A continuing theme of the Blog this season will be to hear from our friends who come to us as seasonal performers and directors.  Our first installment in this series of alumni updates focuses on Michael Bigelow Dixon, director of last season’s To Kill a Mockingbird.

Commonweal board member and frequent director Michael Bigelow Dixon is a theatre professor at Goucher College in Baltimore. In 2009, he received a grant to write/direct a project loosely based off of Roger Corman’s B-horror movie Attack of the Crab Monsters.  This interdisciplinary multimedia production is a comic exploration of the consequences of crab extinction in the Chesapeake Bay. The play will be staged at Goucher this March 1-3.  As Michael puts it:  “It’s all crabs, crabs, crabs for me in Baltimore for the next 6 weeks.  Crabs on film, crab dances, crab acting, crab costumes, crab post-show discussions, crab lobby display, crab art exhibit and crab surprises in the world of publicity. Commonweal fans are all invited!”

More info on Attack of the Monster Crabs you say — http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_of_the_Crab_Monsters

Michael Bigelow Dixon returns to the Commonweal this season to direct The Philadelphia Story.

We have said goodbye to Season 23 and the period of reflection was a quick one as we are back with our noses to the grindstone.  What that means from now until the first of April is that our administrative office is abuzz with activity as each of us adds our piece to the puzzle of prep work that will eventually turn into Season 24. 

You see us onstage as actors but you may not be as familiar with what we are up to during the “off season.”  To that end,  we look in on how a few of the CW company members are spending their days this pre-production season.

Adrienne Sweeney:

My agenda for the pre-production period may sound boring to most — but is very exciting to me! I relish the opportunity to organize — clean out my desk and computer files, sort and prioritize, make lists and plans. Once the production season gets underway there’s very little time to do anything but…DO! So it’s great to have this time to look around with a clear focus, set goals and chart the course for the year ahead.

Personally, it’s also wonderful to have some time for myself to read (4 books in 4 weeks!!), catch up on movies, exercise, go to be early and sleep in a little late. I love my home and am quite a “nester” so quality time on the sofa with the pets, a good book and a roaring fire is my favorite part of the pre-production period. That and a trip to the beaches of Vieques!

Stef Dickens:

One of the first things I do is feng shui my desk and work area. I actually came in on JANUARY 1ST to do it this year! I just felt like I had to start the year immediately with cleanliness and order.  It feels sooooo good!

My other January goals are to clean up and catch up on some bookkeeping (that word looks weird if you look at it too long).  Later in January, my rock-star Development Team and I will meet for a long brainstorming meeting.  That’s where we toss around our goals for the year (or even our long-term goals for the company) and evaluate what worked and what didn’t, what we should do differently, what we can keep the same — but improve upon, of course.  One of the things we are hoping to continue to impress upon our audience is the non-profit nature of the Commonweal.  We really are a charity arts organization that relies on donations to survive and thrive.  Ticket sales only get us halfway to where we need to be each year to balance our income and expenses.  All of us on the Development Team at the Commonweal value this company, its mission and our importance to the region (heck, most of our also donors)!  It is our goal this year  to continue to spread the word of the needs of the theatre hand-in-hand with celebrating the value of the Commonweal and diligently working to support the incredible artistry onstage.

David Hennessey:

Home visits: Talking one-on-one to MDC members and season pass holders who’ve been with us for several years and catching up on voluminous notes I took on such visits last year.

Education: Scheduling emails to area teachers about the student matinee program and reviewing our matinee booking system with new Box Office Manager Daniel Stock. Preparing for Ibsenfest Road Scholar program for lifelong learners.

Costumes: Preparing special costume shop projects for volunteers, especially labeling of new costumes added to the inventory last season. Setting reminders on my calendar to pull costumes for publicity photos when each show’s rehearsal period begins.

Scripts: Planning to read or reread in advance the three plays I’ll be appearing in this season, Pillars of Society, Philadelphia Story, and Drawer Boy. 

Ibsenfest: With other company members, fleshing out ideas for activities for our annual Ibsen Festival.

Outside service: As a member of the Lanesboro Public Library Board volunteering many hours to complete and then celebrate a major renovation of the library!

