Blogsite Theater

Jobsite firsts and other random notes

2008-07-14T21:08:00.006-04:00

I expect in about half an hour I'll be heading to the airport with a packet of support materials for our first sorta big-time grant application that will be headed to Tallahassee (just hours before the deadline at that). Our new grantwriter and I have gotten the ball rolling, and I have to imagine it'll only get easier from here. At least as far as the process goes and having a lot of these things prepared for future needs.

If you're curious - our worksample DVD consists of snippets from Boston Marriage, Woman in Mind, Gorey Stories and The March of the Kitefliers. If we get lucky, the first Jobsite show to get a grant from the state will be our 10th birthday show - The History of the Devil.

Also, we have fancy-pants looking books for the first time - replete with reconciliations and P-n-L reports! Oo-la-la! I almost don't know what to do now that I don't have to keep up with it (Can you smell it? Mmmm ... sarcasm ...)

Other good news for us is that I expect to have our application and support materials in the mail by Thu. at the latest for Jobsite to become a Member Theater of Theater Communications Group. This is another step for us as a company that we need to take in order to get us to that elusive next level we always talk about.

Oh, and hey - the hits just keep on coming: season ticket sales are up 12% for 0809 as compared to our final number from 0708, and we've still got two months til the start of our season - traditionally our busiest time! We also usually tend to pick up quite a few folks during our first few shows with our upgrade offers.

Rehearsals for Embedded are going very well. This is a large (11 of 'em!), bright group of hard-working actors, and Shawn and I are having blast watching this thing come together. We're also very excited to have musical contributions to the show from Joe Popp and his new outfit The Hornrims as well as Lorna Bracewell. Add to all this the incredible masks, the video, Brian Smallheer's set (which is going to show you the Shimberg Playhouse in it's full, unmasked glory for the first time), Katrina Stevenson's costumes and you have a major spectacle

We have some exciting stuff in the works surrounding the show, as soon as we get green-lights and details sorted - you'll be the first to know. If your group wants to get in on this action, there's still time!

Vote Jobsite BEST OF THE BAY!

2008-07-10T16:03:00.005-04:00

Jobsite has been very lucky over the years with our Best of the Bay Award recognition in Creative Loafing. We've had well over a dozen Reader's Poll Awards over the past 9 years. Not too bad.

As for as the Critic/Pundit/Staff Picks - we've picked up Best New Theater Company, three awards for Best Theater Company ('04, '06 and '07), Katrina Stevenson's picked up two for Best Costume Design and quite a few of our performers have been given Best Actor/Actress over the years. Not to mention our audience even got a Best of the Bay in 2005 for Most Impassioned Theater Fans.

We're hoping to show well this year, too.

You can vote RIGHT NOW for the 2008 Awards.

We hope you consider:

Best Theater Company: Jobsite Theater
Best Actor and Best Actress: Your choice from our illustrious ensemble
Most Underrated thing about Tampa Bay: Jobsite Theater
Best-kept Secret: Jobsite Theater

Once you've voted, please tell your friends to do the same!

Want to have your art shown?

2008-07-08T16:46:00.003-04:00

We are searching for an artist (or artists) for the lobby gallery installation for our production of Clive Barker's The History of the Devil.

Artwork should be suitable to the show, the writer and the genre.

Interested parties should send digital samples to djenkins@jobsitetheater.org

Promo video for the masks in EMBEDDED

2008-07-06T14:35:00.001-04:00

Got a sec?

2008-07-06T13:14:00.002-04:00

If you have a few moments and don't mind lending a hand, you can head over to these online content providers and drop a quick review of your experience with Jobsite in the hopes more people might find out about us!

Metromix Tampa Bay (through Tampa Bay's 10)

Citysearch Tampa Bay

In other news, stay tuned for a quick video teasing the groovy masks we're using in Embedded!

Steve Garland in CreLo

2008-07-02T13:47:00.003-04:00

Jobsite Ensemble Member Steve Garland is the focus of this week's Performance column in Creative Loafing. Check it out!

We've been extraordinarily blessed to have Steve working regularly with us since 2006 when he literally walked in off the street and bagged the part of Katurian in The Pillowman. He's a damned fine talent and a nice guy to boot.

Steve appears with us next in Embedded and has already found tasty roles with us in the 0809 season.

