Tag Archives: theatre

Conclusions to the spring

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piano.jpgWell, I took my last final today (I only had two, of course). We did a scene from Terra Nova. It went pretty well.

It’s also the end of the school year. All, well, most of the kids will scatter to parts unknown to chill out for a couple of months or get a job or take more classes at a school closer to home.

I’ve met a lot of great people since August of last year. I’ve been in several shows with them. I traveled to NYC with them. I’ve partied with them. I’ve laughed and talked and laughed.

And I’ll miss them.

I’m doubly sad ’cause there’s a really good chance M will be leaving me too. It would be nice if we had a chance for “us” time this summer since the last semester has been so crazy for both of us that we haven’t had much time together. But she’ll probably be interning somewhere. There’s nothing definite yet, but she’s got a couple of leads. She really needs to intern for her career and I support her in that.

But it’s gonna be lonely at home this summer.

Luckily, there’s the summer musical at SCT. I love my SCT peeps. I’m really looking forward to it. Auditions are in a couple of weeks. My first ever stage audition was for the musical last summer. Read about it in part 1 and part 2.

I still can’t believe how much I have learned since then. I’ve had three acting classes from two great teachers. I’ve been in several different kinds of shows. It has been so great. I still don’t know how I didn’t ever start acting/performing sooner.

I was talking to one of my new friends today after the advanced acting final and she couldn’t believe that Story Theatre last November was the first play that I ever did in my life. We didn’t know each other at the time and so it was very self-esteem-boosting to hear that she remembered my performance and thought I was an old-hand and also considering she’s a very good actress herself.

Who knows what the future holds? It’s exciting and I can’t wait.

Runnin’ With Scissors no more

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I forgot to mention that we had an improv show on Sunday the 30th. I hosted for the first time. I think the show went really well.

We are no longer known as Runnin’ With Scissors. We decided to change our name because of name space collision. Namely, there’s a book and a movie with the same name and also a performance group out of Chicago with the same name. Not to mention other more personal reasons among some in the group.

So we are now known as the Lab Rats. See, we started out and mainly perform in the lab theatre of McComas hall. So…now we’re spreading the comedic plague or or searching for the comedic cheese or maybe doing experimental comedy.

I didn’t get to perform in this show as an improver but it was fun hosting. I did get to play Questions, where you can only improv a scene using questions. If you repeat yourself or say a statement, you’re out and the next person steps in. We had two teams and I put out 4 or 5 of the other team. It was fun.

So we’re done for the semester. We are planning to host a comedy festival next semester. The first one in Mississippi as far as I know. We’ll be working on it over the summer and will invite comedy troupes from all over the southeast.

I’m off tonight from Smoke on the Mountain. The only break I get until the show wraps on the 6th. I think I’m going to the MSU choir concert tonight and do some quality couch sitting.

Anthony Rapp in Starkville

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anthony_rapp.jpgIf you are in the area, do not miss Anthony Rapp on Tuesday the 25th. You might remember Rapp from his younger days in Adventures in Babysitting or Dazed and Confused. Of course, he is most well known for originating the role of Mark Cohen in Rent.

He is being brought in by the university honors program. He will be talking about his book, Without You. I just recently read it (thanks Laura). It was a good read and he puts it all out there.

The theatre department gets him during the afternoon for a monologue workshop. I’m taking the afternoon off from work so that I can attend.

I’m pretty excited about the whole thing. I didn’t know the first thing about Rent until the movie came out late last year. I saw it three times. I saw Rent on broadway when I went to NYC over the winter break.

Rapp will be speaking in McComas hall at 7:00pm (I’m pretty sure anyway). Make it if you can.

Second night (follow up to Opening night)

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Well. Second night. Night and day for me. Night and day.

Just a few hours after writing the previous entry I went on as Dennis Sanders and IT WAS SO AWESOME. Now, I’m not saying I owned the stage or anything like that. What I’m saying is that as soon as we got on stage, it just felt right.

I didn’t feel like I was generating external appearances to reflect the inner character. I was Dennis and whatever I did was right. I couldn’t make a wrong choice because I was Dennis.

