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.
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.
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.