Well, what's happened in the last week. The shows are still going well and we continue to have some fun behind the scenes. The cast is getting ready for the Cabaret. This Friday December 18, 2009 most members of the cast will be performing a cabaret after the show. A lot of funny ideas have been flying around. Andy Kindig, Lancaster resident, cast member and all around nice guy (well maybe not but it's all I could think of right now) is heading up the cabaret. He and Eleni Delopoulos (also in the show and hilarious actress) are currently writing some of the acts that will be taking place. DON'T MISS THIS!!!!

One of our cast members Katie Sina broke the bone in the ball of her foot during production week and had to move from her apartment to a closer one. Because of this, we all got together at her apartment last week and had a potluck dinner. What could be better then supporting a cast member and friend by helping out and eating great food, having great conversation and then going to do a show. Wait,.. That was the down side. I think we all ate so much that none of us wanted to do the show because we were so full and dare I say it??? Yes....full of gas. That was an interesting show, but we got through it.

Alene Robertson (Miss Hannigan) had her 21st birthday this week. After the show we all went out to celebrate. When we asked Alene how old she is she told us she is 21 again. We figured it's a good age to be again. So we went out for drinks and wings at a local place. This event was so big that even Chad Coudriet (Burt Healy) joined us. That was a huge shock but we all got through it and even asked him to join us again sometime. What a nice guy.

Secret Santa's start this week. How does this effect you? It doesn't, but we get gifts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh yah, we have to give them as well. This should be fun. Some of the creative idea's and gifts going around already have been brilliant. I'll keep you posted.

Well that's it for now. Tune in next time for another episode of Annie...The life after.

Now let's see... It's been a while since we've had a blog. I blame the rehearsal schedule. As I said in the first blog, our director is a slave driver. We've been rehearsing Annie and Nutcracker at the same time and the schedule was pretty rough. However, we opened both shows and both have been received really well by audiences and Annie got great reviews.

In the time of all the rehearsals, a few of us took a tour of the town and ended up at a Cajun restaurant called Prudhomme's. It was awesome. Great Cajun food and not bad drinks.

We had some great times developing characters for each show and have a hard time not laughing at each other on stage.

Paul Aguirre and Becca Nicole Snyder.

Some cast members dreamed of being Annie as you can see.

Robert Kovach designed the set and it is beautiful thanks to Robert, Bill, Steve, Rebecca (paint), Dale (props) and everyone else who helped on the construction.

The lights were designed by Paul Black, he even made Jamie (Daddy Warbucks) look good on stage. David Temby did the sound design and Joe Simon runs the sound. They also made Jamie sound okay. Well... they did the best they could do (again with the jokes).

Great costumes and hair done by Beth Dunkelberger, Anthony Lascoskie, Jr. Our lovely costume mistress Brittany keeps us looking good, even Jamie.

Nykol, Anne and Bryan keep everyone in line backstage... well as best as they can. We'll have to get more into the stage management crew on the next blog........Oh Yah!

So far everything is going well with the show that Marc put up... however I'm sure he can't wait to come back and see the show to tell us to take all of our improvements out and make the show what is was when we opened.

That's it for today. I'll write more before the end of the week.

First and foremost, I want to say that everything in this blog is meant to be fun and entertaining. Everything you are about to read is all in good fun. So this is for your entertainment.

When I was asked...No...Told I was going to be doing the blog for Annie, I think I was thrilled. So here it is. We started rehearsals the second week of November. I do have to say that I have not worked with a cast in a long time or perhaps never worked with a cast that is this nice. What I mean is, not only is everyone incredibly talented from the kids up to the adults, but everyone is so nice and genuine. No one thinks they are better than anyone else and they always have time to stop and say "Good morning" or "Bon Jour" (musical theatre joke) to each other. Everyone is greeted with a smile from the cast as well as the production staff. Can we talk about the production staff??? Everyone is accommodating and fun to be with. When it's time to work, we work but there is always fun to be had and little jokes back and forth to keep the day moving as efficiently as possible.

Rehearsal started with the standard music rehearsal and we went on to blocking the following day. I am pretty sure the whole show was blocked in one week and we started running through the show rather quickly. Everything is running smoothly. When things needed to be cut down for time reasons or continuity, the decision was a simple one for our fearless leader Marc Robin (director, choreographer and all around nice guy). He would come up to me and say "Steve, we're cutting your lines... you never knew them anyway so I didn't think it would make a difference." Of course this is a joke (or is it?).

When Marc was making his decision to cast me in the show, first he had to weigh out if he wanted anyone to work with me or get to know me. After he made the decision to "Go For It" and cast me, everything that he feared really did come true. So I am saying right now to the cast and production staff...I'm sorry for anything and everything that I have done or have yet to do, but ultimately you will have to blame the director for bringing me into this in the first place.

In all seriousness, Marc Robin is not only a very talented person, but he also cares very much about his shows, the people he works with and the people he casts. If you're having a bad day, he wants to know about it and help you. That is very rare in this field and we all appreciate this very much. Thank you Boss!

Our Stage Manager Nykol first and foremost, has great hair. Long, curly and red. Next, she along with Anne and Bryan (Assistant Stage Manager and Production Asst.) are the best audience in the world. They laugh at everything and applaud, and even keep a tight running ship in the process. I'm sure I speak for everyone in the cast when I say "you're in for a long run."

Ron, our Music Director. Great voice, great patience and great ability to transpose. That is truly impressive. I look forward to getting you to play some Billy Joel for us during production week. I hope that's not a problem.

As we get into production week, I will be able to talk more about the rest of our fearless staff. So no one is safe.

As far as the rehearsal space goes, it's very nice. Two floors and a kitchen. I feel the only thing missing is the coffee cakes and donuts. If we had these things, it would really make the rehearsal time a lot more constructive. But that is just this guy's opinion. We get to move into the beautiful theatre on Wednesday of this week. The day before Thanksgiving. Now the real fun starts. If I may right now, I would like to put in a request for coffee cakes and donuts for the dressing rooms right now. Thank you.

I hope you have enjoyed the first installment of the Annie Blog and I hope you stay tuned for the upcoming ones.

Maida Vale has been my home for the past few weeks--I had a beautiful flat, stoically decorated en grisaille, beautiful clothes, a husband I was desperately trying to make happy, a former lover who was making his presence known, and a phone that seemed sometimes to have a life of its own. I have had to leave, first, Maida Vale, and second, Lancaster. Back in Brooklyn, the life of Dial M still circles around my mind, still demands my attention; my lower eyelashes still bear traces of the bountiful eyeliner Margot wore--I like that it clings a little, spiritually and physically. There is a separation of actor from part, actor from other actor, and I think I like the quiet outward expression of that loosening grip--at least, see a beauty in it amidst the sadness. I thought, maybe, that as I slip away from 61a Charrington Gardens in the London suburb, Maida Vale--a fictional street in an actual English town--that I might explore that geography as it exists in a non-dramatic realm. An aid, perhaps, in the dedomiciling that is under way.

I came to rehearsal with two photos from the actual Maida Vale--one of the tile work at its tube stop, and one of a slightly open window from the back of a town house much like the Wendices'. While there is no street in Maida Vale named Charrington Gardens, there is a Warrington Crescent, and this town house, window standing open for any intruder, faces that street. Mark Shanahan (Tony Wendice) provided me with Gary Giblin's Alfred Hitchcock's London, which tracks the locations used in Mr. Hitchcock's films to their origins, and also supports my assumption that Mr. Knott may have substituted the fictional Charrington Gardens for Warrington Crescent. Surprisingly, there neither was nor is a Maida Vale police station--a locale of great importance in Dial M. According to Gilblin, there was "a police station in nearby West Hampstead and according to Metropolitan Police historian Bernard Brown, its phone number was Maida Vale 1113." And that's how you dial M . . .

As I unpack my bags and reacclimate myself to my Brooklyn life, I am so grateful for Margot--and Tony, Max, the Inspector and his policeman, and ok, Lesgate too. I am grateful to the Fulton Theatre and all its remarkable staff for welcoming me back, and to the Lancastrians I have met and befriended who made my time in your city that much fuller and more special. It is a lovely and rare thing--and I thank you for sharing it with me. My best wishes to the cast of Annie!

by Chris Thorn

"Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life." - Jack Kerouac

Landscape, long and winding road, Lancaster, PA.

The cycling this Fall, during our run of Dial M, has been particularly choice. Here's a recent Facebook status update of mine as evidence: "Lancaster city to Marietta at twilight: top ten bike rides of all time. I rode the last three miles as a cold rain started and swirling winds laid out a blanket of freshly raked leaves before me. Sweat. Sweet. Heaven."

