Yesterday we had our first production meeting for the summer - it’s always exciting because that’s the first step toward making everything three dimensional.  We met with the company, directors, designers… and we wanted to give you a stream-of-consciousness peek into the creative process:

• Gray shag carpeting
• Creative inspiration gleaned from Swoozie Kurtz and Tony Randall 
• Early 80s top-40 easy listening
• The business guy drafts a mercy letter
• Artfully styled beards
• "I’ll stay here and talk about omelets and boobs"
• Jared and Anne play some mean charades
• Time to expand the chicken coop

So doesn’t that make you feel like you’ve got a deep understanding of our process leading toward this summer… so stay tuned to see how all those little ingredients come together to form a couple of very funny classics!

I know, the blog has been less than active lately.  Sorry!  But I can promise, once we get started on our rehearsals June 1, we are going to have all kinds of exciting tidbits to share!  For now, I wanted to give you another recap from our online improv.  We’ve had more than 100 separate players so far, and it’s been all sorts of fun!  Make sure to stop by our facebook page to join in on the fun.  And hey - if there’s anything you’re interested in seeing here on Ye Old Distracted Blog… don’t hesitate to tell us!

Why is it so cold today?
Did you not hear that Hell froze over?
When was that news released?
Wasn’t it on Your Carolina yesterday?
Whose Carolina?
Why does it have to be someone’s Carolina?
Did someone misplace their Carolina?
There’s plenty for everyone, right?
Are you speaking of plenty of yellow snow in your Carolina?
Wait are we talking North or South Carolina?
Is this land your land or is it my land?
North or South, could that yellow snow be pollen or…?
Is christo back in town?
Forget Christ-does the Easter bunny still bring candy if it’s cold?
Didn’t the Easter bunny bring the delicious yellow snow?
Won’t he be leaving behind frozen little pellets?
Are they chocolate pellets or the icky kind?
Do these fall under the 20 second rule?
Isn’t it the 5 second rule?
Isn’t more always better than less?
Could more freezing arctic air be better than less freezing arctic air?
Are you talking about time or calories?
Is it ever a good time for calories?
Does shivering in the cold help burn calories?
Are you so cold today that you are shivering?
Is shivering only caused by cold or are there other causes?
Isn’t that caused by ghosts being near you?
Don’t you have to be in a graveyard for ghosts to be around you?
Have you never been in a house that was haunted?
Has anyone ever stepped on your grave?
Do you see dead people?
How can I arrange it so that I only see dead people by appointment only?
Do dead people see you?
Are dead people blind?
Do the living really see?
Is seeing really believing?
Do you believe in life after love?
Is love a kind of death?
Would you die for a chance at real love?
Did you read my obit?
Where can I find your obit?
Wasn’t it in the Greenville evening snooze?
Is that available online?
Isn’t everything?
Can you buy love online?
Does love even exist?
Are you saying you don’t love me anymore?
What has love got to do with it?
Do you sing that like lil rounds from American Idol?
What ever happened to Tina Turner?
Doesn’t she have great legys?
Wasn’t she in madd Maxx?
When was that released?
Wasn’t that from the late seventies/early eighties?
Wasn’t Tina Turner in the 3rd one?
Do you think I was alive in the late 70s?
Would that not depend on the century?
Am I a vampire?
Are you one of the Twilight characters, all twinkly in the sunlight?
Do all the teenage girls go crazy over you?
Are you going crazy over me?
Am I a teenage girl?
How would any man in his right mind answer that question?
What makes you think I am in my right mind?
If you were in your left mind wouldn’t you be drawing pictures?
Can you draw comments on facebook?
Can you draw conclusions based on what you find on facebook?
Have you concluded that new facebook sucks?
Who hasn’t?
How can we get old facebook back?
Have to ask the authorities on that one, who else would know?

Well, a little less than a month ago, we came together for an exciting evening of home made food, ridiculously talented auditionees, and the brave and hilarious graduates of our third series of improv workshops.  It was a great evening, with great results!  We came out the other side with our delightful casts for our Barefoot and Beyond summer.  And though we may not start rehearsals for another couple of weeks, we have oodles to be excited about:

Beyond Therapy by Christopher Durang
Directed by Michele Labar
Prudence: Jennifer Goff
Bruce: Jared Johnson
Stuart: Rick Connor
Charlotte: Kelly Wallace (In her Globe debut!)
Bob: Justin Walker
Andrew: Moses Rickett (In his Globe debut!)

Barefoot in the Park by Neil Simon
Directed by Jennifer Goff
Paul: Thomas Hudgins (In his Globe debut!)
Corie: Elizabeth Finley (In her Globe debut!)
Mother: Anne Kelly Tromsness
Mr. Velasco: Jayce Tromsness
Telephone Man: Kevin Frazier
Delivery Man: Tim Brown (In his Globe debut!) 

How much awesome can one summer hold?  We may be about to find out!  We’ll bring you more exciting updates as rehearsals get under way… but I’ll leave you with this parting thought: the most common answer among our auditionees to the question "If you were an ice cream flavor, what would you be?" was Chunky Monkey.