Friday, May 1, 2009

HOLY CRAP! How did that happen???

Well, I have to offer some apologies. I have not blogged in a very VERY long time. I guess after "Oliver!" was over I thought to myself, "I should take some time to just get back into my normal routine and maybe take a short break from blogging." Little did I know that I would end up blogless for over a month!

Well, a lot has happened since the last time I blogged, so I will now list all of the major events that I did not blog about:

•There was an extremely tragic event that happened very close to my hometown, in which several people were killed. It happened a few weeks ago, and a lot in my area is still very shaken up about it. One of the people who died happened to be a relative of a friend of mine. I would like to take this opportunity to offer my prayers and sympathies to all of the family members and friends of the victims.

•During a school break, I did a lot of traveling. First, I went to Baltimore/D.C. with the music department from my school, where we performed at a mall, saw a National Symphony Concert, went to the Smithsonian and did several other fun things. Next, I went to New Jersey with Rev. Guinevere to see my grandfather (***Something very big and exciting happened on this trip, but I am not sure how much I can release to the public at this point in time. I will most likely explain this in a few weeks***). Finally, I went on a mission trip with the youth group from my church. We went to a camp to do work for a few days (putting up tents, cleaning out cabins, etc.) and then we spent a day in NYC shopping and seeing a musical (Mary Poppins: Review to come later.) By the time I got back from this trip, I had to go back to school. So much for a break from being busy...

•In performing news, I participated in two big singing events. One of them was a local area competition in which I was competing against 23 other singers, and I sang three solos. While I did not win, I did get some great comments on my score sheet form the judge (both compliments and things to work on.) The second one was a state wide event, where I wasn't necessarily competing against others, but I sang one solo for a judge and received helpful feedback and a grade on my performance (97 out of 100!) This score will now be considered along with the scores of all the others who performed to determine who will be singing in the All-State Select Chorus next fall. Once I find out about that, I will let you know!

•I auditioned for another play (eeeek!!!!) Specifically I auditioned for the Local Savoyards performance of "H.M.S. Pinafore." My mother was cast as the alto lead (Little Buttercup) and I was cast in the chorus... The MEN'S CHORUS!!!! I'M GOING TO BE A SAILOR!!! OH-EMM-GEE! I have never played a guy before, but I have always wanted to. Apparently, they were running low on tenors, so they put me and several other mezzo/alto singers into the tenor section. This is going to be sooooo fun!

•I saw Mr. Baker in an AMAZING production of "Balm In Gilead" at BCU (Big City U.) He played a drag queen named David. It wasn't the biggest role I've seen him play, but I must admit, he did an amazingly fabulous job. It was like nothing I have ever seen him in before. And, I also learned on this trip that apparently he has been telling a lot of his friends great things about me. It was quite amusing to be waiting for Mr. Baker by the theater and meeting several incredibly hot (though mostly gay) men coming up to me saying "OH MY GAWD! YOU'RE MR. BAKER'S SISTER!!!!!! YOU'RE SO COOL!" Thank you very much Mr. Baker. That was tons of fun.

•I have started planning my audition for yet another play. The LTU (Local Town U) has a Summer Youth Musical Theater Workshop, where they put on an enormous, fantastic production in three weeks. This year, they chose to do "All Shook Up" which has a plot loosely based on Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" but is set to the music of Elvis Presley..... So, yeah it's not any form of great theater, but it is going to be soooo much fun. The part I am aiming for is a young mechanic who falls in love with a tough-gorgeous-motorcycle-driving-leather-jacket-wearing-Danny-Zuko type of guy, and in order to spend more time with him, she disguises herself as a man. And this is the song I am auditioning with:


Tee-Hee.

•And last but not least, the swine flu. What's up with that?

Saturday, March 14, 2009

"If I ask you 'Can I kiss you,' then what will my pretty miss do?"


Okay, so I just HAD to blog this picture of Mr. Bumble and I doing "I Shall Scream" during the last performance. C'est tres drole, non?

Monday, March 9, 2009

And so the withdrawl begins...

"Oliver!" is now officially over.
And it was a-freakin'-mazing.

I am not going to lie, I was really scared for this show because I did not think we were going to pull it off. And STHS has a reputation for doing particularly amazing productions, so people's expectations would not have been at the same level for any other high school show. Plus, there was added pressure because RTHS (Rival Town HS) decided to have their musical, "Carousel" be the same weekend as ours. So we knew that our friends from various other high schools would be obligated to see both shows. Of course, in the past, RTHS has never measured up to us "musical-wise" but we were all sure that this year could be the one exception....

But it wasn't. By some miracle of fate, we were able to do not just a decent show, but a downright great show. Completely up to our normal standards. The audiences absolutely loved the little boy who played Oliver, Mr. Bumble and I got lots of laughs with our wacky antics, and (as far as I could see) nobody passed out when the cast walked into the audience (like 4 times.)

Of course there was one unfortunate element of the show: Fagin. Constant line-dropping is one thing, but acknowledging the line-dropping to the audience is COMPLETELY another. That's right. During "You've Got To Pick A Pocket Or Two" he forgot one of his lyrics and decided to say, clearly "I always forget this part." And then he continued. Jeez...

But it's okay, because overall, I really feel like we did a great show. We definitely didn't let our audience down at all. And now, everyone is totally relieved that it's finally over (but can't get "It's A Fine Life" out of their heads...)

But me, being the crazy little person that I am, I'm auditioning for (brace yourselves) ANOTHER SHOW!!!! Woohoo! That's right. The SmallTown Savoyards are doing their annual summer production (they always do Gilbert and Sullivan operettas) and this year the show is H.M.S. Pinafore. And I'll be auditioning a week from this Saturday.

What could I possibly be thinking???

Saturday, February 28, 2009

The Oliver Chronicles: Installment Seven - Hell-week's a-comin'...

Well, yesterday was our last official "rehearsing" rehearsal. Since hell-week starts Monday, all of our rehearsals will be to run the show with tech stuff, meaning we really can't stop to fix things like blocking/lines/music/whatever, because we will already be stopping over and over to fix things like lighting/sound effects/props/whatever. So, in short, hell-week is going to literally be a week from hell.

However, our last rehearsal gave me a little bit of hope. I know on Monday HDT basically told us we sucked. However, he clarified on Tuesday that he still believed we could pull it off with a LOT of hard work. Then, Tuesday's rehearsal was marginally better than Monday's and then Wednesday's rehearsal was a lot better than Tuesday's. HDT said he definitely saw a huge turn-around in our commitment and energy, etc. and he actually gave us props for that. Yay! Props rock! (And by props, I mean compliments, not objects on stage. Although they rock too...)

So then on Friday, he gave us our notes, which is a good sign. Generally he doesn't start giving notes (which are basically comments and criticisms and suggestions for improvement) until the point when we can actually get through a run in a decent amount of time. Also, he waits to give notes until there are only finishing touches that need to be fixed, because other wise our notes would just be a gigantic waste of a rainforest. The official reading of notes is actually somewhat hilarious, because while he watches the run, instead of writing the notes himself, he tells the assistant to the director to write down an abbriviated version of the notes. Then, when he reads them aloud to the cast and is giving us directions like "Bumble-Do you have to pee?" or "Nancy-Don't be a velociraptor," it's up to us to translate that into "Mr. Bumble keeps shifting his weight and needs to stand still" or "Nancy is doing something weird with her hands that makes her look like a velociraptor." One of my favorite notes of the night was given to me: "Corney-Angle. Put box next to her. Stand." I'm still not quite sure what it means, but I'm taking a wild guess and saying it's a problem with the way I am standing during one of the scenes and I need to do something to fix it so I'm not blocking one of the other actresses. Or it could mean I'm being a velociraptor. There's no way to know.