I have a 20 year love affair with the bike and the road. A relationship made all the more rich during my last five weeks in Lancaster. In order to know a place I have to learn its pavement and experience it at street level. I've had many afternoons in Lancaster running laps on the streets downtown. I've had long rides east, west, north, and south. I finally found the Susquehanna in Marietta, PA. Lancaster county stands out as some of the most beautiful terrain I've covered on two wheels.

Being an actor requires a relationship with the road. New cities and new people are always on the horizon. Every actor handles the unfamiliar geography differently. It is a bittersweet thing to come to a community, be a part of its cultural life, and then quickly move on to the next experience. A friend of mine calls acting making "statues in snow." I've also heard it described as "writing in water." There is little to hold on to after a performance. Maybe you're able to take a small prop or purchase a costume piece or salvage a part of the set during strike; but the thing you really want to hold onto exists only as a memory. That's what I value about the road, it's a map for my memory. I'll remember the landscape of Dial M both on stage and off very fondly.

The following quote from Blue Highways ( a book about a man who circumnavigated the lower 48 states in a Dodge Caravan using only the pre-Interstate U.S. Route system) captures some of what I go through when I move on down the road. Thanks for having me to the Fulton and thanks for paying the taxes that help maintain the gorgeous Lancaster County pavement.

"What you've done becomes the judge of what you're going to do - especially in other people's minds. When you're traveling, you are what you are right there and then. People don't have your past to hold against you. No yesterdays on the road." ~William Least Heat Moon, Blue Highways

Please stay tuned for the final installment of the Dial M blog--I'll be writing it from Brooklyn on Monday as the last couple of days here in Lancaster slipped by too quickly for me to devote to the blog the attention it demands. Margaret

Margaret Loesser Robinson in Dial "M" for Murder. Photo by Craig Leaper.

Kelly, Grace. A fellow Scorpio. A Pennsylvanian native--maybe I can say I am one at heart. The Margot Wendice that all other Margot Wendices are based on. When I put on my dress for Act I, I feel as elegant as she always seemed; and her image persists as a emblem of style and, well, grace today. Walking along Madison Avenue in New York a week before I left for Lancaster, I passed by a Talbots, their new ad campaign featuring a black and white image of Grace, looking effortlessly chic. She wore clothes with such refinement and loveliness, and, as reported on her wikipedia page, humor:

"At the rehearsal for the scene in Rear Window when I wore a sheer nightgown, Hitchcock called for Edith Head. He came over here and said, 'Look, the bosom is not right, we're going to have to put something in there.' He was very sweet about it; he didn't want to upset me, so he spoke quietly to Edith. When we went into my dressing room and Edith said, 'Mr. Hitchcock is worried because there's a false pleat here. He wants me to put in falsies.' Well, I said, 'You can't put falsies in this, it's going to show and I'm not going to wear them.' And she said, 'What are we going to do?' So we quickly took it up here, made some adjustments there, and I just did what I could and stood as straight as possible - without falsies. When I walked out onto the set Hitchcock looked at me and at Edith and said, 'See what a difference they make?"

I can't help but think of my own sheer white nightgown in Dial M, but I think that's as much as I'll reveal.

Mark Shanahan as Richard Hannay in The 39 Steps.

My thanks to our leading lady for letting me chime in with a blog entry.

As we near closing, it seems a good time to let you know just what a unique experience Dialing M at the Fulton has been for me. Like many in our audience, I know the film version of Knott's play well, and the chance to step inside of it has not only been a pleasure, but an eye opening reminder of the difference between the demands of film and stage.

On Mondays, when the theatre is dark, I teach a course at Fordham University on the films of Alfred Hitchcock. Last Monday, I added Dial "M" for Murder to the syllabus and spent my day off once more at the Wendices' flat, albeit introducing the film to a group of college juniors and seniors rather than plotting Margot's demise for a Fulton crowd. After a lively discussion of camera angles, the 3-D history of the film's original release, and a detailed discussion of Knott's script, one student asked, "if the film is practically unchanged from the play, what makes this a Hitchcock movie and not a Frederick Knott movie?" A complicated question, to be sure. The director was constantly looking for source material he could transform into a "Hitchcock" picture, and Dial M fit the bill.

Mark Shanahan and James Black as Hitchcock in Hitchcock Blonde at The Alley Theatre. Directed by Gregory Boyd.

When asked about Dial M, Hitchcock famously stated, "When the batteries are running low, take a hit play and film it." Interestingly, in recent years, the theatre has taken Hitchcock's philosophy and turned it on its head. In fact, Hitchcock, one of our towering cinematic legends, has become somewhat of a creative inspiration for theatre artists, with various scripts and productions ruminating on his life and works. I've been lucky enough to explore some of these works first hand, as an actor. But more on that later.

Of course, Hitchcock had a history in adapting stage plays and novels as a young filmmaker. The Lodger, the silent-era thriller which the director himself considered the first "Hitchcock" picture, was adapted from a novel and play, as was 1929's Blackmail, the first British talkie. Both, however, bore the singular stamp of the director, wildly diverging from their stage versions. Alternatively, 1930 saw Hitchcock take on Juno and The Paycock, the O'Casey masterpiece. Although Hitchcock was celebrated for his filmed version, he claimed " it had nothing to do with cinema," as he simply trained his camera on the play. Rope, a reworked, Americanized version of Patrick Hamilton's hit play, kept Hitchcock's camera confined on a stage set, restlessly roaming its various corners in what appears to the audience to be one long, brilliant take. Hitchcock loved the theatricality of confined spaces, similar to those of a stage set. In Rear Window, Lifeboat and The Lady Vanishes, the characters are practically defined by their enclosed environments.

Many of his masterpieces were altered so greatly from their source material, particularly novels, that one can barely recognize them. The script he developed with screenwriter Charles Bennett for The 39 Steps, based on John Buchan's adventure story, added various love interests and villains, and only tangentially retains the structure of the Buchan's work. In fact, in the middle of writing the screenplay, it is said that Bennett asked Hitchcock, "wait a minute, what are the 39 Steps?" Hitchcock answered, "we'll figure that out later." (In the novel, the steps are a location and in Hitchcock's scenario it is the name of a spy ring.) The Man Who Knew Too Much, which Hitchcock filmed twice, retains only the title of G.K. Chesterton's novel. Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca gave Hitchcock an opportunity to shoot a Gothic romance complete with his trademark suspenseful flourishes, and DuMaurier's The Birds, a European World War II parable, became an early 60's masterpiece addressing a changing American culture. Psycho, of course, is much more than the elements laid out in Robert Bloch's novel and deserves a blog for another day.

Hitchcock's pictures often use the settings of the theatre itself. The 39 Steps opens and closes in a theatre. Saboteur finds the villain stepping off Radio City's stage, pursued by the hero. The Man Who Knew Too Much virtually climaxes at The Royal Albert Hall (Dial M gives it a shout out!). Stage Fright literally delves into the world of footlights and greasepaint.

But, it is North By Northwest which references Hitchcock's fascination with the theatre with the most finesse. When Cary Grant is mistaken for a spy named George Kaplan, a villainous James Mason scoffs at his denials, stating "With such expert playacting, you make this very room a theater... Has anyone ever told you that you overplay your various roles rather severely, Mr. Kaplan?" In a great bit of world weary Cary Grant-ishness, our hero answers, "Apparently the only performance that will satisfy you is when I play dead." Says Mason, "Your very next role, and you'll be quite convincing, I assure you." Indeed, many of Hitchcock's characters seem to be fueled by the art of acting and the need to create themselves in performance. Sometimes, taking on a character can have terrible consequences, of course. I'm looking at you, Norman Bates!

Which brings us to Dial M. Filmed in thirty-six days on a sound stage, the picture was often dismissed by Hitchcock as a minor effort. "There isn't very much we can say about that one, is there?" he said to Francois Truffaut. I'm not so sure about that.

Unlike so many of his other films, Hitchcock barely altered the script from the stage play, hiring Knott himself for screenwriting duties. The director noted that a great play relies on recognizing its very theatricality. To open up Dial M for scenes in courtrooms and the streets of London, or with flashbacks, would rob the play of its excellence. "The basic quality of any play is precisely its confinement within the proscenium," he said. Even though the film was to be released in 3-D, the director doesn't seem to make many concessions to the 3-D fad. Outside of the celebrated scissors shot, Hitchcock once again places his camera in furtive places, peering around lamps and desks, in keeping with his interests in voyeurism.

