Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: Love Letters by A.R. Gurney

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n2drama
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Joined: 4/08/08
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Posts: 24

Topic: Love Letters by A.R. Gurney
Posted: 3/27/13 at 8:53pm

It seems I come back to Gurney's Love Letters every year and am tempted to do it. Has anyone made money from this play? Does it still pull well? The set and costume requirements are so minimal it has to be an easy break-even piece.

I've been thinking about casting three sets of actors for it. One teen-aged couple for the "early years" of the play. A second couple, around 30ish, for the "middle years" of the play and an older couple for the final part of the play. Has anyone seen it done this way or do you think it would be effective?

Thanks for any feedback.

Bill

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Scott B
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Joined: 12/08/04
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Posted: 3/28/13 at 1:16am

I think it draws well. I saw one theatre that double cast the characters where a different couple played on different weekends. That works well if you want to involve more people.

I can't see casting it with different people throughout the same show. If done correctly, you get to really know the characters and swapping people out would distract from that aspect of the show.

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n2drama
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Posted: 3/29/13 at 11:25am

Thanks for the feedback, Scott. You're right, the audience connecting with the characters is a very important element, particularly in this show. That empathy is a big part of it.

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Topper
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Posted: 5/17/13 at 3:49pm

Practically all of Gurney's plays include actors playing multiple ages. To double- or triple-cast age-appropriate actors would be doing a disservice to the playwright and his art.

"None of us really grow up. All we ever do is learn how to behave in public." -- Keith Johnstone

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skywalkerlt
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Posted: 5/21/13 at 11:42am

The last time I was involved in this play, local celebrities were brought in each weekend to perform the two roles. A couple of the weekends they were played by married couples, and that show did incredibly well. It's a great idea for fundraising.

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Rorgg
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Posted: 7/31/13 at 12:39pm

A company not too far away I'd some one fill-in for in the past had to drop a show and come up with a replacement in a hurry and decided to put this on. Given the limited prep required and our busy schedules, my wife and I decided to go out for it, and got the parts... mostly. Given the small cast size, the late change, that we're not well known in that particular town, etc etc, we were given the six Friday/Saturday night performances, and three other, more locally well-known folks got one Sunday each.

To be honest, the show was not well attended ... most nights, we pulled in 15-20 people, with a high of about 35 for our final Saturday. The Sundays, I heard, were slightly better attended, as each of the one-show actors brought in their supporters for their big night. Anyway, the upshot was that, even with little advance promotion, and little lead time, we put on an effective show that the audience who did attend enjoyed, and the company broke even or lightly ahead, after having to do an emergency ditch 7 weeks before the show date... which is about all you can ask for.

I will say, as an actor, while I felt the first couple shows were fine, and the material is so good, it masks a lot of little rough edges, with like 3-4 rehearsals, plus tech, it definitely got better starting in the second weekend. Just getting audience interaction a couple times really helped hone some of the fine points (and being more and more familiar with the script gives you more latitude in performing, needing to reference the text itself less).

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Author	Message
n2drama Player Joined: 4/08/08 Online Status: Offline Posts: 24	Topic: Love Letters by A.R. Gurney Posted: 3/27/13 at 8:53pm
	It seems I come back to Gurney's Love Letters every year and am tempted to do it. Has anyone made money from this play? Does it still pull well? The set and costume requirements are so minimal it has to be an easy break-even piece. I've been thinking about casting three sets of actors for it. One teen-aged couple for the "early years" of the play. A second couple, around 30ish, for the "middle years" of the play and an older couple for the final part of the play. Has anyone seen it done this way or do you think it would be effective? Thanks for any feedback. Bill

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Scott B Celebrity Joined: 12/08/04 Online Status: Offline Posts: 239	Posted: 3/28/13 at 1:16am
	I think it draws well. I saw one theatre that double cast the characters where a different couple played on different weekends. That works well if you want to involve more people. I can't see casting it with different people throughout the same show. If done correctly, you get to really know the characters and swapping people out would distract from that aspect of the show.
	IP Logged

n2drama Player Joined: 4/08/08 Online Status: Offline Posts: 24	Posted: 3/29/13 at 11:25am
	Thanks for the feedback, Scott. You're right, the audience connecting with the characters is a very important element, particularly in this show. That empathy is a big part of it.
	IP Logged

Topper Celebrity Joined: 1/27/05 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 543	Posted: 5/17/13 at 3:49pm
	Practically all of Gurney's plays include actors playing multiple ages. To double- or triple-cast age-appropriate actors would be doing a disservice to the playwright and his art.
	"None of us really grow up. All we ever do is learn how to behave in public." -- Keith Johnstone
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skywalkerlt Walk-On Joined: 11/29/10 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 4	Posted: 5/21/13 at 11:42am
	The last time I was involved in this play, local celebrities were brought in each weekend to perform the two roles. A couple of the weekends they were played by married couples, and that show did incredibly well. It's a great idea for fundraising.
	IP Logged

Rorgg Celebrity Joined: 2/10/09 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 151	Posted: 7/31/13 at 12:39pm
	A company not too far away I'd some one fill-in for in the past had to drop a show and come up with a replacement in a hurry and decided to put this on. Given the limited prep required and our busy schedules, my wife and I decided to go out for it, and got the parts... mostly. Given the small cast size, the late change, that we're not well known in that particular town, etc etc, we were given the six Friday/Saturday night performances, and three other, more locally well-known folks got one Sunday each. To be honest, the show was not well attended ... most nights, we pulled in 15-20 people, with a high of about 35 for our final Saturday. The Sundays, I heard, were slightly better attended, as each of the one-show actors brought in their supporters for their big night. Anyway, the upshot was that, even with little advance promotion, and little lead time, we put on an effective show that the audience who did attend enjoyed, and the company broke even or lightly ahead, after having to do an emergency ditch 7 weeks before the show date... which is about all you can ask for. I will say, as an actor, while I felt the first couple shows were fine, and the material is so good, it masks a lot of little rough edges, with like 3-4 rehearsals, plus tech, it definitely got better starting in the second weekend. Just getting audience interaction a couple times really helped hone some of the fine points (and being more and more familiar with the script gives you more latitude in performing, needing to reference the text itself less).
	IP Logged