Author: theactorvist

I love the Theatre. It's my church. It's my joy. I have been performing in plays and musicals for over half of my life, and I would be lost without it. Now more than ever, people are cutting back on everything that is too expensive or unimportant to their lives. As an actor, heck as a person, I don't know of anything that is more important than the arts. Art reflects history. It shows humanity at its worst but also its best. Every day some artistic program is getting cut from a school or a great show goes unseen. Maybe a talented singer isn't able to audition for American Idol. There are a ton of people who live in the South Bay Area of California, who go unseen or unheard. There are many production companies that are just bursting with talent, but people don't see the shows. I will do my best to bring you interviews with local artists of every kind, send out the call for local companies looking to cast people in productions, and much more. Stay tuned because this is only the beginning.

Costumes…

Well, the costume fittings were MADNESS!  Madness, I say.  On Wednesday, the cast tried on the costumes for the show.  Huge thanks to Carol Clever.  She took what is thought to be a deceptively minimal look show, and gave it a realistic type of look. What’s difficult is that most productions  just want the sparkle  because it looks great.  My thoughts are that we would have a better connection with the audience and the text if we go for a more realistic look.  It will have a bigger emotional impact in the second act as well if you are truly listening to what is being said.  It was such a challenge to imagine what these things would look like on stage with colored lights and the stage set and dressing, I’ll have to admit.   What I found the most amazing was how much input that I, little ol’ me, had in this whole process.  Incredibly, the director, Bill Starr, and I have the same vision for the show.  Yay!!  I am excited that my thought process, even in spite of my limited training, runs along the same track as this intense man that I have learned several things from.  Now just to let you know, that when I say limited training, I mean actual school training, I am always reading books and learning the theatre craft. Back to the outfits.

Some of the looks needed to be tweaked.  All of the looks need alterations though.  I feel horrible because it’s a lot of work for our costume designer, and so I and several other cast members like Victoria and Beth Ann (by way of Brett) have offered our help to make the show look as good as it can.

My fav is the Frug outfits.  Still working on the hair.  The wigs were fresh out of the box and just plopped on the ladies heads.

Melinda puts 'tude in her go-go boots!

Patty Reinhart is dangerous in her go-go outfit!
Patty Reinhart is dangerous in Frug outfit

These are going to be made shorter to give you more leg.  Hot. HOT! I tell ya.  For the men, there are some things being fixed.  They will be wearing a tux shirt and pants with a bow tie and  flounce accents on their sleeves.  Here’s what my trio is wearing.  I think that the vinyl vest for the men is so sleek.

Valerie is rocking the Union Jack!!
Valerie is aloof and rocking the Union Jack!!!

Act 1 opens in the park with varying degrees of 60’s looks.  Here are just a couple

Heather Schweitzer vogues in her 60’s look
Andrea looks like she’s ready for school.
Ben makes a tiny tribute to another Bob Fosse show.  Can you name it?

For Rhythm of Life, there wasn’t a lot to look at on Wednesday.  We had several tops, but not completed outfits.  So I can’t quite bring you a true look for that number but it should be colorful.  But I’m A Brass Band will be faboo!

Always immersed in the role, Ian Teter models the Brass Band outfit

I am leaving the Big Spender costumes out because there’s gotta be something to surprise you when you see the show.  I just wanted to give you a little sneak peak before the show.  You may think that these looks are plain, but keep in mind the lights, and all the stuff that’s going to be on stage to add colors.  I can’t wait for the day we set foot on that stage with the sets in the theatre.  I think that’s when everything is going to click, and I can have a refreshed perspective of the show.

Cleaning up a dance…

Charity (Katie O'Bryon) and Oscar (Michael Carey) share a moment on the ferris wheel.
Charity (Katie O'Bryon) & Oscar (Michael Carey) share a moment

In an ideal world, I would love to be able to focus on one dance for every clean up that we have scheduled.  But as is the case with theatre, it never feels like there’s enough time.

Yes, we are all blocked and choreographed, but the cleaning of it takes so much longer than I always expect that it would.

Last night, we cleaned  Brass Band, Cry at Weddings and Rhythm of Life.  The latter two are pretty traditional musical theatre style dancing, and when you see them you will know what I mean.  There are Fosse-esque elements added to keep with the feel of the rest of the numbers.  Well, Weddings and Rhythm are looking very, very good (I need to make a very minor change to Rhythm once I find out about the lighting), but Brass Band was my major concern.  It’s going to be a great number, and I am not just saying that, but whew-eee when I saw it at a run though on Saturday, I swear I was going to hyperventilate.  I’d say that two maybe three people remembered most of what they were doing, and everyone else looked at each other with confusion written all over their faces.  With the director watching this hot mess scatter across the stage, I could tell that the cast felt uncomfortable too.  So, I couldn’t be too mad at them could I?

When we began cleaning up last night, they remembered a lot of the number, but I had to re-teach the second half once more and with the same questions to answer as the first time I taught the steps, we ran out of time to run the number full out two or three times like I had planned. Don’t get me wrong, some great things came out of the run through and the clean ups, but the less that we’d have to clean the more amazing the show will be come opening night.

Until next time, break a leg!

