After a wonderful run of An Infinite Ache, we're now in rehearsals for our production of This Wonderful Life!

This one-man show is a very fun, moving and theatrical storytelling adventure. Taking the essence of the film "It's A Wonderful Life", this show features John Lepard as the storyteller who brings it all to life onstage. It's an exciting production, one that lets the audience and actor both use their imagination to the fullest and join together for a beautiful story of family, friendship, perspective and community.

Since it IS a one-man show, and a stage version of a beloved holiday film, we're coming across some exciting challenges and opportunities with the production, and I'll write more on some of the ways we're tackling them very soon!





Tony Caselli
Artistic Director
The Williamston Theatre

We Opened the show last Friday - the audience loved it, the cast got a standing ovation, and the reviews have been coming in!

You can find them here:
Lansing City Pulse
Encore Michigan
mientertainment.biz

We've had First Preview for An Infinite Ache!

I was really happy to see the audience enjoy the show - I find this script charming, funny and moving, and it was great to see that others did too.

It's a challenge, though, I'll admit that. The structure of the piece is unique: Without giving away too many spoilers, I'll say this - After a short scene that establishes that a couple on their first date have come back to his tiny studio apartment (so he can loan her a book and CD), time stops working normally. Suddenly we're catapulting forward through time, seeing what their relationship could be (or WILL be? Or IS in an alternate universe? You decide.) With leaps in time happening constantly, the play takes us and our couple from their mid-20's through their Golden Years, with some leaps happening after only a few lines of dialogue!

It's an exciting structure, one that's fun to stage and fun to watch, and the challenge (like it is in so many things) is BALANCE. Balancing how blatantly we hit the audience over the head with a hammer and show "THIS IS A TIME JUMP", versus how simply we play the moment and just trust that the moment is clear and the audience is following the story.

Ultimately our job is to tell the story in a moving, clear, engaging method. Some plays make that simple. Some make it a challenge.

We're having fun tackling the challenge with this one.

I hope you'll come out and see it, and let me know what you think!

-Tony Caselli, Artistic Director, The Williamston Theatre

A word from the Artistic Director:

Rehearsals for An Infinite Ache are underway, and we're having a great time.

This play is a great love story, but more than that, it's also a story about leaps of faith, perseverance, and hope.

There's a 'time-bendy' quality to the show that's a ton of fun, and also a beautiful thing to watch onstage. The script leaps forward through time with little to no warning, hurtling our couple from one important moment in their life to the next and dragging us along with them! It's a wonderful challenge for the actors, designers, crew and I to take on - how to keep it flowing, tell the story simply and effectively, and at the same time embrace the fascinatingly theatrical way the story is crafted by the playwright. We're having a great time in rehearsal exploring the relationship between the 2 characters, and also the changes that they go through, at the same time we explore the best ways to bring the audience with them.

We learned a lot during our first week of rehearsal - we've got a few more to go before our official Opening Night, and I'm looking forward to using them!

See you at the theatre!
Tony

Tony Caselli
Artistic Director
The Williamston Theatre

There's so much going on here at the Williamston Theatre!

We just won 4 awards from The Wilde Awards, which are the biggest Theatre Awards in Michigan. They're sponsored and run by Between The Lines and Encore Michigan.

Our awards were:

Best Set - Talley's Folly (Bart Bauer)
Best Sound - Talley's Folly (John Lepard & Tony Caselli)
Best Actor in a Comedy - Alex Leydenfrost (Panache)
Best Comedy - Panache

We're pleased to receive the awards, and proud that the Williamston Theatre is being recognized with some of the other fine theatres in the state! Congrats to all the nominees and winners from the Wilde Awards!

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In addition to awards, we're renovating parts of our building! Our entrance foyer will have a whole new look when folks come in next season, and we're also adding more restrooms to the rear lobby!

One of the other exciting renovations to the building is the expansion of the air-conditioning in the theatre: we'll have better a/c in the theatre itself, as well as more control over what happens in the front lobby!

(And, on a more production-oriented note, we're getting a door put into the back wall of the booth which will allow for one more actor entrance. Many more staging options for directors now!)

