EGNC
To: Middle School Parents and students.
From: Ms. Wilson
Re: Schedule Specifics for Dress rehearsal and performances.
SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY DRESS REHEARSAL AND
PERFORMANCE DAYS FOR EGNC.
SUNDAY, March 25--------FINAL DRESS REHEARSAL
12:30 BLUE CAST, CHORUS, ORCHESTRA and CREW call. You must be at school no later than 12:30 and no earlier than noon. All actors into make-up and costume. Make-up first, then get into costume.
12:40 ORCHESTRA warm-up in Carlson
1:00 WARM-UP
(physical and vocal) for BLUE CAST and CHORUS onstage in Carlson. CREW pre-set is finished by this time. House opens at 1:15.
1:20 CURTAIN—BLUE CAST
2:20 NOTES
3:00 BLUE CAST break, CHORUS, CREW and ORCHESTRA break.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3:00 RED CAST CALL. Happy Birthday Emma! Snacks and cake will be available. NO EATING IN COSTUME. NO EXCEPTIONS.
3:15 RED CAST into make-up, then costume.
3:30 BLUE CAST released which means YOU MUST GO HOME if you are in the blue cast. You may not stay for the other dress rehearsal.
3:45 Warm-ups onstage for RED cast—physical and vocal…including CHORUS.
4:00 House is open.
4:15 RED CAST Curtain.
5:15 Notes
6:00 RED CAST is released. CHORUS is released. ORCHESTRA is released. Go home and get some sleep!
6ish CREW is released when the props, costumes and set pieces are put away for the evening.
Hi All.
Tomorrow is our last dress rehearsal. We will run rehearsals in costume and make-up just as if we had a real audience.
To Do:
BE Prompt.
ORCHESTRA:
1. Wear black clothing appropriate for an orchestra member. Remember, you represent our school when you are out in front as a member of the orchestra.
2. Please make sure your clothes and body are clean every day you arrive to play. That means you will have to wash your orchestra black clothes a few times (at least) by the time we get to our final performance.
ALL ACTORS:
1. Wear comfortable clothes that have a button down shirt so you can get into make-up and then easily change into costume.
2. Wear clean undergarments and SHOWER AND PUT ON DEODORANT BEFORE YOU COME TO REHEARSAL AND PERFORMANCES—EVERY SINGLE DAY you are rehearsing and performing. This is especially important for people who are sharing costumes.
ALL:
1. Bring your paper, pencil and a water bottle that has your name on it.
2. Bring a healthy snack just in case you need it. You will be working hard for the entire rehearsal with short breaks and a half an hour break at 3:00.
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE DETAILS
Performers: ALL actors, musicians and crew must arrive at school 1 hour before each performance.
TARDINESS: If an actor is late, we will assume the actor is ill and call in an understudy from the other cast. ALL participants are required to arrive on time for every call. There will be a sign in sheet for actors, crew and orchestra backstage beginning on Monday, March 26 for the opening performance.
Performance schedule
Monday, March 26 BLUE CAST OPENING 6:00pm call/7pm curtain
Tuesday, March 27 BLUE cast 6:00pm call/7pm curtain
Wednesday, March 28 BLUE cast 12:30 pm call/1:30pm matinee curtain
Wednesday, March 28 RED CAST OPENING 6:00 pm call/7pm curtain
Thursday, March 29 RED CAST Matinee 12:30 call/1:30 matinee curtain
Thursday, March 29 RED CAST 6pm call/7pm curtain
EVENING PICK-UP:
The show lasts about 55 minutes. Your child(ren) should be ready to go home about 90 minutes after curtain time in the evenings. They will be available at the usual time of 3:15 after matinees just like any normal school day.
A few suggestions for parents:
Make sure your child gets plenty of rest this week. The schedule is very demanding and they are excited and nervous.
Regular meals are important. I suggest a light meal before you take your child to school for his/her call. He or she will probably want to eat again after the performance.
Don’t be surprised if your child is very “jazzed” when he or she arrives home after a performance. It’s really normal to take some time to come down from the excitement of a performance experience whether you are crew, orchestra, cast, videographer, ticket person etc..Listening to music or quietly reading in bed might help your child calm down and be ready to sleep after she/he arrives home.
I or another middle school faculty person will not leave the building until every child is picked up after evening performances.
My cell phone number is (see note sent home). Please use it ONLY in case of an emergency. Please call if your child is ill as soon as you are able.
