There is a period of time immediately after the boatsteerer harpoons a whale. The harpoon is attached to a line a quarter-mile long, and when the whale splashes away in surprise, the boat's crew must know when to pay out this line to avoid being pulled under, and when to haul it back so they don't run out of rope. All this time they are being dragged along at twenty miles an hour until the whale tires. This is known as a "Nantucket Sleighride." Jen and I are in this boat, and we've just added a crew of twenty-five actors, designers, and technicians.
Read MorePlaywright Joe Forbrich blogs: Manning the Ship
So after three days and twenty-five hours of auditions, and another couple hours of debating and agonizing, we have decided on a cast of fifteen actors to man (and woman) the Essex.
We could have cast the show three times over with the embarrassment of riches our casting director put before us.
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Playwright Joe Forbrich blogs: This is Really Happening
This is really happening. We had our first production meeting, a two and a half hour gathering of the design team (sets, lights, sound, costumes, props, movement and music) as well as the producer, co-producer, stage manager, director, and me, the playwright.
Read MorePlaywright Joe Forbrich blogs: A Worthy Cause
I go through my email contact list, trawling (not trolling) for people I can ask for money to produce a developmental showcase of my play, The Whaleship Essex. We need to raise thirty-five thousand dollars. Spiderman on Broadway cost seventy-five million. How hard can this be?
Pretty hard.