Steps To The Stage
Steps To The Stage
Dead Man’s Cell Phone: Theatre On The Edge
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A phone rings in a cafe. A stranger answers. And suddenly a whole life gets rewritten in real time. That’s the haunting spark behind Dead Man’s Cell Phone by Sarah Ruhl, and we can’t stop thinking about how accurately it predicts the way modern technology shapes our relationships, our attention, and even our grief.
We’re joined by director Melissa Bossard and cast members Lauri Deards, Mark Agars, and Saverio Guccioni to talk about building this production for the Theater on the Edge Festival at Chino Community Theatre. We unpack the play’s central paradox: smartphones and social media can reconnect old friends and create community, yet they also train us to live at a distance from our own bodies, our tables, and the people right in front of us. Along the way, we dig into character choices for Jean, Dwight, and Gordon and the bigger question the script keeps asking: who are we when everyone only sees the version we choose to show?
We also go behind the curtain on community theater craftsmanship, including black box staging, shared festival set pieces, projections, lighting, and the practical teamwork that makes experimental theater possible. One of the most exciting surprises: original music composed and arranged specifically for this production, created from the emotional world of the script. We even discuss why bringing in an intimacy and fight director matters for actor safety, trust, and better storytelling.
If you care about live theater, identity in the digital age, or the real cost of always being “reachable,” hit play, then subscribe, share the episode with a theater friend, and leave us a review and a five-star rating. What’s one way your phone has changed how you connect with people?
May 15th-30th
www.ChinoCommunityTheatre.org
Box Office 909-590-1149
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Phones At Dinner And Disconnection
SPEAKER_05Yeah, absolutely. And and you you go out to dinner and you see couples sitting at a table and they're not talking to each other, right? They're sending each other reels on Instagram while they're sitting across the table from one another.
SPEAKER_03And so Welcome to Steps to the Stage, a 7th Street community theater podcast. Hey theater friends, welcome to Steps to the Stage, where we talk to the community theater professionals you know and love. My name is Kirk Lane, and I'm gonna be your host today. We're really excited because our Theater on the Edge Festival is back this year. We're gonna have two productions this year as opposed to three that we normally have, but we'll get into that to a little bit. Right now, today we're really excited. We're gonna be talking about the Dead Man's Cell Phone, which is a production that um first premiered in Washington, D.C. Um, back in June of 2007. Um, it is written by Sarah Rule, and we're gonna learn a little bit more because today we have Melissa Bassard, our director. We also have Lori Deards, and we have Mark Agarz. Did I pronounce your last name right? A girls. A Gers. It's a good thing I've only known you for about three or four years. All right. And then I have a new friend, Severio Cuccioni, perfect, who we just met today, and this is his first time on the podcast, and we're so excited to have him on. Welcome.
SPEAKER_05Thank you. Thank you.
SPEAKER_03Thank you. So um, I'm just gonna read this little thing that says, Dead man's cell phone is a play by Sarah Rule. It explores the paradox of modern technology's ability to both unite and isolate people in the digital age. Melissa.
SPEAKER_05I I am so excited to be directing this piece. Um I love the way that Sarah Rule writes about connection through disconnection. And that's what we're gonna experience through most of this uh experience with this play. Um, it's written in a way that is very disconnected, and it's disconnected as a result of the way that we have started to connect with technology. Um Rule wrote it and it it was performed first in 2007. And if you think back to what was happening technology-wise at that time, we were just starting to um graduate from our flip phones and get into these iPhones and these smarter devices that, you know, in a way made it feel like it was easier to connect to the people that we knew. I remember uh like, you know, 2007, 2008, you know, starting my first Facebook account. And I was so thrilled that like I could connect with people that I had gone to college with and had lost connection with. And I thought, oh gosh, like what a tool that has been introduced to us that's gonna make it so much easier to connect. But I think looking at it now, almost 20 years later, and looking at the way that society has used technology and these devices to connect, we can very clearly see that it has caused a disconnect in the human experience, in making eye contact, in writing things down on paper. Um, and things like that.
SPEAKER_03Figuring out where you're driving.
