The Road Back: Four Weeks to Go

It’s been a month since our last installment of The Road Back, and just four weeks to go before rehearsals begin. So it seems a good time for a few updates, including some casting changes. Read all about it here!

In general, it feels pretty great around APT. Two years ago we were holed up in our houses coming to the realization that we were probably not going to have a season. Last year we were dizzy from all the procedures and protocols we had to put in place to mount a modified season. So, though we expect this season to have some bumps along the way, these weeks leading up to the first day of rehearsal on May 3 have felt wonderfully normal-ish. Here are a few behind-the-scenes updates as we hurtle towards the season.

Casting Changes: Among the aforementioned bumps are some last-minute casting changes. Greta Oglesby was slated to join us in the second half of the season to play Lena in A Raisin in the Sun and Jalen Gilbert was on the books to be in The Brothers Size and A Raisin in the Sun. Unfortunately, each had to back out for unrelated reasons. Almost every season, an actor has to drop out of the season for one reason or another and it’s not newsworthy enough to report to you, our dear audience. The difference this time is, well, the timing. Since we announced both Greta and Jalen in the Book of Summer, we thought a heads-up was in order.

The artistic staff is diligently working to find our new company members, and we hope to see Greta and Jalen at APT in a future season.

Union Protocols: Last week, Actors’ Equity Association issued a new Memorandum of Understanding, which lays out COVID safety protocols until August in order to “address the uncertainty around the transmissibility and virulence of COVID-19 and its variants.” The new MOU relies heavily on the recently released CDC guidelines with its red, yellow, and green county-by-county risk assessment and lays out a plan for surveillance testing at each level.

There are some big changes, and our safety committee – led by Production Manager Michael Broh – are hard at work figuring out what it all means to us and how we’ll implement it.

In the meantime, take a look at the safety protocols that we’ve laid out for the audience. As we said, we’ll be reviewing them and they may change throughout the season – or even before the season begins – based on conditions in our area.

But one thing is certain – we are excited to be back, and we hope to see you on the Hill or in the Touchstone.