Thanks, Steve, for making Jobsite as well as Bay area theater that much better just by being part of it.

To everyone else reading, the only way we keep people like Steve in town - as well as all the other brilliant artists this town is housing - is to make a serious run at making things stable and exceptional.

As companies, that means we need to step up our efforts in fundraising and raise the bar with our work on stage to keep theater a critical experience. As individuals you can show your support by making a sincere effort to get out more - even if it's just to support those artists or those companies you feel an affinity for. Businesses, individuals and organizations can help by giving, or partnering with the many different groups in Tampa Bay who are working hard at making this area the brightest spot in the region.

I pine for the day people talk about moving to this area as opposed to looking for ways to get away from it. I feel the support building and tides changing, but I have to admit I sometimes worry that it won't happen quickly enough or that the wave will break before it fully reaches shore.

Jobsite news and notes 6/30

2008-06-30T12:21:00.003-04:00

Our run of A Dream Play has come to an end. The show closed yesterday after a solid 3-week run, including 1/3 of the shows being totally sold out. As the riskiest, most experimental and most artistic/mission-based piece we did all year, we feel very good about the work done and the way it was received. We really are extraordinarily lucky to have such a willing, adventurous audience who trust us enough to sometimes just come along for the ride.

From all of us here, thank you for that.

We also managed to once again break records for the year. Since becoming resident theater company at TBPAC, our attendance and our box office grosses have grown every single year. With the entire run of Embedded still left to go, we've already topped the 0607 mainstage attendance and grosses by $13,000!

Once again, without your support we would not be making announcements like this. Thank you.

Finally, still from the Good News Department, we are only eight 0809 season tickets away from passing the mark we set in 0708. We still have a lot of time left to sell season tickets so we have no doubt in our minds that 0809 will once again be another banner year for Jobsite.

So much excitement going around right now. We're making headway on funding with our new bookkeepper/grantwriter, the current season we're in is still tearing it up and there's just so much on the horizon.

We'll take the baby steps. In some ways we're like that tortoise in the story that has the hare in it. As long as we're moving forward, as long as we continue to improve and grow - we're know heading in the right direction.

Again, it can't be stressed enough that without your support in the form of buying season tickets or even just coming to see one show over the course of the year - this wouldn't be possible. Without this great group of donors we have who contribute more and more every year - this wouldn't be possible. Without our sponsors like Creative Loafing, Bright House Networks and Discount Printing and Graphics - this wouldn't be possible.

There's a lot of exciting stuff in the pipe right now, onstage and off. As always, you guys will be the first to hear about it.

Today: final performance of A Dream Play

2008-06-29T10:32:00.002-04:00

Today at 4pm, Jobsite will host our final performance of A Dream Play.

If you're sitting there with your coffee and saying to yourself "Gee, is it over already? I never made it out!" - now's your chance to go.

Tickets are still available. We'd love to see you there.

"[A Dream Play] is like witnessing an exercise in free association ... once in a while, in the rambling chaos, you grasp a nugget that brings everything into focus ... Jobsite Theater's production does a fine job unearthing those rare treasures of wisdom." – The Tampa Tribune

"[Jobsite's production] shows that both Strindberg and Churchill succeeded. So has Jobsite, with its admirable take on a difficult work ... Chris Holcom and his cast handle the material with airiness and humor. But it's still substantial and thought-provoking, full of ideas and images that stick with you." – St. Petersburg Times

Practical illustrations of EMBEDDED partnerships

2008-06-25T16:20:00.003-04:00

After a little feedback, perhaps my intentionally-vague pitch about the types of things we can offer a partner group for Embedded is just ... too vague. Allow me to try to clarify the kinds of things we can do here.

This whole initiative is NOT just about wanting a group to come along and pump a bunch of money into us for the show (however, as theatrical mercenaries it's also not something we'd turn away). We want to develop better relationships with those already working within our community and try to help them in their efforts. Any partnership potentially puts us in front of new people, and that is "what's in it for us.".

I know for a fact based on where we are and our past experience that almost all of these tickets for Embedded will sell on their own. It's not about us trying to hawk our tickets. I really feel we have an obligation to make this show an even bigger and better event, and hopefully do something good for other groups along the way in a critical time.