SPEAKER_05Figuring out where you're driving.
SPEAKER_03Your home that you've been to maybe a couple of times, but you're still pulling out your phone and you're saying it's oh, because I want to check traffic.
SPEAKER_05And yeah, absolutely. And and you you go out to dinner and you see couples sitting at a table and they're not talking to each other, right? They're sending each other reels on Instagram while they're sitting across the table from one another. And so this uh this script really gives us an opportunity to explore that disconnection that has happened in the electronic world and really look at how we as a society, as humanity, can connect with one another despite all of the noise, despite all of the glitch, despite all of the technology that's around us.
SPEAKER_03Yes. Um yeah, in a very unique time as well.
SPEAKER_05Absolutely.
Meet Jean And The Play’s Premise
SPEAKER_03Um, where that information isn't necessarily as vetted as well as it should be. And, you know, we're we're not only worrying about our own consumption, but we're worrying about our friends and families and kids and and things of that nature. And and it's it's it's such a conundrum we are in. But the good thing is, is right now the five of us are sitting down looking at each other as I was taking pictures and video for our social media accounts. But we have those connections and we have friends that we've known each other for a while and just recently, but have got to know each other, and you know, we break bread on some Saturday mornings and and uh get to experience that, and then a brand new friend here, and we're talking about this experience. Well, I'm glad that um you have a great perspective of this, which I think is helpful for the director to be able to lead its cast and the audience along this journey for what we love every year having these festivals and really trying um different things and and different things that don't normally get on our stage. So, Lori, goodness gracious, it's so amazing to see your smiling face. And um I would just love to hear about your journey through Dead Man's Cell Phone.
SPEAKER_00Hi, Kirk. Thank you so much. I'm so happy to see your smiling face. It's been a little too long.
SPEAKER_03It's been too long.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I agree. Um so hi, my name is Lori Deards, and I played Jean in Dead Man's Cell Phone. At the start of the play, Jean is sitting in a cafe writing a thank you note, which nobody but me knows because it's entirely in my head. Um, the man at the table next to her has quietly passed away, his phone rings and she chooses to answer it. And um the rest of the play is just kind of a journey through her trying to figure out how to uh help connect him better to his family and friends and preserve his memory in a particular way. And it takes that idea of connection beyond, I think, just the phone and into the idea of like how do we allow technology to alter our ideas about ourselves? Um, how does that help us document, preserve, or maybe modify our belief systems? How close does it let us get to uh our core values, to the people around us, but also to the possibilities around us and what level of permanence exists in all of that? So it's been a really um interesting journey for me because I love the way that Sarah Roll wrote this piece. Um, it is on the surface very disconnected, but there are themes that carry you throughout the story that are uh really tangible and really relatable and very, very deeply human, which um to Melissa's point about the human experience uh brings you kind of closer to and further from that idea of not just how does technology allow us to connect to each other, but how does it um allow us to stay involved in our own lives, our own hearts and our own minds.
Building Dwight And Finding The Truth
SPEAKER_03Well, having um some history with you and hearing your um your your immediate reflection on it and having um uh recently really becoming uh closer with Melissa, I think we're in pretty good hands. I think we're in really good hands. And then I get a little nervous and I look over at my friend Mark and go, see, this is a gentleman that we see on on some Saturdays and we and we try and you know have some discussions, solve some of the world's problems, probably create more problems that are needed. Oh, certainly. Um what what I love, Mark is part of this breakfast um, you know, breakfast bunch uh of the we'll call them theater dad's theater people. And um, and your journey has been somewhat recent. Um last year, I think, might have been one of your first productions. My very first. Yeah, and then um and some pretty challenging ones, Little Shop of Horrors and Yeah, jumped in to a show that was um it was a musical, right? Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So it was uh singing, dancing, and learning how to act all at the same time.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So tell us about Dead Man's Cell Phone.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so this is I I'm really excited for me personally, as you say, this is new. This is my third show, and it's and it's really the first, I guess, character development that I've had to do. So it's exciting. My for me, my my character is Dwight. He is uh the brother of uh of the dead man, and uh we we kind of learn about him primarily through his relationship uh with Gene and and sort of how that evolves over the course uh of the show. And uh one of the things I really uh that I find fascinating about we were talking we're talking about the discon the connection and disconnection, right? And and I I think that that's clearly a really interesting theme, but it it also is about how technology uh allows us to see different versions of of who we are, right? And so how do we sort of understand who's the what's the real version of Dwight, what's the real version of Gordon, what's the real version of Gene, etc. Like and that's what social media has done. And I I I wonder, like 20 years ago, I don't know that Sarah Rule would have known quite the path that that technology was gonna take in terms of giving us a mechanism to show different versions of who we are, but very clearly that's what what I see in in some of these character development, and it's fascinating.
