Something I can do that won't make me stay up until 4am trying to finish it. I'm turning 30. I'm removing the term "all nighter" from my vocabulary. And yes, staying awake until 4am is an "all nighter".
Can somebody think for me?
Showing posts with label theatre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label theatre. Show all posts
22 May 2007
Creativity on Leave of Absence
Okay. I have to come up with a new idea for my annual booth at the Strawberry Festival. Something that is easy, fast and inexpensive. Something that promotes theatre and fun. Something different for the look of the booth.
Something I can do that won't make me stay up until 4am trying to finish it. I'm turning 30. I'm removing the term "all nighter" from my vocabulary. And yes, staying awake until 4am is an "all nighter".
Can somebody think for me?
Something I can do that won't make me stay up until 4am trying to finish it. I'm turning 30. I'm removing the term "all nighter" from my vocabulary. And yes, staying awake until 4am is an "all nighter".
Can somebody think for me?
30 April 2007
JBook
Never did get around to publishing my blog post about my Jbook experience. This is the only pic I have at the moment from the show.
The kids won a "gold" last night at the music festival we entered. Pretty awesome.
The kids won a "gold" last night at the music festival we entered. Pretty awesome.
"I wanna be like you"Boy, I had fun designing that set. (Huge thanks to Jane though. Couldn't have put it up without her)
Every time I look at this picture, I laugh at all the rampant stage hogs. They are too cute.
08 May 2006
Always B natural
So I took a peek at my 2006 To-Do List. I've made some pretty good headway into crossing things off that list!
My latest achievement was playing in the musical "Sound of Music". DONE. I only had the music for a week but man, did it take over my life!
I'm still pooped. We did six shows in three days. On Saturday, we played two shows back-to-back for a total of 6.5 hours. It was a fun experience overall, alternately both hilarious and absolutely hideous. Depending on the moment. One of those things where I probably could have played drunk and it would have sounded the same, but at least I would have BEEN drunk. The feeling of mad panic that overcomes YOUR. ENTIRE. BODY. is something that should be bolstered by a stiff drink.
Once the conductor cues you to GO...and the singers start singing and the chorus starts dancing...all you can do is wince when your fingers aren't quite working in synch with your mind. Probably because your mind is going "...shit shit shit shit shit...."
I will never again be able to look at the key of G-flat the same way. I used to adore the flat key signatures. I used to find 7 flats easier to read than 4 sharps. But after playing "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" six times in three days with me hitting C-natural instead of C -flat a few too many times and me cringing each time I did it, my love of flats has definitely deteriorated.
My loathing for music in the key of E major remains the same though. In my opinion, you do not need this key signature. Damn those four sharps. I butchered "Sixteen going on Seventeen".
It would have been nice if the audience got a shot of tequila with their ticket purchase.
My latest achievement was playing in the musical "Sound of Music". DONE. I only had the music for a week but man, did it take over my life!
I'm still pooped. We did six shows in three days. On Saturday, we played two shows back-to-back for a total of 6.5 hours. It was a fun experience overall, alternately both hilarious and absolutely hideous. Depending on the moment. One of those things where I probably could have played drunk and it would have sounded the same, but at least I would have BEEN drunk. The feeling of mad panic that overcomes YOUR. ENTIRE. BODY. is something that should be bolstered by a stiff drink.
Once the conductor cues you to GO...and the singers start singing and the chorus starts dancing...all you can do is wince when your fingers aren't quite working in synch with your mind. Probably because your mind is going "...shit shit shit shit shit...."
I will never again be able to look at the key of G-flat the same way. I used to adore the flat key signatures. I used to find 7 flats easier to read than 4 sharps. But after playing "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" six times in three days with me hitting C-natural instead of C -flat a few too many times and me cringing each time I did it, my love of flats has definitely deteriorated.
My loathing for music in the key of E major remains the same though. In my opinion, you do not need this key signature. Damn those four sharps. I butchered "Sixteen going on Seventeen".
It would have been nice if the audience got a shot of tequila with their ticket purchase.
10 March 2006
Looking Back
I survived! Between calling the curtain cues, the lighting cues, the sound cues, hitting play/pause AND conducting the kids, my brain almost short-circuited. But, despite the dead air, the missed cues, the confusion and the chaos, it ended up being a pretty good show by the closing performance. The kids had a blast and they were really proud of themselves.
Highlights from the last week:
Me: Bobby, when you come out on stage, you MUST face the audience when you say your lines!
Bobby: Okay. I won a public speaking contest today!
Me: Great! So you know how important it is to face the audience when you are speaking. Now pretend the curtain is behind us and the audience is in front of us, you have to face this way when you say your lines!
Bobby: Towards the curtain?
------------------------------------------------------------------
Girls in the cast, talking in the wings when they aren't supposed to! (Grrr!)
Young Girl #1: (Listening to Gaston making his deal with Madam D'Arque)
"He's going to put Belle's father in jail !!"
Young Girl #2: ( Very concerned) "Just so he can force Belle to marry him."
