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.

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Boring money meetings

Well, there might possibly not be anything less interesting than a budget meeting about a musical, but it is an important part of the overall process. This morning the producers, Brooke Sexton for Yes! And… and Mark Hallen for Eastern University Theatre sat down with Jake Miller, director, and Mark Duska, technical director along with Michael Brix the marketing director for a chat about finances. Also in attendance were Ella, aged 9mo and Elias, 4 years old. (That’s how a family oriented company is run!)

With that motley crew assembled, what couldn’t get done?

Perhaps the only thing more boring than meeting about money is blogging about money! But we talked through the budget and how we were going to split the costs, and how much we were looking to make from ticket sales. Because you don’t make any money until after you spend it, we talked about who was going to cover which part of the bill. (It’s also worth noting that YOU can help by making a quick donation to the cause. Info is on our website at  http://www.yesandcamp.org/.)

A common topic of these meetings is when the director says, “I would like to…” (fill in crazy, usually expensive, idea here) and the producers say, “Not a chance can you fill the stage with ice so the actors can ice skate throughout the show.” Maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point.

So, what if you were the director? What crazy idea could you come up with for our show that (maybe) would cost a ton of money, but ultimately look awesomely cool? (You know an all ice skating show would be awesome!)

Share your ideas in the comments below.

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One Week Till…

… Showtime!!!!

(*Note – this blog contains snippets and pictures. They are not necessarily related!)

Whether practicing scenes on stage, learning new choreography in the hallways, perfecting songs in the lobby, or running lines in classrooms, we are racing toward the finish line at full speed ahead! Reworking scenes so that our villain can pursue her devilish schemes from a wheelchair? No problem! (Check out our last post if you don’t know that story.)

Jamilia, who plays an Ill Fate (the folks in charge of keeping random events hurtling through the universe) is anxious and excited about finishing the choreography for the Tango. “It’s when the Fates and Ill Fates come together and have an argument and dance at the same time. It’s awesome but we still have work to do!”

Our student Assistant Stage Manager, Trevor (who also has a cameo on a skateboard), reports, “We have a lot to work on, but we’ll get it done. We need to finish the set and work on a few scenes. But I’m excited because lots of my family and friends are coming.”

There’s no arguing that there’s plenty of hard work ahead of us over the next 7 days, but we’re fearlessly facing the challenge. Can’t wait to see you all at the show!

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New rehearsal video!

In this rehearsal clip, the “tribe” sings about changing things in the present to save the Future. Behind them, the cast works with  (pre-ankle accident!) Anna, the choreographer, on the movement for the song.

Words by Brooke Sexton, music by Sarah C. Butts-Manzo

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Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year! The cast and crew of AWSOT started the new year right – with our first rehearsal on Eastern University’s stage! A few cast members were asked to share a few words about arriving at the space where we’ll be performing in less than a month (woah).

Their assignment: Share THREE words describing what it’s like to finally be rehearsing at Eastern, TWO words telling their favorite aspect of today’s rehearsal, and ONE word explaining what their character is thinking in the scene we rehearsed today.

Their answers:

Micah Getz (Freshman boy)
3 – Interesting And Fun
2 – Learning, Acting
1 – “Run!”

Daysha Gregory (Screamer girl)
3 – Exciting And Adventurous
2 – Character, Setting
1 – “Hype-ness!”

Jonah Getz (Band member)
3 – Fun, Interesting, Active
2 – Acting, Thinking
1 – “Band!”

Rolanphie Galan (Band member)
3 – I Like It!
2 – Learned Lots
1 – “Music!”

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