The bonnet worn by the Sisters of Charity in our production of Doubt is atypical of what we think of nuns wearing. Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821) started the first religious community of apostolic women founded in the United States. She was canonized in 1975 and is the first native born American to become a saint. […]

»read more from "Sisters of Charity"

We just completed our second week of rehearsal for Doubt. The first week was spent at the table wrapping our brains around all kinds of questions: faith vs reason, what do we really believe versus what we were taught to believe, who were we in 1964 - how does the zeitgeist of the time […]

»read more from "Doubt in 1964"

{Diane (Antoinette LaVecchia) pours on the charm to seal a deal on behalf of her client in The Little Dog Laughed.}
So The Little Dog Laughed is finally up and running - and if our first four audiences are an indication - we are in for a wild, wild ride.  First night out was a benefit […]

»read more from "And the Dog Barks"

It’s still raining outside, but it is beginning to heat up inside the studio theater.

We moved downstairs last night for technical rehearsals for The Little Dog Laughed. There were all these cool hipsters pouring into the building as we came in (we started at 5:00 pm) and after nosing around a bit, I learned […]

»read more from "Little Dogs Onstage"

There’re only 3 performances left to go before the historic World Premiere of Sometimes a Great Notion closes forever.
Check out this behind the scenes video with some incredibly insightful interviews with the Notion cast and creative team.

And then drag your Oregon loving friends down to one of the extension performances.
Want to play hooky […]

»read more from "3 Performances until Notion MUST CLOSE!"

In a little over a week we will open The Little Dog Laughed, a show that will ask audiences to enjoy themselves hugely at the expense of the sharks and mavens who make up the Hollywood dream machine. We will also be placing every audience member within 4 rows of two handsome, funny, highly […]

»read more from "The Politics of Naked: some notes on nakedness and the theater"

{photo: Storm Large hanging out with Chris in his office.}
Storm and I had a great conversation this morning about her show next year (Crazy Enough). She has shared several pieces of her writing with me thus far, and sitting on my balcony today she sang a song that had come to her while walking […]

»read more from "Praying to Kurt Cobain"

As Sometimes a Great Notion was readying for its first preview last Tuesday evening, we were also beginning rehearsals for Douglas Carter Beane’s racy and hilarious comedy, The Little Dog Laughed, which will close out the studio season.

Brik Berkes plays the rising movie star who (as his agent puts it), ‘has a slight recurring […]

»read more from "Laughing with the Little Dog"

{photo: The Stamper family rests a moment, each in their private world. Vivian Stamper (Sarah Grace Wilson, left) samples from Wallace Stevens’ poetry while patriarch Henry (Tobias Andersen, right) does some reading of his own. Leland (Karl Miller, middle), is awakes to visions of older brother Hank (P.J. Sosko, standing) and cousin Joe Ben (Andy […]

»read more from "On the Eve of of a World Premiere: Bringing the Oregon Forest to Life"

There is definitely a buzz charging through the building as Sometimes A Great Notion moves toward opening night. The cast moved onto the set on Saturday (4 days early???? Why doesn’t that happen on MY shows?) And this morning they began focusing the lights.

As you can see, the set is a jagged […]

»read more from "Onstage with the Stampers"

{There’s a reason they’re called the Stampers. Hank Stamper (P.J. Sosko) test drives a new pair of caulk (pronounced “cork’) boots in Sometimes a Great Notion, opening April 4th on the Main Stage.}
I saw a runthrough of Sometimes a Great Notion in the rehearsal hall yesterday.  The company was still digesting new pages of […]

»read more from "The River is Rising"

{From the recent press shoot for Sometimes a Great Notion, taken in the scene shop on the set. Pictured from left to right: Leland (Karl Miller), Hank (P.J. Sosko), Henry (Tobias Andersen) and Joe Ben (Andy Paterson).} note: Those trees in the background? Not in the scene shop. Intrepid photographer Owen Carey shot and […]

»read more from "Felling Trees and Fluffing Skirts"

{Yes! This photo is of a scale model, taken by Scenic Designer Tony Cisek}
The first rehearsal for Sometimes a Great Notion was today, allowing cast and staff to get their first glimpse of the designs and ideas that will start to bring this great Oregon novel to life.
The rehearsal began with a Portland Center […]