Then, Friday's rehearsal was also a pretty big improvement. However, we didn't manage to get through a whole run in three hours (which we did do on Wednesday.) This was due partially to the fact that we had notes at the beginning and partially because in the middle of the show, there was a scene that literally everyone forgot the blocking for and it had to be re-blocked. I have to say, blocking scenes a week before opening night is a very bad sign...

Then, at the end of rehearsal, HDT's final opinion was that we deserved props for the huge improvement, but we still have a long way to go before he actually starts inviting people to come see the show. However, considering how previous shows have gone, I really think we can pull it together just fine. "Cabaret," "Footloose" and "Les Miserables" all went through the same thing and didn't come together until the final dress rehearsal. And they were A-FREAKIN'-MAZING shows! So, There is hope for us.

I think. And hope.

Wish us broken legs! (Because I probably won't have time to blog again until after the show's over...)

Monday, February 23, 2009

Oliver Panic/Oscars/An amazing play...

HDT had his flip-out a week early.

The show is a week from this Friday. Hell-week starts a week from today. And we are soooooo not ready.

Today's rehearsal was scheduled from 3:30-5:30, Run of Act I. In two hours, we got through 5 scenes. When we should have gotten through 8. We started at the top of Act I, and, surprise surprise, Mr. Bumble was not there again (although he wasn't in school so there's a chance he may have been sick...) and HDT was pissed. I have only done those scenes with Mr. Bumble about 3 times, so it is really bad that we didn't get to do it today. Also, before that, "Food, Glorious Food" was apparently a disaster (I couldn't watch from backstage.)

Then, after the funeral-home scenes (which went pretty well) we did "Consider Yourself." It was a catastrophe. We forgot our blocking, our music, we weren't acting at all because we were panicking about our blocking and music. We did the entire thing three times and it never got any better. But HDT didn't officially flip-out until the next scene: "Pick A Pocket Or Two."

Also a catastrophe. HDT actually said the words "You Suck! This is the worst I group I have seen in eight years!" I am honestly not sure whether that was true or just a scare tactic. I mean, don't get me wrong, we were awful, but still. We always pull it together at the last minute. But it's never been this bad. Plus, I have to say, my friends and I think that HDT is partially to blame in this case. Normally, we start rehearsing during December and we have our scripts so we can study lines over Christmas Break. But this time, we just started in January, meaning we were trying to pull of this entire show in two months. Plus, we had an entire week off of school last week, and that was valuble rehearsal time just going out the window.

So, my friends and I are going to try to organize some rehearsals outside of school. Just because we need them sooooo much!

In much happier news, the Oscars were amazing last night. I was so happy about all of the "Slumdog Millionaire" awards (BEST PICTURE!!!! WOOO-HOOO!!!!) and I was thrilled for Heath Ledger's Best Supporting Actor Award. Also, I was sobbing during the acceptance speech of Dustin Lance Black for Best Original Screenplay. Please observe:

I'm so glad this movie did so well, and congratulations Sean Penn!

It was a great night (and who saw Hugh Jackman's "Oscars of The Recession" musical number??? Hi-fricking-larious)

And, finally, I would like to include a very brief anecdote of something I forgot to mention over the past few weeks. On Saturday, I saw a local production of the play "Bent." For those of you who aren't familiar with the play, it tells a tragic story that hilights the horrible persecution of gay people during the holocaust. I went to see it because my best friend Troy was a violinist in it (all original music by a local student musician) and he was amazing. But, as a whole, the play was extremely difficult to watch. There were some very intense, heart-breaking moments, but production wise, it was a beautiful show.

Saturday was my third time seeing it. I think I'm in need of some therapy...

So, on those many notes, I ask you only this: Wish the cast of "Oliver!" luck that HDT doesn't murder all of us before the end of this week...

Thursday, February 19, 2009

To Do List (MUST BE DONE SOON!!!):


1) Finish Reading Assignment for English Paper BEFORE End of Break:
Well, I'm half-way there! My next English paper (from the AP English Class from HELL) is about the wealthy class. You see, my teacher is trying to raise an army of young socialists, so all of our reading/writing assignments this year have been about money and class structures and other political topics. (Okay, I was exaggerating about the socialist thing, but she is extremely liberal and not afraid to show it!!!) Our first big assignment was to read and annotate a 60+ page packet made up of New York Times articles about money.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that my English teacher has chemical sensitivity issues that cause her to have big reactions to perfumes, colognes, hair-products, paint, citrus, engine exhaust, air, nature and pretty much anything else that has a scent. Because of this, she is out of school for long periods of time. When this happened at the beginning of the school year and our substitute neglected to give us our homework assignments, Devil-Teacher decided to solve this problem by assigning 30 pages of annotations in ONE NIGHT. Worst night ever.
So, right now I'm reading "The Sky's the Limit" by Steven Gaines, which is about wealthy people and expensive apartments in Manhattan. It's not quite as tedious to read as some of the other assignments I've had (The only reading assignment in this class that I have actually legitimately enjoyed was "How Starbucks Saved My Life") but it's not exactly a page turner.
One other fun little tidbit about this assignment: The paper on this book is due during hell-week. So I have firmly decided to at the very least finish reading the book before next Monday, so that I can write the paper the following weekend. *Crosses fingers in hopes of this goal actually being accomplished.*

2) Get Completely Off-Book for "Oliver!" BEFORE End Of Break:
Check! Well, sort of check. All of my actual lines are memorized, I just need to learn the music a bit better. Plus, due to a lack of a Mr. Bumble at rehearsals, it's quite difficult to remember the blocking when I'm not used to doing it with another person. Plus, HDT finally gave us the ultimatum of "get off-book before next week so we can make sure this show doesn't suck." And I think that I am closer to that goal than several people in the cast are (namely Fagin, Mr. Bumble and The Artful Doger.) So this coming rehearsal week will be very interesting, I'm sure...

3) See More Oscar Nominated Films BEFORE Oscars:
Um, not gonna happen. I've only seen a few of them so far. I'm so excited that the Oscars are coming up and I usually want to see the big nominees so I can legitimately cheer for my favorites, but so far I've only seen a few.
By the way, is anyone else totally SHOCKED that Robert Downey Jr. was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for the film TROPIC THUNDER???? I mean, don't get me wrong, he is one of my favorite actors, and I thought he was amazing in Tropic Thunder, but.... OH MY GOD! If he was going to be nominated for anything, I assumed it would have been Iron Man. Apparently I was wrong...

