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The Ultimate Found Space Theatre Experience!

(A found space is a nontheatrical space -- the rotunda of the state capitol, a church, warehouse, courtroom, carepnters shop -- which is used for production. Typically the space is chosen because of its context to the play: Shakespeare's Julius Caesar at the capitol, The Passion Play in a church, Inherit the Wind in a courtroom, etc. For more info on different types of theatre spaces, go here.)

Almost, Maine is almost here!

It's a dark weekend at MET - that means we don't have any shows playing. Which also means it's time for a work call! On Saturday, we came in for several hours to get ready for our next mainstage show, Almost, Maine.

This is the Almost, Maine set, from designer Joann Lee.

After all set pieces and props have been cleared, the first task is to paint everything - the walls, floor, center column -everything, black. Reiner and Mak paint over the blue and white swirls from The Snow Queen.

Gené paints the wall.

Joann draws the skyline for Almost, Maine.

Pat McDonald and Joann cut out the skyline.

Tad broke something. Mark tries to help fix it. In the end, this piece of equipment was put back together with fast-drying epoxy and camouflage duct tape. It was a sight to behold.

Karen puts away costumes from our last show.

Rona puts away fabric pieces.

Julie is excited by all the progress in the costume shop!

Of course, we couldn't just have one thing happening at MET! During the work call, our next Fun Company show, Ma Lien and the Magic Paintbrush, had rehearsal. Ma Lien is a traditional Chinese folk tale, adapted for the stage by MET Associate Artistic Director Gené Fouché and directed by ensemble member Ali Lepelletier.

MET Wii Band: Crapdip

Our Wii Band sings "White Wedding." We have Gené Fouché on guitar, Lorrie Tripp on Drums, Carey Rausch on bass and Tad Janes on vocals.

Beach Retreat: Workshop

During workshops, we often play games. These games are almost always a lot of fun, but the point is to hone our skills and add tools to our toolboxes. In this game, only one person can make noise or move at a time, which teaches listening skills and makes us think about how we make choices: are we dominant, do we acquiesce, etc? The goal is to stop thinking about what we're personally doing and focus on completing the game as a group; to give ourselves over to the collaborative, creative process that is theatre.

Beach Retreat!

We're at our annual beach retreat! Each year we spend a week in Surfside Beach, SC working on MET stuff. We hold workshops, read plays, talk about the future of MET, go on fun excursions, eat, play games and generally bond. This year we're coming off a couple of really super busy months with our four holiday shows, so we've spent a lot of time just relaxing and recharging.

I had intended to do a blog post each day, but I've been too busy doing nothing(!), so here's a brief recap of our week:

At the beach we play a lot of games!

We also formed our own Wii band: Crapdip. Here we have Carey Rausch, Tad Janes, Peter Wray and Ken Poisson.

We've taken lots of walks on the beach.

And here's the leaping photo of the year! Gené makes it across the beach stream.

We went to Brookgreen Gardens, which is a delightful sculpture garden.

Tad and Gené at Brookgreen.

In addition to the many amazing sculptures, Brookgreen has amazing grounds - ponds, pools, huge trees, etc and lots of animals.

We got our nails done! We had to drag Ken there, but his first mani/pedi experience has inspired him to make the nail salon a weekly visit.

We read aloud some plays that are being considered for next season.

Ken and Sarah Shulman wear inexplicable heardgear.

Lorrie Tripp and Sarah Straw put a puzzle together. We've done about 10 puzzles this week!

For more photos, check out Karen's Facebook albums.

A MET DISCO CHRISTMAS

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