The cast is off-book for act one. Act two is in the works and shaping up to be just as stunning. Now that we are getting used to singing, dancing, acting, and moving all at once for this musical, developing character is all the rage. Luckliy for our future audience members, we have an incredibly talented cast that is already working hard to bring their character to life. Each charcter is facing their own sort of struggle and the entertaining story that results comes from how they go about taking care of those problems. Our characters are lovestruck, sentimental, outrageous, and ready to break through some boundaries. To get a taste for who will be sharing the "All Shook Up" story with our audiences, I chatted with some of our cast members concerning the increasingly important question: who is your character?
Amanda Wood is playing the role of Matilda, the town mayor. Amanda described her as assertive and stuck in the past. Matilda wants to hold on tight to the traditional way of livng while the town around her is about to burst into something completely opposite. Chad, the spunky man trying to reinvent the town, is not on the list of people she wants to have dinner with. In fact, she is taken aback by him and wants to protect her son Dean from the outlandish things that he is trying to introduce. The role of Dean is played by Bryan Barry. Bryan described Dean as awkward and restricted, we're looking at you mom. Having Matilda as his mom hasn't really allowed him to experience life as a teenager should. All of a sudden he catches sight of the beautiful Lorraine and feels a connection to the fun life he has never gotten to live. Lorraine gets him and gets him into trouble. Lorraine is bossy, risky, and dreamy according to Gabrielle Mouch. Those are three unsual descriptions which make for an interesting character. Her mom, Sylvia, owns the town diner which casts a critical shadow on all that either of them do. Gabrielle let me in on a strategy that she learned from her acting teacher to portray the different relationships that Lorainne is in. When around her mother, she has an aura of attitude about her which leads to things like popping her hip. Lorraine's hands are near her heart or out and expressive when she is with Dean because he brings a whole new sensation to her. The last character that I want to introduce today is Sandra. She is played by Jordan Zulli. Sandra runs the town museum but feels a tad isolated from all of its inhabitants. Her mind is sharp and quick-witted which supplements her sassy and sarcastic attitude. Like everyone else, Sandra's eye is out for a man specifically who can share her artistic passion. Each of these folks, among others, get their lives all sorts of intertwined as the story progresses and the Elvis songs carry us through. Thanks for reading! -Ally Knizner
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There aren't any dull moments around here anymore. Songs are constantly flooding the stage. Dancing is happening in every spare space our auditorium has to offer. Repetion will bring together our components that we have accumulated thus far. We have no other option than to keep singing and dancing! Off-book rehearsals begin next week so the whole singing-and-dancing deal will really start coming to life. It will be a challenge at first, but if we are never challenged in such a way throughout the process we would never grow or continue reaching our potentials of such great things. While on the topic of great, I need to say how incredibly amazed I am every single week with the variety of things that the cast and crew can get done. Today I talked to the sound crew squad and I heard about what they have been doing. They were quite enthusiatic to share these things with me. Check out these photos and their captions for the most exciting blurbs of information that you will have read today guaranteed! Well, maybe not exactly that, but I am a bit of an optimist so I am hopeful that all of this is just as exciting to you as it is to me.
-Ally Knizner Between scenes of our act one run-through this week, I talked to Sam Baxter and Sarah Newsom, two wonderful seniors on our costume crew. Sam and Sarah, along with the other dedicated girls working on costumes, have totally knocked my socks off. The primary project that they have been tackling for the past few weeks is going to make All Shook Up even more memorable for our audiences. They have taken on the task of making circle skirts for a majority of the girls in our cast. Each skirt that they make takes around two and a half hours. These costumes aren't just pretty to look at but they are also going to make for a cool technical aspect of the show. I am going to give you all the inside scoop of their intricate process, though I will not be able to do it justice. We need to appreciate the work that these costumers, with the help of Mr. Kent, have been creating so specially.
