As you may know, on Saturday, July 21st we performed the first ever staged reading of Art of the Pin-Up Girl! Thanks to your generosity we were able to go to New York and stage the event at Shetler Studios' Theatre 54. We had an excellent turn-out with about 80% of the house full of audience members who were delighted by the piece and the feedback was tremendous! It was a wonderful adventure and now I feel like it was Christmas - and now it's over. So let's relive the glorious process that brought the Pin-Up to fruition.
We began our rehearsal process on a rainy Friday morning in the Penthouse studios and began to sing through all of the songs. Immediately we were dazzled by the rich talent of the actors and the powerful singing voices. Then we moved on to the reading of the script and began defining the characters and how the stories would be told in the staged reading format.
Our director, Susan D. Rubin, guided us all through the script, giving character suggestions and notes for blocking and kept us on track for timing and presentation. The actors were all extremely professional - giving it their all and each breathing life into the words and songs on the page.
Friday night we were able to get into the Theatre 54 space and work out all the technical aspects of the show - bit by bit. So that when everyone re-convened the next morning for a full run through, we had lights and sound. All day Saturday we pounded out the scenes, refining and trimming, singing and staging.
The show went up at 7:30 pm and the actors gave us their best! It was positively thrilling to hear the words and songs in the complete show - live for the first time! Each of the actors rose to the occasion, and the audience loved it! I was approached by so many people who told me that they could just "see it on Broadway"! They told me that the stories were so interesting and that the music was fantastic! One lady said she felt like she was witnessing a "real life version of SMASH!"
Special thanks to the cast - who made magic happen in a just a few short days: Cathleen Oliva, Kristin Birdsey, Rebecca Wolf, Morgan Anderson, Rachel Moulton, Jake Thomas, David Rubin, Michelle Berkowitz, and Casey Manning. And our make-shift band with Alex J Weir, Gregory "Popeye" Alexander and our son, Dakota Dawkins, who rocked it on the bass!
And I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge David Rubin, who not only played a charming Baron von Lind, but who also served as our Associate Producer and miraculously brought all the theatrical details together to make it a successful event!
Of course the question on everyone's mind is "What's next?" We know that we will be submitting for the musical theatre festival in Los Angeles, which will be held in May - in the hopes of having a fully staged production in the prestigious event. We are also hoping to do another event here in South Florida - perhaps another reading - or perhaps just an evening of the songs, scenes and monologues - ideally in conjunction with a Baron von Lind mini-exhibit. And of course the big dream is to have a world premier at a real theatre!
Throughout this process, it has been all about baby steps and the patience to reach completion. So to see Art of the Pin-Up Girl up on her feet and alive for the first time was truly enthralling. This would not have happened without this Kickstarter process and the participation of all of you! We are eternally grateful for your belief in this dream.
There will be more pictures and (possibly) video to share. And I will continue to post news and reviews and all the excitement surrounding Pin-Up!
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