Ever wonder what's happening at your community theatre right now?
Les Miserables - our 2009 opening musical - is in the midst of its six week run. We are adding performances on March 20th and 21st to the run of the show.
Moonlight and Magnolias - the second production in our 2009 season - is in the midst of rehearsals in Mabee Theatre II in preparation for their opening on Friday, March 13th
Half a Lifetime - MCT's entry into the 2009 AACT festival competition - has been rehearsing at the Yucca Theatre and will have public performances this weekend prior to their performance at the TNT festival in Ft. Worth on March 19-21
Theatre School Session III ended this week as parents attended classes and saw the work of the past five weeks, and auditions for Session IV - which is a production for our youth - will take place on Saturday and Monday
Registration for Fine Arts Camp continues - Fine Arts Camp will take place during Spring Break (March 16-20)
The Pickwick Players held auditions for Pinocchio and will begin rehearsals next week - this is the third production in our 2009 membership season
Auditions for Rent - our spring Yucca musical - will take place on Sunday and Monday, March 1st and 2nd
The Board of Governors had an orientation session on Tuesday for new Board members and a full board meeting on Thursday evening
Finally, it was Gilbert Gutierrez's birthday this week - if you see him at the theatre, wish him a Happy Birthday!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Les Miserables - Second Weekend
We had a great second weekend. We started off with the CoProducer performance on Thursday night - a private show for a small audience, and the cast performed well. This was a good "warm-up" for the weekend - it was also the first time they had performed with some time off. Friday and Saturday night audience were strong, full and receptive. Both nights, we had a waiting list of people at the door in case there were available tickets - this is a good reminder that even if the show is "sold out" you should still come on down and try to get in. The cast was very upbeat and positive this weekend, and did a great job with their performances. Many singers had the vocal rest they needed after the long tech rehearsal week, but we also had some other health issues - an actor with pneumonia who toughed out the weekend, and Javert was hurt at the barricade on Friday night and performed Saturday with a split lip. However, in both of these cases, the actors understood the importance of the big picture and performed professionally. My strongest memory of the weekend will be intermission of Saturday night. I was backstage and heard the audience's applause when the curtain came down - it was an amazing sound. Small moments like that make all the effort worthwhile...
We have a slightly longer layoff this week - our last show was Saturday night, and our next show is Friday night. This means five full days away from the show. This upcoming weekend, we have our regular Friday and Saturday night shows, along with a Sunday afternoon matinee - this will be our first afternoon performance. It's also ReachOut and Pay-What-You-Can: ReachOut is a program geared toward groups of the mentally, physically and economically challenged, and Pay-What-You-Can allows people to pay at the door (no advance reservations) whatever they want (minimum $1) for a ticket - hopefully, opening the door to some people who might not otherwise visit our theatre.
We have a slightly longer layoff this week - our last show was Saturday night, and our next show is Friday night. This means five full days away from the show. This upcoming weekend, we have our regular Friday and Saturday night shows, along with a Sunday afternoon matinee - this will be our first afternoon performance. It's also ReachOut and Pay-What-You-Can: ReachOut is a program geared toward groups of the mentally, physically and economically challenged, and Pay-What-You-Can allows people to pay at the door (no advance reservations) whatever they want (minimum $1) for a ticket - hopefully, opening the door to some people who might not otherwise visit our theatre.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Community Theatre - what does it mean?
I have now been in charge of the Midland Community Theatre for 12 years - prior to working here, I ran the Salina (KS) Community Theatre for 2 years and the Mansfield (OH) Playhouse for 3 years. Thus, I have been working in a leadership role in community theatre for 17 of my 42 years. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to run a small (Mansfield - 1 full-time employee, 1 part-time), a medium (Salina - 4 full-time and 2 part-time) and now a larger community theatre (MCT - 12 full-time and 10 part-time). Although I am still learning, I also feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to work on many different levels in community theatre and gain the experience I can put into practice on a daily basis.
I remember in my early days at MCT reading a letter to the editor about our production of Das Barbecu asking whether the "community theatre" was meeting the standards of the community. After all, who do we (Midland Community Theatre) serve - especially with the word "community" in our title? I have always believed that community theatre has a unique position in the theatre world. In professional theatre, they serve the audience - they can hire the directors, actors and technicians to do the shows, and only need to convince the audience to attend their shows. In academic theatre, they serve the participants - the student actors, directors, technicians - and an audience attending their shows is a bonus. In community theatre, we serve both worlds - we must convince the volunteers to participate in the shows (actors, technicians, front-of-house) and we must also convince the audience to attend (and support) our shows. In other words, the decisions we make must serve two groups who sometimes have different agendas.