And Knott's play seems entirely well suited to all of the hallmarks of a Hitchcock picture. We have a sociopathic villain disguised as a gentleman (Suspicion, 39 Steps, Frenzy, North By Northwest), various metaphors and complications with keys and handbags (Marnie, Notorious), the shadowy doppelgangers that are Tony and Lesgate (Strangers On A Train, Shadow of a Doubt), the wrongly accused innocent person (The Wrong Man and...well, take your pick!) and of course, the icy cool Hitchcock Blonde, the centerpiece of so many of Hitchcock's pictures. Is she simply a victim, or the strong survivor who defies the evil men in her life?

Notice how Hitchcock opens his film, with Kelly in white, happily eating breakfast with her husband. Her eyes glance at a newspaper announcement that the Queen Mary is arriving in London. Cut to Kelly, dressed in scarlet red, secretly meeting her lover. Before a word is uttered, Hitchcock has told us an entire story, expertly cutting these images together. The play opens with an equally skilled first moment. We discover Margot alone with Max, her boyfriend. She turns off the radio and says "For a minute I thought that was Tony. I'm sorry, what were you saying?" And we're off to the races, with secrets, lies and passion bubbling just below the surface.

At the Fulton, we have spent the past few weeks delving into Knott's great play. Every night, we seem to find something new about these people. Although it is fun to wear tuxes and drink highballs and speak witty lines in British accents, these people are pretty brutal characters. All of them are up to no good, to some extent. Of course, some more so than others. After an entire act laying out the proposed murder of my wife, I love the opening line of Act Two. We find our characters talking about a tennis match and I remark on a particular player, "after that he lost his concentration and he didn't win another game." And of course, I don't win another game either, as everything comes undone. Knott basically states that all of those great plans from Act One are about to go downhill rapidly. And isn't that the fun of watching what transpires?

The audience at the Fulton seems to love the fact that Knott's play demands justice be done. The Inspector always gets a great response, as does Margot's boyfriend Max, as they put two and two together to uncover the truth of Tony Wendice's deception. But can they catch him at it? Knott knew how to play on his audience's emotions as though he were playing a pipe organ, much as Hitchcock described his role as a director. There are times where I feel the audience rooting for me to get away with murder, so to speak, and times where I know they want me thrown into jail! Only a great writer can lead you through those emotions.

Now, a few words about what it means for me to step into this world. Our own director, Bill Roudebush, has given me a great gift in inviting me to play Tony. He has demanded that we throw away any preconceived notions about the play and make these characters our own, with all due respect to Ray Milland, Grace Kelly and company. He has encouraged us to try and always stay a step ahead, and batter the audience around, not to be afraid to drop the polite veneer of these characters and show them for what they are.

And it's great fun to actually be in Tony and Margot's house. To actually play in the Hitchcock universe a bit, which has become something of a habit for me. I mentioned up top that whereas Hitchcock took a hit play and filmed it, the theatre has looked to him for inspiration. I was fortunate enough to be a member of the original Broadway company of the hit comedy The 39 Steps. Although that play lovingly spoofs Hitchcock's film, it is a fantastic tribute to the theatre itself. It was great fun to play Hannay and shout "What ARE the 39 Steps!?" Equally, I found myself in the curious position a few years ago of performing Terry Johnson's Hitchcock Blonde at the Alley Theatre in Houston. In that piece, I played a Hitchcock film professor, of all things. In the opening scene I was to be seen grading a student's paper. One night, I couldn't help myself and actually brought a real student's paper onstage with me! Johnson's play is fascinating, pondering our own obsessions with a filmmaker who was preoccupied with obsession himself. Hitchcock is alive and well not only on our screens, but on our stages as well.

Being at the Fulton has been a joy. I've loved working with the cast and staff and meeting the audience members, so many of whom stop us in the street to talk about the play. If you want to do a time honored, well oiled play like Dial M, you want to do it right. The Fulton is the place to come, if that's the case. I hope you thought we were up to the task, as we have loved every minute of it.

Hitchcock said of murder (or cutting together films?), "the best way to do it is with scissors." What a joy to be at the Fulton to take a . . . stab at this great play. (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

The Wyeth Museum on a beautiful fall day

In which I celebrate myself--my birthday. I'm very happy to spend a birthday in Lancaster, doing what I love to do. My parents came to town for the show and the occasion, and we had a nice dinner at Gibraltar. On the day off, we drove out to the Brandywine Conservancy to visit the Wyeth Museum, a really lovely place. I made my second visit ever to a WaWa. And I enjoyed the day very much.

Been wondering how we make those phone calls? This is me preparing to call Tony from the theatre--Max and I are at a show called Sweet Yesterday according the tickets we've been given.

The show continues to grow and change and every day I delight in it a little more. As I returned home after a recent performance, a woman approached me from next door--and it turns out Eva was part of the family I'd seen moving in some six months ago when I was here for The Foreigner. Now firmly rooted as the next door neighbor to the building the Fulton has just for actor housing, she described how it was a little mystery at first to figure out why the residents next door seemed not to stay very long, and kept, perhaps, odd hours but when she found out the story of the building and its changing inhabitants, it became for her an important part of her Lancaster living experience. She and her granddaughter see the shows and are always looking forward to seeing new actors come by. Eva's seen Dial M twice, and has even been following the blog--as she said, she and I were already best friends even though I didn't quite yet know it! It sounds to me like something out of a Noel Streetfield novel--like Ballet Shoes--an insight to the world outside but thoroughly of the theatre; the comings and goings of people on their way to become other people, live other lives, always to return at night from where they left in the morning, as habitual as anything else--and that Eva gets to see the same slice of life over again, and over, but with a changing cast of characters.

Lisa Albrecht from Visage a Visage and me, perfectly coiffed.

Halloween is one of my most favorite times of the year--it happens to be the day some years ago that my mother went into labor, and carved some pumpkins before going to the hospital. But besides being near the day of my birth, it was always a day I loved to celebrate. My mom made me awesome costumes ( I've often bemoaned my ineptitude with a sewing machine knowing my future child will suffer on October 31st), and well, to be frank, I love candy. This year my costumes were provided by the Fulton Theatre, and candy was handed out by Aaron Young (he only had candy that begins with an M--M&Ms, Milky Ways, 3 Musketeers). I broke a mirror, a black cat ran in front of me in Grant Alley, and the full moon is approaching. Mark, Chris, and I celebrated by watching The Haunting with Julie Harris, carving pumpkins, making red velvet cupcakes with black icing, and eating candy corn--I have an unfortunate rapport with the sugary stuff and went to town on the bag bought at Rite Aid on Queen Street. I was up until five in the morning. I was really into The Haunting--I like idea of houses being living things, with hearts, wombs, minds, and how they can turn on you, betray you. In Dial M, curtains hide an intruder, keys are hidden and lost, doors are locked, windows broken; humans and house share secrets.

Pumpkin carving

I've had a few lovely surprises this week--some beautiful flowers delivered to my dressing room, a visit from Matthew Toronto, who directed me in The Foreigner last season, and word from Lisa Albrecht at Visage a Visage on North Lime Street--who does my hair for the show--that a lot of her clients are Fulton Theatre goers and are excited to have a hair salon connection to one of the actors.

Deb, Jane, and Dave, I'm so glad you liked the show. We love performing for you!

The finished products.

PA Bryan enjoys one of my goulish treats.

We really didn't have a clue

Gossip Girl has stolen my Gimlet glory! This week's episode features the opening of a prohibition-era style club called, you guessed it, Gimlet. Or maybe Margot Wendice and I started a trend that can be felt all the way from Lancaster to New York City.

On my day off this week, I drove down Old Philadelphia Pike and stopped in the Quilt Museum in Kettle Kitchen Village. I took the tour of the Amish House and Farm, which stands in unharmonious proximity to Target. I watched for the third time Double Indemnity, graciously provided for me from Mark's extensive lending library, and was surprised that I hadn't remembered its similarities to Dial M--only, of course, in reverse. I started to try to think of movies I've seen that share in Dial M's murderous matrimony--How to Murder Your Wife with Jack Lemmon and Virna Lisi came to mind as a comedic, and way more overtly, misogynistic parallel to our play. But perhaps we should all watch Volver again and see just how the tables might be turned. . .

I took this photo of the floor backstage left. These are the markings left over from painting the art that hangs on the Wendice's bedroom wall; theatres are layered with performances past, paint layered over paint over paint--it fades, is covered over, but will always be underneath.