ILLNESS:
We are fortunate to have two full casts of principles. If a child in the chorus is ill, please call me and we will adapt our staging.
If a principle actor is ill, I will call the actor from the other cast to come and perform the role in your (ill) child’s absence.
NOTE: if your child performs for an ill actor, I will allow the ill actor to do a performance later in the run in place of your child. We are a community and I want to allow each child to have the opportunity to do three performances. We have all the emergency numbers for parents listed in the emergency book in the main office. We want to be able to reach actors from the red cast for blue cast performances if needed and visa versa. We will assume we can reach one parent via cell phone in case of emergency. If you are going to be anywhere where you aren’t reachable via cell, please email me at lwilson@bakerdemschool.org. with the details of where you can be reached in an emergency.
Thanks all.
Ms. W.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Welcome Ms. Jan's class!
Today was hectic and very fruitful. We ran through the show for the lighting crew, put up the "legs" for the side masking, had numerous line, choreography and music rehearsals and did some scene painting and light cue writing after school...the one ingredient...it was all done by our kids.
I'm tired tonight, so I'm going to write a short one. Many kids said that they have been worried about homework this week. I spoke to your teachers and they were very clear that the rubrics were there for you to start on the work you will be tackling next week in your regular classes and to continue work on your Latin and your debates for Social Studies. You are not expected to finish all of the work by Friday or Monday. The teachers assigned the rubrics so everyone would have meaningful work to do if you weren't needed in the theatre or the art room or the costume room etc...This week is all about the production and your place in it. Don't worry about the homework, but pay attention to it when you have the opportunity. Being an independent thinker and a "doer" is the answer for this confusion. I keep repeating in rehearsal this week. None of us is concerned if you make a mistake. All we require is that you work to your fullest potential--try your hardest and you will succeed. I am delighted with where we are right now, but we have more work to do.
Tomorrow, we run straight through. Blue cast in the am.
OUR LITTLEST AUDIENCE...
At 9:30 we will do the opening number for the toddler class. They are too little to sit through the whole show, but we want them to be excited and feel included in the show. They'll be with us for about 15 minutes in Carlson and they will watch the opening number with lighting and costumes. We will introduce ourselves and allow them to ask questions. It should be a delightful and (probably amusing) way to start the day. Have you met any of our littlest ones? They are pretty darned delightful.
Costumes tomorrow. Be prepared to feel a little (or a lot) discombobulated....first dress is always a challenge...We'll only stop for costume issues and I'll take notes. After the run-thru, both casts and all crew will gather in the theatre for notes. Costume notes first, then actors, then crew.
Be brave, dear students and take the risk to put yourselves out there...risk being as wonderful as you possibly can....I have so much faith in you.
Ms. W.
I'm tired tonight, so I'm going to write a short one. Many kids said that they have been worried about homework this week. I spoke to your teachers and they were very clear that the rubrics were there for you to start on the work you will be tackling next week in your regular classes and to continue work on your Latin and your debates for Social Studies. You are not expected to finish all of the work by Friday or Monday. The teachers assigned the rubrics so everyone would have meaningful work to do if you weren't needed in the theatre or the art room or the costume room etc...This week is all about the production and your place in it. Don't worry about the homework, but pay attention to it when you have the opportunity. Being an independent thinker and a "doer" is the answer for this confusion. I keep repeating in rehearsal this week. None of us is concerned if you make a mistake. All we require is that you work to your fullest potential--try your hardest and you will succeed. I am delighted with where we are right now, but we have more work to do.
Tomorrow, we run straight through. Blue cast in the am.
OUR LITTLEST AUDIENCE...
At 9:30 we will do the opening number for the toddler class. They are too little to sit through the whole show, but we want them to be excited and feel included in the show. They'll be with us for about 15 minutes in Carlson and they will watch the opening number with lighting and costumes. We will introduce ourselves and allow them to ask questions. It should be a delightful and (probably amusing) way to start the day. Have you met any of our littlest ones? They are pretty darned delightful.
Costumes tomorrow. Be prepared to feel a little (or a lot) discombobulated....first dress is always a challenge...We'll only stop for costume issues and I'll take notes. After the run-thru, both casts and all crew will gather in the theatre for notes. Costume notes first, then actors, then crew.
Be brave, dear students and take the risk to put yourselves out there...risk being as wonderful as you possibly can....I have so much faith in you.
Ms. W.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Tech week starts tomorrow...
Hi all.