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And, lastly, we're deep in prep for next season! (Which, technically, is THIS season since it's September 1st!) Schedules, budgets, staff, it's all coming together.
:)
Next week we start rehearsal for AN INFINITE ACHE, which is going to be just beautiful.

See you at the theatre!

Our fabulous Assistant Stage Manager Josh shares his thoughts on our show...

     Wow! So...one week left to go.  Five more shows.  These past few weeks have gone by pretty darn fast.  Hopefully this blog isn't too late that I can't entice a few of you to come to the theater and see a very delightfully funny take on the works of William Shakespeare.  Apparently he wrote a couple of plays that people know about.
     I've been very fortunate in my experience with this show.  I expected to get pretty overwhelmed with all the handoffs and costumes changes that were going to have to be adjusted for Williamston's space.  It had been almost a year since I worked on a show so I was worried I would be pretty rusty.  Luckily the actors were very patient and within a short time we were successful in getting a very good system going backstage.  Knock on wood, so far I don't think we've really had any major flubs.  May be a couple a minor slips here and there, but I promise they only happened once!  All and all its been a great experience work in the dark.  I still get a kick out of the fact that my work shoes are actually a pair a beaten up slippers (so no one hears me walking around backstage).
     I was also lucky to get to work on a really good show.  Slapstick comedies tend to get a bad rap within the theater world but I think when it's done right, it can be incredibly enjoyable to watch.  Don't get me wrong, I love seeing a really good drama on stage just like any other theater-goer.  "Gamma Rays" was my favorite play at Williamston this season and I don't think I laughed once.  But when you're able to see a play, let go, and allow yourself to accept that I'm watching a grown man run around stage in a purple dress and blonde wig or that I'm actually watching Julia Childs teach me how to make a human head pie, it can be pretty darn enjoyable.
     Everyone is going through some tough times right now.  Everyone is worried about the economy, the job market, war, sick family members or friends.  Why not take a night off and enjoy a show.  I promise you will laugh.  And if not laugh, I promise you'll at least giggle a little bit.  After six weeks and 30 shows there a still parts I sneak a peek at and smile.  Not a bad way to spend a night.
 
Josh

We've got two more weeks of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged left in our season, and it's hard to believe that's all there is!

This show has been a ton of fun. Audiences are laughing, and when they leave they're smiling - that's the goal with this kind of show and it's nice to see that we're reaching taht goal!

It's been, in fact, a good season overall - we're pleased with the way it's gone, and excited about some upcoming events, improvements we'll be making to the building and productions we've got coming up soon.

But we'll write more about that in the future.

For now, if you've not joined us for an evening of laughter, silliness and Shakespeare - come on down!

Opening Night. By Kevin Young

One of the most amazing things about living in the state of Michigan, for me, hands down, is that an hour/hour and a half drive West or North of the Metro Detroit area plops you down in an entirely different environment completely. One of these magical little spots is the town of Williamston. (That's right folks, say it with me: William. Ston.) I have to be honest, before the opening of this show I hadn't explored anything in this town past the steps of the Williamston Theatre (currently running "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged") So, when I arrived early for Opening Night this past Friday, I decided to do some "discover"-ing on my own.

Uh, did you know they have a Town Hall? Have you heard of this "Hungry Howie"? Dude, a 2 bedroom apartment in the heart of town overlooking the street...$450! (I want a finder's fee) Take a few more steps...a stream? A waterfall-ish thing? John and Emily, the power couple, lives HERE?! (I want a finder's fee) And, hold the phone. A guitar store with a Jimmy Page wanna be double-neck Epiphone SG style 12 and 6 string burnt red guitar? Just waiting to be played??

And so I did.

