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!!!