ArtWorks Building Theater - December 1998
In October of 1998, I was about to open a three month run of Rocky Horror Show at the Roadhouse Theater in the role of Brad. The lease on my apartment was up at the end of November, so I knew that a move was imminent. My friend, Gabriella, offered to have me move into her house to help us both save money. She also thought it was a good idea for the two of us to put on a show.
Having ten years of experience as an actor at that point, I had never directed nor produced a play before. But, after some thought, I told Gabriella to count me in. I suggested The Eight: Reindeer Monologues by Jeff Goode because it was not only funny and timely, but it was also relatively easy to stage.
I had seen The Eight during its world premiere run while living in Chicago to attend improvisational classes with Second City. A few of my friends in the city were members of Dolphinback Theater, which produced the premiere. Since the play was not published at the time, I called my friend in Chicago to ascertain Mr. Goode's contact information. After discussing my intentions, we agreed to terms of payment and Gabriella and I began looking for a venue.
One of the first spaces that came to our minds was the ArtWorks Building Theater. It was home to the original Roadhouse and Director's Circle Theaters, where she and I had met, years prior. The space was currently being used as a retail outlet called Soujourner Expressions.
We were limited in terms of performance days due to my heavy schedule with Rocky Horror (Rocky had both 8 PM and Midnight shows every Friday and Saturday). It was decided that we would perform the show on two Sundays in December.
I remember the eight of us all frantically pacing backstage with our antlers on. It was surreal. Collis went out for Dasher, and we all listened intently to each word. He was getting laughs. When he finished, the applause surged. We felt great.
There was a sense of relief backstage, and we began to pace further from the stage as Scott went out for Cupid. He started out strong, but suddenly there was an unmistakable silence. There was no doubt; he was stuck. Eventually, someone went out and gave him a line (in character). Pandemonium ensued backstage for the rest of us, except for Collis.
---Jeff Rodland, "Goode Christmas Memory #1", November 8, 2012