Play selection is one area where the diversity of needs of these two groups often comes into conflict. At MCT, we have a committee of five people who work on the slate of plays for the next season - the Executive Director, a staff member, a Board member and two members-at-large. Over the last couple of seasons, we have taken a "risk" with the opening musical - The Producers in 2008 and Les Miserables in 2009. In both cases, we knew that there was not the broad appeal to the non-theatre audience with each of these musicals. With The Producers, we knew that this was a more "adult" musical and this reduced the overall appeal of this musical last year - this was reflected in ticket sales. This year, we knew that many of the non-traditional theatre crowd had at least heard of Les Miserables - maybe they read the book in high school or at least had heard about the musical version. However, we also knew that there were some negatives associated with the show (it's long, what's it about?, it's depressing and everyone dies).
From a volunteer point of view, Les Miserables has been a great success. We had a tremendous turnout at auditions, and cast many new people in the show. In addition, we have had many people step forward to work on the show backstage, and I could not be prouder of the people working on this show. They have all poured their heart and soul into the show, and anyone attending can see their talent and dedication.
From an audience perspective, we knew that word of mouth would be important to sell-out future performances of Les Miserables. Opening weekend was full - we expected that with the demands of our biggest supporters and the friends and family of the cast we would fill up this opening weekend. This week, the Box Office has been busy, indicating good word of mouth from the opening weekend crowd. Unfortunately, the Midland Reporter-Telegram review on Friday was not positive - the reviewer complained about the length of the show and was not enamored with several volunteer performances as well as the work of the Musical Director and myself. Certainly, it is the reviewer's right to have their opinion and to share this opinion with their audience (newspaper readers). However, I find it strange that this particular reviewer - who has complained in the past about MCT only doing "safe" shows and not doing any serious work like O'Neill and Shakespeare - would then write a review about the show with information that has nothing to do with our production (after all, the original novel is long, the original musical production was long, and our production is no longer) and in general tear down the efforts of volunteers and staff at a community theatre to produce serious work. Again, reviewers are entitled to their opinion, but can you have it both ways - criticize us for not doing serious work, and then criticize us for doing serious work that is long and melodramatic?
In the end, you learn one important lesson in community theatre - ignore all of the other issues and ask yourself the most essential question - are you doing what's best for the theatre? In the end, I strongly believe that the volunteers and audience in Midland will say that it was important for us to produce Les Miserables. You understand that there are going to be detractors at every step of the process - people who simply want to criticize the theatre for not selecting the show they wanted, for not casting them in the show - whatever the reason. Fortunately, the cast and crew of Les Miserables has responded very positively in the face of this review, and are looking forward to this weekend's slate of performances.
I will update you on Monday with a report on the Friday and Saturday night performance. If you have not seen the show, please attend over the next three weekends - contact the Box Office (432-570-4111) or visit our website.
I remember in my early days at MCT reading a letter to the editor about our production of Das Barbecu asking whether the "community theatre" was meeting the standards of the community. After all, who do we (Midland Community Theatre) serve - especially with the word "community" in our title? I have always believed that community theatre has a unique position in the theatre world. In professional theatre, they serve the audience - they can hire the directors, actors and technicians to do the shows, and only need to convince the audience to attend their shows. In academic theatre, they serve the participants - the student actors, directors, technicians - and an audience attending their shows is a bonus. In community theatre, we serve both worlds - we must convince the volunteers to participate in the shows (actors, technicians, front-of-house) and we must also convince the audience to attend (and support) our shows. In other words, the decisions we make must serve two groups who sometimes have different agendas.
Play selection is one area where the diversity of needs of these two groups often comes into conflict. At MCT, we have a committee of five people who work on the slate of plays for the next season - the Executive Director, a staff member, a Board member and two members-at-large. Over the last couple of seasons, we have taken a "risk" with the opening musical - The Producers in 2008 and Les Miserables in 2009. In both cases, we knew that there was not the broad appeal to the non-theatre audience with each of these musicals. With The Producers, we knew that this was a more "adult" musical and this reduced the overall appeal of this musical last year - this was reflected in ticket sales. This year, we knew that many of the non-traditional theatre crowd had at least heard of Les Miserables - maybe they read the book in high school or at least had heard about the musical version. However, we also knew that there were some negatives associated with the show (it's long, what's it about?, it's depressing and everyone dies).
