11.22.'11 - "Sideways" Play Update
— Amelia Mulkey
Last night a group of us met at the Ruskin Group Theater Co. There was Jason Matthews, whose idea it was to bring Sideways to the stage; Mike Myers, their Managing Director; Mike Reilly, Production Manager; and, our director, Amelia Mulkey.
A month ago I interviewed a slew of potential directorial candidates. (I love the fact that the writer gets to select the director. In Hollywood, for a screenwriter, this would rock the world with eye-watering laughter, at the mere mention of the thought. You're lucky if you get invited to the set!) They were all accomplished and all brought something different and unique to the table. Amelia was the only woman I interviewed. Even though on paper she's relatively inexperienced — one feature play to her credit, which, according to those who produced it, resulted in a "night of magic" — I loved her seemingly indefatigable energy, I loved the fact that she "got" the novel that the play'sgoing to be based on, and is now prepared to devote the next 6 months of her life to working on it with me. And even though she's only directed one feature play, she's spent a life in the theater, as an actress, a writer of plays, and growing up with two parents who are also accomplished actors in their own rights. (A side note: In my second feature film, From Hollywood to Deadwood, I cast her dad, well-known actor, Chris Mulkey, in a small part.) Everyone at Ruskin is enthusiastically behind her. And though that might sound like something anyone would write or say, it's actually the unvarnished truth!
We talked dates. Which, no doubt, is what those of you reading this want to know. There's another play that's getting ready to go up in January at Ruskin, and it'll run until the end of March. Sideways, barring any disasters, will now premiere around the third week of April. This is kind of how it breaks down:
December and January: Amelia and I will be meeting and getting to know each other. We're going to be seeing a lot of plays, just for me to get a feel for theater and to give us a chance to talk about staging. (This was Amelia's idea.) We'll talk staging exigencies, casting, and, most important, the script for the play itself — Amelia's already got notes! During this time I'll rewrite, refine, hone, etc. until we get the script to where we want it.
February: We'll start the casting process. Because we anticipate that there's going to be no shortage of actors vying for the roles — especially Miles and Jack — we'll rely heavily on a casting director for the winnowing process. But I believe there'll also be an opportunity for actors who follow Internet casting calls. Casting is going to be central, as it almost always is, to the Sideways play. The role of Miles is going to be pretty demanding and challenging as he has a LOT of dialogue. (Those who know me personally probably got a pretty big laugh out of that one!) But, even more important will be finding a Miles and a Jack who have the right kind of chemistry. Let me state emphatically again: the play is based on my novel, not the movie. This is not going to be the greatest hits of Sideways the movie, but rather an honest book-to-stage adaptation.
March and April: 5-6 weeks of rehearsals. The staging, the script, everything, will come together, hopefully in a felicitious confluence.
I'm really excited about the team we've pulled together. I liked Jason from the beginning. He's been very smart about shepherding this to the, pun alert, stage where it's at. I also really like the two Mikes. They're super articulate, know ten times more about theater than I ever will, are huge fans of my work, and I can just tell that it's going to be great to work with them. And my choice of a woman to direct a "bromance," if you will, might startle some. But it's exactly the right choice. I also like the fact that Amelia hasn't directed a ton of plays. I don't want someone who's set in their ways. I want someone, as I told her last night, who will take risks, who will think outside the, uh, bottle. I'm confident that she's that person. Plus, being a woman, I think she'll bring a balancing sensibility to what is really a guy's story. Even more, I'm looking forward to gettting off the computer, driving over to the theater, working with the actors, Amelia, the two Mikes, and watching this whole thing come together. I liken it to turning back the clock and returning to my indie filmmaking days, albeit in a more controlled setting. The premiere, I'm positive, is going to have that same excitement that a first screening holds.
I plan to blog a lot about the play's progress. I wouldn't do a theatrical adaptation of Sideways if I didn't think that this third incarnation of Miles and Jack didn't have something new and different and fresh to offer. After two cold reads, I'm convinced that it does: a transcendent night of theater, funny as hell and concomitantly truly heartbreaking. If everything works out, we hope to do a live Web cast of the premiere. More on that later.
I'm just going to conclude with: I'm really happy that I'm getting a chance to do this. Writing novels and screenplays is a lonely life and is fraught with endless disappointment. One of the reasons I became an indie filmmaker back in the '80s is that, for better or ill, I knew I was making the end product. It's also going to feel great to have that community of people that you have when making movies who are all coming together to bring a vision — my vision — to fruition, this time on the boards.
