Puppet of the Week

Been a while since I’ve written on here, so I thought I would continue my attempted tradition of “Puppet of the Week” that I did one post on then forgot about entirely…sorry.
My puppet (or rather puppets) this time is one I’m very proud of. Back in late January, when I was working with Auburn Area Community Theatre on their production of Seussical Jr., I was asked to create a set of fish puppets for the “Anything’s Possible” number in the show, a song where Jojo’s imagination stretches his bathtub into the ocean. I was excited that I got the job and set of to work, but first I had to decide what kind of puppets I wanted to use, I had been given free reign to make whatever kind of fish puppets I wanted. I debated several different styles, and finally settled on something I thought would work best. I went to the library and looked at all the Dr. Seuss books I could find with fish in them, then sketched/designed 7 different styles of fish (several of which never saw the light of day as puppets, this included what I called “The Cat Fish” a black fish with red white stripes to look like the Cat in the Hat). I then set to work drawing large fish on matte board, cutting them out, painting thm, rigging them to talk (they were singing fish after all), detailing with a sharpie, and finally trimming them with black electrical tape to give them a straight off the page feel. The final product was five rod puppet fish that looked a lot like Dr. Seuss fish if I do say so myself…
The puppeteers for the fish (who were also in the ensemble playing Whoville citizens, Jungle of Nool creatures, and Circus McGurcus animals) were Marleigh Jones (my sister), Ian Downes, Walker Shumock-Bailey, Madison Jennings, and Brittany Price; who all danced the choreographed dance and did the puppet at the same time, a tough job (trust me).
Of my few stage puppet designing jobs this is one I’ll always be very proud of, bringing Dr. Seuss’ famous fish to life. It was a pleasure, and a privilege.

Beauty IS a Beast

Beauty is a Beast. Look at that again. Beauty IS a Beast. It’s not the show you think it is at first glance; there is no enchanted castle, no dancing flatware, no singing candelabras. Just a sort of twisted story about a Princess in need of one heck of an attitude adjustment. Having myself been in Beauty AND the Beast about a year ago I thought I knew what I was getting into… I wasn’t even close.
Auditions were held May 20, we had 9 try out for this 15-person show. Yet another round of auditions were held the following week where we found another 5 members to the cast. Alright, close enough. We held the read-thru a day later where we found out that one of our cast members from the first round of auditions had dropped out, but we also had another 2 kids joining the cast for the read-thru. Yes, yes, yes! The read-thru went very well, and I was satisfied with my picks. A week later when the first rehearsal was under way we received word that another one of the kids had dropped out of the show. So, we continued the search, and found one more kid. Bringing us to, if my math is right, a total of 13 kids. We combined a few roles, and made a few edits here and there and then we started rehearsing.
With thirteen 5th-8th graders there’s gonna be some conflicts, and I was in the middle of a war zone. This one couldn’t sit next to that one, and he couldn’t do this because he was looking at him, etc. The principles were the least of my worries, it was the secondary and supporting cast that caused the most raucous. But things went on (surprisingly) ahead of schedule. Everyone, well almost everyone, memorized lines and blocking quickly, which gave me more time to find stuff for them to do in character. Costumes (most hand-made by my awesome sewin’ sister) were great, choreography was good, the acting was…okay… and it was almost the week of the show!
Show week can be a stressful time, and boy did I feel the stress! Cast members missing from first dress rehearsal without letting anyone know they would be gone, trying to coorinate a new sound and lights operator (and a new stage crew member who couldn't take the pressure leaving us to find yet another one), and trying to make sure the story got across. AAAAAAAaaaaaahhhhhh!!!! As the first show started I could feel a change in everyone’s energy, they were projecting, cheating out, it was an entirely different show that it was a week ago. First show was great, except for a section in scene 4 where half the cast started laughing on stage, but let’s not talk about that…
The next show was… eh… everyone was tired, and ready for this thing to be over. And I was with them, it was an exhausting 24 rehearsals. But thankfully, a few of the principle cast members still had enough energy to give the audience a good show.
We played almost to capacity both shows and the kids really did a good job, it was a tough, but fun, road; and I hope everyone remembers their time during Beauty IS a Beast.

Summer Madness!

