randy-harrison.it



QWANvention Report... (Finally!)
By Trish

Sorry for the delay in getting a report out … but RL is kinda hectic right now! I had a great weekend all around, with rockie2010 in for a visit we played the typical NYC tourists which included visits to the HighLine Park, Chelsea Market, a matinee of Buyer & Cellar in the Village, two showings of Harbor and lots, and lots of subway rides! Sunday at the QWANvention was the perfect end to a great weekend.

We got there early enough to meet and chat with some of the other attendees. Picking up registration material was simple and easy… and we even had time to “pretty up,” the gifts we had brought for the QWAN folks.

Dixon Place is a wonderful little theater, and I have been to a few other events there, it was a great choice for this.

The ‘vention part of the QWANvention began with autographs and pictures, but quickly became just a whole lot of mingling and fun and laughter. The actors were seated behind tables with Jack being the first in line, followed by Randy, Jenn, Christian & Phillip. Unfortunately, Matt was busy at Spiderman, so he missed this portion of the event.

The organizers provided pictures that you could have autographed, but I would say most people brought their own personal stuff to have signed. Many also brought gifts, which were presented at this time too. Rockie and I were near the very end of the line and were handing out our bags, which contained those personalized M&M’s that have made their way around the Internet so quickly! LOL!

Randy was particularly delighted, with a huge smile on his face he had them in his hand as he turned from Jack to Jenn showing them off. Jenn literally screeched when she saw them! Now Phillip and Christian who were down the other end of the table were looking at all the commotion looking a bit left out. I headed down to them to deliver their gifts and Christian had to take a picture and upload to Instagram that VERY minute!

Also in the bags were little stuffed toys that referenced one of their characters from either NOTES! Or SWAN! Phillip’s and Matt’s were from NOTES! With Phillip getting a cute little pussy – cat, named Portia of course, and Matt received a Wiiiiiiizard! The others all got gifts related to SWAN!

Randy got a rather large pink cupcake. In his role as the mother in SWAN! He literally force-feeds Jenn a cupcake. Christian got and Eiffel Tower in reference to the outrageous French accent he uses as the choreographer. And then of course Jenn got a white swan and Jack got a black swan.

There was much goofing off and silliness… and lots of great conversation. Several time Jack tried to take some of Randy’s gifts, but Randy was having none of that! Quickly grabbing them back and not-so-discreetly telling Jack to “stop being an asshole," all with a smile on his face. I was able to tell Phillip that I had seen him do a reading up in the Berkshires this year. It had come as a great surprise since we were just looking for something to do on a rainy afternoon. It turns out the play itself was written by Matt! There was also a lot of picture taking! Great fun!

At the end of the autograph session (We were able to leave items for Matt to sign when he arrived) we returned upstairs for a few moments while the cast prepared for the rehearsal.

Watching the tech rehearsal was the thing I was looking forward to the most. It was fascinating watching how much details and precision goes into getting the lighting and the music to be perfect, even in a show like this that has been performed several times! Although there was a lengthy discussion about which version they would be performing that night…

Is it the Berkshire version? No, no… it’s the other one; remember we rehearsed it in your apartment. No, that was the PS 122 version. Did we do this like that then? Yes, remember we were downstairs… Oh, yeah.

This went on for quite some time while they tried to find a script for the lighting guy. While checking final preparations for the lighting and sound for Jenn’s “Me, me, me” speech, the boys have to strike a pose while she recites. I had always been fascinated by Randy’s posture during this – back perfectly straight, right ass cheek on the chair, left leg pointed perfectly to the back, as his right arm stretched gracefully in front of him, while the other placed behind. But this time he forgot! Matt had to nudge him and he laughed and smiled before assuming the pose. And yet when they did the scene during the show… he forgot again! Matt once again had to nudge him! LOL!

Randy and Jack were in charge of preparing the “splash” guard… basically the plastic that needs to cover the floor for SWAN. After Jack meticulously cut some plastic tablecloths with the tiniest pair of scissors, Randy comes out with a roll of thick plastic from the back somewhere. After some discussion about whether they should use it since it didn’t belong to them, they decide it would be best. So they crumple up the tablecloths and roll out the new plastic with a flourish only to realize it was only half the length of the other! They just looked at each other and grinned while the very well behaved audience began to giggle.

They eventually found a second roll, and then it became Randy’s job to help Jack tape the two together… of course the tape they were using kept getting stuck on the roll. They managed to find some more tape and then Randy basically crawled around on the floor in bare feet – which were pretty much black by this point – and taped the two pieces together. They then rolled it up and stored it backstage… where it almost immediately fell over! They just looked at each other and shrugged! LOL!

They also spent a significant amount of time dealing with a bracelet that Christian gives to Jack during NOTES! They opted for a child’s “slap bracelet,” but couldn’t decide if it was funny or not. Jenn told them they had to “own it.” Finally they requested that during the show, we Con attendees were to make sure to laugh loudly. When the scene arrived we practically gave a standing ovation. I’m sure we confused a lot of the audience with that reaction, but we got smiles from the cast!

