May 25, 2011 - The cast of Laer's Last Prayer and some of the design team assembled to kick off the process Wednesday night with a reading of the script over a pizza dinner. While the first read through is merely a process that is accompanied by housekeeping details, there was a real excitement as we set forth on our journey.It was really gratifying to hear people talk about their excitement in the script. I've been through this process many times before and the end result has always been met with enthusiasm from both the audience and artists alike. But this is the first time that the initial read through did not elicit confused looks and questions that basically equated to "what the heck is this play we're reading." Part of that is the preliminary work that was done to explain the story and environment to the artists. Some of this has come from simply having the right minds together in the same room. But the overall reaction has been such a different energy that I have to believe the story is much clearer than its ever been.
There is still quite a long road to see if all of this is true or not, but it is certainly a great place to start from. I look forward to seeing where this new script can take us through the rehearsal process and seeing the story that we ultimately choose to tell. I can't wait to get started and see what happens.
Stephen F. Murray
Director