I don't like to be bored during the summer, but it doesn't even look like I'll have time this year.
Let's see here, first off I am directing a play, for the second year in a row, I might add! It's titled Beauty IS a Beast, right away the title caught my attention, but upon reading I found it was nothing like the show I'd been in a few months earlier. It's a comedy about a beautiful Princess who has a very bad attitude, after the Princess loses her temper, her Fairy God Mother turns her inside-out (ugly on the outside, good on the inside). Auditions were held last week for this 15 person show, for which there were only 9 kids that tried out! Another round of auditions will take place this week in hopes to find (at least) 6 more kids...gulp!
What else is happening..... ah, yes! I will also be performing at a few local libraries this summer as part of their Summer Reading programs. I've sold four performances of "Avery Jones and the FUN Machine" a show full of music, comedy, and of course ventriloquism. I'm quite excited about these (paying) gigs!
Also, the last three weeks in June Anc Ministries will be performing at three different Vacation Bible Schools! More publicity, and a chance to perform in a church where I've always wanted to perform!
We're winding down here, but there's still more excitement to go! At the end of July, AnC will be performing in what we're promoting as: LIVE in Concert! at our home church! Exciting stuff!
Two days after the concert, I will be traveling to Shocco Springs in Talladega, AL to perform with my dad at a kid's camp (for the 5th year in a row)!
To the best of my knowledge, that's all I have going on this summer.... yeah right, ALL I have going on..... I'm going to need a nap....

Seussical 3-8-10 4:30 & 6:30

The final day, the final two shows. Sad but true. There is a lot of energy in the cast, but, unfortunately a few members of the cast were sick, including (as far as I know) three members of the ensemble (one of which wasn't able to make it for these last two shows, and one had to leave after the first show of the day), and, last but certainly not least, the Cat's buddy Jojo! She'd lost her voice the day before, and had gotten it mostly back, but wasn't as strong as she could go. ...GULP....

But in the theatre no matter what, the show MUST go on! And it did! It went okay, nothing really special, just another fun time in the world of Dr. Seuss.

Since, unfortunately, Jojo couldn't sing I helped her with "Anything's Possible", a fun song, that I'd wanted to sing since we'd started the show. So, if anything good came out of her sickness, it was me getting to sing that song... sorry, Lizzie....

- Talk Show line- For once in this show I stuck with the script... hard to believe, I know.

- Waking Jojo up- I rounded the corner blowing my nose into a tissue, "That was beautiful, man!"

- Auction- Offered the Bird Girls again, with the same "sing/narrate your day" line, at the request of one of the girls.

The forty min. break between shows went by very quickly, I had just caught my breath when they called places again. Okay, that may be a slight exaggeration, but it wasn't the break I'm used to.

The second (and final show) went by way too fast. During "Oh, the Thinks you Can Think" it hit me that this was the last time I'd be telling this story, it hit me again during "Anything's Possible", then yet again during "Amazing Mayzie", "Monkey Around", "How Lucky you Are", and especially during "Solla Sollew". I later got word that a few ensemble members shed a few tears during this song.

During "The People vs. Horton the Elephant" I used a different accent for the "Marshall of the Court", and then decided that I was going to make the most of what I had left, I amped up my energy and flew through the rest of the show. The audience was great, the best you could ask for on a closing night, I even hammed up a little more because they were so responsive (especially with Dr. Dake).

- Talk Show line- "...Cooking with Sam-I-Am"

- Waking Jojo up- "...oh, yeah, well you're a mean one, Mr. Grinch!"

- Auction- I'd had a special auction in mind since the beginning of the show for closing night, and I used it, to great response. "Since this is our final show, everything must go! We're talking elephant, Bird Girls, monkeys, kangaroos, and the entire 10-piece ensemble."

The show went very well, as I've found a lot of my closing-night shows do. I had the honor to speak about our production crew, and director at the conclusion of the show...I've always wanted to do that. And after we said good-bye to our audience, we went and changed out of our costumes for the last time... but thankfully, I got to buy my suit, and plan on wearing it to the prom. I packed up my props and puppets, said my good-byes, and left as they were loading the set into the truck.

It was a fun time. And I know we all miss it. We had our time in Solla Sollew, and now we've moved on to other things. And as Dr. Seuss said: "Don't cry because it's over, be glad that it happened"

I am.

