Center Theatre Group Blog

Mike Sablone is CTG’s Literary Associate, starting left fielder and third-string shortstop for Dark Monday, the CTG softball team.

I told myself like I always do: it will be a quick weekend of shows in New York. I’ll go in, catch BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON at the Public, see two more shows, then fly back, refreshed.

Per usual, that plan got thrown out immediately once I looked at what else was playing.

The thought process went something like this:

“Jesus! CORALINE is in previews?!?! David Greenspan, Stephin Merritt, Neil Gaiman AND Leigh Silverman? Did they design this show specifically for me? I have to see this. Right away. In fact I’ll land Friday at 5, go directly to the theater and then my trip will be off to a great start (which proved to be true)…”

And then it’s:

“Jenny Mudge! I’ve got to see her in THE PHILANTHROPIST! I’ve known her forever! We go way back! I can catch a Saturday matinee of that show…”

Which was then chased by:

“Wait, I can see all three of Tarell McCraney’s plays at the McCarter under the title THE BROTHER/SISTER PLAYS on Sunday? His plays are hauntingly beautiful and I can only hope that the productions do his vision justice (I was not let down. They are gorgeous productions of stunning plays, especially IN THE RED AND BROWN WATER.)…”

Which was quickly followed by:

“Wait, they added a Monday evening performance for 33 VARIATIONS? Written and directed by Moisés Kaufman, featuring much of the design team for our BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO? Regardless of all of that (which was enough for me to see the show), it has an old friend of mine, Scott Barrow, in an ensemble track. I mean he was my roommate for two years in New York. We shared a one bedroom apartment that had a shower in the living room which was also the kitchen. And two years earlier I had to go on for him in a show I was stage managing when he sliced his knee open on tour. Why would I not see this show? Plus if I go on Monday I can tell them about the (justifiably) good reviews for BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO…”

And then it’s Tuesday and I’m seeing JACKSON for the second time. Five days. 8 shows. Not sleeping. But seeing talented people in wonderful shows back to back to back to back to…well you get it.

Which equals me arriving back in Los Angeles this past Wednesday. Satiated, but frigging exhausted.

It was completely worth it.

Next week I devote an entire blog entry to BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON: THE CONCERT VERSION.

Here’s a sneak preview: it’s frigging awesome.

Actor Glenn Davis plays Tom, an American soldier, in the upcoming Kirk Douglas Theatre world premiere production of Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo by Rajiv Joseph and directed by Moisés Kaufman. He will be contributing to the CTG blog periodically as the show gets ready for the stage.

So we are in the stretch run now. We finished tech (which was a BEAST to say the LEAST) and we are now rehearsing during the day and previewing at night. Every night, the show gets stronger it seems.

We’re finding the nuance in our performances now, which is great. It’s like the final phase of the show just before you open. It feels great to just run the show after such a long tech. We open on Sunday so we still have a few more performances to get it right. We have also been flirting with different endings. With a new play, especially one this profound, it’s fairly common for the writer to give the actors rewrites all the way up until opening, in some cases beyond. I was lucky enough to sit in on the rehearsal process for August Wilson’s King Hedley II at the Goodman when I was in Theatre School. He would give actors rewrites the day of opening. It was funny in a way, but I remember thinking that those actors were brave. Now I think to myself, “it’s what we do”. It’s actually kinda fun for me. It adds a sense of danger. What makes theatre so thrilling, essentially, is the notion that something can go wrong. It’s like walking a tight rope. 

Of course you don’t want the person to fall, but the mere possibility that they could, is why you watch them in the first place. THE MOMENT is something artists talk about often. It’s what we live for. So, that said, I like getting new pages. It’s a challenge to find the structure of the scene, the character, the MOMENTS as quickly as possible. Deadlines make the world go round. So Rajiv has one, Moisés has one, and we have one. We all know it’s there but we rarely talk about it in those terms. And when it’s fast approaching, you see what you are really made of, as well as the artists around you. It’s supremely scary and thrilling all at once.

