Love is in the air - "Glengarry Glen Ross" is on the boards

What are your plans for Valentine's Day? Dinner? Movie?

Mine? Oh, well I'm working thanks for asking.

One of the things I realized some time ago is that working in theatre doesn't care much about holidays. In most cases the only place where holidays factor into the theatre lifestyle is when you plan titles that tie to them.

Well, I guess I love theatre, and as they say love makes you obsessed. So happy Valentine's Day AGL, guess you're my Valentine.

It's been a wild ride so far this year. Opening the new performance space and launching the 27th season with Dead Man's Cell Phone was big enough, but that's only part of the work ahead of us. No rest for the wicked.
Glengarry Glen Ross opens next week (February 24th) directed by Bob Singleton. I'm excited about this show for all the obvious reasons, but it's more than just the play itself, there's also the people creating it.

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We've got Tom Phillips who just closedas the titular corpse of Dead Man's Cell Phone playing the bombastic Dave Moss. You've might have also seen him as the Hawker in AGL's TOMMY-The Concert, where he melted faces at Buster's and Moondance Amphitheater.

Tim Hull plays office manager and general whipping post Willamson. I've had the privilege to direct Tim in The Pillowman, The Santaland Diaries and True West and he is one of my favorite people to watch on stage as well as work with. Hands down.

I'm working on a show with Pete Sears and Evan Berman properly for the first time. Pete recently played Leonato in BCTC's Much Ado about Nothing, where I served as Scenic Designer. Our interaction was mostly limited to "Hey Pete, hold this flat for me." For us he is Aaronow, a cringing weak salesman who is "****ed on the board."

Evan and I were both directors for The Midway 10 Minute Play Festival this year (and both cast Tim Hull in our plays. See? That Tim Hull, he's everywhere!) and I saw Evan in Merchant of Venice for Summerfest, but this is the first time I'm watching his process as he creates Richard Roma. It is a sight to see. And I'm being a picky judge, because who wouldn't want to play Roma, but Evan delivers.

And then...there's Robert Parks Johnson as Shelly "The Machine" Levene.

The very first show I saw at AGL (back on Short Street) was The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) with RPJ in the cast. The highlight of his performance for me was as a confused Polonius in the second Act, which included a nice explanation of the anachronism of a lone roller skate on stage (you have to know the show). I've seen Robert in quite a few shows over the years, a possible favorite Mice and Men as Lenny, but what I really enjoy about having him in Glengarry is getting to see him work. I try not to butt my nose in on Bob and the guys when they're rehearsing, they're more than qualified to do the entire show without input from me. Most of the time I'm in the office, doing the job, but I do sneak out and listen, or watch from the sides. It's a treat. In many ways the best part of theatre for me is watching the construction rather than the actual product. Seeing how people think, the choices they make. I love watching people try crazy ideas out on characters, ideas that don't usually make it to opening night, but the experimentation makes the process all the more interesting to the observer.

Rounding out the cast of Glengarry are Graeme Hart and Kody Kiser as Lingk and Baylen respectively. I've done shows with both of these guys before, all three of us were in The Mousetrap a few years ago at Studio Players. This is Graeme's first show at AGL, and I'm glad we finally lured him over, he's a busy man with a family so his theatre time is limited. Kody is making his second AGL appearance previously appearing in Arcadia during the 24th season. These are two great guys who always bring a lot of dedication to the shows they do, and I'm very happy they're a part of the cast.

You'd think from all that talk of Glengarry that's all that's going on for Actors Guild right now. Oh how wrong you are.

This Saturday we'll be having the second round of auditions for A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageat. If you know of any interested young performers then check out the audition page on our website to learn more. (And for everyone anxiously awaiting the announcement of audition dates for Belle Brezing the wait ends this week. Promise.)

And then...there's the challenge pledge.

Recently AGL received a challenge pledge of $10,000 in matching funds to go towards the renovation and improvements of the new performance space. We have been tasked with raising funds to help upgrade the work we've already done, and make improvements in seating and technical capabilities. We will be matched dollar to dollar up to the $10,000 mark as we raise funds through the run of Glengarry Glen Ross. This is an amazing opportunity for us, as I promised during Dead Man's Cell Phone, my intention was to grow the theatre and make renovations with every show of the season focusing on projects to improve the quality of our shows, as well as the quality of the patron experience.

Current plans for the space include new chairs for patrons, the construction of a technical booth and improvements to the current risers.

This 10k challenge could help AGL realize these goals much sooner, so please consider making a tax-deductible contribution. Any amount, no matter how small, helps towards our goal.

If you're interested in more information on the 10K challenge, Upcoming auditions, Glengarry Glen Ross, or anything else AGL please visit our website www.actors-guild.org or you can email info@actors-guild.org

Happy Valentine's Day everyone and I'll see you at the theatre,

Eric