I finally staged my first play!<\/p>\n
Last year, I graduated from the University of Lethbridge with a degree in dramatic arts (well, I minored in French, too). When I was going to school, one of the most common responses I received when people found out what I was majoring in was asking me what I would do with it.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t go into theatre with the idea that I would work in the drama industry; it was actually the third major I had. I switched over to dramatic arts after having taken the introductory class and fallen in love with theatre. As a result, I never continued with the programme thinking I\u2019d ever professionally work in drama; I was in it solely for the pursuit of the education.<\/p>\n
Consequently, a year later, I\u2019m not working in drama in any way. (I own a communications company<\/a>, actually). That being said, almost right from the day I decided to switch my major to dramatic arts, I knew that I wanted to be involved in theatre somehow, if not employed by it.<\/p>\n Two years ago\u2014a year before I graduated\u2014I was a lead actor<\/a> in a local production of\u00a0A Midsummer\u2019s Night Dream<\/em>.\u00a0The previous fall, I acted in two independent, short films: one minor role and one lead role<\/a>.<\/p>\n 2011 and 2012 was a pivotal time to me, and I desperately wanted to get involved in theatre. It had been a few years since I was on stage, so I had kind of lost touch with what it felt like.<\/p>\n Anyhow, early last year, after I completed all my coursework, I felt like I wanted to do something with my degree, so I decided to try to stage a play. I chose to do an LDS play because plays were popular in the church years ago, but for some reason had fallen out of favour. I wanted to bring that back.<\/p>\n I went with\u00a0The Order is Love<\/em> by Carol Lynn Perason. I had acted in it in high school, and I thought\u00a0that, as a musical, it would generate a lot of interest. Unfortunately, I underestimated how complex the play was. It had a cast of over 3 dozen, as well as choreography, singing, set, and costumes. I never had a rehearsal with more than half of the cast showing up, and we ran out of time to stage it on the performance date. We tried again in the fall, but I lost my stage manager, my ASM, and my music director by that point, and my cast was down to single digits. Regrettably, I made the decision to drop the play.<\/p>\n I spent the next couple of months looking for something else to stage. I wanted something contemporary to limit budget expenses. I used up several hundred dollars on the church\u2019s dime on The Order is Love<\/em> and had nothing to show for it, so I wanted to make up for that. I wanted something with a limited set and costumes actors could bring from home.<\/p>\n I found it in\u00a0The Busy Signal<\/em> by Gerald Pearson, Carol Lynn\u2019s husband coincidentally. It had a cast of only 6, it was under an hour (so I could have a short rehearsal schedule), it required a static, minimalistic set, and there was no singing or dancing. Plus it had a twist at the end that I think could be a powerful message.<\/p>\n I started casting in March, skipping auditions entirely (half of the cast came from last year\u2019s cast). Once we had everyone cast (except one minor role), we met together for a read through. The lead actor was away for a couple of weeks, so he wasn\u2019t there, but we scheduled our first rehearsal for the day after he got back. The read through was great, and I was excited about it.<\/p>\n The day for rehearsal came, and the lead actor was missing. It wasn\u2019t that big of a deal because his character sits in one place for the entire play, so we could work around it for everyone else. Unfortunately, he never showed up to any rehearsal. In fact, over a month into the play and less than two weeks before we were to go on stage, he emailed me to say he was dropping out.<\/p>\n That was frustrating to say the least, but we scrambled to find someone else. We found someone who was younger than I hoped, but we could make it work. We also had to make another cast change because the actor playing the brother had to go out of town to a workshop. We just switched roles between two actors, and that worked out.<\/p>\n Having to recast the lead put us back a month, but it worked out well enough and gave everyone else extra time to study their lines.<\/p>\n Well, to bring this long story to a close, we staged it last weekend. We had no idea how many people would show up or even if LDS members\u00a0would be interested in theatre again. It turns out that we had over 100 people in attendance.<\/p>\n I was more than pleased with those number. It was in the middle of summer, we had a limited advertising budget, and this was the first play performed in this building in years (if not decades). We had put out 100 chairs originally, and I was more than happy to have to put out more.<\/p>\n It was an amazing experience. It was the first time I had ever directed a play. I never took a directing class (even though I wanted to), so I was a bit nervous at first. But I have a good spatial skills, a vibrant imagination, a love of theatre, and years working in design. I figured I could hack my way to a decent production.<\/p>\n So many people came through to make it a success. Mary was my stage manager, and she was a big help. Eric Garner took care of lighting and sound. Kyle Ledyit, Chelsea Ficiur, Rosemary Snead, Jesse Giesbrecht, Sean Murphy, and Garrett Bishoff were an outstanding cast.The University of Lethbridge lent us pieces for costumes, Travis Bevan and Emily Frewin lent us some props, Kelli Benis helped with some logistical challenges, and Lethbridge Laser was a lifesaver for our printing needs. Wo, that sure took a lot of people. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n I\u2019m glad that I have my weekends back now and happy to have less stress in my life, but it was a great experience, and I look forward to my next play.