From a volunteer point of view, Les Miserables has been a great success. We had a tremendous turnout at auditions, and cast many new people in the show. In addition, we have had many people step forward to work on the show backstage, and I could not be prouder of the people working on this show. They have all poured their heart and soul into the show, and anyone attending can see their talent and dedication.
From an audience perspective, we knew that word of mouth would be important to sell-out future performances of Les Miserables. Opening weekend was full - we expected that with the demands of our biggest supporters and the friends and family of the cast we would fill up this opening weekend. This week, the Box Office has been busy, indicating good word of mouth from the opening weekend crowd. Unfortunately, the Midland Reporter-Telegram review on Friday was not positive - the reviewer complained about the length of the show and was not enamored with several volunteer performances as well as the work of the Musical Director and myself. Certainly, it is the reviewer's right to have their opinion and to share this opinion with their audience (newspaper readers). However, I find it strange that this particular reviewer - who has complained in the past about MCT only doing "safe" shows and not doing any serious work like O'Neill and Shakespeare - would then write a review about the show with information that has nothing to do with our production (after all, the original novel is long, the original musical production was long, and our production is no longer) and in general tear down the efforts of volunteers and staff at a community theatre to produce serious work. Again, reviewers are entitled to their opinion, but can you have it both ways - criticize us for not doing serious work, and then criticize us for doing serious work that is long and melodramatic?
In the end, you learn one important lesson in community theatre - ignore all of the other issues and ask yourself the most essential question - are you doing what's best for the theatre? In the end, I strongly believe that the volunteers and audience in Midland will say that it was important for us to produce Les Miserables. You understand that there are going to be detractors at every step of the process - people who simply want to criticize the theatre for not selecting the show they wanted, for not casting them in the show - whatever the reason. Fortunately, the cast and crew of Les Miserables has responded very positively in the face of this review, and are looking forward to this weekend's slate of performances.
I will update you on Monday with a report on the Friday and Saturday night performance. If you have not seen the show, please attend over the next three weekends - contact the Box Office (432-570-4111) or visit our website.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Les Miserables - First Weekend
Now that opening weekend has been completed, the cast can finally get some rest. Musicals are especially tough on the cast because of the demands of singing for 10-12 days in a row (tech rehearsals followed by dress rehearsals followed by opening weekend without a day off). Due to the intense vocal demands of this particular show, we have decided to limit ourselves to a maximum of three shows in a weekend. Therefore, this upcoming weekend will include shows on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, and the next weekend will be Friday and Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. It will be very interesting to see how the cast responds after some time off. I think that some people will actually improve with vocal rest and the confidence of opening weekend knowing that we have a good show.
The Box Office has been busy this week - the word of mouth is spreading. However, we need to keep "pushing" the show through the media and trying to fill all the remaining performances. Overall, I think that the cast, crew, staff and audience members all walked away from last weekend on a positive note. Thus, we want to keep the ball rolling this upcoming weekend.
On a personal note, I got through the surgery on my knee just fine. The recovery will be shorter than expected, but I can expect more problems down the road with my left knee. Joy!
The Box Office has been busy this week - the word of mouth is spreading. However, we need to keep "pushing" the show through the media and trying to fill all the remaining performances. Overall, I think that the cast, crew, staff and audience members all walked away from last weekend on a positive note. Thus, we want to keep the ball rolling this upcoming weekend.
On a personal note, I got through the surgery on my knee just fine. The recovery will be shorter than expected, but I can expect more problems down the road with my left knee. Joy!