My thoughts, specifically, of some of the things we can easily do:

A group night at the theater (this only option that requires money changing hands from the group to us): Buy a block of tickets 12+ (up to 98) at a greatly reduced rate. A group ticket is normally $20.83, but we're willing to go steeper for the right partnership. If all 98 seats are bought, we can possibly go as low as $15 per ticket. Those tickets can then either be gifted to that group's volunteers/members/donors or be sold at a higher rate to their membership as a fundraising tool.
The group could also bring a speaker to talk before the show or after the show (which could also involve the artists, or not). This could be part of the greater fundraising effort, to make it more of an event.
It's also possible that this group for a group sale or buyout could contract catering from TBPAC or find an eatery willing to donate food for a reception before the show, adding the the event.
We can offer space in front of the theater for manned tables to be present before or after show. Those tables can collect donations, provide information or sign folks up for their group.

A practical illustration of this first idea: Group A wants to do 'Group A night' at Embedded. They purchase 50 tickets from us at the reduced rate of $X each, get food donated from a restaurant and engage a speaker to show up and do a preshow talk. Instant event! We advertise Aug. X is Group A night everywhere we can with the hopes they'd do the same. They sell their fundraiser tickets for $Y, make $Z off each ticket sold (the difference between our hard cost and the price of their event ticket). We've done this before with other groups (that aren't the greatest fit for this show) successfully, and know there have to be partners out there for this.

We give YOU money: We're also open to just hosting a night for an organization where you don't have to purchase anything. We can do 'Group B night' at the show where the group still can provide a speaker for pre or post show, a table and volunteers for the front of the theater that night to display their info or sign folks up for whatever they do, we can insert their info into the programs, and for the right group we'd even be open to making a certain amount of each ticket sold that night be a donation back to that group. We've successfully donated a portion of proceeds for a specific night back to a worthy group. A group may not make as much in return as they would off of a bigger fundraiser night, but there's a lot less work to put into it as well.

We're also open to partnering for a group for the whole run - such as having a voter registration drive through the whole run of the show every night before/after the show. We'd offer space for a table and help you get the word out for the run of the show. Again, we're not asking for money for that.

Now, above and beyond all this, if there was a law firm or media company or PAC or something that wanted to outright sponsor/underwrite the show, we certainly would never turn your money down. We expect at least 1,300 to see this show, more if we add performances. This is a great opportunity and it's important to us to help those in our community trying to make a difference.

Theater company in search of groups to help!

2008-06-25T11:55:00.005-04:00

Since late January, I have been off and on poking around the internet, sending notes to people I know in various circles, chatting folks up in bars and giving word to friends to give to a friend they know.

We're trying to put together fundraising, awareness raising and whateverelse-raising we can get together for our run of Embedded.

This was the last blog post I wrote about it.

Not to sound crabbed-out about it, but I'm stunned at the lack of meaningful responses. I'm definitely surprised by the number of outright non-responses.

There's really no catch here. We have space and an audience. We have a play that's timely and topical. We're open to speakers. We're open to information tables. We're simply open. We can go as free or as fancy as someone might want to go with an idea. We can give you a private performance for your donors, sponsors or even volunteers at a very reasonable reduced rate. You can turn the tickets into a fundraising tool for your company. You can just have a table out front and let people know about whatever it is your group does. We can put together a whole panel of people to discuss a topic (which could include or not folks from the production).

However, in order for us to do any of this, a hand has to reach out in return and try to take ours. We're here, we're ready, we're willing.

We take this sort of thing very seriously. We feel we've done a lot of good in the past for partner organizations like Metropolitan Ministries, Tampa Fire Rescue and the Tampa Firefighters Museum as well as Hillsborough Association of Retarded Citizens.

This play goes up 2.5 months before the general election. Closing weekend is the same weekend as the DNC. The RNC is the weekend after we close. All these things point directly at a giant, glowing opportunity.

The longer we wait, the less we'll be able to offer and the less time groups will have to make anything as much of a success as they may like.

We'd love to talk to someone. Anyone. This is too good an opportunity to just blow by.

A Dream Play - final weekend!

2008-06-23T12:36:00.003-04:00

We have only four more performances of the surreal fantasy A Dream Play, adapted by Caryl Churchill from the 1901 play by August Strindberg. Thu. - Sat. at 8pm and Sun. at 4pm.

