A Dinner Conversation: Best Show

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Pepe (Rob Ward) acted at the MC for the evening for Play in a Day. The auditorium was packed but I found a good spot on the sidelines to sketch from. Nine plays were presented all with the common theme of “Men”. Playwrights had 12 hours to write their plays and the actors and production team had 12 hours to polish and produce the plays. I followed the play written by Tracey Jane, titled The Dinner Conversation. I knew from sketching the rehearsals all day that this was a warm hearted romantic and very funny production. I was of course rooting for them to pull together and create magic on stage.

Pepe introduced each ply in turn and a bongo player accompanied him at one point. Genevieve Bernard choreographed a beautiful dance piece titled, Our Bodies Our Choice. Four woman dancers and on man performed a dance the told a story of abuse followed by a woman’s empowerment. It was bold and left me thinking. They won as the best ensemble for the evening.

Jac LeDoux and Ken Preuss were on a date at the Family Pizza Corral. The set simply consisted of a long red table on which were a series of trays where custom pizzas could be made. I was rooting for their happiness after starting life afresh after divorce. Tracey Jane made the script super easy for the actors because the characters were simply named after the actors playing the part. There were no new names to memorize. When Bennet Preuss and Melanie Leon entered things heated up. Melanie was hilarious with her sexual innuendos and double meanings behind everything she said. She just loved poking fun at her mom and embarrassing her. Melanie’s hilarious performance won her an award as Best Actress. 

While Mel was poking fun, her brother Ben was sullen and resentful.  His mom got divorced while he was away at college and now that he was back she was starting a new relationship with another man.  Jac was loving and caring at every turn and wove an analogy between personal pizzas and individual tastes. However when Ken considered putting pineapple on his pizza, the family had to unite against his pure insanity. He was a food critic and should have known better. Food and family drama were perfectly combined. For this performance I just sat as an audience member to soak it in without the struggle of sketching to distract me. I was delighted and laughed out loud.  I knew where the rough spots in the production might be, but everything flowed smoothly. 

This show directed by Kaitlyn Harrington, and with Destiny Sam as the stage manager won the top honor as the Best Show of the night. I felt so proud, because I knew the blood sweat and tears over 24 hours that went into the magic that happened that night. “Don’t count the days, make the days count.” -Mohamed Ali

Play in a Day Running Lines

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At Play in a Day, the pressure started to build in the afternoon as the actors started running lines to memorize the script of The Dinner Conversation by Tracey Jane. At times they would go through the script at breakneck speed and other times they would run through at pace. Sometimes actors would pare off and work together in another room to help each other in cementing the lines into memory. Some actors knew their lines forward and backwards right from the start while others had to work hard to commit the lines to memory. The drama of these artist supporting each other grew more pitched as the opening curtain loomed around 7pm that night.

On the fence outside there were inspirational sayings from celebrities written on the fence. One was, “I can accept failure, but I can not accept not trying.” –Michael Jordon. Another was “Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.” –Bruce Lee. Each saying seemed directed towards the actors as they pulled together to produce a play in just 24 hours. The script had heart, sincerity and humor. I knew I was watching some amazing theater magic. They might stumble through lines in rehearsal but on stage some undefinable force would pull everything together.

“Mistakes are proof you are trying.” -Unknown. Every sketch I do feels like a series of mistakes. It is reassuring and inspiring that live theater is as human an art.

Play in a Day Tech

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After lunch the cast of The Dinner Conversation had a chance to walk through the production on stage for lighting and sound cues. Tracey Jane wrote a magnificently simple everyday family drama set in a Family Pizza Corral where you can build your own pizza. Because of this there were no complex lighting cues, making Blue Estrella‘s job fairly straight forward.

At the end of the show Jac (Jac LeDoux) and Ken (Ken Preuss) are working on a slice of pizza together. It was decided that a reference to the potter’s wheel scene in Ghost would be funny at that moment. In that scene in the movie Demi Moore it turning a pot and Patrick Swayze snuggles up  behind her and together they sensually finger the clay together. The same sensual moment was recreated only with pizza. I can’t imagine a more sensual moment. In my sketch I put Mel, (Melanie Leon) on house left. Her hilarious stage presence lit up every scene.

Tech was quick and efficient, leaving the rest of the afternoon for the actors memorize their lines before the curtain went up at 7pm.

Pineapple Pizza Deviant

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 At the Play in a Day rehearsal for The Dinner Conversation written by Tracey Jane, Jac (Jac LeDoux) and Ken (Ken Preuss) are on a date at Family Pizza Corral. Jac was opening herself to the possibility of a new relationship after being divorced for a year. The date was interrupted by the sudden unexpected arrival of Jac’s two children, Mel (Melanie Leon) and Ben (Ben Preuss).

At the Family Pizza Corral, you get to make your own custom pizza. In this sketch Ben is mashing his dough with far more brute force that is needed. He is angry to find his mom with another man. He went to college and while he was gone she got divorced. The restaurant used to be a place that the family went to, representing some of the happier memories with his father and mother together.

Mel was a bit more playful, choosing to tease her mom about her “needs.” Jac is between a rock and a hard place in hoping her children can accept Ken. Ken can’t win. When he offers Ben some sausage, Ben angrily shoots back that he is a vegetarian. When Jac defends him to her son, she explains that Ken is a good man and that they should give him a chance. Then Ken hold out a tray of Pineapple.

This is a bridge too far. Melanie shouts out PINEAPPLE does NOT belong on pizza! Jac has to agree this is one thing that everyone in the family can agree on. Jac tries to smooth over the situation by trying to get Ken to just pick another topping. She is sure that people are watching. This is a pure comic relief. All the pent up family drama dissipates as the family rallies behind this strange and unexpected pizza deviant. It was the contrast between sweet and savory. I’ve been known to want a burst of sweet even on a slice.

As Jac tries to explain that everyone has their own personal tastes, Ben suddenly shouts out that he is gay. After a pause to take in the information, Jac is caring and accepting. She then goes on to say she is proud of him because at that moment he was a man in her eyes.  It was a heart warming family moment which Ken missed as he obsessed over his very strange pie.  The warmth of the message was so powerful because is was proceeded by so many laughs. The pain of growing up was welcomed with open arms.

The Dinner Conversation

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At Play in a Day, I spend the entire day sketching the rehearsals for The Dinner Conversation by Tracey Jane. After the cold reading at the blue round table the cast moved to the main staging area, a long red table with a series of trays lined up. I loved that the long table and the round table visually created an exclamation point. Everyone still had the script in hand but director Kaitlyn Harrington stood on the opposite side of the table guiding the actors for the staging. The setting was a Family Pizza Corral. All-You-Care-to-Create Buffet. “You Make It. We Bake It!” Jac, (Jac LeDoux) was on a date with her “Special Someone” Ken (Ken Preuss). She was a recently divorced mom of two college kids who were returning home, on the brink of consummating her first new relationship after

the end of a long marriage.

Every line of their playful exchange hinted at sexual innuendo. Ken was a food critic but had never been in the Pizza Corral. He and Jac had spent time getting to know each other but this was the first night out with the possibility of desert. However Jac wanted her kids to meet Ken before “going there.” She wanted her kids to meet Ken the following night. Being a gentleman, he was fine with waiting. As they snuggle close, pressing their fingers in the dough, Jac’s kids, Ben (Bennet Preuss) and Melanie (Melanie Leon) entered the restaurant.

Melanie brought a delightful level of comedy to the awkward exchange. Woman to woman, she spoke of enjoying toppings and of courser some sausage. Melanie had learned all about men with some healthy experimentation in college. While Melanie was playful and teasing her mom, Ben was sullen and angry that his mom was out with another man a year after the divorce. At one point he shouted, “That man is definitely NOT my dad.” The irony in that statement is that Ken, in real life, off the stage, IS Ben’s father. There were so many multi layered meanings and insider jokes in this 10 minute production that made it such a delight to discover. I watched the play performed over and over all day long as they rehearsed and it never grew old. I just loved the characters more as they were fleshed out. I was lucky to have encamped myself with this clever and fun script and cast.

Play in a Day

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Play in a Day is as its name implies a fast paced day where the the plays are written and produced in just one day. The nine writers were given the theme and their individual ‘twist’ at
the beginning of a 12-hour period of their own choosing and that was their
window for creating the script for their original 10 minute play. The directors and performers knew nothing of their script until it was unveiled to them bright-and-early Saturday morning, they then had one day to produce the work by that evening’s opening curtain at 7pm.

Play in a Day 2019 had 107 participating artists, 82 of them, including every playwright, director and stage manager, were women. In addition, each production team was assigned a title under the umbrella theme “Men”. The #MeToo movement inspired a female empowered cast and crew since women are a powerful force in the Orlando theater community.

When I arrived all the actors and crew were gathered in the Lake Howell High School (4200 Dike Rd, Winter Park, FL 3279) cafeteria. There were donuts, beagles and other breakfast items. I sipped some caffeine to get my drawing hand twitching. Each production crew already seemed to be grouped together and I wondered which production team I should sketch. Since I had sketched actress Melanie Leon before in various shows around town, I asked if she could talk to her director about having an artist shadow their rehearsals for the day. The director agreed and soon I was sketching them as they performed the first reading of the play at a small round table.

The table was already a perfect setting since the play written by Tracey Jane was titled “The Dinner Conversation.” Tracy had worked remotely and couldn’t be at the rehearsals but her humor and heart felt writing, affected every scene and interaction between the characters. Around the table sat director Kaitlyn Harrington, who was open to suggestions as the actors became familiar with their parts, yet she guided them deftly. The stage manager was Destiny Sam. The actors were Ken Preuss, his son, Bennet Preuss, Melanie Leon, and Jac LeDoux. Over the course of the day I got to see the challenges overcome as the cast committed lines to memory and transformed into their characters. The tight deadline created a level of team work and support among artists that was absolutely inspiring.

100% of the proceeds from Play in a Day went
directly to the BMP Theatre Scholarship Fund and TOP TEENS. This money
allows teens to attend master class intensives on all areas of theatre,
film/TV, arts administration, activism, acting, directing, play writing,
tech, education and leadership. The artists get to study for the month
of June and then present a showcase. Scholarships are given to the
artists to use to pursue their respective areas in the arts as they
wish.