Seussical 3-6-10 2:00 & 6:30

Bright and early Saturday morning the cast slowly made their way to the theatre (personally I'm never up that early (especially on a Saturday!)) to take yet another journey in the world of Dr. Seuss. I realised at this point that the show was almost over and I would only be able to live in this "world" for a little longer. But then all the cast got thrown a curve-ball, and additional performance the following Monday, I know we were all pretty excited, but then we realized we would only get a 30-40 min. break between shows...yikes! But we all decided to power through and all agreed. But Saturday wasn't over yet.
- Talk Show line: "...we'll be right back with the Wickersham's performing a rendition of Pants on the Ground..."
- I repeated my "does this book make me look fat" line for almost the entire run. Hey, if it's not broke, don't fix it! ...ooohh, I just had a Beauty & the Beast flash-back
- Auction: Sweetening the deal with the Bird Girls I bragged on their bonus features. "..Ladies and gentlemen, you have not lived until these girls sing/narrate your day..." I then proceeded to sing in falsetto as a Bird Girl "he just woke up, now he's brushing his teeth"
All in all I think the show went pretty well, the cast then ate lunch together, and then proceeded to the theatre again, but this time the cast watched a performance... who performed you might ask... I would be the one who's performance was watched by the cast (by far one of the best audiences I've had). Then the cast kept with their tradition.... ooohh...Fiddler on the Roof flash-back... the entire cast had a dance off, dancing to such songs as "Thriller", "Cupid Shuffle", and "Transylvania Mania"...guess which one was mine...
Second show went by pretty quickly, even though we were all pretty worn out at that point but we knew we could do a good job.
- Talk Show line: "...we'll be right back with Charlie's Bird Girls"
- Yet again repeated the line with the book.
- Auction: I just offered Horton again, dwelling on his bonus features... at this point I knew what worked with the audience, and used that to my advantage!
We had an early cast party, where the cast received "awards" for off-stage traits, quirks, and jokes. I myself received the "Most likely to end up on Sesame Street" award...I'd like to thank the academy... Had a good time at the party, played some charades, and sang some improv songs with the accompaniment of one of the Wickershams.
We got a day off, and then onto Monday, and our back-to-back performances...I would be more excited if I wasn't so tired! Stay tuned...more to come!

Seussical 3-5-10 6:30

Everyone in the cast had amazing energy! With this show we all really got into it! Really don't remember too much, just know that it happened...
-Talk Show line- "...we'll be right back with Jojo and Cat plus 8..."
-Going to wake Jojo- I rounded the flat reading "The Cat in the Hat", looked at the audience, held up the book "Am I really this fat?"
-Auction- I sweetened the offer by adding the Wickersham Brothers.
Saturday will bring two shows, and a surprise for the cast... but I'll make you wait to find out what it was....

Seussical 3-4-10 6:30 Second show

The second show came faster than I thought it would, and before I knew it, I was back in costume (and make-up). We got together for a group picture, warmed up, and then it was time for places. As everyone else is getting in character (something I pride myself on being able to do very quickly), I paced the floor thinking of my schemes for the night... I need three lines: a talk show line for what's coming up next, a line as I come from around the flat to wake Jojo, and something for the auction. Hmmmm...... think, think, think.... that's the whole idea of the show!

-Talk Show line: "...we'll be right back with cooking with Sam-I-Am, he's got a meal I think you're gonna love...I myself do not like it, but I think you will..."

- Coming from behind the flat: "Jojo, you will not believe what I saw on Mullberry Street!" And if I hadn't run into the stairs as I was saying it I might have had a great line there... I woke Jojo with a kazoo, playing a few notes from the song "A Day for the Cat in the Hat" from the Broadway production of Seussical.

-Auction: "...if you act right now we'll throw in a Sour Kangaroo...girl can sing!"

Four shows left, and Friday's show is coming up fast!

Seussical 3-3-10 6:30 OPENING NIGHT!

After a nap, we all returned to the Jan Dempsey for our official first show! Our costumes were still slightly damp from our earlier show, which is something you don't get used to quickly. But after make-up touch-ups, and a warm-up we are ready to go again!
I Don't remember much about the actual show but a few things do stand out:
-after the song "Alone in the Universe" I come out from behind the flat and proceed to wake Jojo up, rounding the corner I looked over my shoulder and shouted: "You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch..." I then proceeded to wake Jojo with an old-fashioned bicycle horn (which she wasn't expecting)
-Jose to Circus Barker quick change hit a glitch when my coat was not waiting for me behind the flat, I instead jumped out without a jacket in my Cat vest, don't think anyone knew
-Talk show Line: "we'll be back with Bird Girls Gone Wild..."
-As the auctioneer I bragged on the "bonus features" that come with Horton, "look at the ears on this guy, you can get HBO, and Showtime..."
One of the greatest opening nights I've ever had, really not looking forward to the end of this show, I'm having soooo much fun. More to come.....

