Great review for And Baby Makes Seven in The Tampa Tribune!

Check out the great review in The Tampa Tribune (publishes this week in Friday Extra) for our production of And Baby Makes Seven!

"With three super-talented actors and director Karla Hartley at the helm, this is one of the best shows of the season ... Rothert was absolutely fantastic as Ruth/Henri/Orphan. Her exaggerated French accent and childlike mannerisms (especially when eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich) were hilarious. Burns, as usual, lit up the stage with her expressive face and comedic timing. And Jenkins, a big kid in his own right, was a perfect new father — concerned, scared and joyful" - The Tampa Tribune

Help us spread the word on ABM7!

Looks like we'll need your help more than usual this week as we go into our second weekend of And Baby Makes Seven - can you lend a hand?

We really depend on reviews (good, bad or indifferent) to help us after we open a show. We spend a lot of effort pushing opening weekend with the thought that the reviews (which typically come out the week after we open) and the word of mouth generated from opening weekend will then take over and help drive sales for the other two weeks.

And we do mean 'good, bad or indifferent' when it comes to reviews. A critic might not like a show, but enough people can read what they have to say and decide it's still something up their alley to drive them to come check it out. We've seen it happen plenty of times before - what looks like a bad review printing ends up selling a boatload of tickets because the readers obviously felt maybe it was a show for them even though it wasn't up the critic's alley.

We only had one critic in attendance over opening weekend for ABM7, from the Trib (a paper that's also been beset with cuts). We learned that CL will send someone out this week, for a story that could help draw attention to our closing weekend - but the Times confirmed today they won't send anyone to review us this time around. That's basically only 33% of the coverage we're accustomed to going into the second weekend of our run.

It's bad news for the arts in general when a paper like the Times starts scaling back and cutting local arts coverage, but it's not necessarily a new thing. In the past 10 years, we've seen a lot of cuts from a lot of places when it comes to arts coverage. We've been told before that we can't expect the press to cover every show - even for a professional company such as ours that's the resident company of one of the largest performing arts centers in the country.

Oh - and don't get me wrong - I can objectively, rationally understand that the newspaper industry is in crisis and cuts have to be made somewhere. More people care about reading (and let's be honest, advertising in) sports sections and the like more than they are arts sections. Still, the idealist artist in me wants to rage against the machine and talk about high-falutin' stuff like stewardship and responsibility of journalism/criticism. It hurts us all, on multiple levels, when the press just isn't there.

If it comes down to just picking the highlights of the highlights, more often than not you'll be just seeing reviews and reading stories on the things that didn't need the exposure to begin with. Wanna bet WICKED gets a review - on it's third tour through the market no less? And no knock on our partners at TBPAC, I'm just using that as an example.

So we do our best to keep moving forward. It's why we were such an early adopter of and ardent believer in social media and new technologies. It's made an impact on how we reach people.

And that's where you come in ...

Can you help your friends and neighbors find out about our show? Post a mini review to your blog. Tweet about your experience, or update your status with a Jobsite-friendly message. Shoot an email to those friends you think would appreciate the experience. Embed one of our web banners or videos where ever you might be able to. With opportunities in shotgun pieces like print newspaper stories diminishing, we'll be relying more and more on our faithful to lend a hand and help us reach people.

It's appreciated. Truly. And we're watching - we try to send out special thank you gifts or opportunities here and there to folks who really pitch in for us. And if you ever have any ideas for us as to how we can reach people better - I'm all ears.

Thanks again, Tampa Bay, for being so awesome.

Become a Fan of Jobsite on Facebook and win!

We're running a contest today over at our Facebook account. Become a fan, comment on the status update we posted today about the contest and you could win a pair of tickets to the Thu., 10/1 8p performance!

It's that easy!

Guest Blogger: And Baby Makes Seven's Jessica Rothert

(ed. note: Jess took great initiative in putting this together. All I had to do was upload it. Sweet! -dj)

All My Children: Imaginary and Allegorical –OR– Is My Character Completely Insane?

a brief literary psycho-analysis by Jessica Rothert

Upon my first read of the script for And Baby Makes Seven, I was struck with a question and a conundrum: Is my character (Ruth) absolutely off her rocker? And, if so, how will the audience relate to her? The conclusion I reached can best be explained by quoting the great Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka:

“A little madness now and then is relished in the wisest man.”

