Weekly Update 9.25.09
September 25th, 2009THINGS WE WANT received Critics Choice in the San Diego Union Tribune!
Tim Parker and Adam Brick in THINGS WE WANT. Photo by Daren Scott.
Here’s a link to the full review:
And another good one in the San Diego Reader:
It’s a great cast and the director, Lisa Berger (who made her NVA debut with this show) has been amazing to work with. There is a possibility that we will do a Monday night show (on October 5th) for all of you who are in shows elsewhere. I hope to have that confirmed later today.
Opening night was a great success. I made it to the theatre just in time for the curtain call (I had to speed up here from the show I am doing in La Jolla) and was able to experience the enthusiastic response. The catering by Mike Briley, aka The Hardcore Chef, was delicious (the sea scallops wrapped in bacon being a particular crowd favorite) and Wiens Winery brought their various wines, which were gone by the end of the night - thanks to Tom Estok and Phil Cabibi for the donation of real wine glasses. It was great to have so many of our board members there!
Shows continue through October 11, so please help to spread the word!
Crazy Monday
Lots going on this past Monday night. Laura was here at NVA running the Off-Night Music Event with the Fabulous Earrings. It was a wonderful performance - the patrons who were there really enjoyed it - not the biggest crowd in the world, but for a last minute addition, very successful. I was in La Jolla performing in the “actors night” for Moxie and Alex was at the San Diego Performing Arts League’s Star Awards. The Star Awards are the annual award show to honor performing arts organization’s volunteers. We had planned to honor Jason Medina this year, but then he went into the hospital. He’s home now and recovering nicely, so we hope to have him in shape to accept the award next year.
Thursdays on the Coast
We had another Art Walk in the Village last night. Again, highly successful. Hundreds of people came through and some who had never been to the theatre before were most impressed. We picked up a good number of walk-ins to see THINGS WE WANT as well. If you haven’t been to this event yet, it is a nice way to spend the evening - all the galleries and art venues in Carlsbad are open for the evening with free snacks and drinks and you can take a walking tour of all of them.
Jonah’s in a Show!
My son Jonah will be appearing in the regional premiere of Lisa Loomer’s DISTRACTED at MiraCosta College Oct 1 - 11. He’s playing Jesse, a boy with severe ADD - the play is about how his parents choose to deal with the situation. Other NVA alums in the show are Amanda Dane (pictured above) playing Jonah’s mom and Sassan Saffari as some of the doctors. If you would like tickets, they can be purchased at www.miracostatheatre.com.
Other Openings
A number of our Ensemble members are appearing in MAN FROM NEBRASKA at Cygnet Theatre (directed by former NVA Artistic Director Francis Gercke) - Sandra Ellis-Troy, Jack Missett and Amanda Sitton. The show is in previews now and runs through November 1st. Tickets are available at www.cygnettheatre.com.
Kelly Iversen will be appearing in WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF at Compass Theatre. Tickets are available at www.compasstheatre.com.
I’m sure I’ve missed some others - our Ensemble is working all over town right now!
Two new additions to NVA’s Season!
I’m so pleased to announce that Bonnie Durben has joined us as our properties designer for the entire season and Tim Wallace will be our resident set designer for the rest of the season. Both are talented, creative artists who will bring the look of the play to life. The three of us will be working together to create exciting and interesting designs for the remaining shows. I’m so proud to have both of them working with NVA. And I don’t know if I mentioned it last week, but we also have Sam Sherman as our Production Manager!
Quote on acting that I like
“I love actors and by extension, the theater. I love the minutia that surrounds them both. I love listening and telling Green Room war stories. I love the onstage triumphs and yes, I love even the disasters. I love the adrenaline that shoots thru every actor onstage when something goes wrong, and the relief that sweeps thru when some heroic actor saves the day. I love performance. That time when the human beings onstage interact with the human beings in the audience and together they create the event of performance. It’s one of life’s most civilized experiences.
It has been said that an actor must have the hide of a rhinoceros, the courage and audacity of a lion, and most importantly, the fragile vulnerability of an egg. It also has been said, and I’m not sure by whom, that the moment of not knowing is the moment that has the greatest potential for creativity. The professional and private lives of most actors are filled to the brim with moments of not knowing. Actors are survivors and will continue to strive because they have the need to celebrate, in performance, that sacred communion between actor and audience.”
-Robert Prosky, 1930-2008
It has been said that an actor must have the hide of a rhinoceros, the courage and audacity of a lion, and most importantly, the fragile vulnerability of an egg. It also has been said, and I’m not sure by whom, that the moment of not knowing is the moment that has the greatest potential for creativity. The professional and private lives of most actors are filled to the brim with moments of not knowing. Actors are survivors and will continue to strive because they have the need to celebrate, in performance, that sacred communion between actor and audience.”
-Robert Prosky, 1930-2008
Brown Bag Lunch next Friday
I will be continuing the Brown Bag Lunch series next Friday (10/2) and will be joined by Ensemble member Dana Case, who is directing PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE for NVA. We’ll talk about that, the current show and basically anything else that people would like to discuss about NVA. If you are in the area, please join us.
That’s all for me this week - go see some great theatre!
All the best-
Kristianne
THINGS WE WANT OPENS THIS WEEKEND!