"[A Dream Play] is like witnessing an exercise in free association ... once in a while, in the rambling chaos, you grasp a nugget that brings everything into focus ... Jobsite Theater's production does a fine job unearthing those rare treasures of wisdom." – The Tampa Tribune

"[Jobsite's production] shows that both Strindberg and Churchill succeeded. So has Jobsite, with its admirable take on a difficult work ... Chris Holcom and his cast handle the material with airiness and humor. But it's still substantial and thought-provoking, full of ideas and images that stick with you." – St. Petersburg Times

We've enjoyed great houses up to this point, including 50% of all shows being sold out. There is still good availability for all shows this weekend, and Thursday is an excellent option if you were hoping to take advantage of the $10 student, senior or military rush tickets.

SUPPORT LIVE, LOCAL THEATER!

Is Tampa Bay ready for an Arts Renaissance

2008-06-20T11:51:00.003-04:00

We've heard it all now. Or most of it, anyway.

The Creative Class. Richard Florida. The "culturally curious." City/NFP partnerships. All these transplants that have the fever for more art like they were used to back home. The throngs of 30-something hip cultured folks that are going to invade Downtown any minute now. Mayor Iorio's "City of the Arts."

But then we hear the other stuff, too: brain drain, lack of support, flight to bigger and better cities, that the area cares more about a scene (as in being a scenester) than they do about the actual art, that all these groups are too clique-ish and insular, that this area is too blue-collar and the government too old-boy to ever change.

So, are we ready? Where are we, really? Is the current 'doom and gloom' cast by war, oil, the economy, health care and everything else foreshadowing a potential renaissance? Or is this just the latest in a catch-phrase-come-book-turned-speaking-tour?

Now that I've been in Tampa 10 years come August, I think that's still entirely up for debate. I see progress and regression. As we likely will see until one side wins out. I like to consider myself (and Jobsite) part of the solution. I personally see more progress than regression, but it is very often two steps forward one step back - which can be frustrating. I'm good at keeping the perspective of that forward motion, and that leads to feeling more accomplished than stepped on.

Where do you see yourself? Are you active? Are you at the very least providing lip service (that is if you don't ever actually go do anything) or if you are active are you going deeper into your circles and generating word of mouth? If you're a talker, moaner, complainer, bandwagoner or just vocal fan - are you putting your money where your mouth is?

If you're reading this, you probably are. This be the choir over here, where I typically preach. But there are way too many people in this area (officials, various committee members, business folks, "movers and shakers", scenesters and even some of the artists themselves) that are way too much talk with so very little action.

Read this CreLo article that talks about the "RenGen" and marketing guru Patricia Martin's Tampa visit. I've already jumped into the comments there, and I encourage you to do the same.

Be part of the solution, it's so much easier than most folks think.

Times review, thoughts on A Dream Play

2008-06-19T11:50:00.003-04:00

"A little more than a century ago ... August Strindberg made a stage play out of the structure and psyche of a dream. In 2005, British playwright Caryl Churchill pared that monumental effort down to a scale more appropriate for contemporary theater ... [Jobsite's production] shows that both Strindberg and Churchill succeeded. So has Jobsite, with its admirable take on a difficult work ... Chris Holcom and his cast handle the material with airiness and humor. But it's still substantial and thought-provoking, full of ideas and images that stick with you." - St. Pete Times

For the sake of fairness, the Creative Loafing review is also out, but not nearly as positive as the Times or Trib reviews. He seemed to really like the actors, but took great issue with most of the stagecraft involved, the script (say it ain't so!) and the general filter of misery that Strindberg saw everything through. I can concede the material isn't for everyone (as Marty Clear and Kathy Greenberg even pointed out) and Strindberg's word-view is bleak, but I really think his comments on the design are way off base, but that's nothing new.

As an artist and as the head of this company, I know that we're limited by the space we're in (and that we love very much, quirks and all). We're likely limited more by budgets. Sometimes, with some shows, we make very conscious decisions about sets and costumes. We go for simplicity. We concentrate on actors, text, action and the experience. I'll never apologize for that. That's the essence of black box theater, and that experience is what people have grown to really love about us - whether they get the fancy bells and whistles of elaborate stagecraft or not.

