This new comedy, written by the author of last season’s White Buffalo, will have its world premiere production at the Purple Rose this summer. Artistic Director Guy Sanville will lead a talkback with the audience after the reading.

Miles and Ellie are two American teenagers in love when a youthful misunderstanding breaks them apart. Flash forward 20 years and a divorced and disenchanted Ellie has come home to lick her wounds. There isn’t much time to mope, however, when she learns that Miles is still in town and still carrying a torch for her. Is it possible to get a second chance at your first love? This charming and funny world premiere will make you wonder “what if?”

Contains adult language and content.

Click here for more information.

Watch a preview video with the stars of Miles & Ellie:

Purple Rose apprentices are the backbone of the theatre. They work in every aspect of production – from building the set (alongside Technical Director Gary Ciarkowski), running backstage, selling tickets in the box office, acting as “bench players” in understudy rehearsal, and working in the administrative office. They clean costumes, toilets, offices, and the stage. They work long, hard hours and for one year, they dedicate their energy to making the Purple Rose run.

Here you’ll catch a glimpse of the apprentice class of 2013: Rosemary Ford, Jerry Jarvis, Grace Kelch, Lauren Knox, Roberta Lake, Andrew Lupkes, & Gabrielle Piazza.

Read Gab’s Blog to get to know these great people even better!

Video filmed and edited by Lisa Della Pia

Welcome to the Purple Rose Theatre Company’s apprentice class of ’12-’13.

We (Andrew, Berta, Grace, Jerry, Lauren, Rosemary and me) have been working together since November and we’ve gotten to know each other pretty well. So well, that when one of us starts to reference something about ourselves too often, it starts a chorus of questions.

Grace works in the Box Office

For instance, Jerry starts telling a story about college rowing and:
“Jerry, you like to row? Guys did you know Jerry likes to row?”
“No way! Did you know Berta likes China?”
“Did you know Grace has a dog named Toki?”
…and so on.

It happens about once or twice a day, no kidding. So, in that vein, I figured I would use what we know about each other to tell you a little bit about us.

Gab serves popcorn at the New Year's Eve Party

Huh? Gab likes bows?

I’m Gab, and I love hair bows. I think it’s because of my sorority background. (Another thing about me that shows up in our question bit) Since I’m writing this, I figured I would take a minute to tell you about me. I graduated from Adrian College in Michigan last spring with a B.A. in Muscial Theatre and Mathematics and started at the Rose last August. This year has been so much fun and I can honestly say that I have learned something (or a lot of somethings) new every day. The friendships I have found this year have changed my life and taught me so much about myself. I still don’t quite know “what I want to be when I grow up” but I feel much more comfortable in that uncertainty thanks to being here.

Andrew (with Jerry) in a spoof performance at closing night of "The Meaning of Almost Everything"

Wait, Andrew used to be a mailman?

Yes, our Andrew worked for the U.S. Postal Service before starting his apprenticeship last November. It just goes to show how different our lives were before arriving at the Purple Rose. Whether straight out of school or from jobs in and out of the business, we all bring different experiences and lifestyles to the table. We also come from all over. From different cities in Michigan, Iowa, Oklahoma, even Washington State. Some of us are country kids, some grew up in cities, some moved around a bit. In my case, I moved two hours south of home the fall after graduation, leaving my college job of waiting tables in Frankenmuth. I must say, that even though it was a great job and there are parts of it I miss, I am not sad to be done waitressing…for a while at least.

Nooo…Rosemary likes to argue?

Rosemary takes notes at rehearsal

In this job, whether we like it or not, we are a family. As you all know, families don’t always get along. This is not to say that we don’t like each other, ‘cause we do. But after three 12-hour work days back to back, sometimes we get a little edgy. This year has given me the opportunity to examine how I work under stress and the effect that I have on others.

Another part of family is supporting one another. We cheer each other up and give advice. We also accept our differences. I am a very “let’s-all-get-along” kind of personality, whereas Rosemary likes to play Devil’s advocate sometimes. (I think she’ll be cool with me telling you this, or she’ll say I’m wrong…) Despite our differences though, Rosemary and I have a deep love of shoes and fashion. I think that’s a great example of how I think we have all found commonalities with each other that overcome wherever we don’t necessarily agree.

Jerry’s a pro at cleaning toilets?

Jerry working in the Box Office

I just found this out, but apparently Jerry is the best toilet cleaner in the building. This may sound strange, but given the volume of toilets that apprentices clean, it is quite an honor. When I started, I knew the job was going to be hard and that I was going to do a lot of cleaning. I am now just about positive that the amount of cleaning I have done in the past nine months has more than fully eclipsed the amount done in my life prior to my apprenticeship. My mother is impressed.

Despite the less than fun things I do at work, every day there is at least one (and usually more than one) moment where I remember why I love theatre. That’s what makes it all worth it. Because in addition to that sometimes-icky stuff, we get to house manage, run lights, help design sound, and build sets. We have workshops with the most amazing pros in the business and we are immersed in the environment that we are choosing to pursue.

Lauren likes to grocery shop?

