One of the great joys of working in “regional theater” is that, as a New York actor, you get a much needed break from the old hustle and bustle. You are sometimes in a place as lovely as Princeton, New Jersey, and you can completely focus on the task at hand. There are no distractions, and I have no friends in Princeton, so I get to glom onto my cast-mates. The much needed glue of “ensemble” dries much more quickly when no one has any real life to speak of outside of the theater’s town.

This being said, the unique and amazing thing about McCarter Theatre is that it is so incredibly close to my metropolitan home. Some of my cast commutes in from the city every day. So while we have the luxury of being away, I can still return to New York for business, interviews, fun and games.

This weekend (and by “weekend” I mean the Actor’s weekend: Sunday Night - Tuesday morning) I returned to the city! There were brunches, shopping, cinemas, and cocktail parties (I sound like F. Scott Fitzgerald, but it’s true). I ran around town trying to see and do anything I could, getting my fill of all those things I have yet to find in Princeton.

I rode the train back with Daniel Fish and Michael Rudko Tuesday morning and found, to my surprise, a great sense of relief upon returning to New Jersey. Everything is so peaceful and green here, and I breathed a sigh of relief. It is truly an ideal environment for an actor to work in a relaxed and focused way.

If only I could find a good 24-hour Thai resturaunt and a Russian Martini bar, I’d be all set.

Posted by Nick Westrate, who plays “Damis” in McCarter Theatre’s production of Tartuffe.

On Monday, Emily directed a reading of her new adaptation of “The Seagull,” A Seagull in the Hamptons. A bunch of actors that we know got together for a few hours of rehearsal, followed by a read-through of the play for an invited audience. For those in the audience (including many members of the theater’s staff) it was helpful to hear the play read aloud so that they can answer questions about marketing, talking about the show to sponsors, and all the other things that we do around here. Additionally, many of the show’s designers were in attendance, including Set Designer Eugene and Costume Designer Jennifer. For them, this “sneak preview” will be a crucial part of their artistic processes.

Even more importantly, the reading served as a chance for Emily to listen to her current draft with the goal of continuing the revision process in the coming months. Writing a play is a complicated back-and-forth, and hearing a draft out loud allows a playwright to ask herself what is working and what isn’t. Hopefully it will all pay off when the production opens next Spring!

Posted by Adam Immerwahr, Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre

More costume blogging from Kaye Voyce, Tartuffe’s costume designer. This one is Valere’s costume.

See also:

• Costume Blogging - Laurent
• Costume Blogging - Elmire
• Spotlight On: Costumes

Posted by Adam Immerwahr, Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre.

Yesterday I posted Kaye Voyce’s sketch of Elmire’s costume in Tartuffe. Today, I’m posting her sketch of Laurent’s costume.

Those among you who are very astute will notice that the two costumes don’t really look like they come from the same era. Pretty neat, eh? If you read Daniel Fish’s interview, you can learn a little bit about Daniel’s concept of Tartuffe, and his ideas about blending modern and the early modern periods.

It is gonna be a pretty cool show.

Posted by Adam Immerwahr, Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre.

Here’s the sketch of Elmire’s costume in Tartuffe. Pretty nifty, eh? This was designed by Kaye Voyce, the Tartuffe costume designer.

See also:

Spotlight on: Costumes

Posted by Adam Immerwahr, Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre.

Stick Fly opened on Friday. It was thrilling to be in the audience on opening night - the cast was on fire and the audience was sending lots of love. Multiple standing ovations at the end - it was very exciting. After the show, the audience meandered downstairs for an opening night party with the cast and crew. Good times were had by all. Naturally, it didn’t take long before director Shirley Jo Finney had gotten people dancing. Go figure.

Sunday was our “Dialogue on Drama,” so after the matinee Lydia stuck around to have a conversation with Literary Manager Carrie Hughes and to answer audience questions. I think (I hope) that someone recorded it, and if it ever ends up online I’ll post a link. Here’s a picture I snapped after the event of (left to right) Kevin Carroll (Kent), Lydia Diamond, Kemati Porter (Artistic Affiliate), and Michole Briana White (Taylor).

Update: The Stick Fly Dialogue on Drama audio recording can be found here.

Posted by Adam Immerwahr, Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre.

Good Sunday Morning, Princetonites!

