Hello Everyone,
I just wanted to write a quick entry about something that I started thinking about at rehearsal last night. I had arrived to rehearsal about 15 minutes early and Melissa was working with some of the younger members of the cast on another part of the play. They were rehearsing one of the musical numbers that illustrates Jo's imaginative stories. These parts of the play are written in a very over dramatic fashion which provides an excellent opportunity for the actors to really have fun with the heightened reality. Melodrama can not only be very entertaining for the actor but for the audience as well. However, there is a danger with melodrama. With over dramatic lines and a plot that acts more like a soap-opera, it is easy for an actor to be scared to really commit to the part. For example, a character named Rodrigo says, "This is your end, villain! I've waited a lifetime to destroy you." That kind of line is not necessarily something that a "normal" person would say in day to day life but the actor has a job to really believe in the line so that the audience will believe the actor. As an actor you must fully commit to every line you have so that the audience will actually believe and hopefully enjoy the story you are telling. I have seen before that when an actor doesn't fully commit to his role then the show is much less enjoyable and sometimes even uncomfortable to watch. If the actor doesn't believe in his character and situation then why should the audience? Even if you might have a line that seems completely over dramatic if you really believe in it and commit to it fully then your acting will be believable. I think this is something that separates really good actors from okay ones: the ability to take big risks. If an actor is fearless and willing to do anything on stage, including risking looking like a fool, then that actor will be successful on stage. You end up looking like a bigger fool if you shy away from fully committing to something. That is just something that I was thinking about in rehearsal last night. Totally random but I'd love to hear what anyone else thinks about this, so feel free to leave comments if you want. Don't be afraid to take big risks!
Suzanne
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Five Forever
Hello,
This past Tuesday we finally blocked and choreographed the musical number "Five Forever". In this number Jo declares Laurie as the March sisters' brother they never had. The rehearsal went well although it was incredibly hot in the rehearsal room. We were only singing through the sung to brush up on our parts and by the time that ended we were all sweating! Then, we actually started learning the dance steps and the heat only got worse. We persevered through it, though. The choreography wasn't too difficult to learn but it did take us about two hours to learn the entire song. The whole song is only 2 and 1/2 minutes; so you can see how much work goes into each little part of the show. Like I said in an earlier entry, rehearsing some scenes seems to take forever and then in the context of the show, it is only one small portion. There is some really cute dancing in this song. Right before my solo singing line there are some dance steps that we all do and as we were learning the steps we tried multiple things before settling on what we wanted. At one point our choreographer, Felicia, had me do a leap across the stage right before my line. But then, we realized that since Beth is supposed to be a more "sickly" child a leap might not be the best thing to do! We eventually settled on something else. :-) It will be interesting doing all of this dancing and singing once we get our costumes on. Having to deal with big skirts and maybe even corsets will definitely make things a little more challenging. Well, that's all for now, thanks for reading!
Suzanne
This past Tuesday we finally blocked and choreographed the musical number "Five Forever". In this number Jo declares Laurie as the March sisters' brother they never had. The rehearsal went well although it was incredibly hot in the rehearsal room. We were only singing through the sung to brush up on our parts and by the time that ended we were all sweating! Then, we actually started learning the dance steps and the heat only got worse. We persevered through it, though. The choreography wasn't too difficult to learn but it did take us about two hours to learn the entire song. The whole song is only 2 and 1/2 minutes; so you can see how much work goes into each little part of the show. Like I said in an earlier entry, rehearsing some scenes seems to take forever and then in the context of the show, it is only one small portion. There is some really cute dancing in this song. Right before my solo singing line there are some dance steps that we all do and as we were learning the steps we tried multiple things before settling on what we wanted. At one point our choreographer, Felicia, had me do a leap across the stage right before my line. But then, we realized that since Beth is supposed to be a more "sickly" child a leap might not be the best thing to do! We eventually settled on something else. :-) It will be interesting doing all of this dancing and singing once we get our costumes on. Having to deal with big skirts and maybe even corsets will definitely make things a little more challenging. Well, that's all for now, thanks for reading!
Suzanne
Monday, May 26, 2008
"Crash" Through
Hi Everyone!
