10....8....5....3....2.........

Huh? Is this some math-challenged countdown to the new year? Nope -- just the progress of our fundraising campaign over the last two weeks. First we got inside $10K to go; then we were at $8K, then $5K......

And as we do count down to our December 31st deadline, we now have a mere $1,237.00 to go. After starting with the seemingly impossible task of raising $80,000 in October! Can you believe it?

So, sorry to sound like a broken record, but...WE ARE SO CLOSE and there are ONLY TWO DAYS LEFT. We want to get securely across the finish line! Also, the cast of our spring musical, She Loves Me, is standing by and eager to start rehearsing as soon as they get the green light.

It's pretty clear that our audiences from all around the Eastside want to see professional theater continue in Redmond. If that's something you want too, please donate today. Already donated? Tell your friends. If just 50 people donated $25 each, we'd be there.

Thank you, as always, for your support of quality arts on "this" side of the bridge!

"Teen Match" Challenge...Met!

The following is a direct quote from Managing Director Caitlin Frances, as sent to the SSR Board of Directors:

We met and exceeded the “Teen Match”! WHEEHAAA!!!

Thank you to all who've donated during this particular stretch of our fundraising drive.

We are oh-so-close to our December 31st fundraising goal. But we're not there yet! We know you're probably busy over the next day or two...but during those next few days of finally slowing down a bit, please consider an extra donation to get us over the top. (And don't forget, we are a 501(c)(3) non-profit, so your donations are tax-deductible -- this week is your last chance to declare a little more off your 2010 tax return!)

Also this week: We still have two final performances of "A Christmas Cabaret" on Saturday night at 7:00 pm and Sunday afternoon at 2 pm. It's great fun for the whole family! Click here for tickets.

OMG We Are So Close!!

Friends, with the clock ticking down the hours to our deadline, we have a new fundraising total:

                                           $52,115.34

Ah, but the news gets even better! If we can make it to $60,000, we have several large pledges that will get us over the top. Which means that we are now just $8,884.66 away! Yes, a happy ending is now in sight. If you want to keep live professional theater in Redmond, please call (425) 881-6777 or go to our website donation page today.

Remember, donations received by the end of business on Wednesday, December 23rd with the notation "Teen Match" will be matched twice....... IF we meet our goal.

As always, we thank all of our donors for their generous support.

Community Members Pledge $$$ Challenge

As previously blogged, SSR students produced a "Teen Cabaret" last weekend, as a way of doing their part to keep SecondStory Rep alive. They raised a ton of money; and now, longtime subscribers Dirk and Shanie Holman want to build on that effort. Here is Shanie's challenge:

"I was very impressed by the dedication of the Teens in putting on their Cabaret Sunday. They clearly demonstrated the power of even small (monetary) contributions, to raise a total of more than $2300. So I'm throwing down a challenge, to make their hard work go even farther:  If, by December 23, SSR can collect at least $2400 in *new* contributions, designated "Teen Match," my husband and I will match those contributions with $200/mo for 2010 (in addition to whatever contribution we might already be making). Our contribution, in turn, will be matched by Microsoft. Check out the power of multiplication! Feel free to spread this challenge far and wide."

We are overwhelmed by the generosity of this offer -- from two people who have already donated money, time and effort to our fundraising campaign. Thank you so much, Dirk and Shanie!

And now their challenge goes out to you. Call or send in your tax-deductible donation today, marked "Teen Match", and tell everyone you know who might like to help. Email your friends, put it on your Facebook or MySpace page, send out a Tweet...If those teens could raise that amount in one day, then all the rest of us should definitely be able to do the same in one week!

Teen Cabaret Raises Big Bucks Toward Goal

On Sunday December 13, a dedicated group of teenagers banded together to put on a fundraising show for SecondStory. This sort of thing used to be called a "rent party"! All of the kids have taken theater classes and/or performed in our Teen Musicals of the last few years (the group pictured above is from last summer's "Godspell"). They have fond memories of the shows they've done here, and want to make sure they can do more in the future.