SPEAKER_03And and it's gotta feel good now like you're becoming a bit of uh you're no longer the rookie, right? And and that you're you're really talking about that character development as opposed to the others and 100%.
SPEAKER_01No, no, and I and I'm so grateful to Melissa and and everybody here in the cast who is uh both patient uh but also very supportive. And and I'm learning context.
SPEAKER_03That's the beauty of community theater, and and we do need to be there to lift each other up.
SPEAKER_05And I have to tell you, this man does not show up like a rookie. Um he showed up to the audition and he was Dwight. He just embodied everything that I wanted that character to be and to uh connect with these other characters in the way that he does. It just brings magic to the stage. And so I know he's a very humble man, and I know this is a a newer experience for him, but he does not show up like a rookie. This man has jumped in and has given his deep introspective thought and care to this role and the way that he interacts with these other characters, just it's magical. I can't wait for you to see your friend on the stage.
SPEAKER_03Very excited about that. And and I know a lot about his character going into this, so none of that is shocking or surprising, and it's a and it's an honor to be your friend and an honor to be part of this podcast with you.
SPEAKER_01See, this is why I just want to keep coming back. Um I want to put a cot in the back and just live here if I could.
A Newcomer Joins The Festival
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah, there's some there's some amazing connections that are made through this. Severio, welcome. Hi, thank you. Tell us a little bit about your since you're new to um Steps to the Stage, is this your first production at Chino? Or it is. Okay. Well, give us a quick little history because I'll always love to have a little bit of a history for new guests, and just because we like to hear about the the journey.
SPEAKER_02I've been acting for a while. I've been acting for about 20 years. I started in middle school. Uh, most of my experience is in Shakespeare. Um, but I think my favorite type of theater to watch is more modern and more experimental types of theater. And so actually, the way I found out about Chino was I saw advertisements online for the Three on the Edge festival last year.
SPEAKER_03Um see the technology brings the opportunity to you. And now you get on the stage and you have to reflect upon that technology.
SPEAKER_02But and especially at a community theater level, it's very hard to find anyone who's willing to do anything you know, a little more uh experimental on the on the edge.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. I mean, this is our theater on the edge, you know, program.
SPEAKER_02It was very, very exciting to me. And so uh I came and I saw Breathing Corpses last year. That's the only one I was able to catch, but I loved that show and it made me really want to come back here uh to see more shows and also to audition for uh the festival. And then so I was looking for the auditions this year when they came around, and then when I saw Dead Man's Cell Phone, uh that's also a show that I've wanted to do since that came out. Yeah. Um so the stars all really And what is your character? I'm playing Gordon. I'm the dead man and Dead Man's Cell Phone. So I think these two are the leads, but I have to say that I'm the I'm the titular character. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03What are some of the other community theater productions you've done in Southern California or or mostly in Southern California, yeah.
SPEAKER_02So um I So out of after high school, I did a lot in high school, and then after high school, I mostly worked at Shakespeare and the Vines in Temecula. That was where I grew up. Okay. Um I've also worked at Riverside Community Players. Yeah. And um I've done some other, you know, smaller things here and there. Uh this last year I played uh bottom in Midsummer Night's Dream in Riverside, and I played uh Macbeth and Macbeth. If you'll forgive me for I know we're in the theater too. Uh twice. We will all do our penance afterwards.