So yeah… we open on Sunday and we are in a great place with the show. The previewing audiences seem to really enjoy it. Sometimes it’s alarming how well they take it. There are moments in the play that one does not see as funny when reading or even rehearsing, for example. But those are things you don’t count on as an actor; or at least you try not to. I find that it does not help me to presume an audience will laugh at something that I may think is funny. Once I do, I’m dead. Moisés is waaay better at detecting funny moments in the play. He will say, “they will laugh at this”, and I go, “really, u think so?” I may even think to myself, “they are NOT gonna laugh at that”. Sure enough, they laugh. Needless to say, that is why Moisés is a director and I’m not.

The audiences have been really great thus far and I’m excited every night as we negotiate the storytelling with them. It’s a dance between us and them. We are all extremely excited to be a part of this world premiere and looking forward to opening night. As Brad would say, “It’s gonna be rad”. He also uses the word, “narly” from time to time. I know what you’re thinking. I don’t get it either. But, that’s my boy.

Arian Moayed portrays Musa in the upcoming Kirk Douglas Theatre world premiere production of Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo. He will be blogging for CTG periodically and tweeting as well: you can follow him at twitter.com/ArianMoayed.

About to go into a rehearsal before Preview #4. Boy oh boy. It’s been a roller coaster. I’ve been so excited with all the re-writes. Last night we got rewrites at 4:30pm…that had to be implemented into last nights performance. We had to do it with a script in hand. That is the first time that’s happened to me but the audience really seemed to enjoy last nights performance and weren’t thrown by the new pages.

Some nice lady came up to me and started crying after the performance. It had really moved her and I didn’t really know what to say. I just said thank you and thank you and thank you. Theater can really be powerful. This play has that ability.

This is a wonderful play. I can’t say enough about it. I’m truly blessed to be working with such great designers, crew members and actors. CTG is wonderful.

Who knows what will happen for tonights performance? Maybe we’ll have more new pages…

Arian

PS: I’m still TWEETING at my account. Check me out at twitter.com/arianmoayed

Actor Glenn Davis plays Tom, an American soldier, in the upcoming Kirk Douglas Theatre world premiere production of Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo by Rajiv Joseph and directed by Moisés Kaufman. He will be contributing to the CTG blog periodically as the show gets ready for the stage. 

Wussup,

So we are on lunch break from rehearsal.  It’s our first day of tech.

The rest of the cast went out to this Indian vegan restaurant.  I passed… I had a sandwich earlier and I just am not that excited about no meat/dairy, etc.  I am sitting in the dressing room on my laptop typing away. I don’t mind at all.  A few moments alone is never a bad idea in the midst of so much interaction with other artists… actors specifically.  Thats not a joke, btw.  Love my cast though… 

LOVE LOVE LOVE.

Moisés’ show got nominated for 5 Tony Awards yesterday.  It’s called 33 Variations and it’s starring Jane Fonda.  Go see it.  I hear it’s fantastic.  Anyway, he was pretty excited about that.  He himself was nominated for BEST PLAY.  Our lighting and scenic designers, David Lander and Derek McLane were nominated for BEST LIGHTING DESIGN of a PLAY and Best SCENIC DESIGN of a PLAY, respectively. Congrats to all 3 of them.  Where I’m from, when something like that happens, we say, “that’s wussup”.  So, in other words, I’m surrounded by genius.  We just started tech a few hours ago and things are coming together so quickly and rather seamlessly.

This morning I told Moisés something that I tell every director I work with on the first day of tech.  I say, “I love this part!”  They always go, “Tech?”, with a rather quizzical look on their face.  He did the same.  Yup… I love tech.  It’s my favorite part of any show.  

It’s when everything comes together, not because of destiny or some preordained assertion.  No, it does, simply because it has to.  It’s when you get to see what everyone has been working on the last month or so while you have been toiling away in the rehearsal hall, or the costume shop, or design shop (I guess?), or the actual theatre.  It’s when everyone says to everyone else, “this is what I’ve come up with… now how do we make it all work?”  That is the spectacular part of the theatre to me; that and the few seconds between the time the lights go down at the beginning of a show and when the lights go up on the stage and you get your first glimpse of what these artists have to offer you as an audience.  It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.  I have to say, these are the moments that make it all worth it as an artist.  Give me a second to indulge myself in my own history as an artist.  Chris Jones, a Chicago Tribune theatre critic taught me that.  When I was in Theatre School at DePaul University, he was my History of Dramatic Literature teacher.  Every once in a while, he would take me to the opening night of a play.  One night, he took me to see a play and right when the lights when down, he leaned over to me and said, in a British accent of course, “This is the most exhilarating part of the theatre”.  We never talked about that moment, but all at once, it hit me that he was right.  It’s why we go - for that moment.  The hope that what we are about to see is going to change us, or at least conjure something in us, whether that be emotional, philosophical, or just pure laughter.  I love that moment.