Well, the event was a smash success, filling the house and raising over $2,300 toward keeping the SSR doors open. WOW, way to go, teens! Thank you for all your hard work and spirit!

New Seattle Times article

Our latest coverage in the Seattle Times -- though astute readers of this blog will already know the scoop!

We're Halfway to our Goal!

Ladies and gentlemen, we have just passed the halfway mark to our goal of $80,000 and staying open! As of December 6th, we are at $40,685.42 and still rising. A HUGE thank you to everyone who's donated so far....and we hope this will be an inspiration to the rest of you to join the cause!

Speaking of causes, our Facebook Cause page is still up and running too, where over 300 people have donated so far. And we have a new challenge for you all: Chase Bank has created a contest called Chase Community Giving. Anyone may vote for their twenty favorite charities in the world, and the top 100 charities will each receive $25,000.

That's right, folks: You can help put us within spitting distance of our stay-in-business goal. It costs nothing to vote, you can nominate lots of other good causes besides us, and you may just help put us over the top. You do have to become a "Fan" first, but that's all. Please visit our Chase Community Giving page, vote for SSR, and publish a message about it to your wall and all your friends. Voting ends on December 11th!

Thank you,
Susanna, Caitlin and Mark

Pix from the Starry Nights gala

SSR's annual fall fundraising gala was held on November 21st, but we finally got hold of some pictures from the event.

Our sincere thanks once again to Matt and Denise Jones of Starry Nights Catering in Kirkland, who donated their space for the evening, and made all sorts of yummy food. Northwest Eventsource also donated their music services that night. And we certainly thank all those who attended, donated, ate, drank, bid, sang, set up, cleaned up, and helped SSR have a successful fundraiser -- bringing in almost $6,000 toward our goal!

The ensemble performs show tunes karaoke.

SSR board member Bruce Robertson.

SSR company members Tellier Killaby Booth and Robert Bogue light up the dance floor.

Past board member Sage Dahm with new Artistic Director Susanna Wilson.

Auction table loaded with goodies.

SSR board member Beryl Standley.

Breaking through $30K!!!

Our fundraising campaign has made $32,633.22 in as of November 30. Woo hoo!!! Keep those donations coming, folks!

Things coming up for the theater:

Teens' fundraiser show on December 13th ($15 suggested donation). Call (425) 881-6777 for seats.

We have a big new raffle going! Tickets are only $5. Help the theatre and have a chance at terrific prizes!

We'll be making a presentation tonight (Tuesday, Dec. 1) at the Redmond City Council meeting. If you can come and say a few words on behalf of SecondStory, it will help us plead our case for more funding from the city. Adults, children, anyone and everyone from the community is welcome to lend their voice to our cause. The meeting begins at 7:30 pm in the Council Chambers at Redmond City Hall.

And last but not least....Come see “A Christmas Cabaret”. Audiences are raving about what a great show it is, with a live band and a great cast!

Busy busy...

Just received this urgent missive from Susanna, who reports on the latest publicity about our fundraising campaign:

• The Redmond Reporter has, just in the last week, been doing more blogs about SSR, has published a preview article on the Christmas Cabaret, and just wrote an editorial on why the theatre should be saved.
• Caitlin and I have been interviewed for the Puget Sound Business Journal.
• I have been interviewed for the Eastside edition of City Arts magazine, December issue.

All this on top of the continuing progress on our Facebook Cause -- and stay tuned for news from Saturday night's gala, "Vegas or Bust"!

Listen to SSR on the Radio

SSR's Artistic Director Susanna Wilson and longtime company member Danny Miller went into the studios of KKNW Radio this week to appear on the alternative talk station's morning show, "The Menage". Here's a link to their interview with hosts Jennifer Austin and Julie Mains. Thanks for putting us on the air, folks!

SSR's "Vegas or Bust" Gala is this Saturday!

Now is the time to "ante up" for SecondStory's annual fall gala, this year entitled Vegas or Bust! It's going to be a lively, tasty and delightful evening... and it's one of the best ways you can help keep SSR from closing.

