Cheri and Rena's "Hello Dolly!" (Summer Day 11)

Much of today was spent going back and forth to the Canyon Theatre Guild. Cheri and Rena (she's the co-director of the show) were busy putting the final touches on the set. Sam Novak stayed up until four in the morning finishing the backdrops, and they look marvelous. The downside was the little bit of paint splatter on the stage. So that called for more black paint! President Doug Holiday was also on hand, helping up post some diner signs to an otherwise blank wall. Things are looking good!

Mackenzie also had some last minute lighting problems. But eventually, everything was fixed -- for the most part.We even returned home for a few hours in the afternoon. We walked the dogs, and I worked in Photoshop, assembling six pages of Chapter Four.

We were back at the theater at 6:30 -- and the show began on schedule at 8pm. We had a large crowd too. Not sold out, but at least 85% full I'd say.

Everyone involved deserves many paragraphs of praise written about each of them. But since I don't yet have the time or the energy, let me just say that Cheri and Rena knocked this one out of the proverbial ballpark. The whole cast and crew did. Everyone took things up two notches and the audience was with them the whole way. Emily sat next to me during the show (we were third row center, so awesome seats) and she kept whispering things like, "That's so cute! That's so funny! I love that so much!" If you can make a musical that is beloved by senior citizens and teenagers, you've created something pretty amazing. But what else would you expect from an amazing woman like Cheri?

Drama Geek - Bonus Cartoons!

I Promised Myself...

... I would draw more pictures...

Midsummer Night's Dream - The Musical

Charles Dickens once compared his books to children. He indicated that deep down, parents have a favorite child. And as to his novels, this is what he said:

"I have in my heart of hearts a favorite child. And his name is David Copperfield."

Well, I disagree with him about playing favorites with your kids. In case my girls are reading this, I love you both equally and absolutely! You're both my favorite!

But I do have a favorite play -- at least so far. And her name is "A Midsummer Night's Dream: The Musical." This labor of love began around early 1999. I had been finishing up my Masters at CSUN. I had been married for a few years. I hadn't directed a children's play since 1996. My friend Josh and I were kind of sad that we were entering the grown-up world of paying bills and holding down a career.

Then, Josh and I went to a week long computer training seminar. During the day we learned about Macromedia Flash (the program I use to make my web pages -- for better or worse). Since we had a lot of free time in the evening, we started to brainstorm about another musical. We started to discuss Shakespeare's work, and pretty soon, I started cranking out songs for Midsummer. And, we came up with a really funny aspect of the play --

Puck is the one who decides that she's sick of speaking in iambic pentameter. So she uses her magic to make the characters speak in a modern day manner, with some songs to boot. Then, about 30 minutes into the play, the ghost of William Shakespeare rushes the stage and announces that he has been spinning in his grave ever. Shakespeare and Puck become this hysterical pair. The show transcends typical adaptations and the music, in my not-so-humble opinion, is awesome.

Our musical director was Rachel Greenlee, and she did something very brave. She listened to me sing (if you want to call it that) into a tape recorder, and during the course of three weeks, we created one song after another. I think we added a new song in the final two weeks of rehearsal.

And "Midsummer' became my first, and so far only published musical. It has been performed all over the country, at various middle schools, high schools and community theater. (And I hope people continue to perform it.)

Of course, maybe I shouldn't be so proud of the show. After all, it wouldn't be nearly as good if it wasn't for Shakespeare. Thanks Will!

Learn more about Wade's Plays

Aesop's Hop - My First Published Play

After Josh and I directed our smash success (by children's theater standards), a few changes happened in my life.

The biggest change: I got married.

The other big change: I moved from Orange County to Los Angeles.

At first, I thought that I wouldn't be directing another show for the Yorba Linda Civic Light Opera.  But, during the year, I kept coming up with some new song idea.  And I kept thinking about the various flaws during the last show.  I wanted to create something that was really tight, structurally. 

And really fun.

And for some reason, I kept thinking of Aesop's Fables -- little stories I had heard throughout my childhood, tales with a clear moral at the end.  And, as I thought about the fables of Aesop, I also recalled a story about a dog, a cat, a rooster, and a donkey -- "The Musicians of Bremen."  So, I combined all of the material and created "Aesop's Hop." (Here are some photos from a college production... Great costumes, don't you think?)

I felt truly proud of the show.  About three or four times a week I drove out from LA to Yorba Linda.  But you know what, I didn't mind.  The rehearsal process was the smoothest experience I've ever had as a director.  The kids were terrific, as usual -- but there was something really harmonious about the songs, something that we didn't quite have in previous shows.  Katie Luekens did the music, and I think it was her finest work of all our children's shows. 

So we did the show, a couple years passed, and for some reason -- I can't quite remember how or why now -- I submitted it to a publishing company: Eldridge Plays. 

I had sent them plays before and they had kindly said, Thanks but no thanks.  They also said to keep trying.  Well, they loved "Aesop's Hop."  They weren't looking for a youth musical -- but they thought the script was great.  So it was published as a non-musical.  In fact, this was the very first play to be published.  I was absolutely thrilled.  (I did have irrational visions of it going to Broadway -- ah youthful expectations.)

Strangely, even though it was the first of my plays to be published, it was one of the last of my directorial projects.  Still, I look back on the show and the writing experience with utmost fondness.  It opened a door into the world of publishing -- and I'm forever grateful to Eldridge Plays for taking on the project!

Learn more about how to bring Aesop's Hop to life at your school and/or theater!