4) Get Hell-Week Assignments From Teachers BEFORE Hell-Week:
Okay, this one is going to have to be done once I'm back in school, but it's still vitally important. The schedule of rehearsals for hell-week is all 6:00-9:00 or 7:00-10:00. And one of the great traditions for this point in rehearsals is to stay through from the end of the school day until rehearsal. That way, we can do our homework at the school (while teachers are there for assistance if necessary) and get dinner with the cast. This is really the more time-efficient solution because most of us have other after-school activities anyways, so it's easier just to stay. We also had a tradition last year of getting cake from the local bakery for the long dress rehearsals, but recently said bakery closed. :'(
So, because of the difficult hell-week coming up (March 2-6) I have promised myself that the week before hell-week, I will see my teachers, get any big assignments and do them early. *Keeps fingers crossed from earlier paragraph* This will probably be mainly for AP English assignments (because of all the heavy reading) and Chemistry (because of the lab reports.) My homework for Math, French and Global is generally just problems from a textbook or a worksheet, so it won't be too hard. And my Music Theory teacher has given us homework exactly twice this whole year, and both times it was also a simple worksheet.

So. These upcoming weeks will be very difficult. But still tons of fun.
I hope...
*Crossed fingers starting to turn purple*

(How does one type with crossed fingers you may ask? Well, I've been blessed with many unusual, useless talents... You know, like Demetri Martin...)

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Super-Massive-Double-Deluxe-Post!

Well, I feel like I haven't posted anything in a very long time, so I thought for Valentine's Day I would do a big double post made up of two parts: An "Oliver!" installment, and a fun theater survey meme thingy (no one ever makes theater surveys! I was so excited to see it!)

Okay. Here goes...

Last week's rehearsals were somewhat hectic. And with the fact that we only have TWO rehearsal weeks left (that's including hell-week) has been looming over our heads. Since we have blocked the entire show, HDT used this past week as a "polishing week" so to speak. Instead of running through the acts or the show, he just scheduled three scene's per day and we would just work through the problems of those scenes, one at a time.

However, even though ideally this sounds like an incredibly convenient idea, it only works effectively if the people who are in those scenes show up when they are supposed to. And it just so happens that Dickon (who you may remember is playing Mr. Bumble) was absent from rehearsal two days this past week, both of which being days that we were doing scenes he is in. Pas bon, tres tres pas bon. On Wednesday at our last official music rehearsal, Maestra mentioned that the next time we will be doing music will be during the Run of Act I on the Monday we get back from our week-long vacation. I asked Dickon if he would be there that day and he said he had work on Mondays and Thursdays, so no. I asked him if there was any way he could get around it and he said "I already asked my boss for hell-week off, and he agreed to that, so I don't think he would be too happy about me asking for that week off too." In my head, my next response would have been "Well, how badly do you want to keep your job right now?" but I decided to refrain from saying this out loud.

However, HDT said to him on Friday "Oh, by the way, Dickon? When we come back this week, I need you here. All the time." Dickon then went over to talk to him privately. No one knows what was said or whether he will be there when we have our next rehearsal. We'll see...

I have to say, Dickon has not been the only one with poor attendance these past few weeks. Especially with the music rehearsals. There were so many days when Maestra would want to run through a certain piece but couldn't because none of the people in that piece were there. Aussi pas bon. Mostly because we have no more music rehearsals. At all. Once we get back from the break, it's "Run Act I," "Run Act II," "Run Show" for one week, and then hell-week is all runs of the show (some with costume!)

In fact, I was telling Mr. Brownlow (my dad, in case you forgot) about how poor the attendence has been, and he came up with a rather brilliant solution: What HDT should do is just tell the people that aren't showing up regularly that they are out of the show (wait for it...) Then, before the performances, HDT will write a breif "framing story" about a group of student putting on a production of "Oliver!" It could open with everyone onstage, and HDT shouting "Why isn't anyone showing up? This is awful! This is the last straw! They are out! Okay, let's try a run with the people we've got... Uh, Moi! You play Fagin! Angela! You'll be Mr. Bumble! And... Troy! You'll be Bill Sykes! Ready? Action!" And then the play would commence with mismatched parts and breif jokes about rehearsal and the production process and things like that. We could even get the audience to participate with songs like "Oom Pah Pah" and "It's A Fine Life." It would be a production unlike anything STHS has ever done. Instead of being called "Oliver!" it would be called "STHS Presents 'Oliver!'"

I plan on pitching the idea to HDT when we return from vacation. I wonder what he'll say... haha...

Well, now I shall present to you a fun survey for those who have done a lot of theater things. It's the first one Ive ever seen, and I have to say. I loved it. Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

LAST SHOW ADDED TO YOUR RESUME?
Technically I think that would be Steel Magnolias but currently I am working on Oliver!

LAST SHOW YOU AUDITIONED FOR?
Oliver!

LAST SONG YOU USED AT AN AUDITION?
"I Get A Kick Out Of You" from Anything Goes

FAVORITE MUSICAL(s)?
Spring Awakening, Company, Les Miserables, Wonderful Town, and Cabaret

FAVORITE PLAY?
It's a toss-up between Steel Magnolias, A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Dining Room.

FAVORITE ROLE(S) YOU'VE PLAYED, AND FROM WHAT SHOW(S)?
Fraulein Schneider in Cabaret is probably my favorite (but Truvy in Steel Magnolias takes a close second)

FAVORITE ROLE OVERALL THAT I WOULD LOVE TO PLAY?
The list is far too long, but I know it includes Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Baker's Wife in Into the Woods and Eponine in Les Miserables.

SUPERSTITION?
Saying Macbeth in a theater (don't worry, it's not bad luck now. I'm not in a theater...) and having perfect rehearsals during hell-week. If the rehearsals in hell-week aren't hell-ish, something ain't right...

YOUR GOAL IN SHOW BUSINESS?
Either become an Actress (preferably in musical theater) or Playwright.

FAVORITE DIRECTOR YOU HAVE EVER WORKED WITH?
HDT. No contest.

WHAT WAS YOUR VERY FIRST SHOW?
The first show I was ever in was The Wizard of Oz when I was in third grade, but the first show that got me seriously interested in theater was Ruddigore during the summer before sixth grade.

HAVE YOU EVER HAD A DANCE SOLO?
Waltzing during the Pineapple song in Cabaret (althought that was with Troy, so maybe it wasn't a solo...)

HAVE YOU EVER HAD A SINGING SOLO?
A couple of solos and duets in "Cabaret," and some duets in "Oliver!"

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN THE LAST PERSON TO TAKE A BOW?
Not yet, but I was fourth-to-last in Cabaret (and you have no idea how excited I was about that...)

HAVE YOU BEEN TO NEW YORK?
Dozens of times.

HAVE YOU BEEN TO LA?
Nope

WHAT'S THE SCARIEST PART OF AN AUDITION?
Waiting for the auditioner that goes in right before you...

WHAT'S THE BEST PART OF AN AUDITION?
Once you get into the groove of it, the audition gets fun. But the first few seconds always scare the crap out of me...

NAME A SHOW YOU WOULD NEVER DO AGAIN.
Any of the SmallTown Middle school plays (badly written non-musical versions of "The Secret Garden" and "Beauty and the Beast.")

NAME A SHOW YOU COULD DO FOR YEARS.
Cabaret, The Yeomen of the Guard and probably Les Miserables.

WHAT ARE YOU AUDITIONING FOR NEXT?
H.M.S. Pinafore

DO YOU KEEP IN TOUCH WITH PAST CAST MEMBERS?
Absolutely

HOW IMPORTANT IS GETTING PAID?
Well, right now not terribly, because I've never gotten paid for a show before and I still love doing it. But, I imagine that if I make a career out of this then it would become increasingly more vital...