Just $50 per ticket gets you a fabulous evening of Vegas-style games, fantastic food, musical entertainment from SecondStory performers, silent and live auction items, and more.

The fun begins at 6:00 pm with fantastic hors d'oeuvres by our favorite hosts, Starry Nights Catering. A wandering magician will dazzle you with hilarious tricks. Try your hand at our "Wine Toss" game and win a bottle of something yummy. As the evening moves along, you'll hear songs from our upcoming holiday musical, "A Christmas Cabaret" and even a bit of show-tune karaoke! Then there'll be a live auction of fantastic items, like a trip to the Tony Awards in New York -- followed by Vegas-style games of chance ranging from trivia contests to "Bloker", a cross between blackjack and poker!

But the big and magical night is this Saturday. Hurry and get your tickets now!

Fundraising Campaign Coverage

The traditional press and the blogosphere have been spreading the news about our "Save SecondStory" fundraising campaign. Keep yourself up to date, right here on our blog!

The latest web coverage:

http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/east_king/red/news/69403757.html

http://redmondcity.blogspot.com/2009/11/second-story-repertory-needs-80000-to.html

http://thesunbreak.com/2009/10/28/redmonds-secondstory-rep-facing-bankruptcy

http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/east_king/iss-s/news/67034697.html

Thanks to all of these folks for helping let people know about our plight.

SSR Helps Redmond "Thrill the World"!

Halloween came a bit early to Redmond Town Center, as SecondStory joined forces with Redmond Zombies on Saturday, October 24 to participate in "Thrill the World" -- an attempt to set a world record for the most people dancing Michael Jackson's "Thriller" at the same time.

Dancers in 32 countries all counted down to the official start time (which, fortunately for us, was 5:30 pm Pacific Time). The Redmond chapter was well-represented by some 300 dancers, all ready to rock -- as trained by event organizers Paul and Teresa Osborn. And it looked like this. (Video courtesy of SSR's own Rob Falk)

According to the Redmond Zombies web site, nearly 23,000 people danced in all, easily breaking the previous world record. "Thrill the World" was also a charity fundraiser, with SecondStory Rep as the local beneficiary. Thanks to all who participated, the event resulted in donations of about $3,000 to SecondStory!

SSR actors Robert Bogue and Robin Parks in zombified form.

Save SecondStory!!!

SecondStory Repertory must raise $80,000 by the end of 2009, or close its doors forever.

That grim news was first announced two weeks ago, as reported in the pages of the Redmond Reporter and the Seattle Times -- and it's for real. Lower ticket sales, reduced grants from local foundations, and a lengthy transition of artistic directors have all led to a growing deficit that cannot be ignored.

Donations have begun pouring in, but we still have a long way to go. You can follow our progress right here on the SSR blog.

"I believe in the power of theatre. I believe in THIS theatre," Susanna Wilson, SSR's artistic director, has said. "If each person that has walked through our doors in the past decade donated just a few dollars, we could make it. With help, we can rebound; left alone, the theatre will fold."

How can you help? Attend our annual gala fundraiser, "Vegas or Bust" at Starry Nights Catering on Saturday night, November 21st. Just $50 per ticket gets you a fabulous evening of Vegas-style games, fantastic food, musical entertainment from SecondStory performers, silent and live auction items, and more. Get your tickets now!

Can't come to the event? No problem! You can still bid on our auction items online. Big-ticket items include trips to Hawaii... (the real) Las Vegas... and even to New York City for the 2010 Tony Awards! There are plenty of smaller items too -- and you do not need to be present on November 21st to win.

And you can always make a donation of any amount through Network for Good or our Facebook Cause. Tell your friends and spread the word: Save SecondStory Rep!

An Intern's View

Emily Johnson, a production intern on "Harvey", has submitted her own look at the rehearsal process:

Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Work through entire show

At the beginning of rehearsal, the actors were already warmed up, in rehearsal clothes, and ready to go. Everyone was focused and free of distractions.