And while doing so, got to know the owner of Six String Place, Don (I want a finder's fee) and told him about the show I was opening, "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged" (currently running at the Williamston Theatre.) And how I at one point rock the audience with some "Stairway to Heaven", which Jimmy Page iconically played on the same guitar I was holding! (*only his was a Gibson) Regardless, the owner, Don told me if only he actually owned this particular guitar himself, he would let us borrow it for a night to use in the show!! Uh, what?! Free of charge? You mean while I'm wearing my crushed velvet smoking jacket that would be the same color as the double-neck guitar?! Standing on a balcony?! Rocking out while Aral stabs himself to death like no Juliet you'll ever BLANKING see!?! Tony! How. Do we make. This happen?? Make it a special performance... a fundraiser opportunity! Try and auction the guitar, maybe? (to me) No, but a guy can dream. And dream big. Because Williamston is magical. And by stepping out to discover it, I almost bought a BLANKING $600 guitar, just to play it onstage in "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged" (currently running at the Williamston Theatre)

Williamston. You're only 67 miles away from magic!

Kevin Young
"The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Abridged"
The Williamston Theatre   

Keith Kalinowski recently appeared in our production of PANACHE, and will begin performances at the Williamston tomorrow night for THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, ABRIDGED!

I thought we had a pretty good rehearsal yesterday. The show flowed from beginning to end, and some new discoveries were found, which is always a plus. After you have been doing a show for so long, like we have, you start to get too comfortable and you forget that the audience will be seeing the show for the first time. Tony has frequently told us to just "tell the story," and that's really what its all about. Communication. If you keep it simple, the audience will gladly go along for the ride.

But along with "telling the story" comes "Wow, this stage is a lot harder than the one at Tipping Point. I'm going to break my arm!" or "Why is it so HOT up here on the balcony?"

But, we're actors. And an actors job is to change. Change costumes. Change characters. Change within a character. The set is a bit different at Williamston in that we dont have the backstage space we had over at Tipping Point, so all of our costume changes need to be done in the wings. Consequently, there are a few costume changes that are a bit hairy, requiring me to say a line, exit the stage, make sure I dont fall off the balcony, throw my helmet down to our Assistant Stage Manager while flying down a very narrow "flight of stairs", put on a another hat, slip on Polonius' overcoat, grab his cane, and re-enter the stage all in about 10 seconds. Its about 95% repetition and 5% luck, but when its done well its the proverbial "theatre magic." Tony was commenting the other night about a show he was working on where they actually sold tickets to patrons so they could sit backstage and watch all the commotion. I think that would be a great way to experience a show, and It's something that should be done more often...giving the audience a little peek into our world.

We've got one more rehearsal tonight and then it's Previews. We're looking great and I can't wait to put it up in front of an audience. Its the kind of show thats a bear to rehearse and repeat, but once it gets in front of people and they get to hear those words for the first time and (hopefully) bust a gut laughing, you realize that its what we, as actors, live for. We get to tell stories and make people forget about the economy, or the job market, or whatever they come to the theatre to escape from.

Now the only thing we need to do is put some bubble wrap under the stage....

Keith Kalinowski
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged
The Williamston Theatre

Aral Gribble, currently starring in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged, shares his version of the exciting tech week we just went through, including how we accidentally installed the set 8 inches away from where it was supposed to be! :)


Well, I'm writing this on my day off, Monday, (which, by the way, is AWESOME! Actor's NEVER get a "case of the Mondays") because I actually have time to write today.

To be honest, I thought re-staging this show would be a little easier than it was...physically. Mentally, it was great! No real problems adjusting the blocking or figuring out costume changes and traffic patterns backstage, but physically...well, let me sum up: I rolled an ankle, Tony bumped his head, Kevin majorly skinned his knee (even though it was during tape-ball and not a run) and I think Keith saw his life flash before his eyes going down what is deceitfully being referred to as a staircase behind the set. The lack of space and the abundance of action in this play create the possibility for some REAL comedy. Real painful comedy. Although, the funniest moment, to me, was about a week and a half ago when they moved the set in and I went out to check out the amount of space we had to work with behind the set. We knew it would be tighter than Tipping Point, so we all just wanted to make sure I fit.

I didn't.