Fine Arts Camp
Right now, we are signing kids up to participate in Fine Arts Camp. For those of you who don't know what this is, it is the annual fundraiser for the Pickwick Players. Pickwicks plan and organize a week of activities (Spring Break) for kids K-6. Under the leadership and guidance of staff members Bill Williams and Judith Giebler, Pickwicks plan classes in acting, dance, music, fine arts and games. At the end of the week, parents attend a presentation that demonstrates everything that the youth worked on during the week. It's amazing to see all the kids who are participating (usually around 80 kids) along with 30 Pickwicks in the building at the same time. The amound of energy and excitement is contagious. If you're interested in having a youth particiapate, you can sign up in the Business Office (M-F from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.) or contact Bill (bill@mctmidland.org) or Judith (judith@mctmidland.org) with questions.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Les Miserables - Opening
There's a superstition in the theatre world - a bad final dress rehearsal means a good opening night. I think we tried to test that theory with this show.
On Thursday night, we started off on the wrong foot - an actor missed his entrance (and his solo line) in the Prologue and everyone was on eggshells from that moment on. Then we had actors forget lyrics they had never forgotten, set pieces that moved too early or did not move when they were supposed to, family members taking flash photos and babies crying in the audience. Combine that with the fact that there were only about 15 people in the audience and no applause and it made for a very frustrating evening. I normally don't give a full notes session after the final dress, and I wasn't going to change this pattern - frankly, I didn't have any notes other than "please do everything on opening night (Friday) the way you did it on Wednesday night". I gathered the cast onstage after curtain call and told them to get some sleep, drink lots of water and come to the theatre with lots of energy and a positive attitude. The Stage Manager, Set Crew chief and I stayed at the theatre for another hour reviewing our mistakes and discussion strategies for correcting them, and then I spent some time working on the ASM (Assistant Stage Manager) book so that all the correct scene changes were properly marked.
Well, Friday night was mission accomplished - the actors and crew arrived ready to perform and with a positive attitude. Last year, MCT created the Legacy Society - these are donors who not only support the current season but also make a contribution to the endowment. Opening night included all of the usual anxiety regarding the opening of the show along with the need to clean and prepare the Moody Conference room and prepare for a reception for our best donors. As a result, you want to make sure that the show goes well so that these donors enjoy the experience and understand the importance of their support of our community theatre.
Overall, it was a very good night. For those of us involved in the show, there were some small items to work on - a bad microphone, a set piece that ran into something, an actor that left out a small line but picked it right up on the beat - these are things that we notice but others might not. At the end of the night, the cast and crew were very happy - the audience applauded throughout the show (and stayed despite the fact that it let out at 11 p.m.) and we had a positive reception with family and friends after the show.
It was interesting to talk to a board member after the show - she was so proud and said "aren't you proud of your work on the show" and I said that I was so far. Theatre can not be boxed and wrapped up like a present and simply "opened" for each performance - every night is a new night with new challenges and opportunities. The cast has been singing for 14 consecutive days and needs some rest, there is always the chance of a microphone failing, a set piece breaking, a costume piece ripping or other issues - that is the joy and challenge of live theatre. As a result, we must come back every night with the same energy and excitement to put on a this wonderful musical.
REMINDER - the next update is a week away due to knee surgery on Monday
On Thursday night, we started off on the wrong foot - an actor missed his entrance (and his solo line) in the Prologue and everyone was on eggshells from that moment on. Then we had actors forget lyrics they had never forgotten, set pieces that moved too early or did not move when they were supposed to, family members taking flash photos and babies crying in the audience. Combine that with the fact that there were only about 15 people in the audience and no applause and it made for a very frustrating evening. I normally don't give a full notes session after the final dress, and I wasn't going to change this pattern - frankly, I didn't have any notes other than "please do everything on opening night (Friday) the way you did it on Wednesday night". I gathered the cast onstage after curtain call and told them to get some sleep, drink lots of water and come to the theatre with lots of energy and a positive attitude. The Stage Manager, Set Crew chief and I stayed at the theatre for another hour reviewing our mistakes and discussion strategies for correcting them, and then I spent some time working on the ASM (Assistant Stage Manager) book so that all the correct scene changes were properly marked.
Well, Friday night was mission accomplished - the actors and crew arrived ready to perform and with a positive attitude. Last year, MCT created the Legacy Society - these are donors who not only support the current season but also make a contribution to the endowment. Opening night included all of the usual anxiety regarding the opening of the show along with the need to clean and prepare the Moody Conference room and prepare for a reception for our best donors. As a result, you want to make sure that the show goes well so that these donors enjoy the experience and understand the importance of their support of our community theatre.
