So, on to the exciting announcement: This has been in the works for awhile now but I can FINALLY announce our next mainstage show. So, first we have Jane Austen’s Persuasion which will run in late June (hey, did I mention there’s a gala too? Tickets are available here) and then we’ve got In The Ebb, our Fringe show (read about that here).

Then, our next mainstage production will be (I feel like there should be a drumroll here so imagine that’s happening) an original adaptation of the novel Within Arm’s Reach by Ann Napolitano.

From Ms. Napolitano’s website: “Within Arm’s Reach charts the emotional life of three generations of an Irish Catholic family. Shaken reluctantly into self-examination by the unexpected pregnancy of its youngest member, the McLaughlin family is forced to confront ghosts of both past and present, and to re-appraise its values in a world of rapid change.

Narrated through six subjective first person accounts – the pregnant Gracie, her sister Lila, their parents, their matriarchal grandmother, and a family outsider with a curious connection – the novel dissects the markedly variant responses that such supposedly similar people can have to the same events.

An honest tale of interconnected lives, Within Arm’s Reach shows us that the ‘ties that bind’ are a source of both solace and of pain – at once a curse, a lifeline, an irritant and a cure – they are ultimately unavoidable and indelible.”

It’s a gorgeous novel, beautifully written, and I highly recommend picking it up and taking a look for yourself before we get the adaptation up on its feet. (In fact, I recommend you do that now so that it won’t be quite so fresh in your mind when you see the show and you notice all those little things I needed to change while adapting it for the stage). I am THRILLED to start working on the adaptation and delve into the lives of these amazing, intriguing, flawed, relatable, lovely, fascinating characters. Also worth a read is Ann’s second novel A Good Hard Look. The adaptation of that novel would have been much more difficult though, as I don’t have the budget to put live peacocks on stage…see, now you’re totally intriqued, right? That was my intention. Get thee to Ann’s website to get clarification and to pick up some great reading material.

And, hand in hand with our Within Arm’s Reach announcement (and I do want to apologize in advance if during the next 6 months of promotion that apostrophe ends up after the ‘s’ – I’ve caught myself putting it in the wrong place several times during grant applications and I live in terror of sending something out with it in the wrong place. That, and adding an ‘e’ to Ann’s name. Another thing I live in horror of doing because right now, I’m working on a show (Jane Austen’s Persuasion (gala tickets here)) where the main character’s name is Anne with an ‘e’ so with all the stuff floating in my head I’m concerned I’ll mix up the Anne/Anns or put that apostrophe at the end of Arms – Arms’. I’m probably guaranteed to do it but writing this here will hopefully keep it from happening. And, although I’m gonna try my best not to allow it to happen, just in case, I do want to apologize in advance to Ann if it does.)

ANYWHO…hand in hand with our Within Arm’s Reach announcement I would also like to announce that Going to Tahiti Productions has been awarded its first grant! Thank you Puffin Foundation for your support of Within Arm’s Reach. PuffinFoundation is a wonderful organization that, well, they say it best themselves…from www.puffinfoundation.org: “The Puffin Foundation Ltd. has sought to open the doors of artistic expression by providing grants to artists and art organizations who are often excluded from mainstream opportunities due to their race, gender, or social philosophy. Why the Puffin? The Puffin, once endangered in the northeastern United States, was returned to its native habitats through the efforts of a concerned citizenry. Our name is a metaphor for how we perceive our mission in the arts: to join with other concerned groups and individuals to ensure that the arts not merely survive, but flourish at all levels of our society.” Within Arm’s Reach will now definitely happen because funding has been made possible by the Puffin Foundation. Thank you thank you thank you, Puffin! And can I just say, after growing up with PBS and hearing that phrase “funding has been made possible” during so many broadcasts I don’t think I can fully describe the thrill it gives me to be able to say that for one of my projects “funding has been made possible” by someone who doesn’t even know me but who read my proposal and thought, “yeah, that sounds cool. Let’s give her some money.” Seriously?!?! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU, Puffin!!!

Phew! Ok, so, yeah, that’s the news. I promised you exciting so there you have it. I’ll be back next week with the cast announcements for Jane Austen’s Persuasion. Oh, and did I mention our gala? An Evening with Jane Austen? On June 16th at 7pm at MIMA Brooklyn? No? Well you can get tickets here and for two more days the early bird ticket price is still available. Buy Tickets Now!

They say good things come to those who wait…what they don’t mention is that in addition to having the patience to wait for the good thing (whatever it may be) you also have to bust your a**. So for the last few months I’ve been putting in some serious leg work to take GTTP to the next level and it looks like that leg work is starting to pay off. Here’s what’s been happening in Tahiti…

First off, this didn’t happen in the last two weeks but I’m still so stoked about it that I figured I’d mention it again – I got to interview Melanie Jones! Check out our podcast interview with creator and performer, Melanie Jones.