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I finally staged my first play! Last year, I graduated from the University of Lethbridge with a degree in dramatic arts (well, I minored in French, too). When I was going to school, one of the most common responses I received when people found out what I was majoring in was asking me what I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2843,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-theatre"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2014\/07\/10492594_711687885558177_2742222875597477798_n.jpg?fit=960%2C720&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4NkW7-JO","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4086,"url":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2020\/01\/15\/conservatives-dont-like-the-arts\/","url_meta":{"origin":2840,"position":0},"title":"Conservatives don\u2019t like the arts","author":"Kim Siever","date":"15 January 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Despite their hatred for the arts, conservatives consume it every day.","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/art-gallery-4674319_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/art-gallery-4674319_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/art-gallery-4674319_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/art-gallery-4674319_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/art-gallery-4674319_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":989,"url":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2012\/03\/12\/why-i-think-theatre-should-be-subsidized\/","url_meta":{"origin":2840,"position":1},"title":"Why I think theatre should be subsidized","author":"Kim Siever","date":"12 March 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I think theatre should be subsidized. There. I said it. And I know many will disagree with me. Many people I know think theatre (and all art for that matter) should be at the very least cost-recovery and at the very most revenue generating. This is a popular stance among\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Theatre"","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2012\/03\/people-430559_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C821&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2012\/03\/people-430559_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C821&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2012\/03\/people-430559_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C821&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2012\/03\/people-430559_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C821&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2012\/03\/people-430559_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C821&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1047,"url":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2012\/07\/10\/my-first-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":2840,"position":2},"title":"My first review","author":"Kim Siever","date":"10 July 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I am playing Thesus in\u00a0A Midsummer Night\u2019s\u00a0Dream\u00a0as part of Lethbridge\u2019s Shakespeare in the Park. I haven\u2019t acted in 8 years, so it\u2019s been\u00a0kind\u00a0of nice to get back into it.\u00a0This\u00a0is the largest production I have ever been in. Prior to this, I have been in only one-act products with only 3\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Theatre"","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3760,"url":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2019\/09\/10\/why-radical-islamic-terrorist-is-islamophobic\/","url_meta":{"origin":2840,"position":3},"title":"Why \u201cradical Islamic terrorist\u201d is Islamophobic","author":"Kim Siever","date":"10 September 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"People who use \u201cradical Islamic terrorist\u201d aren\u2019t actually concerned with radicalism nor terrorism. They\u2019re concerned only with Islam.","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/india-4051753_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C701&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/india-4051753_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C701&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/india-4051753_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C701&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/india-4051753_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C701&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/india-4051753_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C701&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3171,"url":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2017\/09\/15\/why-i-took-15-years-to-get-my-bachelors-degree\/","url_meta":{"origin":2840,"position":4},"title":"Why I took 15 years to get my bachelor\u2019s degree","author":"Kim Siever","date":"15 September 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I went to college in 1997.\u00a0I didn\u2019t want to go to school. In high school, I wanted to become a lawyer. I enjoyed debating, and I thought I\u2019d be good at it. Later on, I thought becoming a doctor would be a good choice, specifically an obstetrician, helping babies come\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Education"","block_context":{"text":"Education","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/category\/education\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/09\/2535231784_9f1dbbbfa7_o.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/09\/2535231784_9f1dbbbfa7_o.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/09\/2535231784_9f1dbbbfa7_o.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/09\/2535231784_9f1dbbbfa7_o.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/09\/2535231784_9f1dbbbfa7_o.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1043,"url":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2012\/05\/27\/i-love-the-urbanity-of-lethbridge\/","url_meta":{"origin":2840,"position":5},"title":"I love the urbanity of Lethbridge","author":"Kim Siever","date":"27 May 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Over the last few weeks, I\u2019ve had several discussions with others about whether Lethbridge is urban. Actually, discussion might be pushing it since most of the conversation was me pointing out logically (using actual definitions) on how Lethbridge qualifies as urban and most responses opposing my point based on subjective\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Lethbridge"","block_context":{"text":"Lethbridge","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/category\/lethbridge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2840"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2840\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2842,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2840\/revisions\/2842"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}