Coriolanus

The boys of Lacuna Group pulled off a production of William Shakespeare's Coriolanus on October 25 & 26, 2008, in the Greenville Street Park, and on November 1 at Newnan Community Theatre Company.

They worked together from August through October on Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings, hammering out the production as a collaborative group. With a cast of eight and no set or lights to assist in the illusion, the cast devised staging to show large armies clashing on the battlefield as well as intimate scenes.

Much of the fun in the work came from not only exploring Shakespeare's text but in creating the multiple characters each actor had to handle.

The cast included Jeff Allen, John Bilon, Jeff Bishop, Dan Coleman, Marc Honea, Greg Lee, Dale Lyles, and Kevin McInturff.

On Hold

Since no one from the community has volunteered to head up the organizing committee for the world premiere of A Visit to William Blake's Inn, the project is on hold indefinitely.

10/15/08: George Contini, associate professor with the University of Georgia Department of Theatre and Film Studies, asked Dale Lyles to submit A Visit to William Blake's Inn to be considered for the department's 2009-2010 theatre season.

May 3 Performance Scores

The "backers audition" on May 3 was a success on several fronts. We presented the complete work to an audience of about 100, who were entertained and impressed with the music. We showed what a complete performance might look like with our "hot glue and cardboard" stagings of The Man in the Marmalade Hat Arrives and Two Sunflowers Move Into the Yellow Room.

Most importantly, our performance convinced a member of the Cultural Arts Commission to step forward and volunteer to head up the organizing committee to lead us to our world premiere. [update: We were mistaken. No one has stepped up to lead the organizing committee.]

For a complete impression of the evening, see the group blog.

Personal note from Dale: Thank you to all who helped make this performance happen: members of the workshop team (Marc, Melissa, Laura, Carol Lee, Molley); Mary Frances and her Newnan School of Dance students; Sherry Lambert and her kindergarten class of hedgehogs (and their parents!); Bette Hickman and the Newnan Cultural Arts Commission for the sponsorship, the invitations, and the reception.

Lacuna Members meet Nancy Willard

On Monday, April 2, members of the Lacuna Group had lunch with Nancy Willard and her husband Eric Lindbloom at Docks Oyster Bar & Seafood Grille on Third Avenue in New York City.

We were delighted to find that she is as magical in person as she is in her writing and in her correspondence with Dale. Her husband Eric is a gifted photographer, so it's a mega-creative household in Poughkeepsie, NY.

We had brought gifts: a copy of Herb Bridges' Postcards from Coweta County, which Dale had annotated with personal memories; and A Taste of Georgia. Also, Carol Lee had brought one of the prototype sunflowers, which surprised and delighted Nancy.

When Dale and Carol Lee asked her to autograph their copies of William Blake's Inn, Nancy took the copies home with her and mailed them back with lovely paintings inside: suns, moons, and angels. What a thrill!

Above: Nancy Willard and Eric Lindbloom in front; Ginny Lyles, Dale Lyles, Carol Lee Shankel, Mary Frances Honea, Molly Honea, Marc Honea, and Galen Honea.

First Look at William Blake's Inn

After January 10 ’s First Look at the work, audience members were very impressed and encouraged Lacuna to begin production.  

“The first time I heard Dale’s music, I felt as if I had been taken to another world,” said tenor Malcolm Lelliot, who sang the role of the Marmalade Man.

“We were mesmerized,” said Laura Hauser, who attended the performance with her three daughters.  “Not only by the story, but by how well the music expressed the feeling and tone.”

A Visit to William Blake’s Inn was sung by Mike Ferrante (filling in for an ailing Matthew Bailey, Jr.), Marc Honea, Mary Frances Honea, Malcolm Lelliott, Dale Lyles, Ginny Lyles, Denise Meacham, and Anne Tarbutton.  The group used Dale's computerized orchestrations as accompaniment.

It was decided in discussion after the performance that Lacuna should begin a workshop process on a handful of pieces from the entire work, and then repeat the performance in the spring with the additional staging.  It was felt by several that this would help potential backers of the project to understand exactly how the plotless song cycle could become a stage work.

Once support for the production is secured, Lacuna would begin developing the work in earnest in August, for a probable 2008 performance.