Secondly, our JUNE 16th Gala Event, An Evening with Jane Austen, is starting to come together. We’ve got a commitment for appetizers from the amazing Brooklyn Restaurant . If you are a New Yorker and are unfamiliar with this Williamsburg restaurant, you are in for a treat. Every time I have eaten there the food has been exquisite. The place has a great atmosphere, terrific food, and fantastic drinks. Definitely check them out if you’re looking for a place to eat in Williamsburg, or, even better, check them out when you’re at the gala. Did I mention, you can get tickets to the Gala here.

And, we’ll be serving beer from . I know, not exactly Jane Austen fare, but they had beer back then, right? So what if it wasn’t Brooklyn Brewery beer. Their loss is our gain. Brooklyn is representing! And for those non-beer drinkers, never fear, there will also be wine.

Thirdly, today was the first day of auditions for Jane Austen’s Persuasion! The cast is starting to take shape and if all goes according to plan (keep your fingers crossed that all goes according to plan) we should have a cast announcement in next week’s blog post!

Fourthly, (is that a word), we got some awesome news from  This exciting and prestigious international theater festival has selected a version of GTTP’s very first show, In The Ebb, by Camilla Ammirati, to be a part of this year’s festival. Performances will be this summer in a theater in Manhattan – that’s right all you Manhattanites who have been saying, “I would totally go see a GTTP show but I don’t do Queens” – this AUGUST you’ll get your chance!!! More details will be posted on the website as they happen…and for more info on the NYC Fringe Festival itself, check out their page here.

AND, last but not least, I have a VERY exciting announcement regarding our fall/winter show…but you’ll have to wait to hear it for another week or so. Sorry, hate to cliffhang y’all but until the ink is dry on some paperwork, the (official) exciting announcement will have to wait. But seriously, guys, it’s awesome! You’ll definitely want to check back for deets soon!

…oh, and did I mention, tickets for the gala are on sale here. Also, for another week you can get them for the Early Bird reduced rate of $60 – use code GEB.

GalaTicketsGalaTicketsGalaTickets Buy gala tickets now! GalaTicketsGalaTicketsGalaTickets

Saturday began with a site visit to MIMA (the site for our GALA Event – An Evening with Jane Austen – Oh, did I mention, tickets now on sale here!!!! – It’s a BEAUTIFUL space, y’all. I can’t wait for you to see it. Me and my Fundraising Coordinator, the incomparable Shanai Jensen, went to the space to plan some specifics about the event. You know, like “food will go here, silent auction there, drinks here, dance lesson there.”  Step by step it’s all starting to come together. We also discovered (thanks to the construction on the G train) that there is an INCREDIBLY simple way to get from Greenpoint/Williamsburg to MIMA and it is the B62 Bus. It stops literally half a block from the space so for those of you who are looking to take public transpo and don’t want to walk from the G (or if the MTA decides to do more construction on the G line on June 16th) the B62 is the way to go!

Following the site visit, Shanai and I headed to the Secret Theatre, where a group of actors, Tahitians, and friends volunteered to read the working script for Laura Bultman, our genius adapter, to hear out loud. It was a fun and helpful excercise for a certain director (that would be me) as well.

It’s amazing how a script can be so clear on the page and so different once the lines are read out loud. Thanks to this reading, Laura will be able to make final revisions to the script before we head into auditions and onward to rehearsals.

After the weekend’s activities, today I sat down with the stage manager and a few of the designers in our first official Jane Austen’s Persuasion Production Meeting. We got to take a look at the performance space and get a jump on initial ideas. It’s funny, even though the script is still going through revisions, there’s still much to be done. Somewhere in the last two weeks a switch was thrown from “lots of time to get everything done” to “not enough time to get anything done.” It’s amazing how fast that happens.

Speaking of lots to do…I should go, you know, do it…

Thanks for checking in!

So, as many of you know by now (and can see on our home page), the Gala has been scheduled!!!! June 16th we Tahitians (and hopefully all of you) will gather in Fort Greene, Brooklyn (and no mom, Ft. Greene is no longer a scary unsafe neighborhood – it’s too gentrified and filled with yuppies to be unsafe – it may still be scary – but that depends on how you feel about yuppies) to celebrate GTTP and Jane Austen and to get ready for our performance of Persuasion the adaptation of which Tahitian, Laura Bultman, is working on even as I type. The GTTP GALA committee is still nailing down the specifics, but we know date (June 16th), time (7-11pm) and location (MIMA Brooklyn – 174 Washington Avenue, Ft. Greene).

