14 Days till Summer in Hell

About a year ago, the members of Brimmer Street began the first ever Blueprint Series: a development workshop that brings writers into our actor's studio with the goal of creating new work for our ensemble. From that series four plays were born including Leiris/Picasso, which we presented earlier this year.

We're very proud to announce the mainstage production of the second of those projects, Summer in Hell, written by company member Miles Brandman. The team has been hard at work bringing this play to the stage...you'll recognize company members Tyler Jenich, Amy K. Harmon, Dan Gordon and Melissa Powell on stage, as well as the directorial stylings of our own David Jette.

Join us over the next two weeks here on our blog as we take Summer in Hell from the rehearsal room to the stage. We'll include stories, photos and videos about the rehearsal process, set build, tech week and finally the performances themselves. We encourage you to comment and let us know what you want to see...and when it's up and ready to be seen, we hope you'll also join us at the theatre!

Thanks for tuning in,

Michael.

PS: Find out more about the show on our website: www.BrimmerStreet.org!

Ten Long Years

It has been ten long years since I have have acted in anything longer than fifteen minutes...and man is it a lot of work! I totally forgot! The day after the first rehearsal I was absolutely destroyed - my legs were sore, my throat hurt, I was exhausted. WTF? (To be fair, the first ten minutes of this play are basically spent with me running back and forth across the stage, tripping many times, getting punched in the face and falling down a flight of stairs...so let's not be too harsh.)

I used to do shows quite a bit! I was involved with a company in Pittsburgh throughout High School and was cast in a couple of their mainstage shows in some really nice theaters. I used to train six days a week from noon to 5pm, then have rehearsals from 6 to 11 - I was a musical theater machine! However, all of that went wayside when I stopped pursuing acting and started pursuing the production side of things (not that the production side doesn't come with its own challenges, mind you).

Anyway, I'm happy to report that after a week of rehearsals, I'm starting to catch my breath. However, last night's rehearsal (while less physically taxing) was a good reminder of what still lies ahead. Despite the incredible amount of work it will require, I cannot wait to begin the truly farcical sequence in this play: the utterly chaotic (and hilarious) play-within-the-play at the top of the second act. We have set the stage for some great magic and some incredible comedy. Let us make the soup!!

PS: Here are some photos from shows I did ten years ago!

"Annie" at the Byham Theater in Pittsburgh (1999 maybe?)

"Man of La Mancha" (2000??) (I don't remember what theater....)

(note the bandage on my foot! I broke my toe mid-performance and wrapped it up in some cloth to get through! What a fucking trooper!)

Our Tour of Mexican Restaurants PART 2!

This project has taught me a lot of things...including the names of every taco stand east of Vermont.  You may recall we decided early on to have each production meeting in a different Mexican restaurant in Silverlake - a task that turned out to be relatively easy.

Sadly, last night was our last stop...but what a treat it's been.  We could certainly keep going as we barely scratched the surface of what Silverlake has to offer...but we'll leave that for our next production!

 
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Week #6:  MALO

This place was fan-CY!  Perhaps a little too fancy for me.  I had a delicious quesadilla though.  And about 20 pounds of chips.

Week #7: Barragan's

I never understood why this Mexican place has the name of an Irish place.  Regardless, we had a great time at Barragan's.  The waitress was so friendly to us, even though we can be sort of a demanding group.  And if I remember correctly, the burritos came with eggs on top!  Crazy! 

Week #8: El Chavo

I think this ranks as one of my favorites - though Joseph had to go to bat with the manager to get them to split our check for us!  Again, we're a demanding group.

Week #9: The Best Fish Taco in Ensenada

I eat here all the time, so this was like coming home for me.  I can't say enough good things about TBFTiE.  It was the perfect place for our last meeting...quiet, informal, it was more like tacos with friends than a production meeting.  

And that's it!  Our tour of Silverlake Mexican restaurants has come to a close...Unless we decide to order in during tech week....do they have Mexican places in Koreatown???  Anyway: we hope you've enjoyed following along as much as we've enjoyed actually doing it!