Overall, it was a very good night. For those of us involved in the show, there were some small items to work on - a bad microphone, a set piece that ran into something, an actor that left out a small line but picked it right up on the beat - these are things that we notice but others might not. At the end of the night, the cast and crew were very happy - the audience applauded throughout the show (and stayed despite the fact that it let out at 11 p.m.) and we had a positive reception with family and friends after the show.
It was interesting to talk to a board member after the show - she was so proud and said "aren't you proud of your work on the show" and I said that I was so far. Theatre can not be boxed and wrapped up like a present and simply "opened" for each performance - every night is a new night with new challenges and opportunities. The cast has been singing for 14 consecutive days and needs some rest, there is always the chance of a microphone failing, a set piece breaking, a costume piece ripping or other issues - that is the joy and challenge of live theatre. As a result, we must come back every night with the same energy and excitement to put on a this wonderful musical.
REMINDER - the next update is a week away due to knee surgery on Monday
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Les Miserables - Final Dress
Tonight is the final dress rehearsal for Les Miserables. This is our last chance to put the entire show together before the paid audience comes on Friday night. Overall, the cast and crew are ready to perform the show right now, but tonight will be a good test of our abilities. Live theatre is a tricky business - you have to be able to bring your best performance to the theatre every night despite the other things happening in your life. As a community theatre, all of our actors are volunteers, and they have other concerns - work, school, family - that can affect their attitude and emotions when they enter the building. It's our job to help them to transition out of the real world and into the world of our current production and then perform at a high level. We are extremely fortunate to have many experienced performers in our cast - people who are "professional" in their approach to community theatre. This sets an example for the newer actors to follow, and I think we will have good energy for tonight's dress.
My next update will be after opening night (Friday), and then there will be a little break in the blog. For those not aware, I am have surgery on Monday to repair a torn meniscus on my left knee, and won't be back in the office (or at the computer) until around the time of our second weekend of performances (February 19-21)...
My next update will be after opening night (Friday), and then there will be a little break in the blog. For those not aware, I am have surgery on Monday to repair a torn meniscus on my left knee, and won't be back in the office (or at the computer) until around the time of our second weekend of performances (February 19-21)...
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Les Miserables - Dress Rehearsals
In the big scheme of things, the transition into dress rehearsals has been smooth. Rebecca Crow (Costume Designer) and her crew have built and created wonderful costumes, and the dressers have planned out the quick changes and made everything work smoothly in rehearsal. MCT is lucky to have great staff members and volunteers working in this area, and the results of their hard work and dedication show up on the stage.
Dress rehearsals are all about moving the show from solid rehearsals to good performances. Our cast is prepared for the show - they know their parts, they know what to do, and now they need to do it with confidence. I have always been a big fan of repetition - the more times you do something, the better prepared you are to do it. This is true for the actors as well as the set and prop crew, the Stage Management team and the light and sound operators. Everyone is working hard to produce the best show possible, and we are very excited about our opening on Friday. I will update again on Friday prior to the opening night.
Dress rehearsals are all about moving the show from solid rehearsals to good performances. Our cast is prepared for the show - they know their parts, they know what to do, and now they need to do it with confidence. I have always been a big fan of repetition - the more times you do something, the better prepared you are to do it. This is true for the actors as well as the set and prop crew, the Stage Management team and the light and sound operators. Everyone is working hard to produce the best show possible, and we are very excited about our opening on Friday. I will update again on Friday prior to the opening night.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Les Miserables - Weekend Report
The weekend was a success from a technical standpoint - there's still a lot of work to be done, but now everyone knows what works or how we have to fix it. Light cues will be changed and fine tuned, the microphones and sound cues will be adjusted, and there's a lot of painting and finishing of the set and props that still needs to be done. However, the staff and volunteers have a good handle on the workload and are tackling all of the challenges. We are so lucky to have hard working staff members and dedicated volunteers.
Normally, I would run the show twice on a Sunday afternoon before opening - once in the afternoon to review any blocking, music and choreography notes, and once at night for the tech work. However, this show is too long - and the vocal demands are too difficult - to ask the cast to perform twice in one day. Thus, we did a run through of Act One starting at 3 p.m., and broke for dinner around 5:15 p.m. and then started up with Act Two at 6:30 p.m. Everyone was out the door by 9 p.m. - this will be the only night that we get out at a decent hour. Tonight (Monday) is first dress rehearsal...
