Rehearsals Begin

Greetings from Orange Park, FL and the Thrasher Horne Center for Arts. I arrived here on Tuesday. First meeting/rehearsal was Wednesday morning. It was great to see some familiar faces and meet so many new people. Everyone seems really great and the kids are very sweet and cute. Everyone was really excited to get start. The first read through went great and everyone seems to be very talented. I know it will be a great experience once again. Because it is a little different cast with different strengths and approaches there are elements of the show that will be different but of course "Annie" is what is and always will be.








So far I haven't done much at rehearsals as they work on getting new folks up to speed. I will have my first real work session tomorrow after lunch. I imagine as opening week gets closer I will be very, very busy. I have noticed that my approach to the play and the character are a little different this time as I am more relaxed about some things and more uptight about others. It is still a lot of fun and I can't wait to get on my feet in front of an audience.


Some interesting facts about the cast: our "Grace" is also from the Nashville area. She lived in Murfreesboro. At least 4 of the cast members (maybe more) are originally from Texas! The oldest "orphan" is 13 and the youngest 7. I have chosen to have a roommate this year. At least at the beginning. The company should be good and saving money will be great especially in these difficult time.

We get to stay in some really nice places these first few months which is exciting. We have rehearsals here for the next two-and-a-half weeks before heading to Raleigh, NC on Sunday, November 16. Cay will be coming for opening night which is exciting and I look forward to seeing many of my hometown friends in Chattanooga, TN.

Give me a call or shoot me an e-mail as I love to hear from you all!

Clothes Make the Man

Yesterday I flew to New York for a costume fitting. I left Nashville at 6 a.m. and got back about 10:30 p.m. after missing a connection (long, angry story). I spent of total of 4 hours in the city with 2 of those being in the car going to and from the airport and the other two at the tailor's.



It was a very interesting experience. Joe Scafati is the tailor and he had created three new suits for me that were designed by Jimm Halliday. The suits were "half" put together. I don't really know how to describe it other than to say they were barely pieced together. Just enough stitches and finish to try on for fit. I would try on the pants and have them fitted, then the vest, and then suit coat. Joe spent about 45 minutes per suit tugging, and marking, and pinning. He would pull seams out and pin them back to get the exact fit they were looking for. He padded the shoulders of the jackets to make them look just right on me. Did things to fix the fact that I lean to the left slightly because of one leg being just slightly shorter than the other. It was all very different and not something I was very comfortable with. I am not really comfortable being fussed over. Still haven't gotten use to the "Star treatment."



It doesn't sound like a big deal, but standing still for 2 hours while someone pulls and tugs on your clothes is tiring. It made my knees and back hurt.



I am home now trying to make sure that I have everything I need to be gone for 8+ months. My problem is I take things I don't use and then have to lug them around with me for 8 months. So I have packed and unpacked once and will probably do that once more before Tuesday. Then in three weeks I will have Cay bring me things I need and left to Raleigh and send things I took and don't need home with her.



I am excited to meet everyone and get started again. I just hope I can get over this cold I have been fighting before next Wednesday's first rehearsal.



Hope you are all having a great week.



David

Alayna's Home

Alayna came in yesterday to spend the weekend. It is good to have her with us for a few days. She has become an amazing young women with a huge heart and an almost uncontrollable passion for life. She possesses an optimism that is contagious.

We plan on spending the weekend just hanging out and seeing friends she grew up with.
10 days and counting until I leave for Orange Park and three weeks of rehearsal. The most urgent thing I have to do between now and then is vote. I won't trouble you with how I will cast my ballot. Only that I will and I hope that you will as well.

Summer Happenings

Many of you have asked what I have been doing this summer. I would like to report that it has all been fun and adventure. That I had sailed the oceans, traveled abroad, and seen the pyramids. The truth is I spent most of my time at home with family and helping out Cay at work with church.