This show was actually deceptively expensive to produce. The rights to the show alone cost us $1,000 a year before we went into rehearsals and before we sold a single ticket. We may still owe them a percentage when all is said and done as well. Nine actors. A director, stage manager and three designers. Fog effects which require we pay a Fire Marshal almost $1,200 for the run so he can stand in the back while the fire alarms are turned off. Then there's that pesky stuff like rent for the space, insurance, advertising, paying the ushers and security. Now consider a $24.50 ticket and the fact we can only fit 85 chairs in the room over 12 performances.

We also went into this production knowing from those expenses alone we may not make back our budget through box office receipts, and that was a risk we were willing to take when we looked at the rest of the season and felt very strongly that their potential gains would offset any losses here.

Do not get me wrong, that's not an excuse - that's stating facts. There's a reason Jobsite has made it 10 years now and we do as well as we do - part of that is we're not stupid with money. We know what it means to make good theater, we think we have a pretty good idea of what people want to see and what they've come to expect from us and we do our best to provide that while continually testing the edges, pushing the boundaries and striving to innovate.

We'd love more money, trust me. First of all - I'd love my artists to be paid a living wage. To not have to worry about anything else other than making greatness. I'd love to be able to get the very best for every single need without hesitation. As we grow, as we make more money and are gifted more money we are doing just that.

I'm proud of this show. This was an exceptionally hard piece to put together as a director or designer, it's a hard piece to sink into as a performer, it's a hard piece to explain without it sounding super arty or just weird, and it's a hard piece to draw an audience to. The material is inaccessible to some, just 'out there' to others.

That's fair. We can't do a full season of theater that is going to appeal to all people the same way. You end up with sanitized, safe choices once you start trying to program for, as Mark Leib even said himself one, an imaginary Mr. and Mrs. Middle America.

We took a play by a sometimes misogynistic, mostly nihilistic author who was then funneled through perhaps one of the greatest feminist playwrights of all time and stuck the whole thing into the very capable hands of the mighty Jobsite Ensemble. We felt there were ingredients there for a great recipe.

This was a huge risk: artistically, financially, professionally. Every show we do now carries the full reputation of our company, every show despite my involvement in it carries my reputation. I believe that taking these risks were warranted.

A Dream Play is not just simply art for arts' sake. We've expected more. We've demanded more. As a result, we've gotten more. Just because you don't share the same views as the artist's work you're experiencing doesn't mean that you can't give yourself over to it, enjoy it, and possibly even learn something from it.

This show, this whole process, exemplifies the notion of a 'theatrical laboratory' we speak of in our mission statement. The work itself hearkens back directly to the spirit we built ourselves on.

It isn't possible (or even desired) that we would attempt this work all season, or even once every season, but it's refreshing and satisfying to reach in and give it a go here and there. I can say there isn't anything this experimental next season, and we haven't done anything like it since The Serpent. Personally, I feel this show is a greater artistic success (though it's never nice to pick between your children).

So if you're out there on the fence about coming, I urge you to come. Particularly if you're open to the mystical, spiritual, surreal or experimental. Heed the warnings though if you only like your theater linear, contemporary or of the kitchen-sink variety. You will not find work like this on many professional stages simply because most are too worried about the box office, of board member and subscriber backlash to the work.

This Saturday night's show (per usual) is already sold out. We have seven other performances this weekend and next with tickets still remaining. Get out there and get one. If you do, come back here and let us know what you think. I'd love to hear from you.

Jobsite news and notes

2008-06-17T11:47:00.002-04:00

I'll take any chance I am given to bump this post about our search for partners for our production of Embedded. This is honestly such a good opportunity, we hope that we can find some sort of interest here in Tampa Bay. We're reaching out on a daily basis. Know someone we should be talking to? Refer us or drop us a comment.

A Dream Play is heading into our second weekend of performances. If you didn't make it out opening weekend, it would sure mean a lot to us to see you this weekend. The theater is only seating 85, which we think is really going to exacerbate the sell-out factor come week 3. It kills us to have a tepid week 2 only to turn around and turn people away straight through our final weekend. Why not come this weekend?

Speaking of ADP and sellouts, this Saturday evening's show (6/21) only had 3 remaining tickets as of this morning's wraps. Get on it if you want them!

To everyone who came and auditioned last night - thank you! This area just keeps attracting more and more talent (even if a lot of you guys came from FSU ...). Callbacks will be going out this week for appointments ranging from this evening as last as July 21.

