25 people

Another month, another late post - re-reading my last post it seems like not all that much has changed - still swamped with important things that are crowding out other important things. At least now I can chalk it up to the time of year - the last couple of months of each year are the busiest ones for me at work, just like many others in the creative economy. 

But enough complaining, let's get to the good stuff. Plans are well underway for the 2023 season at Grinder Productions. I've chosen the plays that I want to, mostly. So what are they? Well, you'll have to tune into this blog on January 1st for the big announcement, but here's a "fun fact" about next season that I can share with you: I'm looking for 25 people. 

25 people? How did I come up with that number? I counted. But I hadn't planned on arriving at 25, or at any number, but when I tallied up both the onstage and offstage roles for everything that I want to do next year it came to a grand total of 25.

25 people, more or less. In theory one person could do more than one thing, and in theory many of the roles could be shared by two or more people, but I'm probably wise to aim for as close to 25 people as I can.

So which 25 people do I need? It's too early to start thinking about names, so I'm thinking about the roles these 25 people can fill in my season. Some of those roles are onstage, some are off (some might even be both, just to confuse things). And I know there's a risk of falling into stereotypes here - just because I have a certain "type" of person in mind for something doesn't mean that I'm right, or that someone completely different from what I have in mind wouldn't do the job as well or better. But I think that as along as I take into account all of that, and remind myself that I'm looking for 25 people, not 25 items on a grocery store shopping list, then I should find this exercise at least somewhat helpful in planning to do what I want to do next year. 

So I thought I'd give you a list of the types of people that I'm looking for. As I said, it's too early to be thinking of any names, and my thinking on these could change over the next several months, but if I were walking into an audition call tomorrow, these are the kinds of people that I would like to see:

The older men. I need a couple of gentlemen with a little bit of gray in their hair, perhaps with a knack for comedy, or at the very least the good sense to know how to laugh at themselves. 

The younger men. I need one or two classic heart-breakers. I admit this is going to be a challenge, as young men in the theatre tend to be quite scarce.  

The older ladies. I am thrilled that this year I can cast one or two "grand dames" of stage, powerful divas who are on the better side of 50, and for whom there is both a glut of competition and a shameful lack of roles. I'm sure that I'll have too many to choose from for this one. 

The middle-aged ladies. I'm also happy to have the chance to cast roles in this over-represented, under-utilized demographic. I find these women are often the ones who are the "glue" that holds an acting ensemble together.  

The young ladies. I need one or two fresh-faced young women, not teenagers, unless they're really, really committed, but not yet part of the "Soccer Mom set" either. For me, these are the hardest roles to cast, since the relatively few actors in this age category tend to get snapped up quickly.

And not to give too much away, but I'm also looking for two people that I almost never include - kids! I usually take WC Fields' advice to heart and never do a show with children or animals, but I have one script that looks like so much fun that I just had to make an exception. It has two great roles for some really smart kids, one girl and one boy, each around 10 years of age.   

Finally, this year I'd like my 25 people to include people that it has never included before - a crew. Unless I'm working with guest directors, I usually I do all the producing, directing, design and heavy technical work on these shows myself, while the world's greatest (and longest-suffering) wife does all the painting, props, necessary costumes, and stage management. That's all well and good for now, but before it stops being all well and good it would be wise for us to start seeking out some help in these other areas as well. So I hope to have some off-stage people be a part of my 25 as well.  

So that's my 25. Perhaps, when I announce my season, I'll spell out some of the roles in more detail (some can be more specifically described than others). Perhaps I'll have changed my mind about some of them by then.

I hope that some of these 25 people will be people that I've worked with before, and that we can rekindle some old friendships. I hope that some will be people that I haven't worked with before but have wanted to, and this year is the year where everything aligns and we finally get the chance to work together. And I hope that some will be people that I haven't worked with before, and that I'll get to build some new and exciting creative collaborations. And I hope that at least one of my 25 is someone that I haven't even met yet. 

Do you want to be one of my 25 people? Do you know someone that you think should be? Let me know!