dana's blog

On Saturday night, Stage West will serve dinner to a sold out house celebrating Valentine's Day.  We'll provide a special menu:

Spicy Citrus Chicken topped with a tangy tomato and zucchini relish.

Grilled Salmon with a sourcream, lemon-dill sauce garnished with the zest of lemons, limes & oranges.

Each meal will be paired with an almond rice pilaf, fresh steamed veggies, a dinner roll and a small side salad.

I have known many people who've managed to reclaim their place on stage after having children.  I have always admired them, but until I had my own baby, I didn't fully appreciate what a challenge it is to juggle the theatre with parenthood!  

Last week, I auditioned for "The Norman Conquests", my first audition since having my daughter. All in all, it was pretty routine.  Nothing earth-shattering.  I may or may not get the role.  Indeed, much of the decision will probably come down to the number of AEA contracts available. 

Though I am not directly involved with this production, I am extremely excited to see it.  The acting promises to be very strong, and plus it's peppered with the fresh directorial eye of Rene Moreno.   Not to mention it's a brilliant script.

I'll be spending the majority of the run as the front of house manager.  i enjoy it: greeting patrons as the arrive; making sure the cafe runs smoothly; giving the curtain speech. 

So many people are making short videos these days!  I'd love to feature one or two of them on our website. 

-It needs to be on YouTube. 

-It should be less than 10 minutes long and not contain anything offensive. (Porn would definitely fall into the offensive category.)

Just send me a link at dana [at] stagewest [dot] org.  I'll watch it and, who knows, I might choose to feature it at StageWest.org

Thanks!

Blithe Spirit closes on Sunday...which means our 30th season begins on Monday when the company begins rehearsals for Code of the Woosters.  Jerry has assembled a fantastic cast for it.  Of course, he had lots of great people to choose from; Stage West always has a great turn out for shows in the Thanksgiving-to-New Years time slot, because it tends to be an extreme amount of fun both on-stage and off.

On September 5, 2008, we had to hold the curtain because one of our actors was stuck in Dallas traffic.  That meant I had to go into the theatre and tell the waiting audience that the wait was going to take a little longer.  Now, we sometimes have late curtains due to one reason or another but I've never experienced a hold like this!  On this particular night, we were looking at a nearly 30 minute delay. 

I read a review of The Long Christmas Ride Home recently that called the play depressing.  It really surprised me as my take on the play, the Stage West production of it, was anything but depressing.

Stage West closes its smash hit run of Noises Off today.  Next up is a brilliantly theatrical play called The Long Christmas Ride Home by Paula Vogel.  It's a "puppet play with actors."  Don't let the puppets fool you:  This play is not for your little kiddos.  That said, I can't wait to see it up and running!  I think it'll be my favorite show this season.  

I've been placed in charge of two elements in the show-

Stage West has a fun group of volunteers and we'd love for you to be a part of it!

Our volunteers usher, read plays, help with strikes, plan parties, etc... They also like to meet up and just have fun. 

The Stage West Volunteers welcome newcomers with open arms.  If you are interested in being a Stage West Volunteer, visit our Volunteer page on this website and sign up!  We'll let you know what's going on and how you can be a part of Stage West.

Our latest Volunteer Post:

I've had a few people contact me regarding the 2nd Annual Playwriting Competition.  I wish I could announce a winner already!  However, we still have a few more plays to read.  I certainly didn't anticipate it taking so long but I want to make sure each entry gets a fair shot.  So far we've had several top tier candidates.

I hope to be able to announce a winner at the end of the month.