Ruth’s view of the world could be construed as crazy in some circles. But what do we deem to be crazy to us? Something so far outside our comfort zone that we don’t know how to relate to it? I beg that Ruth’s particular brand of crazy isn’t so much insanity, but a quirky adherence to the playful nature of childhood-gone-by. She just never put her imaginary friends in the closest like most of us did, gathering dust next to our My Little Ponies and (in my case) She-Ra Princess of Power dolls. In fact, she expanded on her imaginary friends, making them these mythic, allegorical figures that she uses as forms of expression when her reality starts to overwhelm her. Ruth’s imaginary children are not just imaginary; they have touches of real life literary and pop-culture references that have meaning and substance.

Take Henri (one of Ruth’s imaginary children), he is a fleshed out version of the little boy in the 1956 French film La Balloon Rouge (The Red Balloon). But Henri also has a penchant for Maurice Chevalier hits and he quotes John Dunne. As an actor, I sometimes see Ruth as a player, so deeply invested in her characters that they are constantly evolving, staying relevant, and fighting for their true objectives. She does her research and nothing is extraneous or without meaning. Take one of her scenes as Orphan (her other imaginary child). I won’t give it away, for those of you who haven’t seen the show yet (WHY oh WHY have you not seen it yet!?), but Orphan is in a dire and intense situation. To illustrate his state, Ruth has drawn on several figures from the literary world either on the cusp of death, destruction, or loss of their mind. (Jess puts on her English Literature nerd glasses): the following is a list of characters Orphan references in that scene, if you can pick out which lines belong to which character when you see the show … I will give you a high five and let you run in my geek pack:

Mercutio - Romeo and Juliet before he dies from his duel with Tybalt

Blanche - Streetcar Named Desire before she gets carted off to the looney bin

Regan - The Exorcist we all know what this movie is about now, don’t we?

Othello - Othello before he kills Desdemona

Oswald - Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts before he succumbs to neuro-syphilis

Ophelia - Hamlet after she has gone mad

Oswald - King Lear after he is killed by Edgar

Lady Macbeth - Macbeth after she has gone mad

And a few fun musical references: Lassie, Chattanooga Choo-choo, I am the Walrus

Ruth turns her imaginary children into vehicles that explain larger issues she feels passionate about or can’t relate to any other way but through her children. This is why I believe her children to be allegorical. To reference good ‘ol Webster’s definition of allegory: expression by means of symbolic fictional figures and actions of truths or generalizations about human existence. Her version of play is fraught with depth and meaning. Before I can ever let myself judge Ruth for her particular brand of crazy, I have to think about two things:

1. I play make-believe for a living. That’s … kind of insane.

2. What is so wrong with never letting go of our child-like sense of play?

The real issue comes when your playtime prevents you from dealing with responsibilities in the real world. I believe that Paula Vogel does a wonderful job of writing some scenes that help us get to know Ruth (without the mask of Henri and Orphan) and realize why she is the way she is. I hope that my portrayal of her will help you understand this frightfully wonderful, loving, and complicated woman.

To close, I will share with you the piece of Ruth I found in myself. As a child of about three or four, I had an imaginary character that I embodied; much like Ruth embodies her imaginary children. I, also like Ruth, drew on my pop-culture reference of the time: Disney. Princess Aurora (the princess in Disney’s Sleeping Beauty) was my alter ego and I fully lived in her reality. (see photo of me as Princess Aurora below) My mother tells me my voice and mannerisms would change and I would express irritation and not respond to the name Jessica. Being a bit of a rough and tumble tomboy, Princess Aurora was my way of being girly, feeling important and regal, and escaping from the reality of Jessica. But, like Ruth, I always became Jessica again in the end. My parents wrung their hands with worry…is our daughter insane? Schizophrenic?

No mom and dad. I was just destined to be an actor.

- Jessica Rothert

Two awesome Job-side Projects - 9/28 and 10/9

The Job-side Project umbrella has grown (which we love!) to now include Job-side Staged Readings and Job-side Productions.