Not that I didn’t stay in the moment and in character 100% of the time but it was such a different feeling than last night and it was great. A real breakthrough, I think.

I don’t know how it came across to the audience but it had to be better than last night. I don’t know why it was different, maybe writing the previous post was cathartic in a way. It just felt so much more comfortable.

Woo.

Well I hope every performance is this way. We don’t go again until a rehearsal on Monday and a performance on Wednesday.

Opening night

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was last night. Overall the show went really well. The audience laughed the whole way through and we received a standing ovation at the end. There were a few bumps along the way but nothing major. We had to get used to waiting for laughter before continuing dialogue and other things like that.

I’m continually amazed at the talent that I’m surrounded by on stage. Everyone has years and in some cases decades of stage and acting experience. Some are trained professionals and some have been active at SCT for over 20 years. They seem to totally own the characters and are just great to watch.

And then there’s me. I stepped on the stage for the first time a little over half a year ago. I’m really happy to have had all the opportunities that I’ve had in that short time. I’ve gotten a good bit of stage experience and learned a lot from my teachers (one is also a cast mate). But I feel like I’m struggling to keep up with the rest of the cast.

Now I’m sure they would all tell you that I’m doing great and I’m silly to feel this way ’cause they’re nice, supportive people and I appreciate all their support. I know I have some natural ability and talent or else I wouldn’t have been cast. But, you see, everything I do and have done in the world of theatre and acting is new, unchartered territory for me. I don’t know how I should feel about my connection to my character at this point. I don’t know how it feels to be completely connected to a part; maybe I’ve been there before but I’m not sure.

It’s weird, but my last show I played a grave robber and I had a hard time during rehearsals finding that character. The closer to the opening of the show, the more confident I became until I felt pretty good about it. In this show, I felt a closer connection to the character starting off but as we’ve gone along, I’ve become less confident on the monologue (the main portion of my speaking in the show is a monologue).

For the other actors out there, does being confident in your choices that they are the right choices become easier? Does it just come with experience and training? I understand that sometimes you can connect with a character quickly and easily and other times not so much. But do you ever get to the point when you can consistently say “I’ve got this nailed?”

With all that said, the director has been great and has let me play with different options and given me feedback on what she thinks. I appreciate her support, I just hate not being able to say “This is the best I can do.”

Ok, that’s my self-conscious rambling for today. I’m generally a self confident person, but this has been on my mind.

It goes up this week

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smokemtnWhat do you mean “it?” IT! The show! Sheesh.

We ran the show for the first time last night. We also had our first mini-audience and if their reaction and laughter-reddened faces are any indication let me say that you will not want to miss this show. It will be a HOOT.

The music’s good, the comedy’s good, heck, it’s all good. I like pickles, but by the end of this show I may not anymore. Make your reservations to find out what I mean.

662-323-6855 or email

To reserve a seat, please call the box office at 662-323-6855 and leave your name and phone number, the number of seats you would like to reserve, the performance date you would like to attend, and – if you know – the row and seat numbers you would like. Someone will call you back to confirm your request.

Smoke on the Mountain features the talented cast of Madeline Golden, Kevin Kern, Bruce Lesley, Kary Rogers, Paul Ruff, Krista Vowell and Molly Watkins.

Show dates:

Thursday, April 20
Friday, April 21
Friday, April 28
Saturday, April 29
Sunday, April 30
Tuesday, May 2
Wednesday, May 3
Thursday, May 4
Friday, May 5
Saturday, May 6

From Samuel French:
The year is 1938. It’s Saturday night in Mount Pleasant, NC, and the Reverend Oglethorpe has invited the Sanders Family Singers to provide an upliftin’ evening of singin’ and witnessin’. The audience is invited to pull up a pew and join in the rollicking good time. More than two dozen songs, many of them vintage pop hymns, and hilarious stories from the more or less devout Sanders provide a richly entertaining evening that has audiences clapping, singing, laughing and cheering.

“Totally beguiling … foot stomping soul food.“– N.Y. Post.

“Wildly funny…. So well written that I found myself laughing, rooting for the family, and singing along and clapping with the rest of the audience.“– Trentonian.

