Furious Reproduction

As ensemble members, we've all become pretty close to one another. Probably too close, but we like it this way. Our personal lives have become somewhat shared by everyone in the company and it seems this unique and sometimes bizarre extended family quality is partly responsible for the artistic output of the ensemble, both in terms of content and quality. After seeing August Osage County in New York last week, there is little room for argument that on stage relationships truly benefit from individuals who have worked and shared real life experiences with each other over a long period of time.

We often draw comparisons with great rock bands when explaining the purpose or benefit of the ensemble. How did the Beatles or the Stones do and become what they did? Insane talent, yes, but certainly they shared numerous intimate life experiences which influenced them in some way and ultimately made them family.

So too goes the world of Furious. Last Thursday we got a new member of the extended family when ensemble members Shawn and Vonessa gave birth to a healthy baby boy named Skylar Jude. Less than 24 hours later, ensemble member James Leary and his wife Stacie gave birth to their second son, Eoin Elliot. Not only did our two new additions come less than a day apart, but they were delivered in the same hospital and the proud parents ended up with rooms across the hall from one another. Now that's "close."

Needless to say we all greatly appreciated their efforts to simplify our busy lives and schedules by delivering in tandem and sharing the end of a hall to boot.

That's where we're at right now - reproduction. It seems to be in the water with six babies in the past two and a half years. The artistic result? Furious Reproduction of another kind - coming to the stage this spring. More details on that soon.

For now - congrats to the new parents... who just made everyone's lives that much crazier. Thanks, we love it.

Be Furious.