It’s funny, ever since I started GTTP, I’ve wanted to throw a gala. I remember when I first moved to NY I had the opportunity to go to a gala at The Guggenheim Museum and it was a magical night. There was food and music and wine and even though my date backed out at the last moment, I still had an excuse to get dressed up and wander through the museum after hours – granted it was with a few hundred strangers – but, it made me feel so sophisticated and grown up. In some small way, I was a part of the New York arts community. I was new to the city and a little bit adrift in terms of my theater work, but an arts gala was just the thing to inspire me again. Twelve years later, when I started GTTP, I wanted our first event to be a gala but at the time, we didn’t have the community big enough for a big event. Finally, almost 4 years and 5 and a half shows later, we’re ready to do it. We are starting small – limited to 70 people – and we’re still figuring it out as we go, but it should be a really fun night. (Like I said, not quite the Guggenheim – MIMA Brooklyn is only one floor and it doesn’t have curved walls – but a fun night all the same.)

Here are the definites we know so far: there will be food of some kind (we’re aiming for a mixture of some hors d’oeuvres and some desserts), some wine (not sure what yet), and some dancing (we’ll be doing at least some Regency Dance lessons for our guests so you too can feel like you’re a part of Jane Austen’s world) – hopefully to a life band, but that’s still being worked out. We’re also putting together a silent auction with a mixture of really great items. Our plan is to launch the silent auction a month before the GALA and then continue it through the event. (So stay tuned for details on the items.) The auction will close at the gala, an hour before the end of the evening and we’ll anounce the winners (who will be able to pick up their items) at that time. Also, since our adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion opens on June 26th (a mere 10 days after the gala), at the party we’ll have a short preview perfromance to give everyone a chance to see what to expect during the run of the show.

Oh…there’s another VERY IMPORTANT thing…and that is the evening’s attire. As attendees you’re welcome to stick with just modern semi-formal dress (you’ll still be welcome at the event) but, for the more adventurous of you (or at least those of you who have access to a costume shop), GTTP suggests you come to the gala in Regency period dress. So, corsets and Empire waist dresses for the ladies and coats and riding breeches for the men. Most of the Tahitians in the crowd (at least most of the female Tahitians (as the male costumes are harder to come by)) will all be in costume. And don’t worry if it’s not perfect, the costume thing is just meant for us all to have some fun. Even if you only have part of a costume, we hope you get into the spirit of night and wear it to accentuate the rest of your clothes.

In case you’re wondering, tickets for the gala will go on sale here on the website starting April 20th. Gala tickets will be $75/person, but there will be an early rate so all tickets purchased before May 16th will be $60/person.

…oh, and one last thing – there may be a special guest so like I said above, stay tuned for more details.

Ok, so just a Spoiler Alert – heads up. If you don’t want to know anything at all about the show, you may not want to read the full review below. I mean it’s not like I’m giving a blow by blow of the plot or anything (the butler did it. Heh.) but I do discuss some detials that you might want to avoid. So, if you hate anything with even a whisp of a spoiler about it you’ll want to stop reading after this paragraph. If you want the spoiler-free version of the review here it is: Go see Peter and the Star Catcher!!!! It’s awesome and magical and well worth your time and money. Tickets available here. For the less spoiler-averse read on…

So, as part of my association with TRU, I have been interning with Broadway producer Jane Dubin, on her off-Broadway show, unFRAMED (which after a short successful run in Philly, is returning to NY June 4th – 16th as part of the soloNOVA Festival. For details and tickets go here.) In addition to her work on unFRAMED, Jane is also one of the Co-Producers for the new Broadway show, Peter and the Star Catcher and she was able to get me a ticket to see one of the preview performances last week. Written by Rick Elice and based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, Peter and the Star Catcher tells the story of how a sad orphan boy becomes Peter Pan. Peter and the Star Catcher is directed by Roger Rees and Alex Timbers and stars Christian Borle (Black Stache), Celia Kennan-Bolger (Molly) and Adam Chanler-Berat (Boy/Peter) and it is a wonderful, hilarious, and thoroughly enjoyable show. Similar to the experience of a Pixar movie, the play is appropriate for young audiences (10 and up) but is also a hilarious and moving experience for adults as well.

The play is great fun from start to finish but the thing that stood out the most for me was the inventiveness and originality of the staging. I’ve seen my share of both theater and movies and I love both mediums for their ability to entertain in completely different ways. But, what I love most about theater is that, necessity being the mother of all invention, theater requires an audience to use their imaginations in ways that film does not. In my own directing, I love, during a rehearsal, when a moment that seemed all but impossible on the page, comes to life in an unexpected and beautiful way. Like turning 5 actors and 2 chairs into a mob attacking a car on a Cairo street as we did in Dreamers of the Day, or turning a stack of used books and 5 actors into a slow motion book ballet as we did in Skin Flesh Bone. Peter and the Star Catcher is filled with moments like these. Without any high tech tricks or special effects, the creative team manages to bring the audience onto 3 separate ships sailing the high seas (both on deck and below), to the forest of a tropical island (complete with trees and sandy beaches), and into the depths of a magical pond (populated by mermaids). Using simple sets and props the cast members believably create a sense of movement and space at the same time they’re able to clearly define the various locations the story takes them to. And, all of the “special effects” in the play are executed not by feats of engineering but by choreographed movement, lighting and sound effects. Ingenius and yet simple techniques that make the play come to life create the magic of theater making the audience believe – fully believe – what they’re seeing on stage. The Peter and the Star Catcher team even manages to levitate an actress during the show – it’s a pretty cool effect (the secret of which I will not reveal here) – and though I figured it out, my knowledge of how they did it in no way diminished my enjoyment of watching it be done. Along the way the 12 actors introduce close to 100 different characters some of whom are familiar to fans of the original Peter Pan (I myself couldn’t wait to meet Tinkerbell and I wasn’t disappointed). The creativity of the staging isn’t just amazing, it’s inspiring (especially for this director).