Young Girl #1: (Very emphatically) "That's not very nice !!!!"
-----------------------------------------------------------------
After the Beast lets Belle go and the enchanted objects realize that the spell will never be broken:
Cogsworth (on stage): "...and now, it's too late."
Young Girl in the audience: "Why is it too late, mommy?"
-----------------------------------------------------------------
After the school performance:
"Gaston" (who's 13) trying to discuss something with me concerning the show.
Chorus girl (8 years old) in cast interrupts with:
"My friends are in love with you!"
"Gaston" didn't seem to be very interested but SHE was super excited about the concept.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Me into the headset: Fog! We need Fog!
Two seconds later: No more Fog! STOP THE FOG! STTOOOOPPP!!!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Me into the headset: Standby, fog!
Fog starts
Me: WHY IS THERE FOG?? STOP! STOP THE FOG!
Headset #1: SOMEBODY TOLD ME TO START THE FOG!!
Headset #2: SORRY!
----------------------------------------------------------------
Cast bows....Chip runs onto stage and her mom comes up from the audience to hand her flowers. She refuses them. She moves to the back of the stage and then remembers that she has to be at the front of the stage.
Her mom tries to offer her the flowers again.
WHAP!
She lays the smackdown on the flowers.
SHE was not ready to accept flowers at that point. She still needed to bow.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Audible whisper just before a solo: Here! Hold this!
----------------------------------------------------------------
Maurice trying to hide behind Belle as he forgets his lines.
They're the only two on stage.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Blackout
Curtain Closed
Music cued
BAM!!!
Back panel on one of the set pieces falls and narrowly misses one of the stage crew.
Oh well.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Me: Bobby! Where are your shoes?
Highlights from the last week:
Me: Bobby, when you come out on stage, you MUST face the audience when you say your lines!
Bobby: Okay. I won a public speaking contest today!
Me: Great! So you know how important it is to face the audience when you are speaking. Now pretend the curtain is behind us and the audience is in front of us, you have to face this way when you say your lines!
Bobby: Towards the curtain?
------------------------------------------------------------------
Girls in the cast, talking in the wings when they aren't supposed to! (Grrr!)
Young Girl #1: (Listening to Gaston making his deal with Madam D'Arque)
"He's going to put Belle's father in jail !!"
Young Girl #2: ( Very concerned) "Just so he can force Belle to marry him."
Young Girl #1: (Very emphatically) "That's not very nice !!!!"
-----------------------------------------------------------------
After the Beast lets Belle go and the enchanted objects realize that the spell will never be broken:
Cogsworth (on stage): "...and now, it's too late."
Young Girl in the audience: "Why is it too late, mommy?"
-----------------------------------------------------------------
After the school performance:
"Gaston" (who's 13) trying to discuss something with me concerning the show.
Chorus girl (8 years old) in cast interrupts with:
"My friends are in love with you!"
"Gaston" didn't seem to be very interested but SHE was super excited about the concept.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Me into the headset: Fog! We need Fog!
Two seconds later: No more Fog! STOP THE FOG! STTOOOOPPP!!!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Me into the headset: Standby, fog!
Fog starts
Me: WHY IS THERE FOG?? STOP! STOP THE FOG!
Headset #1: SOMEBODY TOLD ME TO START THE FOG!!
Headset #2: SORRY!
----------------------------------------------------------------
Cast bows....Chip runs onto stage and her mom comes up from the audience to hand her flowers. She refuses them. She moves to the back of the stage and then remembers that she has to be at the front of the stage.
Her mom tries to offer her the flowers again.
WHAP!
She lays the smackdown on the flowers.
SHE was not ready to accept flowers at that point. She still needed to bow.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Audible whisper just before a solo: Here! Hold this!
----------------------------------------------------------------
Maurice trying to hide behind Belle as he forgets his lines.
They're the only two on stage.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Blackout
Curtain Closed
Music cued
BAM!!!
Back panel on one of the set pieces falls and narrowly misses one of the stage crew.
Oh well.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Me: Bobby! Where are your shoes?
03 March 2006
Recipe for Interesting Times
Ingredients:
1 Church - converted into a theatre
1 stage curtain - rented for $1,200 which sticks in the middle
1 ladder
1 barrel
1 large chair
stairs
a backdrop
1 fog machine
1 Apple ibook containing music for the entire show
2 speakers
10 wireless mics
4 handheld walktalkies with low batteries
music without vocal cues
50 budding actors under the age of 13
2 high school techies (doing sound & lighting)
3 directors with full time jobs
3 stage crew with full time jobs
10 volunteer parents
gallon of hormones
pinch of common sense
a dash of "the director in you"
nerves
For a Friday afternoon School Show -
Remove the two high school techies, two directors, three stage crew, five parents and 45 minutes of the show.
Add 400 audience members under the age of 13, four new parents who have never done behind-the-scenes theatre stuff and 10 bus drivers at the back of the room tapping their toes and looking at their watches.
Stir for three hours at 20 degrees C.