Last Thursday we had a "Crash" Through rehearsal in which we ran through basically the entire show. There are only a few scenes and songs we have not blocked but for the most part we have worked on every bit of the musical. It is important to note that this run through was actually called a "Crash" through because there were certainly some mishaps or crashes while we were performing Little Women. This is obviously to be expected and it is very helpful because it forces the actors to realize how much work they have left to do! I certainly realized this on Thursday night. It is interesting because you can work on one specific scene for hours to get it just right but in reality that scene might only be 2 minutes of the entire production! I was talking to Mary Kathryn Withers, who plays Meg, and she was telling me how quickly scenes seemed to fly by. Many of us are still learning our lines and choreography but I'm certain we will master our parts before it is time for audiences to see us. We have a lot of time until we open and we will definitely be working very hard until then. Lisa, who plays Jo, realized how much she has to do during the show. For her, performing this show is like running a marathon! She is a very experienced performer and knows that she will need to build up her endurance to do this show every night. Overall, I think the "Crash" through went very well. Some very nice moments are shaping up and all of the cast members are giving it their all. This show offers so much to the audience. There are funny moments, heartwarming moments and sometimes sad moments, but I think people will really be able to connect to the March family. Tomorrow, we are blocking one of the big song and dance numbers called "Five Forever". This is a song in which Jo dubs Laurie as the March sisters' brother they never had. I'm sure tomorrow will be a busy and fun night!
I'll be posting more soon...
Suzanne
Last Thursday we had a "Crash" Through rehearsal in which we ran through basically the entire show. There are only a few scenes and songs we have not blocked but for the most part we have worked on every bit of the musical. It is important to note that this run through was actually called a "Crash" through because there were certainly some mishaps or crashes while we were performing Little Women. This is obviously to be expected and it is very helpful because it forces the actors to realize how much work they have left to do! I certainly realized this on Thursday night. It is interesting because you can work on one specific scene for hours to get it just right but in reality that scene might only be 2 minutes of the entire production! I was talking to Mary Kathryn Withers, who plays Meg, and she was telling me how quickly scenes seemed to fly by. Many of us are still learning our lines and choreography but I'm certain we will master our parts before it is time for audiences to see us. We have a lot of time until we open and we will definitely be working very hard until then. Lisa, who plays Jo, realized how much she has to do during the show. For her, performing this show is like running a marathon! She is a very experienced performer and knows that she will need to build up her endurance to do this show every night. Overall, I think the "Crash" through went very well. Some very nice moments are shaping up and all of the cast members are giving it their all. This show offers so much to the audience. There are funny moments, heartwarming moments and sometimes sad moments, but I think people will really be able to connect to the March family. Tomorrow, we are blocking one of the big song and dance numbers called "Five Forever". This is a song in which Jo dubs Laurie as the March sisters' brother they never had. I'm sure tomorrow will be a busy and fun night!
I'll be posting more soon...
Suzanne
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Rehearsals have been "Astonishing"!
Hello Again,
Finals are finally done at Davidson College and our rehearsals for Little Women have been picking up the pace. A lot has been going on since I last wrote. We had a paint call on May 10th to work on the main backdrop for the set. It was a hot and messy day but we got a lot accomplished. Our Assistant Stage Manager or ASM for short, Chrissy, was at the paint call the entire day overseeing the work and putting in many hours of manual labor. Many of the younger cast members were also there to help the painting process move more quickly. The Stage Designer wanted this backdrop to look like a forest to compliment the settings of Jo's imaginative stories. To create this effect it was made of a holey material and painted with varying colors of green with colored ropes strung through to represent vines. Once we were finished it looked quite convincing. There will definitely be more opportunities to help with these paint calls. If anyone is interested in helping out just contact the Davidson Community Players at 704-892-7953.
