You would have to go back to 1991 and the beginning of the In The Round Productions era of my life/career (maybe I should write a history of that period?) back in Texas to find a time where I worked so repetitiously with the same core group of people. Although I knew going in that this one was going to be more difficult than the others and also not being informed yet of the decisions from the theatre festivals we submitted to, I went ahead and began to put together the team for The Broken Jump.
Avengers Assemble
Although Melissa had done a phenomenal job directing Weasel Erotica, I knew right out of the gate that I wanted her to play Natalie in The Broken Jump. There were several reasons for this, not the least of which is that she is a damn fine actress. I had suspected during Hamlet and had seen firsthand during Love’s Labors Lost that she was a strong and commanding presence on stage. She exudes the intelligence, strength and beauty that I wanted for the part. On top of that, if I was going to go through with this, then I frankly needed Melissa right there with me. Not backstage, not off stage, not up in a light booth … I needed her quite literally right there with me.
In all honesty, if Melissa had not been available, had turned down the part or had decided she didn’t want to participate in this show; I would not have proceeded any further. Whether because of a lack of confidence in myself or just the simple fact that I enjoyed Melissa as a performer, she had to play Natalie … end of discussion. I had grown to care for her on a deeply personal level and had become accustomed, to some degree, to relying on her and leaning on her. This was going to be a very personal journey, this was going to be a physically demanding task, this was not going to be easy … and I needed Melissa right there to grab hold of in an emergency.
It may sound silly here and now … but I can tell you pure and simple, I was not going to do this without her. She was that important to the project … she is that important to me.
Plus, I had another directing option (I sure as hell wasn’t going to direct this thing myself) staring me right in the face. In the months that immediately followed Weasel Erotica, JB and I had re-established a connection. In the year that had passed since the Abnormal Stew fall-out, things had changed … JB had grown, I had grown … we both simply moved past it. Each of us had seen our personal lives shaken to the very core. Apologies weren’t necessary … we had come to terms with whatever rift there may have been between us. “If mama says we’re family, we’re family.”
In the past year JB had become divorced, quit acting and changed his creative focus more towards directing and filmmaking. His first small project was creative, imaginative and visually fantastic. He was already preparing to direct a Spring/early-Summer production of The Merchant of Venice when I gave him the script to read. JB (now J.B. Lawrence) liked what he read and I knew he had to be the guy to take the reins on this one.
One of the themes of The Broken Jump is coming to terms with one’s mistakes, making amends and striving to move on to a better place. There couldn’t be a better theme for the first project that would reunite the two of us. JB would have my faith and trust and he would direct The Broken Jump.
Filling Out the Cast
The first advantage JB had was that he was directing a Talented Talent Brother show. He knew me. He knew where I was coming from. He also knew that he had several of his primary roles already cast … like Tony King playing Milton Kean. Although he had read Jack at the Super Bowl Sunday read-thru, I don’t think there was every any doubt in anybody’s mind that Tony would play Milt. Brash, young and cocky, Milton was Julius’ partner and had served as his mentor’s straight man. But circumstances, desire and some less-than-stellar material were about to push him out of the crib and into the big bad world. If there was an actor born to play this role, it was certainly Tony.
Plus, Tony and I had realized during Weasel Erotica that we hardly spent any time on stage together and we both knew that had to be remedied this time around.
Another challenge that The Broken Jump would present to both JB and I was that, although not a musical, our initial draft had three musical numbers in it. Neither of us comes from a strong musical theatre background and we certainly didn’t want these numbers to come off half-assed. Luckily, we had our own little “Opera Girl” in-house and Rebecca Sponseller was quickly recruited. A naturally gifted singer, she has her Masters degree in this nonsense … that trumps anything JB or I could possibly bring to the table. Rebecca would be on hand to help us cast our Christina (who would be required to sing a solo) and to whip Tony and I into shape so that we didn’t make fools of ourselves during our routine.
Not to blow smoke up anybody’s tail pipe here, but Matt (brother Mo Talent) Olsem might just secretly be the best actor I have ever worked with. Although he played a fine Claudius in Hamlet, I don’t think I started to realize this guy’s potential until LLL and certainly saw it take center stage in Weasel Erotica. Matt could play the leading man role, he could play the more “show-y” parts … but that is not necessarily where his strength lies. A play is better served if Matt is cast where he can better serve the play … which may sound redundant to you, but makes perfectly good sense to me (and this is my blog, so the heck with you). Matt is an anchor. Matt is the hub of our little wheel … I may be out there on one of the spokes making a damn fool of myself, but it is Matt that is holding everything together. That’s the way we roll …
However, where to cast Matt was initially something of an uncertainty. I had initially thought of Jack because the more I worked on the script, the more prominent Jack was in holding the through-line in place. Then again, wouldn’t the Senator be an interesting departure for Matt to play? JB and I had numerous discussions about how to best use Matt. And I want to point out a difference here … we discussed how to best use Matt, not what part he would play. It is a tribute to Matt’s talent that we were less concerned about what his role would be, what size his role was, what role best fit him and more concerned with how Matt would best serve the play.
Halfway There
This still left us with some significant roles to fill, not the least of which would be Christina. Where were we going to find a pre-teen (or preferably, a twenty-something would could pass for thirteen in a pinch) with the acting chops to tackle the part and the voice to sing a solo? Oh boy …
We were accepted as an official selection of the 8th Annual Midtown International Theatre Festival and now had an opening date in July set. With six performances at the festival, I went ahead and started to make arrangements to hold additional performances back at The Looking Glass Theatre for August … I hated the idea of working this long and this hard on a project for so few performances.
