a high-quality product for literally no money. Eye Weekly has even called us a "Best Bet" for the show, so momentum is certainly building. Hopefully, we can prove that you don't need piles of money to make good art, you just need creativity...
Bobman
Here is the update on a few production problems.
1. The program. We had been offered free photocopies, but many audience members wanted us to be a little more inventive. So I have decided that we will post the program online! Instead of a physical program, we will have an electronic program - available both at this blog and at our Facebook group (named after our show). It will have the added benefit of being available to people who don't get a chance to see the show. The main benefit of a program for the creative team is the chance to promote bios - so it'll be a nice way to get some extra publicity.
2. The venue. The main way we circumvented all costs on this show was Jason Morneau's excellent idea to produce the play in his apartment. He's got a very cool space 1 block East of Ossington/Queen - and that saves us several thousand dollars. It's a very creative space, and works really well for these particular plays. The seating is going to be very chill and casual - almost like hanging out at a house party to see a play - but admittedly it does limit the number of seats we can make available. We originally thought we could squeeze 40 people in, but the latest report is 25 comfortably. I liken the show to when Radiohead will play a 200-seat club to promote their future tour. I'm writing/directing a sample of what could be a larger run... If we sell out every show, we're the hot ticket in town. If audience response is tepid, we're not scrambling to fill too many seats. It's pretty much a win-win for us, and the price is certainly right...
3. Flyers. Now many audience members wanted us to come up with something different - like writing ads in chalk at restaurants or doing the whole thing electronically. Well, we tried and tried and decided that we're going to take some donated flyers from a local print shop. Julie Tesolin has some friends who are willing to make us some flyers for free, and with no better alternative presenting itself, we opted to go with them. Better to have donated flyers than no flyers at all. We are still trying to sell tickets after all...
In summation, I feel we've done a pretty sweet job at producing a high-quality product for literally no money. Eye Weekly has even called us a "Best Bet" for the show, so momentum is certainly building. Hopefully, we can prove that you don't need piles of money to make good art, you just need creativity...
Bobman
Friday, September 11, 2009
A bit of press...
So TIFF is officially in town, but it hasn't completely stolen our mojo...
Eye Weekly contacted me today. They're calling us one of their "Best Bets" for next week's issue - which is a very good thing. In my experience, press always brings legitimacy. And a Best Bet is sort of like a recommendation before they've had a chance to review the play (if they get a chance to review it). Considering we'll be halfway through the run before Eye Weekly and/or NOW Magazine prints their reviews (IF they review us, of course), we'll need a bit of preview press to boost our ticket sales...
These days, newspapers offer legitimacy more than exposure. I mean, the exposure is great. But in the world of social media, traditional newspapers are more of a way to tell our audience, "Look, this recognizable media publication thinks we're worth looking at. You should too!"
It's funny. When I first started writing plays 10 years ago - and oddly enough had my first bit of press by Eye Weekly - all you had to promote your play to a wide audience was newspaper coverage. These days, the right blogger can make you famous. An effective Facebook group marketing strategy can sell out shows...
Don't get me wrong though. Every bit of press helps. And definitely, the more the merrier. I'm happy for the vote of confidence from Eye Weekly, and hopefully TIFF isn't so distracting for the tonnes of arts bloggers/media types that are around town right now.
We can use all the help we can get...
Bobman
Eye Weekly contacted me today. They're calling us one of their "Best Bets" for next week's issue - which is a very good thing. In my experience, press always brings legitimacy. And a Best Bet is sort of like a recommendation before they've had a chance to review the play (if they get a chance to review it). Considering we'll be halfway through the run before Eye Weekly and/or NOW Magazine prints their reviews (IF they review us, of course), we'll need a bit of preview press to boost our ticket sales...
These days, newspapers offer legitimacy more than exposure. I mean, the exposure is great. But in the world of social media, traditional newspapers are more of a way to tell our audience, "Look, this recognizable media publication thinks we're worth looking at. You should too!"
