Part of the Plan, our Dan Fogelberg musical, has come full circle to begin our development at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in Nashville!
 
It was 5 years ago that we flew to Nashville to meet with Jean Fogelberg and Norbert Putnam to pitch them our story about an adopted boy that would weave 20 Dan Fogelberg songs in the telling of it.  We came to Nashville because Jean and Norbert were already there working on the upcoming Dan Fogelberg tribute album.  On that February afternoon, in a conference room at the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel, Jean and Norbert said yes to a collaboration that’s been a labor of love ever since.  We’ve already had developmental readings in Los Angeles, San Diego, and New York City, when this past September, we were invited to mount three performances on TPAC’s James K. Polk stage.  It was an event for TPAC subscribers, industry professionals, and theatre operators from around the country.
 
Nashville has long been a significant part of Dan’s musical history.  It’s where Dan recorded his very first album, Home Free, in 1974.  It’s where he wrote “Part of the Plan,” his first hit single, back in 1975.  It’s a city that he called home during the early years of his career; where he lived, performed, wrote, and recorded.  Now we are bringing Dan Fogelberg back to Nashville where it all began. 
 
In partnership with TPAC President & CEO, Kathleen O’Brien, we have big plans for Part of the Plan in Nashville.  After three very successful readings, our team is planning an event that will be part benefit concert, part creative session - in April 2017 at Nashville’s historic War Memorial Auditorium.  Dan played there twice – the first time in 1974 as the special guest opening for Joe Walsh, and again in 1975, with a sold-out homecoming concert promoting his second studio album, Souvenirs.  The April concert will feature cast members from “Part of the Plan” performing songs from our musical, plus performances of Dan’s music from artists who contributed to the upcoming Fogelberg tribute album.  The house band is made up of Fools Gold (Dan’s backup band and recording artists in their own right!) along with Part of the Plan’s arrangers, Grammy winners Victor Vanacore (Ray Charles) and Laurence Juber (Paul McCartney’s Wings), as well as special guests.  The creative session will explore the process behind the development of the musical. It’s sure to be a VERY SPECIAL, unforgettable evening!  Either the day before or the day after the concert (to be announced), Dan Fogelberg will be inducted into Nashville’s renowned Music City Walk of Fame.  This promises to be a long overdue tribute to a wonderful American Troubador, and we are honored to play a part. 
 
The April events are just the start of the Nashville adventures surrounding Part of the Plan and Dan Fogelberg.  So, please stay tuned!  And to all of you who love Dan Fogelberg, his music, and the magic of theater, plan to join us in Nashville, TN in mid-April, 2017; we’ll let you know as soon as we firm up dates!!! 
 
Kate Atkinson & Karen Harris

It's just about two years since we launched our Kickstarter campaign for Part Of the Plan, our original musical featuring the music and lyrics of the wonderful Dan Fogelberg.  Because of the support and belief in this project, from our Kickstarter supporters, DanFans, and all our FaceBook friends, we were able to mount SIX staged readings of our show:  two in Los Angeles in October of 2013, two in LA and San Diego in June of last year, and two in New York City this past November, which were co-produced by Tony-winning Broadway producers, WalkRunFly.  As a treat, click here to listen to one of the songs from the NYC reading (we won't tell you which one, but you will find out soon enough :-)  Keep in mind, the actors/singers had a mere 29 hours to learn the music, and we recorded it from the back row of the theatre with an IPhone.  But the theatre was packed both nights and the crowd responded with standing ovations.  We were thrilled!   

Out of those readings, we've officially attached a Tony-nominated director/choreographer, Lynne Taylor Corbett and Broadway musical director, Michael Moricz.  Additionally, we now have a guitar arranger on the team, and not just any guitar arranger!  Joining our Grammy-winning arranger, Victor Vanacore, is two-time Grammy-winning guitar player of Sir Paul McCartney's Wings, Laurence Juber. Laurence and Dan share the distinction of each having signature Martin guitars.  We know Dan would be proud of our choice.  Finally, we were able to rewrite and refine our story, rework our characters and themes, and better integrate the music.  Now we’re very excited to introduce our next phase -- likely the last step before we begin development with a regional theater.  During the month of July, our NYC team is coming to LA for several weeks of workshop-style rehearsals, culminating in SIX performances of Part of the Plan. Over the final two weekends in July, on the Greenway Court stage in Hollywood,  our actors will have all their lines committed to memory, Lynne will be able to really use her talents to direct and choreograph the action using a few set pieces, some costumes, a four to five-piece band... basically a much more theatrical experience!  

