Raconteur Theatre Company

I must admit on the eve of the 1^st Rehearsal, I’m really looking forward to moving into production. It’s been a long few weeks leading up to this. We had such a short amount of time after the Flex Series ended and our projected Audition Date, that we had much to do and little time to do it. We’ve been through a series of mishaps: pushing back of the production calendar, loss of one and then two of the actors originally cast, and even a change in performance dates.

Somehow, as is always the case, it all works out. It’s been a real experience for me, as Raconteur has never had a Producer in the past. During the Flex Series, the entire Board of Directors co-produced the production. After the show, we realized that there really needed to be one person that everyone could go to if there were any problems.

It’s been a fun transition for me coming from stage managing to a position where I still get to experience the overall view of the production and organize various parts of the process but without the daily commitment of rehearsals. At the same time, it’s a position we’re definitely still figuring out. My duties started out pretty basic and continue to grow as we move forward. Originally, I was only responsible for the production calendar, following up on deadlines and dealing with any difficulties that could arise from the process. Since the original discussion, I have also taken on production team/actor/copyright/rental contracts and the hiring of individuals to the production. It’s such a cool thing to see everyone come together from their various backgrounds and talents, and I can’t wait to meet the cast that’s going to bring Ghosts to life.

Excited for the future,
Suellen Kasiara
Producer, Ghosts

I’ve never been a huge fan of Comfest. I don’t like mud, random naked people, random naked people covered in mud (or painted!) so this should come as a shock. Given this I had mixed feelings when I was told we would be performing Aster, Holger Gunn at Comfest but I convinced myself it would be fun.

But here’s the thing – it was fun! Sure, the lapel microphones we were supposed to be wearing to combat the ambient noise didn’t work out, leaving us screaming the show into stand microphones. Sure, the stage was awkward with the microphones placed willy nilly. Sure, I was so disgustingly hot and sweaty that I was grossed out that poor Andrew (Holger) had to kiss me…

But in spite of these things I could scarcely had enjoyed myself more. The outdoor atmosphere, the screaming, the staging, the different audience all changed the show in ways I couldn’t have imagined. This was not the Aster, Holger Gun I had come to know and love, no this was a different story entirely and yet also not.

So it turns out I don’t hate Comfest at all.

This was one of the many thoughts running through my head the first time I read Justin Toomey’s Aster, Holger Gunn after being cast as Aster. Little did I know I was headed for a turbulent process involving a change in actors leaving us less time than originally planned for rehearsals. By the time we got around to rehearsing that kiss, it had become bigger than necessary and as someone who hadn’t been on-stage recently I was nervous.

I should have known better. I should have realized that this was a very natural and realistic emotion given the scene at hand. What I did know what that I needed to just get it over with. And what I came to realize is that both that kiss and the last kiss are such pivotal moments in the story that they were truly enjoyable.

Things I Learned During After the Afterglow:
* Sam Blythe (Duck from Aster, Holger Gunn) is the biggest goofball ever.
* Kafe Kerouac has delicious coffee.
* If you park illegally on North Campus they will tow your car astonishingly quickly!
* RTC is perhaps the nicest group of people ever (who else would bring you a birthday cake to tech week?)
* I am very hard on myself.
* It is unenjoyable to wait in the rain for intermission when there is no backstage available!
* There was a strange man across the alley. Every night he showered while the cast of Aster, Holger Gunn ran lines, he either never noticed us or didn’t care that we could see him.
* A smile on-stage can change the entire show.
* Operation and Apples to Apples are the best games in known existence.
* Sometimes a mid-performance line flub can be a confidence booster.
* Huzzah is not as annoying of a word as I originally thought.
-Molly

Just a quick shout to those of you who are reading this who weren’t currently aware - but we’re getting ready to cast our next show.

We’re putting up Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts, translation done by Lanford Wilson, directed by none other than our own Tricia Jones.

(She directed the Roulette half of After the Afterglow, ya know.)

Now, if you’re reading this blog, I know you want to be a part of this production. So, you’re probably saying “Tell me the details.”

Gladly!

Auditions are Sunday, August 3 from 3-5 and Monday, August 4 from 7-9 at the Main Library’s auditorium. (96 S. Grant Avenue)
The show dates are from October 2-18, Thursdays through Saturdays at 8:00 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m. the first two weeks of the run.

You want to know more? Of course you do! And fortunately, you can find out more at our website.

Now, we want to see all of you there with bells on. (Bells optional).
-Aaron

I have a hard time talking about our last show without talking about the Board who brought everyone together. I came into this experience not really knowing what to expect. I only knew half the group of the founding members when we first got together. It was a strange place to be, this past November, when the eight of us met at Cup O’ Joe’s to discuss what was to become Raconteur Theatre – just as another theatre company many of us were a part of was closing its doors. I was incredibly sad to lose Bison and yet incredibly hopeful with what this new company would bring, not only to me but to the rest of the Board and Columbus Theatre. We wanted a company that would last – we didn’t want to go through the incredible sadness that comes with seeing yet another Columbus Theatre have to fold for any of the number of reasons that many Columbus Theatres do. And yet goodbyes are inevitable regardless. Whether they are the closing of a theatre or the closing of a show, the goodbyes give a little tug at your heartstrings. And yet at the same time, that is the nature of the business.

But our debut show was about hello’s. Our company was incredibly lucky to have 8 very different artists, whose talents run the gamut of the sphere of talents it takes to make a production possible - directors, actors, writers, techies, stage managers and businessmen. We spent several months working up to our first show and it was an incredible feeling seeing everyone’s hard work brought together. We were blessed with a fantastic cast and crew who came on board knowing that things were going to be a little bumpy on our first show, and they embraced it.

In terms of my own personal experience on the production, I would say stage managing this show was probably more demanding than most shows I’ve worked on in the past. The Flex Series was set up as 2 one-act plays that offered flexibility to the audience who could see one or both of the one-acts. The plays worked together as a whole and yet also demanded the attention as if they were independent beings. I was always trying to find a balance between the two shows, figuring what I should approach independently and what I should look at as a whole. I had worked with one-acts before, but not in the same way that these two came together. Both shows had very similar themes and yet were very different technically – Roulette had 7 scene changes where Aster had none. Roulette was about an hour and fifteen minutes while Aster was almost half that. Roulette had a film feel to it while Aster was very black box theatre. The theme united them and yet these two pieces came together in the end to offer two very different theatre experiences. Another challenge was working in a non-theatre space. Kafe Kerouac is an awesome coffee shop on High Street near OSU campus with a side room stage where poetry readings often take place on Wednesday nights. It’s not typically a theatre space and yet with the guidance of our Set Designer and Tech crew, we managed to convert that room into a theatre space and make it work. It took a little bit of time and patience, but the final transformation was a pretty cool to see. It goes to show that you don’t need an actual theatre space to do theatre.

Despite these challenges it was probably one of the coolest shows I have ever put on. We didn’t have the comforts of home that established companies have and yet we made it work. I learned so much about what it takes to make theatre possible, how to accept the challenges that arise and how do the best we can with what we have to work with. And even after our afterglow ends, there’s still another show on the other side waiting for us to embrace it. And I look forward to it.

-Suellen