As Halloween approaches, I'm immersing myself in all kinds of horror besides that that I face on stage every night--Paranormal Activities made my hair stand on end for a few moments, I'm gearing up to watch The Haunting while carving my pumpkins, and I was really looking forward to visiting one of the several frightastic locales this town has to offer--Field of Screams, Chamber of Fear, Jason's Woods. Sadly, I don't think we'll be able to get to any of these places--that darn phone keeps ringing every night and I just keep answering it. We played the worst game of Clue ever last night--we thought maybe we'd be above average players considering our current positions, but alas, no. No. We did however, have a great post-show feast: savory pies, carrot soup, poached pear. And a wine, again suited to our play--Sinister Hand.

Weekly Blog Feature: Dialing Through Time

Sometimes, early telephone operators would get to know their customers so well, the customers would ask for a reminder call when it was time to remove a cake from the oven, leave the phone off the hook near their sleeping child when they left the house, hoping the operator would hear any cries of distress, request a wake up call before taking a long nap.

Mark and me at Fenz on opening night.

Fenz was bursting with Fulton Theatre subscribers, staffers, and actors on Thursday night after our opening night performance--great food, champagne cocktails, and company. The show itself went really well--we all had a lot of fun--and while we were sad to say good-bye to our fearless leader, director Bill Roudebush, we were very excited to begin our run. I still can't believe I get to wear those beautiful clothes everyday for the next two weeks, get to work with such interesting and smart actors day in and day out, get to go to work at such a beautiful theatre eight times a week. It really is extraordinary.

My wonderful parents sent me this bouquet of flowers and scissors with a note telling me to "Stab 'em in the back."

As our first week of performances comes to an end, I've been struck by how very good a play Dial M is--not that the idea hadn't occurred to me before but as I get to know it better and better it really stands out as a well written piece of theatre. In his obituary, the NY Times describes Frederick Knott, the author of our play as "notoriously unprolific." Knott was born in China to Quaker missionaries, was educated at Cambridge, and served in the Royal Artillery. He wrote Dial M for Murder while holed up at his parent's Sussex home for 18 months, and had, reportedly, such a hard time attracting any interest to this, his first play, that he very nearly gave up. In his obit, his widow is recorded as saying that he had imagined two unpenned plays, and had turned down countless commissions for new work--so it seems we're quite lucky to have this script to begin with. And I can't wait to hear how you find it--Dave T., your silence is deafening!

An example of an actor's dressing room station.

I've already experienced a working actor's rite of passage--that of being recognized about town: once at the Tanger outlets, where the woman helping mw find some (silk) stockings suddenly said "are you in the theatre?! I saw you last night--I knew I knew you!" and the several people at the Marriott this weekend--a heartfelt thank you to the gentleman who sent me a much needed glass of wine as I waited for my dinner. It's neat to be in a community where so many of the people around you have seen the work you're doing on any given day!

A scene from the opening night shindig.

My Dad picked this wine out just for me. And Captain Lesgate.

Everyone has a favorite part of whatever town they live in, and even though I'll only be living here for a little over a month, I have found mine. Walking east on Prince Street on the first dry and sunny day in the past 72 hours, I turned left on Vine Street and found my way through streets of houses I'd seen pictured in Lancaster tourism brochures. Winding streets, quaint houses with autumnal window baskets, an alley gate melded to form a spider's web, rose bushes offering their last blooms to the pedestrians of the Red Rose City. It's idyllic. On my way back into town, I stopped in Penn Square by the Visitors Center; I'd been in before, of course, but for some reason hadn't made my way through the upstairs museum. The Masonic Lodge on the second floor is startlingly beautiful, and the artwork interesting. I was most taken with the example of printing called Fraktur, especially the calligraphed envelopes written in white ink on black and navy papers. Upstairs from the Lodge was just about on par for me as the Bonbonniere--a functioning print studio. Although the printer wasn't there the day I stopped by, I did still get to add my own decoration to the wall of typeset, pictured to the right. See if you can find it when you visit . . . I also stopped by the Newseum, and enjoyed seeing the different presses used in Lancaster--I think there are few structures of wood and steel more beautiful than a printing press--they hold so much promise and possibility. Rather like a theatre, a place to imprint ideas and dreams. Only in the theatre, the results are less tangible and more open to variation.

Suddenly, scissors everywhere.

We had our first audience last night--it's the one element we've been missing--and I'm looking forward to opening the show this week. There are always a few surprises when you first bring people into the seats--folks laugh at unexpected places, respond in certain ways to what's happening on stage that help us as actors understand what the play is trying to do in a particular moment. And also, it's just really cool to be able to share what we've been working on with all of you; the theatre is truly a collaborative art and you're a part of that! We had a few missteps last night--some prop issues, some costume malfunctions--things that seem to only happen the first time they're available to your scrutiny. Like they're shy or something and have to get used to being around new people. And so after the show, the cast and some of our crew headed out to the Marriott for a cocktail and some of those crazy good butter pretzels they have at the bar. We will rehearse once again before our preview tonight, and then we're off--can't wait to see you at the stage door!

Thanks to Jane Miller for writing in--that's an astute observation about technical elements deserving their own mention in the program. In this play, maybe the telephone should have its own bio.

Weekly Blog Feature: Dialing Through Time

In the early 1880's some well-to-do telephone owners started the unusual trend of paying to have a theatre employee hold a telephone receiver backstage, transmitting live plays and operas into their living rooms.

Darling. We all call each other darling in this play, and it's the sort of thing that bleeds into an actor's everyday lexicon: Man hands me one of the best lattes around at Square One--"Thank you, darling;" Friends call out my name--"Yes, darling?" I really rather like being called darling at the moment--who wouldn't when surrounded by the men of Dial M?

Rehearsals have been going well; we had a photo call this week, which was our first chance to see each other in some of our costumes. We also got to see the set for the first time--which is really stunning. I can't wait to start living there as we move our rehearsals from the clubhouse on Water Street to the theatre. We had our first official run-through yesterday for the design team, who were there to see where we've been blocked and how we use the set so that they can refine all the technical aspects of the production as we prepare to start technical rehearsals. That's when we finally put our costumes on, finally get to be on stage, and we begin to work out the details of the lighting and its cues, along with sounds, and music. It's when you can really start to see how the show will be coming all together. I missed out on some cast bonding--I was the only one without an appointment at American Male on Queen Street for a haircut. Go figure.

At Marc Robin's home

We had a nice reprieve from our homework this week when Marc Robin and Curt Dale Clark invited the cast to their home for dinner. Their house is exquisitely designed and decorated, and with fires roaring and several dogs running around, we felt quite at home. I was grateful for the food and the company--sometimes you need a break from the world of the play. More comfort was sought one evening this week when we all gathered at my apartment for dinner and running lines. The menu included roast chicken, obtained from Central Market, along with some squash, vegetable terrine, peas, soup, and carrot cake. A truly autumnal feast.

A pair of shoes

Dave, I'm glad you enjoyed the radio plays--I hope you didn't listen to them alone in a dark room on one of these stormy nights. I must admit my relief that there is no phone in my Lancaster apartment to startle me, though oddly, and he says, only by accident, a certain actor playing a certain role left his shoes in my living room after a cast get together. His shoes play a pivotal role on stage in Dial M and were a disturbing sight to come across in the middle of the night. . .

Mark Shanahan at the PSYCHO house

Weekly Blog Supplement: Resident Hitchcock know-it-all, Tony Wendice, Talks Shop

From Mark Shanahan's Golden Curls and Bloody Footprints

London, 1926. Fade in on the face of a woman, screaming.

Soon, she will be discovered, dead, on the embankment of the Thames. She is the seventh victim of The Avenger, a serial killer who strikes only on Tuesday nights, preying upon young women with blonde hair. Cut to a flashing theatre marquee, advertising, "To-Night, Golden Curls." The promise and fantasy of the theatre, it seems, go hand in hand with the fiendish work of the murderer. A pretty, young model hurriedly walks home, hiding her blonde locks beneath a brunette wig, fearful of the Avenger's curious fetish. Will she be the next victim?

We are watching the opening of the silent masterpiece, The Lodger: A Story of The London Fog, directed by the young Alfred Hitchcock. Indeed, there would be more victims, many more blonde women, tormented throughout the next half century of the director's storied career. While not the first of Hitchcock's directorial efforts, The Lodger is generally considered to be the first "true" Hitchcock movie, containing many elements of what would become the hallmarks of his films: fiendish subject matter, visual inventiveness, the focus on a man falsely accused, and, of course the fascination with a blonde.

