April 6, 2008

Blogging Breaking Ground: Day Five

It is already our final day of Breaking Ground! Thus far we have had 33 hours of rehearsals in three different rooms with 27 actors, 4 directors, 1 music director and 5 playwrights/librettists/composers. We have had eager audiences stick around after readings for four post-play discussions, made dozens of copies of rewrites and new drafts and welcomed scores of new play fans to the Calderwood Pavilion in Boston’s South End.

For the final reading of BG 08, we’ll be hearing the latest from Boston-based playwright/actress Melinda Lopez read tonight. Having helmed the recent world premiere of Gary at Boston Playwrights' Theatre, director M. Bevin O'Gara again teams up with Lopez for this first public reading of Caroline in Jersey. Caroline was born out of a commission from a company on the other side of the country (South Coast Repertory Theatre in Costa Mesa, CA, to be exact) and will delight the East coast this evening with a cast of incredible actors (Becky Ann Baker, Will Lebow, David Beach, Karen MacDonald and Libby Woodbridge).

Prepare for this evening’s reading a bit by checking this out.


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Emergency update!

Breaking Ground is nothing if not exciting. Midway through the rehearsal today, Will Lebow fell ill and had to be replaced! The well-oiled machine of BG went into immediate effect. Casting Director Justin Waldman happened to be watching The Cry of the Reed, so the House Manager Katie Most found him and asked him to meet HTC Literary Manager Ilana Brownstein in the lobby. Five minutes later, we had a substitute: thank you Jerry Kissel! Jerry left his house so quickly he forgot his reading glasses, so Festival Associate Brett Marks ran to CVS to buy a pair. Within about an hour and fifteen minutes of Will falling ill, we were back up to a full complement of actors in the rehearsal hall.

Ilana Brownstein adds: “Thanks to everyone for amazingly quick triage!”

Get better soon, Will.

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Later!
L

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