SPEAKER_05When you're invoking the name, when you're actually speaking of the play, that's okay though, right?
SPEAKER_02It's just I think I think the rule is you have to be in the production. So I think I must stop.
SPEAKER_05We'll run around the theater after we're done here. Yeah.
Setting The Story In Today’s World
SPEAKER_03Okay. All right. Well, thank you for sharing, uh albeit whether it was, you know, luck, any luck, good luck, bad luck, all that other good stuff. But thank you so much for sharing your journey with us. And it's important for us to know that you've got had a long history and and um welcome to 7th Street Theater Stage and welcome to Cheetah. Glad to be here. And uh we're we're glad you're a part of this. Melissa, uh um, Mark brought up a great point about when Sarah was writing this and not really knowing what's happened since now and then. So I have to imagine that might have maybe been an impactful thought for you as you go through this, or or maybe not at all. Maybe you I'll be I'll be quiet and I'll let you talk.
SPEAKER_05You know, it was, it was, because when approaching this script, I had a choice of whether to approach it from a uh period of 2007 to 2009 when uh she was actually creating and workshopping and and putting this piece in front of people, or whether I felt like I wanted to bring it to present time. And the more I thought about that, the more I thought about that evolution of technology and and to all of their brilliant points, the way we're able to present ourselves in this positive light, and nobody ever knows the negative of anything, right? Combined with the way that we think that sending a DM is the same as going out to breakfast and connecting with each other in person. And so I thought um it was more relevant to bring it to today and that it would touch more people in that way because they'd be able to more easily connect with it uh because it's something that we're experiencing right now. And you know, uh social media is the great connector and the great disconnector, right? And as we're experiencing things in this world today, I have found as I become more of myself in uh social media space, uh, the more people, some people turn off to that and disconnect and don't want to be connected to my way of thinking and don't, you know, unfriend, unfollow, unfollow, right? And so there's a lot to that that I thought was more enough relevant that we needed to we needed to present it today. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Um I'd like to hear a little bit more about some of the other characters, Lori, that that are here and some of the other cast members.
SPEAKER_00The other characters and the other cast members?
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Okay, well, um the other characters in the story are people who were in Gordon's life when he was alive, primarily his family. So Mark mentioned that he's playing Dwight, Gordon's brother. And um, we also have Samantha Armenta playing Hermia, his wife, and um Gordon's wife, not Dwight's wife. It's important to note Dwight is not married.
SPEAKER_02Um that hurt a little.
SPEAKER_00And uh Gordon's mother, portrayed by the legendary, the iconic, the fantastic Cindy East. Um selfishly, I am just absolutely thrilled and a little bit awestruck to find myself standing next to Cindy on a stage because I've known her literally my whole entire life. Um, she loves to tell people stories about like rocking me to sleep backstage when I was a baby and she was doing plays with my parents. And it's been, I don't know how long since I got to be on stage with her.
SPEAKER_03And she's just like tiny and powerful and such a pillar in our community, not just at this theater, but many other theaters where she directs and acts and is is is living her best life to always and um will um will share with you her experience and and feelings. Yeah, and she does it in a manner that's that is honest and real and raw and direct. And you know, for me, one of the many reasons why, and it sounds like you as well, that that we love someone that has done so much in our theater, and that's fantastic.
SPEAKER_05I'm a I'm a director because of Cindy East, because she pulled me in and said, I know you can do this, come learn with me. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00She's a force of nature, yeah, and just amazing, yeah, brilliant. And then um, we also have Sage Patel appearing in multiple roles.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_00Yes. Uh she is the other woman and The Stranger, who are both also relevant to Gordon's life.
SPEAKER_03I love that.
SPEAKER_00Surrounded by greatness, honestly.
Black Box Staging And Shared Set
SPEAKER_03Yeah, it sounds like it. Um, Mark, now that you've been in a couple of productions and on this theater, why don't you talk a little bit about um uh the set that you guys are utilizing and and how that is the same different or direction or well it's interesting, I mean, because for the festival it's simplified, right?