"If cinema has a language, then Alfred Hitchcock is its grammar," said filmmaker Brian De Palma. Influenced by the Russian and German pioneers of early cinema, Hitchcock's works were romantic, yet macabre, political though personal, timeless morality plays disguised as contextual period pieces, and murderous horror movies which he labeled "comedies." His popularity and influence have become so great that his name has been appropriated as a genre all its own: "Hitchcockian." Although he was nominated five times as Best Director, he never won an Academy Award. "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride," he remarked to Evan Hunter, screenwriter of The Birds. When the Academy tried to right this wrong, eventually honoring him with a lifetime achievement award, Hitchcock merely said, "Thank you," and walked offstage.

Hitchcock considered himself a technician, above all, fascinated by what he called "pure cinema . . . the assembling of pieces of film which must create emotion in the audience." Said Hitchcock, "I am a philanthropist, I give the people what they want. People love being horrified, terrified." His writers were expected to deal with a story's internal logic, and his actors were expected to say their lines, hit their marks and let his camera do his work. To Hitchcock, the art of cinema happened in the planning and editing of his films, and he meticulously storyboarded every image he desired before arriving on set. He shot only that which could be assembled as he saw fit, ensuring that no studio chief could tamper with his work. Producer David O. Selznick referred to Hitchcock's footage as a "damned jigsaw puzzle." Hitchcock likened himself to the builder of a roller coaster, anticipating the thrills he concocted. When asked why he never watched his films with an audience, he replied, "I can hear them scream when I am making the picture."

"Hitchcock knew fear and he knew it very well," noted Psycho screenwriter Joseph Stephano. "I don't know how he knew this since he had always lived a charmed life." Indeed, the filmmaker who would become a Hollywood legend and knight of the British Empire was born of humble beginnings as a greengrocer's son in the East London area known as Leytonstone, in 1899. "I think my mother scared me when I was three months old," joked Hitchcock. "She said 'boo!' All mothers do it, you know, that's how fear starts in everyone." In public, he spoke little of his parents and his early youth, noting that it was his Jesuit education that taught him, above all, the value of fear.

In his later years the director had amassed a handy collection of anecdotes, trotting them out to appease hungry reporters and critics eager to explain his genius. . . "Blondes make the best victims," he said. "They're like virgin snow that shows up the bloody footprints." When he arrived in Hollywood in 1940, he immediately placed the fair haired Joan Fontaine in harms way in that year's winner for Best Picture, Rebecca. In America, Hitchcock flourished, taking full advantage of the studio system and working with top writers and actors. The blondes he found in Hollywood, of course, had to adhere to his standards, perfectly balancing their palpable sexuality with the longing of desire.

"You know why I favor sophisticated blondes in my films?" he explained to Francois Truffaut. "We're after the drawing-room type, the real ladies, who become whores once they're in the bedroom... Sex should not be advertised... because without the element of surprise the scenes become meaningless. There's no possibility to discover sex." To Hitchcock, sex and suspense are inherently intertwined. The director sought to expose his blondes emotionally as well as physically. "Tear them down at the very start, that's the best way," he said.

And tear them down he did. Think Ingrid Bergman, held at gunpoint in Spellbound and poisoned by Nazis in Notorious. Think Grace Kelly, nearly sent to the gallows in Dial M for Murder and attacked by a ruthless murderer in Rear Window. Think Eva Marie Saint, precariously dangling from Mt. Rushmore in North By Northwest. Tippi Hedren, attacked by a flock of birds. And think of Janet Leigh as Marion Crane, whose illicit afternoon trysts with her lover entice her to steal $40,000 and flee to a lonely, roadside motel. There she meets both a kindred spirit in Norman Bates and a horrifying death at the hands of "Mother."

Indeed, the Hitchcock Blonde must be icily cool and reserved, seducing her man with the exposed nape of her neck, an elegant gray suit and her exquisite evening dresses. Her hair is styled, repressing her inner sexual fires. The Blonde's captivating beauty also carries the intimation of danger, for her motives are often duplicitous and she may not be entirely trusted. In North by Northwest Cary Grant asks of Eva Marie Saint, "How does a girl like you get to be a girl like you?" "Lucky I guess," she responds. "No, not lucky," counters Grant. "Naughty, wicked, up to no good. Ever kill anyone? Because I bet you could tease a man to death without half trying." Such was their allure that Hitchcock's leading ladies would come to epitomize Hollywood glamour. They were often dressed by legendary costume designer Edith Head to Hitchcock's exact specification, reveling in both fashion and fetish. In the intensely personal film, Vertigo, James Stewart, one of Hitchcock's favorite alter egos, confronts his love, Judy, played by Kim Novak, who has murderously conspired with Stewart's old friend to betray him. "He made you over, Judy!" shouts Stewart. "Did he train you? Did he rehearse you? Did he tell you exactly what to do and what to say?" One can imagine Stewart referring not only to the film's villain, but to Hitchcock himself, famous for taking great care with his actress' appearances. Just as Stewart oversees Novak's transformation in Vertigo, Hitchcock was known to take his actresses on personal shopping sprees, overseeing the creation of their Hitchcockian personas.

In fact, Hitchcock took equal fascination in dressing and undressing his blondes. In 1972's Frenzy, his penultimate film, Hitchcock would take advantage of the changing cultural climate and finally show nudity and rape in graphic terms. In the more modest year of 1960, Psycho's Janet Leigh is displayed in both a white and a black bra, depending on the darkness of her state of mind. For most of his career, however, the director relied on the intoxicating power of suggestion. Even in Psycho's celebrated shower scene, Hitchcock shows neither nudity nor the penetration of the knife, merely suggesting it through montage, cutting over thirty pieces of film in twenty two seconds of footage. Indeed, suggestion is Hitchcock's, as well as the Blonde's, greatest weapon. Consider Grace Kelly in Rear Window, pulling a negligee from her suitcase and teasing James Stewart, "Preview of coming attractions." In North by Northwest, Eva Marie Saint tempts Cary Grant over lunch, saying "I never make love on an empty stomach." In To Catch a Thief, again we find Kelly, this time paired with Grant, serving from a picnic basket and asking, "Do you want a leg or a breast?" to which Grant responds, "You make the choice."

Grant's answer speaks to an important aspect of the Hitchcock Blonde. She has power over her men. Hitchcock's women are often independent, smart, and heroic. Though often beaten, they fight back. It is the men in his films, perhaps afraid of the Blonde's very hold on them, who are portrayed as perverse, twisted, and murderous. Joseph Cotton's Uncle Charlie in Shadow of a Doubt, Robert Walker's Bruno in Strangers on a Train, and Anthony Perkins' Norman in Psycho are the obvious monsters. But even Hitchcock's charming heroes like those played by Stewart and Grant show a sadistic streak, full of self-loathing, often psychologically or physically crippled. They are often taken to ogling the Blonde, fantasizing about her. Voyeurism is a constant theme throughout Hitchcock's work, the camera showing us not only what the characters see, but also what Hitchcock wants us, his audience, to see.

Alone in the dark, watching Hitchcock's screen, we indulge in the very pleasure and fantasy offered by his films. We are Norman Bates peering through a peephole into Cabin Number One, or James Stewart spying on his neighbors from a rear window. Certainly, Hitchcock knows what he is doing to us. "I've been called a ghoul, but I know when an audience is going to scream. I enjoy it, and I have to smile to myself in anticipation of what I'm doing to them," he said. "I always make the audience suffer as much as possible." Like the Blonde, Hitchcock puts us through the ringer, exploring our dreams and nightmares, daring us to look away.

"Audiences love to dip their toes into the cold waters of fear," he said. With Hitchcock, we wade into deep waters. He knows what we love. He knows what we fear. It is Tuesday night. The Avenger stalks the streets. "To-Night," promises Hitchcock, "Golden Curls."

I thought this was a pretty sight in the graveyard at St. James' Episcopal

Cocktail hour is always an exciting one for me, and we sure do a lot of drinking in this show. The Fulton is always very specific about its props and set pieces, and I knew as I started the rehearsal process that one of things I'd be able to have input on would be what sort of beverage I'd be imbibing on stage. A little research into drinks of the time made it likely that a sophisticated lady like Margot--and, hey, why not--like me--would choose a Gimlet. Traditionally, a Gimlet is made with gin and Rose's Lime, shaken. A variation is the Gimblet, which has some soda water, and an even cuter name. I don't yet know how the props department will concoct a drink that has the glow of a Gimlet without it actually being a Gimlet, but I will let you know. Sad, but true, those drinks on stage aren't the real deal--but we'll make up for it later at The Belvedere. I actually had my first Gimlet at the Belvedere a few nights ago. Chris Thorn will be drinking brandy as Max Halliday, as will Mark Shanahan as Tony. Some port is served in the show as well. I encourage you to have a post-show cocktail--you might need one as much as Margot does after you see what goes down.