For those of you who don't know me, I'm what physicians refer to as "Obese." Somewhere along the line calculations got miscalculated and where they thought they were 3 inches short on the set placement...they were 8. I showed up, and before Tony had the chance to tell me this, I was sucking in my gut and squeezing my chubby self between the set and the wall, mumbling "make it work...make it work." After coming to the realization that I couldn't do this show in that little space unless one of our props was the jaws of life, I told Tony, "This ain't gonna work." But no worries. Tony and the construction crew had realized this a few hours earlier: A few minor adjustments later and there's room backstage for me AND Keith to pass by each other to get to our spots (even though we still suck in our guts when we do it)...and it's all totally worth it. I LOVE my job. Is it easy? Not always, but through the buckets of sweat, the bruises and the burning calves, one fact remains: there is NOTHING I would rather be doing. I can't imagine living a life behind a desk, or a counter, or in a boardroom. I would go insane. I mean, I love my job so much that on my day off, I'm sitting here writing about it because I can't stop thinking about how lucky I am. So thank you Tony, for giving me the best job ever.

Oh, one last side note: MVP award goes to the unsung hero, Josh, our Assistant Stage Manager, who's backstage helping w/ props & costumes. Without him, there is no show...and nobody even knows he's there. All right. That's all for now. I'm gonna go enjoy the rest of my day off by hanging out in my boxer-briefs on the couch eating ice cream, putting on all the weight I lost over the weekend. See you @ the SHOW! (well, I'd better, or I'll hunt you down...I know where you live...)

Aral Gribble
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare
The Williamston Theatre

The Stage Manager is the person who holds the production together by managing the communication and details of the process. In rehearsal, the SM is the director's right arm, in Tech Rehearsals the SM coordinates all the efforts AND the results of the director, designers and crew, and in the run of the show the SM calls all the cues, oversees every aspect of the show, and is the liason back to the producer. The director isn't around much after the show opens - the SM maintains the production by giving notes to the crew, actors and company. It's a vital role for any theatre company.

And today we give you some thoughts from OUR Stage Manager!
-Tony Caselli, Artistic Director


It’s 2:30am after our first rehearsal of the re-launch of The Complete Works…Abridged. It could be the venti Frappuccino I chugged before rehearsal in place of eating dinner, or the sheer excitement of Stage Managing my first show since getting out of college a few years ago, but I sure can’t sleep.

I have been working as a Production Assistant to the Stage Manager (PASM) for about 10 months at Williamston… that’s five of the season’s six shows. When I began my job at the theater I was a candidate to join the union of stage managers and actors called Actors Equity Association, or AEA, and needed to work 43 of my 50 total weeks running a show [I had earned 7 weeks already at another theatre]. Throughout my 10 months with the theatre, I worked backstage (during performances), maintained the set and all the props and costumes, organized the backstage duties, and assisted in running rehearsals. It doesn’t sound like much, but boy is it a lot of work! I loved nearly every day of it, and absorbed quite a lot of information about what makes a good stage manager. When Flyover, USA closed a week ago, it became my time to make the move from PASM to SM.

When a show closes at W’ston, there is at least a week before the next show begins rehearsals. During the time, the SM must do a lot of paperwork and get the theatre ready to begin the rehearsal process. One of the proudest, and most embarrassing, moments of my adult life came last week when I came in to clean the space and copy scripts. Tony came into the dressing room for me to sign my first Equity contract and brought the whole W’ston staff to come congratulate me. I stood there, blushing and avoiding eye contact with everyone while they clapped and cheered, but felt so proud that I had finally done it. I finally worked my way up to what I have worked so hard to be for the last six years of my life.

I looked around that room, in the faces of Emily, John, Tony, Chris, and Josh (my PASM), and felt so happy that they were so happy for me. I specifically remember a quote you will hear Tony say often: It’s a good day to be working in the American theater.

Erin Snyder, AEA Stage Manager
The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Abridged
The Williamston Theatre

The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, abridged will start rehearsals on Tuesday at the Williamston Theatre.



This show is a co-production with Tipping Point theatre, in Northville Michigan. I directed it there a couple of months ago, and it packed houses for the 6 week run. Now it's our turn to bring the show to Williamston, and we're thrilled! We've got one "pay what you can" preview on July 2nd, and open on July 3rd!