Here’s the best part:  you can be in the audience!!!  We will make it possible, with the help and support of the Fogelberg Foundation of Peoria and the Greenway Arts Alliance, for those of you who want to be part of this next step in the journey.   In the next few days, we will let you know all the details about how you can participate in this special event.  Keep your eyes open for updates on Facebook, Twitter, and here on our website... We may even email you, for those of you who have given us emails! 

Thank you, as always, for your love and support. 

Ever On,
Kate & Karen

In mid-September, Karen and I hosted a dinner and table reading of the script around Karen’s dining room table.  It was a lovely reunion of past cast members, as well as a way to polish our book before NY.  At the end of September, we flew to New York to cast the show.  It was pouring with rain, but we hardly noticed!  We were at Ripley-Grier rehearsal studios, overlooking Broadway, auditioning actors and singers for our first New York reading. As soon as the casting notice went out, Playbill.com reported on it!  “Dan Fogelberg Musical Will Get NYC Staged Reading” (click red link to read).  There we were, the whole team sitting behind a long table: Karen and I, co-producer of the NYC presentation Warren Adams, director Lynne Taylor-Corbett, musical director Michael Moricz, and casting director Carol Hanzel.  A number of the actors from our previous West Coast readings submitted auditions on video.  Harley Jay, our wonderful “Sean” in the LA/San Diego readings, flew to NY to audition in person.  Of course, to Karen and me, Harley IS Sean, and happily, our colleagues agreed!  He was cast before he left the building.  We were over the moon to have Harley in NYC with us (to see why visit www.harleyjay.com).  The rest of the talented actors were cast out of New York City and we ended up with a terrific ensemble.  Hours after we locked them all down, Playbill.com ran another piece that Part of the Plan had been cast (click red link to read).

Karen and I flew home to Los Angeles and began to prepare for our return trip to New York, where we would present our show to investors and producers.  We had plenty to do to keep us busy and stave off the nerves:  there were invitations to send, rewrites of the book (hearing auditions helped us realize some changes to be made), and new music to arrange.  We brought on guitar virtuoso Laurence Juber, of Paul McCartney and Wings fame, to work with Victor on several songs that were guitar-driven, and the results with these two were breathtaking.  The musical interpretations of our story and Dan’s songs was one of the great creative experiences of our lives.  What a gift to work with such musical masters.  Then, of course, there was the matter of selecting a location for our two showcase performances.  We settled on St. Luke’s Theatre in the heart of Broadway’s theatre district.  We’d seen another staged reading there that our director had put up in the Spring.  It’s a real theatre, on a great street, and we were thrilled.

We arrived back in New York at the end of October and settled in for a week of rehearsals at Ripley-Grier Studios, which was beginning to feel like home away from home.  The rehearsal process was extraordinary.  To watch Lynne and Michael collaborate was a humbling experience because they are so, so good.  There is nothing like seeing seasoned professionals at work; to know they understand the heart of the story and communicate it to the actors so beautifully.  Creative ideas were flowing, rewrites were happening on the fly, and music was being further shaped and enhanced.  Michael added his own magic, and put together a band!  There are never enough hours for rehearsals, but after 29-hours with our actors, the equity maximum allowed, it was curtain up!

“Part of the Plan” played to packed houses and received standing ovations for both shows!  After the second performance, Warren threw us a cast party at E&E Grill, and we could barely keep our feet on the ground.  The show just seems to get better and better. So many of the audience were blown away, asking us “What do you need?” and “How can we help?”  That was exactly the purpose of this adventure.  Once again, Dan was smiling down on us.

That brings us to today.  Over the last few weeks, Karen and I have formed our own production company, and with a shout-out to our lovely friend and kind supporter, Lesley Hamer, we’ve named it K-Squared Entertainment.  (Get it?  Kate…Karen…K-Squared?  Wait’ll we unveil the logo!)  We are also forming a company called Part of the Plan, LLC that will allow us, along with partners and investors, to raise the capital we need to workshop and then mount our first commercial production!!!  And, of course, there’s the seemingly endless prospect of rewrites and polishes to make Part of the Plan the best it can be.

With the help of the Dan Fogelberg Foundation (thank you Deb Jelinek and Eric Mills), we have cross-referenced the U.S. cities where the majority of “Dan Fans” reside, along with large baby boomer populations (the primary theatre-going audience), and have come up with our own list of cities in which “Part of the Plan” could potentially premiere!  We are hoping that our next blog posting will announce a full production of “Part of the Plan” at a live theatre near you.  If you have thoughts on where that might be, reach out and let us know! Ever On!!! 

- Kate Atkinson

Starting mid-April 2014, Kate and I spent a month in NYC meeting Broadway professionals (can you say “Nederlander”?), checking out what was hot on the stage (15 shows in 30 days!), and making the commute to and from Brooklyn every day.  Of course it was spring, which meant the weather was…unreliable.  But even nasty colds couldn’t hold us two gals down.  Finally we returned to Los Angeles to prepare for the June staged readings. 

We brought on a talented and lovely director, Richard Israel.  Some of the cast members from our October readings were available, but many were tied up with other shows and their own busy lives.  In fact, our first "Rebecca", Lauren Shealy, was pregnant (and is now Mom to a beautiful little girl).  But we put together another terrific cast and began rehearsing for our next phase of Part of the Plan.  As an aside, our first “Sean” was going to be out of the country, but we were able to cast someone who’d been highly recommended: singer-songwriter and actor Harley Jay.  Harley spent three years on Broadway playing “Mark” in Rent.  His soulful rendition of “Leader of the Band” (with Laurence Juber on guitar) can be found by clicking here.

Once again, the Greenway Court Theatre served as our home for rehearsals and the first reading on June 18th.  We filled the house and had the pleasure of welcoming some significant players in the world of theatre, film, and television.  Warren Adams and Brandon Victor Dixon, co-producers of our upcoming showcase in NY, flew in so they could see the project on its feet.  Their experience of Part of the Plan that night made them even more passionate, and we all began to strategize our New York City showcase, which would take place in the fall.

The following morning, the cast, crew, and creative team drove to San Diego to present Part of the Plan to artistic directors and staff from regional theatres who came to town for the annual Theatre Communications Group conference.  We were able to present the show to multiple regional theatres, a wonderful opportunity given the fact that we want to further develop our show at one of these theatres.

After a rooftop reception and cast party atop the Tenth Avenue Arts Center in the heart of downtown San Diego, we returned home to LA, took a week to rest and recover, then went back to work on the book.  With fresh eyes, we began the process of reimagining certain elements of the show.   It ‘s always a challenge for writers to let go of moments we’ve fallen in love with.  But we know we have to be tough on ourselves, and make sure that every detail, every moment, serves the story.  In this rewrite, we lost lines, scenes, and even Pearl, one of our beloved characters. 

The rest of the summer was all about refining the book and coordinating the upcoming showcase in New York, which was set for early November.  Once it was confirmed that we would present Part of the Plan in New York City, the theatre gods smiled on us and we scored Tony-nominated director and choreographer, Lynne Taylor-Corbett, and the brilliant Broadway musical director Michael Moricz.  It was time to go to back to New York, where we would find the perfect cast… 

- Karen Harris

Right after the readings in Los Angeles (after regrouping, and taking a couple of weeks off to recharge), Karen and I threw ourselves into a rewrite of the book.  One of the benefits of “development” and staged readings is that we have been able to see what's great and what needs more work.  Some of the changes we have discovered in the process are minor (a certain line of dialogue doesn’t work and it’s a quick delete or new line replacement) and some of the changes are major.  Here’s a good example of one major change we made… We knew, coming out of the readings, that the relationship between Sean and Evan – who never find out they are brothers – was one the audience loved.  Every time they were on stage together there was laughter, there were tears, and a real care for that relationship.  We knew we needed to go even deeper with their friendship and brotherhood, before the war in Vietnam took its toll on them.  We decided to change the entire opening of Act 2 to be a scene between Evan and Sean right after they get shipped out.  And Dan Fans will love this…  We added a song to that scene; a song that we heard from many of you on Facebook and in emails ranked as one of your favorite Fogelberg songs.  THE RIVER.  When we began to write that opening scene and we were looking for an appropriate song, I picked up Dan’s first album, hoping something would inspire, and saw The River.  After the needle dropped onto the vinyl, I knew we had struck gold.  Who would have thunk that Fogelberg would write a Hendrix-like trippy song with a verse like:

