Last night, the cast and crew of 1001 finally had the pleasure of letting the outside world into the fascinating and complex world of Jason Grote's fantastic play. Of course if you missed it last night, you still have 7 more chances to see this show, however seating is limited and tickets are selling fast, so buy them now. No seriously. Now. Here.
Now of course opening night and inviting the audience in for the run of this show is, in many ways, what theatre is all about; this production, however, has been months and months in the making. As a treat for you, Blogfriends, and in thanks and gratification to the incredibly talented folks who have worked so hard on this show, I present to you today's 1001 Cast Member Blog. Join cast member Naomi Place as she takes you on a journey to the journey of 1001. Too meta?
Take it away, Naomi...
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Hello! My name is Naomi and I am a featured belly dancer and ensemble member in 1001. Although this is my first experience participating in a performing arts production at Howard Community College, I am not by any means new to the stage.
As you may know, the play 1001 is about storytelling. Whether the story takes place in the past, present, or future is irrelevant (as playwright Jason Grote has shown in this work). I wanted to use this entry to tell a little story about the demands of a performance of this caliber, and about the outstanding crew who is organizing it, as they simply are the backbone of this show.
Each individual scene is blocked and meticulously tweaked by our amazing and extremely patient director, Kasi Campbell. Dancers attend an additional 2 or more rehearsals per week to learn and polish choreography. The entire cast meets together at least 3 times a week (for a minimum of 3 hours) to run through the show in its entirety. The average cast member contributes 20+ hours per week to rehearse this play. Add to that the fact that we are all full time students, and many of us are involved in concurrent productions, and/or have jobs, children, pets, et cetera.
Our crew is the best. Not only do they put in the time and dedication as the cast does, but they help organize everything from schedules to sets, costumes, music, props, audio-visual and more. For me personally, one of the greatest pleasures has been to work with stage manager Erin Drum. She has shown to be the most level-headed, patient, and organized professional I have worked with in quite some time. I’m sure the entire cast will agree. Thank you Erin!
The story I tell may not be the most exciting one, as it happens behind the scenes where no one is looking; however, it is one of the most important, and it needed to be told. I hope you, your friends, and family make it to the play and get to see how our phenomenal crew has perfected the task of making something so challenging, look simple and beautiful! See you there!