If you missed the review of the production when it opened at Tipping Point, here it is:
"Shakespeare's Never Been This Much Fun!"

Over the course of the short re-staging/rehearsal period for this show, we'll be posting a variety of journal entries from folks on the adventures, challenges, pluses and minuses of running a show for 6 weeks at one theatre, and then moving it to another! Hope you stop in and share in our fun!

-Tony Caselli, Artistic Director

The Williamston Theatre has been nominated for some awards!

The "Pulsars", which are the theatre awards given out by the Lansing City Pulse, announced their nominations today, and I'm pleased to say that the Williamston Theatre got some!

We received 13 nominations spread out over 4 productions, including Best Play, Best Director, Best Lead Actor, Best Lead Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Featured Actor in a Play, Featured Actress in a Play, Lighting Design, Props and Set Design.

It's always nice to have hard work recognized - congrats to all the nominees, and thanks to the City Pulse for supporting theatre in Michigan!

Stone Soup Storytelling at the Williamston Theatre

The Williamston Theatre is thrilled to announce the newest part of its Entertainment Stimulus Package, "Stone Soup Storytelling." On Saturday, May 9, the Williamston Theatre will open its doors for a concert of story and song featuring Dawn Daniels - a singularly compelling experience for adults and children ages 5 and up.

Dawn Daniels is noted as a radiant artist of the spoken and sung word devoted to creating an entertaining, transformative, and empowering experience for her listeners. A seasoned actor, vocalist, director, writer, teacher and counselor, Dawn brings all of her gifts to storytelling. She has performed for audiences of all ages in venues ranging from stage to pulpit to classroom to campfire, from the East Coast to her native Midwest including The Detroit Institute of Arts, Alma College, the Ypsilanti Heritage Festival and the East Lansing Public Library. Dawn's performances are an eclectic weaving of stories and songs drawn from a wide-ranging repertoire of world folklore, literary classics, sacred works, mythology, legend, fairy tale, and original creations. Stone Soup Productions is a cultural arts enterprise dedicated to the creation, presentation, and promotion of quality story art for the purpose of inspiring individual and community growth, transformation, and empowerment.

"Stone Soup Storytelling" will be held on four Saturdays from 11am-noon: April 25, May 9, June 13 and July 11. Each concert will be a unique set of stories and songs. The cost is $5.00 per person at the door. Please note seating is limited and will be on a first come first serve basis. Doors open at 10:30am.

Sarab Kamoo, currently starring in our production of Panache, is no stranger to Michigan audiences, and we've been lucky enough to have her in our building for the last couple of months working on this show!

Here, she shares her thoughts about working on Panache:

Well, I waited 3 years to work at this theater and it was definitely worth the wait. I have had the most wonderful experience working on Panache at Williamston. I couldn't have asked for a better group of professionals to be around...from the great cast, to the amazing stagemanagers, to the incredible director and the fantastic four who run that place!! I think Panache is such a beautiful story of finding love when and where you least expect it even when you think you don't necessarily deserve it. The last couple weekends of the show, I have been waiting for my entrance backstage and thought in my head, I can't believe I get to tell stories for a living, I am so blessed. This whole experience has been a joy and I am sad to have it end this weekend. However, I am so glad that it happened at all.
-Sarab

It's closing week of Panache!

This show has gotten all rave reviews, if you've not seen it - this is your last chance! :)

For a taste of a couple of the reviews, here are some links:

The Lansing State Journal says the show is "a delightfully funny evening of fast, smart banter, real human emotion and absolutely terrific acting."

Encore Michigan says Panache "delivers some of the most endearing theatre of the season"!


This show has been a delight to have on our stage. It's a big challenge for us - in our little space and with the economy worsening, a cast of 5 can be a financial challenge. It's one we were excited to tackle, though, because we really liked the story in this play. And we really liked these actors! We're truly grateful for all of the support from audiences and critics - Director Suzi Regan did a fabulous job of leading the team of designers, crew and cast and creating a piece of theatre that really fits what we like to do here at the Williamston! It makes you laugh, it chokes you up a bit, it makes you think, and when you leave you want to re-connect with the people you love. In our book, that's a good evening of theatre!

