More Mysterious Reviews

OK.  I admit it.  I googled Steph's and my name to see what would turn up.  But look what I found!  Another independent review.  I have to idea who this is and can't seem to find a name...

But here's another take on Between the Tackles... 
http://mereadsdis.tumblr.com/post/32212563531/bread-riots-this-weekend-i-saw-a-modern-play

To respond briefly:  The comedy in my first play An Uncivil Union is simply the age-old miscommunication between the sexes.  There was nothing funny about what was really going on in the mountains during the Civil War.  It was dire.  People were starving.  I tried to portray that honestly, while still creating plenty of laughs about how men and women have always struggled with gender-expectations and how those play into relationships.

Shout Out: Mystery Man John L.

So, neither Steph nor I know who this John L. guy is, but if you missed his comment, I thought I'd re-post it here.  Our first "review" if you will.

Saw the play Saturday night and really enjoyed it. My family came up to the Parkway for the weekend to celebrate of my wife's birthday. We started with a glorious hike up Honeycutt Mountain, had a delicious dinner at the Knife & Fork (Spruce Pine), and were thoroughly pleased with the writing, acting, and production of _Between the Tackles_. If you have a chance, go see this original play. I hope the play will be performed beyond the Parkway Playhouse but don't wait. Go see it.

I'm also a huge fan of Knife and Fork and if you haven't eaten there you totally should.  Here's their link:  http://www.knifeandforknc.com/

Thursday is the Talk-Back

Thank you to the fantastic cast, director and crew for a super opening weekend.  Thank you also to the super audiences.  (I know what you're thinking..."We came.  We saw.  We kicked..."  heh heh heh  Ghostbusters.)  I'm looking forward to the next two weekends and the ensuing laughter.  Thanks also to Worth for sending me this photo he took.

FYI - This Thursday's show will be the "Talk Back" which means that Steph and I will grace the stage with our awkwardness after the show is over to do a little Q&A and attempt to explain why we wrote such a play and how we collaborated on the script.  See you there!

Shout Out: Opening Weekend

It's in the books, sports fans. There will never be another World Premiere opening weekend of this play ever, in the history of the world. With a mixture of bliss, exhaustion, and relief, we bid that a fond adieu.

In my humble, yet completely biased, opinion, it went great. On Saturday night, we had a fantastic, fancy-pants pre-party/tailgate at Ms. Susan Martin's lovely home. It sincerely was one of the best gatherings I've been to and all our best peeps were in attendance. (Minus Ol' Scotty P. who, in the bitterest of ironies, was at an honest to goodness ball game in West Virginia. Life imitating art or something.) There were so many moments to savor that it might take me a while to sort it out in my head. But, suffice it to say that we all had a great time and will always remember it forever.

And the show - what can I say? In a completely biased opinion, it was really, really good. And people laughed. And not just the people who wrote the play. Other people. That was a nice touch. Although there were nerves beforehand - mostly on my part - things came off without any major problems. And so, all props to the cast and crew (again) for their awesomeness. Really.

After it was all said and done, Franco and I enjoyed some quiet time snuggled in bed watching college football highlights and eating hot pockets. That was also a nice touch.

On Sunday afternoon, Ol' Scotty P. accompanied me for his own premiere of the show and he quite liked it himself. And it was terrific to get to see it with him, since his real-life meat conversations and bromances were quite inspirational to the onstage action. After all this time kept in suspense, he gave us serious props and a ringing endorsement. Also a nice touch.

Yes, memory-making stuff indeed. I don't think Britt or I ever will forget the magic of that weekend. And the best part? There are two more weekends to get a chance to experience it! So, choose your choice - "Between the Tackles" at The Parkway Playhouse!

Loved these two guys pretending to scalp tickets outside the show on Saturday night!

Shout Out: Cast and Crew 2.0

To echo Britt, I also must give thanks a million times over to the cast and crew who have brought this production to life. It is amazing to watch the transformation from page to stage. I can't wait to see the finished product - tonight!!

Now...go read Britt's great post and look at her great photos and call that tailgating for tonight's OPENING NIGHT show! We will see you all there!

Shout Out: Cast & Crew

I simply do not understand how they do it.  Memorize those lines, add in body language, facial expression, inflection, gesture... all to make the characters on stage "live." Having never been on stage myself, I can't begin to comprehend.  Hats off to the actors who have lent their amazing talent to this work.  These are all busy folks, many with other full-time jobs, spouses, kids/infants, prior commitments, rapidly approaching weddings...  I don't care to think about the sacrifices they have made for the sake of this play and I thank them heartily for it.  Director Michael Lilly has also gone above and beyond for this one.  And he was the right man for the job;  it's clear he knows football fandom and got the tone right.

Anna Franklin, Andrew Gall, Jeff Messer & Paul Trani on stage.
Director Michael Lilly in the ball cap.

More than once this week I have found myself remembering the movie Shakespeare in Love where people would ask Jeffry Rush's character how something was going to be possible and he would reply, "I don't know.  It's a mystery."  Indeed.  The process is mystifying to me.

Thank you too, to the other folks behind the scenes.  Ami Pisano (who has worked on sound, scheduling and countless other details that have fallen through the cracks until they landed on her lap) needs her own standing ovation.  I can't help but to rock out to the sound during rehearsals and I think y'all will too!  At times, you honestly feel like you're in a stadium and not a theatre.  And of course there's Bruce.  No Parkway Playhouse production is complete without a little Bruce-set-magic.

Ami and Haven working the many light and sound cues.

I don't have a good picture of the final member of the cast,  Doug Shaw, who anchors the whole play. (hahaha)  But I'll let his appearance be a surprise for you.

Thank you all.  Many times over.

Shout Out: Ol' Scotty P.

Okay, so ol' Scotty P. is admittedly not much of a reader. So, he hasn't actually read the play about which my life is rapidly revolving. He says he wants to be surprised when he finally sees it live. We'll go with that.

But, he is a dedicated football partner. It would have, of course, been a deal breaker to have married someone whose football loyalties lie contrary to my own. Luckily, we are both WVU grads several times over. (And over. And over.) Throughout much of our married life, we have both been enrolled in some sort of degree program at WVU.  After all that and a move to North Carolina, we have season football tickets, so the university is still milking us for money. (Clever...very clever.) But we cheerfully traipse to Morgantown for home games because we love the tailgating and festivities and camaraderie. Or we are crazy. Take your pick.

Here's the happy family ready for Franco's first experience at Mountaineer Field! Contrary to popular belief, they do not take your first born to settle your massive student loan debt. Go figure.

Of course, we all cheer the Pittsburgh Steelers, too. We have seen many games together, reveling in loads of fun and fandom. Here is one happy memory from Heinz Field on a day when old Fav-ray hit the turf at least "favre" times:

It's understandable that we make family plans which revolve around ball games. It was a no-brainer that the new baby would have a sports-themed bedroom, regardless of whether he was a he or a she. Common sense at times is the first casualty of this type of fanaticism, but we all know Scotty P. is much more grounded than I am and can keep it in better perspective. (Most of the time.)

We can count all the happy memories and sad times as shared journeys in our marriage, and it does make it that much richer. It is fun to share all this with someone, and we look forward to happier memories made with Franco at sporting events in the future. From the 'Eers to the Steelers and even onto the ice to cheer the Pittsburgh Penguins, we are united in one common goal: Fun. And championships. (So that's kind of two goals, but they should go together. Every year.) Happy family time indeed!

**And as a caveat, I thought I would share the following image for your delight. Scotty P. carving a large piece of meat in the parking lot of Mountaineer Field. Because...yeah. We weren't kidding about the obsession with meat.