Catching Up on the Pier, Dramaturging and Fela!

Today is Saturday. I spent the afternoon catching up with yet another friend from school, Dan Amboyer. We end up hanging out at a pier on the river for several hours. Dan is in a period of great transition, and is in the process of signing with a new agent. It is always astonishing to me just how difficult it is to forge a career for oneself in the acting business, especially in New York. The two of us have admired each other's work tremendously, and we're committed to finding an avenue to work together.


Above, Dan Amboyer at the pier.

Then to a meeting with Greg VanHorn, my dramaturg, at my favorite 9th Ave. restaurant, Rice and Beans. Greg and I have worked together for several years now. We got to know each other through a production of Miss Julie at Carnegie Mellon, and have been inseparable ever since. He knows my taste and my aesthetic thoroughly, and is an invaluable partner in planning and in production. I value his opinion, and we trade our notes about the current draft of the play, as well as the various design ideas that are in motion. We start plotting the actor packet for the rehearsal process. Below, some production photographs on our Miss Julie, featuring the wonderful Kara Lindsay (currently in the starring role in A Little House on the Prairie, the Musical) as Julie and the astonishing Rich Dreher as John.





Then, off to Fela! with Michael Finkle, the movement director for the play. Michael is another colleague from Carnegie Mellon and a talented director in his own right. He will be helping me create a series of non-naturalistic physical sequences in the transition scenes of the play. I'm interested in incorporated movement and music into the production to engage the audience emotionally. We talk about various ideas and possibilities long into the night.

(posted by Ed)