The performers (actors and musicians, as there is some music in the play) are all clearly having a good time and their fun is infectious as they draw the audience into the party. All of the actors in the show are amazing, but I’d like to call specific attention to Celia Keenan-Bolger and Christian Borle. Celia Keenan-Bolger plays the precocious 13 year old, Molly. Learning to be a Star Catcher like her father, Molly befriends young Peter and is the first to play the “mothering” role for The Lost Boys that will, in later incarnations of the Peter Pan story, be played by the character Wendy. The Molly character requires a very difficult mixture of youth and maturity balancing moments of childish excitement and wonder with the strength and drive of an older woman and Ms. Keenan-Bolger strikes that balance with skill and grace. And, Christian Borle (in my opinion criminally underused in the television show SMASH) revels in the devilish fun of playing Black Stache (the pirate villain who will become Captain Hook) and takes the audience along for the hilarious ride. He tears into the role with great enthusiasm and it is an absolute blast to watch. Top to bottom, the play is a joy but don’t think that means it’s light on substance. As with the Peter Pan story the themes of abandonment and loss and fear of growing up are present and very real. They’re just a little hidden for the younger members of the audience and I only wish my niece and nephew (the 9 year old not the 18 month old) lived closer so that I could take them along to join in the fun. And it is great fun…for ALL ages. So, yeah, in case you can’t tell Peter and the Star Catcher is an INCREDIBLY entertaining show and I HIGHLY recommend seeing it.

Peter and the Star Catcher currently in previews, opens April 15th at The Brooks Atkinson Theatre 256 West 47th Street. For tickets and more details go to the show’s website here.

Ok, so last week in the midst of my rant I off-handedly mentioned the best theater company you’ve never heard of… So now it’s time for me to elaborate. This weekend I spent 16 hours in an audition event. Basically, I saw two days of auditions from about 250 actors. This was an INSANELY useful resource for me. Seeing as I have at least two shows to cast in the next 6 months (possibly three) getting a chance to see this many professional actors in one sitting (or two sittings as the case may be) just saved me an enormous amount of time. The company that organized this event is called TRU – Theater Resources Unlimited – and, no kidding folks, if you are involved in theater in NYC and you’re not a part of TRU you are missing out.

When I first moved to NY I was doing a lot of directing but I had been reluctant to become a producer. Although I have always been organized and detail-oriented (two necessary skills of a producing) I never really wanted to be a part of the producing world. I just wanted to focus on directing and have that be my career. However, after a few years of not being hired to direct, I finally decided to bite the bullet and teach myself to be a producer and here I am, years later, with a bunch of producing credits under my belt and I don’t need to learn to be a producer, I am one…but, MAN would it have been helpful to be a part of TRU 15 years ago. Because (get ready folks, I’m about to reveal an inner truth about Jessica Ammirati and, contrary to popular belief, I don’t do this very often, so seriously, get ready) when I began to produce, I had NO IDEA what I was doing. The first show I fully produced I just bumbled through it and I made a lot of mistakes – A LOT of mistakes. Of course that was an incredible learning experience for me BUT I seriously wish I knew then what I know now and that is 3 little letters people: T – R – U!

Now, I’ve been aware of TRU almost since I first arrived in the city, but because I only knew it as a producing organization, when I was still resisting becoming a producer, I didn’t really pursue becoming a member (Dude, seriously? My mistake!) So here’s the description of TRU from their website: “TRU was formed to promote a spirit of cooperation and support within the general theatre community by providing information and a variety of entertainment-related services and resources that strengthen the capacity of producing organizations, individuals producers, self-producing artists and other theater professionals.” Founded in 1992, TRU is enjoying its 20th year of supporting theater artists. Along with the annual audition event I just attended, TRU has some other yearly events like the Producers’ Boot Camp Sessions on Fundraising and Producing Showcases. They also provide a new play/new musical series. They hold speed date nights for producers and writers where writers can pitch their projects to producers looking for new works. And they hold monthly seminars about different topics of interest to producers, directors, writers and actors. If you are a member of TRU (which, by the way costs only $75/year for individuals and $100/yr for companies) the seminars are free and the other events are either free or deeply discounted. And, if you’re not a member you can still attend most of the TRU activities on a pay-as-you-go basis (though the membership is the better deal).