Normally, I would run the show twice on a Sunday afternoon before opening - once in the afternoon to review any blocking, music and choreography notes, and once at night for the tech work. However, this show is too long - and the vocal demands are too difficult - to ask the cast to perform twice in one day. Thus, we did a run through of Act One starting at 3 p.m., and broke for dinner around 5:15 p.m. and then started up with Act Two at 6:30 p.m. Everyone was out the door by 9 p.m. - this will be the only night that we get out at a decent hour. Tonight (Monday) is first dress rehearsal...
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Les Miserables - Tech Saturday
Yesterday (Saturday) was tech Saturday for Les Miserables. For those not familiar with our process, we worked through the entire show starting at 1 p.m. and added all scenic moves (which we roughed in on Thursday and Friday night), all lighting and sound issues (microphones) and props. This process will be repeated today (Sunday) - hopefully more smoothly - and then we will add costumes on Monday and hair and makeup on Tuesday. Then, we should be ready for an audience on Friday. More updates on Monday...
Friday, February 6, 2009
Les Miserables - Working for the weekend
We started technical rehearsals last night (Thursday). For this show, we're doing it a little different than past opening musicals. On Thursday night, the cast went back downstairs and ran Act One with Charles while I was working with the tech crew on all of the tech moves for scenery in the show. Around 8:30 p.m., the cast moved upstairs and we worked cue-to-cue on the scenic moves - reviewing when actors were moving pieces, when technicians were moving pieces, where pieces should be placed, etc. Rehearsal ended last night at 10:40 p.m. - later than I would have liked to have a non-dress rehearsal end but earlier than I thought it might end due to the length of Act One in Les Miserables. Tonight, we will work on Act Two with the same plan. However, it should be a little easier as Act Two is shorter than Act One.
This weekend is tech weekend - a long weekend for eveyone involved in the show. We will be working on some technical elements on Saturday morning, and then actors will come in around Noon to put on wireless microphones. We'll run the show starting at 1 p.m. with lots of stopping for light cues, sound issues, set changes and prop issues - no costumes until Monday night. The Saturday afternoon tech is draining on everyone involved but it must be done in order for the show to move forward. On Sunday afternoon/evening, we'll run it again, and be ready to add costumes on Monday night.
While the show is getting ready to open, there are lots of other people getting ready for our new season. The Box Office is busing selling 2009 memberships along with tickets to Les Miserables. Marketing is preparing the Prompter - our program - and the first one of the year is the hardest with all the new ads and all of the information for the opening musical (cast bios, musical numbers, letters, etc.). We're also cleaning the theatre and dressing rooms and getting ready to open the theatre to our patrons on February 13th for the opening of the show.
This weekend is tech weekend - a long weekend for eveyone involved in the show. We will be working on some technical elements on Saturday morning, and then actors will come in around Noon to put on wireless microphones. We'll run the show starting at 1 p.m. with lots of stopping for light cues, sound issues, set changes and prop issues - no costumes until Monday night. The Saturday afternoon tech is draining on everyone involved but it must be done in order for the show to move forward. On Sunday afternoon/evening, we'll run it again, and be ready to add costumes on Monday night.
While the show is getting ready to open, there are lots of other people getting ready for our new season. The Box Office is busing selling 2009 memberships along with tickets to Les Miserables. Marketing is preparing the Prompter - our program - and the first one of the year is the hardest with all the new ads and all of the information for the opening musical (cast bios, musical numbers, letters, etc.). We're also cleaning the theatre and dressing rooms and getting ready to open the theatre to our patrons on February 13th for the opening of the show.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Les Miserables - upstairs rehearsals
On Tuesday, many of the people involved in the barricade scene went to the police shooting range, and watched an expert load and shoot a black powder gun - CBS 7 covered this activity:
WATCH
Many thanks to Jim Reynolds - a member of the Midland Police force and a cast member who organized this event!
On Tuesday night, we continued to adjust the blocking to the stage. There were some adjustments to the Rue Plumet units - especially Marius climbing over the gate - but we can make it work. In addition, we have some people missing on Wednesday night due to conflicts - church choir, out of town meetings - so we moved ahead and ran more than originally scheduled. Tonight (Wednesday), we will finish reviewing and adjusting the rest of Act II, and then move into technical rehearsals.