TO POST A COMMENT: you need to click on comments at the bottom of this page and there will be a window pop up where you can comment.
Hey,
Look at the callboard when you come in every day. Everything is very organized for this week.
If you want to, you can do your rehearsals and get your homework done as well. You have advisory first thing in the morning to get all of your questions answered. Everything you do as homework this week will get you ahead.
We'll start every day with an advisory til 9.
9:00 --meeting for all tech crew and staff in Carlson til 9:30/break.
9:35--cast onstage for run.
9:35--orchestra places for run.
9:35--crew in place for run-thru.
9:35 --other cast in audience observing.
10:25--5 minute break for all..
11:15 break for lunch. see you this afternoon.....
See you all tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to this week.
Ms. W.
TO POST A COMMENT: you need to click on comments at the bottom of this page and there will be a window pop up where you can comment.
Hey,
Look at the callboard when you come in every day. Everything is very organized for this week.
If you want to, you can do your rehearsals and get your homework done as well. You have advisory first thing in the morning to get all of your questions answered. Everything you do as homework this week will get you ahead.
We'll start every day with an advisory til 9.
9:00-- a warm-up in the cafeteria for actors and orchestra run by choreographers and Mrs. G for vocal warm-ups.
9:00 --meeting for all tech crew and staff in Carlson til 9:30/break.
9:35--cast onstage for run.
9:35--orchestra places for run.
9:35--crew in place for run-thru.
9:35 --other cast in audience observing.
10:25--5 minute break for all..
11:15 break for lunch. see you this afternoon.....
See you all tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to this week.
Ms. W.
Friday, March 16, 2007
There was a little stage...and on that stage there was a whoppingly grand Steinway piano...
The piano was finally, finally moved today. I walked in to school only to discover the brand new elevator was broken (arghghgh). But Mrs. G. prevailed upon the piano movers to come to school anyway and they got the darned thing out of the theatre about 12:15. I was never so delighted to wave goodbye to a piano. I love that instrument...but it was like having an elephant onstage in the theatre.
Long, full day today. We started with a short rehearsal time from 10:45-11:15. I blocked the Kid's solo while other parties worked in their spots. Mr. Beck jumped in to the blocking rehearsal...It's a grand thing when you work with someone for so many years that they can pick up and collaborate with you right on the spot...no egos...no who's idea was who's...Mr. Beck started working with the two actors who play the Kid. He had great images to open up the ideas of the song. Both Solveig and Emma are wonderful dancers and we wanted to use that in the choreography. Do you or did you ever dance around the room when you were in grade school all alone in your room?...I'll happily admit it...I sure did...
Some people have to talk to themselves, some have to write it down, some draw ideas...the Kid loves to move and, in this play she is a voracious reader...she knows tons of stories from books. When she decides that the kingdom needs a hero, in her song, at first, she paints the hero in traditional, patriarchal ways...using "he" and more traditional male stereotypes of a hero--seperate from herself...Suddenly, after exploring the ideas in the song--the qualities one really needs to be a hero, she realizes that she doesn't need to be a boy or tall or even a grown-up..She realizes that she has integrity and she understands the pen is mightier than the sword...Hey, maybe the hero could possibly be...Her...Mr. Beck and I took turns volleying the idea of sharing these ideas with the audience. Ideally, the audience should be thinking..."It's YOU. The hero can be YOU Kid." The audience needs to be included in the discovery and the connections that the girl makes in her song.
Both Emma and Solveig got it...they realized that the song should be fun and exhausting and freeing to sing. Both easy and hard at the same time...It is crazy how that never changes about singing...It always feels so easy and so complicated to me as a singer...Working with the girls and Mr. Beck was great fun...Phoebe was there as one of our choreographers. She was observing Mr. Beck working to challenge the actors to free themselves of constraints so they could explore new ideas through movement. Thanks for being savvy and dedicated enough to stay for the extra few minutes of rehearsal Phoebe...it was kind of a magical rehearsal for all of us.
Have I mentioned that this project would be literally impossible to do without my colleague and Associate Teacher, Ms. Snyder? Her combination of professional experience and her depth of knowledge of theatre pedagogy is hard to beat. And she's fun to work with and never loses her cool...She is the person who keeps it from being work for me...when we are collaborating and putting this whole thing together, I feel as if it's all going to work out.