TRU also has the PDMP Program. The Producers Development and Mentorship Program is a year long program for producers and self producing artists (in fact, this year the program has separated its participants into two groups – career producers and self producing artists (it’s the latter group of which I am a part)). The PDMP program consists of monthly seminars with Broadway and Off-Broadway producers with topics ranging from marketing, to fundraising, to budgets, to contracts, to legal issues, to touring opportunities to pretty much any topic you can think of that effects a theater producer  in today’s theatrical environment. But one of the most helpful things I have found with the PDMP is that it gets you thinking about what your goals are as a producer. It gets you thinking in very practical and specific terms about how you produce and why. And, as someone who fell into producing as a way to continue directing, I find it extremely helpful to think about producing under these terms and tailor my production work to take these things into account.

In the end, TRU is all about connections. Bob Ost, the founder and current President of TRU is an absolute marvel. He knows how to connect people and he engenders such loyalty (for example of that loyalty, uh, read this post) in the people he works with that regardless of what level they’re producing at (from you’re tiny community theater all the way up to Broadway), they still want to be a part of what Bob is doing and so they offer to participate in seminars or serve on the TRU Board of Directors or in some way remain a part of TRU long after they first came through TRU’s door. You see Bob understands that networking is a crucial part of being a producer and he creates a space that encourages people to network in a comfortable way. He helps people talk to each other and before you know it, you’ve built your rolodex, yes but more importantly you’ve connected with people that you may find yourself working with for years to come. And what’s even more amazing is that Bob in specific and TRU in general, makes you believe (despite what most naysayers think) that what you’re doing, or trying to do, or hoping to do – this theater thing that we all put our hearts and souls into – it’s not just a sane and reasonable choice that you’ve made for a career, but it is completely and totally possible. TRU gives you that gift of possibility with every meeting, every seminar, every networking event, every person you meet…oh, and also? there are usually free brownies at TRU events. So no kidding, guys, if you’re involved in theater in NYC get thee to a TRU event pronto – I promise you, you’ll be happy that you did!

If you would be interested in being a member of TRU or just showing up to one of their open seminars – check out www.truonline.org.

Most of the time I try very hard to be nothing but positive on this blog. I mean GTTP is an exciting company and we do exciting work and I want you all to see that, hear that, and feel that from this blog. I don’t mind sharing the reality of the difficulties of producing theater here but I don’t want to skew to the negative. I want to be honest – I mean, isn’t that what a blog is for/about but nobody wants to hear me whine about how producing theater is haaaaarrrrrdddddd. So, read the rest of this blog at your own risk. If you’d rather just see the happy sunny side of life, skip this blog post entirely and catch up with us next week when I discuss the best theater organization in the city that you’ve never heard of. But, if you want to hear the truth, keep on reading…and stick around for the end cause there’s a nice little addendum to this story.

So, as I believe I’ve mentioned before, being an artist in NYC is hard and sometimes there are days when you can’t help but think why why why am I doing this? During the run of Full Disclosure I had one (actually a few) of those days when we had VERY small audiences (like two people) and there were even a couple performances we had to cancel because no one showed up at all. What if you threw a party and no one showed up? Well, I can tell you, because it’s happened to me and it sucks. And, because I’m hoping other theater companies out there read this blog, I want them to realize when the going gets tough that they’re not alone out there. In the end I felt like it was only fair for me to post the good with the bad. So here goes. (Also, since I’m not certain that anyone other than my mom reads this blog anyway, it can’t hurt, right?)

The life of an artist. (An artist with an amazing, super supportive, incredibly awesome husband, family and general support system, but an artist nonetheless…)

Everyone is encouraging. Everyone is supportive. I can’t express how grateful I am for that encouragement and support but what if everyone is also delusional? What if I am? It never seemed like such a crazy dream, it still doesn’t…I just want to make a living as a director. And yes I know making a living with art is crazy. It’s impossible… It won’t get you rich… I know, I know, I know… but here’s the thing… the thing I keep coming back to… the reason I can’t just stop. I can’t just let it go… Are you ready for the thing? Here it is: people do it. Yup, that’s right. There are people all over the world (and when it comes to theater particularly this city – all over this city) who do it. They make a living with their art. It may not be a good living but it’s how they pay their bills… And hell, some of them are even rich. Not Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey rich, but, you know, they make a decent living. They’re rich enough not to worry every month about paying their bills, about going out to a nice dinner (I am so sick of tuna fish but that’s another story) about picking up a nice bottle of wine (although say what you will, that 3 buck chuck ain’t bad at all). You know, they just do it. That’s what I’d like to get to. I’d like to have a little breathing room so that each month I don’t have to go into an ulcer-inducing, migraine causing, teeth grinding panic that the bills are due…

So, in order to become a director, I became a producer. It seemed like a good idea at the time. And I started this production company… And you know what? We’re good. I mean we do good – really good – work. And, every show I think “this one’s going to be different. This time I’ll get the word out in advance. I’ll make sure the show is listed everywhere, that everyone knows about it. I’ll hang signs and run campaigns and we’ll have HUGE audiences (or at least decent houses).” And you know what happens? I do the listings. I hang the signs. I talk to the people and… we’re lucky if we get 10 people!