The final 10 days of working on a show are the most stressful. The relaxed atmosphere of early rehearsals disappears when we move upstairs and the sense of the upcoming opening night - and the audience watching - sets in. There is a lot of work to be done before we are ready to open, but we can make it if we work together.
WATCH
Many thanks to Jim Reynolds - a member of the Midland Police force and a cast member who organized this event!
On Tuesday night, we continued to adjust the blocking to the stage. There were some adjustments to the Rue Plumet units - especially Marius climbing over the gate - but we can make it work. In addition, we have some people missing on Wednesday night due to conflicts - church choir, out of town meetings - so we moved ahead and ran more than originally scheduled. Tonight (Wednesday), we will finish reviewing and adjusting the rest of Act II, and then move into technical rehearsals.
The final 10 days of working on a show are the most stressful. The relaxed atmosphere of early rehearsals disappears when we move upstairs and the sense of the upcoming opening night - and the audience watching - sets in. There is a lot of work to be done before we are ready to open, but we can make it if we work together.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Les Miserables - moving upstairs
Last night, we moved rehearsals onto the stage. We worked through the first 1/3 of the show - the Prologue through The Bargain. All in all, there were not a lot of major changes for the blocking, and the cast adjusted well to the space. We will work though the rest of Act I and the beginning of Act II tonight (Tuesday) and then finish the rest of Act II on Wednesday before starting tech rehearsals on Thursday.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Publicity - MCT
A couple of weeks ago, we took a publicity photo of some of the main cast members to use on the cover of a local magazine (Good Times) that highlights upcoming events in the Permian Basin - music, comedians and theatre. Charlotte Dameron - our Marketing Director and a professional photographer - come up with the idea to take this photo of the cast in costume on the rubble of the downtown building that had been brought down a month ago. Unfortunately, Jean Valjean was unavailable due to a work commitment, but I think that the photo turned out great. Kudos to the cast and Charlotte for making this work!
Les Miserables - Stumble Thru
This past Sunday, we ran the entire show downstairs in the rehearsal room. Overall, I felt that this was a good run through - the actors were prepared, they knew when they were supposed to be onstage and what they were supposed to do and they were respectful of each other in this small room. We only stopped once and the entire ensemble got a feel for the overall show. If you know this production, it is a long show on the clock but it is not necessarily a long show to watch - the music and action never stops. This will be a challenge for our tech crew - keep the scenery moving on and off the stage and not allow the set and costume changes to drag the show. Fortunately, we had many tech people in the room on Sunday to watch the run through and get a feel for the show - our Lighting and Sound Designer, the set crew chair, the dresser chairs, props people, etc. I think that the cast has worked hard to get ready for performances, and we're in good shape for this stage of rehearsals.
After a run through, I usually encourage a brief discussion with comments from the actors. One comments that struck me was the fact that this was the first time some of the actors had seen some of the scenes - in other words, since they were not in that scene, they had not attended those rehearsals and had not watched that scene. So, the cast became the audience that day - watching the show, seeing the story and learning how they fit into the overall picture. All in all, it was a good rehearsal and we are ready to move forward.
Today (Monday), we move our rehearsals upstairs to Davis Theatre I, where the show will be performed. There are going to be some adjustments to the stage, but I also think that the excitement of moving upstairs and working on the stage will add a new level of energy and urgency to the actor's performances. Opening night is less than two weeks away, and there's work to be done to get ready. Stay tuned...
After a run through, I usually encourage a brief discussion with comments from the actors. One comments that struck me was the fact that this was the first time some of the actors had seen some of the scenes - in other words, since they were not in that scene, they had not attended those rehearsals and had not watched that scene. So, the cast became the audience that day - watching the show, seeing the story and learning how they fit into the overall picture. All in all, it was a good rehearsal and we are ready to move forward.
Today (Monday), we move our rehearsals upstairs to Davis Theatre I, where the show will be performed. There are going to be some adjustments to the stage, but I also think that the excitement of moving upstairs and working on the stage will add a new level of energy and urgency to the actor's performances. Opening night is less than two weeks away, and there's work to be done to get ready. Stay tuned...
2010 Play Selection
Carl Moore - chair of the 2010 Play Selection committee - has created a blog for discussion of the shows for the 2010 season at MCT - visit it at:
http://mct-2010-play-selection.blogspot.com/
http://mct-2010-play-selection.blogspot.com/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