»read more from "Beginning the Process of Bringing the Oregon Forest to Life"

After several days teching 12th Night, the cast of Beard of Avon changed their costumes and headed right into another round of technical rehearsals. Weary, but silly we launched into adding lights and sound, building the transitions between scenes, and figuring out how the play would best translate from the rehearsal hall to the […]

»read more from "Beard Hits the Stage"

Let’s see - today is December 21st and we just ran the first act of Beard of Avon yesterday (well stumbled through is really the appropriate term at this point in the process).  I believe that 12th Night reviewed the entire first half yesterday as well.
 Last week we began by learning the songs in Beard […]

»read more from "Buried in the Middle"

The Beard of Avon and 12th Night began rehearsals on Saturday with a brief design presentation from Bill Bloodgood, the set designer; and Deb Trout, costume designer. Both sets use major elements of the same set and costumes, with variations for each. Kim Crowe, our dramaturg for both shows has created a website […]

»read more from "Beard/12th Launches"

The scene shop is stuffed full with Christmas Carol scenery. I counted at least four Christmas trees.

The costume shop gathered around to hear notes from Designer Jeff Cone about last evening’s rehearsal.

As the weary crew made last minute alterations.

And the sets received additional coats of paint from Geno.

And final touches were added to […]

»read more from "Final Preparations"

Yes. This is a real term. All LORT theaters are required to have a “young actor monitor” or a “child wrangler” present whenever children are in a show. I was the child wrangler for PILLOWMAN, FENCES and in JAW last year. Each time it was for one or two children, but now for CHRISTMAS CAROL […]

»read more from "Child Wrangling"

First rehearsal for A Christmas Carol began this morning - with what seemed like 100 people assembled in the rehearsal hall. Wesley Mann (above) will play Scrooge. Wesley has also had an illustrious television career, appearing on the children’s shows That’s So Raven and Adventures in Wonderland.

Madison Wray (above in the pink) will […]

»read more from "Let the Caroling Begin"

An incredible group of actors will be joining us for 12th Night and Beard of Avon after the new year. Some are faces you’ll remember, others you’ll just be getting to know.

Above: the wonderful Ken Albers (Tarleton from last season’s Misalliance) who will be playing the theatrical producer extraordinaire, “Heminge” in Beard […]

»read more from "Faces Familiar and Un"

A first glance at the set design for A Christmas Carol. This is a front elevation, so doesn’t show the shape of the set yet, but does offer a sense of color and scale.
Cliff Fanin Baker, who directed Act A Lady and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead for us returns to steer the project - […]

»read more from "A Christmas Carol Sets"

First sketches and set ideas arrived last week for 12th Night and Beard of Avon.  Bill Bloodgood (Misalliance, King Lear) is designing. 

The idea is to create an “Elizabethan backstage” with properties hanging from the sky.

The large  beams shown will mirror re-construction of the new Globe in London.

»read more from "Beard/12th night sketches"

Just back from four days in New York, casting for The Beard of Avon and 12th Night.  Always a gas being in that city.  Though I was looking forward to a respite from our very rainy October, of course, the first two days in Manhattan provided torrential downpours.
When I go to NYC, my hotel of […]

»read more from "casting in New York"

Technical Rehearsals for “Cabaret” began on Thursday evening. Over a four day period we move into the theater, add lights, costumes, michrophones, and the band. Trying to figure out how to maneuver each of the scene changes, respace the scenes to fit the actual physical set and adjust the choreography so a dancer doesn’t land […]

»read more from "Finally Onstage"

The crew began loading the set into the theater yesterday.  We ran the whole thing for the first time this afternoon, and on the break went downstairs to see how they were coming.

It looks deeper than I had imagined (which is a good thing).  We’ve been in the tiny rehearsal so long, its going to […]

»read more from "FIRST SIGHTING"

Fight choreographer, John Armour, came in on Friday to build the two fights for the show. After having to build the operatic sequences in West Side Story’s “rumble” this was pretty straightforward. Scott Sachs is seen here working on his punching technique.

John David Woods practiced “kicking” Romain in the head, while Romain […]

»read more from "FIGHTING HARD"

The costume shop is about to explode.  In one week the clothes have to be ready for actor’s to wear onstage.  Tesa is seen here working on the “gorilla” costume for Act II.

