Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps at Perseverance Theatre 2011

Behind the scenes blog of putting together the show: The 39 Steps

39 Steps: Day 39: Opening Night!!!!!

Good Evening, 

Dun-Dun-DUNNNNNN! Opening Night is upon us! We are just a few tickets from selling out and we've received excellent coverage in the local papers:

Juneau Empire: http://juneauempire.com/art/2011-09-22/season-33-perseverance-kicks-first-pla....Tn0DDrLlapp

Captial City Weekly: http://www.capitalcityweekly.com/stories/092111/ae_888595830.shtml

We've been busy putting the last details together, apperaing on local radio shows, etc. The preview audiences have really been enjoying the show and we are all excited for Opening Night! 

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Art Rotch, Executive Artistic Director at Perseverance in allowing me this opportunity and for welcoming me home. It feels really, really good to be here. 

Working with this cast over the last weeks has been super-thrilling and they made my job extremely fun. I'm proud of them and the work we've done and I am looking forward to sitting in the audience tonight and just sharing this grand experience with them.

Also, the entire design team and technical crew - thanks for making this journey a fun one. This show is crazy and required everyone to stretch right here at the beginning of the season and I'm forever grateful. 

And one more pubic shout-out to my Stage Manager - Nikki Dawson! She's been pure joy and it's been a blast working with her on this show! Let's do it again soon Nikki! 

One last thing: Our 39 Steps sticker contest winner: Christy Terry! Well Done! Here's a few photos! She won 2 season tickets. You can still find stickers and win other prizes: http://perseverancetheatre.org/shows/39steps-chase.html

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And just as I was finishing this post, Nancy Hemenway, one of our board members, brought us 39 cupcakes to celebrate our opening! 

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Thank you for following our blog! 

 

39 Steps: Day 35: The Chase is Really ON! (Sticker Location List)

Good Evening,

Okay, so, we really want to give away a pair of season tickets. I know many of you have a head start on the sticker contest, but may be having trouble finding those last few...so now the chase is really on! 

So, here it is in it's entirety...The 39 Steps Location List: 

 

1.)          Douglas Café 

2.)          Douglas Depot 

3.)          A&P Coffee Bar

4.)          Tasty Treat 

5.)          The Closet consignment shop

6.)          Heritage Coffee- Second Street 

7.)          SilverBow 

8.)          State Office Building coffee bar 

9.)          The Rookery 

10.)        Mesa Grill 

11.)        Hearthside Books 

12.)        Triangle Bar 

13.)        Rendezvous

14.)        Lucid Reverie 

15.)        Nickelodeon

16.)        Pal Meni 

17.)        Shattuck and Grummet 

18.)        JACC

19.)        Taku Lanes 

20.)        Nugget Alaskan Outfitters 

21.)        Vintage Fare 

22.)        Heritage Drive-In Aiport Shopping Area

23.)        GCI

24.)        Amazing Bookstore 

25.)        UAS coffee/snack bar

26.)        Ferry Terminal 

27.)        Fred Meyer 

28.)        Blockbuster

29.)        Mendenhall Mall

30.)        Alaskan Brewery 

31.)        KTOO 

32.)        The Hangar

33.)        Pizzeria Roma

34.)        Sandpiper Café

35.)        Cycle Alaska

36.)        Island Pub

37.)        JDHS (This one is tough. Think Theatre)

38.)        Douglas Library

39.)        The Perseverance Theatre Van

 

and a reminder about what the prizes and rules are is here:

http://perseverancetheatre.org/shows/39steps-chase.html

Good Luck! 

39 Steps: 6 Days to Go: Scenes from Tech & First Preview

We've been busy this past week! We spent the last week building the technical elements into the show. It's been quite the week! And tonight, we welcomed our first audience to see the show. It was a pay-what-you-can preview/rehearsal where we bridge that last important element into our work: the audience. We had quite the turnout tonight and if this is any inidication I think the audience interest level in this show is high. We learned a great deal tonight about what works in the show and the areas where things can be improved. It will be a wonderful challenge this week to work on fine-tuning the technical elements that support our great cast as they work toward sharpening their performances for opening night in...6 days. 

Here are some photos from our rehearsals this past Saturday...enjoy...for more visit Perseverance Theatre "39 Steps" dress rehearsal on Sep 17 on facebook...