Still running lines in my living room

Along with drinking the appropriate cocktails outside of rehearsal, I've continued my devotion to the television series Mad Men with fellow devotee and cast-mate Chris; Mad Men began its series in the 50s and while they're in the 60s now, the vibe is still a pretty useful one for us Dialers. It's fun to do things outside of rehearsal that reflect on the life of the show, drinking what the characters drink, eating what they eat (pasta!), finding all sorts of useful purposes for a pair of scissors. . .

Jane and me

We had a very welcome visit from Jane Ridley, who was last seen at the Fulton as Betty in The Foreigner; though she spoke with a southern accent in that show, her own accent is British, and she was brought in this time around to give us all some elocution lessons. It was a little daunting--I wanted to be a very good student for Jane. It was nice to have another woman around--our stage manager, Djuana, and I being the only two females spending all day in the clubhouse rehearsing--and she and I got a chance to catch up since our Foreigner days over lunch at Issac's. There are several accents in Dial M--Tony and Margot share a similar, standard English pronunciation, Lesgate has a touch of cockney, Inspector Hubbard's accent hails from Yorkshire, and Max is a good old American--but one I find rather endearingly comes from the artistic, big city world of 1950's Manhattan. Steve Calzaretta supplies the voices for several characters that all speak differently--from Irish, Cockney, to Standard English. Do Lancastrians have any perceivable regional accents? People from Albany, where I grew up do, and certainly do where I come from now--the Brooklyn accent is a famous one.

After a relaxing day off--the outlets, a manicure, a short drive into the countryside, a movie--we begin a crazy week of run-throughs, costume fittings, and soon, our first day on set. . .

Weekly Blog Feature--Dialing Through Time

From the August, 1906 Pacific States Telephone & Telegraph Company
directory for San Francisco, California . . .

How to Answer a Telephone Call:

Remove the hand telephone from the hook and say "Here is Main 297" (or whatever your number may be). The party calling should say "Here is main 298," (or whatever the number may be). Much friction and annoyance will be avoided if this simple plan is carried out.

Still life with script, wine, and organic turkey meatballs.

As our first week draws to a close, our production of Dial M is blocked--we've been moving at breakneck speed--and I've been having so much fun. This 1950s film noir world is just too good: dresses and high heels, cigarettes, and cocktails, men--lots of dashing men--in suits. It's an alluring world, a seductive world.

Consorting with the enemy yet again--at the Symphony.

In the last couple of weeks before rehearsals were to begin, I started a little binge of movie watching--focusing, of course, on British films from around 1952, the period in which Dial M takes place. I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that I'd never seen much of Alec Guinesses' work--at least outside of a certain movie theatre experience in the 1980s; The Browning Version, The Man in the White Suit, The Lavender Hill Mob all helped me ease into the England of Margot Wendice's time. 1952 in London is an interesting place to be--soon enough after the war that some of those films still document ruined buildings in the background of certain neighborhoods. Margot talks about going to the cinema, and I expect she saw some of these flicks. Her home is still a radio household, and I was excited to find numerous sources online to radio programs of the period. Here's a link to one source, where you can listen to a crime series called Men From the Ministry: http://britishradio.libsyn.com/ . This one is also good-- http://www.radiolovers.com/ but has more examples from American radio; either way, you can sit back and imagine a quiet night at home with the Wendices listening to their favorite programs. Searching for popular English music of the time proved a little difficult as such music was coming mostly from the U.S.--though British singers such as Vera Lynne sang covers of most of those songs. In Dial M, Margot and Max go out dancing after a night at the theatre--I think they might have gone to see The Deep Blue Sea by Terrence Rattigan, which was indeed playing in the west End in 1952--and I've always wished that elegant nightclub dancing was still a thing to do.

Our fearless leader gives notes during rehearsal to Chris, Bryan, and Mark.

Though we've been extremely busy, we've still been able to take some time to just be together as a cast and enjoy our 2009 world together: this week, Chris Thorn and Mark Shanahan, who play Max and Tony respectively, and I got together at my exceptionally comfortable apartment and over a glass of wine worked on some lines; Bryan Humphrey--Inspector Hubbard--joined us after a particularly grueling day in rehearsal for a little relaxation and distracting entertainment at the soon to be cult classic, Zombieland; we attended the Symphony at the Opera House, marking my first time as an audience member! And I met Deb, who is an usher for the theatre and a faithful Backstage Blog follower. I've already been back to that glorious world of chocolate, Bonbonniere, and have walked through the new Marriott that wasn't quite open when I was last in LancLanc.

Thanks to those who wrote in earlier this week-- our stage manager, Djuana, just for being herself, Jane Miller for the blogging encouragement, and Dave Taylor for the great conversation--I will be sure to let folks in on some things to watch out for when they come to see the show!

Weekly Blog Supplement--Chris Thorn's (Max Halliday's) Lancaster Bikelog

On Wednesday afternoon, during the lunch break, I found my way to the Lancaster Bicycle Shop on the Manheim Pike and purchased a cycling map of Lancaster County for $4.25. It's a small green pamphlet with mileages and local road information and in many ways it's more useful than Google Maps or MapMyRun.com because of its narrow focus; also think I enjoy laying a paper map flat on a table and studying it intently, because it makes me feel like a general in the army plotting troop movements.

For my first ride I decided to head south on 222 towards Quarryville. I loaded up the iPod with a new mix and left my apartment on Prince St. (next to the theater) in the late morning. The first bike ride in a new area is always a little difficult to quantify because you don't have any familiar sights to buoy your senses. I spent the majority of the 20 mile round trip route observing the quality of the local pavement. I can report that I experienced a mostly smooth ride and when I was able to look around, I saw beautiful countryside on a clear autumn day (lotta corn, lotta churches). The last three miles on the Millport Road coming back into Lancaster City were the highlight for me.

On my next ride I think I'll head southwest towards the Susquehanna to Safe Harbor or perhaps Shenks Ferry. Any suggested routes would be greatly appreciated.

An acting teacher of mine used to warn his students of the dangers of repeating a role you've already performed; you think you know what to do, that the work's already been done but really, you have to try that much harder to breathe new life into the character. Now, I haven't ever been Margot Wendice--but I have been the Backstage Blogger! I had so much fun writing the blog for last season's production of The Foreigner that when the show ended and I landed back in New York, I even started a blog of my own. As I reprise my role of Backstage Blogger, I'll have to try not to do just what I did the last time around--and make my teacher (and you) proud. . .

I've always liked mysteries, thrillers, suspense. My mom is an avid murder mystery novel reader and thriller film watcher. All of my birthdays up until I was sixteen were mystery themed--with Edward Gorey style invites, and elaborate plots involving my friends constructed by my well-read mother; my mom and I, when bored out of our minds while visiting my Grandmother in St. Petersburg, FL, would frequent the numerous mystery dinner theatres the area offers. I used to force my little cousins to watch horror flicks with me while we were on vacation on Long Island--forever damaging my nine year old cousin's sleep by showing her The Shining; and just a few months before I found out I'd be joining this cast, I started to read what is widely believed to be the first detective novel, The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. I was even on an episode of the late television series Unsolved Mysteries as a child actor. So I am thrilled (pun intended) to be working on Dial M--and at Halloween to boot. Now, of course, Dial M isn't really a mystery--the audience knows whodunnit--but it certainly is a thriller.

Leaving Brooklyn in my very full car

On Monday, I packed up my car, gave my cats a pet good-bye, and headed toward Lancaster. Some of the cast boarded a train, others drove, and we all landed in the same place by nightfall. After unpacking the car, a drive to Stauffer's offered me a taste of nostalgia for my previous Fulton experience; but on the drive back, as I got to know my cast-mate Jamie Jackson, I started to ease into my new journey. Jamie, who plays Captain Lesgate, and I make for an odd pair off-stage, as our on-stage relationship is, shall we say, slightly acrimonious. . . We discovered that for the past several years, we've been living only a few blocks away from each other--first in the East Village and now in Brooklyn. We were both at Brooklyn's famous Atlantic Antic street fair on Saturday and both sat on the vintage buses the Transit Museum had brought out for display. We wonder how many times we've walked down the same streets, sat in the same subway car, strolled in the same neighborhood park.