At the end of the tech rehearsal we were escorted back upstairs while the cast made final preparations for the shows. By this time there were many non-convention attendees waiting for the show to begin. The audience for the shows included the entire cast of Harbor, Ian Scott McGregor and Justin Sayre from Click of the Lock. Jeff Hiller from Silence! Cole Escola from Click and OHP. Someone said they saw Jonathan Lisceki from Gayby fame, but I couldn’t spot him.

The shows themselves were wonderful as always… although with this group there is always some ad-libbing that makes every viewing a unique treat. During the death of Portia scene Jenn literally tumbled down through the rows of audience members. During SWAN! Jenn dropped all of her papers as she got up to perform a scene, and when she turned to look at the scattered sheets, she let out with a loud, “Oh, Fuck!”

NOTES! Always begins with the actors sitting with their backs to the audience as they go through vocal “exercises.” This time they seemed to go on for quite a long time. “All white cast,” was a popular comment during these exercises, LOL!

One of the highlights of a SWAN! Performance is watching the dance warm-up. Randy once again had his hair parted in the middle and slicked back with hair clips and was dressed in VERY form fitting grey leggings, grey tunic top, and pink satin POINTE shoes! And yes he was able to hold pointe for a time and he looked lovely!

He at one point tried to do a split against the wall with one leg above his head but couldn’t quite make it and he fell gently to the floor. He then took off the pointe shoes and wacked them against the chair before switching into his black ballet slippers.

Randy, Jenn and Jack are the dancers in the group, although Phillip, dressed in athletic shorts did give it a try. Matt and Christian just basically remained dressed in jeans and did a few jumps and kicks.

During the performance there is one scene where the “dancers” try to impress the choreographer (Christian) by showing their assets, so to speak - basically the guys drop their pants. Jack for one, assumes the most ridiculously exaggerated seductive poses. Randy had on bright royal blue undies this time, and since those grey leggings were so tight, he had a bit of trouble pulling them back up with one hand while holding his script with the other. Consequently, they never really did make it all the way back up and those pretty blue undies were visible for pretty much the remainder of the performance, sticking out the back of his leggings.

After the shows, the con attendees waited for a Q&A session while the rest of the audience left the theater. With such a small group remaining there was perhaps a little shyness about asking questions. They were asked about future projects… Matt talked about his new continuing role in Spiderman, where he plays Peter Parker during the matinees. Jack talked about his work at Bard, and a new museum show that he has coming up. Randy mentioned looking forward to a vacation after Harbor closes this week. Jenn spent the entire summer working on a music video involving her beloved Barbie dolls. Christian is doing a version of Hedda Gabler in London and Phillip has a web series that he’s working on.

They were asked about new QWAN shows and they said that they all had to agree before they began to work on it, but that it had to be the type of the movie that takes itself too seriously. Prometheus was one they liked, but only for one scene. Jenn has high hopes for August Osage County.

The question about how QWAN was formed got a response that could only be described as the ultimate “Six Degrees of Separation…” I think they may have even confused themselves!

Matt and I have known each other for 17 years… but Randy and I met at Bershires… was that during Heidi Chronicles… yeah, I think so… but no, I met Jenn through my friend Reid in California… Christian was a replacement for someone else, the 5th Beatle.

Probably the most surprising answer was who is the oldest of the group; Christian asking the audience to guess. It turns out that there is only 4 years difference among the members of the group, and it’s Phillip who is the youngest at 31, and Randy is the oldest at 35!

Another interesting question was how they decided who plays what role. Their explanations sometimes need explanations, but basically they just “call dibs,” on the roles. Phillip and Jack did start the whole thing with their portrayals of Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett. They also said that Randy wanted to play Bill Nighy and that his take on the actor was immediately recognizable even out of context. There is a point when Randy, in a particularly exuberant rant turns beet red in the face and has neck veins popping with exertion. It’s a sight to behold.

During the actual performance this time, there was a point where Randy was in full raving, ranting mode coming to a climax of the speech, finishing with a grand flourish, only to turn the page in his script and meekly add the word “tomorrow,” to the end of the speech. It was pretty funny, and part of the reason why watching repeated performances of these shows will never, ever get old!

Randy generally kept pretty quiet during the talkback, as is his habit. But you could tell he was listening to the others intently. Near the end I asked Jenn if she had gotten her tickets to see Daniel Craig on Broadway in Betrayal. She and I share a major lust-crush on Daniel… but she said the tickets were out of her price range and that the only reason she got to see his last show was because she knew on of the understudies.

As we exited the theater, where the cast was enjoying some quiet time with family and friends at the upstairs bar, we ran into Matt. He thanked us for the gifts and gave the best hugs!

What a great event, what a great weekend, what great friends! Too bad I had to go back to work Monday and ruin my great mood!


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