Just got my first email from Nevin Hedley, our stage manager for 39 Steps, telling me that we’ll be rehearsing from 10am on March 1st at the Snapple Center in NYC. It will be six days a week with Sundays off until we hit tech, when we’ll then have Tuesdays off, as it will be for the run.

Tonight, SoHee and I went through the script and she helped me make up an Excel spreadsheet listing all the characters I’ll be playing. Next to each, we’ve added columns for me to describe voice, physicality, accent, age, gender, etc. so I can really make sure each character is distinct and detailed. This is the kind of work I love doing, and this show will give me opportunities to explore a wide variety of characterizations.

It’s now 9.30pm, SoHee’s on the phone to her mum in Korea, and I’ll soon be calling mine in Australia. We’ll be up at 4.20 tomorrow morning to get a cab to La Guardia for our flight to Miami. Then it’s off tomorrow on our cruise to Key West and Cozumel! Just a short break away before the long run of 39 Steps here in NYC – no vacations once the show is up and running. But I’ll be working – and in this economy, that’s a bloody blessing!

Best of everything to you.

JJ

My most recent big news, however,  is that I’ve been cast in the upcoming off-Broadway production of The 39 Steps. We start rehearsals in NYC on March 1st, and open in mid-April. I’ll post about rehearsals and performances in the coming months. Before all that, however, we’re going to be getting out of town for a few days next week on a cruise to Mexico!!! Yay! It’s only for a few days, but considering the bitter winter we’ve been having in New York, it will feel like a year or two on a foreign planet.

Thanks for reading, and best of everything to you!

Jamie