Central Michigan Life

Issue date: 4/13/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Holly Parker Lake Orion junior Greg Ott talks to the cast of "The Original Last Wish Baby" on Wednesday after a dress rehearsal. "I gave a lot of notes last night to the actors, and they seemed to listen to them," Ott said. He is directing the production as part of his Advanced Directing class and said it is the funniest show for which he has ever worked. [Click to enlarge]

Actors and actresses did their best not to trip over piles of chairs and make it to the stage without falling as Greg Ott called out instructions to set up rehearsals Tuesday night.

"This is a show within itself, Greg," joked Mount Pleasant senior Emily Finck as she watched director and Lake Orion junior Ott dictating exactly where to place each prop.

The rehearsals for "The Original Last Wish Baby" were coming to an end as this weekend's final performances draw near.

"Who in my cast is here?" Ott called as he tried to get his rehearsal underway.

Ott is part of TAI 581: Advanced Directing, and is one of four students in the class directing one-act comedies.

The one-acts will be performed at 8 p.m. today in Moore Hall's Theatre-on-the-Side.

"I have a cast of seven, and they play a total of 41 different characters," Ott said. "'The Original Last Wish Baby' is extremely intricate and fast-paced; we've had to spend a lot of time working out very specific timings in order to make the play sound and feel right."

Finck is directing "Your Mother's Butt" by Alan Ball and said Ott has a clear vision of what he wants.

"He also has very willing, intelligent actors who are able to do what he has for them," Finck said.

Media Credit: Holly Parker Haslett junior Cameron Dodge-White, left, Livonia sophomore Jessica Korpela, center, and Royal Oak junior Bob Pantalone act out a scene of "The Original Last Wish Baby" on Wednesday during a dress rehearsal. Lake Orion junior Greg Ott, who became interested in theater from watching the show "All That" as a child, is directing the play. [Click to enlarge]

Ott said he came upon the comedy "The Original Last Wish Baby" by William Seebring while being yelled at by a girl.

"The script I chose is one of the funniest things I've ever read and my actors and I have been able to turn it into one of the funniest things I've ever seen," Ott said. "And I don't make that comment lightly - I've seen a lot of comedy."

Ott's cast said he is a great director and lets his actors have freedom to make certain choices about their characters.

"This has been one of the most fun plays to work on," said Berkley sophomore and actress Emily Hawkes.

casting to performance

Ott said the casting call for the plays drew a high turnout, and each director had 30 minutes to conduct auditions with various actors and actresses. They've been working on their plays for the entire semester.

"The process hasn't been too stressful so far, but now that we are in show week, the nervousness starts to set in," said Mount Pleasant senior Josh Martin, who is directing the comedy "Words, Words, Words" by David Ives.

The directors run the lighting, sounds and other technical elements for each other's shows, which will be put together in the last few rehearsals, Ott said.

This year, Ott has acted and directed in the "Three Dull Guys" improv shows, directed the one-act play "Just One," and acted in "The Star-Spangled Girl" and "The Chicago Conspiracy Theory."

"Putting together live theater is always exciting, but being able to work on a project you absolutely adore is another thing in itself," Ott said.

After having to add chairs to accommodate the large audience at other performances a couple weeks ago, Ott is hoping this weekend will draw a larger crowd.

"Our plays are all comedies, but each one has a specific sort of humor to it," Finck said. "Each director has chosen a play and a cast that fit each of us."

news@cm-life.com

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