Meanwhile, in the rehearsal room we have been getting deeper into the blocking and choreography of the play. For those who don't know, "blocking" means deciding where and when the characters will move on the stage. Since Little Women is a musical there is much more involved than a straight play. Musicals require singing, obviously, and so you need someone to play the piano to accompany the actors. However, it is not always possible to have someone actually play the piano during rehearsals. Fortunately, DCP has an excellent solution to this problem. They have an electronic score that plays every song in the musical with only the background piano so the actors can sing along with it! I had never seen anything like this before so I found it very exciting and useful. You can start the songs in multiple places depending on where you are in the scene and you can also change the tempo of the song making the music go faster or slower to suit whatever you like. It has proved to be a very helpful piece of technology during rehearsal, it is amazing what technology can help you accomplish!
Something I have really enjoyed during this process so far is watching other people work. Melissa cast four younger girls to play the parts of the sisters when they were little. I think it will be really great for the audience because they will see Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy as their current ages as well as the girls they were when they were much younger. There is one song in particular called "Our Finest Dreams" which reveals the sisters desires for their future. The song starts with the 4 younger girls playing around in the attic and then it changes to the girls at their present age. I think it is a really nice effect and it is wonderful to see the younger girls work. They are all very talented with beautiful singing voices and lots of personality on stage! I think whenever they have performed their song the reactions from the other actors has always been something to the effect of, "Aw, they're so cute!". And they are. :)
I also remember from rehearsal watching Kim Baysinger, who plays Marmee, belting out her song called "Here Alone" and being totally blown away by how powerful and beautiful her voice was. This show is full of talented people; the audiences certainly won't be disappointed. Another cast member who has really made an impression on me is Marc Bastos, who plays Laurie. Anyone who is in the room when this guy works can hardly keep it together because they are always laughing so hard. Not only can this guy sing wonderfully, he is incredibly funny and brings a very special quality to his character Laurie. Lisa Smith, who plays Jo, sums it up right when she says to Marc, "You make me beam!"
As for me, I have been really enjoying the process of developing my character Beth. I must say it has been difficult putting the singing, dancing and acting all together! I find that when I learn my harmonies in the songs and then try to put that with the dancing it kind of all gets jumbled up! I know that I will get it; I just need more practice. Last night we blocked the song "Some Things Are Meant To Be", which is my duet with Jo and it is the last time you see me alive because Beth dies shortly afterwards. (Not on stage though, thank goodness.) I wasn't expecting it to be too difficult to do this scene, however, last night I found myself trying really hard not to cry. Lisa and I have made a good connection so far while working on this show and I think that has enabled me to really invest in the scene. It is a difficult song because I'm trying to tell Jo that I'm okay with dying I just want to make sure that she is okay as well. Hopefully, when we actually perform the song I'll be able to get out all the words without being stopped by crying!
Well, that is what has been happening lately for the cast and crew of Little Women and I am sure I will be updating you all soon!
Thanks for reading,
Suzanne
Finals are finally done at Davidson College and our rehearsals for Little Women have been picking up the pace. A lot has been going on since I last wrote. We had a paint call on May 10th to work on the main backdrop for the set. It was a hot and messy day but we got a lot accomplished. Our Assistant Stage Manager or ASM for short, Chrissy, was at the paint call the entire day overseeing the work and putting in many hours of manual labor. Many of the younger cast members were also there to help the painting process move more quickly. The Stage Designer wanted this backdrop to look like a forest to compliment the settings of Jo's imaginative stories. To create this effect it was made of a holey material and painted with varying colors of green with colored ropes strung through to represent vines. Once we were finished it looked quite convincing. There will definitely be more opportunities to help with these paint calls. If anyone is interested in helping out just contact the Davidson Community Players at 704-892-7953.
Meanwhile, in the rehearsal room we have been getting deeper into the blocking and choreography of the play. For those who don't know, "blocking" means deciding where and when the characters will move on the stage. Since Little Women is a musical there is much more involved than a straight play. Musicals require singing, obviously, and so you need someone to play the piano to accompany the actors. However, it is not always possible to have someone actually play the piano during rehearsals. Fortunately, DCP has an excellent solution to this problem. They have an electronic score that plays every song in the musical with only the background piano so the actors can sing along with it! I had never seen anything like this before so I found it very exciting and useful. You can start the songs in multiple places depending on where you are in the scene and you can also change the tempo of the song making the music go faster or slower to suit whatever you like. It has proved to be a very helpful piece of technology during rehearsal, it is amazing what technology can help you accomplish!