Meanwhile, Foggy worked on the dress that said Gorilla will actually wear.

Larissa provided final touches on the ladies undergarments. 

Barbara built a pair of […]

»read more from "COSTUMES COUNTDOWN"

A week and two days before we move onstage, we shot the publicity photos for Cabaret on the Mezzanine level. I always hate the photo shoot, because it eats time out of the rehearsal day - but Owen Carey, our photographer created some pretty cool looks.

Besides Wade McCollum and Storm Large, the show also […]

»read more from "Final Touches"

In the original version of Cabaret the Emcee is an entertainer, the audience’s guide through the evening and a great showman.  But he stands clearly outside of the action of the play.
In the version we are using (from the Studio 54 Revival) he is woven through the action in a more interesting, though at times […]

»read more from "WHO IS THE EMCEE?"

 
There are four versions of Cabaret.  The original script for the 1966 Broadway premiere (directed by Hal Prince and choreographed by Ron Fields). 
 The 1972 Movie version (directed by Bob Fosse) which added two songs for Sally:  Mein Herr and Maybe This Time.
The 1987 Broadway Revival (directed by Hal Prince) - which tried to update and clarify Cliff’s sexuality - […]

»read more from "The Cool New Version"

 So one of my favorite moments from week one of rehearsal:  we’re rehearsing the scene where Sally bursts into Cliff’s apartment and tries to convince him to take her in.  Storm and Romaine (Cliff) are reading through the scene for the first time and we get to the song “Perfectly Marvelous Girl”, the piano accompaniment […]

»read more from "Bursting into Song"

 Welcome to the scene shop!  One of the questions we are asked most often is, “Where does this show go after its run in Portland?”  I explain that most of the time the show isn’t going anywhere (though Cabaret is an exception because it travels to Geva Theater in Rochester, NY in January).  In fact […]

»read more from "ON HAMMER AND SCREWS"

Cabaret kicked off rehearsals this morning with a meet and greet of the entire staff of the theater and the cast of the show. After a quick ten minute break - the cast launched right into music rehearsals.

Rick Lewis, our musical director jumped right into putting the cast through their paces on Wilkommen. He pretended […]

»read more from "CABARET BEGINS REHEARSAL"

Sooooooo you’ve seen a lot of sketches for the Cabaret set, and I’m now able to share some of the ideas for costumes. Jeff Cone is our resident costume designer, and because we work together so often (our first show was back in Atlanta in 1990, oy vey am I old), I don’t always ask […]

»read more from "Cabaret Costume Sketches"

ust back from completing the casting for Cabaret. A lot of people ask where our actors come from. Through the course of a season about half come from Portland, and the other half come from Seattle and New York. Which immediately conjures images of our sitting through cattle calls of thousands of actors with numbers […]

»read more from "Casting Trip To New York"

Notes from Skip re: Cabaret set design…
“Hope you’re swell. I rebuilt model incorporating thoughts from our discussion. It feels much better related to faded elegance and hopefully less Russian industrial. I changed the angle of side walls slightly.
The center platform is 32″ high (was 24″); two step units both portable - one circular (might be […]

»read more from "re: Cabaret set designs"

We were more fortunate in our round of local auditions for Cabaret than expected. You don’t always think about it – but finding triple threats (actors who can sing and dance as well as they act) in PDX can be a real challenge. But we were tickled by the results.
Joel Ferrell (our choreographer from West […]

»read more from "More Cabaret Casting"

Just back from a week of vacation (largely spent here in PDX biking, hiking, piddling), to find early sketches of the set for Cabaret in my in box. Skip Mercier (designer for West Side Story) is designing and shared some very rough ideas about a direction we may head in. Thought you might be interested […]

»read more from "early Cabaret set sketches"

I was sitting at lunch yesterday with Bob Gerding (for whom the Armory Theater is named) and he said, “Hey, I heard a rumor that this Storm Large woman is going to play what’s her name (Sally Bowles) in Cabaret. Is that true?” I said that INDEED it is true. Hurrah!
And yes, indeed, Mr. Wade […]

»read more from "cabaret casting"