SPEAKER_01Okay. So so there's actually it's it's it's a very subtle and simple set, and so it really is about it's about the people, right? And yeah working off of each other.
SPEAKER_03Aaron Ross Powell And coming from the productions that you've been on that are very set heavy and prop heavy.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, Little Shop was quite a Yes it was. Yeah. No, it it well, I I mean, again, all of this is new to me, so I I don't know how to separate it all, but uh but I do I just I do like acting in the open space. Like I think forcing forcing myself to sort of really understand there's no distractions on you are the distractions. I cannot hide behind a flower pot.
SPEAKER_03Very true.
SPEAKER_01It's I mean, and and it's just a new challenge, but it's but it's fun.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and and that's the thing too that that our audience has to realize is that you're sharing this stage with with the other production. So it has to be something that works for for both so that you can tell your stories effectively.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, we've worked together, Paige Polsine and I, the director of POTUS, have worked together to try as much as possible to streamline what we're using so that we're not, you know, building a lot or having a lot of set that's uh cumbersome that's gonna get in the way of telling our story. So I had a couple of tables built, and Paige is gonna use the same tables. It's you're gonna see the same elements used in different ways in both shows. And I think that's um that's always been the intent of the Theater on the Edge Festival. But I think in uh past years and a couple of past recent years I can think of, it's it's gone a little bit further than the black box experience. So I'm really excited that this year we've really brought it back to that black box feel. We don't have any flats up, no walls. It's really the black box with a couple of pieces and their magic and the their fine work that's going to bring the stage to life. So really excited about that aspect.
SPEAKER_02Maybe the common pieces imply that these plays are set in the same universe.
SPEAKER_03Uh-oh.
SPEAKER_02Look out.
SPEAKER_03Well, let's expand a little bit from this being your first time on our stage and and some of the other experiences that you've had. We we love to hear about how it's been thus far in all aspects.
SPEAKER_02Uh other shows that I've done?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, just in uh just coming to a new theater and and and also coming to a production that is, you know, there is not a big set, and it's it's it's about the actors. So I just love to hear your experience thus far, and maybe in comparison to the others, not not in a better or worse way, just how the experience is different for you.
SPEAKER_02Well, I've worked at a lot of different theaters and uh it it uh I I think everyone is a little bit different. And so um I don't think I feel overly surprised by anything, but there's definitely like a unique feel coming in here. Um it's kind of hard to put to words though. It's just a combination of like what this space feels like when you walk into it, the particular people who are here that you get to work with and their personalities. That all kind of builds together into a certain feeling that I can't really communicate to you, but I can say that I'm having a wonderful time and that I love these people.
SPEAKER_03I think your answer was perfect. Yeah. And um and I did kind of maybe bait you into something and you handled it marvelously. And of course, we're a little biased, obviously doing a lot of work here, but it is glad to hear that someone that is essentially from the outside has come in and felt welcome and and uh that you spoke specifically of the energy of the people. So I think that's great. Lori, yes.
SPEAKER_00If I could just add to that, Severo has a way of making people feel welcome no matter where they are. And um, I I think I I'm pretty sure I met you one of the first times you came to our theater during the Three on the Edge Festival last year. And just like the the energy with which you entered the space and um, you know, opened yourself up to people and and were open to receiving other people's attention and uh I don't know, I guess I'd say like connection and maybe even friendship. I've been really lucky in that that's the way that it's worked out for me was really striking. But also when I've seen you in other spaces, you've gone out of your way to make sure that people know that you remember them and that they were important to you. And so um getting to see the way that that comes to life more steadily and solidly in this space, which I am really emotionally attached to, this theater's home for me, has been really neat. And um yeah, just like I it's a brilliant example of what community is supposed to be and what our little network of community theaters in this area can do for each other, the way that it can connect us.
Original Music Projections And Sound
SPEAKER_03I think the sign that we have up on the wall, I think really embodies the theater, right? It's always welcome back, right? You're always welcome, but welcome back to that, and maybe it is your first time, but welcome back to that time of feeling welcome and feeling part of that. So um I appreciate you sharing that with us, and I and I appreciate you putting the crossing the T and dotting the I on all that and and one of your many wonderful. And thank you.
