And here they are – the five actors who will be playing the Shepherd Family, standing in front of the Alumnae Theatre where ANIMAL will be performed.  From left to right, I’m proud to introduce DAVID PLANCHE (Daniel Shepherd), SPENCER STREICHERT (Griffin Shepherd/ Mark), CRAIG MARTIN (Cliff Shepherd), ALEXANDRA MILNE (Raina Shepherd) and PAT PARISELLI (Mercedes Shepherd).  Below they stand in the Studio Theatre where ANIMAL will be staged.

This post is filled with photos of the cast that were taken when we recently got together (along with crew members) and had our first reading of the play.  I was filled with a nervous energy as it was the first time I saw these five actors together in a room.  I wanted to embrace each one.  And so I did!  I wanted to capture these moments, encourage them and wish them all well as they begin rehearsals and digging into the challenges of this play.  It’s important to mark (and one day remember) the beginning of something new and exciting.  Memories matter.

I said over a year ago to my friend and dramaturge Jane Miller that it was time to stage ANIMAL.  I did not know how it would come about.  And believe me, there have been many rejections and set-backs along the way.  There have been times where I walked away from the play for a year with the knowledge that one day I would return.  The quality of the script (or lack of it) has always brought me back to this story of love, loss, mental illness, the secrets we keep and the ones we confess – all wrapped into a deep reflection of the past.

This has been a journey.   There have been many readings of this play with different casts sitting around tables, in living rooms or standing in front of audiences.  And I look forward to seeing what the next step of this production will bring.  So much has happened in my life during the time of ANIMAL’s creation.   I was brought back to 2009 when I had the very first reading (called CIRCUS at that time) with Jane and her husband Richard, along with a handful of actors/friends.  I looked back at that very first draft recently, and although it is a completely different version, you can see the beginning of a structure, a time, a place that was set in motion to what ANIMAL has morphed into today.  The play has always been about wrestling with mental illness, a reckoning  of the past and ultimately healing through hard earned hope.

My job now is to take a step back from ANIMAL and let Evelyn Long (director) do her job (along with AD Lucy Collingwood and SM Leslie Ann Walcott).  I want to give the cast and crew their creative space so they can make it their story as it’s been my story for so many years.

My hope is this cast will enjoy the process of bringing ANIMAL to life on the stage as much as I enjoyed bringing it to life on the page.

It was not easy for me and I’m sure they will have their own challenges, questions and even doubt.  It’s ALL good.  It’s all part of the creative process.  Embrace it all ….and don’t forget to have fun!  ANIMAL may be a serious play with some dark humor, but I do enjoy a good laugh and love to see others happy…

ANIMAL opens on November 21 at the Alumnae Theatre as part of their Fireworks Festival.