SOMETHING EMBARRASSING OR UNEXPECTED THAT HAPPENED TO YOU WHILE ON-STAGE?
During Steel Magnolias, I had to wear an absurdly high and uncomfortable pair of heels, and it was terribly obvious while I was onstage that I was not good at walking in them. Also, during the final dress rehearsal for that same production, when the six of us were completely lost with our lines, I tried to get the scene back on track, and then realized I had skipped over a vital piece of information (oops!)

WHO IS THE MOST DIFFICULT PERSON (ON STAGE OR OFF) THAT YOU HAVE EVER WORKED WITH?
Hmm someone who shall remain nameless, but I truly hope that she is never a director's assistant ever again.

EVER BEEN NAKED ONSTAGE?
Nope. The closest I've been to naked onstage was in a leotard for a dance recital.

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN KILLED ONSTAGE?
Nope.

BEEN DRUNK ONSTAGE?
Yes! And it is sooooo much fun! (Master of the House scene in Les Miserables, the country bar scene in Footloose and Oom Pah Pah in Oliver!

PLAYED SOMEONE HALF YOUR AGE?
"The Kid" in Wonderful Town (my first time having a line in a show: "Hey Waldo, wait for me!")

PLAYED SOMEONE TWICE YOUR AGE?
I was 60-something as Fraulein Schneider in Cabaret, 40-something as Truvy in Steel Magnolias, and now I'm 50-something as Widow Corney in Oliver!

CRIED?
Cabaret and a little bit during Steel Magnolias

FIRED A GUN?
Nope

BEEN DRENCHED?
Nope (?)

BEEN IN A DREAM SEQUENCE?
Nope.

BEEN KISSED?
Oliver

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

The Blurb: Katy Perry


Okay, this post is going to be made up of my opinions on a very controversial topic that faces the youth of our country today, and has been causing quite a stir. That topic is Katy Perry.

I love her! I think she's awesome! She has an awesome voice, her songs are fun and interesting and she is totally cool and unique and I give her props for that. I know her songs are very controversial, but I think she rocks and I don't care who knows it!

One of my favorite songs of hers is "Thinking Of You," and I'm actually a little pissed that it doesn't get as much radio play as "Hot N' Cold" or "I Kissed A Girl." (Even though I love those songs too...) But "Thinking Of You" is a gorgeous song, and the poetry in it is absolutely heart-breaking (but in a good way!)

I also love "Hot N' Cold" and "I Kissed A Girl." For me, they're each just one of those songs that you hear on the radio, and at first you think in your head "I've never heard this before. It's kinda weird," and then the next time you hear it, you think "This song's annoying," then the next time it's "Ugh, I hate this song, why is it played so much???" But then, after you've heard it a million more times in the car on your way home from "Oliver" rehearsal, you catch yourself humming it or realizing you can't get the words out of your head. Then, the next time you hear it, you think "This song is starting to grow on me a little I guess," then by the next time, you're singing along with it and FINALLY, the time after that, you can't help but admit "Okay, I really like this song!" You know what I mean? has anyone else heard songs like that? Anyone? Helloooo?

Of course, there are plenty of people who don't get that reaction from these particular songs, and the transformation ends at "God, why can't they stop playing this f***ing song every f***ing day on every f***ing radio station????????" And I respect that opinion. There are tons of songs that I still find annoying no matter how many times i hear them (*COUGH* Flo-Rida *COUGH*) I just happen to find these ones enjoyable. And, of course, they are the PERFECT dance party songs (both were featured on my play-list for my Sweet 16 party, along with "Livin' La Vida Loca" "Wannabe" "Cha-Cha Slide" and of course "Life Is A Highway." I was going for a "One song from every year of my life" thing, and then added a bunch of new songs...)

And then, of course, there's the other issue with these songs: The "inappropriate" and "homophobic" lyrics. I get it. I totally TOTALLY get it. I also fail to realize why so many men are turned on by two girls making out. And I don't think it's funny when people make jokes about "womanly issues." And, believe me, no one get's madder than I do when someone in my company uses "gay" as an insult.

But do you know what else I do? I can sort of mentally push these things aside for a few minutes while listening to music. I want to listen to the song from an unbiased standpoint and judge it only based on it's musical, poetic and interpretational styles. That's one of the things that Mr. Baker always bugs me about (he hates Katy Perry with a fiery passion.) When he heard "Ur So Gay" for the first time he just called her a homophobe and said that was an awful thing to say about someone, and moved on. But, after listening to it a few more times, I realized what she is really talking about: She is talking to her ex-boyfriend, who she said in interviews was a huge jerk and dumped her in the worst possible way, and who wears guy-liner and spends more time looking in the mirror than she does and talks and acts like a huge emo poser, and and she's telling him "Stop being such a phony, start being a real person and get your effing act together." In a way, it's exactly the same message as Avril Lavigne's hit "Complicated." Now I will admit, the use of the word "gay" wasn't great word choice on her part, but other than that, I really like the style and most of the other lyrics in the song, and if/when I hear it on the radio, I will gladly sing along.

Plus, just a little side note, I asked one of my best friends, Troy what he thinks of the song (because he happens to be gay) and he said that he loves it. When I asked him about the whole "using gay as an insult" thing, he said this: "Well, yeah. I mean, I hate it when people use gay as an insult when their talking about something, but I still think it's a fun song. It's funny and ironic, and... I don't know, I just love it!"

So, that is how I interpret it anyway, but other opinions/interpretations of the song are more than welcome.

Also, for those of you who still aren't convinced (and if you never are convinced, that's fine with me) here's a song that she did a few years ago, that was featured in the movie "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants." You can get an idea of what the "Pre-I-Kissed-A-Girl" Katy Perry was like:




So, as I always do with my blurbs, I am welcoming any discussions or debates or constructive criticisms of what I have said (as long as you give it decent justification.)

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Scene 1: Regression

I highly encourage people to do this! It's so much fun!

1. Put your iPod, ZUNE or other music player on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
4. Tag friends who might enjoy doing this as well as the person you got it from.


IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Keep Breathing (Ingrid Michaelson)

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
For Your Love (Burns Sisters)

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
White Trash Wedding (Dixie Chicks)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Roxie (from "Chicago")

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Easy As Life (from "Aida")

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Heels Over Head (Boys Like Girls)

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Dear God (Avenged Sevenfold)

WHAT IS 2+2?
Kiss From A Rose (Seal)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
SOS (Rihanna)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Court And Spark (Duncan Sheik)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Billy Brown (MIKA)

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Willkommen (from "Cabaret")

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
A New Life (from "Jekyll and Hyde")

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
One Sweet Love (Sara Bareilles)

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
On A High (Duncan Sheik)

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
That Says It All (Duncan Sheik)

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Right Now (Pussycat Dolls)

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Do You Know What I'm Seeing? (Panic! At The Disco)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Feelin' The Same Way (Norah Jones)

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Let This Go (Paramore)

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
One Night Only (from "Dreamgirls")

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
One Song Glory (from "Rent")

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
God's Promise (Burns Sisters)

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Edge of Seventeen (Stevie Nicks)

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
Conspiracy (Paramore)

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
Closing In (Imogen Heap)

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
It Takes Two (from "Hairspray")

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Once (from "Once")

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
Whenever, Wherever (Shakira)

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Scene 1: Regression (Dream Theater)

Monday, January 26, 2009

The Oliver Chronicles: Installment Four - Music and Run-Throughs and No-Shows. Oh My!

