by Karen Azenberg

This is my desk…

(How many yellow legal pads are too many?)

The intersection of the 2017–2018 season, and the 2018–2019 season, is now.

Calendars and schedules for the incoming cast of Mamma Mia!—and the final Play-By-Play of this season (more on that in a moment)—are piled on top of casting breakdowns and staffing lists for next season.

Travel itineraries for next season’s auditions in New York have been matched to our rehearsal (and tech) schedules, so I don’t put myself in two places at once—although, if I could clone myself….

Oh, and our upcoming photo shoots, and appearances for the Mamma Mia! cast, are now coordinated with their rehearsal schedules. Which needed to be done yesterday.

Next week, in one room at PTC, Patti Wilcox will start work with the Mamma Mia! cast and I’ll get to work—in another room—on ASS, our final Play-By-Play reading.

The title (ASS) refers to a sculptor’s latest subject. It’s a family drama with a lot of comedy—just like real life. Playwright Ellen Simon and I have known each other most of our lives and I’m thrilled she wanted to share her new play with me and the Play-By-Play audience.

For the reading, we’ll be welcoming back some PTC alums: William Parry (from Newsies); Zach Prince (from The Glass Menagerie); AK Murtadha (from Twelfth Night); Deena Manzanares (from Cyrano de Bergerac); as well as Kalyn West, a Utah girl who has made the move to New York, but returns “home” to work on this project with us.

I hope you’ll join us at the UMFA on Friday or Saturday for Play-By-Play. And let me know what you think. Is this one a contender for a mainstage production?