Now, I know we don’t have brand recognition. I know we often do new works and none of those new works are produced by Alicia Keys or starring Sarah Jessica Parker, but still, we do great stuff with amazing actors. How are we flying under the radar? Why is word not spreading? In the past I’ve had marketing help but clearly it’s time to bring in a pro… or is it? Is it worth the expense? Will they really bring in an audience or funds or whatever? What’s next?

I’m hoping Persuasion, being Jane Austen, will at least bring in some folks, but honestly, if we can’t bring in some money, we can’t do Persuasion. This is why we did Full Disclosure. Do a smaller less expensive show, sell out a few houses and BOOM! Enough money in the bank to have a base for Persuasion but you know what’s happened? We did 12 performances of a planned 14 performance run and… no sold out houses. In fact our largest house was eighteen people and we had to cancel two performances (one of them on a SATURDAY night!) because there was no audience! I mean, I’ve faced small audiences before but since the start of GTTP I have NEVER had to cancel an entire performance, let alone two. We’re going backwards!! So now what?

You have to persevere. You can’t give up. You just need to have a thick skin. But, if I’m really going to persevere (and who are we kidding? I am because a director is who I am) and if I’m not going to give up (spoiler alert: I’m not (see the whole “it’s who I am” thing above)) then I don’t think the thick skin is going to cut it. I think, not a thick skin – a short memory.

Yes, you have to remember enough to learn from your mistakes but once you’ve done that? Forget, forget, forget. Forget the disappointment of the last time. Forget that acid stomach, might-vomit feeling of looking at the two presales at five minutes to curtain and thinking “maybe there’s a tourist bus full of people just pulling up out front.” Forget the headache inducing feeling of looking at your audience of 2, count ‘em TWO wonderful people, knowing they’ll still get an amazing performance but that it would be better if that 2 were 20 or 50 or 100. You need to forget, forget, forget and believe – really BELIEVE that next time it will be different… And then SOMEHOW you need to make that happen.

Because, if Going to Tahiti Productions is about the possibility (and it is), about all of the possible things that could happen when that curtain goes up or those lights go on… well then, it’s definitely POSSIBLE that one of the possibilities is playing to packed houses. Maybe with a longer run. Maybe with a show with a bigger budget. Maybe with a press rep. Maybe, maybe, baby… but whatever the answer I guess the only way I’m going to find it is to keep trying…right?

So, I guess I have no choice, right? So, I pick myself up off the mat, forget, forget, forget the disappointments of last show, last year, last night…know, know, KNOW that the product is good, whether the audience is 2 or 20 or 50 or 100. Know that the show is HIGH quality and get ready to do it again tomorrow. I mean who are we kidding? In the world of dreams is there ever, was there really ever, an option to do anything OTHER than keep pursuing? I think not. See you at the theater, folks. I know it’s where I’ll be… And honestly, I really hope you come and join me for the ride!

So I wrote the above blog post during the run of Full Disclosure, and though the show was terrific and Kiwi Callahan knocked it out of the park for every freaking performance, we didn’t have a fantastic attendance rate and we lost money on the show. BUT! Something happened with Cat Lady Without a Cat. Are you ready? We made…wait for it…EIGHTY EIGHT DOLLARS! That’s right, ladies and gentlemen of the interwebs, we didn’t lose a dime on our last production, we are in the black! So, you know…progress…Here’s hoping this is the beginning of an upward trend for GTTP! I have a feeling, 2012 is going to be a very good year.

Ok, so there are a couple of things y’all need to know about me for this post…full disclosure and all…

1) First and foremost – I’m a scifi nerd. No, like seriously, in case you couldn’t tell from the picture to the left – I LOVE sci fi – movies, books, tv, you name it, I’m a fan.

2) Secondly, and related to the above – I LOVE me some Joss Whedon. I realized that because I’m a director and producer, I don’t get star struck. I mean I work with actors all the time and I’ve met my share of famous people and I just don’t get tongue-tied around them…but there are two people I think I’d turn into a babbling idiot in front of (if I’m ever lucky enough to meet either of them) and they are Steven Spielberg and Joss Whedon.

3) Thirdly – I don’t like clowns. Like I REALLY don’t like clowns.