It's funny. When I first started writing plays 10 years ago - and oddly enough had my first bit of press by Eye Weekly - all you had to promote your play to a wide audience was newspaper coverage. These days, the right blogger can make you famous. An effective Facebook group marketing strategy can sell out shows...
Don't get me wrong though. Every bit of press helps. And definitely, the more the merrier. I'm happy for the vote of confidence from Eye Weekly, and hopefully TIFF isn't so distracting for the tonnes of arts bloggers/media types that are around town right now.
We can use all the help we can get...
Bobman
Monday, September 7, 2009
Almost there...
10 days before we open, and everything's in pretty awesome shape...
"Fringe Show" and "Schmoozers" are fully blocked. I opted to go with "Schmoozers" to end the show, but I just as easily could've switched. They're both great for different reasons, and both are fully blocked. All we need to do is memorize at this point, and we've got a great show...
There's one more play to block however: "Plagiarism". Due to our complex rehearsal schedule, we've had very little rehearsal for this play. Jonathan Shatzky and Ryan Moleiro basically have opposite schedules. The few times I could get them both in the same room at the same time, I decided to devote to "Fringe Show". "Fringe Show" is longer and has more characters, so I thought that would be a more efficient use of time.
So we've got 4 hours of "Plagiarism" rehearsal tonight. We've blocked about half of it, and my focus this week will be to tighten this particular playlet. We spent quite a bit of time on character work and blocking for the other 2 plays, but "Plagiarism" still remains largely enigmatic. The other 2 are in good shape, and a week from now, "Plagiarism" will catch up...
This is the part of the process I refer to as "getting over the hump". The actors know the show. They simply have to remember everything we've decided over the last few weeks, memorize all their lines and get in the flow of the production. My job is almost over - which is an ambivalent feeling - and it's time for the actors to take ownership of the work. It's already happening, but this next week will be more of me handing the baton to my talented cast, then figuring out what the hell to do with my time after we open on Sept 17...
Opening night is always bittersweet for the director. It's a relief because the show is finally ready to go up before an audience, but also poignant because the director now becomes redundant. I'm looking forward to simply becoming a fan of the work, but it's always tough to lurk in the shadows - as there is always another moment to refine, another choice to meddle with...
10 days until catharsis, then it's off to the next project - wherever that may be...
Bobman
"Fringe Show" and "Schmoozers" are fully blocked. I opted to go with "Schmoozers" to end the show, but I just as easily could've switched. They're both great for different reasons, and both are fully blocked. All we need to do is memorize at this point, and we've got a great show...
There's one more play to block however: "Plagiarism". Due to our complex rehearsal schedule, we've had very little rehearsal for this play. Jonathan Shatzky and Ryan Moleiro basically have opposite schedules. The few times I could get them both in the same room at the same time, I decided to devote to "Fringe Show". "Fringe Show" is longer and has more characters, so I thought that would be a more efficient use of time.
So we've got 4 hours of "Plagiarism" rehearsal tonight. We've blocked about half of it, and my focus this week will be to tighten this particular playlet. We spent quite a bit of time on character work and blocking for the other 2 plays, but "Plagiarism" still remains largely enigmatic. The other 2 are in good shape, and a week from now, "Plagiarism" will catch up...
This is the part of the process I refer to as "getting over the hump". The actors know the show. They simply have to remember everything we've decided over the last few weeks, memorize all their lines and get in the flow of the production. My job is almost over - which is an ambivalent feeling - and it's time for the actors to take ownership of the work. It's already happening, but this next week will be more of me handing the baton to my talented cast, then figuring out what the hell to do with my time after we open on Sept 17...
Opening night is always bittersweet for the director. It's a relief because the show is finally ready to go up before an audience, but also poignant because the director now becomes redundant. I'm looking forward to simply becoming a fan of the work, but it's always tough to lurk in the shadows - as there is always another moment to refine, another choice to meddle with...
10 days until catharsis, then it's off to the next project - wherever that may be...
Bobman
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Preparing for rehearsal...
I'm directing a 6-hour rehearsal in, well, 4 hours.
At this point, we've blocked roughly half the show - and will have everything blocked by Monday night. We've done a lot of work in a short period of time, and it's starting to pay off. Interestingly, since we're rehearsing in our venue, we're actually a top-heavy rehearsal process. By that, I mean we won't have to acclimate ourselves to our final venue - which will cut down lots of time before we open. Tech is always a bitch, and I'm happy to solve that problem as we go...
Surprisingly, tech has been pretty easy. We're using found light to design the show, and it's pretty amazing how this apartment lends itself to theatricalization. Hell, we even have a special. Sort of. My hope is that this show is a testament to what the human mind can accomplish - with ingenuity instead of commerce. WE HAVEN'T SPENT ONE DOLLAR ON ANYTHING! And I think audiences will be impressed with both the quality of the production overall, and the creative solutions we've constructed to avoid economic transactions.
At this point, I'm trying to decide whether to end the show with "Fringe Show" or "Schmoozers". Both are hilarious - for different reasons - but I think I'll know more after we block "Schmoozers" in its entirety today. Each play is about 25 minutes long, so although psychologically it FEELS like lots of work left to do for the actors, time-wise it's not so bad. Jonathan Shatzky, in particular, is really zipping along. He is the only actor in each and every playlet (with significant parts in all of them!), and I generally consider him my 'lead actor'. He's had to learn lots of lines in a cumbersome rehearsal process, and his hard work is definitely paying off.
I feel sorta bad singling out any individual actors in this fine cast though. It is a uniformly strong cast, and when you see the show, you'll see for yourselves. This is the first time I've written/directed a show with a non-Equity cast in many years, so I was scared I wouldn't find enough talent. But I definitely did. While this cast is not as experienced as some casts I've worked with in the past, there is NO drop-off in TALENT. That bodes well for the future of this industry, and for this show in particular.
Anyway, I thought I'd pop in here a bit before rehearsal. I'll be at rehearsal every day this long weekend, so I thank my girlfriend Alessya for being so patient. We're going to Indian buffet tonight in Brampton, so that'll be one of the only non-work things I'll be doing this Labour Day weekend. I'm a big fan of Tandoori chicken, but that's probably irrelevant to this blog entry. ;)
Bobman
At this point, we've blocked roughly half the show - and will have everything blocked by Monday night. We've done a lot of work in a short period of time, and it's starting to pay off. Interestingly, since we're rehearsing in our venue, we're actually a top-heavy rehearsal process. By that, I mean we won't have to acclimate ourselves to our final venue - which will cut down lots of time before we open. Tech is always a bitch, and I'm happy to solve that problem as we go...
Surprisingly, tech has been pretty easy. We're using found light to design the show, and it's pretty amazing how this apartment lends itself to theatricalization. Hell, we even have a special. Sort of. My hope is that this show is a testament to what the human mind can accomplish - with ingenuity instead of commerce. WE HAVEN'T SPENT ONE DOLLAR ON ANYTHING! And I think audiences will be impressed with both the quality of the production overall, and the creative solutions we've constructed to avoid economic transactions.
At this point, I'm trying to decide whether to end the show with "Fringe Show" or "Schmoozers". Both are hilarious - for different reasons - but I think I'll know more after we block "Schmoozers" in its entirety today. Each play is about 25 minutes long, so although psychologically it FEELS like lots of work left to do for the actors, time-wise it's not so bad. Jonathan Shatzky, in particular, is really zipping along. He is the only actor in each and every playlet (with significant parts in all of them!), and I generally consider him my 'lead actor'. He's had to learn lots of lines in a cumbersome rehearsal process, and his hard work is definitely paying off.
I feel sorta bad singling out any individual actors in this fine cast though. It is a uniformly strong cast, and when you see the show, you'll see for yourselves. This is the first time I've written/directed a show with a non-Equity cast in many years, so I was scared I wouldn't find enough talent. But I definitely did. While this cast is not as experienced as some casts I've worked with in the past, there is NO drop-off in TALENT. That bodes well for the future of this industry, and for this show in particular.