I did spend a week with our youth choir on Choir Tour to Myrtle Beach, SC and other places. It was a great experience. We performed an original work called "Hope Carries On" that deals with teen suicide. My wife and four others wrote it and they invited me to help out by directing. Plans are now in the works to create a DVD of the piece that will be presented across the nation in High Schools and Colleges to aid in prevention and dealing with the effects of suicide. This will hopefully be done in connection with The Jason Foundation.

As I have already written I spent a few days in NYC be measured for costumes and visiting my daughter Alayna and was able to catch up with a few of the folks from last years cast.

I have also traveled to my hometown in Texas a couple of times to visit my family. It was such a blessing to spend much needed time with them.

That is about it. Lots of work at church, helping with Vacation Bible School, cleaning and reorganizing at The Steeple Players Theatre, building a set for "Steel Magnolias" and some other odd jobs just for fun. It has been good to reconnect with friends here in Hendersonville.

But I have noticed it is somehow different. More on that later.

I am now two weeks away from beginning the tour again and am trying to get prepared for that; packing, last minute details, early voting, etc. It is amazing how quickly 5 months can go by! Can't wait to meet my new cast members and reunite with familiar ones. I know that this year will be even more exciting and fulfilling than the last.

Ponderings

Found these pictures of my Dad and wanted to share them with you all. They were taken by my cousin Jennifer. I don't know is you see the strength and compassion in these photos that I do but I see an amazing person.

Tonight I am in Gatlinburg, TN with friends trying to write music/plays for a youth choir and adult Christmas program. The topics are really heavy and difficult to deal with. As I sit here listening to others work I am reminded of family and friends. Being away from Mom and Dad is difficult now as they wrestle with the pains of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's and just living each day. It isn't fair that any one should have to suffer through the illnesses. My anger grows as I hear about billions being spent and lost on institutions while our elderly, poor and others struggle to survive. How have we gotten to this place? How did our world get turned upside down?

I love you all. I wish that I could wave a magic wand and make all of our troubles and sorrows disappear but since I don't I will simply say a prayer for each of you tonight and trust in God's Perfect love to see us all through this. In the end there is something that our government and banks can't take away from us . . . each other.

May God's grace and peace be with you all today and always.

David

The Costume Experience

Back in September I was flown to NYC to be measured for new costumes. Everyone associated with the production made this out to be a big deal. Costumes tailored specifically for me. Evidently this is unusual for non-equity tours.

Anyway, I was to meet a Tailor on 49th street and 9th avenue. I arrived and rang the bell. The first floor was a garage with cars parked in it. We walked to the back of the garage and up some stairs to a modest one room shop. The walls were covered with pictures of famous actors from Broadway, movies, and TV including the stars of such shows as Phantom of the Opera. It was very impressive and overwhelming. The man who owned the shop started taking measurements but before each measurement he would make a guess. His guesses were usually within an inch of being correct! I was amazed at this special gift.

The most horrifying part was standing in front of one of those three-sided mirrors and having them study me in mock-ups of costumes and take pictures of me from every angle. They were not flattering and I always feel like I look huge in those situations.

The best part of all of this was that I got to stay in NYC for a couple of days and spend time with Alayna and her roommates. It was a great week and helped get me excited about returning for another year! 19 days and counting

Three Weeks and Counting

The Journey begins anew in three short weeks. October 28 I will fly to Orange Park, Florida for three weeks of rehearsal with the "new" cast. It will be odd beginning again with so many new faces. All 7 orphans are new and most of the adult cast as well. We will also have an all new crew. Our stage manager is returning and I do know our company manager who worked with the show last year. Both of these are good things as these folks set the tone for the rest of us while on the road.

I am looking forward to getting started again as I have missed the "spotlight" and performing every night. I will be sad to leave home and Cay and Ashlea but I will get to come home more often this time around and they are coming out to see us again so it will not be too bad.

Well, I have three weeks to figure out how t pack all I will need for 14 months of travel on the road in 2 suitcases, a backpack and a messenger bag. Not an easy trick, however, last year I didn't use everything I packed so I am hoping to travel lighter this year. I do have to find a new suitcase but that isn't a priority right now as being out of work for five months has been tough. I am ready to start receiving a paycheck again!