Megan Pence:

During the pre-production period, I am diligently trying to wrap my head around my new job.  As of January 2, I began work as the new Company Manager. My biggest goal, however, is to get a lot of preparation done for directing the Apprentice show.  We will start rehearsals in the middle of February (which is coming much faster than I want to believe).  Mark your calendars – The Metal Children is happening March 22-April1!!!

Hal Cropp:

During the pre-production period, I have three major focusses (foci?):

1) preparing to direct PILLARS OF SOCIETY, which includes thinking about the visuals of the production, thinking sabout the themes of the production, working with the playwright to “finalize” the adaptation, and prepping for the beginning of rehearsal – scheduling, structure, approaches to creation of the piece, etc.

2) finalizing the 2012 company, which means attending a number of “mass” auditions, seeing in the neighborhood of 1200 actors over a to weekend stretch, for 5 apprentice slots and 3-4 seasonal slots

3) putting the finishing touches on the new fund raising initiative, the Common Roots campaign, the purpose of which is to assure the stability of the company long into the future. This involves meeting with stakeholders of every stripe – board, staff, volunteers, donors, possible partners; outlining the need, to be sure that the story is clear and compelling; hearing what they are envisioning for the future of the company; molding all of that into a workable plan. 

Scott Dixon:

My major goals at work are to write many successful grants for the Commonweal and to clean my desk. At home, I’m enjoying spending lots of time with Stela and Kieran before rehearsals begin again!

Jeremy van Meter:

Gearing up for the 2012 Season has me involved with several things:

• Adding the season schedule to the calendar listings of external websites such as Explore Minnesota. 
• Mapping out specific dates during the year on which certain media related things need to take place such as press release submissions, recording of public service announcements, etc.
• Exploring ways to get the Commonweal name established in more online networking areas.
• Brainstorming ideas for this very blog for the year.  Should you have any ideas or topic you would like to see addressed here, please do not hesitate to speak up.
• Preparing for many fabulous days and nights onstage this season. 

This may give you the idea that we are all buried in a mountain of work and tied to our desks.  There is some amount of freedom attached to the off season and we are enjoying that.  There is also a great amount of joy in this workplace (Adrienne and Daniel just sang a song from The Year Without Santa) as we come together each day to continue our commitment to producing great storytelling.  So, yes, we are hard at work but that work is met with a positive spirit especially following a season as successful as the last.  Cheers to Season 23 and Season 24…here we come!

It seems that this time of year comes around quicker each year.  By that I mean the Holiday Season.  Now that my career path has crossed with a professional theatre company,  the start of that season will mean the end of another.  In this edition of Curtain Up!, we wish you all of the best possible in this Christmas and New Year Season while we also bid a fond farewell to Season 23 at the Commonweal.  It has been a season of remarkable days and nights in the theatre as well as being a record breaking one and it is our intention to make Season 24 no different.

From our family to you and your family, we wish you Happy Holidays and all the best for a safe and healthy beginning of 2012.

As an added bonus….Stan Peal and Laura Depta with a message from afar.

If you’re lucky as an actor, which I have been, you’ll go through the cycle of opening and closing a show many times in the course of your career. As Parfumerie comes to a close, it will mark my eleventh full season at the Commonweal. I will have acted in 32 shows in that time, appeared in two others as an understudy, directed two, and written three. You might think that in all that time, there’s not much that I haven’t already done.

And yet, that’s not at all true, and as it comes time to bid adieu to Hammerschmidt’s Parfumerie, I will take along with me the memories of all the special connections that will make this production memorable for me long, long after the lights come down for the last time. I first acted with Irene ErkenBrack in 2005 in The Wild Duck, but despite having been in several shows with her since, we never really shared any scenes together in six years until this show. She’s a wonderful actress and brought a lot of passion and energy to every rehearsal and performance as we played two characters dancing around the love for one another in our hearts.

I’ve worked even longer with David Hennessey – since the first summer I worked here in Lanesboro. We’ve played poker buddies, partners-in-crime, and I’ve even been Bob Cratchit to his Ebeneezer Scrooge, but never have we been able to bring our off-stage friendship on stage the way we have in this production. While Sipos’ sense of humor is much drier than David’s, the sweetness of the character is 100% Hennessey and I think that Scott and David around the office is not unlike George and Sipos around the shop. Playing the friend of someone who’s your friend in real life is one of the best acting jobs around!