“I was raised by a river weaned upon the sky
And in the mirror of the waters, I saw myself learn to cry
As the tears hit the surface, I saw what had been done
I gave feet to my freedom and I did run”

This was part of our hero’s journey!  Not only did it work lyrically for Sean to tell Evan about his upbringing, but also the music worked perfectly for the era.  Another stroke of luck.   We like to think of it as destiny more than luck.  Thank you, Dan!

Besides rewriting, we had to decide what the next best step was for Part of the Plan.  We were approached by a team of producers – who are currently involved in two successful Broadway shows – and they offered to co-produce a NYC showcase with us.  WalkRunFly Productions would help us with casting, finding a director, a theatre, and bringing Broadway “lead producers” and investors to the showcase, the very people that we need on the team for our first commercial production.

We have always known that we need to develop Part of the Plan somewhere outside of New York City first – somewhere like Nashville, Denver, Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Diego…really anywhere but New York City until we are really ready for a Broadway stage.  Since our goal is to tour the heartland and have a long running Broadway show, we don’t want to blow our chances by taking Part of the Plan to the public and NY press too soon.  This showcase will provide the Broadway community with the opportunity to become part of the team as investors, which is a critical part of the equation in order to go regional and beyond. 

The other half of the equation is finding the right theatre!  One of our dear mentors, David H. Bell, gave us a wonderful idea.  David has been an artistic director in the world of regional theatre and he currently is a professor at Northwestern University, where he runs the American New Musical Theatre Project, as well as a very busy director in his own right.  He told us about a national conference that happens every year where all the regional theatres congregate to exchange ideas, attend seminars etc…   Once a year, they are all in the same city, and David suggested that maybe we could arrange a reading for these folks.  We were happily surprised to find out that the 2014 TCG conference was happening in San Diego, just a couple of hours down the coast from us!   So instead of doing one workshop in LA, as we originally planned, we decided to do TWO showcases – one in San Diego for the regional theatres and one in the fall in NYC for the Broadway theatre people that we need on our team!

Meanwhile, we decided to go back to NYC to begin preparations for the fall.  I told Karen we needed at least a month. So with too many suitcases in hand (who knows what the weather was going to be like in NYC in April!) we headed East again to immerse ourselves in the Broadway scene.

Finally, we decided to go into the studio and record some of the POTP music!  We thought it would be great to have some of the music, as it exists in the show, as part of our package for producers/investors.  It worked out perfectly, because we also promised our Kickstarter Contributors downloads of a few of our songs as part of their “rewards.”  Karen and I have decided to share the recording of Leader of the Band from that session with you all!  Grammy award-winner  Laurence Juber on guitar and Harley Jay singing the lead vocals.  It can be found on the website, under the Project Elements tab, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed recording it!!! 

As always, we’d love to hear from you.  Feel free to write to us through this website’s contact page, or leave a comment below; as well as on Facebook.

Until next time… where we will fill you in on April in NYC and the San Diego showcase…Ever On! 

-Kate Atkinson 

So much has happened, so fast.  There’s never a dull moment, and barely breathing room.  We’re not complaining…far from it.  We LOVE where this PLAN is taking us.  But we have been HUGELY neglectful of you, our supporters and DanFans.  And suddenly we find ourselves ready to return to New York!!!  So here’s the deal – please forgive us, and we’ll spend the immediate future catching you up to where we are, and then we can all move forward to together.

AUGUST 2013 – Taking Care of Business

First, I (Karen) must first tell you one of my favorite moments of this whole experience:  the day I watched in awe as Kate did what she does best.  Where our blog posts left off, we were just about to launch our Kickstarter Campaign, which we had decided to do on August 13th… Dan’s birthday. Suddenly we received a message from Kickstarter saying they needed two to three days to “approve” our campaign.  What??!!!  This was not news we were happy about – August 15th or 16th just wouldn’t cut it.  And Kate was going make it happen.  She loaded up her LinkedIn account and began trolling for anyone who might know someone at Kickstarter.  (FYI, there is no “contact us” link for KS, nor a phone number, nor any other means of human contact.)  At last, Kate found a guy she had worked with on a film, who had a LinkedIn connection to another guy who had once had business dealings with Kickstarter.  This stranger to us lived in Austin, TX…and we called him immediately.  He was very friendly, with a sexy French accent.  Kate explained our challenge.  Mr. Charming Frenchman said to call his former assistant in New York, who should have contact info for someone at Kickstarter.  It was 5pm in NY, and Former Assistant was still at his desk.  This would never happen in LA.  Former assistant would have been out surfing ;-) 

The “someone” turned out to be Yancey Strickler, the Co-Founder and CEO of Kickstarter.  Charming Frenchman’s Former Assistant was hesitant to pass along contact information, but Kate persisted.  “It’s Dan’s birthday.  I promise Yancy will never know it came from you,” Kate purred.  And voila, she was popping off a missive to #1 head honcho at Kickstarter, starting her plea with “I’m taking a desperate measure contacting you directly but…” She went on to explain how very important it was that we launch our campaign today (by now it was after 8pm in the east).  Surely there must be some way to expedite our submission?  Ten minutes later we got an email from Yancey Strickler himself.  “Go ahead and submit your project, I’ll take care of it.” We were elated.  Kate wrote back thanking Yancy and promising him tickets to opening night on Broadway, and sure enough, at about 11:30pm (EST) we got the Kickstarter approval e-mail.  At 12:01 on August 13th (9:01 in LA where we were), the “Part of the Plan” Kickstarter campaign was launched.  And THAT’S how we get things done around here!!!

The Kickstarter Campaign was so exciting, and nerve-wracking, and rewarding.  Friends and family stepped up to help us realize our dream.  We reached out to people from our distant past, and Facebook friends whom we’d never actually met.  But it’s safe to say that we couldn’t have done it without those of you we met through the various Fogelberg fan sites.  We have to give honorable mention to Deb Jelinek and Erik Mills for helping us reach the fans on the Fogelberg websites and FB pages that they manage.  And a special shout-out to Pamela Feuhrer and Kathy & Mike Kotel for challenging the DanFans to up their support by promising matching funds! 

You can still access the “Dan Fogelberg Musical” Kickstarter page, read the updates, see photographs and videos of the campaign, day by day, week by week.  One of our greatest joys was Jean Fogelberg’s original artwork, which is so evocative of our story, and means more than we can say.  Jean has been the most wonderful partner on this project. 

And a mere four weeks after it began, the campaign was over.  Not only did we reach our $50,000 goal, we exceeded it!!!   We could move forward with the staged reading of “Part of the Plan.”  Now the real work would begin!

SEPTEMBER – NOVEMBER 2013; The Great View from Cloud 9!

September was spent finding and hiring actors, working with a director, a musical director, locking down theater space, and polishing the material.  As October arrived, we were both a bit nervous because we hadn’t yet had the chance to see and hear the text and the music performed together.  (Reading aloud to each other didn’t count.)  On October 24th and 26th, we had two truly wonderful staged readings, both with standing ovations!  We knew from the reactions that we were definitely on the right track.  We threw a party after the 2nd performance, and our Kickstarter supporters in attendance came to celebrate with us, along with our actors and creative team. Then just like that, it was over.  After the months of planning, preparing, raising money, and experiencing what Cloud 9 felt like, we were faced with that great expanse of “what next?”  The next blog post will answer that question!


-Karen Harris

Karen and I had just returned from New York City, and we knew that in order to take “Part of the Plan” to the next level, we needed to come up with our own plan.  We wanted to put up a Staged Reading so we could hear the script and music together, and really see what we had.  The challenge was that we needed money.  The question was how would we raise that money?  The answer turned out to be…ALL OF YOU!

When we started the Dan Fogelberg Website and Facebook pages, we got a wonderful response.  Of course our friends and loved ones were supportive, but the real magic came from you, the Dan Fans and admirers of this brilliant man and his music.  The comments we received were “How can we help?”  “What can I do?”  “We can’t wait to see a Musical using Dan’s music!”  It was obvious, you were meant to be part of the plan.

So we researched the various crowd-funding sites, and sat down to explore what we hoped to accomplish.  Our first “Staged Reading” in Los Angeles, certainly.  But Equity rules only allow a combined 29 hours of rehearsal for a Staged Reading, a fairly simple process (we presumed) of actors, holding their scripts, reading dialogue and singing the songs with a piano accompaniment.  Sure, that would be extremely valuable to us, but would it be enough?  After hearing our story come to life on stage with Dan’s music, surely we would want to rewrite the script, cut and add, finesse and refine.  Wouldn’t it be great to take that new rewrite and really put it on its feet?  A “Workshop” would give us a much longer rehearsal period, we could include an actual 4-piece band, some set pieces, costume changes – the actors would be able to memorize their lines, the music, and perform the show not just for us, but for producers, investors, and Artistic Directors from the top regional theatres!  This step in the process would truly help us keep our forward momentum.

With some help from theatre pros, we budgeted $50,000 to accomplish both a Staged Reading and a Workshop.  It was a little overwhelming to think about reaching enough people who would want to help us reach that goal.  But we had some wonderful collaborators:  Jean Fogelberg, Deb Jelinek, and Eric Mills.  They not only encouraged us by letting us know that Dan’s fans would love the chance to be part of this musical, but also, they generously offered to share our posts on their own websites and Facebook pages, and those sites honoring Dan Fogelberg that they oversee.

We ultimately chose Kickstarter as the venue for our fundraising for a variety of reasons.  We liked the platform, it seemed to be the most popular, and friends of ours had successfully used it in the past.  The only downside to Kickstarter is that you have to set a goal, and if you don’t reach that goal within 30 days, you don’t get to keep any of your contributions.  It all gets returned to the backers.  That means if we set a goal of $50,000 and only raised $48,000 in 30 days, we would not see a penny of it!  It was daunting, but we were up for the challenge and we met it head on. 

We went to work creating our Kickstarter campaign (to see the site, click here).  We started setting levels for “rewards.”  Backers needed to get rewards, whether it was your name on the website, or a copy of our program book signed by the cast, or an invitation for you and a guest to attend the Staged Reading and/or the Workshop...  Some of the ideas came right from the fans, who talked about how cool it would be to get a t-shirt, or a mug with the Part of the Plan artwork.  One fantastic idea came when Karen said that maybe Jean Fogelberg, being an artist, would design an original piece of art for the campaign.  With Jean’s immediate offer to do just that, we were able to give away signed and numbered posters to those “backers” who contributed $500 or more.  Jean sent us her “phantastical montage” for Part of the Plan, and we loved her design so much, it became our artwork for the whole campaign and the Staged Reading.

Then there was our Kickstarter video.  If we were going to raise $50,000 we needed to enthusiastically share about our concept, the other creatives involved, how we would put the funding to very good use, and more.  On video.  We learned that what looks awesome to the naked eye doesn’t necessarily work on the screen.  And who among us enjoys watching themselves on film?  I decided to wear a hat.  Karen said my hair looked better under a hat (bad hair day anyone?).  After several missteps, we finally got a version that we felt truly reflected our hopes and our passion. Our New Media guru and overall helper, Angela, shot it on her iPhone and edited the video on her laptop.  Karen and I then included our “game plan,” the bios of the principals involved, a section on “risks and challenges,” and opened an account with Amazon for processing!

Finally, we were ready.  After considering the schedule, and all our options, we came up with the only decision that made sense – to launch the one-month campaign on Dan Fogelberg’s birthday, August 13th, at one minute after midnight.  We sent out hundreds of press releases announcing it.  We were interviewed on the radio and on various podcasts to get the word out!  “Part of the Plan” launches on Dan Fogelberg’s birthday!”  Hooray for us!  We were so ready!  On the morning of August 12th I hit the submit button.  (I figured we’d need 12-15 hours to make sure there were no bugs in the system.)  And then the fine print appeared on the screen, saying something to the effect of "Kickstarter staff needs two to three days to approve your materials.” 

WHAT?!?!   Two to three days?!?  Karen’s obsessive, I’m compulsive.  Between us, how did we miss this very important detail???  We had promised the Dan Fans, each other, and the world at large that August 13th was our day to launch.  We did not have two to three days, we screamed!!!! 

We were not about to take this lying down.

- Kate Atkinson

Kate and I both flew into JFK airport the same day, but on different flights!  It was a Saturday, and she went to stay with her sister, Bridget, in Armonk, New York, while I took a LONG ride to see my brother, Robert, at his new home in Sandy Hook, Connecticut.  Yes, that Sandy Hook.  My brother had moved there from Southbury about 6 months before the horrible shootings, but a tragedy like that makes you part of a community immediately.  We both had great visits.  Kate was able to spend Mother’s Day with her sister’s family, and I had a long overdue visit with my brother’s family.

Monday morning we had to hit the ground running.  The main reason for the trip was to meet with potential directors for our staged reading and workshop.  We had meetings set with two directors, recommended by the wonderful Warren Adams, the man who is involved with Motown, The Musical.

Kate had to be on a plane to Florida two days later, so we were set to spend 48 hours cramming in as much as we could.  We had been introduced (via e-mail) to a Broadway producer named John O’Boyle (a producer of two of the biggest shows currently on Broadway) by an associate in Los Angeles.  We arranged to meet John at The City Diner on Broadway and 90th.  We had a lovely, helpful meeting with him, never imagining that in two weeks time, he’d be receiving a Tony Award for Best Play!  What a way to start our trip.

Our 10am breakfast segued into a 12noon lunch with another stage producer named Craig Saveedra, whom we’d already met with in L.A.  Craig wanted to get caught up with us in New York, about our progress, the people we were meeting, etc.  He was able to give us the lay of the land, other folks he wanted us to meet, what shows to see, etc… He also filled us in on his current productions – several hot shows in London, and a recent off-Broadway show.   He told us that he couldn’t wait to see our staged reading.  Craig’s been very supportive of “Part of the Plan.”  His business partner was returning to New York a few days later, and he wanted him to meet us.

By now it was mid-day, and it was a good time to settle into the apartment and continue arranging meetings.  We had a great recommendation from BJ Jones, in Chicago, for a director who was based in NYC.  So we called him and set a meeting for the following day.  Because we met with several directors -- and can only bring on one -- decorum and professional respect demands we refrain from using names.  But we will tell you that we very much enjoyed all of them.

Late afternoon, we met with a wonderful director at Pigalle, a place I’d discovered during my October trip, on 8th Street near Times Square.  Something Kate and I continued to discover about ourselves is that we’re very collaborative.  Not only do we write well together, but also, we are always open to hearing other people’s thoughts and ideas.  We don’t always agree, but we listen.  You never know where inspiration will come from.   We had a lively discussion with the director, who had read our book several times and had very specific thoughts.  We also had a lot of laughs.  When we left Pigalle, Kate and I got on the subway downtown and met one of Kate’s closest friends at Arturo’s in the Village (one of the best pizza joints in the city).  We rolled home to my apartment, after a fun-packed first day in the city.

Tuesday morning began with…you guessed it, breakfast.  However, this was just a quick bite and a cup of coffee in the apartment and then onto a bus down Broadway to Times Square again.  This time we were meeting a female director, who is also a respected choreographer.  As it turns out, Kate’s Broadway attorney also represents her, and he made his office conference room available to us.  It was so interesting to hear her notes from a dance and movement perspective.  It’s a whole different visual art that got us thinking in an unexpected way.

We left that meeting for a quick walk to Caffe Bene, a very cool coffee shop on 49th and Broadway.  There we met the director BJ recommended, who was completely different from the other two.  He was musically inclined, and had in fact conceived and directed a number of productions that were autobiographical pieces about musicians or singers – some one-person shows, other small productions.  Even though our show is a bit more ambitious in scope, it occurred to us that he might be able to help us streamline it.  All three directors had so much to offer.

After a wonderful lunch at Dishes, on 45th, we were meeting an old friend of mine at a charming little restaurant in the Time Warner Center.  Mike is now a dramaturge who I hadn’t seen since we worked together on a series at ABC.  A dramaturge, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is someone who is 1) a dramatist or 2) a literary editor on the staff of a theater who consults with authors and edits texts.  Dramaturges can read a play and know where it’s weak, where it’s strong, and how to improve it.  Kate and I wanted to rewrite based on our own instincts and the notes we were given by the directors we met, and then after that, if needed, a dramaturge could come in to work with us – maybe even my friend, Mike. 