Which brings me to…

That Beautiful Laugh

So now you know the circumstance under which I agreed to attend That Beautiful Laugh by Orlando Pabotoy. Featuring Julia Ogilvie, Alan Tudyk, and Carlton Ward this “exploration of laughter featuring clowning, live music, and joy [is a] high-energy, rhythmically-driven comedy piece” playing at La MaMa until March 25th. Tickets available here: http://lamama.org/the-club/that-beautiful-laugh/ Basically, I went to see it because Alan Tudyk is in it. For those of you who don’t know, Alan Tudyk played Wash in the short-lived Joss Whedon television show Firefly and its follow up movie, Serenity. So, when I saw he was going to be in it, the connection to numbers 1 and 2 on my list above outweighed number 3, and, after having seen the show, I’m really glad it did.

I had no idea what to expect when I went in to the show. In fact, I purposely didn’t investigate a whole lot about the show because I didn’t want to go into it with any preconceived notions (other than “the guy who played Wash is in it and he’s gonna be a clown.”) I knew I would be writing a review of the show so I tried to walk in with an open mind. As the lights went down and the show began, people started to laugh. Musicians Eugene Ma and Harrison Beck get the show started and Alan Tudyk appears. His character, Flan, sets up the premise of the show – that people have forgotten a particular kind of laugh (that of the title). Flan then facilitates the entrance of the other two characters – I’ll not spoil the fun by explaining exactly how – but suffice it to say, he is joined on stage by Julia Ogilvie’s Darla Waffles Something and Carlton Ward’s Ian.

When I saw the show the audience immediately began to laugh – right from the beginning – and, to be completely honest, I wasn’t sure why they were laughing. For those other sci-fi geeks out there, I felt like Data, on the Enterprise, trying to understand humor. I mean, I found it mildly amusing but people were, like, guffawing. Great belly laughs all around me. So, what? What were they laughing at? What was so funny? I felt completely left out. I didn’t get it at all. I spent the first 10 minutes of the show, watching the clowning (not your Ringling Bros.’ Circus Clowns by the way) and kind of smiling but just not getting it…and trust me, I was trying really hard to “get it.” And then…something amazing happened. Right around the 10 minute mark, something on stage just struck me funny – like, “I looked at the chicken” (see above) funny. I mean, it completely bypassed my brain and I let out a serious laugh and I STOPPED TRYING TO FIGURE IT OUT! I just let it wash (heh, that’s funny because his Firefly character is named Wash) over me. I embraced it and stopped dissecting the nature of humor and suddenly, I was five years old again and I was just enjoying myself.

And, as if that wasn’t enough? There was magic: I remember, when I was little my dad used to do “magic tricks.” One was this one where he’d pretend through the positions of his fingers, that he could detach his thumb. He’d sing this little circus music song and do this whole “routine” where he would detach his thumb and put it back on. When I was five I thought it was the funniest and most amazing thing on the planet. When I watch him do the same routine now for my niece and nephews, I know what he’s doing and I know how it works. It’s not wondrous in that way it was when I was a kid, but when I was five? Man! That was some aMAZing S**T! When I finally got out of my analytical head watching That Beautiful Laugh, I was reminded of those magic tricks (In fact, Flan does a very similar “trick” a few different times in the show). But watching the play, as an adult, I found that I just started laughing and didn’t stop until I had left the theater. And it wasn’t just the laughter, that magic – that wonder that a five year old can see – that was also present throughout the show. Within the play there is a shadow puppet show. It’s ingenious, elaborate, beautiful, magical…and damn funny – “it’s a kit-tay!” And then there was the ending. The ending was just beautiful – magical and full of wonder. I’m too much of a spoiler nut to tell you how the show ends, I’d rather you see it for yourself, but I will say that if you walk out of that theater without having reacted to the magic and wonder of that ending, then you might just be dead inside. So, the only question I was left with is:

Yeah, but WHY is it funny? I never did figure that out but in the end I discovered that as long as I was laughing, I just didn’t care.

Now that Cat Lady has closed, we will now turn our attention to a few things we’ve got in the pipeline at GTTP. First up is the one act I’m directing as part of The Secret Theatre’s One Act Festival: THE ONE ACT FACTOR

Although this is not a GTTP show, The Secret Theatre is a terrific space and they’ve been great to us. If you’re looking for a fun evening of one-acts (or 3 fun evenings of one-acts) join us at The Secret. The play I’m directing is called THE DAY JOB by Julia Blauvelt and it will be performed as part of Series B, on Friday 3/16 and Saturday 3/24.

The Secret Theatre is pleased to announce THE ONE ACT FACTOR, a brand new competition style one-act play festival held from March 15th-31st. Each week actors, playwrights and directors band together and compete to win cash prizes in Best Play, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress in a showdown similar to the popular talent shows we’ve all seen on TV. As the weeks go by, teams advance to the final rounds through audience votes. Awards are also determined by celebrity judges who will give encouragement and advice to all the contestants. This new form of one-act festival is sure to be fun for all involved: actors, directors, playwrights and audience members alike. For more details and to purchase tickets go to: www.secrettheatre.com.

