Footloose Update #8

Last night was our first rehearsal with the band. It went very well. We cleaned up the end of act two and had a lot of fun with our new sound with the band. It will take some getting used to and will be lots of work to find one anothers cues and rhythms, but when it is all put together it is going to be so great and exciting! Two weeks from tonight is fianl dress and then... gulp!

Big number 12!

Happy B-Day Jake!

Cut Footloose With a New Grill!

Lowe's has made it possible to raffle this wonderful new grill during the last performance of Footloose the musical! Tickets are $1.00 each or get six tickets for $5.00! Wow! All proceeds will support this and future performances as well as new production equipment. For more information, email me and I will get you some tickets or see any cast member. (Girls not included.)

Footloose Update #7

Tonight we begin a marthon of rehearsals. This is where the magic happens and the true fun begins!

The Producers

The Broadway production of The Producers closed yesterday. After many years, thousands of performances, a movie based on the musical, which was based on the movie and more Tony Awards than any other show on Broadway- it was time to call it quits at the St. James. Playing there next, will be Mel Brooks' and the rest of his Producers team, musical version of his 1970's movie Young Frankenstein.

Big Day

Today is my Dad's last day of work. As of 3:00pm, he will be retired. After years and years of him and my Mom working very hard to provide my brother and me with education, experiences and a perfect childhood full of amazing and fun memories, it is finally their time to play. Hoo-ray!

New Animated Film

Disney has recently announced that they will be returning to hand drawn animated films (yay!!!). After the whole Toy Story/ Shrek/ Ice Age computer animated features boom, they stopped releasing hand drawn animation. A big bummer, especially when you look at how beautiful some of the classics as well as the newer movies are. The last few of the animated Disney films that were hand drawn rather than computer generated were not bad from the style by which they were presented, but rather the stories stunk. When my family has gone to Disney World in the past, one of our favorite things to do was wonder through the animation building and watch the artists work. When we were there this past December- the entire animation building is now a walk through museum type display. So sad. I am very excited to see thet Disney is returning to hand drawn, and I hope they keep it up. The film is titled The Frog Princess and is an adaptation of The Frog Prince fairy tale (another of my favorites- my most favorite being the muppets version). Also a first, the Princess is black. The story is updated and set in 1920's New Orleans with music by Randy Newman. Release is scheduled for 2009.

Footloose Update #6

I feel like I never had spring break. I am very tired and know that I will get more tired before I get less tired. It all comes with the territory I guess. We started major clean up on the show last night. For those that might not know, that means we break down every scene with detail and try to form a specific pace at which the scene will move. It also means that we take every dance number and go over every step, fill in any empty spots and make everyone's feet, hands, even eyelids match. This is the part of rehearsal that I like most, mainly because it is the most creative. Getting every scene and number on its feet is one thing, but to fine tune and shape it all is great fun. This is the time where we have lots of happy surprises that weren't in the original plan- for example, so one might make a funny joke and it triggers an idea that works into the scene. Some one may misstep a dance move, and it looks better or leads into an entireyl different idea than the original. This is also the most draining rehearsals on the cast because there is lots of waiting. We are no longer on a schedule because we don't know how far we will get each night. Some nights we may only get past one scene, others we may fly through several. The goal is to have everything cleaned up by midweek next week. One week from today we begin all the tech work- body mics, lights, sound and moving scenery. On Monday we get the band- that will be an entire experience in itself getting used to one another and figuring out cues. Three weeks from tonight is final dress- wow! I feel woozy!- lots to do, but lots of fun to be had in the process.

Happy Birthday Beauty

Today marks the 13th birthday of Beauty and the Beast on Broadway!

My Spidey Sense Tells Me...

It has been recently announced that Spider Man the Musical will be having a Broadway reading this summer. At first I was like, "You've got to be kidding me!!!" Then after reading a bit more, I learned that Julie Taymor (The Lion King) will direct. I've never really been a big Spider Man fan other than the silly cameos he made on The Electric Company, and I do go see the movies because they are well done... but a musical? Should be interesting. Read the article and form your own opinion.

Lion King Video

There is a really good video of backstage at the Broadway production of The Lion King on broadway.com today. It doesn't show much of the actual stage work, but there are some good shots of the make up and a few costumes. Check it out here.

Back to Reality

Spring break is over. Back to the everyday grind. Three weeks from right now we will be in dress rehearsals for Footloose. We begin major clean-up tomorrow. The set is nearly completed except for a few minor details. Costumes are the big task ahead of us now.

Beautiful, Warm Weather... Finally!

Yay for spring break!

Look Familiar?

While in NYC, Paul found this poster. Even on break, we can't get it out of our heads!

