What Until You See What We've Been Up To...

Hello Theatre Enthusiasts!

We've got so much to update you on. First of all, this is tech week! Which means lots of work but also lots of progress! Things are really coming together. The set looks great, costumes and props are working really well, sound and lighting are coming together, and the actors have made the characters their own. Everyone is doing an amazing job!

Here are a few things that we get to share with you:

1. OUR TRAILER HAS ARRIVED!! So check it out!

We are very happy to introduce the trailer for 'Run-of-the-Mill' - A world premiere play. Thank you Leonardo Adrian Garcia!

Run of the Mill Trailer #1

www.youtube.com

 

2. Another chat with playwright Tyler Dean about our upcoming production of his play 'Run-of-the-Mill' - A world premiere play, which opens this Friday. Tickets are on sale now!

ROTM Video Blog #3

www.youtube.com

Another chat with playwright Tyler Dean about Currently Untitled Theatre's world premiere production of his new play, 'Run-of-the-Mill'. The play opens February 11th and runs Fridays & Saturdays until February 26th. Directed by Nate Silver.

 

3. Exciting News!! This Friday is already SOLD OUT, and Saturday night's tickets are going fast. Order them early. This short run is looking to be a full one, so plan ahead. You don't want to miss 'Run-of-the-Mill' - A world premiere play!

Run-of-the-Mill

 

Ciao!

 

Faith Frangenberg

PRESS PHOTOS

Here are the finalized press photos for 'Run-of-the-Mill'.

Doug Birkenheuer is an amazing photographer and we were very lucky to get him to take these photos.

CLICK ON EACH PHOTO FOR ENLARGEMENT

Marital Bliss?

Virginia Marie & Michael Hahalyak as Donna & David

The 'Run-of-the-Mill' Family

(Back Row) Andrea DeCamp as Stacy, Dan Toot as Collin, 

Michael Hahalyak as David and Virginia Marie as Donna

(Front Row) Patrick Rybarczyk as Darryl and Brit Cooper Robinson as Cynthia

The 'Run-of-the-Mill' Family

Michael Hahalyak as David, Virginia Marie as Donna, Dan Toot as Collin, Patrick Rybarczyk as Darryl, Andrea DeCamp as Stacy and Brit Cooper Robinson as Cynthia

Sibling Rivalry

Michael Hahalyak as David, Virginia Marie as Donna, 

Andrea DeCamp as Stacy and Dan Toot as Collin

Brother & Sister

Andrea DeCamp as Stacy and Dan Toot as Collin

Photo Shoot

We're getting down to the wire with the production. Now that the posters are in, the script is complete and the actors & production team are gearing up for tech week, we also have to get our ducks all in a row in regards to publicity and marketing for the show. Luckily, we have a friend in Doug Birkenheuer of Birkenheuer Photography. Doug is an incredible talented photographer and he volunteered his services for our production. We're working on getting the finalized pics out soon, but here's a behind the scenes look at yesterdays photo shoot.

SO EXCITING!!!

A Note on the Set from Allegra

We are walking a very fine line with this play, because the text demands specificity - real, material things that you would find in a real living room - but it also travels a TON. So we need the set to be real enough to support the play, but fluid and paired down enough to be quickly transformed. Also, the more specific you get, the harder it is to feel neutral (obviously, since they're opposites), and the less neutral you are, the harder it is to make the audience believe that you've changed locations. So our job with the set and props is to create our own version of neutral - kind of an Everyman Livingroom, that would work for the KIND of american family that we have but isn't necessarily the SPECIFIC living room of our family.

Here's an early draft of the layout for Cynthia and Darryl's House:

What was going on in 1985? I remember!!

The other night at rehearsal, during a flashback scene featuring a high school aged Cynthia (Brit Cooper Robinson) and Darryl (yours truly), our director, Nate Silver inquired, "What was going on in 1985?" A hush fell over the room. Somewhat proudly and a bit reluctantly, I announced, "Well, I know...I WAS a teenager in 1985." And then it sunk in that I was the oldest person in the cast. But with great pride, I offered up that it was the year many great things happened including the release of "We Are The World." However, I kept it secret that it was just the beginning of my loyalty to then new pop diva, Madonna.

I began to reflect on how different things were back then. We didn't have cell phones to text our friends. We didn't have computers to do research or write papers with for class. And we certainly didn't know how to skype. I mean, they only did that on The Jetsons, way, way, way in the future! But yet, being a teen in the 1980's still came with much of what teens go through now: peer pressure, heartbreak, demands to succeed, and figuring out "who you are." These are all things we have to think about during these flashback scenes. What was it like to have all that pressure and still be so optimistic? How great was it to see the world as yours to conquer? And how fantastic was it to live in big dreams?

Cut to me - the 40 year old version of myself. Since my teenage years in the late 1980's, so much has happened. I went off to college, came out of the closet, had my heart broken, moved to three different cities since 1992, and have had some tough setbacks along the way. And with all that, there have come wonderful successes, treasured relationships and experiences I would not trade for anything in the world. While I am different from Darryl, a married man who is 45 with three children all in their early 20's, we do have many similarities. I cherish his optimism and belief that things can always be amazing. He dreams of a lottery win like I dream of a Tony Award. It may never happen, but why lose that spirit of belief? I share his adoration of his family and the important role they play in his life. While I don't have children of my own, (yet...you never know), I have two wonderful nephews and a beautiful goddaughter who I care for as much as any parent would. And, in the end, that same guy who started to really find himself in the 1980's and continues to do so, is just like Darryl. A man who is ever evolving, doing the best he can for himself and the ones he loves, and hopefully remembering the lyrics to "We Are The World" when needed.

- Patrick Rybarczyk (as Darryl)

Chattin' it up with our director, Nate Silver

Nate Silver, the director of Run-of-the-Mill sat down with us to answer a few questions.

Do you have any questions for Nate? Send them our way so he can answer them in his next video blog!

Why Theatre?

I think every theatre enthusiast has his or her own reasons for loving the art. I know my list is a mile long (don't get me started!) Whatever your rationale, we can appreciate diverse ideas right?

So I thought I would do a little research on the topic. Here are a few reasons I found to appreciate theatre from various sources:

- "The 'Play' is an important part of our ancient history. From as far back as the ancient Greeks the play formed a key element of our community, from story telling through to providing an outlet for entertainment and escape. The 'Play' has always been a valued part of our culture."

- "It's a truly live experience. There is a charm and ambience that comes from a live performance in front of a live audience. This dynamic delivers an almost electrifying presence that just isn't possible in a cinema environment or on your wide screen TV at home [no matter how big it is]."

- "The arts in general, and theater in particular, have historically pried open the caskets of hypocrisy and dead yet despotic ideas, and tossed their contents back into the sea."

- "Theater humanises, prison dehumanises...theatre in prisons can perform an essential purpose. Its role isn't necessarily to educate. Neither is it to preach or pass on ideas about drug use or unprotected sex. It is to celebrate humanity for a time."

...Maybe theatre isn't just "play" after all (pardon the pun). Just some food for thought.

~Faith Frangenberg