Now that Cat Lady has closed and the grant applications have been submitted (for now), I can finally turn my attention to both Persuasion and the Jane Austen Gala, both of which will be happening in June. I’m about to start pre-production for the play (script should be ready on Wednesday!) and I’m in the process of securing donations from local vendors to make the gala an incredible, fun evening. So, if you know anyone with goods or services that they would like to donate for a tax deduction, please send them my way. The event will have food and wine and a silent auction and hopefully some dancing! As details are settled they’ll be posted.

Looking forward to seeing everyone in June, if not before!

Five days and counting until Cat Lady Without A Cat opens!

Now I’m really starting to get excited. It’s an interesting new perspective (for me) of producing a show that I’m not directing. Normally I’m up to my ears in the creative problems of a given show. I’m making decisions about set and costume and music and acting…every aspect of the project is under my control, but with this one, it’s a little different. For the first time, I get to just talk up a show (and post pictures of frakking adorable cats!). I get to sit back and enjoy the project like a regular audience member and at the same time, I’ve known about Cat Lady for years (I was lucky enough to be one of the first people that Carrie shared the show with when she was first writing it). So, I’m really in this new place of being intimately connected to a show and completely detached from it at the same time.

That being said, I saw a scaled down version of the show at the Emerging Artists Festival last Tuesday. It was great and Carrie was fantastic but I found myself wanting more and I was so excited to know that Carrie will be giving everyone more for the GTTP production. You see, the Emerging Artists Festival had an hour long time limit. And, though it’s only an additional 15-20 minutes that we’re getting with the GTTP production, you see really quickly that that extra 15-20 is crucial stuff. Suddenly, we’re getting more information about Snake Man, JT, the Mom with a Portal to Another Dimension, and the Dad with Control Issues. These characters that Carrie explores are literally the life’s blood of this project and when you limit how much we see of them (which, out of necessity had to be done for the festival) you limit the entire show. So, come Friday night, we’ll get to see all of these folks. Last week Carrie was telling me about her fear of having to cut Snake Man from the show (trust me, you want to meet Snake Man) and she was talking about how friends of hers were devastated at the thought that this bizarre and beloved character would go the way of the dodo. “You CAN’T cut SNAKE MAN! You just CAN’T!” Luckily Snake Man was saved and he will appear in all his Barry-Manilow-loving glory on Friday night. So please, join us for Snake Man, the Squirrel, Max the Super, The Spanish/Italian Exterminator, David, Mortimer La Fantasma, Nanette, Mike Hogue, Station Nine, Portland, Oregon, and Carrie, the wonderful, hilarious and all around amazing, Cat Lady Without A Cat.

My extremely talented little sister (who is getting her PhD in English suggested I leave you with this excerpt from 18th Century poet, and Cat “Dude,” Christoper Smart (there’s is no male form of “Cat Lady” by the way because, as Camilla (the aforementioned sister) said with disdain “men are allowed to be single”(seriously, I may have just found next week’s blog post – a manifesto on chauvinistic language and how it relates to society’s association of cats to single women))…and I agreed. So here you go:

“For I will consider my Cat Jeoffry.
For he is the servant of the Living God duly and daily serving him.
For at the first glance of the glory of God in the East he worships in his way.
For this is done by wreathing his body seven times round with elegant quickness.
For then he leaps up to catch the musk, which is the blessing of God upon his prayer.
For he rolls upon prank to work it in.
For having done duty and received blessing he begins to consider himself.
For this he performs in ten degrees.
For first he looks upon his forepaws to see if they are clean.
For secondly he kicks up behind to clear away there.
For thirdly he works it upon stretch with the forepaws extended.
For fourthly he sharpens his paws by wood.
For fifthly he washes himself.
For sixthly he rolls upon wash.
For seventhly he fleas himself, that he may not be interrupted upon the beat.
For eighthly he rubs himself against a post.
For ninthly he looks up for his instructions.

For tenthly he goes in quest of food.

For having consider’d God and himself he will consider his neighbour.

For if he meets another cat he will kiss her in kindness.
For when he takes his prey he plays with it to give it a chance.
For one mouse in seven escapes by his dallying.
For when his day’s work is done his business more properly begins.
For he keeps the Lord’s watch in the night against the adversary.
For he counteracts the powers of darkness by his electrical skin and glaring eyes.
For he counteracts the Devil, who is death, by brisking about the life.
For in his morning orisons he loves the sun and the sun loves him.”

(for more of For I Will Consider My Cat Jeoffrey… go to: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/for-i-will-consider-my-cat-jeoffry-excerpt-jubil/

And seriously? If you liked that poem and these pics? You have no excuse! Get thee to Cat Lady Without A Cat! Pronto!

Tickets and Details here.