For about the first 45 minutes of rehearsal, we worked through Scene 10 to the end of the act. No large changes were made; we had little time on this scene the week before, so a little bit of perfecting was needed.

Just before 8:00, Susanna, our director, quickly went through some notes for us before starting our run of the entire show. Her main note was reminding everyone to breathe while on stage. As silly as it sounds, we all need reminders not to freeze on stage, even professionals.

We jumped into Act One to start the show. Scene One with Veta Louise and Myrtle May got us off to a great start; it set a good pace and focus for the rest of us.

Act One went very well, with only a few rough places. Things are starting to flow together nicely. Actors didn't call “line” nearly as much as last week. I’ve noticed a lot of improvement in the act; it is amazing to me how quickly everything is pulling together. Being in a professional environment, things move much faster then in the educational theatre I’ve experienced.

We stopped and took a quick break before starting Act Two. We re-set the stage for Scene One, regrouped, talked over a few little details, and started up again.

Act Two did start out quite as well as Act One did. Scene One was a little rough, but the three actors covered extremely well. As soon as we continued to the next scene, things went back to flowing well.

Tonight, I specifically enjoyed watching Dr. Sanderson and Ms. Kelley, played by Ben and Heather, in Act Two. They have really developed an interesting relationship in the play and they can make me laugh easily.

When the clock hit 10:00, we hadn’t finished the run of the show. Being a performance intern, I was released from rehearsal not knowing how it wrapped up. I hope it went well.

--Emily

More from Sean's Journal

Monday, September 21st
Second Act notes and run

Tonight we are going to work through notes from Act 2 and then do a runthrough of that act. The set construction is almost done. We have a fireplace for the Dowd residence and a beautiful office door for the hospital lobby. One wall of the residence folds in half to create an opening to see into the hall outside the hospital lobby. And the residence bookshelf rotates to form the back wall of the lobby. Cool!

General note from Susanna: "Think about expectation vs. reality. What do you expect to happen in the scene, or in response to your line? What really happens? How does that inform what you say/do next?"

8:30 – Some of the most difficult scenes to do are ones in which multiple actors have short or overlapping lines, paired with fast, specific motions. They have to be treated almost like dances, or fights, and choreographed specifically. We had a couple of scenes tonight to treat this way. First is when Veta Louise (Stephanie) arrives home from her ordeal at the hospital. Judge Gaffney (Tom) and Myrtle Mae (Megan) help her tell her story (sort of). It's funny, but it requires precise timing. When you are involved in a scene like that you can tell right away when you get the timing perfectly; the trick is to keep it there every time you do the scene. And by the time you add in the audience, the props, and the rest of the show...the timing will have changed!

I worked on the scene where Dowd is telling Wilson (Ben E.), Sanderson (Ben M.) and Kelly (Heather) about Harvey. Parts of the scene we re-choreographed, other parts we made more specific. Layered onto all of this I got the note to add a hint of being “spiffed” (drunk) to Dowd's manner. Yikes, I have a lot to do!

8:35 – Susanna to Heather: "I want you to actually kiss Dowd on the lips."
Sean to Susanna: "I guess that twenty I slipped you worked."
Heather to Sean: "You mean I was only worth twenty?"

And on we go into the run.

10:05 – Once again we stop just short of the end. I saw results from all the notes we worked on today, but we still need to put the whole thing together. I notice that while I'm busy congratulating myself over the wonderful way I handled a note, I forget my next line. Note to self – no more congratulations.

Full run tomorrow!

More of Sean's rehearsal journal

Sunday, September 20th
First Act notes and run

Tonight we are working notes from Act 1 of Thursday's run, and then we hope to do a complete run of Act 1. Walayn is back with a cast from her right elbow to the wrist, and she is taking it easy tonight. The rest of the cast seem ready to get going and make this act sing.

First we get a general note from Susanna: "Think about circumstances – What time is it? Why are you here? Where did you come from? Where are you going? If you know these things before you get on stage, the audience will believe you when you’re on stage."