Job-side Staged Readings are held as often as once per month on Monday nights and are an excellent opportunity for playwrights to have their work loosely staged and read aloud by our ensemble. These readings are done with script in hand with a minimal number of rehearsals for the actors, typically on a make-shift set and minimal technical embellishment. The emphasis here is on the exploration of the written word, and Jobsite typically offers an opportunity after the reading for the playwright and possibly the other artists to gather feedback from the audience.

Happy Family

By Eric Gabriel Lehman
Directed by Lori Shannon
Sep. 28, 2009
Mon. 7:30 pm
Tickets: $5 at the door; FREE for Jobsite season ticket holders (email us to secure your seats.)
Shimberg Playhouse, TBPAC

What do you get when you mix an overweight pothead, a scary sister, family drama and your local neighborhood dope man? Happy Family is a story of four people coming together out of mutual need that leads to a shaky dependency which like certain kinds of closeness, can lead to violence.

Job-side Productions are fully produced evenings from members of the Jobsite Ensemble that occur late nights or off-nights in the theater when the mainstage production does not need the space.

Last Call for Jazz: The Vocal Stylings of Emilia Sargent

Oct. 9, 2009
Fri. 10:30 pm
Tickets: $15 advance through the ticket office, $5 student rush half hour prior to curtain; FREE for Jobsite season ticket holders (email us to secure your seats.)
Shimberg Playhouse, TBPAC

Featuring: Tampa Jazz Greats, James Crumbly (Piano), T.J. Glowacki (Bass) and Thomas Ziegelhofer (Trumpet).

Funny, sexy, and poignant, Last Call for Jazz entertains with a spectrum of beloved standards from the Great American Songbook, Broadway hits, and original music by James Crumbly. Songs include favorites such as “You Hit the Spot,” “‘Deed I Do,” “Peel Me a Grape,” “If I Were a Bell,” “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea,” “Bewitched,” “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To,“ ”More Than You Know,” “Get Happy,” “The Frim Fram Sauce,” and many others.

And Baby Makes Seven in the press

Thanks to our pals Greg and Michelle - The Culinary Sherpas - who were inspired by the show and submitted this recipe column inspired by the show. This story prints in Sunday's paper - pick it up!

There was also a preview in the St. Pete Times Weekend section this week. Did you miss it?

Earlier this morning, director Karla Hartley and actress Alison Burns were on the WMNF Women's Show. Check the archives to give a listen!

Finally, going back a bit - if you missed this interview for the Creative Loafing blog with Karla Hartley, go back and give it a read!

Have you seen the show? Give us your feedback! We want to hear what you have to say!

After All There Years - we're here.

By popular demand, we've posted the video montage used during the final song/curtain call/finale to 10 years of awesomeness from Pericles, and as a special bonus - Joe Popp was cool enough to send me some rough cuts of the original cast soundtrack, so I set the video to the rough cut of the track from the show.

After All These Years. Hope you enjoy it.

If you want to help ensure we're still here for another 10 years, make it a priority to get out and see shows. Get a season ticket, come and take advantage of discounted rush opportunities or just shark us on Twitter or Facebook for contests to get in free. When you see a show you like, help us spread the word. And if you're able to, any gift you might be able to make to Jobsite is meaningful beyond words.

Tell us what you think: And Baby Makes Seven

Last night's opening was a success! Hopefully you'll get a chance to see this great, wacky little show over the next few weeks before it closes on Oct. 11.

We're getting a superb reception from audiences so far. One patron told actress Alison Burns upon leaving the theater that being that close to us made him fall in love with theater all over again. A bevy of local actors were in attendance last night, and they were all quite impressed with the work turned in.

We're also getting buzz already on Twitter and on Facebook:

culinarysherpas GO SEE IT! @jobsitetheater 'And Baby Makes Seven' It has rabid dogs, lesbian action, breast fondling, PB&J's and a ton of other things.

Rene_Sanchez Wow!! @jobsitetheater did an AMAZING job!! And Baby Makes Seven was fantastic!

versusmoll thanks @cl_tampa for the tickets to @jobsitetheater's "and baby makes seven", really good play. support the arts!

William Paul Moline Great show, very entertaining, cutting edge, funny, insightful, rabid (inside joke), thought provoking, touchy-feely (inside joke), peter pan-like ... we enjoyed ourselves.