“A sophisticated audience went simply wild.“– Philadelphia Daily News.

“A charming and funny celebration of Americana.“—N.Y. Times.

A Comedy Tonight!

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forum.gifI just got back from watching Theatre MSU’s production of “A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum.” And I Had A Ball.

This was most likely the funniest play I’ve ever attended. I know the cast, crew and directors have put an amazing amount of time and sweat into the production and it all paid off tonight.

I know most of the cast as I’ve either been in a show with them or taken a class with them or they’re in Runnin’ With Scissors with me. They are really talented and it was so much fun watching them have a good time on stage.

From Will Cooper’s physical comedy in the lead role as Pseudolus to Gabe Smith’s commedia dell’arte skills as Captain Miles Gloriosus to Scott Brinkley’s sharp comedic timing as Senex, the cast is outstanding.

I knew before I even paid for my ticket and sat in my seat that the show would be good. The director is Kevin P. Kern. I took my first acting class from him. He was the director for the children’s show that I did in the fall, Story Theatre. I’m taking another class from him this semester and I’m doing a show with him at the community theatre. See, I know he got skillz.

The band was good as well. Live music makes everything better, in my opinion.

There are so many jokes, you’ve got to be on your toes to catch them all. You’ll be laughing the whole way through.

If you are in the area, you’ve got tomorrow night the 7th and Saturday night the 8th to catch the show. You won’t be disappointed. Shows start at 7:30pm in McComas Hall and tickets can be bought at the door.

Smokin’

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smokemtnI can’t remember if I ever mentioned this, but I got cast in the next SCT show. I was totally sick and drained during auditions but I apparently I did well enough. Here’s how it went down.

We had to sing a song and do readings from the script. There were 20-something people that auditioned and they were seven parts to fill, three female and four male. I figured there was only one part that I had a chance at being cast in due to the ages of the other parts and I was pretty sure that I wasn’t going to get it due to the talent at the auditions. And I was right, I didn’t get the part of the late-twenties preacher, I got the part of the 17 year old twin.

Turns out the director didn’t stick real close to what the script said about ages, and that’s fine with me!

The play is Smoke on the Mountain. It’s a musical comedy set during the 1930’s in a Baptist church for a Saturday night singing. The preacher has hired the Sanders family, who are a traveling gospel group. I’m Dennis, one of the twins. Denise (Molly Watkins) is my twin sister. There’s Burl (Paul Ruff) – the father, Vera (Madeline Golden) – his wife, Stanley (Kevin P. Kern) – his brother and June (Krista Vowell) – the other daughter. Bruce Lesley is playing Pastor Oglethorpe. Pattye Archer is the director, she directed the summer musical revue that was so much fun last year. Alison Stamps is the AD.

We started rehearsals this week and have music bootcamp this weekend. I have to play the upright bass, guitar, banjo and piano. This is going to be a great show to be a part of and I’m very excited. When it gets closer to opening night, I’ll post the dates so you can make your ticket reservations.

Terror By Gaslight

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After six weeks of rehearsing and set building, we open tonight. Show dates are Feb 23rd – Feb 26th and Feb 28th – Mar 4th. Shows start at 7:30pm except for the 2:00pm Sunday matinee. Call 662-323-6855 for reservations.

This is my first regular season production with Starkville Community Theatre. Last summer, as you may recall, was my first time on stage. I participated in SCT’s summer muscial revue. It was so much fun, I couldn’t wait to get back on stage at SCT.

This show has a fairly large cast of 12. Everybody is great and a pleasure to work with. Unfortunately, we’ve all been getting sick one-by-one. I had mine a couple weeks ago and every night when we come into rehearsal someone new is sick. Hopefully we’ll be able to push through and come off with a grand show. I think we will.

The director, Lyle, and his assistant director, Ellen, have been great and have made it a very easy and fun experience. They know what they want and communicate it clearly to the cast and crew. We’ve all had a lot of fun putting this show together and you can’t ask for more.

Come on out soon (tonight is sold out) and enjoy the show. I imagine you will jump in your seat at least once.