 

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11 Days to 39 Steps: Tech Happens plus Hints re: Sticker Contest

Good Evening, 

Sometimes TECH happens. When it does, it can and probably will take over one's whole life. The last few days have been some of the most lovely weather-wise since I arrived in JNU. That recognition had to take place from inside a darkened theatre though, as technical rehearsals have started for The 39 Steps. Somehow, we didn't let that recognition get the best of us and this team pulled together for what became a nicely surprising fun day of tech. See, most people dread tech. It's can be slow and you have to do things over and over again. However, if the day is set-up with the right expectations and a reminder that patience is key, tech can become quite the joyous experience. It's where the director and cast get to see how all the work they've been doing in the rehearsal room will be enhanced by the technical elements of the show. It gives the designers and tech crew a glimpse at how all their fantastic design elements and work they've been doing look in context of the show the actors have created. When it all fits together, it's a beautiful. 

I posted some shots yesterday of our spacing rehearsal. I will try to grab interviews with designers as I can. Here's a quick vid with a couple of the actors from our first day of tech: 

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and one more pic of the set-in-progress: 

39_steps_0281

NEXT: Update on the Sticker Contest - 

I know folks have been following the sticker contest. We're curious of how many you've found. We wanted to release some clues about some of the harder locations. Here they are: 

In the Valley: 

* You probably get coffee here a lot downtown - at this location however, you don't even have to get out of your car

* When it starts to get cold, you hit the mall and perhaps get some winter gear here

* Barney's friend sure sells a lot of stuff

* The makers of Perseverance Ale 

Even further out: 

* Sometimes your car wants to go on the water as well

* Whew! When students learn they might need a quick candy bar or soda

Downtown: 

* I wonder if the actors in this "Fall Comedy For the Whole Family" will have admirers a-ready at the stage door

Okay, that's a few...anyone wanna share a clue to the hardest one they've found so far? 

 

 

39 Steps: We say our goodbyes...

Good Evening. 

Today is sixteen days from opening and tonight we said our goodbyes to the rehearsal room! We did a final run-thru in the space which we have definitely outgrown as more and more set elements and props have shown up. Wow, will it be nice to have some space! 

And soon we will start our technical rehearsals and start adding in costumes. Here's a sneak peak: 

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See this and many more in...16 days...

39 Steps: 17 was a busy one!

Good Evening, 

Whew! You can feel the train leaving the station. As we wind down our time in the rehearsal room and get ready to make our move into the theatre, the entire theatre is buzzing with activity: 

  • Sheila Wyne, our set designer, arrived late last night. We had drinks at the Harbor and a little Pel Meni (where I did notice one of our 39 Steps stickers. Hint, Hint!) Then, today, she was all kinds of involved. Running errands, making plans with our technical director, Erik Chadwell and more. 
  • We had our final production meeting before tech begins on Sunday. Great to have Sheila there live for the first time (she'd been conferenced every meeting before this one). All departments checked-in with their progress and listed their to-dos. The show is quite huge actually and everyone is doing a fantastic job to bring it to life!
    39_steps_0265
  • Also before rehearsal, there was dialect work and bagpipe training! 
    39_steps_0267
  • Then, in rehearsal tonight, we had a big night. We did an triple-speed run-thru (sometimes called an "Italian Run-Thru") of Act I and then we did a sing-thru of Act II. These both serve different purposes and are both exhilarating and exhausting for the actors. I promised them at the beginning of the week that we were going to push hard this week. They have been more than up to the challenge and I'm beyond pleased at where we are right now. We've got much to do and sharpen, but we are really running well right now. 
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  • Tomorrow we say goodbye to the rehearsal room and hello to the theatre. Exciting! 

39 Steps: Costumes

Good Evening, 

One integral part of the process for all involved in the show is costumes. This show, being one with only 4 actors but dozens and dozens and DOZENS of roles, is an amazing task for a costume designer and their crew. Quick changes, multiple character changes on set during the show and costumes needing to be on top of other costumes are only part of the Herculian tasked asked of THE 39 STEPS costume designer. 

We've been blessed on this production to have Val Snyder. She's really been an absolute angel. She's asked the right questions, she's been flexible as we've been finding things in rehearsal and requesting changes. Really, I couldn't have asked for better. 

So, I wanted to share with you her early renderings. Val worked in a new way on this show apparently. She sketched the basics and then scanned them in and colored them digitally. Note: the characters are necessarily to scale in terms of which actor is playing which role. This will give you a beginning glimpse at what she's after. We have made many changes since these sketches. 

See what the actors are actually wearing and how they manage these amazing quick changes in...18 days!

Click here to download:
39%20steps%20act1.pdf (4.06 MB)
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Click here to download:
39%20steps%20act2.pdf (2.9 MB)
(download)