One show down...

Magic Flute opened and closed this weekend.  Whew... what a weekend.  It has always saddened me to do all this work for one weekend of performances.  But the cast was amazing!!!  Tonight was a sold out performance.  Completely maxed out.  We even added more chairs.  What a way to end the experience of beautiful music.  If you are unfamiliar with The Magic Flute, look it up.  It's okay, I'll wait while you do.  All done?  Great!  Now that you are up to speed...Why were you not familiar with it!?!?!  Mozart knew his stuff.  The way he writes for the instruments and for the voice!!! How?!?!?  Seriously, it is so natural and so fluid.  Get thee hence to itunes or your nearest Mega-Bookstore and purchase a copy.  Or borrow one from the library.

Cemetery Club begins tech rehearsals this weekend.  I have to focus the lights tomorrow night and then we just wait until the new light controller that we ordered to arrive and then I can program the lighting cues.  Luckily, there aren't that many light changes. The only "difficult" changes come in the cemetery.  And only during Act 1.  All three ladies are on stage conversing with their deceased husbands at once.  The conversations do not pause but continue through the other monologues.  It will be interesting to see the finished product.  If we can sell some tickets.  But small town...we wait until the last minute to do anything.  Maybe tickets will start selling on Monday.

Annie has a company meeting scheduled for Monday afternoon.  Hopefully we can get people to commit to this production.  Going to hang out with Peter and the new roomie David for a bit.  There was talk of Smash Bros.  And then I am heading to bed.  I am going to church with ReShale and Katie tomorrow.  Let's see how that turns out.  I will post some vids from Magic Flute when I return to town.

It's Crunch Time!

This week begins the crazy schedule of shows for me.  Magic Flute opens on Friday.  The cast does their dress rehearsal this evening.  I was so blessed to have the opportunity to do this show.  I did additional staging for the opera.  Had two rehearsals with the cast. I don't need to worry about them.  So, I just get to sit back and enjoy those performances.

I have spent the past two days here in "the city" going to rehearsals, shows, and prop shopping.  But this afternoon I am making the drive back home to attend Annie rehearsals and my first Cemetery Club rehearsal with my leading man.  Cemetery opens in 3 weeks.  Tech starts two weeks from now!!  Aaaach!!!!!!!  Cemtery runs for a three week engagement; then two weeks later Annie opens.

My weekend in Fresno was fun.  I stayed with Peter and Chris and their new roomie, David.  Started to get to know David.  He seems like a really cool guy.  He likes to play WOW... I guess everyone needs to have a vice.

I went and saw The Producers at RR last night.  Overall it was a good show.  Doubt that I will be sharing all of my thoughts though...ask me about it sometime.

I must go and get ready to make my journey home.  But first, I am going to swing by FPU to see my good friend Becky.  I used to love reading her blog singininthekitchen.blogspot.com but she is such a busy lady she doesn't do it anymore.  Bummer. I am looking forward to catching up with her.

Watch Out Divas, there is a new Queen in Town

I promised I would post a few videos from Magic Flute and have taken so long to post them!  I am truly sorry.  Here is a video of our amazing "Queen of the Night", Katharine Holloway, who will undoubtedly be making a name for herself.  Wow.  And she wants to be a teacher!  We need more people like her in our classrooms!
No, not THAT aria.  This is No. 4 Recitative and Aria, Queen of the Night, The Magic Flute.  This is the Queen's first appearance in the opera when she charges Tamino and Papageno with saving her daughter from the fiendish Sarastro.

     

Ignore the mistakes, this was a rehearsal!  AMAZING... can't get enough.  Really wish that I could have gotten THAT aria to share with you.  We are rehearsing on Saturday so I will post one on Monday when I get home.

The entire cast is phenom! Did you read that?  The ENTIRE CAST!  What?!?!  So get out there and watch it! 

FPU Vocal Performance Workshop presents
Mozart's "The Magic Flute"
February 26 and 27
7:30 PM
559-453-2267

So much to do, so much to see...

It took forever to come with a title for today's post....in fact, I am currently writing this post without a title.  I thought that I would share some images with the blogosphere of Cemetery Club rehearsals and the set. I spent my three day weekend painting; I would still be painting but I was told there would be rehearsal this evening...that is yet to be seen.  I took this photo with my phone this evening so please excuse the quality.  We open in less than a month!!!!  Aaaach.  There are so many things that still need to be done.  I still haven't been able to get one of my actors to confirm that he is doing the show.  "I'm doing it," he says but has not made a rehearsal or given me times that he can make rehearsal.  He is an excellent performer but I fear I may have to find a replacement.  And it may end up being me...I DO NOT want to act in a show that I am directing.  Not to mention the 40 year age difference between myself and two of the female leads. 

At the Bucks

I am at my office, read Starbucks, chatting it up with Jack and Rory.  Correction, Jack and I are chatting.  Rory thinks that I hate him and therefore has retreated behind his earphones.  I never get to see Jack anymore, he has gone off to college and never get to chat with him.

In other news...

Still doing Annie, ran the rehearsal for the first 30 minutes this evening.  It was really nice.  I allowed them to go ahead and play the scene to the end then went back and fixed problems.  It was a much nicer way to run the scene.

Well, off to bed.  I have a bunch of things to do tomorrow.

Coming to you live...

...from Annie rehearsals.  Borrowed the office laptop and currently playing on the internet!  Well, by playing I mean that I am blogging.  To bring joy to you, my dear readers.  Our rehearsals are scheduled in hour long blocks per scene.  Which equals huge snooze fest for the creative team.  So, here I am typing away.  Had a lovely blog for you all...then without thinking I installed a flash update for youtube and restarted the browser; which of course deleted what I had for you.

Short Version:

Directing a production of Magic Flute at my alma mater.  Got that job on Sunday and had my first rehearsal Monday evening.  4 hours of blocking and characterization.  This is going to be an amazing production.  All of the singers are phenomenal!   Truly. I will post a video of the Queen of the Night later on tonight.  Amazing!

Got a part time job with the Parks and Recreation District.  Working Tuesday and Thursday evenings making sure the youth basketball kids don't destroy the gym.

Still doing Annie. People don't know how to show up on time!