Stage Banter: The Arena Stage Blog

Notes from John: An Evening Arena Stage Theater Experience

John Layman is a co-sponsor of Death of a Salesman and as a benefit of sponsorship he was able to attend the rehearsal process for both productions in the Miller Repertory.

posted by John Layman

Dear Theaterophiles,
Last evening I attended the first preview week presentation of A View from the Bridge, a wonderful evening of seeing for the first time the whole play after seeing non-sequential excerpts in rehearsal. It was a powerful performance with the same actors that I have gotten to know from Death of a Salesman. To top it off, when I got to the Metro platform after the performance for my train to College Park, Jeremy Holm who plays Biff, Tim Getman who plays Hap, and Louis Cancelmi who plays Bernard, all in Death of a Salesman arrived and we had plenty of time to discuss all things theater. I told Jeremy that I had seen him in the Shakespeare Theatre production of Cyrano. He said that he had done Cyrano on additional occasions since then. He went on to talk of his wife’s involvement in the arts and her present contracts and Jeremy indicated that he was seeking a summer play so they could sublet their New York apartment to control living costs. This little aside is not to brag, but to indicate how lucky I am to have made friends among this fine group of actors and to gain insights few have had access to. Nancy Robinette came into the lobby with her son from New York. She plays a wonderful Linda in Death but only a small part in View. Her son and I had a couple of chats as our paths crossed in the lobby. He was there to celebrate his mother’s birthday.

Join us! Free open rehearsal of Arthur Miller's "A View from the Bridge"

Arena Stage invites you to be part of the audience for the final dress rehearsal of Miller's A View from the Bridge directed by Daniel Aukin. This is your chance to get a sneak preview of the show that is playing in repertory with Miller's Death of a Salesman—for free! 

Theater is never more “live” than at the final dress rehearsal—the first time the actors run through the full show with an audience. The audience is “the last actor cast” in any production, and we hope you’ll take on that role for us throughout the season.

Details:
A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller
Arena Stage in Crystal City
Thursday, March 20
8:00 p.m.
Free, no reservations necessary
First Come/First Served
Click here for Directions to Crystal City

Death of a Salesman: Biff's Blog - Days 11-20

posted by Jeremy Holm

March 9, 2008
On stage today for the first time. It feels great to be in our new home here in Crystal City. The set gives a real sense of period and of time wearing down on this family. There is more space here, or at least we feel freer to use the space we have, space which was taped out in the room, but which we did not use because of the closeness of the tables and chairs in the rehearsal space. The acoustics are completely unknown since no plays have been performed here as yet. So this is a great deal of new ground for all of us. The sound and lights were beginning to be added today, a very exciting time for us. Many of our entrances have different timing of course and most of our positions in the space needed to be adjusted. We ran out of time towards the end of the day and could not finish the play. In this rep situation it is very important to go through all of the adjustments in the imagination, or on paper in order that during the few days away from the work one remembers all of the changes. The first scene was much better today and is starting to get clear. I'm starting to think inside the character.