Plaza Suite

As we open this week, I should probably blog on this a bit.

SHAPE Players' fall production is Plaza Suite by Neil Simon.  The play has three acts that all take place in suite 719 of the Plaza Hotel.  Kyra and I were both cast in the play.  Kyra plays Mimsey Hubley, a bride who has locked herself in the bathroom on her wedding day.  I play Muriel Tate, a married woman who has gone to the Plaza Hotel to meet her high school boyfriend who is now a famous Hollywood producer.

Over the past few weeks I have been keeping busy with rehearsals and helping with the set (thus few blog posts).  The volunteer who used to help with set construction moved this summer so there is as much to do, but fewer trained hands to do it.  Thus Thomas (the set designer and builder) has taught me to use some of the power tools - circular saw, nail gun, staple gun and drill (already knew some drill skills).  I've also done a good amount of painting as one look at my clothes will confirm.

Rehearsal wise, I've had a lot of fun.  I most definitely prefer the shows with a smaller cast.  I guess I'm selfish that way - I like to have more time with the director, more time to run lines and the calmer atmosphere of a small cast.  Plaza Suite is essentially three small shows that share a common setting.  So in some ways we are functioning as three separate shows.  Full run throughs allow us to see what our fellow cast members are doing but otherwise we don't rehearse together.  I've seen a good amount of act 3 solely because I bring Kyra to rehearsal and then sometimes stay to watch.

The show is set in 1968 so the costuming is fun.  Yes I will post photos - keep an eye out for them.