Applause, Applause & More Applause

We want to say Thank You to all who came out to see the journey!! When we first started the journey, we gushed about our cast and how amazing, incredible, outstanding, etc. they were and we stand firm in our declaration that they are the absolute greatest! We have had a strong base of committed actors who were so dedicated to the journey that they stepped in and stepped up to fill in wherever we needed them.



Here it was, Friday October 22, 2010. The Cast and The Team began arriving by 5:30PM. This was a very special night for us, it is the night that we close our three night run. With mixed feelings of excitement and knowing that this was our last show, we went into full blown action focusing on preparing for the journey on stage.


Each night, we anxiously anticipate that there will be an audience to come and see the journeys on stage. We only hoped that if no one else showed up, at least our family and friends would fill in some seats. The first night we feared that the audience would be a bit sparse because of the horrible weather we were having that day. It was only two days before the show that the weather was unseasonably warm, sunny and bright. However, on our night to begin our journey on the stage, there it was - a nor-easter.

Meanwhile behind the scenes, The Cast were preparing and warming up. Some stretched, sang songs, laid on the floor, danced, somersaults, vocalices you name it, it was happening.


Just before the journey begins The Cast and The Team has a brief meeting




The dressing room with the Make up Artist
(Zelda Pushkin and Ashlee K)

Well, it was about 7:20PM and there they were people waiting in the lobby for us!! The show began at 8:10PM as we waited for everyone to be seated. We were treated to an audience that were not only strangers to us but they were filling up the seats and had great enthusiasm applauding at the end of each scene - some even responded verbally, cheering and sharing their brief connections to the character. One person responded "Me too!" when they heard the cast member declare that she was a breast cancer survivor.

(Amanda Casarella)

The second night was also exciting, the audience were in and seated so promptly that you would think they all came in on a scheduled bus/train tour. The opening scene began at 8:05PM. In fact, it was so quiet that I was curious to know if we were able to fill out a row. During intermission, I walked out to check and there they were people and there were lots of them. I mingled and asked if they were enjoying the show and the responses were overwhelmingly positive. By the end of the night, they were applauding and sharing their own personal journey with cancer whether they were a survivor or have had someone who was diagnosed with cancer.

(Dawn, Albert, Tara Notvest and Ashley)

Final show, October 22, 2010 - 8:05PM and we begin with a few people in the audience. Yikes!!!! However, after checking out in the lobby, there they were -- people! They were waiting to enter the theater as they could not enter during the scene. It was such a good feeling :-) Okay, they were late but there they were waiting to get in to see our journeys. Our show ended with more rave reviews. The responses were mixed with connections to cancer, wanting to make sure that they check up on their health, happy to see the different journeys explored, and so much more.

(Bianca Golden)

(The Reception)

The best news of all is that although we had our 3 night run, The Day That Changed My Life is not over. The journey has just begun, stay tuned..........



Dawn

In Search of the Cast-Audition Day (Take II)

It's Saturday June 19th, The Team heads to the city for the second audition (hopefully final). We're looking forward to meeting the prospective cast members. There is a street fair, we browse knowing that we still have time before the audition begins.

We took our time walking slowly to the audition site. The film production crew was already there waiting - we check in noticing that there are people sitting in our reserved holding area. We're still early so we hesitate hoping that they will soon be finished.


While the film crew sets up, a member of The Team peeked into the room. They were still sitting there -- waiting -- for us!!

Oh wow, the people in the room are waiting for us. Aimee jumped right into her post and it was on....


The casting director was ready to begin. Nastassia knocked on the door to usher in the first actor. Most of he actors were great. The Team worked smoothly. We had such a fabulous time without a moment to spare. It was a strong, impressive turnout - we were very pleased.



In fact, the actors were still coming in while we were leaving. I wondered if we may have missed a great talent. All in all, it was a far cry from the first audition. This was such a success!! The Team was very happy ;-)


Now on to the next task, selecting the new addition to The Team - The Cast. Who will be a part of bringing the journey to the stage? Coming soon!!

Dawn

In Search of the Cast - Audition Day

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Our first casting call placed on the Internet - Craigslist and Backpage began with a flood of submissions. The casting director advised me to also place an ad in the Back Stage paper but due to the responses we were receiving, I felt that it was not necessary. However, the turnout on audition day was not as impressive. The Team being a fab. force, kept a positive and enthusiastic attitude.



It was Saturday morning, May 22nd and there we were setting up and preparing for the big rush of actors/actresses who are eager and excited to have a chance to be a part of The Day That Changed My Life's cast.



We all worked really hard, looked forward to meeting the actors, and we were pleased to have had the first experience of our first audition. Yes, it was very exciting but we were only able to fill to cast members and we had many more roles to fill.



Without missing a beat, we planned for the next audition. This time I listened and followed the suggestion that was given by the casting director who said "Place an ad in the Back Stage - print and online."

The ad was placed through BackStage for print and online June 1st. On the evening of June 7th, the ads were published online with the print ad to follow on Thursday the 10th. That night of the 7th, submissions were coming in with impressive numbers and in no time we had pages filling up with new pages added to accommodate the increasing number of entries. Needless to say, we were over the roof with excitement.

The Team remained focus -- we knew what happened the last time. Will the next audition be a success?!!

Dawn

Working, Meetings - The Team at Work

Do not be fooled by the laughter and smiles, our work is certainly no easy task.

As you can see we have worked in just about everyplace - a very focused team.

Late into the night, deep discussions, laying it all out on the table - working...

This is a work in progress. We have so many things to work out. In addition to the script, we need the right actors/actresses to deliver the journey to our audience. We have to focus on finding the cast, the film production crew, the site for auditions, rehearsal and the venue.

Although we don't always see eye to eye, we all understand that this journey is important. Each character's journey while it may have some connection to the audience -has it's own unique experience of those whose lives were affected by cancer.

We have big plans for our production!

We love what we do and we have a great team who also feels strongly about this journey.

Yes we want to share the journey of those affected by cancer. However, we also want to make a difference to those who are currently facing this disease. Stayed tuned for more - you'll be meeting the rest of the team real soon ;-)

Dawn