Lauren Knox participates in a workshop

Not everyone may know this, but it’s true. Lauren Knox loves grocery shopping. It’s always a blast going with her to Whole Foods. But grocery shopping aside, the point is that for this year, and maybe longer, Chelsea, Michigan is our home. We have library cards, our favorite places to grab coffee, gym memberships, and churches. Whether Chelsea is like our hometowns, or in some cases, very different, we make our lives here for a while. We had to find roommates and furnish our apartments. In my case my hometown is very similar to Chelsea and I feel incredibly lucky to be doing what I love in the kind of place I grew up in. I love being in this place, discovering new shops or finding a cute new street on a walk. We are lucky to be in living and working in such a cozy, welcoming town.

What, Berta likes Jackie Chan?

Berta working in the Box Office

After this year, we have so many different plans. We want to act, direct, produce, do stunts, the list goes on. We might stay in Michigan, or we might move on. Some couch surfing might be in our futures or some time back at home to figure out what comes next. Regardless of how we get there, I think this year has helped clarify our dreams. It has given us so many tools to get to where we want to be, next will be our chance to use them. I sincerely hope that Jerry makes fun, cool movies and that Berta goes to China and meets her idol, Jackie Chan, because if we work hard enough, we can make those dreams happen. In the fall I’m off to California to join Young Americans, a touring performing arts group. I’m a little bit terrified, but I think that’s part of it. It’s not as worth it if it didn’t scare you to death.

Click here to watch a video of the apprentices at work!

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33 Variations by Moises Kaufman
Now playing through June 1, 2013.

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Photos by Sean Carter Photography.

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I recently saw a Facebook meme that was a photo of an iceberg split into two parts. The tip of the iceberg was labeled “The Show.” Everything underneath was labeled “The Rehearsal”. It was the truest thing I’d seen in ages.

We all know how much life can hurt. If you’re a theatregoer, but not involved in the process, you may not realize that theatre’s just like that, too. Sometimes it’s painful, both emotionally and physically. Rehearsing (and performing) a play can be a draining, exhausting, and difficult process no matter where you are. We get injured. We get sick. We work with people who, well, sometimes we’d really rather not. We dig into the deep, dark, vulnerable places of our guts and hearts that we’d really rather leave untouched, thank-you-very-much. We do these things, not because the majority of us are masochists, but because we are drawn to the theatre. We need to do it. It can be an escape, or therapy, a little of both, or something else entirely. We all have our own reasons, and I can’t speak for everyone, but for me it is all of these things (go ahead and throw masochism in there), plus some on which I’ve never been able to put my finger.

I think that I learn something about myself and my world every time I’m in a show and every time I see one, even if it’s something as small as learning what I liked or didn’t like about it. I act because I love telling our stories and connecting with other actors on the stage. I love pushing myself into finding parts of me in the characters that I play that I didn’t know were there. I enjoy being someone else for a while – saying and doing things that I otherwise wouldn’t, or couldn’t. In the last year, I’ve had the chance to play a Shakespearean lover, clown, and sprite (all in the same show!), a villain, an old woman, a teenage girl, a teenage boy, and a high society 1940s teen… okay, I played a lot of teenagers. Anyway, through an emotional roller coaster of a year, getting to be these various people really did help me in different ways. I looked at my personal experiences in a different light with every script. Each character told me something new about my life, love, heartbreak, family, friendship, and growing up. This all sounds a little cheesy, and more than a little cliché, but it’s true. I find myself in my characters, and them in me. They are my guides through the rough, especially when my life parallels my current theatre adventure (which happens quite a lot, and not just to me). As difficult as it was to play a jilted lover immediately after a terrible real-life breakup, I’m glad that the timing worked out the way it did. Through my character, I found some strength. A few months later, I was in a show that explored the idea of soul mates, which gave me a perspective that I wished I had had all along, even though I know it came around at just the right time. I knew that being in shows about love and relationships would be painful, and sometimes they were, but they also turned out to be exactly what I needed.

I should also note that I’ve met some really amazing people along the way, who have been essential to my growth and understanding as an actor, and as a person. I wouldn’t trade the friendships I’ve made in the theatre for anything.

I started out by pointing out the possible pain and agony involved in theatre, but it’s the moments of joy and love and friendship that make it all worthwhile. When I step back and look at the thing we’ve created with a team of artists, designers, actors, director, and crew, it’s just magical. We can say we made this thing together. Through all of the ups and downs of rehearsal and life and personal whatnot, we were all here for one purpose, which was to put on a play. Maybe someone who sees our play will find something they need, too. So next time you see a show, and you marvel at the tip of the iceberg, take a moment to think about everything underneath – that journey. Hopefully you can see it in the final product. Our lives come together in the theater – audience and performers – if only for an hour or two, to share the magic and all of the good things that come from my very favorite form of art. Theatre is hard and wonderful and I can’t imagine doing anything else.

Dr. William Kinderman, a professor of musicology and pianist from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana is one of the world’s foremost authorities on Beethoven and his Diabelli Variations. On April 13, 2013, Dr. Kinderman presented a lecture, supplemented with demonstration on the piano, of the music that is central to the play “33 Variations.” He provided insight on and performed various sections of the Diabelli Variations — exploring Beethoven’s response to the waltz.

The presentation took place at the Chelsea District Library.

Underwriting support came from Lake Trust Credit Union, with additional support from the Chelsea Comfort Inn & Village Conference Center and the Chelsea District Library.

Read more about Dr. Kinderman and his relationship with 33 Variations!

Part 2

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