SPEAKER_05I'd I'd also be remiss if I didn't share that Severio is not only playing Gordon in this show, but he's also composed and arranged all original music to pair with the script from Rule. And so you will be hearing throughout our entire experience music that has been composed, played, arranged, and created by Severio. And he called me not maybe two days after we cast him in this role. And he said, Hey, like after reading the script, I'm so moved. And I've started, I pulled out my toys and I'm writing music. Would you be interested? And I was like, Are you kidding me? Absolutely. So that's a new experience for me as a director, also to pair with sound design that's all original that somebody has created uh from the feelings that were evoked from reading this script.
SPEAKER_03So the the hair on my arm and the goose pimples literally came up as you were sharing that with me. Yeah. Not only my love for theater, but I'm a musician as well. And actually have a gig tonight. And I heard this, and my whole being just went like, ah, fellow musician. That's fantastic. That's just and really that that's the another beautiful thing about theater, that it can bring out in all of these wonderful skills that that we have, right? And as I look at the people in front of me, not only do they act, but they directed, they've stage managed, they've ran the lights, they've ran the sound, they've they've run the front of house, they've they've embodied everything that community theater is about. And I think that that adds to it. But just knowing that that element on this particular production, how special that must be, right? And what a great opportunity for you. And thank you for coming right out and not being shy about it and and and asking up front. And wow. So if you needed any more reason to go get your tickets and come and see this particular production, that into and of itself should should be something that that uh motivates you. Let's talk a little bit more about some of the other, maybe lighting, uh costuming, and some of the other people involved. We'd love to hear.
SPEAKER_05Absolutely. Uh, our lighting designer is Kylie Reeves. She's uh uh one of the greats here in the booth at Chino. Um she's actually programming lights right now uh as we're doing this podcast. Uh they will be run during the show by Nico Agar. So the son of Clark. Ah yay! Not only uh, you know, do we get to do this thing with Mark, but we get to his son gets to watch him uh do this thing and and be a part of it. Uh sound design is very much uh being done by Severio with a little bit of sound design by Sage. Sage Patel is our projection designer. Um the amazing projections that you'll see are all uh designed by her. Um I'll be running sound, and our stage manager is Paul Saldana. So we have a lot of Chino family involved with this production, and that feels really nice as well.
Leadership Credit And Intimacy Direction
SPEAKER_03Yeah, so important. It it takes so much. And I know lately we've really been talking about, we talk about, of course, those that are on stage and the production team, but we've been talking a lot about the house and the wonderful people that run the house and take all the calls and sell the tickets and organize where they're gonna be and show up early every production and make sure that you know you, as the attendee out there, can come and have an amazing experience in our wonderful little theater, and that you can come from the outside, just kind of leave everything that's going on outside. You get greeted by a wonderful human that smiles and says welcome, and you have people that will show you your seat and either show you the digital uh program or sometimes we have them printed out, and then you get to escape and the lights go down, and and we get to see this amazing production. Yes, Lori.
SPEAKER_00I heard you ask Melissa about all of the technical aspects of the production, and you mentioned set and you mentioned costumes, and in all the credit that I heard her give to other folks, which is well deserved, I didn't hear her mention herself. And so I just want to flag that um that everyone has really pitched in in a lot of different ways on this, but Melissa singularly has really stepped up and done a lot of just above and beyond Heart First work to make sure that we are able to bring her vision to life, but also that we're able to look and feel like our best selves while doing it. And so um the set that you see, the specialty pieces that were made, were made directly from her vision and directly at her request. I have sat on the stage floor with her after rehearsal and watched her stain a table herself. Um, I have I have tried on costume pieces that she found herself and brought in specifically for me, and I know that I'm not the only one. So I I very much appreciate her readiness and willingness to uh direct you toward the light in others, but I want to make sure and shine it on her as well because she really has gone so far above and beyond as our director and as a member of this team and the leader of this team to make sure that we look and feel our best, which also leads me to um, if I may, just acknowledge the fact that Melissa really wanted to make sure that we had the right conditions for this. So another member of our team has been the um intimacy and fight director that she brought in to work with us, Wendy. And um, Melissa made sure to bring somebody in to ensure that those particular moments where we're asked to interact with each other in um maybe closer ways than usual or um direct our energy in ways that you don't normally get to with, you know, your your friends and members of your creative community on a day-to-day basis are as carefully thought out as possible, that everyone's clear and sharing language that expresses um what's safe for us, what's okay for us, and that we all have the same understanding of what's going to happen in those moments so that when we get there, we can really focus on telling the story. And so um I want to make sure and mention that as well.
