Self-Producing: A Solo Adventure #4
Props? Check! (One nagging thing left that I’m going to have to break down and visit a fabric store to get.)
Lines? Uh – kinda check.
Have you ever tried to memorize 50 pages? Even having written it, I am trying to keep it all sorted in my head. Some transitions work better than others, and some sections…I know exactly the thing I’m trying to say, I just can’t get the exact words right. Surprisingly, I am still actively editing the script. Not excessively – no major restructuring is happening, just smoothing out some transitions and learning that some lines are written just – wrong. I’m workshopping and rehearsing the play all in one, fell swoop. And that’s okay. I’ve done that before – but somebody else was the playwright and I had other people on stage with me, too.
Wardrobe is well underway. (But I should’ve bought those jeans. Ugh. NOW I found the perfect top for them.) Just need to find the time to shop, which is not something I really like to do.
I was so focused on getting an email or mailing out to the Nashville industry peeps I hope will come that I completely overlooked other marketing options. Admittedly, I am relying heavily on the marketing of the festival, itself, as I am the only act on my night, but I need to help with that legwork as best as I can from three hours away.
I have also doubled the pressure by adding a preview in Louisville four days before I show at the festival. I’m so thankful to The Bard’s Town for giving me the space to get the show in front of an audience before I inject myself into the machinery of the festival, but now I have real stakes barreling down on me. That’s four days earlier I have to be audience-ready. OMFG – what was I thinking?
In all seriousness, and regaining my professional composure, the script is in the best shape its ever been in. There have always been spots that have nagged at me, that didn’t seem quite right. They are getting there – some of them are there. Now, I just have to buckle in and ride this thing into the finish line.
Oh, and do some shopping.
What is this about? Here’s the scoop:
My solo show, View from the Pews, has been invited to perform at the Tennessee Women’s Theatre Project Women’s Work Festival next month! Follow along on my journey as I post weekly about what I am doing to prepare, and the kind of progress I am making.
Tasks Week 5:
- Get off book. (I’m a-gettin’, I’m a-gettin’!)
- Send out press releases to local outlets about the preview.
- Start massive social media campaign to draw audience to the preview and the Nashville show.
- Complete wardrobe.
- Purchase the last prop, a black cloth for the (onstage) prop table.
- Record VO for slides.
- Finish Week 3 Tasks (you know, the ones I was supposed to do last week, sigh.)
Tasks Week 4:
- Get off book.
Acquire/Make PropsStart shopping for wardrobeSend out marketing materials & press releases.- Finish Week 3 Tasks
Tasks Week 3:
Follow up with Equity on Wavier (still waiting, but I did follow up…I just have to keep following)Finish blocking the showStart working the sectionsBegin building/acquiring propsDesign slidesRun the music- Learn lines
- Clarify what the site can provide & remain in contact with them
Tasks Week 2:
Dismiss the playwright. She is on call should we run into a problem in rehearsal, otherwise she is not invited into the room.Start working the music.Divide the show into manageable sections and begin learning my lines.Start blocking the show.Plan costume.Create marketing plan and marketing materials.
Follow up with Equity on Wavier
Tasks Week 1:
Edit script. Then let it go; let this production’s version of the script happen. Tinker more, later.Get my game plan together: action steps and deadlines!Send program and other requested info to producers of Festival.Confirm technical specs for the slides, or devise a plan to do the show without them.Generate a prop list.Check with Equity about getting a Solo Show Waiver
Props & Slides are due May 1st; Off Book on May 3rd
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