106 Days 'til Curtain

Music. It's such a critical part of this piece. For one, Firstborn is an actual song that the father character (Eli) and his wife (Audrey) are famous for. So in creating this song, it has to be a warm, loving song that also is catchy and familiar, so that the audience can see why they are famous for it.

I met with my Music Director, Cecilia Long, wonderful Jazz singer, last week. Brainstorming ideas about the music. I was also able to find a piece of music that I adore for inspiration. I've been listening to a lot of jazz with strong piano. I initially was drawn to Doug and Jean Carne's version of Infant Eyes, loving that whole concept of a couple singing about their baby. I first heard it when I was in my twenties, and always held that in the back of my mind as Eli and Audrey's inspiration.

Then I heard this story about their daughter went into a record store and heard her parents' album playing and told the record shop owner that she was the one they were singing about. It was very beautiful to me, to have that legacy--like when Marvin Gaye sings goodnight to his children then names them individually on "I Wanna Be Where You Are" on the "I Want You" album. Or even Aisha, on "Isn't She Lovely" by Stevie Wonder, and who can forget Maya's ode on Minnie Ripperton's "Loving You". It's that notion, that inspires me with Firstborn.

126 days 'til Curtain - The Reading

Tonight we had the reading of the script at the Black Rep. I have been needing to hear the work out loud because so many changes have been made adapting it for the stage. Adaptions that I am pretty proud of. The stage requires the characters to have so much more depth, in my opinion, than on film in a lot of instances. We spend more time with these characters, they are in front of us—more raw, if you will.

When I heard the work, even in a cold read, I could hear the potential of this work. I could hear how the lives of these particular characters that I have assembled can work together in harmony. How they forward the story, hold space for the healing, or grieving. I heard my work in a different way. Their voices helped me envision what is to come in the next few months.

I realized in this night what my life will be like in these next months to come…consumed with this story that has been such a great part of my life, that now is my life. I eat Firstborn, drink and sleep Firstborn…this story, its manifestation something I have been called to do.

The actors that read varied from no acting experience to varied levels of performing. We only stopped a few times for redirection if a read was too out of line with the character. I am excited about the rehearsal process now, unearthing with the actors the nuggets of brilliance in the characters. We cast in January, and as always the auditions will be interesting.

In preparation for that, I started reading a book called “A Sense of Direction – Some Observations on the Art of Directing” by William Ball, the founder of the ACT in San Francisco. The book has a great deal of wealth for me, especially as a new director.