Okay, so I have several pieces of news/gossip about how the show is going that I need to keep the blogosphere updated on. First, Music Rehearsals.

We have been doing some music rehearsals between the blocking ones a few times a week, and so far I guess they have been going well. Mrs. Maestra is very good about scheduling specific songs for specific times (usually having the first half of the rehearsal be a call for the whole cast and then the second half of the rehearsal be for the smaller group/solo pieces.) So, having rehearsed both my duets with Dickon and the ensemble numbers that I'm in, and having heard most of the other numbers in the rehearsals, I think the people who have shown up to rehearsals have sounded great.

Note my word choice in that last sentence: "The people who have been showing up sound great." As for those who don't show up... well I don't know how they sound. But at all of the music rehearsals I have been to, the average attendence has been half of the cast or less. This is very very not good. Mme. Maestra n'est pas contente.

Okay, I was hoping to save the gossip for the end, but it seems necessary that I tell you now so you know what's going on...

We were all nervous when we found out who was cast as Fagin in our production (i.e. the biggest male lead in the show): A boy I am going to refer to as "Coach." Now, we were nervous because there have been several rumors going around regarding Coach's reputation with past high school shows (meaning his tendency to audition, be cast as a lead, and then quit.) Now, just for the record, these are rumors. However, I personally did witness this behavior in "Footloose" when I was in eighth grade. He was cast as Coach Dunbar (hence his name.) He showed up to the first few rehearsals, then he disappeared for several weeks. Then, about a month before opening night, he quit. HDT was then forced to ask one of the new transfer students in his class to take his place (a new student who happens to be extremely creepy and not a very good actor.) So, I only know for a fact that Coach has done this once, but that's enough to make people nervous, considering he has the biggest part IN THE WHOLE SHOW!!!

So, Coach missed the first four or five rehearsals, as predicted, but since then he has been showing up pretty regularly when he is called. (although he did miss a rehearsal today that we needed him for...) So, no cause for panic just yet. Well, not on his account anyways...

As for that half of the cast I told you about, we'll see what happens.

So, as you may recall from my last Oliver installment, the Run-Through of Act I went pretty badly. However, it is still very early in the rehearsal process, so no one has been beheaded yet. Then, last Friday, we did a Run-Through of Act II, and I must say, it went extremely well. We got almost all the way through, but not quite. And that was with HDT stopping to correct things and block songs and things like that. So, for Act II we are decently on track I think. We are scheduled to run in again at tomorrow's rehearsal, so hopefully it will go just as well.

Oh, but there was one slight hiccup in the run of Act II. Dickon was not there. And actually he has been one of those people who has been absent from rehearsals a lot (and several times it was on occasions that I knew he had been in school that day, so he wasn't sick.) I found out today from Mrs. Sowerberry that he has been missing rehearsals a lot recently because of his hectic work schedule, which (according to him) he did put on his conflict sheet when he auditioned. So, I don't know who is to blame here: Dickon, for not showing up, or HDT for scheduling Dickon's scenes on days he knew he wouldn't be there? Hmmm....

Well, this entire week (with the exception of today) is for big midterm exams, so we don't have regular school in session. We only have to show up on the days that we have exams. Of which I have none! Yay! But I still have to show up for rehearsals. Oh well. That, I can live with.

But this means that several people could still conveniently "forget" about the rehearsals and not show up... In which case, bad things will happen...

Thursday, January 22, 2009

On the news (This Just In...)

I learned about 20 minutes ago that today, President Obama signed executive orders to close Guantanamo Bay, establish a commission to study what to do with the detainees who are at Guantanamo Bay, and end use of water-boarding and other harsh interrogation techniques. And, he has appointed special envoys to the Middle East, Afghanistan and Iraq. AND, in order to head off accusations from those who claim his swearing-in may not be valid, he redid his Presidential oath.

Goooooooooo OBAMA!!!

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

The Oliver Chronicles: Installment Three - First Run Through

Well, yesterday's rehearsal was scheduled to be a "Run-Through of Act One." However, what actually happened couldn't really be described as a "run." In fact, even "walk-through" and "stumble-through" don't seem like the right words to appropriately describe how the rehearsal went.

I guess what you could call it would be a "watching-some-other-person-stumble-through-quick-sand-with-crutches" through.

We started with the opening number: "Food, Glorious Food."
Only about four pages of this song had been blocked.
So, from 3:30-5:00, HDT finished blocking that song.

Then, even though the next song in that scene is "Oliver" (and the famous "Please, sir, may I have some more" exchange) and that hadn't been blocked either, HDT decided to move on to Scene Two: "I Shall Scream."

I don't know if you recall my other post, but this scene was blocked (avec moi) but Dickon was not there, so he did not know the blocking. So, we had to re-block that entire scene as well. And what made it even more special was the fact that most of the cast was watching and they spent a lot of the time whistling and making inappropriate noises (and hand gestures) at Dickon and I (because, after-all, this scene is a very awkward, creepy seduction scene and the blocking involves ass-pinching, face-slapping and me sitting on Dickon's lap for a majority of the song.)

So... that was interesting.

Then, they went on to Scenes Three and Four, in which Troy and Mrs. Sowerberry (two of my BFFs playing The Sowerberrys, the evil undertakers) sing a song called "That's Your Funeral" and Mrs. Sowerberry goes into hysterics and faints into a coffin.

Those scenes had been blocked a while ago, so they went flawlessly.

Oh, and at this point I would like to mention that the little 9-year-old boy who is playing Oliver (Om) is off-book. He has his lines memorized. All of them. He did not use his script once throughout that rehearsal. From now on, HDT is probably never going to let us forget that the first person to memorize their lines was an elementary school student. We will always be struggling to measure up to the 9-year-old.

So, that rehearsal ended with us being just barely half-way through Act One. Now, at this stage in the show, that is expected and acceptable. For now. If we get into hell week and that happens again, head will roll. Literally.

Wish us broken legs! (because unless we improve in about a month and a half, we will have literally broken legs...) But, as I mentioned a while ago, we never fully come together until the last possible second, and at that point the show ends up amazing. But it would be nice for once to be.. you know.... somewhat prepared...? Maybe?

Oh Joy, Oh Rapture, Unforseen!!!

It turns out that yesterday at school, all of my teachers (but one) decided to have hearts and let us watch the inauguration after about 10 minutes of work. I was soooooooo happy!
I started to get a bit worried when I found out that at the time of Obama's actual speech and swearing in, I was scheduled to be in Gym class. I was upset that I might not get to witness the big moment!!! But then, when one of my friends and I asked the gym teacher for passes to go watch it, he just said "Oh, go wait by the locker rooms and we'll take the entire class down to see it!"
It was an incredible moment. The auditorium was packed with students and teachers (and I still managed to snag a seat in the front row!!!) The speech was amazing. The music was amazing.

This was just the best day ever.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

This is our joy-day unalloyed...


Okay, quickly before I run off to school, I just had to express how incredibly incredibly psyched I am for today...

OMG FINALLY!!!!! BY THE END OF TODAY WE'LL HAVE A NEW PRESIDENT!!!!!

I am so happy. You have no idea how happy I am. Seriously.
This will be one of the most amazing, important days in history! This is going to be the kind of moment that all my friends and I are going to remember exactly where we were and what we were doing and then brag to our grand-kids about it. "When our first african-american President was inaugurated, I was in school, doing absolutely nothing of any importance, because even though the ceremony was being projected onto a screen in the auditorium, my teachers were too stubborn to forgo one lesson plan in honor of the greatest moment in history."