And - jumping all the way ahead to the end of next season - we have an announcement to make! We've added two of the Bay area's brightest playwrights, who we believe were the last folks to be voted "Best Local Playwright" (before the category was nixed) in Creative Loafing's (then Weekly Planet's) Best of the Bay Awards, in Neil Gobioff and Shawn Paonessa to the creative team for Pericles!

Originally a concept by Joe Popp, he first enlisted on to his mighty ship the talents of Tylor Durand and Brian McCabe - his fellow bandmembers in The Hornrims. Joe kept writing the lyrics, but the music became a group effort. Then Joe decided to hand over the reigns on a rough draft of a book he'd finished to our very own Shawn and Neil (who have not penned for Jobsite since the blockbuster awesomeness that was The March of the Kitefliers) after they all met up in New York just a few weeks ago.

I'm staring at a giant bowl of win from that recipe. Provided six such strong egos (myself included) don't kill each other (or at minimum decide to settle all differences by Reaux-Chambeaux in the bathroom hallway of The Hub) - this show should be blowing the room of the Shimberg come August of '09.

If you want to make sure now you see it then, get yourself a season ticket! We're well ahead of our season ticket counts from this time last year, and we're not resting until we hit our goal (or the season starts, I guess).

A Dream Play scores with the Trib!

2008-06-15T13:45:00.002-04:00

"[A Dream Play] is like witnessing an exercise in free association ... once in a while, in the rambling chaos, you grasp a nugget that brings everything into focus ... Jobsite Theater's production does a fine job unearthing those rare treasures of wisdom." - The Tampa Tribune

After selling out Friday and Saturday's shows this weekend, we have just a small handful of tickets remaining for today's 4pm matinee. Can't make it? Fret not, we're running this surreal fantasy through June 29.

Seen the show already? Hit up this post with your comments!

Tell us what you thought of A Dream Play!

2008-06-13T07:13:00.004-04:00

We'll keep this thread open for the run of A Dream Play (closes June 29) so you can have the chance to sound off and tell us what you think. Kudos, bouquets, brickbats, attaboys, WTFs - whatever you have to say - we want to hear it!

We <3 your comments!

Opens tonight - A Dream Play

2008-06-12T13:16:00.003-04:00

Six weeks of hard work by about a dozen local professional artists is coming to fruition as we are set to open the surreal fantasy A Dream Play tonight at 8pm.

We previewed last night to a mostly-full crown, and aside from the few (and almost expected) technical hiccups, the show appears to be ready for prime time.

This is an exciting time for us all. So much hard work and preparation goes into creating a show - and not to sleight anything else we do, but shows like this (non-linear, surreal, more physically intensive) almost require even more work than your typical kitchen-sink drama.

We truly hope you can share this with us at some point this weekend. We promise to dazzle. The only sold out show at this point is Saturday night, but as always Friday and Saturday could go at any time as we only have around a dozen open seats to each of those shows. We have good inventory available for tonight's show. I'll be sure to update if any of the other shows this wekeend sell out in advance.

On a budget? If you are a student, senior citizen or member of the armed forces with a valid ID you can get a $10 ticket as of 30 minutes to curtain by presenting your valid ID at the ticket office. Cash only.

Looking for partner organizations for EMBEDDED

2008-06-10T14:50:00.005-04:00

Jobsite is currently looking for organizations to partner with for performances of the politically-charged satire Embedded, written by Oscar winner and noted activist Tim Robbins.

The sky is the limit right now, but we'll begin to lose options as time goes on (Edit 6/25: the longer we wait, the less options in regards to available tickets we will have!). The show runs Aug. 14-31 in the Shimberg Playhouse at TBPAC and we have so many options we can make available for local offices of parties, candidates, PACs, the media, veteran groups - just about any group that sees a beneficial connection between themselves and the scope of this show.

We can offer a block of tickets or even a whole performance (98 tickets) to your group at a substantially reduced cost so that your group may package those tickets into a fundraiser for your group, we have opportunities to have guest speakers prior to performances, we can arrange for post-show talkbacks with guests and members of the creative team, we can potentially offer your groups table space at the theater the nights of shows thereby giving you access to our audience. We're also open to your ideas.

Simply, we just want to do some good, and the more local groups we may be able to assist the better. We're here, ready and waiting.

If you know someone who may be able to help - PLEASE help us possibly help them by passing this on.

