Christmas Carol rehearsals

Over the last three days, I have blocked all of the "scenes" for A CHRISTMAS CAROL. Mind you, I skipped over the choreography numbers, and there are some scenes that are just rough blocked and need to be reviewed and cleaned up, but this was an important step in the process towards opening night. Considering that I was absent from the first two weeks of rehearsal - thank you Gralin, Bert, Steve, Scott and Heather for all your great work on music and dancing - we needed to get these scenes under our belt in order to move forward. Of course, it's a lot easier since I've directed the show four times in the past and already have all of the rough blocking in my script - it's simply a case of putting the new actors into their positions and allowing (and encouraging) them to make the show their own.

I am away from rehearsal (again) for the rest of the week - the Midland Area AIDS Support fundraiser is Thursday night at the Yucca. As most of you know, MAAS serves those with AIDS and their family and provides counseling and support. This is our annual fundraiser, and Eddie Pleasant - a Midlander who lives and performs in NYC - is returning to do his one-man show, a tribute to Nat King Cole. The show will be Thursday night at 8 p.m. at the Yucca - tickets are available at the door and seating is first come, first serve (behind the sponsor tables).

Finally, the TUNA boys had some time off from the show, and are back at it this weekend with four shows this weekend.

The 2010 membership season has been announced - watch for a brochure in the mail soon!!!

TUNA Opening Weekend

TUNA CHRISTMAS opened this past weekend with three great audiences in Mabee Theatre II. I think that cast and crew - as well as the director - were ready to put this show in front of an audience and get the ball rolling. Mike and David worked really hard, and both are experienced at dealing with live audiences - from their years on the Mummer stage. In addition, the crew has done a great job of supporting the show. We now have six different dressers trained to work with the quick changes, and Doug has several light board operators and two great ASM to assist him with the upcoming run of the show.

On Sunday, I returned to A CHRISTMAS CAROL rehearsals - I don't know if they remembered me! We blocked most of the major group scenes in the show, including Act One, Scene One; Act One, Scene Three; and Act Two, Scene Five. I will continue to block the show throughout the next 6-8 rehearsals - with a break for the MAAS fundraising concert on Thursday night at the Yucca Theatre. I will keep you updated - through this blog - on the status of rehearsals for A CHRISTMAS CAROL.

The Cue Card for A CHRISTMAS CAROL has gone out, and we expect tickets to go as quickly as they did for TUNA CHRISTMAS. Contact the Box Office with questions - boxoffice@mctmidland.org or (432) 570-4111 or visit our website.

Tuna Christmas - more dress rehearsals

There's a lot of stress backstage when you have only two actors in a show and 40+ costume changes within two hours. Over the past two nights, we have worked with the dressers on getting more comfortable with the quick changes, and the actors are getting more comfortable with the transitions from one character to another. We're making progress, and opening night is right around the corner.

A quick note of thanks to all the great volunteers who work our shows - Stage Manager Doug Hart and his crew - a light board operator, an Assistant Stage Manager backstage and two dressers - will be expected to man 20+ performances of TUNA CHRISTMAS. We couldn't do it without our great volunteers - onstage and off - thanks for all your dedication to our community theatre!

Tuna Christmas - Dress Rehearsals

Sorry for the delay in posting updates - CHRISTMAS CAROL auditions, Indian Guides camping trips, teaching at Midland College and preparation and planning for our 2010 season have kept my plate full.

TUNA CHRISTMAS rehearsals have progress well, and Mike and David are ready to put on the costumes and get ready for an audience. We've created solid characters for both actors, settled on vocal choices, smoothed out the blocking and pantomime of props and now need the added pressure of costumes and costumes changes. Those of you who know the TUNA series will understand that these shows are all about the costume changes - getting these changes "choreographed" so that the actors can concentrate on the show - and not on the changes - is the biggest challenge this week. Tonight is first dress rehearsal - the guys had a rehearsal with Rebecca (Costume Designer) and the dressers last Thursday - and this should get us "on the road" to opening night.

For those looking for tickets - or frustrated that you can't get tickets - the Box Office has been working with me to add performances to meet our membership demands. Check in with the Box Office - (432) 570-4111 or boxoffice@mctmidland.org - and they can update you on added shows. We want you to visit Tuna this holiday season, and we're working hard to make it happen!