Staging a Reading for “Save the Man”

If you are familiar with my blog or my work, you might know that my very first play reading was “Invincible Summer” back in 2016. “Summer” had two subsequent Zoom readings, and has come very close to production on three separate occasions. I’ve also had productions of one act plays, but it wasn’t until now that another full length play felt it was ready for a staged reading.

Set In 1950, “Save the Man” is a Western Shoshone teenager fleeing his boarding school hides in a barn owned by a family of Sikh immigrants, who each must risk their safety to trust the other. The play is based in part on the experiences of my grandfather, who was forced to attend an American Indian boarding school when he was a child.

The decision to stage the reading raised the questions of: where should we do it and with whom? Over the winter, I spoke with my friend Larry Leinoff, a terrific playwright who helped my stage the “Summer” reading seven years ago. When we were brainstorming a director who would be a good fit for the play, we both had the same name in mind: Celine Havard.

Celine is a director, actor, producer, and runs her own theatre company: the Alternative Theatre Company. While I didn’t know Celine well, she is a part of the network of theatrical professionals I have connected with over the last few years–indeed, Celine is the daughter of playwright Lezley Steele, who is the best writing teacher I have ever had. I was happy that Larry had confirmed my intuition, so all that remained was to approach Celine.

Happily, Celine was open to directing the reading, and most importantly, really liked the play. A relatively painless negotiation, some legal paperwork signed, and we were off and running. Celine recruited Dave Malinsky to be her assistant director and her son Lambert to be our stage manager. Celine also had access to a performance space–the Duke Ellington Room on Theatre Row in New York City. So, all we needed now was a cast.

Using Backstage.com, we posted notices and received many replies. Some turned in audition tapes, sent resumes, and did Zoom auditions. In April, we reserved space in Ripley-Grier studios for our in person auditions. This was the first time I had to enjoy this experience–in previous readings and productions casts were usually selected by actors known to the directors. It was exciting to be in Ripley-Greer, in the heart of the theater district, in a building filled with auditions, rehearsals, and choreography. The creative energy was palpable. For the first time, I felt like a professional playwright.

And after some bumps and scheduling difficulties, we had our cast: Sam Arthur, LLewellyn Connolly, Jagruti Deshmukh, Aish Divine, Natasha Jain, Sahil Kaur, Jake Lesh and Anuj Parikh. In the buildup to rehearsals, I worked with Celine and Dave to strengthen the script, and more ideas emerged from the rehearsal process. And then, on the evening of June 26, the staged reading.

I was incredibly impressed by the commitment of the cast, who put so much energy and passion into my work. They found aspects of the characters and the story I wasn’t even aware were present. Guided by Celine, they really made the story work on many levels, and the audience responded positively to the reading. It was also fascinating to hear from the audience what they thought worked and what they thought did not, and to hear from the actors how they approached the choices they made. I now have clear ideas on what I can do to improve the script, and prepare it for a possible future production. Hopefully, when I mention “Save the Man” again, that is what I will have to report.