Process is Change

Those who remain.  Photo by Jeff Wills. (Yup; all my fault.)

Well, in the past month we've had some changes with The Puppeteers.  I've said "all is subject to change" before, and I meant it.  During October it became clear to Todd - due to changes in his situation and in spite of our best efforts to circumvent it - that participating in the show wasn't going to work.  Not this show, not this time.

It's easy to write that, and it does make me feel better to write it.  But of course, losing him from the show is a major loss.  Todd's talent is enormous, and he's a fellow founding member of Zuppa del Giorno, and it was an absolute joy to work with him again.  We'll miss him.  There are no hard feelings.  (If anyone understands the amazing effort and sacrifice it takes to commit everything to a theatre show, even without living thousands of miles from the theatre, anyone would be me.)  The truth is, too, that he'll be in the show.  He can't help it.  His work has already influenced The Puppeteers in very significant ways.

We have another comfort, too.  Todd's absence is being filled by Zuppianna (sp?) extraordinaire Heather Stuart.  I can't say enough good things about Heather.  She's been my creative partner-in-crime for all things comic for six years; we've worked on five full-length shows and created three of those, as well as two shorts, together.  Together she and Conor are arguably the most popular actors in Scranton.  She's funny and smart and, best of all, true.  This is going to be fun.

And so we bid adieu to one member of Zuppa del Giorno, and welcome the participation of another.  It's kind of wonderful for me, actually, because I get the pleasure of working with two of the old guard on one process.  The process itself is all about change - finding what works is important, but so is finding what doesn't.  To bid dear Todd a fond farewell, I present one of my favorite improvisations that he created with Elizabeth and Conor at our first developmental meeting: