Casting

I cast two roles tonight. Tamara the Israeli mother will be played by Ruth Fahrbach and Lisa Lastra will play one of the radical Jewish Settler women and one of the women in the Gaza scene. Anpo Cash has vacated those role due to time constraints, but we are hoping and praying we can keep her on as Hagar! Tomorrow I audition a couple of actors for two other roles I'm re-casting. I find that the casting is of major importance, especially in a play like this one. I'm thinking out of the box here too. My intention is to have an ensemble cast that is not only professional and polished, but also a group of like minded souls working for the same cause. And having fun! Because theatre is also about play and making magic, even when the subject matter is as serious as that of The Land. Keep checking back here for new updates and donate if you can! 10% of all funds we raise goes to Grassroots Jerusalem.

The Land In Production

Well things are starting to move - tonight I'll be at the rehearsal studio w/Ana Chavez who plays Amirah in The Land. A few women are coming in to read for the part of Tamara. I'm also recasting two other female roles and one, perhaps two of our soldiers. I have decided to direct the play myself this time around. I'll have the extremely talented Arron Shiver coming in to consult, but trust my vision and my core cast members, who are so present and committed, I implicitly trust their input as well. Also, a little improv, in my opinion, keeps things alive! I'm bashing all stereo-types to bits in my casting - look for some big surprises on stage. I'll let you all know how it goes, right here on the blog. Keep reading and please donate! Those who have come over from Kickstarter - thank you so very much. To those of you still undecided, please consider transferring the funds you pledged there to our paypal account, here. We are still raising money for another show in Santa Fe, one in Albuquerque and one in Boulder, in the Fall. We then have our sights set on NYC! Please help us take The Land on the Road! Peace&Love

A Big Thank You

And a virtual hug to those of you who are rechanneling the Kickstarter funds, here via paypal.
Allegra Huston mentioned in a message to me last week, that she thought it would be a bit like "herding cats", which got a good laugh and perhaps a few more grey hairs as well! Truth is, we are counting on those funds as part of the money raised to produce The Land at the TCA this July 10th! If you have not yet done so, please hit the donate button to the right of this post! Every little bit counts! And again, thank you so much - you all know who you are - to the awesome backers who are staying with us for the long haul!
Namaste

The Land Rehearsals

The newly revised play goes into rehearsal next week. I'm recasting a couple of roles and am very excited about this new production. Last time around, I allowed myself to be swayed by the opinions of others regarding both the script and the direction. This time, I'm confident in both my writing and vision and have decided to keep the production - sets, costumes - super simple so nothing distracts from the message I'm attempting to get across. A lot of time, energy and money was frittered away last year - which will not happen this time. I'll also be directing this production with a little consulting help from Arron Shiver. Many of the former cast are still involved and their commitment is heartwarming. There will be a few surprises - I'm continuing to think out of the box and avoid stereotypes as far as casting these actors is concerned. I am also getting ready for an emotional ride - one thing I know from experience, is that the intense subject matter we deal with in The Land, carries over into real time. Hopefully we can harness that energy and use it to give the very best performance possible! Please donate any little bit you can - we are still continuing to raise funds for misc. expenses and a few more shows in the Fall!

A Thought About Fund Raising

Kickstarter didn't work out for us - but somehow, we managed to make quite a chunk of our goal independently. I found I had more success one on one with people - people were more willing to help out after talking to me about the play. Others came forward after seeing or hearing about the workshop productions last December. Still others told me they'd rather donate privately than on a public, internet site - something I quite understand.The extraordinary generosity of a few friends has humbled me. Because of them, we now have enough to cover the costs of our July performance. We'll continue to raise the last 25% of the funding needed to take this play out of Taos and ultimately to NYC - always our main focus! The money we charge at the door will pay the cast and crew and 10% of everything we raise, goes to Grassroots Jerusalem, our eyes and ears on the ground.

Kickstarter Funding Cancelled

I've cancelled funding on Kickstarter - all pledges will be returned and hopefully re-channeled here via paypal! We are already seeing donations thanks to a few early birds! I'll be posting here often now that we are ready to go back into rehearsals with the revised script. Most of the original cast will remain with a few new additions. Thanks again for all the interest and support -and please donate to help us make our goal!

75% Funded

We are well on our way - The Land in its revised form will be back on the TCA stage for one performance Saturday, July 10th! We are still raising the funding needed to cover misc. expenses and a couple of out-of-town shows. Please donate! $10.00 bucks might mean two less cups of coffee this week, but it would mean you've helped to get a critical message out into the world via the potent medium of theatre!

The Land Is Raising Funds Here

Unsuccessful on Kickstarter, The Land has raised enough funding via generous donors, to go into rehearsal at the end of May for one performance at the TCA in Taos on July 10th!

We are still raising money for misc. expenses and a second show in Santa Fe. There is a paypal button on the top right hand side of this blog. We are asking everyone we know to donate 10.00 or 20.00 dollars - more if you can - in order to take this play on the road this Fall! Please be generous - your names will all be included in our program - and 10% of all money raised by ticket sales will go to Grassroots Jerusalem. Thanks to all who have stood by us in solidarity.

One Love

Tax Time

Looking at The Land page on Kickstarter today I noticed we have a few sneaky pledgers putting in more money! This is great news - good to know there are people with a conscience who understand we are all connected - what happens in the Middle East affects us all - nothing is too far away not to care about! I am so grateful to all of you standing with me and encouraging me to continue with fund raising. If our goal is not met, I'll still try to find a way to finance this play, but I'm hoping once taxes are done, more people will come forward with $10.00, $20.00 each. If you've not yet taken a look at the blog or trailer on Kickstarter, please do! And thanks again to those of you who have been so steadfast and generous!

The Land Mentioned! March/April Horsefly

The Land on Kickstarter has a final deadline! Time is short! In one month, $7000.00 needs to be raised in order for me to get the funding needed to bring this play back to life. I've revised it so that it will play much stronger than in its workshop mode, and will require less in the way of props and have smoother transitions scene to scene. I am feeling very excited about the future of this project. There are things happening behind the scenes that are promising. Meanwhile, I've taken on a writing job this Summer, on top of the regular gigs I have, that will also require a bit of attention. The Kinky Friedman documentary will begin filming again this Fall. So I am thankfully busy. However, The Land is my baby - the project closest to my heart, and I am determined to get it out there and seen by as many people as possible. In Steve Long's great Horsefly piece this month (The Case For Democracy In Israel) he notes that "In light of the recent controversy around Lynne Robinson's play, The Land, it is wonderful to see them (The Taos Jewish Center) reaching out to the community to join the conversation." If in the three months since the play was staged at the TCA and seen by less than 1% of Taos' population, we have been able to accomplish so much, imagine the impact this play could have in larger cities all over the world! Please help me get it there! Log onto Kickstarter and give as much or as little as you can afford! You will be part of a bright new movement for real, sustainable peace!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/402359860/the-land