Where are they now? Part II

GSP alumns have taken to the stage....elsewhere.

Rosalyn Coleman: Roz is all over the place...you saw her recently in Doubt here at GSP as Mrs Muller. Roz can now be seen in War at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre. Roz can later be seen at the Kennedy Center in August Wilson's 20th Century as Martha Pentacost in Joe Turner's Come and Gone and in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. The cycle plays the D.C. theatre March 4 - April 6!

Ebony Jo-Ann: The scene stealing Ms. Jo-Ann from GSP's The Sunshine Boys will also appear in the Kennedy Center production of August Wilison...Century. Ms. Jo-Ann will play the title role in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.

Anders Cato: Who has directed Doubt, Souvenir, and I Am My Own Wife is currently in previews for War by Lars Noren. In addition, Anders will direct Candida and Waiting for Godot for the Berkshire Theatre Festival this summer.

Yuval Boim, an actor for our Educational Touring Company, and from our production of Wilderness of Mirrors and The Pillowman can be seen in The New Group's production of Two Thousand Years.

No 'Doubt': Not to Be Missed!

If you haven't read the extatic reviews for Doubt, I've taken the liberty of posting some musings here.

First, the NEW YORK TIMES raves:

George Street Playhouse has mounted a
"striking new production...with outstanding performances by the four-person cast under Anders Cato’s taut direction, a stunning rotating setting by Hugh Landwehr, evocatively lighted by Daniel J. Kotlowitz, and an arresting score by Scott Killian, this “Doubt” manages to produce 90 minutes of theatrical fireworks."

I'm not one to brag, but that's pretty great stuff there. But WAIT...there's more...some superlative praises for actress Ann Dowd.

"Ann Dowd is chilling as Sister Aloysius" - NY Times
"Ann Dowd is astonishing as Sister Aloysius" - The Star Ledger
"Dowd may have been born to play this role" - The Home News Tribune

and of course, plenty to say about the other actors in this production:

"[Meghan] Andrews is so credible as the inexperienced and idealistic young teacher that her alternating fear, nervousness, disappointment and elation ripple palpably through the theater as she performs." - Home News Tribune

"Dylan Chalfy’s Father Flynn comes alive" - NY Times

"Sister James, an inexperienced but highly idealistic teacher, played with heartbreaking intensity by Meghan Andrews" - NY Times

Coleman's "performance on opening night prompted the audience to interrupt the play with applause." - Home News Tribune.

Given all this, if you haven't yet seen this production, you only have one more week! Be sure to come back here to vote and leave your comments about the production

posted by Scott Goldman, Executive Assistant

Got Doubts?

During our three preview performances we hold a talkback session with Artistic Director David Saint, the director of the production, and occasionally members of the company. Last night at our first preview talk back with Director Anders Cato, the audience's comments were both encouraging and insightful. I was also encouraged to see so many Rutgers students engaged and in discussion as well. Based on the performance and the discussion following, minor changes will be made to enhance the production before opening night.

During an audience poll about half agreed with Sister Aloyisious' suspicions regarding Father Flynn's alleged innappropriate behavior. The remaining half, disagreed, and believed Father Flynn was innocent.

What do you think? See Doubt now through December 23rd and then, take our poll on the right. Who's right and who's wrong? In the words of Mrs. Muller... "Some things are not black and white!"

posted by Scott Goldman, Executive Assistant

In Tech: Doubt

So I got to sit in on technical rehearsals this weekend which began the day after Thanksgiving. Each show has two technical rehearsals which typically rehearse for 10 hours out of a 12 hour day (leaving time for a two hour meal break). Tomorrow we will have a dress rehearsal before beginning previews on Tuesday. (Buy your tickets now!)
Tech is when all the elements finally come together after weeks of design meetings and rehearsals. It's a tedious period, stopping often to adjust things like the revolve, or the bass in the sound, the timing of scene shifts and lighting cues, etc. Each scene shifts with movement of the revolve (see photos below), music elegantly composed by Scott Killian, and lighting by Daniel Kotlowitz. Scenic Designer Hugh Landwehr leaves no stone...or brick rather..unturned and his set holds many unique surprises when lit.

Here's a look at some of the process.

In the scene shop, the bench is texturized, and painted.

The deck and revolve floor is made from homosote, cut and texturized and painted as well.

A look at the finished product:

The Model

Now on Stage

When the cue is given for scenes to shift, the Assistant Stage Manager, Erin Ciallella enters a number on the counter that tells the revolve to move to a particular position.















Kudos to the production staff and crew for such hard work this weekend!

posted by Scott Goldman, Executive Assistant

Doubt begins rehearsals!

First read-through of Doubt just finished. The four actors sat at a table and read through the play, the stage manager read stage directions, and the GSP staff and Doubt creative team sat back and listened. And responded—with laughter, gasps, and at the end, much applause.

Before the read-through began, the staff had the opportunity to meet the actors, designers, and director, take a first look at a model of the set, and nosh (there were some particularly fantastic fudgy brownies). Three of the four actors are GSP newcomers. The fourth, Meghan Andrews, revealed that, sixteen years ago, when she was only a child, she appeared at the Playhouse. This revelation led Properties Master Jay Duckworth, who was here at the time, but hadn’t recognized Andrews, to shout, “Oh my God! I had hair then!”

What you get at the first read-through is a group of actors feeling their way through new and complicated material. They’ve read the play, they’ve probably done some research, but most of their questions are unanswered; many of the questions haven’t even been formulated.

But what the first read-through lacks in polish, it makes up for rawness and freshness—intelligent actors hearing themselves together, sensing the relationships, for the first time, which makes for a very exciting experience. It’s not usually an all-out performance—the actors aren’t asked to be emoting at performance-level—so I’ll refrain from discussing the performers in detail. But every compact, intense, and funny scene, was filled with the chemistry the actors brought. Let me just say, this show has been very well-cast, and I look forward to seeing them perform this material many more times.

Doubt centers not only on the titular concept, but also more tangibly, on the question of a man’s guilt. It was hard not to leave the reading discussing the ‘did he/didn’t he’ debate. In the Broadway production, the only actor who knew the answer to this was Brian F. O’Byrne, who played Father Flynn, the party in question. Our Father Flynn, Dylan Chalfy, will have to decide with director Anders Cato what exactly his character has done. While the audience can (and probably should) be in doubt, the actor has to make a choice. As productions crop up across the nation (and ­­Doubt­, having concluded its national tour, is now being performed at regional theaters around the country), the possibilities will become endless.

When I saw Doubt on Broadway, I admired it, although I didn’t get the hype. It’s short, and I left feeling less than full. As a parable, it paints in quick, broad strokes, and I left wanting more. Seeing it again, I had to reevaluate. The play is written with a sparseness that forces the audience to fill in the gaps. One of the most complicated characters appears for a single scene. Many meaty arguments occur onstage, but one can imagine just as much drama occurring in between the scenes.

Good comedies can make you feel light, refreshed. Good musicals can fill your head and your whole body with song in a way that is both overwhelming and invigorating. But great dramas leave you feeling out of breath, dazed, tingly—like you just saw a ghost, and sat with it for a couple of hours while it told you shocking tales. That’s what I felt walking out of today’s read-through. With Anders Cato (a gifted, on-the-rise talent who directed GSP’s Souvenir and I Am My Own Wife) at the helm, it’s surely just going to get better.

posted by Jeremy Stoller, Literary Apprentice