Doll's House Update

Together with the rest of the nation, Nora is beginning to understand that borrowing money is not such an uncomplicated matter after all. She is desperately looking for someone to bail her out, while Krogstad is struggling to keep his job at the bank. Kristine Linde has been laid off, and has come to town in search for a new job and a better life, while Dr Rank is well aware that he is dying from cancer. In the background Torvald, Nora’s husband, thinks that life is just wonderful.

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As always, there’s a lot happening at the MET. Ibsen’s “Doll’s House”, which changed the history of theatre in 1879, is getting a contemporary, American makeover. Even though the play was more shocking in 1879, it is still a very relevant piece of theatre, and it fits surprisingly well into today’s American society.

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Tad Janes, Gené Fouché, Vibeke Havre and Michelle Simms warm up with the Doll's House kids. © 2008 Joe Williams

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Why modernize, you may ask, if it’s more shocking in its original context? A Doll’s House was not written as an historical piece; on the contrary, it introduced realism to the theatre. Ibsen wanted the audience to identify with the actors, and feel that the stage was an extension of their own living room.

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So, in Ibsen’s spirit, it was decided to translate the play into modern American. As there are no modern translations of a Dolls House available, the MET asked if I wanted to translate it into modern English. This was an opportunity I could not turn down. I started working on the translation in April, and by the end of July the first edition was ready.

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Vibeke talks about a scene with Lena Janes, Sophie Stratyner and Nadya Downs. © 2008 Joe Williams

On the 15th September I came Frederick and started adapting the play to modern American together with the cast: Gené Fouché as Nora, Brian Irons as Torvald, Julie Herber as Kristine Linde, Jim Page as Nils Krogstad, Reiner Prochaska as Dr Rank, Michelle Simms as Anne Marie, and the director: Tad Janes. First of all we have Americanized the text, all the time making sure that the character’s intentions are the same as in the original.

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Director Tad Janes. © 2008 Joe Williams

To make the play more appropriate for today’s American society, we’ve made some changes to the original script. Dr Rank is not dying from syphilis, as this illness is no longer as widespread as it was at the end of the 19th century. And instead of having the Helmers going all the way to Italy, we have chosen a country closer to the United States. As a result, Nora’s Tarantella has been substituted with another dance. These adjustments are all aimed at making the script more relevant to an American audience. Although it may seem like we have changed a lot, we have only added a couple of sentences to the original script, changed some words and cut some parts.

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Gené (Nora) and Julie Heber (Kristine Linde) rehearse. © 2008 Joe Williams

This Saturday we started working on the scenes with the children. We have 7 kids that will alternate, performing two at a time. We started by improvising the scenes with the children, who all are excellent performers.

This far the process of adapting the piece has been an absolute joy, thanks to great teamwork and the wonderful people at the MET. It’s great to see how the play transforms into a contemporary American piece of theatre!

- Vibeke Havre, the MET’s Norwegian affiliate

Pigs!

Howdy to all our friends and neighbors in Pigland!
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Yes, it's true that I'm taking over as artistic director for the Pigs. But if you're thinking "coup d'etat", you couldn't be more wrong. Well, OK, I guess you could misspell it, and that would be a LITTLE more wrong. And you could mispronounce it - that would technically be even more wrong. You could also get the name of the troupe wrong, which would kind of make the entire thing completely unintelligible, and that would be a LOT more wrong, and also pointless.
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But I digress.
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Denny's been doing yeoman's work for us for the past few years, writing, performing and doing the director thing - and you MET regulars have been seeing him on the main stage on a pretty regular basis as well. So at our Piggy retreat this summer it was no surprise when Denny told us that he'd like to re-focus his considerable energies on performing and pass the directorship onto a fresh pair of hands. We talked about it a bit, and somewhere along the line I volunteered.
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Why, you ask? Well, why not?
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My first experience with the MET was as a student in one of the first adult improv classes the school offered. One thing led to another, as things are wont to do, and eventually I started writing for and ultimately performing with the Pigs. It's been a long strange trip. Along the way I took more classes at the MET and also at Comedy Sportz when they were down in Alexandria, as well as doing my own music-director thing in and around town.
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Short form improv has always been my first love, so the opportunity to rediscover it from the director's point of view is very exciting. I'll be spending a lot of time over the next few weeks snuggled up with various improv books and websites, collecting new games for us to play and looking for ways for the Comedy Pigs to polish up our show and expand our comfort zones - individually and collectively.
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This is building up to be a great season for the pigs - our third original sketch show production is just starting to take shape, we've got new blood in the group bringing new talents, new points of view and fresh enthusiasm to the party, and we're as energized by the recent MET growth spurt as everyone else around here is. I hope you'll join us for the ride!
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Bring sandwiches.
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-Anne Raugh 22 September 2008