Happy Easter!

Is this what we look like? Maybe they are auditioning for Jekyll & Hyde?

Paul Loves NY!

Paul is in New York! He is sending me pictures of his adventures- I'll keep everyone posted. How much fun!!!!!

Eggstra Fun!

Last night was our last rehearsal of Footloose before beginning spring break. We will dive in head first with clean up and tech rehearsals after our week off. Before sending everyone away, we celebrated with an egg hunt in the FAB. It was like a herd of wild widabeasts! Sarah won the best prize of all, a framed photo of Conrad Birdie... so dreamy!

Footloose Update #5

See- now they're starting to take shape. Some shaping and a few coats of paint, then vrrrooommm!

Footloose Update #4

You may say it is styrofoam, plywood and pvc pipe- but I say it is a motorcycle!

Phantom at 8000

Today marks the 8000 performance of The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. Read about it here. Wow- that's alot of fog. No wonder I like that show.

Footloose Update #3

Things are coming along nicely. Tonight is our first rough run-thru of Act One. Above is a picture of one of the sets of lockers used in the school scene. I love colors that look like they would taste good.

Showtime!

Here it is! Guess the logo and you've guessed the new show. Here's a hint- it should be an amazing adventure!

Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes

So, many people have been asking, "What is up with the summer show?"- here it goes. Last week I found out that we would not be able to perform our summer musical mid-July as we always do. Possible delays in the heat/air project in the FAB will prevent us from performing that week because we won't know until that week if the project is finished and the final inspection passed. There is no way we could prepare a show all the while not knowing if we would be performing, mainly because of advertising. We can't advertise a show and then tell the people who already have tickets you are going to have to come back another week. I scrambled to look at available dates for the FAB- no luck. Everyone had everything booked after us until school started. Nothing in July and nothing at the beginning of August. After looking at several dates, I spoke with the group that has the FAB during the day and worked out a deal that would allow us to perform our show the first weekend in August- great! But no, conflicts with royalties and rentals would prevent us from doing such. So I worked out the next weekend to have the show and I could get the rights. Why all the hassle for this particular show? I have been waiting for Aida for years. I have every scene blocked, every number choreographed, over sixty patterns purchased and more fabric than one can imagine. I have a notebook with every set and costume broken down, sketched and designed. I even have color swatches for paint and trim for costumes. A lot of time and even more money has been invested. This show is my all time favorite and I know how every moment is to look and how this story should be told. But, due to conflicts with schedules and things beyond my control, we will not be able to present Aida this year. I know so many people will be disappointed, and many of you have expressed that, but that isn't going to slow us down. I have had a year of intense pre work for Aida and the feeling of starting over with another show is overwhelming. Just the paperwork involved in getting permission to do a show is a several week process. Research comes first- lots of reading and looking at pictures and then putting that research into motion is what occurs before the cast even gets a script. The other problem is the limitations that so many shows have- we don't have a band. I have to look for shows that are available by computer or soundtrack- that limits us greatly. One person I was talking to asked me why we didn't just not do a show for the summer because with all of those set backs they would be discouraged. I was in the beginning- but then I realized that without an outlet for being creative I go bonkers. When I have nothing else, I have my drive to take nothing and create a something out of it and the only way I can do that is by the support of all of you wonderful people who are there rehearsal after rehearsal, show after show. A friend told me I was like a race car driver- if I crashed this week, I wouldn't quit, it would simply dust off my injuries, get in my car and drive with more determination the next week- for no other reason than this is what I do. I don't do it for selfish reasons- I do enjoy it- but why would I want to if others didn't enjoy it. I have gotten so many cards and emails and letters and people stopping me on the street to say how much they look forward to coming to shows. I remember years ago doing a show and after it was over a little old lady came up to me and said she had had a very hard past couple of months. She had seen our ad in the newspaper and after thinking about not coming to the show, she decided at the last minute to buy a ticket that after noon. She told me about everything that had happened to her the months before and how being there with all those people in the audience and getting to get lost in a story for two hours gave her a refreshed take on the weeks ahead. She came back the next night and to this day, she comes to every show. She always lets me know when she is there. That is why I will not take a break- when one person appreciates you that much, it is worth it all. So, we won't be doing Aida, but we will be doing something . What? Not sure. With Footloose soon getting intense, this isn't the greatest timing to be changing everything. I had everything ready for Aida (even the posters and tickets) so that when Footloose was over, we could dive in. I will have a decision in the next few days. Keep watch- I promise what ever it is, it will be a wonderful, fun, exciting adventure that I will get to take with my most favorite, wonderful, exciting people! Thanks to everyone for all their support and flexibilty. "And so, on with the show!"