But if we were going to get this show on its feet, we needed to find the rest of our cast. Looks like its time for another round of Baby Hippopotamus Productions auditions … yay!
Avengers Assemble
Although Melissa had done a phenomenal job directing Weasel Erotica, I knew right out of the gate that I wanted her to play Natalie in The Broken Jump. There were several reasons for this, not the least of which is that she is a damn fine actress. I had suspected during Hamlet and had seen firsthand during Love’s Labors Lost that she was a strong and commanding presence on stage. She exudes the intelligence, strength and beauty that I wanted for the part. On top of that, if I was going to go through with this, then I frankly needed Melissa right there with me. Not backstage, not off stage, not up in a light booth … I needed her quite literally right there with me.
In all honesty, if Melissa had not been available, had turned down the part or had decided she didn’t want to participate in this show; I would not have proceeded any further. Whether because of a lack of confidence in myself or just the simple fact that I enjoyed Melissa as a performer, she had to play Natalie … end of discussion. I had grown to care for her on a deeply personal level and had become accustomed, to some degree, to relying on her and leaning on her. This was going to be a very personal journey, this was going to be a physically demanding task, this was not going to be easy … and I needed Melissa right there to grab hold of in an emergency.It may sound silly here and now … but I can tell you pure and simple, I was not going to do this without her. She was that important to the project … she is that important to me.
Plus, I had another directing option (I sure as hell wasn’t going to direct this thing myself) staring me right in the face. In the months that immediately followed Weasel Erotica, JB and I had re-established a connection. In the year that had passed since the Abnormal Stew fall-out, things had changed … JB had grown, I had grown … we both simply moved past it. Each of us had seen our personal lives shaken to the very core. Apologies weren’t necessary … we had come to terms with whatever rift there may have been between us. “If mama says we’re family, we’re family.”In the past year JB had become divorced, quit acting and changed his creative focus more towards directing and filmmaking. His first small project was creative, imaginative and visually fantastic. He was already preparing to direct a Spring/early-Summer production of The Merchant of Venice when I gave him the script to read. JB (now J.B. Lawrence) liked what he read and I knew he had to be the guy to take the reins on this one.
One of the themes of The Broken Jump is coming to terms with one’s mistakes, making amends and striving to move on to a better place. There couldn’t be a better theme for the first project that would reunite the two of us. JB would have my faith and trust and he would direct The Broken Jump.
Filling Out the Cast
The first advantage JB had was that he was directing a Talented Talent Brother show. He knew me. He knew where I was coming from. He also knew that he had several of his primary roles already cast … like Tony King playing Milton Kean. Although he had read Jack at the Super Bowl Sunday read-thru, I don’t think there was every any doubt in anybody’s mind that Tony would play Milt. Brash, young and cocky, Milton was Julius’ partner and had served as his mentor’s straight man. But circumstances, desire and some less-than-stellar material were about to push him out of the crib and into the big bad world. If there was an actor born to play this role, it was certainly Tony.Plus, Tony and I had realized during Weasel Erotica that we hardly spent any time on stage together and we both knew that had to be remedied this time around.
Another challenge that The Broken Jump would present to both JB and I was that, although not a musical, our initial draft had three musical numbers in it. Neither of us comes from a strong musical theatre background and we certainly didn’t want these numbers to come off half-assed. Luckily, we had our own little “Opera Girl” in-house and Rebecca Sponseller was quickly recruited. A naturally gifted singer, she has her Masters degree in this nonsense … that trumps anything JB or I could possibly bring to the table. Rebecca would be on hand to help us cast our Christina (who would be required to sing a solo) and to whip Tony and I into shape so that we didn’t make fools of ourselves during our routine.
Not to blow smoke up anybody’s tail pipe here, but Matt (brother Mo Talent) Olsem might just secretly be the best actor I have ever worked with. Although he played a fine Claudius in Hamlet, I don’t think I started to realize this guy’s potential until LLL and certainly saw it take center stage in Weasel Erotica. Matt could play the leading man role, he could play the more “show-y” parts … but that is not necessarily where his strength lies. A play is better served if Matt is cast where he can better serve the play … which may sound redundant to you, but makes perfectly good sense to me (and this is my blog, so the heck with you). Matt is an anchor. Matt is the hub of our little wheel … I may be out there on one of the spokes making a damn fool of myself, but it is Matt that is holding everything together. That’s the way we roll …
However, where to cast Matt was initially something of an uncertainty. I had initially thought of Jack because the more I worked on the script, the more prominent Jack was in holding the through-line in place. Then again, wouldn’t the Senator be an interesting departure for Matt to play? JB and I had numerous discussions about how to best use Matt. And I want to point out a difference here … we discussed how to best use Matt, not what part he would play. It is a tribute to Matt’s talent that we were less concerned about what his role would be, what size his role was, what role best fit him and more concerned with how Matt would best serve the play.Halfway There
This still left us with some significant roles to fill, not the least of which would be Christina. Where were we going to find a pre-teen (or preferably, a twenty-something would could pass for thirteen in a pinch) with the acting chops to tackle the part and the voice to sing a solo? Oh boy …We were accepted as an official selection of the 8th Annual Midtown International Theatre Festival and now had an opening date in July set. With six performances at the festival, I went ahead and started to make arrangements to hold additional performances back at The Looking Glass Theatre for August … I hated the idea of working this long and this hard on a project for so few performances.
But if we were going to get this show on its feet, we needed to find the rest of our cast. Looks like its time for another round of Baby Hippopotamus Productions auditions … yay!
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