Well, for those of you who live in Canada, I hope you had a fabulous day! I did... and I didn't even go anywhere :) It was the first actual day off I've had in a few weeks. Well, let me backtrack... I have had weekends off and the occasional day during the week from TUTS, but when I'm not at TUTS I'm working on Metro Theatre's publicity and ideas. Today was the first day I stayed at home and was not going to lift a theatrical finger.... but that didn't quite happen. I actually got a lot of computer stuff done for Metro's first show of the new season, Up and Coming, which opens at the end of August. Granted, I'm doing stuff early... and there's a good reason for that. Once the TUTS shows open down in the park, I am going to have even less hours at home... and when I am at home, I will more than likely be sleeping :) So the more I have done ahead of time for Up and Coming, the better because then I just have to send out News Releases and Opening Night invitations... I won't actually have to create anything :)
But the next two shows are TUTS productions of Annie and Thoroughly Modern Millie. For those of you in the Vancouver area, or within driving distance to Stanley Park, I highly recommend you come catch a show. And no, I can't even say which one I would recommend first... they both are going to be excellent!
The casts moved into the theatre this past weekend... and that's when it hits you that we are actually going to mount two full Broadway musicals at the same time... with them playing on alternate nights. Two totally different casts, two totally different Production teams, and two totally different sets!! For anyone with any theatre techie experience, imagine not only having the sets for one show where you have to have somewhere to put the different pieces/wagons/flats/scrims, etc. while the show is going on... but now you have TWO productions of sets to work around. While Annie is being performed, the Millie set is stored backstage and vice versa.
Ok, to show you what I'm involved in, I'm going to upload a bunch of photos I took this past weekend. Saturday was Annie and yes, we got rain, so it was a tad chilly to say the least. Sunday was Millie and the weather was gorgeous! On Saturday, I took my camera with me but forgot to pack the spare battery. When I went to take the first picture, I found out I only had a 1/4 cell of the battery left. Grrrr! So I'll be going back to an Annie rehearsal to get more photos.
Here we go...
Here we are.... where the magic all happens! The stage is called Malkin Bowl, because it's situated in a bowl/dip in the park. Thank goodness for the tech tent... it works for protecting people from the hot sun during the day, or in the case of Saturday, from the rain :)
This one cracked me up. It's like Terry (blue/white shirt), the Production Manager is asking James, the President/GM if he thinks things are going alright, and James thinking about it and saying, "Ya, I think it's going good". Meanwhile, Francesca, who is my heroine, is ignoring both and keeping an eye on the movement of the sets. Francesca is the Set Designer for BOTH shows, so not only does she have to design fabulous sets, she has to design them, knowing there's only so much space backstage and both shows sets have to be there, no matter which show is on. Yayaya Francesca!!
My Buddy, Shel, who is the director of Thoroughly Modern Millie and also is the Vice President of TUTS, is being interviewed for a television program (I forget which one).
The orphans in Annie!! Are they not just too adorable?? But don't let their cute factor distract you... they all are super talented young girls!
Here we have the household help in Daddy Warbuck's mansion. Notice the front of the stage is wet? That can be very dangerous for the cast if/when they have to play down front. But they are trained to fudge it when they have to.
Yes, here she is! Our wonderfully talented Michelle who is playing the title role of Annie. This little 9-year old girl is a powerhouse of talent and is going to do the role justice.
Here Annie is with Daddy Warbucks and Grace. She looks soooo small compared to them!
Ok, this is a somewhat artsy shot... a picture of the stage, lit up with stage lights, but with it quite wet outside.
Ok, it's now Sunday. The rain has gone and the sun is out... and it's now warm again! Yayayaya! Here are two of my favourite kids and since there is a group of us who are all one big happy family, these are my kids too :)
Chris and his orchestra... who are all in the orchestra pit under the stage. Chris is the Music Director and conductor of Thoroughly Modern Millie.
Naveen, Treasurer of TUTS, hard at work (grin) either texting me, or emailing... even though I'm right there beside him (chuckle).
Young Emily and young Stephanie... both in the cast of Millie :)
Ahhhh... and this is what is going to be so special about this show! Even without the proper sets/lighting yet, the number is fantastic. Diana, who plays the role of Millie is perfect! Mind you, she played the role of Dorothy on Broadway and when the show went on tour, she played the role of Millie, which is the role she's playing for us :)
Here's a close up of the lovely, adorable Millie (Diana).
Another somewhat artsy photo... I took this from the orchestra pit. This is the view the conductor would have, although he also has a monitor or two in the pit to watch them on the screen since he can' see the whole stage.
And then there's the comedic characters in the show (played by Aaron, Sarah and Danny)
This is also very cute! Chris, the Music Director/Conductor, had to play the piano after the orchestra was let go for the evening. So Chris got on the keyboards and Danny, one of the leads (he plays Jimmy) jumped in to conduct (grin).
And then there's Miss B. Hehehe... she was being a bit of a brat earlier... she didn't want to sit on a plastic chair but she also didn't want to sleep on the grass. That was beneath her... only dogs lay down on the grass and she does not see herself as a dog! So, back up to the office I went and got her bed. Once she had her bed and blanket, she was perfectly happy to behave and watch the rehearsal.
There's no business like show business full of glitz and glamour! Nancy (as Muzzie) and her guys and gals :)Well, I think that's more than enough pictures for one entry... but there are so many fun ones! I, of course, have tons more :) But this is just to give you a taste of why you will never find me at home and it's not just a couple of days a week but has turned into 7 days/week and will continue to until Aug 22nd :)
Do I have anything else to report? Hmmm... nothing that I could fit in to a couple of sentences. There's the whole media circus around Michael Jackson's death. I know everyone has an opinion and some do not feel at all sorry for him and others who do not believe the tabloid circus that has surrounded that man/child all his life. I'm in the camp where I just don't believe he did what he was accused of. I'm not saying he wasn't odd/eccentric... he certainly was. His idea of "appropriate" and society's were very, very different. But to go into the why don't I believe he's guilty of child molestation would take a whole blog entry on it's own. Suffice it to say, I think the world has lost a mega talent and yes, I think he definitely is an icon... one that is as big as Judy Garland, Princess Di and Elvis Presley... maybe in some ways he is even bigger because not only has he had the media around him since he was a child (like Judy) he also has the scandal and oddities around him as well. It's amazing the media are going on and on and on about him... more so than other celebrity deaths. But I really do think it's because he has all this mystery around him, mystery and scandal and his extreme talent. I don't think the media are going to let go of this for some time to come.
Ooops... it's after midnight now. I guess I'm not going to get the baking done that I was going to do ;) Oh well!!
Cheerio for now!
Cheryl