And finally, while I’ve spent most of my Commonweal career with David Hennessey, I’ve spent every minute of it with Adrienne Sweeney. Those 32 shows I mentioned before? I’ve been on stage with her for 17 of them, going all the way back to An Enemy of the People in 2001. But this is the first time for me to work with her as a director, and those of you who have seen Parfumerie have seen that Adrienne’s sense of precision and commitment to excellence as an actress have absolutely translated into her work as a director.

My twelfth season at Commonweal starts January 1st, and I can’t even imagine what new experiences and opportunities it will bring. In the meantime, I remain grateful for being part of a company where I can count on something new around every corner.

It is likely that you have seen his work on the Commonweal stage and now you have the chance to learn a few more details.  

Photo courtesy of Viterbo University

In this edition of Curtain Up!, we get to know more about costume designer Jeff Stolz.

What is your title as far as the Commonweal is concerned?

I am a guest artist – Costume Designer.

How long have you worked with the Commonweal?

I have done several shows at the Commonweal over the past 4-5 years.

When you are not working on a freelance design, what are you up to?

I am a fulltime faculty member in the Theatre Dept. at Viterbo University in La Crosse, WI.  I also do freelance costume design in the Minneapolis and Chicago area.  I also enjoy the out doors – canoeing, hiking, camping  and all of the activities that draw people to our part of the country.

What skills are necessary for a person in your position?

I think that a costume designer needs to have a good grasp of visual history and enjoy researching the looks of various times and cultures.  Obviously someone in my position needs to be able to sew and construct garments, make patterns, alterations etc.  I think that two skills necessary for anyone who works in theatre, or the arts in general, are the ability to collaborate effectively and to be able to figure things out on the fly.  Often one is presented with a challenge or a dilemma and has to make it work on budget and by a deadline.  That is the nature of the job.

What is one thing people might be surprised to know about your position?

That it is really easy and extremely well paying!    Okay, just a joke.  I don’t think that the general audience member realizes the work that goes in to putting on a production- nor should they.  They should hopefully just enjoy the show.  I think one misconception is that costumes or other items created for the theatre can be made in a slip-shod way because they are not seen up close.  Most items have a great deal of detail and are actually quite beautiful.  They also have to withstand more abuse than the garments or items that people use in their daily lives.

What was your first job in the theatre?

My first job out of undergraduate school was working at the Guthrie as an accessories craftsperson/design assistant.  I was there for two seasons before going to graduate school in Madison.  It was great job.  I learned a great deal and got to work with a wide array of professionals.

Give some advice to someone who wants to do what you do.

Draw.  Drawing gets your mind in contact with your hands.  It also gives you time to think about what you see and sharpens your observation skills. 

What was your favorite Commonweal production to either work on or see?

I did the costume design for Peer Gynt.  I enjoyed working on the show very much and think that it was very successful.  It seemed like this huge challenge to me – almost a dare!  The show is huge!  It spans an entire life, is both reality and fantasy.  I was so impressed with the company on this one.  The attitude was – “of course we can do this with 5 people and not a lot of money!”  It was great fun and really challenged me to come up with some very creative designs that could be worn in a variety of ways to indicate various characters.  And masks too – always good.  It was very creative and a really good show.

Jeff’s most recent creation for the Commonweal, Parfumerie, is on stage until December 20.

We’re ready to go…..are you?

­I know a couple in their “Senior” years, the husband in the early stages of Alzheimers. Every single major holiday since they’ve been together, the wife would wake up to a card, sealed, on the kitchen table signed, “Your Loving Husband.” And then, in case there might be a doubt, he’d add his name.

Last Valentine’s Day she came downstairs and, for the first time ever, there was no card.

Little cracks occurred in many hearts that morning – hers, their children and nieces and nephews, the children’s friends, whom ever was in the line of the emotional sharing.  The children and cousins and grandchildren rallied and sent bouquets and chocolates and balloons, but none of it would bear the signature: “Your Loving Husband.”

And then the magic happened.

When she returned home from work that evening there was a card on the kitchen table, signed “Your Loving Husband.”

It turned out that when the gentleman arrived at the Senior Facility where he spends his days they were selling generic Valentines cards for $1. And the strength of this man’s love for his wife punctured the grey cloud of Alzheimer’s. Maybe for the last time. No one knows. Nor do I care because THIS time, THIS moment, love really did conquer all.

If you’d watch that scene in a movie (a befuddled Craig T. Nelson would present a stoic Diane Keaton with the card while the children looked on, hugging each other) you’d scoff. “Well THAT never happens!” you’d say to yourself. But it does. And it did. And when my mom scanned the card and emailed it to us all, my family and friends wept.

And that’s why I wanted to direct Parfumerie. Because I really, truly believe in the power of love to make the world a better place. I’ve seen firsthand, I’ve experienced personally, this power.

This probably goes without saying but I am a romantic comedy junkie. Anything with Hugh Grant – I’m in. Add a little Sandra Bullock and I’m taking root on the couch. I love my romcoms sprinkled with a bit of bite to take the edge off the sweetness.  Gives it a more “realistic” feel.  That’s what I love about Parfumerie. For as sweet and cute as it is, there’s a bit of a bite. And that bite – the older couple dealing with infidelity and facing life alone after decades of marriage – puts the young love into perspective. It’s life. It’s real. It gives us that range, that gamut. Yes love is sweet and patient and gentle and kind and sometimes it also just really sucks.  It’s when you can navigate through the horrible times – that’s when you know you’ve got something special. And (here’s the part I love MOST about this play) the only way to navigate through the darkest times is with the support and love of your friends. 

So here I sit, a fledgling director, my first shot out of the gate watching a dozen supremely talented individuals tell a story that has been near and dear to my heart for years. And my work is done. There’s more than 20 performances left and I’m…done.  (REALLY?!?!?!)  What a strange new world.

I hope you come see Parfumerie. And when you leave the theatre, I hope that you will turn to the ones you love and tell them that you love them.  But more than that, I hope you will SHOW them your love. Because as Miklos Hammerschmidt says:

“It’s time to take notice of the people and friends that are true.

The proven friendships that have shown more in deeds than any words or vows could say.

All I need do is look around me to see a faithful family that has been near and dear to my heart.”

We have so much to be thankful for as a company but to accompany that, the following are some more personal words of thanks this year from a few members of our company.

Laura:

I am thankful for strong bonds of friendship that I know time and distance cannot break.

I am thankful clean air, clean water and green growing things.

I am thankful for a loving husband and a beautiful family (including my furry children).

 Carla:

I am thankful for my supportive family, who have always supported me in following my heart and dreams wherever they may lead me…this includes Lanesboro, MN. I am thankful for the friends and family that have come and gone in my life who have given me the life skills to survive. For sharing their lives and love that has taught me how to love and appreciate the world and what it has to offer.

I am very thankful for being here at the Commonweal. I have gained family, friends, and support in ways I could never dream of. I appreciate also the community that supports the Commonweal; You all are the best. SERIOUSLY!

Lastly, my best friend back at home who I can’t wait to see this Christmas. I love you Babalou. You are my heart!

Catie:

I am grateful for my good health and the health of my loved ones.

I am grateful for my new home that I share with my beloved husband, in a community that has embraced us with welcome & loving arms.

I am grateful to have a holiday where I can share a feast with my family & friends and say thanks and ever thanks all day long.

David:

Linda and our Preston home.

Having a salary in the theatre.

Having a salary at all in this economy.

Hal:

The opportunity to do something meaningful with my life.

The gift of sharing my life with a wonderful partner and a terrific son.

Being surrounded by smart, funny, big hearted co-workers and being embraced by a loving community as we journey on to continue exploring the human condition.

Stef:

The perfect September 2011 where – all in one month – I became an aunt, a WIFE, and turned an awesome 30 years old!

A loving, supportive family who practice open-mindedness, generosity, and unconditional love every day.

A creative work environment in a community of artists who greet each day (and each other) with humor, understanding, talent, and love. I am thankful that my fellow Commonweal artists treat me like family always, and that I consider them the same in my heart!