Something I have really enjoyed during this process so far is watching other people work. Melissa cast four younger girls to play the parts of the sisters when they were little. I think it will be really great for the audience because they will see Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy as their current ages as well as the girls they were when they were much younger. There is one song in particular called "Our Finest Dreams" which reveals the sisters desires for their future. The song starts with the 4 younger girls playing around in the attic and then it changes to the girls at their present age. I think it is a really nice effect and it is wonderful to see the younger girls work. They are all very talented with beautiful singing voices and lots of personality on stage! I think whenever they have performed their song the reactions from the other actors has always been something to the effect of, "Aw, they're so cute!". And they are. :)
I also remember from rehearsal watching Kim Baysinger, who plays Marmee, belting out her song called "Here Alone" and being totally blown away by how powerful and beautiful her voice was. This show is full of talented people; the audiences certainly won't be disappointed. Another cast member who has really made an impression on me is Marc Bastos, who plays Laurie. Anyone who is in the room when this guy works can hardly keep it together because they are always laughing so hard. Not only can this guy sing wonderfully, he is incredibly funny and brings a very special quality to his character Laurie. Lisa Smith, who plays Jo, sums it up right when she says to Marc, "You make me beam!"
As for me, I have been really enjoying the process of developing my character Beth. I must say it has been difficult putting the singing, dancing and acting all together! I find that when I learn my harmonies in the songs and then try to put that with the dancing it kind of all gets jumbled up! I know that I will get it; I just need more practice. Last night we blocked the song "Some Things Are Meant To Be", which is my duet with Jo and it is the last time you see me alive because Beth dies shortly afterwards. (Not on stage though, thank goodness.) I wasn't expecting it to be too difficult to do this scene, however, last night I found myself trying really hard not to cry. Lisa and I have made a good connection so far while working on this show and I think that has enabled me to really invest in the scene. It is a difficult song because I'm trying to tell Jo that I'm okay with dying I just want to make sure that she is okay as well. Hopefully, when we actually perform the song I'll be able to get out all the words without being stopped by crying!
Well, that is what has been happening lately for the cast and crew of Little Women and I am sure I will be updating you all soon!
Thanks for reading,
Suzanne
Friday, May 2, 2008
Beginning a Brand New Adventure!
Hello Everyone!
My name is Suzanne Lenz and I was asked to write this blog about the process of the Davidson Community Players production of Little Women the musical. One of the main reasons we wanted to start this blog was to illustrate for people how a theatre production is created from beginning to end. There's a lot of hard work and dedication from all sides of the theatre that goes into assembling a really great piece of work. So many actors, directors, technicians, crew members, designers, producers, and many others all come together to create a piece of theatre that is meaningful, moving and of course, entertaining!
I am a junior theatre major at Davidson College and I've had the opportunity to participate in many theatre productions over the years, but I am especially excited about this show. I have never stayed in the town of Davidson over the summer so I've never been able to see DCP's big summer musical. While I was talking to different community members about past show experiences I realized that this show was really going to be something special. So, I was especially excited for our first introductory meeting on Monday night, April 21st. The moment I walked into the church building on Armour street (that they are converting into their very own theatre!) I felt the sort of excitement you get on your first day of school. I hardly knew anyone there, so I was anxious to meet new friends. Of course, many people involved with this production have worked together before so it was like a wonderful reunion for them. Melissa Olhman-Roberge, our director, began the meeting by having every one in the room introduce themselves and say what part of the production they were contributing to. Next, Melissa handed out a bunch of papers regarding possible rehearsal schedules, contacts sheets, and DCP's philosophies about theatre and the community that it creates and builds.
The technical director of the show, Jim Nash, or "Big Dog" as he's knows in the Davidson Theatre department, said something of great importance during that first meeting. He talked about how this is the only time this production will ever be done in this way with these particular people. That is something that makes each theatre production you participate in special and unique. The fact that the company you are a part of is special and the piece of theatre you create for a finite amount of time will never happen in the same way again. It really makes you appreciate the rehearsal process and subsequent performances, because you have only a finite amount of time with the company and you want to enjoy every moment you do have.
