Don't dream it, just be it.

It's March...The Wedding Show is 3 months away and I'm having dreams about auditions. We just put out our casting call and in the next few weeks I hope to have the 2024 cast picked out. In my dream about auditions I was wasting people's time chitchatting and suddenly I realized that our time together in this group audition would be better spent doing improv games. 
The Wedding Show is in many ways improv based. There is a schedule that the cast follows and interactions between each other that are planned, but everything with the guests is off the cuff. So to prepare for this type of theatre performance, our rehearsals involved teambuilding activities, improv games, character creation. 

Giant Jigsaw puzzle activity to practice problem solving through movement.

For the 2024 season we're going to make some changes to tidy up the show. As much as I'd like to blur the lines between the wedding and the real world, I think people need more clarity right now. The audience (guests) can step into the Wedding world once they arrive at the venue. 
Calling them the audience first and "guests" in parentheses is a shift from last year. 

This year we'll have a intermission (reception) which I'm looking forward to. Although it won't in any way be a break from the action, it'll be a very intentional shift to another space, more free form interactions for the audience, and we'll centralize the activities. In most shows, the intermission takes you away from the action, but it's the chaotic bustling, queuing, uncomfortable mingling. I think some people find it to be a way to be anonymous and lost in the crowd, but I find intermissions always feel a little too long if you're not there to drink and stand in line. So we'll mitigate that with a photo booth and lawn games. A few random toasts to the couple where the audience can clink their glasses, have a laugh and even make a toast of their own. There will be refreshments and drinks for those who want to whet their whistle and mingle. And then the show will migrate back to the venue for dancing and dessert and speeches. 

The cast leaving a photo shoot.

As a producer, my biggest worry is how do we cover the costs of the show. This is what keeps me up and night, stops me from dreaming, and results in stress infused nightmares. The most important thing about the show, other than it being a unique, amazing and memorable experience, is paying people what they deserve for their time and talent. And with so many outside expenses, and the inability to get funding for people, it's not wonder that community theatre is often unpaid work. But does that limit the people that take part? Probably! Drawing a diverse cast isn't easy to do when the stipulation is that you have to dedicate hours of your life for free to the work. And while The Wedding Show can go on a resume, it's not getting our cast an acting credit on IMDB. I don't want this to be a labor of love for everyone involved. I want people who are a part of the show to feel respected and appreciated for their time and energy. 
I'm stretching some creative muscles by completing the Artist's Way and it's week 6. We're talking about abundance, so this is my week to push hard for sponsors, donations, funding and support so that when it comes to paying the cast and crew, we're golden.