Team "A Doll's House"

A Doll's House has completed the first week of rehearsal! Here's team A Doll's House, all photos taken at the first read thru on Tuesday, September 17th:

Translator Vibeke Havre. © 2008 Joe Williams

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Director and set designer Tad Janes. © 2008 Joe Williams

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Gené Fouché as Nora. © 2008 Joe Williams

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Brian Irons as Torvald. © 2008 Joe Williams

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Jim Page as Krogstad. © 2008 Joe Williams

.Reiner Prochaska as Dr. Rank. © 2008 Joe Williams
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Julie Herber as Kristine Linde. © 2008 Joe Williams
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Michelle Simms as the au pair, Anne-Marie. © 2008 Joe Williams

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Sound Designer Tom Majarov. © 2008 Joe Williams

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Costume Designer Sherry Shaner

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Stage Manager Sarah Straw. © 2008 Joe Williams

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Not pictured are Props Mistress Lorrie Tripp (the only photos of her from the read thru are of the back of her head!), lighting designer Karina Wright and Assistant Stage Manager Sarah Shulman. Also missing are the children. The roles of Nora and Torvald's children have been double cast, so we have some kids from The Ensemble School who will join us: Nadya Downs, Lena Janes, Jackie Brinkman, Sarah Deleonibus, Sophie Stratyner, Elissa Dallimore and Amber Joglar.

Why would you want to update "A Doll's House"!?!?!

From MET Producing Director Tad Janes:
Originally, the MET company decided we wanted to produce "A Doll's House" and we were just looking for the right translation. After reading some of the "older, crunchier" translations (no royalties- there!), I started to veer off into some of the more recent translations because I thought they would play better to a modern American audience.
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CUT TO: Last January, the MET had our annual winter retreat in South Carolina and we had the honor of housing a "guest artist," Vibeke Havre a theatre artist from Norway who studied in London and was working in Barcelona. During the week, MET company members and Vibeke bounced games, exercises, philosophies, and fun around and we had a very productive, enlightening, and successful retreat.
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First rehearsals for all MET shows include a potluck dinner with cast, production crew and MET friends and a first reading of the script. For A Doll's House, MET board member Dan Kuebbing and his wife Sharon graciously invited us to hold this special night at their home. We had a fabulous dinner and a wonderful time being together. At the table, clockwise from the top: Kayte Williams, Tad Janes (director), Vibeke Havre (translator), Lorrie Tripp (props), Jim Page (Krogstad) and Joe Williams (documentation). Standing behind the table is Karen Paone.

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Soon after the retreat, the thought dawned on me: Instead of paying royalties for a translation, why not pay a translator? So, one evening at Cafe' Nola, a group of our company members sat around and discussed the feasibility of this idea. We knew Vibeke knew Norwegian, did her thesis on "A Doll's House" and was a theatre artist that we respected and one who shared our aesthetic. After some creative financing sessions, we realized that it would cost the MET about the same to bring Vibeke to the US to work on this piece as it would to pay for a translation. It would also allow the MET to "put it's stamp" on the translation and production, and open up possibilities for further productions of the script, both from the MET and from outside theatre companies. AND, it would give us a great opportunity to work with an international artist and create excitement for this 129 year old play!

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Around the table, clockwise from left: Gené Fouché (Nora), Merch McDonald, Milee McDonald, Sharon Kuebbing, Tom Majarov (sound designer) and Michelle Simms (Anne-Marie)

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But what about the "update?" Women have more rights now! It's not "shocking!"

Vibeke was really interested in the concept of updating the script to create a "modern American" version of the script. I became really interested in this concept as well! So, although the play is really about the empowerment of a woman- it's also about the family relationship and how traditional roles are changing. Some thoughts and ideas about how it might fit into 2008 would be setting it in a place like Saudi Arabia- where women do still play a much "lower status" role than men- but, we knew casting that for us would be difficult. Also, the thought of taking on the roles from "inside the trailer park" would work! But, we felt that we visited that often in last year's season.