Okay maybe I'll have to come up with a better story. Unless by some miracle one of my teachers decides to let us watch it. But just in case, I still do remember where I was when Obama became president elect: At a hotel where the local democratic headquarters had about six TVs placed throughout the room on different channels watching the returns come in (and then as soon as it was announced, we all shrieked and danced to various inspirational party songs like "Celebration" and "Don't stop thinking about tomorrow.")

But yes. Today will be an amazing day, whether I witness the inauguration or not.

Now, I do have exactly 2 Republican friends who will be probably be dressed in all black or something stupid, but if they try to bring me down today, well I AIN'T LETTING 'EM!!!

Happy Thank-God-George-Bush-Is-Finally-Leaving-And-Obama-Is-Becoming-Our-New-President Day!!!

Saturday, January 17, 2009

The Blurb: Sicko


Okay, I would just like to start out by saying this: I am an extremely liberal democrat. For those of you who disagree with any of the things I am about to discuss, I am completely open to CONSTRUCTIVE comments/criticisms. But if you are just going to tell me that I am "an effing idiot" or "in effing denial" or "an effing socialist" without any justification, then please don't bother. All I will do in response is delete your comment. However, civil, intellectual discussion is more than welcome.

So, in my AP English class recently, we watched the Michael Moore documentary "Sicko" as an introduction into our unit on argumentative writing. For those of you who are not familiar with the movie, Moore proposes the argument that Universal Health Care would be the best choice for our country because as of right now, our current health care system is.... well.... bad. Really really bad.

Some various examples he uses to justify how bad our health care is:
•Two people filled out applications for health insurance: One was denied because he was too skinny, the other was denied because she was too fat.
•A woman with Blue Shield Insurance: She was denied three separate diagnostic procedures because her insurance wouldn't cover them (including an MRI and an exam with an opthamologist.) Then, while she was on vacation in Japan, she had to be sent to a hospital, where they gave her the tests she was denied in the U.S. and then diagnosed with a brain tumor.
•A woman who applied for health insurance was denied because she failed to mention on her application form that she had a yeast infection. (Well, I certainly wasn't aware that yeast infections counted as "Pre-existing conditions" were you?)
•One night, a young, toddler-aged girl named Mychelle suddenly had a fever of about 105 degrees, so her mother immediately drove her to the nearest hospital. However, because her mother had Kaiser Permanente Insurance and the hospital they went to was not a Kaiser Permanente Hospital, they were denied treatment, even though the girls condition was extremely critical. By the time they got to a Kaiser Permanente hospital, the young girl had gone into cardiac arrest and died.

I have to say, listening to all of these tragic stories did put me in one of those "God, I hate America" moods. But, it got even worse when Michael Moore went to several other countries that had free universal health care to see how they lived and what their health care was like. The countries he went to were Canada, England, France and (drumroll please) Cuba.

So, while several people may claim that a "socialist" (aaa! The "s" word!) system like this would lead to run-down hospitals, sub-par care, people being robbed blind by taxes and doctors not getting paid enough, listen to this:

•A doctor that works in Canada gets paid enough to live in a $1,000,000 dollar house, drive an Audi, own a huge flatscreen TV, and support his wife and son. (To quote said doctor, "If you want to live in a $3,000,000-4,000,000 house or drive 5 or 6 nice cars, then you might be disappointed. But I feel that my co-workers and I all live pretty well here.")
•Hospitals in Cuba (Yes, that's right, Cuba) have all of the same medical and diagnostic technology that ours have, and under their health care system, they can give patients inhalers for about 5 cents (the same inhalers that can cost around $50 in the U.S.)
•At a hospital in France, you get treated in the emergency room immediately, no matter what type of insurance you do or do not carry (a toddler with a case similar to Mychelle's was brought to a French hospital, seen immediately, treated and survived.)
•In England, no matter what type of medication or what quantity of medication you are picking up, pharmacies will charge you approximately £6.50 (or about $10.oo U.S. currency.)
•An average person living in England can live in a very nice house, take exotic vacation trips and support a family (i.e. they aren't exactly being suffocated by their taxes.)

And some additional perks you get for living in France:
•Up to a year of maternity leave (6 months paid, 6 months unpaid)
•Unlimited sick days
•Free Emergency Room visits
•After having a baby, a government employed "nanny" (for lack of a better word) can be sent to your house to help you with childcare, adjusting to going back to work, housekeeping, cooking and even laundry.

I have to say, I absolutely loved this movie. I truly did. By the time it was over, pretty much everyone in my English class was like "Um, can I switch countries now?"
I have to say, there were several times when I just kept thinking "This can't be real. Is he making this up? How is that possible?" But it is all true. And it is awful. Something absolutely has to change, because the way things work right now is truly sickening.

You can call me a socialist if you want. But the way I see it is this: Health Care should mean that everyone who needs medical help gets it, no matter their financial situation, their insurance, their height/weight, what hospital they go to or what happened to them. If you are sick or injured or dying, you should be able to get the health care you deserve, because everyone deserves it. Period. It's as simple as that. If that is socialism to you.... well I just might be okay with that (as opposed to the alternative, where a woman with broken ribs and only partially healed stitches in her head who can't pay her medical bills gets kicked out of the hospital onto the streets.)

And that last sentence was a real example from the movie by the way.

Anyone who saw the movie, feel free to share your opinions of it (SEE OPENING PARAGRAPH!!!)
If you haven't seen it, and you are either liberal or at least open minded, I highly recommend it.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

The Oliver Chronicles: Installment Two - Oom Pah Pah


Well, at last night's rehearsal, we blocked one of the most fun ensemble numbers in the whole show: Oom Pah Pah (because who doesn't have crap-loads of fun pretending to be drunk and wild onstage, eh?)

So, for those of you who aren't familiar with the show (or this song), this is the scene in which almost all of the characters and ensemble members are chillin' out at a seedy disgusting bar, when Nancy shows up and leads them in a song about drinking and prostitution and many other seedy disgusting things. Because Mr. Bumble and Widow Corney (a.k.a. Dickon and I) became engaged several scenes earlier, HDT decided to give us some "business" with Nancy during this song. The verse in which this happens goes thus:

Mister Percy Snodgrass
Would often have the odd glass
But never when he thought anybody could see.
Secretly he'd buy it,
And drink it on the quiet,
And dream he was an Earl
Wiv a girl on each knee!

Big Fun.

Then, also in that scene, Bill Sykes enters and sings a scary song about how evil he is. People onstage kept asking HDT whether or not they should try to stand up to Bill or not show fear. To each question, HDT responded "No. Because he WILL kill you." After a while we decided that this would have to be Bill Sykes' catch phrase. "Bill Sykes: Because he WILL kill you."

The kid who plays Bill is having soooo much fun with that part (especially because of all of the people in the entire school, he is the last person anyone would be afraid of...)

So, yes. That rehearsal was particularly entertaining for all of us. One of my favorite moments was when HDT was sort of setting us up for the beginning of the scene by explaining where we were: "This is a disgusting, seedy, tiny little bar somewhere in the city, where the theives and prostitutes and pretty much all of the characters go in their free time. This is also where Fagin's gang [of pick-pocket boys between the ages of 9-18] hangs out, because, well let's face it. Nobody's taking care of you guys, so nobody really cares what you do or where you hang out."