Then the middle school broke for lunch and recess and this afternoon we ran from where we left off yesterday. Starting at scene 3, we worked through the show scene by scene til we reached a song. Then we'd go through the song and subsequently change casts and go back from the beginning of that previous rehearsal section and do it again with the other cast. Am I making sense? In short, we did everything twice. I think it worked well for the kids cause the crew was able to do and see everything twice and all of the actors had the opportunity to work on stage today.
Sid and Abbey are just getting started with the lighting. We'll be coming in this weekend and they're staying late tonight to try and gel and focus every instrument before we start tech rehearsals on Monday.
Ms. Holland was in yesterday to coach two of our singers. The schedule has been so hectic, both Mrs. G and I were especially thrilled to have Ms. Holland in to work one-on-one with singers. I observed a transformation in the confidence of one of the actors who was up onstage shortly after the coaching session. It was quite moving to me to see how much one can accomplish with students when they have talent of expert artists at their fingertips. I love working on a project where we can provide such intense experiences for our kids. One-on-one coaching with a professional singer is a huge treat for a young artist, not to mention a great confidence booster. Huge thanks to our Baker parent and professional singer Ms. Holland for sharing her gifts with our kids. We think we'll see her again next week.
I'm thinking of the Ghandi quote that goes something like, "Become the change you want to see in the world." I feel as if our parents are really taking these ideas to heart with EGNC project. There is something special about our Baker community that draws a diversity of talent and a desire for connectedness between adults and children. We enjoy our kids...I see this in our teachers and in our volunteers who aren't only middle school parents, but parents from all different grades. These parents: Ms. Holland, Ms. Oberman, the Roses, Rebecca who made our beautiful purse for June, Mr. Hensley, Mrs. Smookler and Mrs. Hay, parents who built sets with their kids, and Mr. Haight who has little children but who has spent countless hours teaching our middle school kids how to create a documentary film.
How did we get so lucky to become part of this Baker community? I am overwhelmed with the skill, artistry and compassion of our parents. And I am so grateful for their generosity of time and talent.
A sad farewell to middle school Math Associate, Ms. Mallett who is going to the city to do her student teaching. Ms. Mallett has a background in directing and choreography and she has worked as an Assistant Director on EGNC since I drafted her the day I found out she had theatre experience. Thank you, thank you, thank you Ms. Mallett. We look forward to seeing you at a performance in two weeks. Best of luck with your (fortunate) new students.
Ms. Wilson.
Long, full day today. We started with a short rehearsal time from 10:45-11:15. I blocked the Kid's solo while other parties worked in their spots. Mr. Beck jumped in to the blocking rehearsal...It's a grand thing when you work with someone for so many years that they can pick up and collaborate with you right on the spot...no egos...no who's idea was who's...Mr. Beck started working with the two actors who play the Kid. He had great images to open up the ideas of the song. Both Solveig and Emma are wonderful dancers and we wanted to use that in the choreography. Do you or did you ever dance around the room when you were in grade school all alone in your room?...I'll happily admit it...I sure did...
Some people have to talk to themselves, some have to write it down, some draw ideas...the Kid loves to move and, in this play she is a voracious reader...she knows tons of stories from books. When she decides that the kingdom needs a hero, in her song, at first, she paints the hero in traditional, patriarchal ways...using "he" and more traditional male stereotypes of a hero--seperate from herself...Suddenly, after exploring the ideas in the song--the qualities one really needs to be a hero, she realizes that she doesn't need to be a boy or tall or even a grown-up..She realizes that she has integrity and she understands the pen is mightier than the sword...Hey, maybe the hero could possibly be...Her...Mr. Beck and I took turns volleying the idea of sharing these ideas with the audience. Ideally, the audience should be thinking..."It's YOU. The hero can be YOU Kid." The audience needs to be included in the discovery and the connections that the girl makes in her song.
Both Emma and Solveig got it...they realized that the song should be fun and exhausting and freeing to sing. Both easy and hard at the same time...It is crazy how that never changes about singing...It always feels so easy and so complicated to me as a singer...Working with the girls and Mr. Beck was great fun...Phoebe was there as one of our choreographers. She was observing Mr. Beck working to challenge the actors to free themselves of constraints so they could explore new ideas through movement. Thanks for being savvy and dedicated enough to stay for the extra few minutes of rehearsal Phoebe...it was kind of a magical rehearsal for all of us.
Have I mentioned that this project would be literally impossible to do without my colleague and Associate Teacher, Ms. Snyder? Her combination of professional experience and her depth of knowledge of theatre pedagogy is hard to beat. And she's fun to work with and never loses her cool...She is the person who keeps it from being work for me...when we are collaborating and putting this whole thing together, I feel as if it's all going to work out.
Then the middle school broke for lunch and recess and this afternoon we ran from where we left off yesterday. Starting at scene 3, we worked through the show scene by scene til we reached a song. Then we'd go through the song and subsequently change casts and go back from the beginning of that previous rehearsal section and do it again with the other cast. Am I making sense? In short, we did everything twice. I think it worked well for the kids cause the crew was able to do and see everything twice and all of the actors had the opportunity to work on stage today.
Sid and Abbey are just getting started with the lighting. We'll be coming in this weekend and they're staying late tonight to try and gel and focus every instrument before we start tech rehearsals on Monday.
Ms. Holland was in yesterday to coach two of our singers. The schedule has been so hectic, both Mrs. G and I were especially thrilled to have Ms. Holland in to work one-on-one with singers. I observed a transformation in the confidence of one of the actors who was up onstage shortly after the coaching session. It was quite moving to me to see how much one can accomplish with students when they have talent of expert artists at their fingertips. I love working on a project where we can provide such intense experiences for our kids. One-on-one coaching with a professional singer is a huge treat for a young artist, not to mention a great confidence booster. Huge thanks to our Baker parent and professional singer Ms. Holland for sharing her gifts with our kids. We think we'll see her again next week.
I'm thinking of the Ghandi quote that goes something like, "Become the change you want to see in the world." I feel as if our parents are really taking these ideas to heart with EGNC project. There is something special about our Baker community that draws a diversity of talent and a desire for connectedness between adults and children. We enjoy our kids...I see this in our teachers and in our volunteers who aren't only middle school parents, but parents from all different grades. These parents: Ms. Holland, Ms. Oberman, the Roses, Rebecca who made our beautiful purse for June, Mr. Hensley, Mrs. Smookler and Mrs. Hay, parents who built sets with their kids, and Mr. Haight who has little children but who has spent countless hours teaching our middle school kids how to create a documentary film.
How did we get so lucky to become part of this Baker community? I am overwhelmed with the skill, artistry and compassion of our parents. And I am so grateful for their generosity of time and talent.
A sad farewell to middle school Math Associate, Ms. Mallett who is going to the city to do her student teaching. Ms. Mallett has a background in directing and choreography and she has worked as an Assistant Director on EGNC since I drafted her the day I found out she had theatre experience. Thank you, thank you, thank you Ms. Mallett. We look forward to seeing you at a performance in two weeks. Best of luck with your (fortunate) new students.
Ms. Wilson.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Pics, we have pics.
Mrs. Kohlman works with our
costumers to teach them how to
do button holes and seams.
costumers to teach them how to
do button holes and seams.
(On right) J.J-W prepares to try on his Emperor costume for Mrs. O to do a fitting.
Mrs. O fits H.S. for her costume for the Mom in "The Emperor's Groovy New Clothes".
Today we begin the hang for the lights in the theatre while the actors work in the cafeteria and teacher's lounge to fine tune the flow of the play.
Mr. Beck will speak to the entire production team today about taking responsibility. It's time for everyone to step up and relinquish any excuses. Everyone is counting on everyone else.
Tonight, Sid and Abby will stay after school to continue the hang and focus. I'm hoping Julian, Cate and Christopher will also stay after. These afternoons are full of learning for the students. Yesterday, after school, Sidney and Abby and I stayed and talked through the first half of the script and all of the light cues we'll need. I think they were a bit overwhelmed...yup...that's how it starts and pretty soon, you wonder how you ever felt as if you couldn't accomplish the job on time.
Mr. Rose is in on Wed to tie in the power...then everything will look great!
It's getting closer.
More later.
Ms. Wilson
Monday, March 12, 2007
"Well, it's definitely a look."
Mrs. Oberman brought half of the costumes today for fittings and the costume folks, under the direction of Mrs. Kohlman, learned how to do hems and sew on buttons for the finishing touches on the costumes.
Christopher's reaction was my favorite of all of the students who had a fitting today. He's playing the fashion conscious Dad and he said, when he tried on his purple pants and fab polyester signature early 70's shirt..."Well, it's definitely a LOOK" and indeed it is. It's like the characters jumped to life as the students tried on their colorful costumes. I have a great pic of Mrs. O in one of the mohawk wigs for Primp and Preen. They are a riot...I think I'll just save that little photo....Hello out there Mrs. O. It's a great shot..shall I publish it?