Anyway, I thought I'd pop in here a bit before rehearsal. I'll be at rehearsal every day this long weekend, so I thank my girlfriend Alessya for being so patient. We're going to Indian buffet tonight in Brampton, so that'll be one of the only non-work things I'll be doing this Labour Day weekend. I'm a big fan of Tandoori chicken, but that's probably irrelevant to this blog entry. ;)
Bobman
Friday, September 4, 2009
Competing against myself...
So don't know if you heard, but there's a little thing called the Toronto International Film Festival coming to town. Quick plug: I'm playing the lead role in a 15-minute film at TIFF this year called "Unlocked".
Here's the problem.
My own personal network is pretty extensive, but basically all my people are more interested in my TIFF film than my new play coming out. My world premiere for "Unlocked" is Sept 15, this show opens Sept 17. See the problem?
Exacerbating the problem somewhat is the sheer amount of publicity TIFF gets. Pretty much every publicist in the entertainment industry, every arts reporter, every entertainment blogger, etc is focusing on TIFF coverage. It's very difficult to be a play trying to get attention - when Megan Fox is in town.
I knew when we planned this production that we were going up against TIFF (and I hadn't heard about my film then), but it was the only time my producer was able to offer the free venue to us. Better to do a 16-show run for FREE during TIFF, then wait til November. That's what I thought anyway.
Anyway, I'm not sure how much publicity we'll be able to generate for this thing, but all we can do is put up the best show possible. Last night's "Fringe Show" rehearsal was awesome! 4 great actors playing 4 wacky characters. The chemistry is brilliant, and I truly can't wait to show off the fruit of our collective labour.
As for TIFF, here's hoping I meet Megan Fox at a party. And she decides she wouldn't mind seeing a play...
Bobman
Here's the problem.
My own personal network is pretty extensive, but basically all my people are more interested in my TIFF film than my new play coming out. My world premiere for "Unlocked" is Sept 15, this show opens Sept 17. See the problem?
Exacerbating the problem somewhat is the sheer amount of publicity TIFF gets. Pretty much every publicist in the entertainment industry, every arts reporter, every entertainment blogger, etc is focusing on TIFF coverage. It's very difficult to be a play trying to get attention - when Megan Fox is in town.
I knew when we planned this production that we were going up against TIFF (and I hadn't heard about my film then), but it was the only time my producer was able to offer the free venue to us. Better to do a 16-show run for FREE during TIFF, then wait til November. That's what I thought anyway.
Anyway, I'm not sure how much publicity we'll be able to generate for this thing, but all we can do is put up the best show possible. Last night's "Fringe Show" rehearsal was awesome! 4 great actors playing 4 wacky characters. The chemistry is brilliant, and I truly can't wait to show off the fruit of our collective labour.
As for TIFF, here's hoping I meet Megan Fox at a party. And she decides she wouldn't mind seeing a play...
Bobman
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Secret location revealed!
How do you produce a 16-show run for ZERO dollars?? Well, it certainly helps if you find a FREE venue (thanx to our producer Jason Morneau!)...
The 3 plays will be staged in an unconventional venue: A converted downtown apartment, transformed into a site-specific theatre. Right in the heart of the Art District, the space is conveniently located 1 block away from Ossington/Queen. (970 Queen St W, Unit 7 – 1 block East of Ossington. Go to Givins St, then walk a few steps North.)
The show runs Sept 17 – Oct 4. Tue – Sat @ 8pm ($10). Sunday @ 2:30 pwyc. To reserve tix, e-mail torontotheatretrilogy@gmail.com
Bobman
The 3 plays will be staged in an unconventional venue: A converted downtown apartment, transformed into a site-specific theatre. Right in the heart of the Art District, the space is conveniently located 1 block away from Ossington/Queen. (970 Queen St W, Unit 7 – 1 block East of Ossington. Go to Givins St, then walk a few steps North.)
The show runs Sept 17 – Oct 4. Tue – Sat @ 8pm ($10). Sunday @ 2:30 pwyc. To reserve tix, e-mail torontotheatretrilogy@gmail.com
Bobman
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