While you are sipping your coffees, reading the Sunday New York Times, I am slaving away in the McCarter Theatre greenroom, sipping coffee and reading the Sunday New York Times. Terribly difficult artistic life I lead, isn’t it?

Seriously though, a lot of rehearsing is waiting about, as the rehearsal process is one that doesn’t fall into a very exact timetable. So I thought I’d take this leisurely opportunity to tell you about the latest addition to our ensemble: the vocal coach.

The vocal coach is a strange creature, heralding from the big city, in on the train for weekends of helping us speak the verse so you, the audience members can actually understand it! Imagine that. This particular vocal coach, however, has a special significance to me, and a few of my cast-mates.

You will notices in the playbill when you come to see “Tartuffe” that five cast members may choose to mention in their biographies: “Training: Juilliard.” Yes, five of us trained, at different times, at this notorious institution, and Ralph Zito (the aforementioned vocal consultant) is the head of the Juilliard School Drama Division’s Voice and Speech Department.

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I am Nick Westrate, and I am going to be your official cast-blogger for the upcoming production of “Tartuffe [The Imposter]”. (I have never written a blog anywhere before, so I truly hope that that is how you are supposed to introduce yourself on one.) My apologies for the late start (we start day 5 of rehearsals today) but now that I am up and blogging there’s no stopping me now. Rehearsals have been going very well, but before I really jump into the inner workings of that crazy little room, I’d like to talk, at length, about the actor’s process.

Now, as you may well know, each one of us has a very different way of going about things; we in the theatre love to refer to our “process.” Our differences were made crystal clear from day one. I will demonstrate this by comparing myself with my cast-mates Sally Wingert and Zach Grenier. All three of us are from completely separate part of the country. Sally is a Minnesotan, and has been wowing the twin cities from the Guthrie Theatre’s stage for many years (just mention her name to any theater goer, or actor who’s even visited Minneapolis and you will get a glowing treatise on her latest performance). Mr. Grenier hails from sunny Hollywood (Deadwood fans stand-back, for the hit series’ Andy Cramed has returned to the east coast!). And I arrive in New Jersey from the lovely isle of Manhattan (and there’s nothing you’ll recognize me from, but I couldn’t resist yet another parenthetical).

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Tonight is the night! Stick Fly opens! It was only a few short weeks ago that I blogged about the first rehearsal, or that Shirley Jo Finney shared an insight into her creative process. When we were all only 39 days, 7 hours and 51 minutes from opening, it felt ages away. Well, now we’ve got only a few hours left to go!

Fortunately, no one is panicked. At this point, the cast has performed this play many times in front of a paying audience - this just happens to be the performance called “opening.” The Development Department is setting up a fancy-schmancy opening night dinner, but they’re pros at this sort of thing. And the box office is working with them to coordinate VIP and press seats for the opening night audience. There will be a big party after the show. It should be quite a festive event.

At left is a picture of Michole Briana White as Taylor in Stick Fly. T. Charles Erickson took this photo at the dress rehearsal. You can see more pictures of Stick Fly here. If you’ve already seen the show, drop us a comment to tell us what you thought!

Posted by Adam Immerwahr, Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre.

Yesterday was the first rehearsal of Tartuffe. It was a nice event. Daniel Fish, the director, is always incredibly eloquent and inspiring about the work. I know that many in the room were charged and excited just from soaking up his enthusiasm and passion. One of the things that became clear to me, in the meeting, is just how funny Tartuffe is going to be. Emily, our artistic director, pointed out that Daniel’s work with comedy is brilliant. Daniel replied: “I’m a whore for a laugh.” Afterward, I had a long discussion with our managing director about whether or not I could put the phrase “Whore for a laugh” in the blog. I won’t reveal what the final decision was…

So a bit of exciting news: we have a new blogger! Nick Westrate, who plays “Damis” in Tartuffe, has agreed to be our embedded blogger for this production. So expect some posts from him in the near future about his time in Princeton, his process as an actor, and the honing of his role. I’m very excited, partially cause I won’t feel so guilty on the days when I don’t blog. Also, Nick and I were buddies in High School. In Northern Michigan. It is a very small world. This is actually his second time at McCarter - he also participated in a reading of another play last year. But he can tell you about all this.

So Tartuffe is off to a great start! Keep checking back here for updates.

See also:

• Daniel Fish Speaks
• Woof
• Lunch with Daniel Fish

Posted by Adam Immerwahr, Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre.