And one last post about Yellow Face...

Pork Filled and ReAct has ended its run of David Henry Hwang's Yellow Face over the weekend. Over 1100 people saw the show (pretty good for a fringe level theatre), with sellouts or near sellouts the last weekend of the run (pretty good for a Labor Day weekend show).

We've gone through strike (where the production team moves all the props and costumes out, taken gels out of the lights [though we've left them in place for the next production], and taken down the sets, breaking them down into their component parts (platforms and stuff goes back to Seattle Scenic Design, which specializes in renting platforms to productions around the Puget Sound).

:

Actors have gone on to new projects, new shows (like Year Zero for Moses Yim). What's next for Pork Filled Players? There's an appearance at Seattle Sketchfest, October 8, at the Theatre Off Jackson (409 7th Ave. S., Seattle, WA) (which is, coincidentally, the first home for PFP, when we were just a babe, as the Artists in Residence for the Northwest Asian American Theatre, which pretty much built the Theatre Off Jackson)(and where the Head Hawg played a key role in raising the money to fund that building)(but we disgress.....). So buy tickets here (and see the sketch comedy side of the Pork Filled Players, along with the Entertainment Show and Slow Children Crossing, from LA).

In the meantime, here's one last bit about Yellow Face fromThe Seattle Channel, showing an interview with David Henry Hwang at Elliot Bay Books:

The Playwright visits Seattle...

...and merriment ensues!

The visit of a Tony award winning playwright is pretty exciting. It's even more so when the hosting theatre isn't the usual Equity house, but a smaller 99-seat or fringe theatre (though, if you note the production history of Yellow Face, it's been a favorite of smaller houses like ReAct/Pork Filled Players--and, really, the play fits quite nicely in a more intimate space).

That kind of excitement quickly generates audience enthusiasm. And the August 13 show with David sold out early, with a splash-over to the other two shows of the weekend (the big challenge for the producers is to keep the momentum and audiences going to the next three weekends, but that's OUR problem, not yours)(unless you haven't seen the show, in which case...let's talk....).

Of course, that excitement wasn't restricted to the audience--cast, crew and staff were all pretty much amped to 11 for David's visit (with the possible exception of myself. Of course, the visit pretty much gave me an excuse to give free reign to my control freak and OCD tendencies; you can check the trail of emails I was leaving to everybody over the week). From director on down, folks were fairly hyper--nervous, but in a good way, to see David Henry Hwang in the flesh.

I was out on the Hugo House steps when Dave walked up. (NO...I was NOT anxiously awaiting him. I was busy burping up the last of the burritos from Rancho Bravo I had scarped up for dinner--you can ask Dave, who could hear me burping rather inelegantly)(and that's my story and I'm sticking to it). After saying hello, he then wandered off into the Capitol Hill afternoon, looking for some mints for the evening. The Capitol Hill neighborhood was on its best behavior, with the sun out and the people perking along, and he came away suitably impressed by the vitality of the neighborhood.

By this time, the cast had worked itself into a minor frenzy. When asked if they wanted to have Dave visit before the show, they immediately replied, "ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING???"  Cooler heads prevailed; cast member Agastya Kohli convinced them that they would MUCH rather meet Dave before the show, to take the edge off the nerves and put everybody at east. So Dave came on down to the dressing room about 40 minutes before curtain and immediately put people at ease (as he is wont to do), spinning tales on exactly WHICH parts of Yellow Face were based on fact and which weren't (Hint: you'll probably guess wrong on some of the big scenes).

That night's performance, naturally, was revved up. As Dave later commented, it's one of only two productions that's used video projection of photos of the historical (and not so historical) figures; surprisingly, that gave it a movement and pace to the show that others didn't have (Dave's seen almost every production of Yellow Face done except for the one done in Mexico City (!) in Spanish).

Afterwards, Dave came out for a spirited talkback with the audience. Which, as quirky Seattleites do, ended up with a birthday cupcake or three. As it happens, David the playwright, David the director, and Jeremy the cast member all had birthdays within three days of the talkback, so we took the opportunity to do the Happy Birthday thing. In addition, we gave David a Pork Filled Players T-shirt, so he can tell his wife and kids the obligatory, "Yes, I went to Seattle, and all I got was this lousy T-shirt" deal. (The rest of the group will probably want to confer an honorary membership on him, so Dave can be an honorary member of every single Asian American theatre on the continent, but we probably won't tell him because we want to be unique that way).

Yes, there is a video tape. No, I haven't gotten around to processing it. Yes, we plan to put it up somewhere. No, I'm not sure I didn't screw up and forgot to turn the audio on.

Of course that wasn't the end of the weekend. On Sunday, there was a book signing at Elliot Bay, where Mayumi Tsutakawa moderated a talk/Q&A/book signing. As opposed to the night before, the material was somewhat broader, covering more of his career, such as his operas (David is the most prolific living opera librettist in the world), his Disney musicals and his approach to film (Hollywood tent poles, no. Independent films, yes). This talk was also taped and will appear on the Seattle Channel. I am quite sure they were competent enough to turn on both the sound and video.

Finally, there was dinner at O'Asian with a select group of cast and interested audience members. Very relaxed (except for the cast members who were simultaneously eating and sitting on Cloud 9), with a swapping of stories about his kids (now 15 and 10), a musing of great apprehensions (his son is now almost old enough to drive) and more telling of tales, both tall and small. The evening ended with the usual snapping of cast photos with the playwright and the cast and crew upholding their reputation of dignity, calm and coolness.

So, the playwright is gone. BUT THERE'S STILL FUN TO BE HAD!

Three more weekends of Yellow Face, and you can certainly enjoy the fun (especially with the cast loosening up with the visit from David). YELLOW FACE is a production of both the Pork Filled Players and Repertory Actors Theatre. It runs through Saturday, September 3 at the Richard Hugo House (1634 11th Ave in Seattle’s Capitol Hill area). 

There are specials for both NAAAP and AAJA-Seattle people!

Shows are 8 pm Fridays and Saturdays at 2 pm and 8 pm. Admission is $15 General Admission, $12 Students/Seniors/Artists at the door; tickets can also be purchased in advance at Brown Paper Tickets (http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/181433) for $12 General, $9 Students/Seniors/Artists (Reservations recommended). Discounted group rates are also available for parties of 10 or more. For more information and ticket reservations, please call the ReAct Box Office at (206)364-3283 or visit online at http://www.reactheatre.org or go to the Pork Filled Players website.

We'll talk more later.

Hey! Reviews! (and other news!)

Let's start up with the Other News.

Now, not only has author David Henry Hwang been busy working on his newest show, Chinglish (which opens October 11 on Broadway at the Longacre Theatre), he's been picking up a bushel of awards.

Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang will be honored during the 31st Annual William Inge Theatre Festival with the Inge Festival Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre Award.  Previous recipients include Marsha Norman, Paula Vogel, Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt, Christopher Durang, Sheldon Harnick, Arthur Laurence A.R. Gurney, Stephen Sondheim, John Kander and Fred Ebb, Terrence McNally, Arthur Miller, Edward Albee, Peter Shaffer and Wendy Wasserstein.

Earlier this week, the PEN Literary Center named is 2011 Awards and David was named the 2011 Master American Dramatist. PEN American Center is the U.S. branch of the world’s oldest international literary and human rights organization. International PEN was founded in 1921 in direct response to the ethnic and national divisions that contributed to the First World War. PEN American Center was founded in 1922 and is the largest of the 144 PEN centers in 101 countries that together compose International PEN. David is only the second playwright of color to be named a Master American Dramatist (August Wilson was the first, I believe).

Now, locally, some of the local reviewers and critics have been quite taken with the show (and some haven't), which is normal. Some actors are all over the reviews, may they be good or bad; others prefer to note that they're there, but refuse to read them until after the run of the show is over (because they don't want what the reviews say to affect their performance, which is a rather valid concern).

Here's a quote from Misha Berson, the critic for the Seattle Times:

"… a sharp-edged sendup of artistic opportunism, knee-jerk politics and the generational divide between Chinese-American fathers and sons, and a provocative musing on what it means to lose and save face in a minority culture… "Yellow Face" also delivers many laughs via the bantering, serio-comic dynamic…"Yellow Face" is a false and true identity play that keeps you laughing — and leaves you thinking."

Full review here.

And here's something from Jerry Kraft at SeattleActor.com:

"The style of the production allows the ensemble to play a multitude of characters in brief snippets that feel almost like news clips, often introduced by headlines. Beneath that public life, the individual who is Hwang must constantly define what his personal integrity involves…Director David Hsieh has a good grip on this material, obviously cares about it in a very personal way, and moves the action along swiftly and clearly, keeping our attention properly on the internal struggle within the playwright. “Yellow Face” is a well-written, provocative piece of autobiographical journalism and dramatic invention, and here it is given a respectable and admirable production. "

Full review here.

And something I missed from Capitol Hill Times, Drama in the Hood:

The dialogue is some of the funniest and most articulate ever written for the stage. The direction and the acting suited the script extremely well, the comic timing was superb and the inherent tragedy came through. As an ensemble piece, most of the actors rapidly changed characters several times and had to adopt different accents and physicality. Jeremy Behrens, who played a lot of different Caucasian media pundits and politicians, was brilliant and managed to pull off a British, Russian, Brooklynese and about five different Southern accents in the same play. Full review here.

Sound good? Well, come on down! Tickets might be hard to come by on this Saturday's show (August 13 evening) when David is in town, but we can fit you in with no problem (so far) on other nights.

Performances continue. There are organizational discounts for AAJA and NAAAP Seattle.  YELLOW FACE is a production of both the Pork Filled Players and Repertory Actors Theatre. It runs through Saturday, September 3 at the Richard Hugo House (1634 11th Ave in Seattle’s Capitol Hill area). Shows are 8 pm Fridays and Saturdays at 2 pm and 8 pm. Admission is $15 General Admission, $12 Students/Seniors/Artists at the door; tickets can also be purchased in advance at Brown Paper Tickets (http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/181433) for $12 General, $9 Students/Seniors/Artists (Reservations recommended). Discounted group rates are also available for parties of 10 or more. For more information and ticket reservations, please call the ReAct Box Office at (206)364-3283 or visit online at http://www.reactheatre.org or go to the Pork Filled Players website.

Post Opening Night

Hey! We have more stuff to say!


The run up to opening is a blur of last minute preparation. Props made, props discarded; new cues added, modified, modified again, re-re-remodified, blocking and lines tweaked here and there.


Here is what our set looks like, with final paint job:

With Opening Night comes a buzz of nervousness, but also an adrenaline shot of energy as the cast and crew FINALLY get to show off before a live audience. A fairly full house with a fistful of reviewers in the audience was very responsive and very lively,with energetic laughter and some actual hissing and booing of antagonists. 

(And this is the sort of thing that actors live for; many times you know, but don't REALLY know the rhythms and pulse of a script until you get it before its first audience. After the first titter from the first row, things click and the cast refines the pacing and expression even further, honing their performances even more for each subsequent performance).

What are some of the responses?

"One of the smartest comedies I've seen in Seattle in years!"

"It was clever, it was FUNNY! I've spent years in ethnic student groups and the play just nailed the feeling perfectly!"

"Go see YELLOW FACE at Richard Hugo House! Great show--fine performances all around!"

"HIGHLY RECOMMEND!! Combining self-referential satire, racial politics commentary, showbiz comedy, and immigrant family story, "Yellow Face" is funny, intellectual, sharp, and thought-provoking. In the intimacy of Hugo House, this fast-paced production sizzled and crackled with a brilliant cast, several of which breezed through a demanding array of ensemble characters at dizzying speed. Catch it while you can!"

We'll see how the critics respond, but the word from the audience seems pretty positive.

On Saturday, in between the matinee and evening performances, cast and crew spent some time taking production photos (photos of cast in costume, under the exact same lighting conditions as in the play, with appropriate props), to have a visual record of the production, for use in promotions and for archival purposes. A sample:

There's more excitement on the way, as the author, David Henry Hwang, is on his way out to Seattle. He'll be with us for the Saturday evening performance, August 13, and participate in a talk back session after the show. He'll also be at Elliot Bay Books for a talk session, August 14, at 2 pm.

Performances continue. There are organizational discounts for AAJA and NAAAP Seattle.  YELLOW FACE is a production of both the Pork Filled Players and Repertory Actors Theatre. It opens on Friday, August 5 and runs through Saturday, September 3 at the Richard Hugo House (1634 11th Ave in Seattle’s Capitol Hill area). Shows are 8 pm Fridays and Saturdays at 2 pm and 8 pm. Admission is $15 General Admission, $12 Students/Seniors/Artists at the door; tickets can also be purchased in advance at Brown Paper Tickets (http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/181433) for $12 General, $9 Students/Seniors/Artists (Reservations recommended). Discounted group rates are also available for parties of 10 or more. For more information and ticket reservations, please call the ReAct Box Office at (206)364-3283 or visit online at http://www.reactheatre.org or go to the Pork Filled Players website.

We'll talk more, later.

Opening Night

Aiyeeeeeeee!

Week Six - Tech Week

Or other wise known as Hell Week, where the production moves into the performance space (Richard Hugo House), lays out the props, builds the sets, hang and focus the lights, set up the projection system and synch it to sound and lights, set sound cues and volume levels for each cue---and, oh, yeah integrate all this technical wizardry into the performance of the actors. All within the space of four evenings.

Prepping for this started with "paper tech": director David Hsieh, stage manager Jason Panzer, lighting designer Maggie Lee and the sound designer sit around a table at Prima Vera and go through the script, placing each and every cue, whether it's lights, sound or video, with a rough idea of how long transitions and sounds are. Well over 200 sound and light cues were placed over the course of paper tech (much to the aggravation of stage manger Jason, who runs the show, i.e., calls each and every show at the exact moment they're supposed to occur).

Today, we rushed into Richard Hugo House and brought in and assembled the set. The lighting designer immediately began setting up lights, setting their focus and hooked them into the right electrical circuit. Our production intern dropped in to help with the lights while the set was being assembled. I dropped in just in time to watch the last of the set get put together (though I did spend time following up on placement of announcements on websites and paper). 

Not all load ins go smoothly. Hanging and focussing of lights have been OK, but there's been some slight problems with sound--there's some interference going on and we're trying to track down the source of it. Right now, though, that's taking some time, and with just four short evenings to pull together the show in its final form (with all props and costumes as well as technical cues), we've decided to do what we can now, and try to track down the problem tomorrow. Right now, we're working with the sound cues as they are now, and letting the actors work with them---which is important, since this is the first time they've ever heard them (this isn't unusual, although when I sit in the designer's chair, I'll have certain sound cues ready weeks ahead of time, so we can hone actors reactions--for comedy, timing is everything, so having actual sound for rehearsals is vital).

This can be tedious sometimes, as actors may have to wait until tech can mesh up and solve problems that may crop up (or try to solve before pushing it to another day). Fortunately, we've brought in costumes, and we're having actors try them on for size and looks when we simultaneously deal with lighting and sound issues.


Finally, we launch into a cue-to-cue, running the lights and sound cues in sequence, with actors saying their lines and moving into their blocking; however, at a cue-to-cue, tech takes precedence, as this is the first time they've been able to pull everything together. But we manage to work our way through this and get a better handle on how this show runs. I can see visible steps taken by all the actors from even the last rehearsal (that was Sunday!). Good sign, I hope.

YELLOW FACE is a production of both the Pork Filled Players and Repertory Actors Theatre. It opens on Friday, August 5 and runs through Saturday, September 3 at the Richard Hugo House (1634 11th Ave in Seattle’s Capitol Hill area). Shows are 8 pm Fridays and Saturdays at 2 pm and 8 pm. Admission is $15 General Admission, $12 Students/Seniors/Artists at the door; tickets can also be purchased in advance at Brown Paper Tickets (http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/181433) for $12 General, $9 Students/Seniors/Artists (Reservations recommended). Discounted group rates are also available for parties of 10 or more. For more information and ticket reservations, please call the ReAct Box Office at (206)364-3283 or visit online at http://www.reactheatre.org or go to the Pork Filled Players website.


And we've release a second video:

We'll talk more, later.

Week Five - Entering the home stretch

Moses Yim and Jeremy Berens.

After reviving the cast after informing them of David Henry Hwang's visit, we've entered the stage where the rubber hits the road. People are pretty much off book (though actors can still get prompts from the stage manger by calling "Line?"). While a session or two may be devoted to particular scenes, each rehearsal is generally a run through---going through the entire with blocking, though costumes aren't used. With each run-through, blocking can and is usually tweaked, to help with the flow of action; it's not unusual to move scenes from one side of the stage to the other in order to facilitate the movement actors--make transitions smoother and avoid big gaps in the action.

Designer Maggie Lee (on the right),
donning her performing hat.

More designers are dropping into rehearsal; lighting designer Maggie Lee has come into to the run-throughs this week (not because she just felt like it, but because she was running the sketch side of Pork Filled Players for two performances)(the guy usually running it was off running damn fool artsy fartsy mockumentary show). As well, she has a ten minute piece in the Balagan show that's running in the Seattle parks. And, oh yeah, she's writing a new script for SIS Productions' Insatiable. Other designers have dropped in from time to time, and more will as we get more and more run throughs under our belts.

On the PR front, I've been trying to line up some interviews. I've gotten one lined up for DHH for the Seattle Times (I hope), and one for myself and David Hsieh for the International Examiner. Also will be talking to the NW Asian Weekly, and maybe trying to get a cast member interviewed for the Northwest Vietnamese News.


Just a reminder:
* there's a group deal with the Seattle chapter of National Asian American Professionals Association
* there's a group deal with the Seattle chapter of Asian American Journalists Association.
* there's a group deal with the Seattle Chinese Garden on August 27.

YELLOW FACE is a production of both the Pork Filled Players and Repertory Actors Theatre. It opens on Friday, August 5 and runs through Saturday, September 3 at the Richard Hugo House (1634 11th Ave in Seattle’s Capitol Hill area). Shows are 8 pm Fridays and Saturdays at 2 pm and 8 pm. Admission is $15 General Admission, $12 Students/Seniors/Artists at the door; tickets can also be purchased in advance at Brown Paper Tickets (http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/181433) for $12 General, $9 Students/Seniors/Artists. Discounted group rates are also available for parties of 10 or more. For more information and ticket reservations, please call the ReAct Box Office at (206)364-3283 or visit online at http://www.reactheatre.org or go to the Pork Filled Players website. 


Oh, and we've just released a video teaser:

Week 4 - An authorial visit!

The big news this week is the author, David Henry Hwang, will be coming to Seattle! (Guess that deserves an exclamation or two). 

The Pork Filled Players and Repertory Actors Theatre welcome David Henry Hwang to Seattle for the weekend of August 13. Winner of multiple Obies as well as the Tony for M. Butterfly, Hwang is in Seattle for the Pacific Northwest premiere of his play, Yellow Face (which the Players and ReAct are producing).

Hwang will first attend the 8pm, August 13 performance of Yellow Face, at the Richard Hugo House (1634 11th Ave., Seattle). Yellow Face runs August 5 to September 3, Fridays at 8 pm and Saturdays at 2 pm and 8 pm. Hwang will participate in a talkback session after the play. 

On Sunday, August 14, Hwang will be appearing at Elliot Bay Books (1521 10th Avenue, Seattle) starting at 2 pm, discussing his past works and plays, including his newest, Chinglish, now finishing up its run at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago and is now preparing for a run on Broadway.

David Hwang and Seattle actor Jojo Abaoag at the 2008 Asian American Theatre Conference

Much thanks to David for coming out to Seattle, who's had a very busy year, with versions of Yellow Face being produced in Toronto and Chicago, as well as in Seattle, a revised version of his book for the Disney musical version of Tarzan popping into Boston, plus exec producing the indie film White Frog (featuring Joan Chen, B. D. Wong and Harry Shum and written by Stanford grad Ellie Wen). Oh, yeah...and writing a brand new show, Chinglish, which he premiered at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago (great reviews), and which is being prepped for Broadway in between the trips David is making to Seattle, Minneapolis and Ashland, OR.

Wilbur Hall, Stanford

Dave Hwang and I go way back; we were college dorm mates together (I like to joke that I knew him before he had a middle name). We were theme associates together in the Asian American theme dorm at Stanford (And, no, there are no surviving pictures of those days of either me or David...at least not from me)(which is why I NEVER mention anything about incriminating photographs myself....). We did a lot of dorm-type things (part of that was doing the Stanford tradition of putting on dorm dramas---and I had the theatrical acuity of casting Dave as a drama critic). Part of our job as TAs were to design and present programming that fit the theme of Asian American culture. We all pitched in on a variety of programs and events like bringing in outside speakers and movies to show folks in the dorm. One of Dave's projects was to do a play...an original play that he wrote, called F.O.B. It later went on to be accepted at the Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference, it was picked up by Joe Papp at the Public Theatre and it won him his first Obie. And that launched his career as a playwright

  

Philip Kan Gotanda

I worked on the very first production as a lighting designer, and I was  a designer again when David directed the world premiere of Philip Kan Gotanda's Song for a Nisei Fisherman and for the West Coast premiere of his House of Sleeping Beauties. And no lie, those were great times--I remember David and Phil and their band, travelling around the Bay Area, playing their music (many of the songs written by Phil) and raising money for local Asian American community causes. Over the years, I've produced Northwest premieres of a number of his plays, including Bondage and Trying to Find Chinatown, so it was very natural for me to go and produce Yellow Face as a Northwest premiere.

It's just another step in a long association David and I have had (and will continue to have, fates willing)(and I'm just glad David puts up with me and my blathering I've done over the years on this).

What else is happening? Well, we're at the stage where designers are flitting in and out. Tonight, the costume designer came in to take measurements and help fit actors and plumb the depths of their wardrobe (which may or may not be rather shallow)(Of course, I'm not the one to talk about that.....). Nothing from sound or lights (though, I have to admit, the lighting designer is busy).

We'll talk more later.

Week 3 Getting off book

This is the point of the rehearsal process where real strides get done. While actors have sketched in the broad outlines of their characters, it's only when they've memorized their lines, and linked dialogue with action and emotion that the production can really start to emerge as a living breathing entity.

Director David Hsieh is spending this time working with blocking, working scenes one way, then changing it to try another. Scenes begin in one area of the stage, then get moved to another to serve the flow of the show. Julia Beers gets to have fun and play with a variety of accents, from Southern to "New Yawk" to Yiddish (and even gets some more outré dialog). As always, actors are ready to take notes from the director and stage manager, noting incorrect lines and developing nuances of characterization from the director. This week ends with David giving links to a wide variety of YouTube footage featuring  some of the real life folks that are being portrayed in the show, from Wen Ho Lee to B. D. Wong to Lily Tomlin to Ed Koch.

Now, on the production side, I'm busy placing PR notices on web sites, publications and other electronic media. I've written press releases, calendar entries and PSAs and placed them across the country, in a variety of different areas. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to follow up with a number of papers or stations for feature stories and photos. If I'm not lucky, I'll get my articles ignored or thrown in the trash by the local "major" counter culture publications. You have to be persistent and almost annoying in getting through to folks (not an easy thing for someone who inadvertently embodies a fair number of the stereotypical Asian personality traits).

In addition, I'm lining up group sales. Right now, I've got some deals set up with the Seattle chapter of the National Association of Asian American Professionals (I served on their board a few years back), the local chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association and Seattle Chinese Garden. Not done yet, because I hope to line up more folks.

And....we have a special announcement for next week. So we'll talk later....

So, remember, YELLOW FACE is a production of both the Pork Filled Players and Repertory Actors Theatre. It opens on Friday, August 5 and runs through Saturday, September 3 at the Richard Hugo House (1634 11th Ave in Seattle’s Capitol Hill area). Shows are 8 pm Fridays and Saturdays at 2 pm and 8 pm. Admission is $15 General Admission, $12 Students/Seniors/Artists at the door; tickets can also be purchased in advance at Brown Paper Tickets (http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/181433) for $12 General, $9 Students/Seniors/Artists. Discounted group rates are also available for parties of 10 or more. For more information and ticket reservations, please call the ReAct Box Office at (206)364-3283 or visit online at http://www.reactheatre.org or go to the Pork Filled Players website. 

Week 2 - Rehearsals go on....

Um, what happened below? Oh, well...


Four weeks, you rehearse and rehearse
Three weeks, and it couldn't be worse
One week, will it ever be right?...


Cole Porter (Yes, an old Broadway tune. No, not an indication of orientation)

Stephanie Kim and stage manager Jason Panzer.

The cast has made it past the first week of rehearsal. The adrenaline rush of diving into a new script and meeting a new cast of soon-to-be friends and acquaintances has worn off. Now, all of us have settled into the routine of rehearsal. Rehearse a scene. Take stock. Do it again. Take stock, do it again, slightly different. Do it again, taking in suggestions from the direction, and do it once again. At times, there will be a take that's DELIBERATELY exaggerated and over the top, just to get a sense of the emotional underpinnings of the scene, so THAT can be played in the future (if the exact emotional outbursts won't be).

Bit by bit, the production begins to take shape. Some actors take giant leaps to where they should be, then do a slow evolution of that. Others take gradual but even steps, knocking away the bits that don't fit until what is left will be something that fits into the overall concept of the sow. And still others work slowly, but surely, and then make a whooshing quantum leap at the end. (All the while, the director thinking, "Off book! Off book! Let's get off book! Then we can REALLY get going!").


Off stage, this is a very friendly, social cast. That's unsurprising with the folks who've worked with David and myself before, but every one's stepped into their roles with ease, like we've all been friends and worked on dozens of shows together.


Hey, new stuff! Our poster:

And some publicity shots:

So, remember, YELLOW FACE is a production of both the Pork Filled Players and Repertory Actors Theatre. It opens on Friday, August 5 and runs through Saturday, September 3 at the Richard Hugo House (1634 11th Ave in Seattle’s Capitol Hill area). Shows are 8 pm Fridays and Saturdays at 2 pm and 8 pm. Admission is $15 General Admission, $12 Students/Seniors/Artists at the door; tickets can also be purchased in advance at Brown Paper Tickets (http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/181433) for $12 General, $9 Students/Seniors/Artists. Discounted group rates are also available for parties of 10 or more. For more information and ticket reservations, please call the ReAct Box Office at (206)364-3283 or visit online at http://www.reactheatre.org or go to the Pork Filled Players website. 

We'll talk later.

We interrupt this regularly scheduled blog---

---with an important announcement!

The sketch comedy portion of the Pork Filled Players is superbly thrilled to be opening for Charles: The Ace of Bass in 2 weeks! 


Come check it out the show July 22 & 23 at the Satori Loft in Pioneer Square, as PFP joins Charles (who's in charge of the whole thing), Ubiquitous They and The DK & Morgan show for an evening of mayhem and mirth!


Satori Loft: 
619 Western Ave

Seattle, WA

Shows start at 8:30 pm!

Week One (cont.): Table work and beginnings

They aren’t the first things that happen on a production, but the first few rehearsals are considered, without question, pretty damn important. People get together, they meet, they greet and dimly, the outlines of the show-to-be starts to emerge from the first read-through of the script.

But actors don’t get up and start walking around from the first minute. The cast and crew first do table work, where the director and actors sit down and try to dig a little deeper into the text. It’s literary CSI, where we look at the explicit AND implicit in the script, figuring what the author said and didn’t say and why—then using that to inform action in the play.

