Keep Me and Bearclaw review at Newsroom Panama

From the arrticle:

"Bearclaw is a one act drama that centers on Peter a retired history  teacher with memory problems  and  little time left  to make some difficult decisions tto help  make amends for past events. The central character, Peter Senior is realistically played by Gerry Dowden  whose voice you may have become familiar with on his morning radio gig, The Breakfast Show. (89.3 FM)  So here’s a chance to see the face behind the voice.
Andres Clemente  plays his role as the underachieving orderly  to a tee,  and HB Twohy  is the perfect frustrated son of the cantankerous old guy.Luv Jhangimal, as the nurse, completes the quartet that provides a well acted peep into the lives of those in a world that as the central character says “you get used to.” The play is  superbly directed by  Hilary Hughes, with Amit Nathani as assistant director. The producers are Giancarlo Benedetti and Amit Nathani. And I have to restrain my fingers from typing  "It can't get any better."

Last night really showed me what this production is about: passion and dedication. I'm not the only one who has put forth a lot of love for this. Everyone has. When we arrived at The Guild last night for the press junket, a power outage had robbed us of juice, so we naturally did what everyone else would in that situation: we bought 24 votive candles and lit up the porch for a very intimate showing of Keep Me and a preview of Bearclaw. The backstage and tech crew served as the audience, shining flashlights on the actors faces to give them a spotlight among the shadows. It was a thing of beauty and undoubtedly an unusual night at The Guild!

Cast and Crew pictures by Tony Loew

Cast of Keep Me and Bearclaw

Keep Me with Melanie Gilpin, Ricardo (Nimo) Agurcia and Brooklyn Sample

Production team of Bearclaw: Amit Nathani Assistant Directer/Producer, Hilary Hughes Director, Giancarlo Benedetti Producer

Cast and production team of Bearclaw

All pictures by talented photographer Tony Loew.

Bullet Point EVERYTHING (because that is the only way I can absorb information lately, that or through a walkie talkie, yes I have become One Of Those)

Design by Maria Theoktisto

• Isn't it LOVELY? Don't you wanna frame it and put it up on the wall?! I would've NEVER picture it this way, it is very much a reflection of the script. 

• Tonight we had full tech rehearsal, rehearsing both plays (KEEP ME and BEARCLAW), as well as polishing the sound + lights. The backstage coordination needs working on, but hopefully by tomorrow evening it is squared away (if not, we might have a funny lookin' press night). 

• Tuesday morning Brooklyn (director and writer of KEEP ME) and I headed to Punta Paitilla to chit chat on The Breakfast Show with Gerry D. Not easy for me to get anywhere at 7:30am, so we were a bit late (got a bit of shit from Gerry, but it was only Gerry in character as Peter Sr.). It sure helps to have a radio show to help promote the show! Gerry is also one of the main character's of BEARCLAW. It's also his theatrical debut, so you can only imagine the jitters he must be feeling right about now (must be much the same debut jitters I'm feeling as well).

• Wednesday May 4th we'll be having a PRESS NIGHT, so if you are a member of the press and would like to get a sneak preview of KEEP ME and BEARCLAW, shoot me an e-mail and I'll give you the details. 

• OPENING NIGHT is only one night away! I think the realization hasn't fully hit me yet. When it does be sure to keep the smelling salts nearby 'cause this old lady is sure to get heart palpitations and all of that long list of Victorian Lady ailments. 

• I am overwhelmed by gratitude and love. Gracias. 

BEARCLAW in La Prensa's Vivir+

Bearclaw got a nice little article in La Prensa's Vivir+ section during the weekend. Check it out!

Sneak peek at BEARCLAW Rehearsals

We'll have a poster for BEARCLAW and KEEP ME by this evening. I am so excited to plaster Panama City in BEARCLAW propaganda. Yes, opening night is looming like the pot at the end of the rainbow, or just the topping of what is sure to be more productions. At this moment I feel like I could quite possibly get into directing another play, but only if I had the backup like I have had for BEARCLAW (which is to say AMAZING! Amit + Giancarlo have been my pillars of support in this production). Putting on a play ain't easy! I am not getting paid for this, as it is community theater, but I must say that a lot of blood, sweat and tears (and wine) has been poured into BEARCLAW. 

Ok, so you have a good production team, so what? If your cast is shit, how much can you actually DO. Not much. Thankfully, the BEARCLAW cast has been incredibly hard working, productive, and talented. We're at the final two weeks before BEARCLAW opens and now we're tying the loose ends, snipping unnecessary bits, and polishing it to a fine sheen. Long hours await us next week, but I really can't wait to see how the characters develop over this period of time. 

The BEARCLAW blurb, spread the word!

The Theatre Guild of Ancon is proud to present: BEARCLAW, a one act drama written by Timothy Mason

BEARCLAW centers on Peter a retired history teacher whose time on Earth is running out. Faced with the truth, he is forced to make a difficult decision while making amends with his past.

CAST:
Peter Sr. - Gerry Dowden
Paul - Andres Clemente
Peter Jr. - HB Twohy
Constance - Luv Jhangimal

CREW:
Director - Hilary Hughes
Assistant Director - Amit Nathani
Producers - Giancarlo Benedetti and Amit Nathani

PREMIERING at the THEATRE GUILD OF ANCON May 5th, 2011 8pm.

FEATURING KEEP ME, a one act drama adapted and directed by Brooklyn Sample, with the participation of Ricardo (Nimo) Agurcia and Melanie Gilpin.

SHOW DATES: May 5th-7th at 8pm;
                        Matinée on May 8th at 6pm.
                        May 12th-14th at 8pm.

TICKETS: E-mail reservations (24 hour notice) to tgapanama@gmail.com;
                Telephone reservations 212-0060

Complete Cast for BEARCLAW

In order of appearance:

• Constance: Luv Jhangimal 
• Paul: Andres Rafael Clemente
• Peter Sr.: Gerry Dowden
• Peter Jr.: HB Twohy

I'm very excited about the cast, everyone is very dynamic and eager to get into character. A true pleasure to work with! 

We've had four rehearsals so far and they have been very good, productive and even a little intense. It is a drama after all! We've been doing very little blocking because the set design is not complete as of yet, so the rehearsals have been taking place in my livingroom with Bruno supervising from a gigantic (for him) bean bag. 

Had a meeting with Brooke and Elena on Monday regarding set design. We should have the set ready to be built by early next week. We're excited about the set that Elena has created; it is interesting and innovative and able to merge both sets from Brooke's play KEEP ME as well as the set from BEARCLAW. Today we're meeting at The Guild in order to see what props and furniture we have to work with. 

Prepared to get dirty and dusty and quite possibly sneezy.