More musical rehearsals today in the cafeteria while the set design crew was spattering the back wall for texture in the theatre. I understand the spattering got a little messy and it took quite awhile for the clean-up..hey all...Mr. Gnutek is feeling crummy with a cold these days...be good to him.
Mr. Beck, Mr. Hensley and Mr. Rose and Julian and Margaret helped load in the lighting equipment this afternoon at 4:30 until 7. Thanks Julian and Margaret and Mr H, R and Mr. Beck...we'll start the hang tomorrow.
Mondays on this project are always overwhelming to me. There are always problems to fix and unexpected happenings over the weekend. But today we began to iron everything out. We had a great talk today in a small rehearsal--Solveig, Emma and I, about the Kid and her courage to stand up against the status quo..Solveig brought up a very valid question early on..why is the kid so naive about Louis the swindler? Why does she believe him? I talked about how we all really want to be believed and understood and that it's easier than one thinks to be taken in by someone who flatters you and seems to understand you...after a not short enough story from my acting days and a (I think) pretty good connection to the beloved "Wicked" we seemed to be getting somewhere--this almost 50 year old drama teacher and two really smart middle school actresses.
I still have to block a duet and a solo...You know, it's interesting to me ...The actress in me wants to give the girls some freedom to explore the Kid's songs--especially the solos. After years in the theatre, one gets a sense of how a song should move, but these are young (but super smart) artists...so there's a tension there. I have given them my idea for the arc of the song and where it should begin and build to...and I have invited them to play with the choices until we set some basic blocking in tech rehearsal at the end of the week. The important thing is that they believe in the integrity of the kid...she's brave and stands up for what she believes in despite tremendous pressure...I think we're starting to see eye to eye on that.
Fabulous girls --these two young women.
I'm wondering if the kids know how hard we're going to have to work for the next two weeks to get this thing off the ground? I guess they'll learn if they haven't yet realized how much work it takes to put up a show like this.
In Mia's blog, she asked, "What is the purpose of the blog?" Well, I have my ideas, but I'm interested in hearing from others first...I'm hoping the kids will use the blog more frequently...it's their thing...perhaps more IM'ing than blogging..but I think there's a real place for it.
I'm wondering if anyone is reading this. Nevertheless, it's a good record of the day to day goings on of the EGNC project. But I must admit, I really want to be more "transparent" than we've been in the past with our process. The arts can transform and inspire...I see it all the time....I want parents to have a little window into the world of this project. We'll see how it pans out...however this record is put to use...it does help me to document the everyday comings and goings of this monster project. Of course right now I should be doing some number crunching...but I'm putting it off to write about how the kids inspire me...they really do...it's so clearly an equation that works...mix fine arts and high expectations with the time and personnel to do the job and kids just shine..it never fails to bring me joy.
Have a good one.
Ms. W.
Christopher's reaction was my favorite of all of the students who had a fitting today. He's playing the fashion conscious Dad and he said, when he tried on his purple pants and fab polyester signature early 70's shirt..."Well, it's definitely a LOOK" and indeed it is. It's like the characters jumped to life as the students tried on their colorful costumes. I have a great pic of Mrs. O in one of the mohawk wigs for Primp and Preen. They are a riot...I think I'll just save that little photo....Hello out there Mrs. O. It's a great shot..shall I publish it?
More musical rehearsals today in the cafeteria while the set design crew was spattering the back wall for texture in the theatre. I understand the spattering got a little messy and it took quite awhile for the clean-up..hey all...Mr. Gnutek is feeling crummy with a cold these days...be good to him.
Mr. Beck, Mr. Hensley and Mr. Rose and Julian and Margaret helped load in the lighting equipment this afternoon at 4:30 until 7. Thanks Julian and Margaret and Mr H, R and Mr. Beck...we'll start the hang tomorrow.
Mondays on this project are always overwhelming to me. There are always problems to fix and unexpected happenings over the weekend. But today we began to iron everything out. We had a great talk today in a small rehearsal--Solveig, Emma and I, about the Kid and her courage to stand up against the status quo..Solveig brought up a very valid question early on..why is the kid so naive about Louis the swindler? Why does she believe him? I talked about how we all really want to be believed and understood and that it's easier than one thinks to be taken in by someone who flatters you and seems to understand you...after a not short enough story from my acting days and a (I think) pretty good connection to the beloved "Wicked" we seemed to be getting somewhere--this almost 50 year old drama teacher and two really smart middle school actresses.