Henry Y. Hwang

It’s a little more complex than usual, since YELLOW FACE is a mockumentary, based on real life. Jane Krakowski actually did star in David Henry Hwang’s FACE VALUE, and FACE VALUE actually did flop, closing before it ever opened in 1993. There actually were extensive Congressional investigations into Chinese campaign finances during the Clinton Administration (well, OK, Republicans are always acting like racist assholes). Henry Y. Hwang actually was called in front of Congress because of it. The cast and crew spent a lot of time figuring out what’s true and what’s no true. We spent even more time figuring out exactly how much of that gets on stage—either truth or fiction.

During all this, director/ReAct producer David Hsieh asks a lot of questions. This is his job as director, not to TELL the actors what to do, but to guide and enable them to do an effective performance. “Where is this meeting taking place? One of their offices, or in a public area?” “Why is he using ‘Mr. Hwang’ there and not David?” “How long were they going out and did they live together?” There is a LOT of backstory being built in this week, not only to give depth to the characters, but because a lot of characters are appearing on stage, portrayed by only a handful of actors.

Speaking of the cast, let’s meet them. Playing the pivotal role of DHH (David Henry Hwang) is veteran actor Moses Yim. A long time actor with SIS Productions and its Sex in Seattle series, Moses tackles the role with a healthy amount of trepidation about portraying an Asian American theatre icon. ‘Course, I’ll just tell what happened at one of the Junipero dorm party—deep background research and all….(Bonus fact: Moses was Teen Crush of the month last year for Seattle’s Teen Tix and has been nominated for Teen Crush of the Year).

Lee Osorio (Marcus Gee) is an experienced actor about town, though he’s new to ReAct and the Pork Filled Players. You may have seen him at Book It, or you may have seen him around the Woodland Park Zoo where he has a connection. He’s also done high level work in other cities (which makes me fall down on my knees thanking the fates we were able to cast someone of his caliber).

Stephanie Kim (Leah, Charla Chang, Margaret Fung, etc.) is also new to ReAct and Seattle, after hopscotching around the country (Florida, Chicago, Memphis et al). Stephanie is a scarily versatile actor in the show, playing characters who are in their 20s, 30s, 40s and even 60s. At one point during rehearsal, she pitched her voice just this way and inflected it just that way, and I swore I was listening to the real life woman who inspired one of the characters in YELLOW FACE.

Jeremy Behrens (Name Withheld on Advice of Counsel, etc.) is also new to Seattle, ReAct and PFP. In fact, Jeremy is so brand new that he graduated from Bradley in May, hopped on board a plane and was settled in Seattle by June. This just missed the summer of David Henry Hwang that’s now occurring in Chicago, but YELLOW FACE is more than keeping him busy.

Henry Vu (HYH, Rodney, etc.) is brand new to ReAct and PFP (hm, a very set pattern here), as he just graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in drama. Like a lot of the other actors in the cast, Henry gets to play a wide array of characters, including David Henry Hwang’s Republican activist immigrant father. It’s not exactly sketch comedy (which Pork Filled does very well), but it’s using closely related skills to quickly establish character and persona.

Julia Beers (Jane Krakowski, Lily Tomlin, etc.) is brand new to yadda yadda yadda. However, you may have seen her in Seattle in a wide variety of places, including Balagan, GreenStages, Unexpected Productions and many, many others. And she rocks a blonde wig as Jane Krakowski (see PR shots).

Agastya Kohli (Narrator, etc.) is last, but not least, because—surprise!!—he’s been a veteran performer for both Pork Filled Players and ReAct (in fact, he was in PFP’s last sketch show in May). On top of all that, he is head of Pratidhwani, the east Indian (East Indian? What's that? I think you mean Indian. Just because Columbus got lost 500 years ago does not mean I need a qualify my Indian-ness with an 'East'. There is only one Indian Ocean, and it's not near West Indies - AK) drama troupe (which co-produced ReAct’s last show, the smash hit Mother in Another Language). If that weren’t enough, Agastya sees more shows in a month than most people see in a decade; he laughs at JUST 52 shows in 52 weeks.

Whew. That’s a lot. So we’ll talk more later.