We had our Informational kick-off meeting on Wednesday night, and it as Stephen said, "It was a magnificent success!" Lots of people there to sign up for audition slots starting December 1st. As of this moment, the slots for auditions are 81% FILLED! That means that with 10 days still to go to the first day of auditions, Sean and Todd have registered 181 people. We've already expanded the times...
I finally finished the background/context info for the audition material--(with a little help from my good friend, Patrick!) It was a useful exercise to distill important character moments into a 2 or 3 sentence paragraph. I probably used waaaaaayyyy too many adjectives, but...oh well!
My good friend Jeffrey is visiting me today to tutor me on Google maps. He's sent me some great links, but I'm a paper girl, and I like to have those Paris maps in my hand so I can see where people travel to and from through the streets He's also going to try and get my computer to open the 5? 6? 9? bootleg albums that he's shared with me. A Richness of Material!
In the meantime, I thought I'd introduce the members of my team and give you a quick glimpse of how we function together. It's from my point of view, so take that in as you meet everyone.
So first, the Production Supervisor, Stephen: Stephen is a community builder in everything he does. At work (he's a banker)and as the chair of the Lyric Board, his inclusive and collaborative style and his goofy sense of humor make people feel relaxed and welcome. He is managing our $188,000 budget, as well as all aspects of the overall production and never fails to show his genuine gratitude to our team members for the work that they do. He is able to juggle human and non-human resources, details and big picture stuff, in the arenas of both "show" and "business". He is a supportive cheerleader, a collaborative leader and also has a cute butt! (PS: He sleeps with the director!)
Our creative team: Cheri , Set Design; Tom : Projection Design; Andy , Lighting Design; Lyn , Costume Design; Mary and Connie , Props Design; Corey , Sound Design and Engineer....To start, I'll pick two: Cheri and Tom. So, Cheri is always creative, engaged and effective in her process and final products, but when she gets excited about ideas, I get emails at 5AM saying "I woke up with an idea...". We've been able to communicate design ideas by email because of our thoroughly discussed vision and Cheri's ability to turn my words into images. We share an almost uncanny sense of what will work when we want it to work--particularly with the projection images that Cheri is creating. PRETTY COOL!! With his years of pre-computer technology lighting and theatre experience, Tom is the "McGyver" of the production element that I know the least about: lighting and projections. He is creative, flexible and willing to explore in order to figure out how to make an idea work. Invaluable!
My stage manager, Sean (aka Sean Valsean) was the driving force behind getting this show produced. He originally WAS the producer, and when Stephen and I came on board he moved to the Stage management position. Sean has seen Les Mis over 30 times--all around the world. Let's just say...he's a fan. Sean is a self described Type A personality, an excellent communicator and holder of the 8,000,000,00 details of our production--including auditions, production elements, names, faces, designs, floorplans, set movement...you name it, Sean knows it. I have him on speed dial. I literally would not do any production without Sean--especially this one! Also, if you are a fan of puns, (both good and bad) Hang out with Sean and Stephen.
My assistant, Freda has years of stage management experience as well as assistant director credits. She is a linear, detail-oriented thinker who rarely forgets anything...ever. We have worked together before and she seems to have developed the ability to read my mind. She understands my desire for levels, symmetry and logic in stage movement and will often ask exactly the right question, at exactly the right time to unlock a problem. She also notices when I become language impaired when trying to describe a creative idea and will tell me to "take a minute" or "keep talking". Freda has already solved the Gavroche issue and the "Empty Chairs" issue in a perfect way! Am I lucky, or what?! I'd never do a show without Freda, either.
Our choreographer, Jane first caught my attention as a dancer. She communicates so beautifully with her body. Breathtaking, really. We worked together very briefly for a high school production of BATB, and I remember thinking that our styles were similar: take on the big picture first, then work in toward the details: refinement, refinement, refinement I've come to learn that in addition to being a beautiful dancer comfortable with many styles of movement, she is an excellent and demanding teacher (my favorite thing!) She also has the ability to not only create beautiful patterns with large groups of people, but can SEE what the moving patterns will look like. AMAZING. Her work in our production is going to make the show one beautiful, seamless piece.
Martin, our music director, can sometimes appear scary. Really! If you don't know him, he appears anything but warm and fuzzy. I discovered during a production of Titanic that his passion for music and for teaching is a huge part of who he is when he shed tears during our first orchestra rehearsal. I was deeply moved, and when the opportunity to be a part of the Les Mis team came up, I asked him to be music director immediately. I trust him implicitly, and rely on his straightforward style. Martin is also a fan of beer, so our meetings are really relaxed! Martin has reached the trifecta of Lyric Productions: three music directed shows in a row: Oliver, Joseph and now Les Mis...and that doesn't include Titanic, all the shows he's been in, and the shows he's done in Stowe!
So, that is a little bit of who we are...Isn't this an amazing team??
Off we go! T-minus 9 days til auditions...
To the Barricades!
Kelly
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