Here's a grainy cell-phone photo taken during tech weekend of Panache at Williamston Theatre. (click for the big pic!)

It's a little hard to tell, but in the photo are Alex Leydenfrost, Maggie Meyer and Sarab Kamoo, who are all doing very fine work in the show!

It's been a very good weekend - lots of hard work from a bunch of talented people - the show is coming together very nicely! Previews start on Thursday!

We've now completed 3 of our 6 shows for the 2008-2009 season.

Panache has begun rehearsals.

This is an exciting show for us, in a couple of ways: It's the first time the show has been done professionally in Michigan, and we're proud to be the ones doing it. It's also a play with 5 actors we're thrilled about having on our stage for the first time. And, we're fans of the script. It's billed as a "Romantic Comedy" which, in essence, is true. But, it's a romantic comedy for adults. It's a love story, sure, but it's a deeper exploration of a couple of people who are, like many of us, flawed. There are real life things at stake, and real life experiences have shaped these people.

I had a great moment today. Director Suzi Regan and her cast have had their first week of rehearsal, and I breezed through the building this afternoon on my way to another project. I'm always inspired when I catch even a glimpse of people working when it's people who are good at what they do, and love doing it. You can see it as they work, as they talk to each other. It was a great moment today, because I wasn't really thinking about Panache, I had my destination in mind, but there was the company rehearsing a moment... and I got caught up for a second in the process, and how great it was: the set is looking wonderful, the director was shouting ideas, the cast bouncing around the couch and staircase while the stage managers kept a watchful eye on the whole affair. I watched this team of people breathe life into this moment and I got lost in it. And I was reminded about how simple our goal is, really, when we make a play - we want people to get lost in it. To lose themselves and then, when it's over, come back to their own lives with a fresh perspective. We want to tell stories that move people (us included) in all sorts of ways, and we hope that it always leaves us all with some new (or renewed) sightline into our world.

So, Panache. It's funny, heartbreaking, life-affirming, thoughtful and sweet. Most of all, for me, it's about the power of second chances, of not giving up, of following one's heart - and THAT, especially right now, is the kind of theatre I want to see.

Tony Caselli
Artistic Director

The Effect Of Gamma Rays On Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds closed a great run yesterday, and we're really appreciative of all the support the show was given by audiences and critics.

This was a great week for us at Williamston Theatre.

See, a couple of years ago, when we sat around a table and made plans to start the theatre, a few of the things that we knew we wanted to do were: to do good theatre that moved people, to provide another place for Michigan artists to be employed, to work with up-and-coming generations of theatre artists, and to work on collaborations with other groups.

Well, we've managed to do all of those things, but over the last week we had a bunch of those happen all in the span of a few days. A show at Williamston Theatre that involved several MSU students onstage and off, and some faculty designers, closed to full houses and great reviews. A show that I directed at MSU had a great 2 weekend run and the student actors and designers there put in some very fine work. And we began production meetings for the show that we're co-producing with Tipping Point Theatre in Northville, MI. A show that will have performance runs at both theatres, and give several actors, designers and crew people over 3 months of work.

Now, there are things that could be better. The economy could be better. Overall attendance could be better. The sightlines around the poles in our theatre could be better, and corporate donations could be better.

Still... there are some things that are working quite nicely.

One more week to go of the Williamston Theatre production of The Effect Of Gamma Rays On Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds. Our reviews have been excellent, and we're playing to great houses!

We're incredibly grateful for the nice reviews and the wonderful audience response!

Some brief quotes from the reviews:
...an excellent show, with plenty of high-quality drama sprinkled with just the right amount of humor.

Williamston's production is daring and impressive.

...powerfully poignant night of theater.

You know a play is good when you find yourself still talking and thinking about it two days after seeing it.

And, in case you want to see full reviews:
This is a link to the Lansing State Journal review!
This is the Encore Michigan review!
The Lansing City Pulse review is here.