Money Failures

In a perfect world donor season would last year round. Non profits thrive on it. Money comes in by the fistfuls, and a fledgling theater hobbles onto the next year. But for me, I am no good at asking for money. To be honest, I downright hate it. I feel like I am asking for myself. Like the Strand is a cover for my seedy underhanded dealings. And the people most likely to give to the Strand are friends. People I know. So it feels awkward.

But the Strand has to get a piece of the tax break pie! The Strand is important! So I am faced with the difficult challenge of asking for money. Trying not to beg, and keep it all upbeat, while begging. It is hard. I want to send out a letter that just says ‘We are Fucked!’ In BIG BOLD LETTERS. I ran it by a few people. Mostly it came across a little too desperate. To which I say, ‘well we are.’

The Strand has a very small operating budget. We basically fluctuate between having $1,000 and $4,000 in our bank at one time. We don’t qualify for any significant grants yet, so we rely on rentals, donations, and box office monies. So far we have been able to get what we need. Scrape by…and little by little we add to the Strand. A better stereo system here, more lights there. Grassroots (code name for poor).

So are we failing? Hmmm. Sometimes I feel like yes and sometimes I feel like no. I guess we are always on the verge of failing. Operating on our budget makes it pretty possible that we are one small disaster away from being zeroed out. It sometimes feels like a big secret. No one wants to really know the bottom line, not sexy and fun enough. People want to be part of things that are raging successes, not raging struggles…gritted teeth and praying.

So what to do? Tonight I embark on an online campaign for the Strand but I have no theme. GIVE!? I think that might be taken. But seriously, GIVE!!! Hmmm, I am not sure. I know positive is what the people want. And yet, it goes against the very fiber of my being. Shutter. But who know, something new might be worth a try.

Super Fun Party Strand Give-A-Thon of Lots O’ Happiness!

http://www.strandtheatercompany.org/id13.html

eh????

Joining the process already in progress -

After The Mercy Seat ended on October 4th, I had decided to take a break from theater just to recharge my “batteries” so to speak. I had spent much of the year playing roles that were somewhat emotionally draining, including several at the Strand. Bermuda found me portraying the husband of a woman who had previously dated my brother, and by the end of the show, I had a complete breakdown. That was followed by Sweeney Todd (at Spotlighters), where I had an extremely minor role, but was on stage in my creepy sewer person persona virtually the entire show. Then came Women in Love, in which I played Gerald Critch, which while not a difficult role, did require me to be fully nude on stage for a solid 20 + minutes of the show, which is certainly a cause for anxiety. And then there was The Mercy Seat, in which my character, Ben, missed out on being killed in the 9/11 attacks on the WTC, because I was at my boss/lover’s loft getting a little “sumpin’ sumpin’”. Oh I should mention, Ben was married with 2 kids, and all through out the show my phone was ringing (it was my wife, hoping I was somehow alive). That show took the biggest toll of all, as it was just me and my co-star, Kasey, on stage for an hour and a half, more or less riding an emotional roller coaster, until finally, I suffer a, you guessed it, a complete breakdown. What a way to book end the year. Or so I thought!

My break lasted approximately 2 weeks. I received an email from Jayme, the wonderful Artistic Director of The Strand, asking if I was sure I wanted to take a break. Her show, [sic], had been in rehearsal for a few weeks, but unfortunately, she lost an actor, and needed a replacement. I was hesitant at first. I had purposely not auditioned for [sic] due to my wanting/needing to take a break. However, having worked with Jayme in the past, and knowing that she was in a bind, I decided to take the plunge.

There has been one other occasion where I have replaced an actor partway through the rehearsal process, and while it was ultimately successful, I did not get to truly enjoy the experience because I felt like I was constantly being compared to the original actor. Initially, I had those same feelings when I joined the cast of [sic]. They had been working together for a few weeks by that time, presumably building chemistry, and learning to play off one another, as well as closing in on the “off-book” date. So in I came, joining the process in progress. I should mention that the script for [sic] is unconventional, to say the least. There is no punctuation at all written into the script, which leaves much of the interpretation to the actor. At first I was worried about trying to do it like the other actor had been doing it. However, after much encouragement from Jayme, not to mention Alec and Tami (the other actors in the play), I started to relax a bit more, and allowed myself to enjoy the process we were going through. And not surprisingly, that is when the magic started happening. I started finding the nuances of Theo, as well as coming up with an affected voice for him, and also facial/body tics, and a walk that is really more like a “shuffle”. I’m on stage about 98% of the play, so I always have to be doing something. Whether it be smelling my candy bars before taking a bite, or having a specific method for drinking my soda, the character of Theo as I portray it, is different than any I have played before. I laughed when one of the reviews stated that “Rohrer plays Theo as if an autistic Rainman”, which is a bit redundant in my opinion, but I saw her point. And while the reviewer meant it as a criticism, I actually took it as a complement. I’m extremely happy that I was giving the opportunity to join the cast of [sic]. The audience/critics may love it or hate it, but for me, I’m having more FUN on stage than I’ve had in well over a year. Hopefully that is a sign of good things to come.