10 minute read

Not Even Remotely

NOT EVEN REMOTELY A PANDEMIC CURVEBALL

Steve Kovacs, Playwright

“When are you guys gonna write another show?” – numerous audience members, summer of 2019 “Another show? Give us ten years.” – Corrie Beula Kovacs and Steve Kovacs, authors of We Like It Where?

In the spring of 2020, Corrie Beula Kovacs and I were looking for ways to keep our vocal studio connected to our theater community. Like so many other businesses, we had pivoted (I know, the dreaded “p” word) and moved our lessons online. But with quarantine also came the cancelation and closing of all theatrical productions, professional, regional and amateur alike. That’s when we decided to start a series called Livestream Singing Saturdays on Facebook. We performed musical theater songs with weekly special guests in a cabaret-style format.

As I checked the stream during the shows, I would inevitably monitor the viewer count. I found myself irrationally disappointed when only 12 or so people (usually the same dozen every week) tuned in. We were working hard to put together quality shows. Why was the viewership so low?

However, disappointment was replaced by satisfaction when I reframed the situation for what it was. In a strange time when almost everything shut down and moved to a virtual format, we had 12 people who cared deeply about who we are and what we do…enough so to tune in every week. And from that standpoint, we accomplished what we set out to do: we stayed connected to our community.

The experience caught my attention as an interesting premise for a show. “Corrie”, I said, “Wouldn’t that be funny? A show about two people trying (and failing) to do musical theater online?” She liked the idea instantly. With extra time on our hands due to work lost from the pandemic, we suddenly went from wanting a decade off writing to jumping back in headfirst.

Then life threw us another curveball: Corrie had been hired fulltime in a non-profit small business advisory role. That was great news for us, but between the new job and studio hours, it meant she would have next to no time for writing a show. And being that the songs I wrote for We Like It Where? were the first musical theater songs I’d ever written, I was confident it would take me five years to write all the music for another show by myself.

Enter the incomparable Richard Carsey! Richard helped us develop We Like It Where? and we absolutely adored working with him. He is a rare breed in theater: a brilliant musician who is also a brilliant storyteller. He is also one of the kindest, most compassionate collaborators we’ve ever had the pleasure to work with.

When Richard climbed on board, he had an immediate, positive impact on the show. He suggested moving away from the idea of a cabaret-style show and have the characters attempt a musical with a narrative. Something familiar that the audience can easily track as they watch the two performers struggle. A meme he’d seen of Mayor Larry Vaughn from Jaws provided a creative spark to use an old horror story with similar themes to Jaws and its very own patchwork monster: Frankenstein!

Richard also kept the writing focused on the sincerity of the show-within-the-show. Sam and Chris believe in the Frankenstein musical they’ve written. It’s a bold, elevated take on the classic story in the style of Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables and Jekyll and Hyde. It proved challenging to essentially write two shows: the sweeping epic written by the characters and their ill-fated attempt to perform it virtually.

The other substantial challenge was realizing that this show is relevant and eminently producible right now; the quicker we could write it, the better. Richard and I have been living in the shoes of our characters, trying to put something together on a very tight schedule. We know the challenges of creativity on a countdown timer!

The pandemic has taken away so much from so many that it can be hard to find silver linings, but the simple fact is that Not Even Remotely wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the pandemic. Aside from the probability that the idea never would have crossed my mind, I likely would have stuck to my “decade off of writing” mantra and Richard, being a highly sought-after Broadway conductor, would have been far too busy to write a musical. It’s a small consolation in the midst of a world turned upside down, but we’ve thoroughly enjoyed writing this show and we’re very proud of our little monster!

Much the same as the livestreams that inspired it, we have delighted in staying connected to our Northern Sky Theater community through the development of this show. We are so proud to be a part of Northern Sky’s grand reopening season. As is echoed by our characters, we are humbled to be able to present this show on behalf of all the theaters that can’t right now. And we are thrilled for our audience to see the show. If all goes to plan, it will leave you much the same as our monster: in stitches.

NOT EVEN REMOTELY

Book, Music & Lyrics by Richard Carsey & Stephen Kovacs

Story by Richard Carsey, Corrie Beula Kovacs & Stephen Kovacs

Director Nadja Simmonds

Music Director Richard Carsey

Choreographer: Doug Clemons

Stage Managers Nadja Simmonds & Shawn Galligan*

Props, Costumes, Lighting (Online) & Scenic Designers Nadja Simmonds, Alex Campea & Doug Clemons

Sound Designer & Tech Support (Online) Steve Kovacs

Sound Designer (Gould) Ben Werner

Lighting Designer (Gould) David Alley

Associate Lighting Designer (Gould) Brian Weinkauf

Scenic Elements (Gould) Lisa Schlenker

Special Thanks

Anna Cline, Kelly Doherty, Chase Stoeger, Silvia Stoeger, Niki Espy, Clay Zambo

Chris’s basement. The scheduled opening of Little Theatre on the Park’s production of Frankenstein: The New Modern and Musical Prometheus

Cast of Characters

Chris Mozog, et al.: Doug Clemons

Sam Hardt/Victor Frankenstein: Alex Campea

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

Music Tracks: Richard Carsey

Not Even Remotely is sponsored by

On Deck Clothing Company

STEPHEN KOVACS

Composer / Lyricist / Playwright

Stephen is thrilled for the world premiere of Not Even Remotely. A former music teacher, Stephen co-owns and operates Show How, LLC with his wife, Corrie. Together they provide performing arts training and services in the Fox Cities. Previous credits include co-author, composer and lyricist of 2019’s Northern Sky world premiere We Like It Where?, Play-by-Play Theatre’s production of Baby: The Musical (Nick), Guys on Ice (Marvin) and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Panch). Thanks to Corrie for her support, Molly and Jeff for their guidance, Alex, Doug and Nadja for their enthusiasm, and Richard for sharing your creative gifts.