The cast sees the theatre for the first time

Our first day of work started off on Tuesday with meeting the entire staff of the theatre. I've missed my Fulton friends and it was so nice to see their faces again. It made my first day of rehearsal a lot less nerve-wracking than my first time around when I didn't know a soul. Our director, Bill Roudebush, talked to us about some of his stylistic concepts for the production: cinematic influences, and nods to the classic film that is based upon our play. And then we got down to work and the read-through of the play, which is always such a neat and fleeting moment, when you get your first peek at what lies in store for the weeks ahead.

We introduce ourselves to the amazing board

As is the custom here at the Fulton Theatre, our first evening as a cast was spent at a gathering for theatre staff and board, this time at the beautiful home of one of our board members, Ellen Groff. I am still impressed by how important this theatre is to its community and how lovely it is to find people who actively want to celebrate it on a monthly basis with each incoming cast. I am so happy to be back here, and am looking forward to sharing Dial M's doings, on and off stage. This blog around, I would really love to hear from you readers out there and look forward to posting your thoughts and answering your questions here on the blog. Talk to me!

Weekly Blog Feature: Dialing Through Time

"Alexander Graham Bell's notebook entry of 10 March 1876 describes his successful experiment with the telephone. Speaking through the instrument to his assistant, Thomas A. Watson, in the next room, Bell utters these famous first words, "Mr. Watson - come here - I want to see you."

Where does the time go??? My last entry was almost a month ago. That's just crazy!!! And A LOT can happen in a month at the Fulton.

As I write this, the cast of Hello, Dolly! is beginning their second week of performances; Cinderella is rehearsed and ready to go this coming Saturday; the set for Dial M for Murder is underway and rehearsals for that show start in less than a month; contracts are in the mail for the cast of Annie and Nutcracker; our Fall Gala has already come and gone and we have technically just begun the season. Our staff is already tired!!!!

But what a staff it is!!!

It sort of amazing to me, when I actually take the time to think about it, that it takes so many people to pull off one show. So many patrons see a production at the theatre and just think it "happened" somehow. They don't ever realize all the months of planning, the hours of trying to figure something out (like the barricades in Les Miz) or even the actual rehearsal process.

I guess that's what I want the theme of this installment to be about. The collaboration of theatre. (Well, our theatre, anyway)

In our season brochure this year we have "pictures" that depict each show title. These are all live shots of "human" subjects in various "artistic" set ups. But we also included the "behind the scenes" photos of each one of the "photo shoots", We did it because we wanted to show our audiences the folks on our staff that they don't get to see. But they are present in everything our audience sees. From the Box Office to the Master Carpenter, every single employee of our theatre plays a vital part in the experience that a patron has when they come thru our doors. It may sound silly, but it's the truth. And I, for one, am so proud and appreciative of the folks that I now get to call colleagues.

I have always had an appreciation for the "artists". (The actors, musicians, designers etc..) But I can honestly tell you that I had very little awareness of the "artists in the offices". These tireless folks like our Human Resource and Marketing Departments, our financial wizards, Development and house staff, our box office and all other departments; they are all contributing to the total experience at our theatre. And most people don't even know they exist. (They are on the third floor of theatre where the general offices are.)

The Fulton wouldn't exist without them.

So, my kind readers, over the course of my next several blogs I would like to introduce you to these wonderful and very vital people and let you know what they do.

Now before you bail on me or think that this isn't very interesting (like who will win the sound editing award for the Oscars), please indulge me the opportunity to introduce you to these people. To truly know the Fulton you need to know them. You see, they are the constant. They are twenty four seven. The shows, the actors, the designers, they are the icing and the "guests", the temporary. You see my point.

So , first up will be my partner, Aaron Young. He is the Managing Director and he is the backbone of this theatre. There is no employee of the Fulton that is more involved in more areas and KNOWS THEM ALL, than he is. He is, quite frankly, the PERFECT person to start with.

So, until I gather up my dirt on Aaron, I hope you get to see Dolly and Cinderella. I am most proud of both of them.

See you in the Theatre!!!!

M

Our stage manager Dan is the JAM!!! I get to sing off stage during the second act while the male dancers are killing in on the stage and he lets chill with him, he's pretty awesome to say the least!

So I should be resting taking a quick cat nap before our final preview tonight, but I can't! We are all so thrilled to get this show up and out to the community as last night was absolutely thrilling! During the curtain call we all felt tingles down our spine as the audience roared and leaped out of their seats as LaVon took her final bow, seeing the gratitude on her face and the relief that ""wow, we did it" was sheer pleasure! She is quite special, and I feel honored to be able to call her a true friend. In the industry you are shuffled around from show to show meeting people here and there, but It's very rare that you walk into a show knowing that you will leave with so many life long friends. Our cast dynamic is quite special and unique, and I cherish it ever so much. It sounds cliche, but it's pretty awesome to be doing what you love to do. We are truly blessed!

Are we doing Ragtime? I don't want to give anything away....so get over to theatre!!!!!!!

Ok, I'm off to hop over to the theatre for our final cleaning/rehearsal session. Last night I decorated my dressing station, it's quite a sight, I can't wait to show you! Enjoy the pics, and be sure to thank Mitch (Barnaby) when you see him! I think they are a pretty accurate depiction of the hilarity behind the curtain!

Sending you lots of happy!

Robert

She makes my heart happy!

THIS PIC HAHAHA....so many things. Ok, so first off we have Cody, now Cody is in a 1929 ad for boater hats. Then we've got Hal, now Hal my dear friends is taking a moment to take in all of the foolishness around. Last but not least.....SWEET HEAVENS.....we have WILL. Please be sure to watch Wills faces during the show, priceless. I adore him, can't get enough!

Joey really wants you to come see the show.

She is one of the most beautiful dancers ever. period. point blank. Watch in the first act how she goes from "Dancing", to the "Love Look in my Window" Pas de Deux, to the can-can dancer in "Parade", and she doesn't drop one ounce of sweat! Lisa is pure delight!

Anne and Bryan keep the peace off stage, I ADORE them!!!

Nic has found his light my friends!

At the sweeneys home enjoying a lovely dinner!

Where has the time gone? I can't believe that it's nearly September, and that our show has officially moved into the theatre for the tech process! It feels like a matter of days ago I was waking up at the crack of dawn to go to the audition in NYC, and here we all are now! So much has happened since last week, let me give you a quick recap!

Elli the birthday girl and Stephen getting really excited about pottery!

As I told you last week we learned the entire show in a matter of days, hours, moments....if you will! Seeing Marc's vision for the show begin to take shape is breathtaking. The cast is pumping out power house performances and it's quite beautiful to watch. Before moving into the theatre we were able to get in three solid runs of the show. That my friends is unheard of, I think it's a true testament to the team that is rooting us on as we felt more than ready to move our show from the rehearsal space into the theatre!

Cody, Joey, David, Elli, and Stephen taking in the gorgeous day off.

When I stepped into the theatre I think I peed my pants, it is breathtakingly gorgeous. The set is a wonderland of fun and fancy, and the scenic painting is unlike anything I have ever seen before. I still can't believe all of the painting was done in house, I am going to have a special interview with our scenic painter Rebecca, in the hopes that all of you lovely people can meet the genius behind our Victorian masterpiece! And of course, the show wouldn't be the show without the diva behind the red dress, let me tell you my friends: some folks somewhere went blind bedazzling the heavens out of everything that our phenomenal LaVon wears! She is a vision....a dream! The world is not ready for what she is going to bring to that stage. I warned you last week, bring your oxygen tanks!

After Les Mis Marc decided to hire some pretty girls to brighten up the theatre, the proof is in this pic with the lovely Lisa and Ali!

Hello, Dolly! is a show that we all probably know quite fondly, but I will say that there is something intrinsically different about this production, not just the racial hurdles we are jumping, but it get straight to the heart of the situation: love. No matter what stage of your life you are at we can all agree on one point: we have wanted something at one point and time. All of the characters in this play however REALLY need something and it's to wake up, smell the coffee and see that if they don't seize the very moment of life they are living in life will simply pass them by. Life is a parade and you can choose to stand aside and spectate or you can pull out your baton and start twirling, and I think we are doing just that. This whole process will have been worthwhile and life rewarding if even just one person walks out of the theatre saying "Yes I can, Yes I will!".

The ladies of the ensemble working on the human train in "Sunday Clothes"

Well, I am off to run to Park City to get a few odds and ends with Stephen and David. Today is Elli's birthday so we are heading over to make pottery tonight with her, so it should it be a fun night! Also today marks the official end of me being on my mom's eye care insurance, oh the joys of graduating college, haha! So needless to say I am running to Lenscrafters as well (I have until midnight!!!!) One other random tidbit, so my dad, mom, and aunt went to Lincoln University in York and today when my mom was pulling off the directions for me to get to Lenscrafters she told me that she used to hang out at Park City with her roommate, how cool is that! The world gets smaller by the day!

