Our Pirate Ship is almost Ship-shape!

We are winding down our set-build and our fearless leader, Mark Duska (Eastern University’s theatre tech director) has designed and created a fantastic pirate ship set for our latest Winter Sort of Thing: All Hands on Deck.

Here’s a few images of last night’s set build. Thanks as always to our parent and community volunteers who came out and helped to make this the best show ever!

Check out the massive platform construction on this set!

Don’t kid yourself, those stairs are steep! (But extremely safe for our young actors!)

This picture is the view from the very top and very back of the stage – Our “Captain’s Deck” if you will

Just to show you how far down it really is from the top.

The tools of the trade – hand drills! And another hair-raising view of the height of the set. Imagine, in just under a month’s time, there will be singing and dancing going on up here.

Release the presses!

Our official press release hits the stands today. Send it along to all friends and family. You can link to the PDF here.

Press release All Hands on Deck

Additionally, you can link to a school-ready flyer at this link: Download printible discount coupons here

A Winter Break from A Winter Sort of Thing

This past weekend was a big one for the cast and crew of All Hands On Deck. Sunday we had our first “stumble through” of the show, which means it was the first time the cast attempted to perform the play from beginning to end, knowing that there would be some scenes that need a little work, some that need a lot of work, and some that haven’t even been staged yet and will have to be addressed in the new year!

It was a long day, but necessary to see where we are at in terms of being ready to put on a terrific show in a month.On the whole, the cast and the production staff were able to walk away encouraged by how smoothly and quickly the day ran. Everyone was able to hang in and work together, and the show is well on its way to being phenomenal!

Because of the holidays, we get to take a few days off between now and our next rehearsal, but that doesn’t mean the work gets to stop! Last night and tonight some gracious volunteers have been working tirelessly to get the set built on Eastern’s stage. The actors will spend the next two weeks memorizing their lines, listening to CDs to learn the songs, and practicing their dance moves. The production staff will discuss a game plan about what scenes and songs need the most attention when we come back together. The costume and prop designers will do a lot of shopping, borrowing, and making. A new musical of this size and quality will only come together with all hands on deck!

Captain’s Blog: Just Follow Me

Ahoy there, scallywags! Captain Gertrude Malovolio Papadopoulos at your service. Aye aye, that’s my name and tricks are my game!

As captain of Her Majesty’s Ship The Scattershot, it is my purpose to bring joy and laughter into the world in the form of madcap mayhem. If you’ve ever slipped on a banana peel, tripped over a misplaced object, or had something fall on your head, then you may be familiar with my work. I assure you, it’s all in good fun.

In order to ensure that the entire world has the benefit of my work, I’ve recently had to employ some new tricksters, and let me tell you, it took a bit of convincing on my part. However, I am always up to a challenge, and with a little song, a little dance, and a whole lot of charm, they were able to see what bountiful adventures they have in store. You too can join us for high seas high jinx, if you just follow me!

New website ready

Our website for this year’s Winter Sort of Thing, “All Hands on Deck” is ready for you to come and use. At this site you can:

• Reserve tickets
• Check out what to expect
• Find out more about our show
• Sponsor the Winter Sort of Thing

And tell your friends!

www.wintersortofthing.com

Opening night!

Tonight is opening night! We all hope you can join us at some point during our run.

Times:
Thursday, 2-3-11, 7pm
Friday, 2-4-11, 11:30am & 7pm
Saturday, 2-5-11, 1pm & 7pm
Sunday, 2-6-11, 1pm

Tickets:
$10-general admission
$8-under 12/seniors
$5-college ID

Location:
Eastern University McInnis Auditorium

S’now No!

“What do you do when the temperature drops and the snowflakes start to swirl?”

So begins the very first song of our very first Winter Sort of Thing. When you name your show the “Winter Sort of Thing,” you are asking the gods of irony to make sure it’s as wintry a process as it can be. Every year we think we know what we’re in for from Mother Nature, after all she’s a character from our shows, but every year there’s always something she brings that throws us for a loop. This year is no different.

For our show a few years ago, “The Clean Green Machine” we had a snow day on our last dress rehearsal! We went ahead with the opening night and, although a little sluggish, the show was fantastic.

This year, we lost a day to snow early in December. Then, the past two days have been so bad here weather-wise that we’ve had to cancel those as well. Who makes those decisions, you ask? Well, it’s a very scientific process and we consult all the Philadelphia weather people from the different channels, then run the information through a rigorous matrix of possibilities, then make the call around 3pm for an evening rehearsal.

OK, maybe that’s a little exaggerated. What really happens is: the producers and the director (Brooke, Mark and Jake in this instance) talk the evening before, when snow is in the forecast. Then, they call each other while the snow is falling and see the street clean up process. (Most of our cast comes out to our suburban theatre rehearsal space from areas within the Philadelphia city limits, so the condition of the road is almost always more important than what’s falling at the time.) After that, they contact Eastern University and see if they have canceled classes for the day. With all of those factors in mind, they make the hard decision to cancel rehearsal, if necessary.

This past snow storm system had all of us fooled (especially the weather experts on TV) and so we were unprepared, but found it necessary to cancel rehearsal two days in a row. Now, I am sure you realize that we would have some snow days built into the schedule! And sure enough Jake, Brooke and Mark all were prepared for this contingency. So, we’re back to rehearsing and ready for the next step in our journey.

Now it’s up to you! We’re doing our part to be ready for you, so now you need to get on-line and reserve your tickets at our website at www.wintersortofthing.com or call our office at 215-951-0330 x2117

A pic from Eastern University’s Facebook page:

Our theatre building in the snow