Jobsite’s next show opens in a week – Woman in Mind. I am knee-deep in rehearsals while juggling a set and sound design and time is at a real premium. So, here’s my quick and dirty pitch as to why you get out and see it OPENING WEEKEND:
- It’s very, very funny – it’s also very dark at times and fairly heartbreaking in others. It’s exceedingly rare to find a playwright who can juggle all those things and do it well. Fans of British humo(u)r are really going to dig it. At varying points there are moments very much straight out of Python or The Office.
- It features some of the best actors this area has to offer. Steven Sean Garland and Matt Lunsford are both back again after ripping up the stage in The Pillowman. Ami Sallee Corley is back on the Jobsite stage for the first time since captivating audiences in Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune. My partners-in-crime for the (abridged) shows, Jason Evans and Shawn Paonessa, are showing vastly different sides of their abilities and will likely shock many audience members with the range they are bringing here. Stephen Ray and Caitlin McDonald haven’t been on a Jobsite stage in a while, but the wait seems worth it with what they’re offering up now. Kari Goetz hasn’t had a character role quite like this since she’s been in Tampa. Honestly, a minimum of 70% of my work was done for me solely by casting the show. This work is simply too good to be missed. It won’t be out later on DVD.
- In addition to my director and sound designer hats (I normally wear both as director), this is the first set I’ve designed for Jobsite. It’s a lot of hard work, but I’m enjoying it.
- This is John Lott’s final light design for us before he leaves us once again for the Big Apple. We all work on a shared percentage of the door, so help send JLo back to the big city by putting some extra cash in his pocket while appreciating not just this show, but the entire body of work he’s offered us.
- It’s going to be a tremendous theatrical experience. The combination of this script, the design elements (including Katrina Stevenson’s costumes – almost every character has at least 3 big changes) and these incredibly gifted actors that I was blessed with are really culminating into something special.
- Live theater exists to be seen. It’s meaningless if we do the show and no one comes. We need you. It’s been an up and down year, but we really have a chance here to beat all of our previous seasons in terms of total attendance. We’ve budgeted aggressively this season, and in some cases we didn’t make those budgets. That’s all past us now, and the only way to bounce back is take advantage of what’s left.
Please come see us opening weekend? You can sign up for season tickets at an early bird rate of 30% off AND get yourself a Jobsite t-shirt of your choosing for FREE.
Why opening weekend? We have a very small audience capacity on this show due to the set, so it’s vital all seats be sold. A lot of times people dally and wait til the second or third weekend to see a show for one reason or another. Seats that go dead opening weekend can’t be made up and make it that much harder for us to make our breakeven on expenses. You’re really doing us a big favor whenever you come opening weekend (reason #345723579 why becoming a season ticket holder is important). The show will be more than ready on opening night, we’ll be waiting for you.
See you there?