So… where was I.  Thanks for regaling my digression, btw.  So I say that about tech every first day.  And I tell the director, as I told Moisés, to remind me of that on the 4th or fifth day of tech, when my head is ready to explode because of all the waiting and stop and go.  

Tech is always tough, and we have a few tricks in this show so I’m  assuming it will be tedious, as Moisés has warned.  But that said, the first part of rehearsal has gone pretty well.  The set looks great. 

The lighting of the top of the play looks fantastic as well.  You see why these guys are Tony nominees.  The costumes and the sound are both done quite well.  One feels inclined to “act” as well as one is being lit and costumed in a production like this.  It’s really great.

Rajiv was in NYC for something over the weekend so he is back with us now till opening I presume.  Good to have him back… the guy is something like a genius.  And Moisés is the mastermind (goes without saying that he is a genius).  Naaamean?  Moisés has to leave to NYC again today because of the Tony nomination.  Something to do with that, I think.  But fret not, he is only missing the second half of today.  He is back for the start of rehearsal tomorrow.  The guy is a beast!  TRUST!  From day one, you can just tell what he is doing.  And he has assembled a great cast for this show as well.  There is not a weak link in this show.  It’s just a superb cast across the board.  I love coming to work everyday.  Did I say work?  Cuz it never feels like it.  I love coming to “play” everyday.  This whole experience is a dream.  Maybe thats why they have me blogging about it.

Arian Moayed portrays Musa in the upcoming Kirk Douglas Theatre world premiere production of Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo. He will be blogging for CTG periodically and tweeting as well: you can follow him at twitter.com/ArianMoayed.

Bengal Tiger: About to go into a pretty intense week of TECH. I’m pretty excited about the design of this show. When you enter the stage door of the Kirk Douglas, you have two ways to get to the rehearsal room, which is upstairs and actually above the main entrance of the theater. One way, is to go up the front stairs and the other is to go through the theater. Well, now that the Bengal Tiger stage has been built, I always go through the theater. Wait till you check out what Derek McLane has done to this space. It’s absolutely beautiful. The arch-way, the crumbling mud walls, the beauty and devastation of Baghdad will increase the haunting elements of this play.

Rest. Rest. Rest. Sleep. Sleep. Sleep. Because this will be a long week…

Also, I’ll be tweeting the entire tech, while on stage. Check me out at twitter.com/ArianMoayed. I’ll also tag this whole process, #BTATBZ. A new experience for all of us.

Actor Glenn Davis plays Tom, an American soldier, in the upcoming Kirk Douglas Theatre world premiere production of Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo by Rajiv Joseph and directed by Moisés Kaufman. He will be contributing to the CTG blog periodically as the show gets ready for the stage.

So we’re rehearsing on a Saturday afternoon and it is absolutely thrilling. Moisés just got back from NYC. He was there to speak at an event.  Jimmy, his asst., led rehearsal yesterday. We had a run- through of the show and it was great.

This play is extremely satisfying in every sense. It’s exhilarating for everyone in the room it seems. I was telling Arian, who plays Musa, just how pleasing it is to come to work every day and feel like you are a part of something. It never feels like work actually. Every once in a while, an actor is handed a script that you just can’t put down until you finish reading. I must have read it 5 times before we started.

We’re all ready to jump into tech. We just saw the set and the cage for the tiger. It’s pretty amazing. The lighting looks great. Everything is just coming together nicely. The more they tell us not to get onto the stage the more everyone wants to get up there. Moisés tells us his techs are notoriously brutal so I’m sure we will get our fix fairly quickly.