We found we were getting the same advice from pretty much every one of the professionals who had read the book – not just in New York, but in Chicago, and back home in LA.   If you recall, “Part of the Plan” tells the story of an adopted boy and the young girl of privilege who falls in love with the “wrong” guy and gets pregnant in 1950.  The show follows the baby boy and the girl who is forced to give him up.  The repeated note we kept getting was that by having two protagonists, the reader did not know which one to “root for.”  Kate and I sat together and talked it over.  I used one of my favorite phrases – if enough people tell us we’re drunk, we’d better sit down.  We knew we had to make a change.  We decided that the primary hero of our piece was the boy.  "Part of the Plan" was really Sean’s journey.  And so while Rebecca’s arc is important as well (a strong "B" story), our rewriting would be focused on making Sean the center of our show.

The other note we got from EVERYONE in New York, Chicago and L.A. was to avoid developing “Part of the Plan” in New York City until it was ready.  If we brought the show to NY and it still needed work, we might not get a second chance.  This meant our first Staged Reading and Workshop would not be in NY, since those events were essential to knowing if our rewrites were working.  So as much as we enjoyed meeting talented New York directors, and big-name, Tony-winning producers, we would be smart to hold our work close until the time was right.  Everything we needed was back home in Los Angeles:  theatres, directors, actors, singers and dancers.  Kate and I had both been involved in LA theatre on some level.  Now it was time to take advantage of our experience. 

Kate and I left Mike, and headed over to PJ Clarks to meet Craig and his business partner, Michael, who is as much fun and almost as handsome as Craig.  We had a great time and told them all about our plans for rewriting and developing the show in LA, and they both confirmed that what we planned to do was spot on.  After that, Kate left to go back to her sister’s in Armonk, and I took my friends’ daughter, Amy Shaughnessy, to dinner nearby.  Amy just graduated from NYU with a degree in Musical Theatre, and she now works as assistant to a director named Richard Jay Alexander, who produces all the one-woman shows for Kristen Chenoweth, Bernadette Peters, and Barbra Streisand!  She and I gabbed for hours (and of course she offered to get “Part of the Plan” to Richard Jay).  And because New York is actually a small town inside a big city, I shouldn’t have been surprised to learn that Craig and Michael had hired Amy for a role in a pilot they produced! 

Now that Kate was gone, I figured things would calm down.  Yeah, right.  I went to see Bette Midler in “I’ll Eat You Later,” a one-woman show in which she plays the famous Hollywood agent, Sue Mengers.  Bette was brilliant, and funny, and smart.  Next, I sat 5th row center (thank you, Warren) to watch Motown, the Musical!  It was pure entertainment!  The music, the acting, especially the choreography, were so much fun!  The following day, I was invited to see a Staged Reading of a play one of our potential directors was directing.  It was a sweet story of a boy and girl who meet for the first time and each imagines what their future holds.  The music was particularly good, and the two had real chemistry.  That night, I went to see John O’Boyle’s show, Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike on Broadway.  I honestly don’t remember the last time I laughed that hard.  David Hyde Pierce was outstanding, and almost all the actors had been nominated for Tonys.  I have to admit, I enjoyed every outing to the theatre.  It makes me very happy to sit in the audience and watch the magic.  And I’ll confess, more than once I could imagine Kate and myself watching “Part of the Plan” performed on stage.

In between, I had some wonderful meals and margaritas with friends.  I met my lovely friend Dawn Saturday morning at the Standard…  I had brunch with my cousin, Alexis, who had just been relocated to New York and actually lives one block from where I was staying!  And I took a dear friend, who had just beaten cancer, out to lunch to celebrate.  Then I said goodbye to my wonderful little home in New York, and eight hours later, I was greeted by my husband in my real home.  Kate and I met up the very next day.  We were exhausted, but satisfied.  Our path was clear.  It was time to incorporate our latest notes into the rewrite, and figure out how we were ever going to get a staged reading and a workshop going in Los Angeles.  It was time for our own plan.

- Karen Harris