8:00 – Notes sessions can be fun, interesting, challenging or dull. Sometimes all at the same time. A note may be a very specific item for one actor, a movement, an indication. Other times a note may involve a whole scene or a subset of actors in a scene. This is the best opportunity for the director to provide her feedback on what she sees, and fix the things that aren't working. I like the collaborative aspect of notes – there's a problem here, how can we solve it together?

I got some good notes, mostly about those places where I got lazy and didn’t really think about what I was saying. Because my voice is the way it is, I occasionally lean on it without really doing my character homework.

Next we're going to work through Scene 8, when my character, Elwood P. Dowd, first comes into the hospital. It's a fun scene but it has been falling short of the mark until now.

8:45 – Great scenework session. I now understand what I'm saying (what a concept!) and the comedy plays much more clearly. In fact it makes the whole scene much more fun for all of us.

Next up is our run of Act 1.

10:10 – We didn’t quite make it all the way through the act... stopped about 5 minutes short. I think fatigue was setting in, and all the new information we got in the notes sessions threw off some things that hadn’t been a problem before. But Scene 8 went very well and a lot of the things we worked on during notes were fabulous. The comic timing is coming along nicely as the concerns over "What’s my line?" start to fade. I’m still laughing!

Director's Notes for "Harvey"

Our next show, "Harvey", opens on Friday, October 2nd. With rehearsals heading into the final week-and-a-half, director Susanna Wilson offers her personal observations on the experience:

As I and this great team of performers, designers, and stagecraft professionals have attacked this project, we have all found that Harvey has truly touched our lives in many ways...despite its inherent silliness.

For a play that was on Broadway for five years (becoming the 35th longest-running show to date), and which later became a famous film starring Jimmy Stewart in 1950, very little is known about Harvey's creator, Mary Coyle Chase. We know that she spent her entire life in Denver, Colorado. We know that she was a newspaper reporter for the Rocky Mountain News, where she was known as "our little Mary". We know that after winning the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1945 with Harvey, she wrote a subsequent play called Mrs. McThing.

...And that is about it. Mary Chase is, for all intents and purposes, Harvey himself – invisibly pulling the strings of this wacky cast of characters. So is Harvey. As we rehearse the show, we can feel his invisible influence working in our lives – revealing our hidden desires and our true feelings about ourselves. I hope that he will touch your lives, too.

–Susanna Wilson, Director

"Harvey" in Rehearsal - Behind the Scenes!

Our next Mainstage play, the classic comedy "Harvey", is now well along in rehearsals. We tried to get a blog entry from Harvey himself, but he was unavailable. So we've got the next best thing: An entry from his best friend, Elwood P. Dowd (actually Sean Mitchell, the actor currently rehearsing in that lead role). What follows is a look at how it all comes together, from the inside!

September 17th - Designer Runthrough

We're going to go through the whole play, no stopping (we hope), with an invited audience. The lighting designer, set and costume designers, and others associated with the production will be watching, making sure that what they're working on matches what we're doing.

7:10 Starting late...Well, I was late. Costumer is here with ideas, people seem pretty revved up.

7:20 - Susanna, our director, asks us to work with the idea that *all* the men respond to Miss Kelly (played by Heather). Not that the men don't already respond to Heather... We also learn that Waylayn (who plays Mrs. Chauvenet/Mrs. Chumley) broke her wrist and will not be here tonight. Best wishes to you Waylayn - hurry back.

7:30 - And we're off.

8:30 - I think the first act went pretty well. There were a few calls for lines but not a lot. This was the first time I sat and watched the whole act. I'm afraid my timing on a couple of my entrances was off, but not by too much, I hope!

There was some really nice stuff happening; I love the opening with Veta Louise (played by Stephanie) and Myrtle Mae (Megan). I laughed, and I heard the designers laughing too. Dr. Sanderson (Ben) was a little distracted in our scene, but it still flowed nicely. Later he said he was trying to incorporate the Miss Kelly note from earlier... Also, it turns out that I missed a cue that I had always given him before. Actors: If you think something on stage is another actor's fault, it's probably yours.