At this point in the speech I proclaimed to the people sitting near me "I blame the schools!"
(When I recounted this moment to Rev. Guinevere, she said I totally had to blog that.)

(Also, I found that picture from a random production of "Oliver!" and thought to myself "Drinking, merriment, small children... Yup. That covers all the bases.")

Also, Rev. Guin and I happened to notice something peculiar about all of the plays that HDT picks for our school. "Man of LaMancha" (leading character is a prostitute) "Les Miserables" (a song called "Lovely ladies" about prostitutes) "Cabaret" (almost every female character is a hooker or stripper or some other unseemly profession) and now "Oliver!" (see above description of "Oom Pah Pah.") When I asked Mr. Baker about this, he just gave a very disgusting, creepy response, and even though I know he was joking I would still prefer not to repeat it...

So, yes. To put it quickly, this is going to be a very interesting musical....

Sunday, January 11, 2009

About four posts ago...


I wrote this:

Oh, and by the way, remind me to tell you about the DEMO RECORDING I MADE OF MY SINGING AND GUITAR PLAYING!!!!

Then, I completely forgot to follow up on that! Many apologies...

So, for a couple of days during winter break, Rev. Guinevere's BFF's Daughter (The Actress), son-in-law (The Audio-Master) and two grandchildren (The Munchkins) were staying at our house. They are pretty darn awesome people.

So, The Audio-Master, in case you hadn't already guessed, works in the business of audio recordings and equipment and stuff. He is also an amazing musician with an awesome taste in music. So, while he was there he heard both Mr. Baker and I playing our guitars and jamming and whatnot. So, because he had a bunch of his audio equipment with him (Yes. He's "one of those people.") he offered to make demo recordings of us!!! Mr. Baker and I instantly responded with a resounding "Hell Yeah!" (well, in our minds anyway...)

So, we pulled out our guitars, The A-M pulled out his equipment and his computer, and we just did recordings right there in our living room! (it looked nothing like that picture up there) Mr. Baker did demos of "Mr. Chess" by Duncan Sheik, and "Casimir Pulaski Day" by Sufjan Stevens, and I did a demo of "Teardrops on My Guitar" by Taylor Swift. It. Was. AWESOME.

While my brother decided to do a recording of the guitar, a separate one of the voice and layered them together, I just decided to do them both at the same time. So, mine only took two takes (during one of which I have a feeling I was belting a bit higher than my voice teacher would approve of.) Then, we listened to both takes and put together different parts of each take that we liked. I was kind of excited that the super-high belting made it into the final draft. Then, The A-M emailed me the finished recording and I have it saved on my computer! I love it soooo much!

In addition to the recording demo, A-M also gave me a bunch of tips for what kind of sound system to use when performing or recording. So now I have some handy advice for when Troy and I perform together (which we do quite often.) I also learned that because I have the right software on my computer and some of the right hardware, I could very well make decent quality demos on my own as well! So the next time Troy comes over to practice music, we are sooooo going to record something! Possibly some of our original songs...

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Some things I forgot to mention...

Okay, so as I wrote my last post about "Oliver!" I did not take into account that maybe not everyone out there in the blogosphere who happens to come across my blog is a theatre person, and maybe not everyone knows the "phraseology," so to speak. So, here are just some words I will probably be using quite a lot for the next few months:

Musical Season - The time period between December and March, when all of the High Schools in the area are rehearsing their musicals. Production season is usually late February through late March, when all of the productions are (the schools try not to schedule their shows on the same weekend as another local HS.) During production season, my friends and I always try to get to the other high schools in the area to see their shows (NOT to pass judgement or promote our show, just to be supportive and start the standing ovation at the end in honor of our friends at other schools.) Since our production is the first weekend in March, hopefully we will be able to see most of the other shows without interfering with our own rehearsals.

Blocking (or staging) - the choreographed movements of the actors onstage. So, when I say HDT is "blocking" a scene, he went through the scene with those in it, telling them where to go/what to do and when to go there/do that. However, he does leave some blocking to interpretation with the actors (aside from like specific directions or "bits" he wants us to use.) He always says that if it feels natural to do something, go with it, and if it doesn't look good, he'll tell you. Blocking a scene generally can take from 30 minutes-1 hour, depending on how many people are on stage.

Bit (or business) - exactly what it sounds like. If two characters have "business" on stage, then they just have a little interaction together onstage that isn't necessarily indicated by the dialogue, but is added by the director or actors just to add humor or emphasis to that scene.

Hell Week - Also known as Production Week or Tech Week, this is the week of the performances, where we add all of the technical aspects of the production to the show, including costumes, make-up, lighting, set changes, etc. The reason it is called hell week is because the rehearsals of this week are every night, and can last as long as possible. Sometimes there are days when we start rehearsing right when school ends at 3:00, and don't go home until after 10:00 at night (3:00-5:30 Run, break for dinner, and then 7:30-10:00 Tech Run.) It is the most exhausting, demanding week of the entire school year. NOTE TO SELF: Get Hell Week assignments from teachers IN ADVANCE so you don't have to worry about homework stress during that week, and PRAY FOR NO SNOWDAYS!!! (During last years production of "Cabaret" there was a snowday during hell week, and since we legally can't come to the school for rehearsal when there's no school, we had to gather all of the students at a local elementary school and run through the dance numbers and songs. There was also rumor of bad weather for the production weekend and we ALMOST had to cancel one of the shows. Thankfully, everything was okay in the end.)

Run (or Run Through) - A Run Through of the show or a specific Act is basically going from beginning to end without stopping. Most of our Runs (be them Run Act One, Run Act Two or Run Show) are reserved for the two or three weeks leading up to hell week. However, before that, we do have something called a "Walk Through" or even a "Stumble Through," which can be earlier in the rehearsal process, and are mainly to see where we are in the show, and how far we need to go before Hell Week. They usually do involve stopping to ask for lines or correct staging.

"The HDT Flip-Out" - Again, exactly what it sounds like. Because our school's musicals often have a tendency to be very hectic and not fully come together until the last minute, during Hell Week, HDT will usually have at least one "Flip-Out." During said flip-out, he basically gives us the well-known speech consisting of "get your f***ing s*** together fast, or this show is going to suck." Of course, HDT's version of the speech can generally include a lot of yelling (and more profanity.) He always manages to include the fact that on opening night, he will have his car parked right outside the door of the building, keys in hand, ready to leave during intermission if he feels that the audience will be extremely disappointed. However, through-out the history of the STHS musicals, he has never actually had his car ready to run. That is the way our shows always play out. Just when it feels like we are doomed to complete onstage humiliation, it always comes together, and it is always amazing. But not until the last possible second (There was one year where HDT had two flip-outs, one of which was ON OPENING NIGHT.)

Well, I believe that is all of the main terminology that you will need to know to understand my "Oliver!" posts. I will be posting more about interesting rehearsals in this upcoming week. There were supposed to be two other rehearsals this passed week, but one was cancelled due to a snowday (yay!) and the other was a rehearsal that I went to, but found out I didn't need to be there.

*Sigh* I love musical season. Even though the rehearsals are exhausting, and I always struggle to find time to both prepare for the show and do my homework, I still love it. It is the one time of the year when I look forward to coming to school (and don't always hope for snowdays) because I love going to rehearsals. Theatre and chorus are pretty much the reason I still like school I do not know how I would survive without them...