So once you get a chance to see the show, why don't you come back here and tell us what YOU think? Your opinion may help lead someone else to come see us, and that's a great thing.

Heck, feel free to tell folks yourself if you want to help spread the word, but don't forget to leave a comment here as well!

Jobsite Theater artists rack up multiple Best of the Bay Awards!

Congratulations to all of these fine Jobsite Ensemblers who were a finalist for or won their respective categories in the 2009 Creative Loafing Best of the Bay Awards, and thank to everyone who voted!

Jobsite Theater: Critic's Choice - Best Theater Company
Jobsite Theater : Runner-up, Reader's Poll - Best Theater Company
Karla Hartley: Critic's Choice - Best Director (Blackbird, opening And Baby Makes Seven on 9/24)
Scott Cooper: Critic's Choice - Best Scenic Design (Blackbird, opening And Baby Makes Seven on 9/24)
Joe Popp: Critic's Choice - Best Theatrical Composer (Pericles)
Meg Heimstead: Finalist, Reader's Poll - Best Actress (Rabbit Hole)
Kari Goetz: Finalist, Reader's Poll - Best Actress (The Lieutenant of Inishmore)
Spencer Meyers: Reader's Poll - Best Visual Artist
Christen Petitt: Runner-up, Reader's Poll - Best Bartender

Artist Interview: Alison Burns

Alison Burns has been an actress at TBPAC since 2005, performing in shows such as, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, Cigar City Chronicles, Christmas Cabaret, Jewtopia, Boston Marriage, Waist Watchers (in which she wrote an original score) and Respect. She serves as a musical theater teacher at the Patel Conservatory and has written and directed eight original musicals with the school. Alison is also the resident choreographer for the Jaeb Theater and her work has been seen in HATS! The Musical, Christmas Cabaret, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Key.Pin It Real and Respect. Her favorite role to date: Maureen in the national tour of the Broadway musical RENT. Burns is a graduate from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy.

This is the first time I've had the chance to work with Alison for a real show in any capacity. We did however have a lot of fun reading opposite one another as Alice and Jack/White Knight in the Wonderland staged readings earlier this year. :) I sent her a few questions via email the other day ...



For those not yet in the know, tell us a little bit about the character(s) you play.

I play Anna. A young lesbian woman who is pregnant with her best gay friend's baby. She lives with both the "baby's daddy" and her partner, Ruth, and together they have 3 imaginary children as well. One of whom she has created; Cecil. (I'll leave it there for now... get the minds goin')

Has this been your first experience working on a Paula Vogel play?

Yes. It has been challenging, yet very fun! Her characters have such extreme personalities.

I know for sure that this isn't your first experience being directed by Karla Hartley. How many is this for you now and what's your favorite thing about being directed by Karla?

Let's see... This will be show number ... Seven!

I cannot say enough good stuff about Karla Hartley. She is by far, one of the most talented and driven directors I've ever worked with. I love the clear vision she brings to a process, the way she communicates that vision so that the entire ensemble is on board, and all the while she keeps the creative process alive by being open to the actor's ideas!

Over the years I've seen you do literally just about everything - you've killed it in musicals like Rocky Horror and stolen the show in straight plays like Boston Marriage. I've seen you teach children, choreograph, write songs. Did you always aspire to be such an all-around theater artist? Has anything really helped prepare you for that kind of diversity in your work or do you just take things as they come to you?

It's funny, I never really think about all the different things I do. I do just kind of take it as it comes.

I come from a family of performers, so It's always been there. I've been singing, acting, writing, and dancing my whole life!

I'm lucky to be in a place where I can develop all of those disciplines.

You have a beautiful daughter. Has motherhood helped you in preparing for this role at all?

YES! I used to laugh when I heard people say, "You'll understand when you have one of your own." But it's soooo true! I can now really pull from real life experiences.

What's your favorite moment in the show and why?

Ooooh. That's tough. I have to say, I love the whole "Cecil death scene". The intensity and raw emotion behind it all is very cool! But, I also love the "Henri death scene" ... for those same reasons!

What do you think it is about this show that people want to/need to see?

It's super entertaining and yet it still has some very touching and poignant moments in it.

Everyone can relate to some part of this... because everybody has a little crazy in them.