Joey our adorable dance captain! Get ready for him also as the Judge in Act 2!

I am leaving you with a few pics from last weeks season kick-off party that was hosted by Linda and Joseph Sweeney and and the amazing Theatre Board. We had a ball, the food was delicious, and getting a chance to meet the heart behind the theatre was really quite special!

Until next time my friends!

All my best,
Robert

Mitch and I enjoying a little sunshine pool side!

My lovely partner in crime both on stage and off Brittany Lewis (Ermengarde)!

Hello Lancaster!!!

My name is Robert, and I have been meaning to introduce myself for days! I am playing Ambrose Kemper in the show, however when I am not on stage I will be keeping you posted on this blog about any and everything Dolly!  We have been so busy in the rehearsal studio bringing Victorian America to life that I have barely had a moment to slip away to my computer.  

Stephen, Will, David, Cody, and Joey striking a pose! Wait until you see these guys dance, AHHH!!!!! AMAZING!

I can't even begin to describe to you the absolutely mind blowing vision that our director Marc Robin has for this production. Basically, he is a genius. The first day of rehearsal he stated, "I want people to see our Dolly and think to themselves, wow this is how Dolly should be done, and never have to see it again!"  I truly believe people are going to walk away from the theatre needing oxygen tanks and wheelchair assistance. This cast is going to blow the roof off of the theatre, and just wait till your hear LaVon Fisher-Wilson's pipes!  But most importantly I think people are going to walk away from the show believing that true love really is out there, and it only takes a moment to find it.

"Welcome to the first day of reharsal".....sign in please :)

The principal characters arrived early last week to begin working on our scenes, songs, and choreography.  We were greeted by our adorable company manager Christen who welcomed us with open arms and the cutest smile ever.  After getting settled into our absolutely amazing apartments that have all been renovated by the amazing Theatre Board we were ready to get to work!  Within 3 days we had worked the ENTIRE show!  We were all so excited for the ensemble to arrive to begin putting the pieces together. Tuesday was  thriling as it was full our first full company rehearsal.  One of my favorite parts of the day was seeing not only the full company but also meeting the entire creative and administrative team here at the Fulton.  We really are a big family!

Mitch is SO SNEAKY with that camera!

Our Managing Director, Aaron Young spoke briefly about how closely he is working with the creative team and community in bringing the diversity not only to our stage, but our audience. It gave me chills. I remember when I was a young boy and I was bit by the theatre bug because my mom took me to theatre. Historically, it is rare to find large numbers of African-Americans in the theatre both onstage and off. However, with this production we are breaking down barriers and opening the doors of theatre to everyone, and it's going to be one big old party!  America is changing everyday, and I believe that it's the theatre that will be one of the driving forces that will propel us to even greater discovery and change.

Mitch in the rehearsal studio with Marc waltzing behind him!

This afternoon is a big day in rehearsal as we are going to piece together the second act.  Last night, we finished putting together the first act and you could see the hush come over the room after the last chords of "Before the Parade Passes By" echoed through the room, I can't wait for you guys to experience this show!

Our stunning music director Ron putting one of Dolly's song into the perfect key for radiant voice!

Well, I am off to run to the Central Market to grab some fresh produce, I just LOVE Lancaster!  Along with my amazing castmates we will continue to keep you posted on everything happening throughout our rehearsal process and so and so forth!  We are so excited because Monday is our day off and our huge season kick-off party, so get ready for tons of video footage and photos!  My adorable friend Mitch who plays Barnaby is a genius with the camera so he will be taking care of that portion of the blog!

Ok, until next time!  Oh, and GO GET YOUR TICKETS NOW....5.6.7.8 GO!

Ps...I hope you enjoy the pics I'm leaving you today, a few randoms, enjoy! Be sure to comment and let us know what you think!

Always,
Robert

Another love couple in the show, Mitch and Alessia who play Barnaby and Minnie Fay, they are SO adorable!

At a staff meeting this morning the marketing director, Tom Kirkpatrick, says to the group "Wouldn't it be a great idea if we had a blog that could cover the entire season in addition to the show by show blog. Everyone nodded and agreed it would be a good idea. Then he looks at me and says "and wouldn't be great if it came from our new Artistic Director." Again, all heads are bobbing up and down.

So that, my dear reader, is how I find myself writing this first installment; on our first day of the new season; at the end of our first day of rehearsal for Hello, Dolly; which happens to be my first show of my official first season as the New Artistic Director. It only seems right.

I must start with a giant disclaimer... I am not the "blogging type". I have a computer that I use for emails and documents and the occasional update of friends and family. I don't "surf" or "twitter" and I barely "Facebook" (An entity I was peer pressured in to joining and barely read). I say this to let you know that this will not be a daily occurrence like most of the blogs I hear about. I will do my best (and make no real promises) to keep up with this as the year progresses but, and I must be honest, I often times find myself running to "Catch my shadow" so the "time factor" may crunch down on me and make it unrealistic for me to achieve this to great detail. BUT I SHALL TRY!!!!

To start, I guess, requires me to go back a few steps.

Hello, my name is Marc Robin and I am the Artistic Director of the Fulton Theatre.

You have no idea how strange that is for me to say "out loud". I don't think I have actually grasped the magnitude of this position yet, or the majesty of this incredible theatre and the gift I have been given to helm it artistically. It is all still so new.

I came to the Fulton as a guest director 10 years ago. (Evita). I fell in love with the Fulton (and Lancaster) quickly and permanently. I guess throughout the years I always had a secret desire to have the job I currently hold, but I always assumed the opportunity may arise somewhere in the distant future.

As many know, the previous Artistic Director (my friend and mentor, Michael Mitchell), passed away quite suddenly last September and I found myself, as suddenly, sitting behind his desk "filling in" until decisions were made.

To say it was weird and unnerving would be an understatement of epic proportions.

As weeks passed on and talk of the impending search for a new "Artistic Director" was debated, I found myself evaluating my "flight plan" in life and all that that entails.

For over twenty years I have securely kept myself working as a freelance Director/Choreographer and I have been THRILLED, HAPPY, and HONORED to do so. But here was an opportunity to become a part of something beyond an individual play. It was a chance to be a part of the turning point of an emerging organization on the brink of becoming more than a "local" jewel. A chance to join a community and be a part of the fabric that makes that community special. In short... a chance of a lifetime.

After several months of talking and planning and reorganizing thoughts and flight plans, I find myself right where I never really dreamed I'd be.

So enough of the history lesson, let's start with today.

The Fulton Theatre is beginning its' 157th season. Crazy, right. 157 years of theatre. It's awesome. If you have ever been here you know how beautiful the space is but you might not know the history. You should Google it sometime. It's impressive. (Even the ghost stories)

Even though this is my first day of the first season etc... I actually started working on this season last December.

My partner at the Fulton (Aaron Young) and I are actually doing this as a team. (Though he doesn't have to do the blog thing!!!)

It's actually a unique situation. Most theatres have a Managing Director and an Artistic Director but they have two very different responsibilities. Aaron and I are really trying to be involved in everything. He has a say in the Artistic world of my job and I have a say in the financial world of his. It makes for good checks and balances. (I also happen to respect his opinion a great deal and consider him a close friend. If you knew him you would understand why!!!!!)

Last December while I was "Interim" (helping out), he and I began the process of picking the very season we have just begun.

If you are reading this you probably know what it is... but just in case you don't... Hello, Dolly; Dial M for Murder; Annie; Driving Miss Daisy; Noises Off; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; and Phantom. We have also included a family series (Cinderella, Nutcracker: a Holiday Musical, and Sleeping Beauty) and a cabaret series (which starts on Friday, August 21 with Gabrielle Stravelli).

Picking a season is pretty difficult. There are so many factors that go in to choosing titles. From popularity to the cast size to the availability of rights. It's quite the puzzle.

We are excited with the mix of shows this year because they are all known titles but still represent a huge cross section of issues and theatrical challenges. (AND I LOVE A GOOD CHALLENGE).

I won't spend much time talking about specific shows as we go along this year because we have a "Show" blogger for that. I will try to stick to the big picture. Also, I would love to answer questions.

It is so much easier for me to answer a question than it is to "create" something out of thin air. Besides, I much prefer talking about someone or something else, than to talk about ME!!!!

But speaking of me, It is almost "pumpkin time" and I have day two of Dolly tomorrow so I should wrap this up.

Welcome to the 2009-2010 season at the Fulton and this new site.

See you in the theatre. (That's an okay tag line, isn't it???)
M