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

The Oliver Chronicles: Installment One - The First Rehearsal

My new thing that I will be doing: Regular updates on the progress of the STHS production of "Oliver." I figured since the title of this blog has the words "Drama Student" in it (referring to me) I might actually post some stuff about.... well...... Drama and Theater and stuff.

So. First Rehearsal:
Me and my friends entered the auditorium at STHS to await the start of the rehearsal. We all have somewhat supporting roles, and we got our scripts yesterday, so (being the enormous geeks that we are) we all read through our lines/songs several times ahead of time in preparation for this rehearsal. We all knew that what was scheduled was Act One-I ("Food, Glorious Food" and "Oliver!"), Act One-II ("I Shall Scream") and Act One-III ("That's your funeral"). However, what was not scheduled was the half-hour introduction speech by HDT explaining the basics of the show (rehearsal schedules, what "blocking" means, contact info, what to do in the event of a snowday, etc.) So, after that, he began blocking "Food." After completing about 2 pages of that song, he realized he had run out of time for that part of the rehearsal, and he moved on to "I Shall Scream," along with the dialogue that precedes it.

The blocking is quite amusing (albeit a little awkward) and involves lots of being chased around the stage and falling on the floor and other comical movements. It will definitely take some getting used to (once we do some more in depth work on that scene I will fill you in with more detail.)

Oh, and by the way, since the boy who will be playing Mr. Bumble (whose name shall from now on be "Dickon," because the first show I did with him was a crap-a-licious middle school production of "The Secret Garden") was not at the rehearsal. Because of this, I did the entire scene with HDT playing his part.

Remember what "HDT" stands for?
*Sigh*

After that scene was over, HDT worked with Troy and "Mrs. Sowerberry" on the scene preceding the song "That's Your Funeral," and then we were dismissed.

So, this years musical production is off to a roaring start, and we are all very excited about it!

New updates coming soon!

Monday, January 5, 2009

Best musical ever!!!! And best movie ever!!!!!!!


Okay, I got back from the city yesterday, after seeing South Pacific. I honestly have to say that this might be one of my favorite shows I have ever seen on Broadway. Of course, i don't really have a single favorite, because there were so many amazing ones, but the top five that are all tied for first place are South Pacific, Spring Awakening, Wicked, Company and Spamalot. Unfortunately, all of those other shows are either closed or closing. *Sad face.*

So, when I went to see this show, I really didn't remember the premise of the musical at all. I could only recall (somewhat) the refrains of "I'm gonna wash that man right out of my hair" and "There's nothing like a dame." And of course the fact that it was by Rogers and Hammerstein, which guaranteed several cheesy, peppy musical numbers, but also some sort of serious plot element. When I saw it however, I found, along with the expected musical numbers, several darker elements that I did not see coming (at ALL) and that even Guinevere (who played the piano in her high school production of this play) hadn't caught on to when she knew the show originally.

Another thing that I found surprising was how interesting I found the music to be (considering it is Rodgers and Hammerstein and all...) Generally, even though I love their music, I have always found it to be extremely predictable and a bit boring at times. However, between the "Bali Hai" theme and "This nearly was mine" I was particularly amazed, both by the music itself and the singers ("Bali Hai" was sung by Loretta Ables Sayre as Bloody Mary, and she has an AMAZING VOICE, and she is an amazing actress; "This nearly was mine" was sung by David Pittsinger as Emile de Becque, who I found out was an opera star, as opposed to Broadway, and he has one of the most gorgeous voices I have ever heard.)

Of course, aside from the show itself, the production was absolutely flawless. The major dance numbers were amazing, the set design was amazing, all of the performers were amazing (particularly the once I referred to before, as well as Kelli O'Hara, playing Nellie, and Matthew Morrison, playing Lt. Cable.)

Like I said, one of my top five at least.

So, the day after the show, Rev. Guinevere, Mr. Baker and I went to one of the best, biggest movie theaters I have ever been in and caught a morning movie (10:30 A.M.! How about that?)

The movie we saw: Slumdog Millionaire. Definitely n my top five list also (but this time my top five favorite movies: Slumdog Millionaire, Juno, All About Eve, Darjeeling Limited, and Little Miss Sunshine. Again, no order.)

now, I don't know if the film will even be released in every city, but for those of you who happen to live in an area where it is playing pr live within a few hours of an area where it is playing, let me advise you thus:

GO SEE IT!!!!!

There are really no words to describe how incredible this movie is. Seriously. All I can tell you is that, even though it's not a very mainstream movie, I will not be satisfied if it doesn't make an appearance at the Oscars.

So. Go see it. Right now.

I have had a most fabulous weekend, and a most fabulous break. And now, back to school.....

Saturday, January 3, 2009

So long, farewell...


Well bloggers, I am thrilled to announce that I am leaving in approximately 4 1/2 minutes to go to NYC with Mr. Baker and Rev. Guinevere to see South Pacific!!!!!!

Je suis tres tres TRES excited!!!!

I'll be back tomorrow to tell you all about how completely fabulous it was (because I know it will be...)

Oh, and by the way, remind me to tell you about the DEMO RECORDING I MADE OF MY SINGING AND GUITAR PLAYING!!!!

Big fun.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Cool Lyrics Meme in Celebration of the New Year!!!

Step 1: Put your music player on shuffle.
Step 2: Post the first line from the first 21 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing.
Step 3: Have your friends guess who each song is by and what it is titled.
Step 4: When someone guesses correctly, put the lyrics in bold and list the artist and title underneath.
Step 5: For those who are guessing -- looking the lyrics up on a search engine is CHEATING!
Step 6: If you like the game, post your own.

1. Thirteen years of solid gold platters, rising cost and cocktail chatter...
2. One more time, we're gonna celebrate, oh yeah all right, don't stop dancing...
3. Six AM day after Christmas, I throw some clothes on in the dark...
Brick, by Ben Folds Five
4. There's nothing I could say to you, Nothing I could ever do to make you see...
5. So money made you mean, and that's not how it's supposed to be...
6. Something 'bout the way you looked at me made me think for a moment...
7. Isn't it warm isn't it rosy...
Side by Side by Side, From the musical "Company"
8. Making my way downtown, walking fast, faces passed and I'm home bound...
9. I hate to see you cry, lying there in that position...
10. Once there was a way to get back homeward...
Golden Slumbers, by The Beatles
11. I was quiet as a mouse when I snuck into your house...
12. Every single day, I walk down the street, I hear people say "Baby's so sweet"...
13. I know you like me (I know you like me) I know you do (I know you do)...
14. I don't want to hear you whisper, I don't want to orbit your world of two...
15. You were shining in a white light, like a fairytale movie star...
16. If you see me walking down the street, and I start to cry each time we meet...
17. Is love so fragile, and the heart so hollow...
18. I can't wait to be with you, no I just can't sit still, are we there yet...
19. Can I ask you a question please, promise you won't laugh at me...
20. She's into superstitions, black cats and voodoo dolls...
Livin La Vida Loca, by Ricky Martin
21. Brown eyes and lungs are filled up with smoke...

Okay, so apparently my definition of "one line" varied a little bit with the different songs, but hey. I'm just trying to make this easier for you guys.

Send me what you think the answers are!!!