RICHARD CARSEY

Composer / Lyricist / Playwright

Richard enjoys a varied career as conductor, pianist, actor and writer. He is the Music Director for Disney on Classic, a concert tour of Japan, featuring 8 singers from the US and the 50-piece Orchestra Japan. US national tours include The Phantom of the Opera, La Cage aux Folles, and Little House on the Prairie, the Musical. For many years he was Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Skylight Opera Theatre in Milwaukee, conducting over 60 productions including several world premieres. He is a frequent guest conductor for symphony orchestras across the US, often working with Windborne Music, which presents classic rock and roll with orchestra. As actor, Richard has appeared in the play 2 Pianos, 4 Hands in regional theaters across the US and Canada. As a pianist and arranger, he has performed in over 25 countries. At Lincoln Center Theater in New York he was music supervisor for the world premiere musical A Minister’s Wife. On Broadway he was music director for The House of Blue Leaves starring Ben Stiller. He is currently a conductor for The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, where he also recently conducted the revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel with Joshua Henry, Jessie Mueller, and Renée Fleming. Richard is thrilled to be working with the artists of Northern Sky!

CORRIE BEULA KOVACS

Playwright / Performer / Pun-maker

Corrie is delighted to be connected with Northern Sky Theater again! You might have seen Corrie in We Like It Where? ( Dotty) or in Dairy Heirs (Elsie) during the 2019 summer season with Northern Sky Theater. Favorite roles include The Bachelors (Kate), Baby (Pam) with Play by Play, Hairspray (Penny Pingleton), I Do! I Do! (She/Agnes). Corrie owns and operates Show How Studio, with her husband, where they provide lessons to aspiring performers. She loves animals, sunshine, and books. Thanks all for the opportunity to be in the Zoom Room and part of the team.

ALEX CAMPEA

Performer

Alex cannot express how much it means to him to be back on the stage at Northern Sky. After two years away, he’s home and there is no place he’d rather be!! Since his last stage performance, Alex moved back to Chicago, did a summer of commuting to work at Blue Horse (and get his yearly Door County fix), and found another performing home with Facebook group “Zooming the Movies,” where he has been able to perform movie scripts over Zoom. Some favorite COVID-era roles include: Luke Skywalker (Return of the Jedi), Lord Voldemort (HP and the Sorcerer’s Stone), Ed Wood (Ed Wood), King George (Hamilton), The Master (Buffy), and C-3PO (Verily, A New Hope). Catch him at Blue Horse in Fish Creek for a good cup of coffee! Many thanks to friends, family, patrons, and of course Neen Rock, without whom none of us would be here. Enjoy the show and welcome back!

DOUG CLEMONS

Performer

Ecstatic to be back with the Northern Sky family, Doug has been seen in Dairy Heirs, Boxcar, Muskie Love and Windjammers. Doug has also been seen on Wisconsin stages including Fireside Theatre, Skylight Music Theatre, Milwaukee Opera Theater, First Stage, and Third Avenue Playhouse. Regional and concert credits include the New York Musical Theater Festival, Chicago Musical Theater Festival, Utah Light Opera, Florentine Opera, Racine Symphony Orchestra, and backup vocals for Michael Bublé. Love and thanks to Matt. DougClemons.com

A Note from the Authors of Not Even Remotely

Resilience. It’s a valuable life-skill. An indication of character. But unlike kindness, empathy, imagination, and a host of other traits, resilience only emerges when we face adversity.

And who the heck wants that?

So we muddle along, clinging to things we know, sticking to our habits, and hoping for the best. However, we all have challenges. We rise to them. We’re defeated by them. Sometimes it’s a little of both. And sometimes we surprise ourselves.

Steve Kovacs and I came face to face with our own resilience in the last year. Because we both work in the entertainment industry, our livelihoods disappeared for a while. Not Even Remotely is our response. It’s a celebration of resilience, even when resilience is tested in a very public way.

Our heroes, Chris and Sam, have invested heart and soul in the Frankenstein musical they created for their beloved Little Theatre on the Park. When the opportunity to present their creation as it was intended is snatched away from them, they punt. Using their imaginations and passion, they try to breathe life into their creation— for one night only, online.

“Little Theatre on the Park” is a stand-in for community and regional arts organizations everywhere. Though fictional, it represents all those groups that—by hook or by crook—create art because they love it.

But it’s not just theatre. It’s any local restaurant, any start-up, any family business. Any organization that takes a leap of faith, finds itself tested, and must rely on its resilience.

What’s at the heart of those organizations? People.Like Chris and Sam. Like Steve and I. Like you.

– Richard Carsey

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