November

Sorry it's been a few weeks. Numerous times I've composed entries mentally but finding the time to actually type them out has been a little more difficult. Sometimes I wish I could simply project my thoughts directly onto the page. Of course I'd have to then find the time to edit.

Anyway, Cloud 9 and Midsummer closed last week. Both had very successful runs, playing to enthusiastic audiences.

Auditions for Death of a Salesman were held last week. Seventeen majors had their auditions recorded and sent to Larry Paulsen, the director. Call-backs will be held after Thanksgiving. Our stage manager Vanessa is currently putting together a list of dates relating to the production and collecting schedules in order to arrange a conference call for a design meeting before the end of the semester.

On Friday afternoon, Eric Lange, our department head, took five students to the Iowa Thespian conference in Davenport. Richard Glockner and I joined them on Saturday. Katy and Chelsea lead workshop on musical theatre auditions; Eric lead one on lighting design; and Mikey, Scott, and Briton on warm-up techniques and games. Richard attended auditions to scout for potential students and I staffed our table in the high school hall, answering questions about our program. We also talked to five alum who are now teaching and a former colleague now in Iowa City. I have to admit that I spent much of last week considering begging out of the event as I wanted to spend a Saturday at home for the first time in several weeks. But in the end, I'm happy that I went. It was nice to see the former students and to get out of town for awhile. And the reality is, I would have probably ended up helping out with the storage moving that was also happening on Saturday afternoon here in Cedar Falls.

Progress continues on The Crucible. During this morning's production meeting, we spent time going over the scenic design to determine how to make it fit the financial and labor resources assigned to the project. Later, several conversations were held to determine how best to accommodate the scenic design needs of the two productions currently rehearsing in the Strayer-Wood Theatre. In addition to the rehearsals for The Crucible, UNISTA's (UNI Student Theatre Assocation) production of the musical revue, The Best of Broadway, will be performing on the Strayer-Wood stage the weekend after Thanksgiving. The lastest word that I've heard is that a compromise acceptable to both production teams has been reached.

Earlier this evening, I spent about 30 minutes ordering perusal copies of several musicals in consideration for next season, including Urinetown, Spin: A Musical Myth, A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine, The Apple Tree and Little Shop of Horrors. My next task for the evening is to finish reading Tales of the Lost Formicans, a play that Richard is directing a workshop production of early next semester.