I still have to block a duet and a solo...You know, it's interesting to me ...The actress in me wants to give the girls some freedom to explore the Kid's songs--especially the solos. After years in the theatre, one gets a sense of how a song should move, but these are young (but super smart) artists...so there's a tension there. I have given them my idea for the arc of the song and where it should begin and build to...and I have invited them to play with the choices until we set some basic blocking in tech rehearsal at the end of the week. The important thing is that they believe in the integrity of the kid...she's brave and stands up for what she believes in despite tremendous pressure...I think we're starting to see eye to eye on that.
Fabulous girls --these two young women.
I'm wondering if the kids know how hard we're going to have to work for the next two weeks to get this thing off the ground? I guess they'll learn if they haven't yet realized how much work it takes to put up a show like this.
In Mia's blog, she asked, "What is the purpose of the blog?" Well, I have my ideas, but I'm interested in hearing from others first...I'm hoping the kids will use the blog more frequently...it's their thing...perhaps more IM'ing than blogging..but I think there's a real place for it.
I'm wondering if anyone is reading this. Nevertheless, it's a good record of the day to day goings on of the EGNC project. But I must admit, I really want to be more "transparent" than we've been in the past with our process. The arts can transform and inspire...I see it all the time....I want parents to have a little window into the world of this project. We'll see how it pans out...however this record is put to use...it does help me to document the everyday comings and goings of this monster project. Of course right now I should be doing some number crunching...but I'm putting it off to write about how the kids inspire me...they really do...it's so clearly an equation that works...mix fine arts and high expectations with the time and personnel to do the job and kids just shine..it never fails to bring me joy.
Have a good one.
Ms. W.
Costumes Anyone?
Costume fittings today. We thought they were going to be at 2:15, but Mrs. O. has a conflict and so we will forge ahead and make a new schedule for the fittings.
Mrs. Oberman is another parent who has made EGNC possible. She designed the principal costumes for the show and she has also built all of them! The students have never worn such glamorous and well made costumes at Baker. The colors are fabulous and wait until you see Primp and Preen's costumes...they really make a statement! More about the divine Ms. Oberman later. The students will do the hand sewing with Mrs. Kohlman starting today until opening two weeks from today. Mrs. Kohlman is working with the chorus costume designers to costume the entire chorus. Lots to do...lots to do...
This week is filled with tech and spot rehearsals.
I'm going to pull Solveig today for a one-on-one session for her solo...I pulled Emma during LA last week as well. Mrs. McKenna has the students working on projects that allow me to take an actor or tech person out for one LA period to rehearse. This has been a real help in that it allows students some one on one time with me to explore ideas for their characters. Sometimes Ms. Snyder is there as well which makes it possible for one of us to work with the actor and the other to observe the improvs and to comment and direct. This might be my favorite part of the whole thing...being able to work with students in small groups to delve into a character or a main idea for the play and to see how all of that is reflected in his/her character.
I'm at home this morning and off to school to figure out the specifics of rehearsals for the rest of the week before we go into rehearsal with Solveig.
Ms. Wilson
Mrs. Oberman is another parent who has made EGNC possible. She designed the principal costumes for the show and she has also built all of them! The students have never worn such glamorous and well made costumes at Baker. The colors are fabulous and wait until you see Primp and Preen's costumes...they really make a statement! More about the divine Ms. Oberman later. The students will do the hand sewing with Mrs. Kohlman starting today until opening two weeks from today. Mrs. Kohlman is working with the chorus costume designers to costume the entire chorus. Lots to do...lots to do...
This week is filled with tech and spot rehearsals.
I'm going to pull Solveig today for a one-on-one session for her solo...I pulled Emma during LA last week as well. Mrs. McKenna has the students working on projects that allow me to take an actor or tech person out for one LA period to rehearse. This has been a real help in that it allows students some one on one time with me to explore ideas for their characters. Sometimes Ms. Snyder is there as well which makes it possible for one of us to work with the actor and the other to observe the improvs and to comment and direct. This might be my favorite part of the whole thing...being able to work with students in small groups to delve into a character or a main idea for the play and to see how all of that is reflected in his/her character.
I'm at home this morning and off to school to figure out the specifics of rehearsals for the rest of the week before we go into rehearsal with Solveig.
Ms. Wilson
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