Wear mitts
1 Church - converted into a theatre
1 stage curtain - rented for $1,200 which sticks in the middle
1 ladder
1 barrel
1 large chair
stairs
a backdrop
1 fog machine
1 Apple ibook containing music for the entire show
2 speakers
10 wireless mics
4 handheld walktalkies with low batteries
music without vocal cues
50 budding actors under the age of 13
2 high school techies (doing sound & lighting)
3 directors with full time jobs
3 stage crew with full time jobs
10 volunteer parents
gallon of hormones
pinch of common sense
a dash of "the director in you"
nerves
For a Friday afternoon School Show -
Remove the two high school techies, two directors, three stage crew, five parents and 45 minutes of the show.
Add 400 audience members under the age of 13, four new parents who have never done behind-the-scenes theatre stuff and 10 bus drivers at the back of the room tapping their toes and looking at their watches.
Stir for three hours at 20 degrees C.
Wear mitts
02 March 2006
Show TIME!
Oh my god. Our costume lady truly outdid herself. The costumes look AMAZING.
HELL, I want a Lumiere costume!
So we had dress rehearsal tonight. I BARELY finished all the music. As it is, I still will need to spend most of tomorrow fine tuning and refining it all. Dress rehearsal was pretty much a disaster tonight and we only got through Act 1.
BUT!
On the bright side, it only took us an hour and a half to go through Act 1. By comparison, on Saturday's rehearsal, it took us three hours to do the same thing.
Anyways, bad dress rehearsal means great Opening Night, right?
HELL, I want a Lumiere costume!
So we had dress rehearsal tonight. I BARELY finished all the music. As it is, I still will need to spend most of tomorrow fine tuning and refining it all. Dress rehearsal was pretty much a disaster tonight and we only got through Act 1.
BUT!
On the bright side, it only took us an hour and a half to go through Act 1. By comparison, on Saturday's rehearsal, it took us three hours to do the same thing.
Anyways, bad dress rehearsal means great Opening Night, right?
13 February 2006
Young Love
So my two lead cast members bicker CONSTANTLY. It's actually quite funny until it interferes with my time practicing with them. In the span of a half hour rehearsal, all I hear is this:
"Will you STOP being an ADD child for 10 minutes!!!!"
"You're so immature"
"You're SO ANNOYING"
"YOU have a sick and twisted face"
"I have 20 friends coming to see the show. You have nobody"
"YOU have 20 friends coming to LAUGH at you"
"Yeah, c'mon...you don't know your lines YET?!"
"I sing better than you do!"
"BURRRRRRN" (I didn't realize kids still said that)
In the meantime, I just shield myself with the piano to try avoid losing an eye from all the hormones flying around.
"Will you STOP being an ADD child for 10 minutes!!!!"
"You're so immature"
"You're SO ANNOYING"
"YOU have a sick and twisted face"
"I have 20 friends coming to see the show. You have nobody"
"YOU have 20 friends coming to LAUGH at you"
"Yeah, c'mon...you don't know your lines YET?!"
"I sing better than you do!"
"BURRRRRRN" (I didn't realize kids still said that)
In the meantime, I just shield myself with the piano to try avoid losing an eye from all the hormones flying around.
04 December 2005
Holiday Spirit
I love Christmas. It's definitely my favorite holiday. I love the music, the lights, the shopping and all the sparkle. I love planning my Christmas shopping list. I love wrapping and baking and making holiday cards. It's such a busy time and it always goes by way too fast for me.
I try to stick to a budget when I'm doing my shopping but it never seems to end up working out the way my bank account wants it to. Plus I tend to follow the shopping ratio of - Present for Loved One: Present for Me.
Terrible.
We did our YDAPA Academy Christmas concert on Friday night. The week was insane leading up to it. I was trying to learn how to sequence music so that I could do this arrangement of "Do You Hear What I Hear?". I've always wanted to learn how to play this but never quite got it under my fingers. Great piece and one of my favorites. I ended up playing it so much while I was trying to record it to my iBook that it ended up being easier to just learn the damn thing instead of fiddling with Garageband. I still need to learn how to sequence a score. It's my next major project but I'm a little soured by this experience. It's not as easy as I thought it would be.
Anyways, the concert was great! The holiday season is off to a good start!
I try to stick to a budget when I'm doing my shopping but it never seems to end up working out the way my bank account wants it to. Plus I tend to follow the shopping ratio of - Present for Loved One: Present for Me.
Terrible.
We did our YDAPA Academy Christmas concert on Friday night. The week was insane leading up to it. I was trying to learn how to sequence music so that I could do this arrangement of "Do You Hear What I Hear?". I've always wanted to learn how to play this but never quite got it under my fingers. Great piece and one of my favorites. I ended up playing it so much while I was trying to record it to my iBook that it ended up being easier to just learn the damn thing instead of fiddling with Garageband. I still need to learn how to sequence a score. It's my next major project but I'm a little soured by this experience. It's not as easy as I thought it would be.
Anyways, the concert was great! The holiday season is off to a good start!
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