Cast bid Charity good bye

Audition announcement!!

West Valley Light Opera announces the audition dates for

Logo for Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

“Breaking Up Is Hard To Do”

April 3 and April 5.  Times have not been confirmed, but as soon as I know them, you will as well.

For those who don’t know, “Breaking Up…” is a comedy featuring the songs of Neil Sedaka.

The story follows two friends, Lois and Marge,  that set out for good times and romance one Labor Day weekend in a Catskills resort.   Sounds like fun!!

Oh, and this just in…Turns out there is LIMITED seating for Sweet Charity on Sunday March 14 AND Sunday March 21.  Get those tickets now if you are serious about going on one of those days!  Call 408-268-3777 for availability.

Now we begin…

Late Thursday night, I got the news that a theatre company will be nice enough to sponsor my site and podcast and allow me access to all the behind the scenes stuff that the audience doesn’t get the chance to see.  Woo to the Hoo!! The next thing I have to do is contact other theatres and get them to say yes, to my idea.

I am tinkering with site to see if there is something else that I can do to make it POP.
I am trying to make a simple 60 second promo for my podcast.  I am stuck.  I have the ideas, but the wording of it sounds strange to me.
I’ll figure out something, but I just want to get it done.  I already know who my first interview is going to be, I just have to set a time to do it.  In addition, I have the very first song I want to share with people.  (Even if they can’t buy it.  Yet.)

Also, I’d like to take a moment and ask for poetry submissions or a short essay about an experience that you have had watching a performance. The only requirement for the essay is that you write about a work that stayed with you. It could be a painting, a play, a song you heard, or a story, basically something that is creative.
This is an invite to you, yes, you.  I think it’s important that people see that the Arts leave an impression on others and not just me.
Send your submissions to jery@TheActorvist.com.  Yes, that is one “r”.  Long story.

Big Spender…

Hello Patrons!!!

I figure that since enough time has passed, I can post some things about my ideas and concepts for this number in Sweet Charity.  Jeez, where to begin…

I performed Sweet Charity with another local group back in 2000.  I was one of the trio that start the Frug and Daddy Brubeck (after the original guy that was cast for it left the show).  I loved performing in the show not only because it’s great campy fun, but because of the Frug.  However, when it came time for the choreographing of this number, the staff decided that cutting out the middle section of the song was going to be the best way to go.  I was so disheartened by this.  You see, I am a great admirer of Bob Fosse and the unique style that he created.  I jumped at the chance just to perform some of these songs.  Little did I know that I would actually be doing the choreography that was from the movie.  So I guess I have to call it more of a re-staging than actual choreography.   I say this because to choreograph something is to create movements to a piece of sound or music, and to restage is to take something that is already created and teach it to new people.  And at the time, I was okay with that.

Then last year, when I found out about this show, it made me think of all the potential that it could have had.  The direction of the 2000 production was full of gimmicks. The costumes were stunning. And the dancing was fun, but unoriginal.

One night in the beginning of summer, I had a dream where music filled my head.  It was the da dada da da da of the trumpets at the beginning of Big Spender.  I was sitting in the audience, and the dance hall hostesses came down the isle talking to the men with their lines, “Hey good looking you wanna talk? What’s the harm in a little talk?” and all that jazz.  There was this mood of anticipation, excitement and yet unease that hung over the crowd because they were no longer safe in the separation between voyeurs and participants.  They were in the show. This feeling is something that I felt needed to be addressed but it never does.  It’s a great feeling to sit in a show and physically feel the vibe. Bob Fosse was able to create this sort of atmosphere ever so slightly in the movie by utilizing camera shots full of shadows, smoke and lipstick.  Unfortunately, in the amount of time we have in theater, this is not something that can be properly conveyed.

After the proposals, the hostesses head behind the bar (which is cut in the middle) , slightly upstage.  A safer distance from the audience and as they go behind, the bar slams shut behind them, in a small way symbolizing the fact that they are stuck in this life.  Incidentally, Charity isn’t in this number, and if you know the ending, you will know why I believe this would have been a great idea.  Unfortunately, the bars we have aren’t incredibly easy to move, so open they stay.  A small hint to the audience that this show is more than just a comedy about love.  As the hostesses sing the first verse and chorus everything happens behind the bar, but when they ask for some time to be spent with them, the genie is out of the bottle and isn’t secured until the end of the number.  It’s in your face.  It’s sexy.  It’s sassy.  And it’s a little dark.  But hey, they aren’t exactly innocent church ladies are they?

It was when I woke up from this dream that I kept thinking about this show.  I kept thinking, can I actually try to work on this show and create something Fosse-esque?  I thought about it so much that I finally got the nerve to ask the producer.   I started thinking and researching and planning right away even though I had almost 5 months time.  I found old Vogue photos that became my inspiration for some of the poses in the number.  Here are some of my faves:

These models were sexy yet classy.  Yet, I needed something a little more intense.  So the angles of the models are a little sharper and so are the attitudes.
I can’t decide if Big Spender or Rich Man’s Frug is my current favorite.  Although I’m A Brass Band is coming along quite nicely!  So at this point I am torn, and I hope that you are too when you see the show!
Until next time,  break a leg!