Scott Cooper on the set design for And Baby Makes Seven

Scott Cooper is happy to be returning to Jobsite Theater as the set designer for And Baby Makes Seven. At TBPAC, he last designed Jewtopia, HATS! and Jobsite's Boston Marriage. Scott is the production coordinator for American Stage Theatre in St. Petersburg (ed. note: where he recently had an astounding set design on display for their production of DOUBT). He was voted Best Scenic Designer in the Best of the Bay awards in 2007. His work has been seen locally at American Stage, Stageworks, the Shimberg Playhouse and in Chicago at both the Goodman and Steppenwolf Theatres. He is a member of the United Scenic Artists Local 829.

I asked the cast and crew over the weekend to let me know if they had anything to contribute in the way for material for the blog, and Scott was kind enough to share with us how he came up with the design for And Baby Makes Seven.

From Scott:

The idea that struck me most about the play is that the world that the women have created around themselves is imaginary ... I found that fascinating. So, I was thinking about 'family' and what it means to people to be surrounded by family and mementos. Thus the idea of using the empty picture frames as the backdrop - a family gallery if you will - that pretty much makes a statement of their world. The rest is just what the play needs - a kitchen, furniture, exits and entrances - so that's what I have put inside this imaginary family world that they live in. Seven of the picture frames will somehow represent the seven characters in the play - probably with either something in them (not a photo, but something) or the color of those frames will be different from the others.

My thought always is if the audience gets it, great, and hopefully it will make the play just that much more of an event in their life. If not - well, I tried. :-)

(Click for a larger view)

Look for tomorrow's blog, an interview with Alison Burns, who plays Anna - the heavily pregnant lover of two. In the meantime, why not head over to our website and hook up tickets for opening weekend!

The 2009-10 season is upon us

Wow, they sure come fast, don't they?

It was just a few weeks ago that we wrapped Pericles. Heck, The Lieutenant of Inishmore doesn't even seem that long ago (though I suppose Chris Holcom and company may disagree as they begin getting all of the effects ready for Night of the Living Dead).

Now we're just over two weeks out from our new season and Paula Vogel's magical comedy And Baby Makes Seven.

It's a big time of year. Auditions are all almost complete for all the 09-10 shows. The Jobsite braintrust has already turned an eye as to what might be available for 10-11. We even have irons in the fire for an 11-12 project. Whew ...

There are a few things though that depend more on you than they do us right now - 09-10 season tickets and annual campaign contributions.

I know I'm good at going on about all the reasons why you should become a season ticket holder, and I've often used this space to do just that. I'll spare you (and my fingers) from another rehash. I'll just leave it that we're still working very hard at finding at least another 25 couples who are ready to reap those benefits and make a big impact on what we're able to do here. Might you be one of them?

The annual campaign is something we've likely never made that much noise about. Our annual campaign is pretty much just what it sounds like - the pool of money we raise every year to help us cover day to day operational expenses (like our annual financial compilation, book-keeping, stamps and so on), to pay folks like myself and our TD for work outside of mainstages and to help act as a safety net when a show falls short of budget.

Falling short of budget is not a problem we've often had until this past year. There were a few reasons. We base out budget every year off of current sales trends and expectations, with a small margin of growth as we've always had. We consider ourselves pretty conservative in that regard, and up til now that formula has worked.

However we've had three back to back shows - Inishmore to Rabbit Hole to Pericles (all critical successes) - fall short of their budgets, not because people didn't come but because people couldn't afford our tickets and needed specials to get them in the door. That hurt us by at least a margin of about $4,000 per show.

Some of that money was made up by donations, and the rest we had to dig into the piggy bank for.

It's been a rough year for many, and many of us working with Jobsite know that too well. However, there are still those of you out there who may be able to help contribute to our annual fund - be it $5 or $5,000. There is truly no such thing as a small gift.

You can learn more about our donor tiers and benefits here, and then easily make your contribution by following the instructions here. All gifts made to our 09-10 annual campaign will be acknowledged through the end of Sept., 2010, and all gifts are fully tax-deductible to the extent provided by law.

Be you a donor, a season ticket holder or a casual patron who enjoys a show of ours once in a while - thank you for your support of Jobsite Theater. Outside of ticket sales, your personal contributions are our next largest stream of income. We truly hope to see or hear from you very soon.