BWW Blog: Cassandra Hsiao - From Page to Stage Part 1: Table Read

I walked into a room full of people surrounding a table stocked with Hershey's candy bars, lollipops and flyers for The Blank Theatre's Young Playwrights Festival. For a moment, I hesitated-was this where I belonged, in a building a couple blocks away from the Hollywood Walk of Fame?-but before I could back out, someone spotted me and asked, "Are you here for the 'Supermarket of Lost' table read?" and I said yes.

Everyone introduced themselves in a blur. I sat down at the end of the table and glanced at everybody's name cards on the table: "Cait Pool, 'Hailee'" to my left, "Warren Davis, Director" to my right, and so on. To my surprise, I had one too: "Cassandra Hsiao, Writer."

I will never forget the phone call I received from Daniel Henning, who informed me I was chosen as one of the 12 playwrights to be a part of a nationwide playwriting competition for young writers whose plays would be professionally produced in Los Angeles. Immediately I knew I was part of something much larger than anything I've ever experienced-and the table read confirmed this the way the cast and crew sped through planning production: Sound, check. Costuming, check. Rehearsals, check. It's a well-oiled machine I now have the opportunity to explore and see my 10-minute play come to life once again.

Most electric of all was the table read itself. My cast nailed the first read-through, yet managed to surprise me with different takes on certain lines. They embodied their characters perfectly, thanks to the brilliant casting director out there who selected actors close to character ages.

I was asked questions about my play-inspiration, background of characters, clearing up misconceptions. Instead of feeling like an interrogation, it was more of an open conversation-and it's an indescribable feeling to talk about a world you created with people who will live in that world for the next two weeks.

After the table read, the "young ones" (the cast) in the room gathered to exchange numbers and Instagram usernames. I have to give props to Sloane Siegel (who plays Austin) who nicknamed our group chat "You lost me at supermarket." #TeamLost was off to a great start.

Stay tuned for more updates on the production process of bringing "Supermarket of Lost" to life!

"Supermarket of Lost"

Written by Cassandra Hsiao

Mentored by Adam Belanoff

Directed by Warren Davis

Cast:

Sloane Siegel as Austin

Cait Pool as Hailee

Grace Bethany

For more information, visit http://ypf.theblank.com

To purchase tickets, visit https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/90/1464753600000

"Supermarket of Lost" premieres the third week of the festival from June 9-12.

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