The first order of business is to cut out two half circles with the pattern. Two days were spent, all hands on deck, just cutting out the pieces that would be needed. The two half circles are meticulosly sewn together. There are strips cut off during this time that are saved for something later instead of being thrown away (yay for resourcefulness!). There is another layer attached to the back of the now already existing skirt and then the whole piece is flipped inside out. On the inside they attach something called interfacing. I had no idea what that meant and they described it to me as the fabric that makes costumes stiff. The skirt is flipped rightside out again and now has a neater look because of the influence of interfacing. The strip removed earlier comes back now and after about a half hour is it attached towards the bottom of the skirt, adding a lovely detail to the design. It is sewn a few inches above the hem. The finishing touch is a fastener of some sort, either velcro or a button. At least two and a half hours have passed by the time the skirt is completed. Though this was a fairly general exposition of their undertaking, I hope you have a little bit of new knowledge and appreciation for some of our behind the scenes hands. -Ally Knizner This Thursday at rehearsal we all had the pleasure of hearing from Nick Cearley, who played Dennis in the first national Broadway tour of All Shook Up. Currently Nick is playing the sought-after role of Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park (which is running until February 19). He told us about how he went to Fairfield High School, the very place that our Chad goes to. Nick is also in a band that sang with Lin Manuel-Miranda one time; that fact made me geek out. The shows Next to Normal and Rocky Horror are among his favorites. Now that you all have had a brief introduction, I am going to get into the tip-top advice that Nick so graciously shared.
Someone asked him what the most important thing is that he has learned during his days of being a performer. What he said was wonderful and totally applicable to all of us, regardless of who we are. Nick put it simply, “Be nice to everyone;” directors and people in positions of authority prefer amicable, easy to work with folks. Throughout life, whether we choose to be a performer or not, it is inevitable that we will cross the paths of so many people. Making the decision to be a kind individual will allow you to form so many more relationships, too. You know what they always say: the more the merrier! Developing a character and keeping it strong throughout the show is a fundamental ingredient in the recipe for a great show. Nick shared that creating a strong backstory is the most important thing to do for yourself. Getting to know the character you are playing inside out will make for strong stage chemistry between actors. When he was in All Shook Up, he mentioned an ensemble member who chose to be the mailman for the town. It helped to know his occupation and status to form an accurate onstage relationship with him. He urged principle characters to stay naive and play the joke. Comedic shows are written to be funny. Crazy concept, right? Being in character and delivering lines as he or she would will get the most laughs. He found that the times he was trying to be funny elicited less of a response from the audience. It is also important to refrain from going on autopilot and just going through the motions of your part. We are all cast and placed purposefully and it is each actor's responsibility to deliver their best and most genuine performance every time around. To perform a song Nick revealed his method that struck me as ingenious. Memorize the words to the song before working on the music aspect. Practice performing them as if they made up a monologue. In doing that, meaning behind the words can be found and embedded in your mind. Adding the notes is the next step and with some hard work, there is no heartfelt ballad that you can't master. Speaking of master, Nick gave us some insight into going to college for performing arts. He emphasized that it essentially doesn't matter where you end up enrolled. It is up to the individual to put their all into the program and opportunities that they are given. Wherever you end up, you are going to get out of it what you put into it. Use your passion to drive you. When it comes to auditions and nerves (for college or other general auditions), he told us to remember that they want us to succeed. A director isn't evaluating performers all day long in hopes that you fail; they want to see you showcase your talents. Another helpful tip is to hone in on your skills. If you play an instrument, dance, masterfully handle a puppet, or improv like a star, hold on to those talents and keep up with them. Special things like that could land you that part and enhance what you have to bring to the table. We are so thankful to have had the chance to hear about the theatre world from the point of view of someone with so much Broadway/performing experience. Thank you, Nick Cearley for spending some time with us. Thanks for reading! -Ally Knizner Another week has gone by along with a well-spent number of hours in the McAuley auditorium. Choreography for "That's All Right" has been mastered and there is an epic mother-daughter showdown in that song for all of you to look forward to. Tap shoes have been brought back to the stage after a short hiatus for a cameo in "Blue Suede Shoes." Getting to tap dance is something that makes so many of us even more excited for the show. Set pieces have been sprouting up here and there on the stage like perennial daisies in the springtime. (Speaking of you springtime, the groundhog's shadow paid a visit and mentioned your arrival has been delayed a few months. Hope all is well!) Set constructions begin this Saturday from 9 am-12 pm and the Mr. Kent/Miss Geckle duo would love to have some happy helping hands. Set construction is actually a quite fun time and I personally have learned a lot from going. I went inside one Saturday morning meek and fearful of all things power tools, and I walked out a new woman who could add "comfortable with power tools" to her repertoire. That is all I have for tonight! Enjoy these photos of some cast and crew members. Is there anything you want to read on the blog in future weeks? Leave a comment or send me an email at [email protected].
-Ally Knizner |
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March 2018
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