First Rehearsal

Yesterday was the first read-through. It was held in my apartment, generally not the best rehearsal space, but that was the only time we should have to use it.

I have to say our first rehearsal went quite well. Everyone is starting off with a great level of talent and wonderful attitudes and I only look forward to the rest of the process. For the next couple weeks, we're concentrating on rehearsals for the public reading at Nextfest. Then, after a brief hiatus, we'll gear into full-fledged rehearsals for the big performances at the Fringe Festival.

Looking forward to being able to give you guys more background info as our rehearsals go and some other points of view on the process.

Justen Bennett
Director/Playwright

Nextfest Reading

We just got word of the official details for the first reading of Addition to be held at Nextfest.

So, if you want a sneak-peek at the show, come on out!

Saturday, June 20 @ 1:00pm
Conrad's Sugar Bowl
10724-124 St.

Admission is free and we'll be looking for audience feedback after the reading. Plus, you can stay for readings of two more great plays!

Hope to see you there!

Justen Bennett
Director/Playwright

Selection

Addition is actually the second play I've written. The first, Selection, will have its world premiere this Wednesday, May 27 at the Walterdale Playhouse.

Selection is a story about desire, religion, and how far people will go for what they think they want.

Show times are:
Wednesday, May 27 - 8:00p
Friday, May 29 - 8:00p
Sunday, May 31 - 2:00p
Wednesday, June 3 - 8:00p
Friday, June 5 - 8:00p

For more information, check out the Footlight Festival page on the Walterdale Playhouse website. Tickets can be purchased at the door or through Tix on the Square.

If you're interested in seeing some more of my writing before the premiere of Addition, I hope you're able to check out Selection.

On another topic, we should have information on when Addition will have its reading at Nextfest 2009 soon. I'll be sure to post that here and on the Facebook group.

Justen Bennett
Director/Playwright

Alternative Relationships

One of the themes of Addition is alternative relationships. Back when I was writing the first draft I had a few friends who were asking about current projects. When I spoke about Addition, I was surprised to learn that a few of my friends I've known for years have been involved in alternative relationships and I never even knew.

What I found most interesting about this was not that my friends had been in such relationships, but that it wasn't something they really discussed until someone else brought the topic up. We certainly live in a world focused on couples, so I can understand their reluctance. I'm curious how many people have experienced this, or, if you haven't, do you think you'd be open to it, should the situation arise?

Personally, I haven't experienced an alternative relationship. As to the question of if I would be involved in one, I'm not sure. I'm not the type of person to say 'never,' but I think there would have to be a very specific set of circumstances for that to work with me. Given my personal history, I get self-conscious enough in a standard relationship and I don't know I could handle the worrying and questioning I'd go through in a polyamourous situation. It's certainly an area of human interaction that interests me, though.

So, how about it? What do you all say? If you've been involved in an alternative relationship, what's been your experience? If you haven't, do you think you would?

Justen Bennett
Director/Playwright

Behind the Scenes: Revisions, Set, and Paperwork

We haven't begun rehearsals yet, but things are still progressing with the show. This week I spent some time on significant revisions to the play. Being a new playwright, this is something that I find difficult to work on. You write the piece the first time thinking you've done what you can to tell the story. The problem is, you know it could be better, so you've got to go back and dig into this thing you thought was complete the first time 'round. You're burrowing into scenes and lines, seeing what more can be added to flesh things out and taking a knife to the bits you thought were needed but are really the vestigial tails of the thing. It requires a bit of a mind shift to accept that what you thought was done really isn't and even if you've already acknowledged it, figuring out what the piece needs to move ahead can be quite difficult, as you have to learn to look at it from more than just the angles you took when it was first written. In light of that, though, a full second draft has been reached and (with possibly a few tiny edits) this is what will be presented at the Nextfest reading.

All the work hasn't just been to the script, though. The Fringe Festival has a deadline this weekend to get in program and technical information, including show length, so I'll have to make sure the final product is as long as I've told them. Wednesday night, Amanda and I hammered out the last of all those details.

Also, I can officially say we have some set. It is in a box on my floor, but we do have the start of a set. Going around to garage sales, Value Villages, and the like, we have now purchased the core of the set pieces for the show.

Despite not having begun rehearsals yet, work is continuing on the show and things are looking good.

Justen Bennett
Director/Playwright

Casting

I am pleased to announce that Addition: An Unconventional Love Story has officially been cast. The list is as follows:

Ben: Robert Medeiros
Logan: Mark Vetsch
Daren: Richard Lee

I am very excited to work with this incredible cast over the next few months. Keep watching the blog and Facebook group for more information and behind-the-scenes peeks into the process!

Justen Bennett
Director/Playwright

Auditions

We completed the auditions for the show tonight. I have to say that there is definitely a difficult decision ahead of me. Thankfully, it's difficult for all the right reasons. We had an excellent turn-out and the decision is going to be based mostly around who would partner well onstage in these roles, availability, and other similar concerns. There was a great amount of talent that came out so for each role I had a few people who would do excellently in that role; it's now just a matter of getting the right combination. Though it's not an easy decision, that's a great situation for a director to be in.

I plan to have casting completed by Friday and hopefully around then we'll be able to release the official announcement on the cast for the premiere production of Addition: An Unconventional Love Story.

Justen Bennett
Director/Playwright

The Crew (As It Stands)

As I write this blog entry, we are preparing for auditions tomorrow (technically today, but for me, 'tomorrow' doesn't start until I wake up). While we've already had one early auditioner, all of the rest will be coming in tomorrow afternoon and Monday evening. The majority of the spots have been filled, but there are still a couple left for any last-minute people who want to sign up. If all goes well, the show will be cast by the end of next week, so watch out on the Facebook group and this blog for an official announcement.

As we approach the start of the process to bring more people officially in to the show, it's a great time to introduce those who are already involved.


Amanda McLeod — Stage Manager
Not only have I known Amanda on a personal level for many years, but I have worked with her often as an actor and she was the stage manager for the last show I directed, Mockingbird Close by Trevor Schmidt. Amanda is just getting started as a stage manager, but she has a great love for the theatre and not only is she organized, but she has a wonderful personality for working with actors.

Tess Chappell — Graphic Designer
Tess designed the poster for another show I've directed, Things You Shouldn't Say Past Midnight by Peter Ackerman. She'll be designing practically every bit of marketing for the show, including the poster, handbills, and programs. Tess has been extremely accomodating with all my requests for tweaks, changes, and different image formats and sizes thus far, and I'm looking forward to continuing to work with her on Addition.

Justen Bennett — Director/Playwright
Technically my title should also include producer and designer, but those roles feel to me more like the things I need to do in order to focus on the role I'm most excited about: director. As for my story, I graduated from the University of Alberta with a BA in Drama and am gearing toward applying for my Masters in Directing somewhere, sometime soon. I've directed a number of projects thus far, but this is the first time I'll be directing other people in my own work and that's defintiely one of the challenges that gets me excited about Addition.


So, that's it for now. We'll be a rather small production crew and I'm excited to work with everyone on this show (including those who have yet to sign on). Until next time!

Justen Bennett
Director/Playwright