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Jim Hochadel and Brian Irons (Torvald) chat on the Kuebbing's back porch. The view was amazing!

.But, do some women still have the "traditional role" in families these days? Are there families where the husband is an "Alpha male" and the thought of running a household without a wife terrifying? Do some women in today's society get married early, opt out of higher education, raise a family, have the "model home" yet find themselves trapped? Would a woman leave this situation?

Tom Majarov, Karen Paone, Mark Barnhart and Lorrie Tripp

.When we began to ask questions those and other questions, we find that this play can still be very accessible for a modern audience and would fit well in our current climate- not to mention issues like health care, the mortgage crisis, living beyond your means, etc.
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We settle in for the reading in the Kuebbing's comfortable living room.

How did you meet Vibeke in the first place? Actually, Vibeke was on a Rotary exchange. This is program where Rotary International brings people from other cultures to a host country for 4-5 weeks to gain an understanding of that culture. I met Vibeke through the Rotary Club of Carroll Creek. I was charged with showing her around Frederick and taking her to some the theatre venues. We hit it off because we found we had a similar background- although I grew up in West Virginia, worked in Chicago, now in Frederick; she grew up in Bergen, Norway, worked in London, and was now in Barcelona. We also both have a strong connection to ensemble based theatre.

. Gené Fouché, Julie Herber (Kristine) and Jim Page. Dan Kuebbing sits behind the couch.
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During her Rotary trip to Maryland, she kept changing her itinerary to come back to Frederick. Once to visit our ensemble Saturday morning workshops, once to see "Urinetown," and, eventually, Gene' and I would meet up with Vibeke and her partner, Richard, in Manhattan for dinner and a show some weeks later. We've kept in touch, and that year we invited her to the South Carolina retreat, but, she couldn't come. The next year she did! And that loops us back to the beginning of the story!!!

Getting Hitched!

METsters Amy and Matt were married on Saturday! Almost every ensemble member was on hand to celebrate! We were all dressed in our fancy clothes, and we kept looking at each other and saying that we didn't recognize each other in real clothes!

Karen Paone and Pat McDonald

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Ken Poisson and Reiner Prochaska

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Sherry and Jay Shaner

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Amy and Matt, exchanging vows

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The METsters took up 4 tables! Left to right around the table: Sherry, Mark Barnhart, Lorrie and Hank Tripp, Milee and Merch McDonald (who won the bride's bouquet for being the longest-married couple in attendance: 40 years!) Jack, Jeanine Collins and Jay Shaner
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Left to right around the table: Denny Grizzle, Allison Lepelletier, Jon Paul Duvall, Sophie Arrick-Lewis and Bubby Lewis, Reiner, Ken, Rona Mensah, Pat and Karen
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Joann Lee, Sarah Shulman (trying to hide!), Celia Lee (also trying to hide!) Diana Wright, Dean the Younger Wright, Dean the Older Wright, Karina Wright, Gené Fouché and Tad Janes
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Dan, Alison Shafer, David Porterfield, Karen Martin, Caroline Cash, Ben Harris, Charlie Smith, Kayte and Joe Williams and Julie Herber

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The Bride and Groom enter!
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Amy and Matt talk with guests
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And then there was dancing: Reiner and Jon Paul get down. Maid of Honor and ensemble member Lisa Burl and Ali look on.
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Karen and Reiner


It was a lovely wedding and a fabulous party, we ensemble members rarely have time to see each other outside of shows and rehearsals, so in addition to celebrating our friends' marriage we really enjoyed the opportunity to just be together.

Incorruptible Show Photos

MET's production of Incorruptible: A Dark Comedy About the Dark Ages by Michael Hollinger is up and running!

Our production crew:

Director: Gené Fouché*

Stage Manager: Ken Possion*

ASM& Lighting Design: Carey Rausch*

Sound Design: Tom Majarov*

Costume Design: Julie Herber*

Set Design: Joann Lee*

Props: Milee McDonald*

Cast:

Charles, Abbot: Reiner Prochaska*

Brother Martin: Tad Janes*

Brother Olf: Richard Cole

Brother Felix: Mark Barnhart*

Peasant Women: Karen Paone*

Jack: Denny Grizzle

Marie: Bette Cassatt

Agatha: Julie Herber*

*MET Ensemble Member

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Some show photos, all taken by Misti Morningstar :

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Tad Janes, Reiner Prochaska and Richard Cole

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Tad Janes and Karen Paone

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Bette Cassatt and Denny Grizzle

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Mark Barnhart

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Reiner Prochaska

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The chase scene!

