Opening was a success! Thanks to everyone that came out, we sold out the house and everyone had a wonderful time. Thanks to WAKE staff, friends, family and all who came out.

The full cast with the playwright and director. Congrats everyone!

We just had our preview, and it went great! The response has been great, and we're all warmed up for the opening tomorrow. See you all tomorrow night. There's a buzz in the air...

Here are some photos of preproduction before the preview.

Here's a hint of our set.

Here's our sound designer and stage manager talking over sound cues.

Here's our production staff taking care of business.

We're Getting There

We are loading-in the set right now.

We sold out two shows ... do you have your tickets yet?

Building the WAKE set

Building the WAKE set required help from friends and family members. Thanks to all who came out to help. We're also grateful to the Village Theatre for providing a workshop space.

Notes from an Actor

Every so often a play is written that speaks to the heart of the human condition. A play that touches our heart not because of its dramatic moments but its close resemblance to everyday life. A play that gives us pause to reflect on our own life, behavior and relationships. This is one of these plays. I consider myself fortunate to be working on this production because it's the kind of play I strive to be in and it has the sort of words I long to speak.

As exciting as it is to work on a new play, there are many challenges involved in the process as well. With older plays, there are often sources that can be referenced for others' beliefs about the themes, ideas and characters. As this has never been done before, the ideas and themes have not been explored yet so we working with a totally blank canvas. It's about unlocking moments - figuring out why a certain line is said or how it is said - and determining where each character is coming from. And we are unable to move on to the next moment before figuring out the previous moment. While you do this during a rehearsal for any play, this is somewhat more time-consuming. As my character, Delby, says in the play, "time is the only real constraint."

As challenging as the process may be, it has been an absolute pleasure to work with this blank canvas and to watch the other amazingly talented cast members work through that process. Finding out who we are and where we fit into the world of this play has been aided with the poetry of the language, which in the end is all you can ask for as an actor. 3 weeks down, 2 more to go. Hope to see you there!-- Zaki Abdelhamid

Official Press Release

NEWS RELEASE

March 13, 2008

Press Contact: Stephanie Coen, 206.283.4940
E-mail: sacoen@hotmail.com

SONYA SCHNEIDER’S PLAY WAKE, DIRECTED BY LAUREL PILAR GARCIA, OPENS ON FRIDAY, APRIL 4; WORLD PREMIERE RUNS APRIL 3-13 AT THE LITTLE THEATRE ON CAPITOL HILL

SEATTLE— Onward Ho! Productions presents Wake, a world premiere by Sonya Schneider, directed by Laurel Pilar Garcia. Performances are Thursday to Sunday nights at the Little Theatre, 608 19^th Ave East on Capitol Hill, from April 3 to April 13, 2008. Tickets for Wake are $15 and can be purchased from www.brownpapertickets.com.

Thirteen years ago, the Harlow family suffered a tragedy that cast a shadow over all their lives. When two outsiders join a special family gathering, relationships are changed, assumptions are challenged, and a world where the truth has been too painful to accept is forever altered. This new play is a sharply observed, beautifully rendered story of parents and children, friends and lovers, and the complex and surprising relationships that bind them together.

Wake is the latest collaboration between Sonya Schneider and Laurel Pilar Garcia, who wrote and directed Intiman Theatre’s 35^th Anniversary Gala production in 2007. The cast and design team includes Seattle artists who have worked at Washington Ensemble Theatre, Intiman, Seattle Repertory Theatre, ACT and other companies locally and nationally.

The ensemble includes Zaki Abdelhamid (Delby Khan), Nik Doner (Tom Harlow), Kate Godman (Helen Harlow), Samara Lerman (Claire Harlow), Chelsey Rives (Miriam Friedman), Derek Schreck (Max Harlow) and Andrew Zavada (Joe Harlow).

The creative team includes scenic designer Jennifer Zeyl (winner of a Stranger Genius Award), costume designer Harmony J. K. Arnold, lighting designer Dante Olivia Smith and sound designer Joseph Swartz. The stage manager is Sarah Kleehammer.

Playwright Sonya Schneider is the author of plays including Beggars Description and Bald Eagle, Chimpanzee. She worked at Intiman for four seasons, providing support for casting, the literary department and dramaturgical research. Prior to moving to Seattle, she worked at the Manhattan Theatre Company and the Samuel Bronfman Foundation, both in New York. She graduated with an English degree from Stanford University where she also studied playwriting. Her other training includes courses at Seattle Dramatists, the University of Washington and the Atlantic Theatre Company in New York.

Director Laurel Pilar Garcia most recently directed The Diary of Anne Frank for the Driftwood Players and Zapatista for Teatro Milagro in Portland, Ore. Her directing credits also include Short Stories Live! A Collection of Stories by George Bernard Shaw at Town Hall Seattle, Two Rooms by Lee Blessing at the Freehold Studio Series, Dinner with Friends by Donald Margulies and A Christmas Carol, both at Whidbey Island Center for the Arts. Her assistant directing credits include several productions with Intiman Artistic Director Bartlett Sher, including Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth, Shakespeare’s Richard III and Chekhov’s Three Sisters. She received her B.A. in Theatre Arts from Lewis & Clark College.

The performance schedule for Wake is as follows:

Thursday, April 3 at 8 pm (Preview)

Friday, April 4 at 8 pm (Opening)

Saturday, April 5 at 8 pm

Sunday, April 6 at 8 pm

Thursday, April 10 at 8 pm

Friday, April 11 at 8 pm

Saturday, April 12 at 8 pm

Sunday, April 13 at 8 pm (Closing)

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First Week of Rehearsals

The first week of rehearsals flew by. We are fortunate to be working inside the inspiring Seattle Children's Theatre. The space is generous with light and we have filled it with props and lots of hours of work! With a first pass through Act I, the production is beginning to take shape. We also had our first production meeting, and design concepts are coming together.

We are beginning to market the play. Look out for posters and postcards throughout Seattle metro in the coming days. We also want to say thanks to friends and family that have been supportive of this entire endeavor and are out there spreading the word.