NH Unscripted with Ray Dudley

We get to take a look at the 7 Day Plays event from backstage, sort of. Meredith Compagna shared the stage managing activities and, along with her insight as being the spouse to Aaron, shares her experiences from her privileged angle. Helping to choose the props, getting to view the scripts early, helping to manage Aaron (just joking!), etc. all are on the table!

Ok, the truth is that Jennifer and I start off our chat a little off track. She brings up D&D and I see the shining object and chase. But, eventually we get back to discussing her role as an actor in the 7 Day Plays event and how she viewed the productions and the process. Jennifer also brings up some topics related to the event that I hadn't really considered before, towards the end.

Valerie Kehr had the unenviable task of playing the straight guy, er, woman to a cigarette smoking stuffed bear and a fellow actor that seemed to be channeling Chris Farley. So, she rolled up her sleeves and more than held her own in a delightful comedy that captured the audience from "lights up". A thoroughly engaging discussion that felt like two old friends have a summers chat. Enjoy.

Well, it took a while to get around to discussing Karielle's script writing, but, we eventually do it! Two comedies beautifully bookended the 7 Day Plays production. For second comedy Karielle Silk took on the role of a first time author and produced a hilarious play that ended the 7 Day Plays event on a wonderful upbeat. I'm sorry that more people couldn't have seen it and I was determined to find out where the premise came from and how in the world did she decide to let a bit of her more "colorful" side out into the wild!

The 7 Day Plays event featured two volunteers, who had never directed before, offered to try their hands at directing plays that hadn't been written yet with casts yet to be picked and to be performed in 7 days before a paying audience at the Hatbox Theatre in Concord NH. Mary Fraser is the second "newbie" director and it was a great pleasure to speak with her about what would possess a person to attempt it and how she thought it turned out.

Laura Hoglund volunteered to direct a play that had yet to be written and using a cast that will be assigned to her AND she has only 7 days to make the whole show ready to be seen by a paying audience. Challenge accepted! Great chat with Laura about how she got to the point of doing the 7 Day Plays production as well as whether the task was a failure or a success.

Dwight Stearns was of the two actors in the first of the four plays presented on May 24th in the 7 Day Plays Production held @ the Hatbox Theatre in Concord NH. Dwight spends some time speaking about what it was like to take on 4 different roles, wrestle a Teddy Bear that smokes and much more.

After the final production hit the Hatbox Theatre stage and the curtain came down I talked with Aaron about he felt the whole shebang went. We started at day one and briefly went through each stage of the entire project.

4 playwrights (2 seasoned, 2 newbies) are given 24hrs to write a script, hand them over to 4 directors (2 seasoned, 2 newbies) who each choose a cast and have one week to put the play into a production worthy of an audience to see. Can it be done? Why would it be done? And who would conceive of the idea? Aaron Compagna that's who and he sits down with me to tell the story. Inspired by the Play in a Day festival, this expanded form brings theatrical artists together to both create and develop original 20-25 minute plays, to be performed in front of a live audience on the seventh day!

Heather and Suzanne spend some time educating me about their theater paths and about their performances in "Last Gas" which will be performed at the Concord City Auditorium May 6-8. Tickets: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?ticketing=cpcnh

Wayland Bunnell and Patrick McGranaghan take a moment to talk about the play "Last Gas" which will be opening shortly in the Concord City Auditorium. May 6-8, 2022 Directed by Wayland Bunnell Cast List Nat Paradis: Patrick McGranaghan Troy Paridis-Pulcifer: Ryan Flaherty Dwight Paradis: Eric Stanley Guy Gagnon: Jerry Smith Cherry-Tracy Pulcifer: Heather Carmichael Lureen Legassey Soloway: Suzanne Watts Synopsis: Last Gas by John Cariani Nat Paradis is a Red Sox-loving part-time dad who manages Paradis Last Convenient Store, the last convenient place to get gas--or anything-- before the Canadian border and on the edge of what's wild and what's not. If you remember our production of "Almost, Maine" in February of 2011, you'll remember how delightful Cariani's characters and situations are. Last Gas also takes place in way-northern Maine, in a very small, unincorporated town, T16-R8, where unusual things happen to ordinary people. Long-time member Wayland Bunnell (from way-northern Colebrook, New Hampshire) directs a cast of six, four of which are brand new to The Players: Suzanne Watts, Heather Carmichael, Eric Stanley and Patrick McGranaghan. Children's Theater veteran Ryan Flaherty plays the teenage son, and Jerry Smith (The Full Monty, The Drowsy Chaperone, and others) round out the cast. Both staff and actors are wonderful, devoted, and working hard to bring this amazing play to you. So come take another trip back to way-northern Maine and see how funny, touching, moving and universal the human condition is. There's more than moose that can cross and impact our paths!

Our fifth and final WRRR interview in our series. This time we talk with Peggy Rae Johnson, an audience member who saw four different performances starring four different actors. Her insights are wonderful, honest, deep and sincere.

My chats with the cast of White Rabbit Red Rabbit continues as I sit down with Aaron Compagna (#7) and Katie Dunn-Law (#9) about what it like for them to perform this intriguing play.

In 2021 the Community Players of Concord staged nine performances, using nine different actors, of the play "White Rabbit Red Rabbit". No actor can have seen a previous production or have ever been in a previous production and once they've performed they can never perform it a second time. With no rehearsals, no directions and having never seeing the set before they walked onto it on their performance night, each performer was tasked with opening their script on stage for the first time and perform the piece. Today I talk with performer #8, Chris Avery. We discuss why he was chosen, the difficulty of the piece, what it did for him personally, etc.

In 2021 the Community Players of Concord staged nine performances, using nine different actors, of the play "White Rabbit Red Rabbit". No actor can have seen a previous production or have ever been in a previous production and once they've performed they can never perform it a second time. With no rehearsals, no directions and having never seeing the set before they walked onto it on their performance night, each performer was tasked with opening their script on stage for the first time and perform the piece. This is the first, of several actor interviews, of what it that night was like told by performer #5, my good friend, Katie Collins.

What's it like to produce a play where your actors never see the script until they get on a live stage? No rehearsals, no directions, the actor doesn't see the set or the script until the performance! Wayland and Lacy give me all the details, well, as much as they can divulge anyhow, about the craziness of the play "White Rabbit Red Rabbit".

A few years ago Matt Cahoon from theater Kapow contacted A.J. Ditty and asked if he would write a play for him. That play is about to be staged in Derry, NH and Charlestown, MA. Matt and A.J. take some time to discuss the process, the cast and the production in general. We especially discuss the back story of the play and the very interesting casting choices that were made to enhance the productions value.

Just as the "you-know-what" ramps up in the USA I chat with Joel about himself, Jeans Playhouse and how they're prepping for the deep sleep the virus is putting on live theatre.

Neil and I take time to chat about the impact of the pandemic on theater in general and The Winnie Playhouse in particular.

Chuck gives us an overview of what the NHCTA and NETC are all about. He also talks a bit about adjudicating show and tries to get me to open up about myself. https://youtu.be/_VV8OLPvpu4 https://www.facebook.com/groups/nhcta