A Dream Play - arrive on time, maybe a little early

2008-06-10T11:35:00.002-04:00

If you're planning on coming to see A Dream Play, we really recommend you try to arrive to TBPAC a little early. The Lion King is also at TBPAC right now and so traffic may or may not be snarly when you arrive Downtown, and you may or may not end up looking for parking longer than you intended. Like the run of any Broadway show, you can't really depend either way on how that will go so it's just best to try to arrive a little early. Enjoy a drink or a snack or just the river. Since the Shimberg is a general admission space, arriveing early also means you have a better chance of getting the pick of the litter of the seats in the room.

In addition - the show is only 70 minutes long and even missing 5 minutes of it might leave you pretty confused. We also have a hold for the first three and half minutes of the show - late patrons who arrive during the first scene will not be permitted to enter the theater until that scene is over, and it's truly a very visually dynamic scene that sets the tempo and style for the rest of the show. It would be a shame to miss it.

So, umm, I'm just saying - don't be late. You'll be sorry. This isn't like the movies - showing up 10 minutes late just makes you 10 minutes late, you're not just skipping the trailers.

If you don't have a ticket yet for the show, keep in mind that Saturday is sold out and Friday and Sunday could go any time now. We recommend advance purchases if you plan on coming one of those nights. Walk up looks promising for both Wednesday's preview and Thursday's opening night show. A good time to try to take advantage of our student/senior/military rush prices!

Opens next week: A Dream Play!

2008-06-06T13:32:00.002-04:00

The surreal spectacle A Dream Play opens on June 12!

This new version by Caryl Churchill (who wrote Cloud Nine, which Jobsite produced in 2003 and was cited as Best Play by Creative Loafing) is adapted from August Strindberg's 1901 play where he says "Everything can happen, everything is possible and probable. Time and place do not exist." The premiere of Churchill's adaptation just last year in London left the audience "spellbound" according to the Daily Mail.

Follow the journey of Agnes, daughter of the Gods, as she visits Earth and gets caught up in the sufferings and cruelties of mankind. Following the logic of a dream – in which images and characters merge and separate, locations change in an instant, and a locked door recurs obsessively – A Dream Play is a potent mix of Freud plus Alice in Wonderland.

Jobsite's production features an impressive array of regional talent: Kari Goetz as the angelic Agnes with the ensemble of Ami Sallee Corley, Jason Evans, Steve Garland, Amy E. Gray, Spencer Meyers, Steve Mountan, Christen Pettit and Soolaf Rasheid. A Dream Play is tautly directed by Chris Holcom and features designs by Brian Smallheer (lights and set), Katrina Stevenson (costumes) and David M. Jenkins (sound).

Jobsite truly hopes you can join us opening weekend. Tickets are on sale now by visiting the TBPAC Ticket Office, by calling 813.229.STAR or at JobsiteTheater.org.

While you're at the show, please remember to drop off your 30% off Early Bird Special season ticket for for the 2008-09 season! The 30% off special disappears when A Dream Play closes on June 29, don't let it slip you by!

The Flying Squirrel Weighs In

2008-06-04T16:48:00.002-04:00

David said that if we wanted to “guest blog” to share the experience of working on A Dream Play we were allowed. So I flew down from my tree and thought I would type a few words before scurrying into rehearsal tonight.

Okay, seriously – does the flying squirrel bit get old? I’ve lived it so long, I can’t tell.

I digress.

For Jobsite fans who know me – my background is sketch comedy and my roles with Jobsite and the projects that I direct tend to be comedies. So when I was given the opportunity to work in A Dream Play, I jumped on it. This is as far from the roles I have portrayed at Jobsite as you can get.

For those who might be interested in the behind-the-scenes work that actors do to prepare for a role – I have found a most uncommon source for research – first responders and emergency workers who deal with the victims of natural disasters. Because Agnes is “observing” or “learning” the human condition, she does not allow herself to alter or change the behavior she witnesses. She does not emotionally indulge in the pathos of those she encounters. She has to have what first responders call “sympathetic immunity” to the situation. She acknowledges pain, she tries to understand pain, but she does not internalize or fully engage the pain that others feel around her. It’s a fascinating way to deal with people. Agnes is so different from me that I often find myself coming out of rehearsals in a daze.

Kari – me Kari – not actor Kari - I am an active participant in people’s problems, I am a “fixer” in pop-psychology speak. I want to make things better; right wrongs; plot revenge and whatever else is needed to help someone with closure or resolution. I always thought it made me a good friend.

But as learn more about Agnes, I see the power of letting free will and nature takes its course. I understand the dignity of letting things be. For the first time in my life, I make the conscientious decision to be still. It has been a life-changing experience. If I were one of my own improv students, I would pat myself on the back and say, “Good awareness!”

With 9 days to go until we open, the back patting will have to wait.

Working with the cast is amazing – this is such a solid ensemble. It’s a rich combination of Jobsite veterans you know and love and some new faces that are brining a whole new game to our production. It’s a dynamic, creative, thought-provoking and challenging process. I really believe that the work we are doing now will allow our audience to be swept into the multi-dimensional world of the sub-conscious dreamer and experience a truly unique theater experience.

I honestly cannot remember when I had the pleasure of working on such a process-oriented, stylized piece of theater.

Oh and the brief nudity is me – so if you haven’t bought your ticket yet – do so now – I will be more clothed as the run progresses. So you either get a quick glimpse now – or deal with me looking like Randy from ”A Christmas Story.”

0809 show art is now live!

2008-06-02T11:49:00.003-04:00

Head over to JobsiteTheater.org to check out all of the pages for the shows in our 0809 10th anniversary season, we've updated them with all the groovy art designed for us by Greg Newcomb. HOT!

Or, you can jump to your favorite show here:

Blackbird
The History of the Devil
Picasso at the Lapin Agile
The Lieutenant of Inishmore
Rabbit Hole
Pericles

And, while I'm on web updates, don't forget to hit up the show page for A Dream Play, which has also been updated with new art - the PR shot I released here last week!

And get those tickets while they last, we're seating less than we normally do and demand has been at an all-time high all season for our shows - resulting in many being sold out well before curtain. (You know, that could be the least of your worries if you were a season ticket holder with guaranteed seats all year.)

Music: A Dream Play

2008-06-01T18:40:00.004-04:00

Director Chris Holcom and I (as sound designer) started by swapping out inspirado CDs, music that made us think of the show in the general. I took his first, listened to it, then hit him with my reponse CDs.

Somewhere in the middle is where we ended up, and that's the beautiful thing about collaboration. I enjoy doing sound, and this was no exception (if you don't count the 9 hour day I pulled yesterday simply fixing my computer so I could do the work ...)

Here is a list of representative artists used somewhere, somehow in the show:

Thievery Corporation
Portishead
Slowdive
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Angelo Badalamenti
Brian Eno
David Bowie
Duke Ellington
Ministry
Johann Sebastian Bach
Massive Attack
Silversun Pickups
Smashing Pumpkins
Rilo Kiley
The 6ths
Radiohead
Mission UK
Delirium
Thom Yorke

Never thought I'd do a sound design using Bach, Ministry AND Rilo Kiley all on one show. :)

Hope you can make it out to see the show, it's going to be a treat! Also, clocking in under an hour an a half right now - you'll have plenty of time to do other things!

Help still needed! Urgent!

2008-05-30T12:40:00.004-04:00

We're still in need of folks to help us clear out our old scenic shop and make it the new costume and prop shop. Old lumber goes out, costume bins and props boxes go in. If you have an hour or more to spare this Sunday between 10a and 2p, PLEASE consider helping us out. Right now there are only 2 people helping the whole time and 2 who say they are dropping by, which is about 1/4 of the people we really need to bang this out.

Snacks and drinks will be provided, we just ask you wear old clothes, closed-toe shoes and bring a pair of gloves.

The sooner that our TD and Costume Shop manager are able to get this done, the sooner they can turn their attentions back to making A Dream Play look awesome. This task MUST be completed this day. Even stopping by for an hour will make a GIANT difference.

If you can help, please email actorkat@gmail.com to confirm.

First look: A Dream Play PR shot

2008-05-27T14:14:00.003-04:00

There's an extraordinarily brave little flying squirrel, the radiant Kari Goetz as Agnes, daughter of the Gods, in a PR shot from our upcoming production of A Dream Play.

Photo credit: Brian Smallheer

A Dream Play is already sold out on Sat., June 14 and is very close to that mark on both June 13 and 15. Lots of availability right now for opening night - Thu., Jan. 12. We'd love to see you then, or at any performance!

Let's keep Jobsite's latest record-setting season kicking strong!