I like seeing how everyone's scripts look now. We're supposed to be off book, but that doesn't mean we're not looking at them when we're off stage. Tom (as Judge Gaffney) has his lines on cards - he can be seen flipping through them during the first act when he's not onstage much. Kendall (Dr. Chumley) has his script wirebound with his lines highlighted. Stephanie has the book itself - well folded and creased. I'm still working with my photocopied script, stapled in the corner; I've lost a couple of pages, but only one of them has lines of mine on it. (And I'm supposed to know them by now, right?)

8:45 - Here we go with Act II.
Doesn't seem quite as smooth as Act I. A bit more stumbling over lines and blocking. I get confused in my scene, and argh, stop things for a little bit. There are some nice relationships happening and some unexpected surprises (Kelly and Sanderson's double kiss for example). But also some clumping and awkwardness...we have some work to do here.

10:05 - Well we got through it! The designers got a lot of good information and we have a much better understanding of what we have to do in the next 14 days.

10:20 - Off to Matador for a little celebration, then home. Good night, everybody.

Our Own Little Woodstock Celebration

Following up on the last post...Someone asked if we could publish the list of songs we play before and during "Last of the Red Hot Lovers", and here it is!

Pre-show music:

The Grass Roots - "Midnight Confessions"
Tommy Roe - "Yummy Yummy Yummy"
Simon & Garfunkel - "Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine"
Beatles - "Why Don't We Do It In the Road?"
Percy Faith Orchestra - "Theme from 'A Summer Place' "
Shocking Blue - "Venus"
Oliver - "Jean"
Johnny Cash - "Ring of Fire"
Rolling Stones - "You Can't Always Get What You Want"
Elvis Presley - "Suspicious Minds"
Cat Stevens - "Wild World"
Cilla Black - "What's It All About, Alfie?"

During the show, and intermission:

Strawberry Alarm Clock - "Incense & Peppermints"
Beatles - "Day Tripper"
Dionne Warwick - "What the World Needs Now"
Simon & Garfunkel - "Mrs. Robinson"
Beatles - "Yesterday"
The Byrds - "Turn! Turn! Turn!"
Tony Orlando & Dawn - "Knock Three Times" (okay, it's 70's, but it fits the play SO well)
Simon & Garfunkel - "59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)"
Stephen Stills - "Love the One You're With"

Happy downloading!

Come and See "Last of the Red Hot Lovers"!

Hi folks,

It's me, Mark Waldstein, familiar to many of you who attend shows at SecondStory. We're halfway through the run of the Neil Simon comedy, "Last of the Red Hot Lovers", playing through September 19th.

I get to play Barney Cashman, a guy going through a midlife crisis during the Swingin’ 60’s. He’s happily married, and yet he wants just a little slice of the sexual revolution that’s going on all around him. So he's trying to find someone to have an affair with…but the trouble is, the only place he can think of to bring these women is his mother’s apartment. Smooooooth, huh?

This means I get to share the evening with three lovely, talented actresses - April Wolfe, Rebecca Olson and Melinda Wallace. (Rebecca is new to our stage, but you'll recognize the other two.) All three are hilarious, in such different ways. I'm not going to tell you how Barney, umm, makes out...you'll have to come see that for yourself!

The whole 1960's period thing adds a fun angle to the show. We get to wear "mod" clothes for our costumes, the ladies are having a great time with hairstyles, and our pre-show music is filled with 60's hits. We dug deep for tunes that don't often turn up on classic-hit radio stations. On opening night, one audience member was overheard saying she wanted our soundtrack!

And we even got a "fab" review on the Web site SeattleActor.com. Have a look, then grab some tickets for tonight or tomorrow at 8:00 or Sunday afternoon at 2:00 (we no longer start our shows at :15 past the hour), or on Friday and Saturday nights (only) next weekend, our closing weekend.

I hope to see you there!