Since that first meeting we have had two music rehearsals with our music director Jane Cain. It was exciting to hear everyone sing for the first time together because everyone sounds so good! All the cast members have different voices and qualities to offer but we are beginning to blend together very well. There are many harmonies to learn in the group numbers and I was definitely having a little trouble finding my part right away! I know I will be working on my harmony parts on my own, and I know the other cast members will as well. When working on any theatre production it is very important to go home and work on your songs and dialogue on you own time. That makes it easier on the director and you can get a lot more accomplished at rehearsal if you always come prepared. On our first music rehearsal I was feeling a little under-the-weather and coughing up a storm while I was trying to sing, and Chrissy, one of our stage managers was sweet enough to fill up my empty water bottle for me. It was very nice of her and helpful because I stopped coughing as much once I had the water.
Our next rehearsal is tomorrow, Sunday May 4th. We will continue learning songs and perfecting the harmonies, and of course, getting to know one another. This was a very long post, and I will try to post more frequent and shorter blogs in the future. It's finals time at Davidson College right now, so bear with me!
Talk to you soon!
Suzanne
My name is Suzanne Lenz and I was asked to write this blog about the process of the Davidson Community Players production of Little Women the musical. One of the main reasons we wanted to start this blog was to illustrate for people how a theatre production is created from beginning to end. There's a lot of hard work and dedication from all sides of the theatre that goes into assembling a really great piece of work. So many actors, directors, technicians, crew members, designers, producers, and many others all come together to create a piece of theatre that is meaningful, moving and of course, entertaining!
I am a junior theatre major at Davidson College and I've had the opportunity to participate in many theatre productions over the years, but I am especially excited about this show. I have never stayed in the town of Davidson over the summer so I've never been able to see DCP's big summer musical. While I was talking to different community members about past show experiences I realized that this show was really going to be something special. So, I was especially excited for our first introductory meeting on Monday night, April 21st. The moment I walked into the church building on Armour street (that they are converting into their very own theatre!) I felt the sort of excitement you get on your first day of school. I hardly knew anyone there, so I was anxious to meet new friends. Of course, many people involved with this production have worked together before so it was like a wonderful reunion for them. Melissa Olhman-Roberge, our director, began the meeting by having every one in the room introduce themselves and say what part of the production they were contributing to. Next, Melissa handed out a bunch of papers regarding possible rehearsal schedules, contacts sheets, and DCP's philosophies about theatre and the community that it creates and builds.
The technical director of the show, Jim Nash, or "Big Dog" as he's knows in the Davidson Theatre department, said something of great importance during that first meeting. He talked about how this is the only time this production will ever be done in this way with these particular people. That is something that makes each theatre production you participate in special and unique. The fact that the company you are a part of is special and the piece of theatre you create for a finite amount of time will never happen in the same way again. It really makes you appreciate the rehearsal process and subsequent performances, because you have only a finite amount of time with the company and you want to enjoy every moment you do have.
Since that first meeting we have had two music rehearsals with our music director Jane Cain. It was exciting to hear everyone sing for the first time together because everyone sounds so good! All the cast members have different voices and qualities to offer but we are beginning to blend together very well. There are many harmonies to learn in the group numbers and I was definitely having a little trouble finding my part right away! I know I will be working on my harmony parts on my own, and I know the other cast members will as well. When working on any theatre production it is very important to go home and work on your songs and dialogue on you own time. That makes it easier on the director and you can get a lot more accomplished at rehearsal if you always come prepared. On our first music rehearsal I was feeling a little under-the-weather and coughing up a storm while I was trying to sing, and Chrissy, one of our stage managers was sweet enough to fill up my empty water bottle for me. It was very nice of her and helpful because I stopped coughing as much once I had the water.
Our next rehearsal is tomorrow, Sunday May 4th. We will continue learning songs and perfecting the harmonies, and of course, getting to know one another. This was a very long post, and I will try to post more frequent and shorter blogs in the future. It's finals time at Davidson College right now, so bear with me!
Talk to you soon!
Suzanne
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