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Tad Janes and Mark Barnhart

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Julie Herber and Tad Janes

Arts and Economic Prosperity

The City of Frederick Department of Economic Development, The Downtown Frederick Partnership and the Frederick Arts Council have partnered to prepare a report on the economic impact the arts has in Frederick City. This study involved surveys from 28 local arts nonprofits, including MET, and surveys from almost 800 Frederick arts patrons.

The report, presented today in a joint press conference, shows the economic impact arts organizations have on our community - how much arts organizations spend in our community, the number of jobs created, the revenue generated from arts patron spending in nearby restaurants and shops, etc. You can read the whole report here, or for a quick summary, go here.

We all know that the arts contribute significantly to the quality of life we enjoy here in Frederick, but it's also great to see the hard numbers of how we as artists are helping to grow our community.

Comedy Pigs open Baltimore Improv Festival!

The Comedy Pigs performed at the Baltimore Improv Festival on July 31st, to a packed house and a fabulous crowd!
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Hamming it up onstage before their set: Anne Raugh, Wendy Donigian, Paula Pitts, James McGarvey, Laura Stark, Tres Dillon & Allison Lepelletier. Photo by Jon Paul Duvall.

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Held at The Creative Alliance at The Patterson Theater, the festival is produced by the Baltimore Improv Group (BIG). A variety of local, regional, and nationally-known improv groups performed over the course of the weekend, and The Pigs had the fun spot of kicking off the festival's opening night!

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Wendy, James & Paula playing The Pig's new version of "Scene Styles". Photo by Mikael Johnson.
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Along for the ride were the Pig techies, Dan & Jon Paul, and #1 Pig Fan, Chuck!

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Ali, Tres, James & Anne sing a game of "Do-Wop" to finish off their set. Photo by Mikael Johnson.
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Also, if you have not checked out The Comedy Pig's myspace page recently, it has been updated with some new photos, and the 2008-09 season show dates!

Why we don't have a show this Saturday

This coming weekend is the second of MET's production of Incorruptible by Michael Hollinger. But on Saturday night, we won't be having a show. Why? Because we'll all be at the wedding of Amy Easton and Matt Baughman, two MET Ensemble Members! Matt and Amy became engaged on stage after the final performance of Red Herring, which was our season opener in 0708 (and also written by Michael Hollinger!). Here is the big moment:


And now, a year later, an even bigger moment has come. On Saturday night, Matt and Amy will exchange vows, and their MET family will be there to celebrate with them. Cheers!

Vegas comes to the MET dressing room!

During tech week, you'd think the stage managers would be too busy for showgirl antics! But not Ken Poisson and Carey Rausch!
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Ken combines his love of Star Wars with a flare for Vegas exhibitionism!

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Emo Showgirl Carey Rausch

Chairs from PNC Bank

Today we received more furniture for our new offices! One of our Fun Company sponsors, PNC Bank, was reorganizing their offices and had stuff to give away to nonprofits. Before this trip, we desperately needed chairs. Fortunately, PNC had many that fit our needs.

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Stacey Collins, from PNC, holds the door for Mark Barnhart.

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We scored some great matching chairs that will look awesome in our new conference room, a couple of rolling desk chairs and some occasional chairs.
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Mark helps load Marilyn's van

We also ran into an old MET friend - Marilyn Orsinger. She was also at PNC to pick up donated furniture for a nonprofit arts organization - The Delaplaine.

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Stacey holds the door for Marilyn, who was very excited about tables with wheels!

Mark Barnhart, Milee McDonald, Marilyn Orsinger and Stacey Collins

Once again company member Milee McDonald came through with a truck - thanks Milee (and Merch)!

Milee's truck, all loaded up.

.It was raining off and on today, but we lucked out and managed to get everything back to the MET without getting wet. We started to unload our goodies, and I found out that one of the chairs was too heavy for me...and dropped it:

Milee helps me recover the dropped chair, but we're both laughing too hard!

Thank you Stacey and PNC, our chair needs have been met and we have almost everything we need to make our new space functional!