Adrienne:

I am so very grateful for my Commonweal family and friends — those who I work beside day after day and night after night — who have chosen to commit themselves to both this art form and this theatre.

And I am so grateful for the thousands of people who come through our door every year to share our stories. I really do believe we are changing the world. And I am proud and grateful to be a part of that.

And last but not least (I hope)……..Jeremy:

I am grateful for my amazing new home and by that I mean both the roof over my head and the community in which it sits.

I am grateful that my partner and best friend, Catie, shares that home (house and community) with me.

I am thankful for my friends in the theatre world, both those still with me and those who have passed on.  The lessons I have learned and continue to learn from all of them have been life changing.

Finally, may I add from this entire theatre company our thanks and gratitude to you…..our audience.  Without you, our efforts would be for nothing.  Playing to an empty theatre is not why any of us got into this game in the first place.  It is for you and because of you and for that we say thank you.  If you purchased a ticket this year, if you started or continued with your commitment as a member of the Million Dollar Club, if you renewed your Season Pass or purchased a Pass for the first time, we thank you from the bottom of our full hearts.  We thank you and we look forward to many more years of proving to you just how grateful we are.

Happy Thanksgiving!

In another’s shoes

by David Hennessey

As we close a wonderful run of To Kill a Mockingbird, I, like Jean Louise, am taking a short memory journey.  In my case, it’s back to a moment that helped inspire my acting career.

It was 1972 or ‘73.  I was just a couple years out of college, stationed on the Coast Guard Cutter Rush in Alameda, CA. The Bay Area was a wonderfully cosmopolitan place for a mid-western suburban boy to start a life’s adventure. Linda and I married out there in 1973 and found a duplex “railroad flat” in San Fran’s Mission Dolores neighborhood. In the late afternoon as the fog rolled in over the park hill right across the street, I got a kick out of walking just a few blocks in any direction from our place, because it was a spiritual bohemia. We frequently saw the Episcopal monks from two doors down walking their dogs. (Aa a St. John’s University grad, I was used to seeing monks, but Episcopal monks??)  In one direction were mainstream houses of worship like the Southern Baptist, the Catholic Mission Dolores and a synagogue. In the other direction, I’d pass different ways to enlightenment, salvation or transcendence —the large Yoga Center, the Christian Science Reading Room, a Tarot Reader, and a sign that said “Spiritual Advisor,” along with several New Age examples that have now faded from memory.

This was just a microcosm of what I loved about living there at the time. San Francisco was a smorgasbord of cultures, influences, philosophies and points of view that I reveled in.

And in this stimulating environment, I found myself dreaming one day at dusk of what I wanted to do after my enlistment was up. I had parked my version of a hippie van along the waterfront over in Oakland. (I’d bought an old Dodge in Mobile, Alabama, put a sleeping bag and faux wood siding in the back, and a small shelf of paperback books swinging from twine just behind the front seats. With a plain vanilla white exterior, it was hardly the typical flamboyant counter-culture vehicle, but it was my adventure nonetheless.)

I was standing there looking at the Oakland Bay Bridge and wondering what purpose it would serve if I ever realized my wild and crazy dream of becoming an actor. I had been raised surrounded by books of all kinds. I was used to considering the world from different points of view and fond of playing devil’s advocate in discussions. And I remember thinking I must have been put on this earth to understand other people, and that could be my biggest contribution to the world. And what better way, I thought, to understand others than by literally putting myself in their shoes as an actor?

I also thought about what that implied: I couldn’t only put myself in the shoes of heroes. If I was serious about portraying people on stage, I needed to be ready to portray all kinds. We’re all human, and that means we’re all capable of doing — or at least trying to do — any action that any other human has ever done. That means everything from the noble actions of an Atticus Finch to the despicable lies of a Bob Ewell. Part of the gift of storytelling is to inspire us to the former and warn us from falling into the latter.

It would be another 20 years before my dream materialized into an acting career, but a big inspiration for it came from that moment. And even though I hadn’t read Harper Lee’s classic novel at the time, I was echoing Atticus’s lesson to his children.