Love Games: Seeing Double?

If you saw the show, I bet you noticed something unique. A sort of dejavu, a Parent Trap, clones perhaps? No, you weren't seeing double. Joe Cullen played two roles in the first two plays of the festival. He played Paul in Love Games and Mr. Baldwin in The Two Minds of Mr. Coffan. This was not our intended plan. Joe was originally cast only as Mr. Baldwin. But a few weeks ago when one of my actors, for reasons beyond his control, dropped out, I needed someone fast. Though we reached around the department, Joe was the only option we had on such short notice. I am very grateful to him and I am sure the rest of my cast is as well. He really saved us.

It was weird sharing an actor with another director and I must say I do not wan't to do it again. Being his first director, Sedona had priority with him. I tried not to step on her toes, but I also knew he was working hard to catch up. Sedona and I would schedule our rehearsals around each other so that Joe could get a break in between without having to take too much time out of his day. When it came time for the company runthroughs we would give notes all together at the end. I would pull my 3 aside and Sedona would corrale hers. I would split up notes, give Nikki, Stuart, and Moss their, dismiss them, then wait for Joe to be free to get his.

I know the feeling of doing two shows at once- having just done it with this show and The Upward Beating Heart, but I was impressed with how well he handled it. Though I could see his exhaustion, he never complained and was always 100% on stage. That's a talent. Overall, I would not recommend this method.