SPEAKER_05That's Wendy Johnson, and she's uh she's a member of our theater community as well. She's the director and uh founder of Full Circle Players. And I'm just so grateful that she volunteered her time to do that because I feel like it's such an important part of telling a story authentically when when people have to have an intimate moment on stage, whether it's a touch or a kiss. That can get weird, right? And if it gets weird, it interrupts and disrupts the story and it makes the actors feel uncomfortable and you lose trust. And you can't make your best art when you're in those conditions. So I'm grateful to Wendy for being willing to volunteer her time and come and work with these guys. Um, it was just the best experience for all of us.
Dates Tickets Festival Pass And Farewell
SPEAKER_03Well, to echo what Lori said and and the um from the couple of news that I've had the experience of working with you, thank you for one just taking that leadership role because that too, into and of itself, is you're putting yourself out there and you're sacrificing essentially everything else in your life during that time to make sure that you shepherd this cast and crew and the audience through a great story. And then bringing in um an intimacy and fight coordinator doesn't always happen. So that shows your care not only for your cast, but it shows the care for the art and that you, as you just mentioned, if we can feel comfortable in that presentation, then as an audience member, we're gonna we're gonna receive that better. So um, you know, it's gratitude everywhere, and that's I think which is really important in life and in general. And I think art is gratitude to our souls, um, you know, in how we are living our lives. And so I am so thankful that we get this opportunity to talk. It's been such a pleasure to talk with all of you again and for the first time. And I'm so excited to talk about Dead Man's Cell Phone that will be appearing on our stage. And I'm gonna need a little direction here because our dates are May 15th through the 31st, Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30, Saturday and Sunday matinee is 2.30. Which days are you guys? It's on the other side, and sometimes you just gotta be smarter than the paperwork that is there. But then also you have to read the little small print that says May 15th, 23rd, 29th at 7:30 p.m., and May 16th, 24th, 30th at 230 p.m. And tickets are available now. You can get them at the box office. You can call 909-590-1149. Or of course, you can go to our website and you can access tickets through there. But most importantly, get your tickets and come out and see this production and and give this casting crew um that audience for them to share this amazing story with you.
SPEAKER_05So buy the festival pass. You get a discount if you come to see both shows. So please come out to see Dead Man's Cell Phone, but buy your festival pass so that you can also see POTUS.
SPEAKER_02And it's really helpful to the theater if you bring cash instead of paying online.
SPEAKER_03Ah, look at that. But we'll figure out how to, you know, acquire your money so that we could use it to pay for all the nice things that we have to pay for. So thank you so much, you guys. I'm really looking forward to this and appreciate your time, not only here today, but obviously taking time out of your lives to be able to present this art to us.
SPEAKER_05Thank you so much for what you do, and thank you for giving us a voice out there uh so that people can know what we're doing, Kirk. Appreciate you.
SPEAKER_03Thank you.
SPEAKER_05Thank you, Kirk.
SPEAKER_03Thank you. Thanks for listening to Steps to the Stage, a 7th Street Community Theater podcast. Follow us on your favorite podcast platform and leave us a review and a five-star rating. It really helps. You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Special thanks to Chino Community Theater and Chino Community Children's Theater for their generous support. And very special thank you to the listeners. Step to the stage was created by Joey Rice and Kirk Lane. Logo created by Marley Lane, original music by Joey Rice. Your host, Kirk Lane. Engineer and producer Joey Rice. Engineer and executive producer Kirk Lane.
