Merely Players cast list!

After a great deal of wrangling, adapting, and making hard decisions, with the release of the Margaret list I was able to nail down the cast of Merely Players. Our ragtag but intrepid troupe The Walking Shadows shall be portrayed as follows:

Cornelia, the Director - Stephanie Karol
Sylvia, the Ingenue - Gabrielle Geller
Dionyza, the Diva - April Farmer
Malcolm, the Lead - Ben Federlin
Orlando, the Lover - Andrew Prentice
Arcite, the Fool - Lenny Somervell
Valeria, the First Chorus - Jenna Schlags
Cressida, the Second Chorus - Emma Lieberman
Charmian, the Third Chorus - Miriam Goldman
Audrey, the Stage Manager - Carolyn Daitch

As always, I had more people than I could use, which meant some talented, awesome actors could not be cast. And since I'd made a promise to prioritize those with smaller roles or no roles in Margaret, or even those that weren't booked up by other shows, that meant certain poeple who I would normally leap to work with could not be chosen in fairness to the stated mission. *sigh* Let it not be said that I am not a woman of my word, even when it requires me to make some cuts that pain me. It was really important to me to do right by the club, and I feel like I can say that I did.

Looking at the complete list, it strikes me how little overlap there is with this list with those of the previous shows I've directed. To Think of Nothing had three actors in common with Hamlet, probably the three that struck me the most with their particular abilities, while this show has none. There's only one actor from To Think of Nothing in it, though not for lack of trying. Much as I miss them, it does kind of make me feel good that I was able to use a number of people tried out for To Think of Nothing that I wasn't able to cast that time, not for their lack of talent, but just because I didn't have room. I assured them once that I still though they were worthy in my estimation even though I had no parts for them, and it's kind of nice to be able to make good on that assurance now. And it's good to work with new people, to vary up your theatrical experience. It may help me improve and grow as a director.

The first read through is tonight. As I did for To Think of Nothing, I plan on cooking dinner for all those lovely souls who will be contributing their time and effort to act out this play. I think it's a nice way to start off the working relationship. Got to win goodwill from your actors straight off, and God knows if you feed those creatures you've won their loyalty for life.