Seussical 3-3-10 10:30am School Show

Considered to be our final dress rehearsal (although with an audience) things went relatively well. The audience wasn't as responsive as I'd like, but you can't have it all...
The past few days we've been rehearsing in costumes, I've had some issues with one of my quick changes. I play an Auctioneer, exit the stage then have to change (in roughly 20 seconds) into Jose (Mayzie's cabana boy), I then have to suddenly change into a circus barker (a la W.C. Fields) For this I had my circus barker coat on under the Hawaiian shirt used for Jose and, on cue, I would spin, take off the top layer, and be the barker.... didn't quite work like I'd wanted...so, as of this performance as Mayzie is singing, I walk behind a flat, where someone is waiting with by barker's jacket, I take of the Jose shirt, put on the other jacket, and I, on cue, jump out from behind the flat and go into the next set of lines. Works much better!
Also in the number "Biggest Blame Fool" I appear as a talk show host, whom I have deemed "Dr. Feline McCat" (dragging out the first name to make it sound like Dr. Phil), this character brings one of my many times for ad-libs. As I sign off I say "...we'll be right back with ___ and speck, clover, dust, neighbor, who...." I plan on reporting all of these ad-libs here, for future reference. This time through I said "we'll be right back with a performance by Kevin, Nick and Joe Wickersham..."
Almost time for the next show, boy, I need a nap! Stay tuned!

Seussical!

It's opening night!- rather, it's opening morning! Seussical Jr. is giving a school performance this morning, then we get six more performances. I'm going to (try) to give my thoughts on each performance here after each show. So, wish me luck-no! Wait! Don't! That's bad luck.... tell me to break something, and we're good! On with the show!

Just Think!

"Oh, the Thinks you Can Think!" I cannot tell you how many times I have said that phrase in the past weeks, and I'm still not tired of it! Being cast as the Cat in the Hat in Seussical is probably one of the most exciting things ever to happen to me (in Theatre that is). Getting to play the Cat also means getting to play 10 small bit roles in the course of the show including (but not limited to) a Hunter, Dr. Dake, Jose, a Louis Armstrong sound-a-like piano player and more... but that's not ALL! I've also built a group of five fish for the "Anything's Possible" musical number, a Grinch (yes, the one that stole Christmas) mask for "Here on Who", and last, but not least, Vlad Vladicoff for the "Monkey Around/Chasing the Whos" number (whom I also get to perform. making it 11 roles I play). After building all these characters I wanted to build more, there was no time, because rehearsals really kicked in! And I must say I have so much respect for the Ensemble (of this, or any show), having to learn so many dances, so much music, and develop so many different characters, and they help make the show much better than it would have been otherwise.
The principle cast in itself is phenomenal, all 15 members work together to get to where we need to be. From Wickersham Brothers to the tiny Who families everyone works out every little bit of the show until it's perfect (well...almost perfect)! All the relationships in this show, on all levels, have been mapped out so we know what our motive and our purpose is for every scene.
The Cat has been described as Robin Williams with a tail, which really describes who he is. He is a spirit of fun, and doesn't quite know when to quit, getting Jojo in trouble but not losing his to the boring world that is Who.
This show has been the most fun and thoroughly enjoyable shows since I've started working in theatre. I can't wait for this show to open, I have a feeling that the audience is going to LOVE it (almost as much as we do). But I'll find out the first week of March, until then more rehearsals, more dancing, more thinks, more fun!

R.I.P. Shrek the Musical

Ladies and gentlemen, I am sad to report that Shrek the Musical has closed on Broadway... After Seattle previews in September of 2008, the show opened on Broadway in The Broadway Theatre on December 14 of the same year. Generally favorable reviews brought the show over 440 performances before financial issues forced the show to close.

The original cast featured Brian d'Arcy James (Titanic, The Apple Tree, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) as Shrek, Daniel Breaker (Passing Strange) Sutton Foster (Young Frankenstein, Little Women, Thoroughly Modern Millie) as Princess Fiona, Christopher Sieber (Beauty and the Beast, Chicago, Into the Woods, Spamalot) as Lord Farquaad, and John Tartaglia (Avenue Q, Beauty an the Beast) as Pinocchio, The Magic Mirror, and the Dragon Puppeteer. The ensemble and swings Broadway credits include shows such as Legally Blonde, Cats, Les Miserables, Annie Get Your Gun, Seussical, Annie, Grease, and Alter Boyz. Very few cast changes were made in the run of the show, with two notable replacements being Robb Sapp taking John Tartaglia's place during Tartaglia's leave of absence, and Ben Crawford (original stand-by for Shrek) replacing James as Shrek exactly one year into the show's run.

In June excitement was high for everyone in the show (and me!) when it was announced that the show was nominated for eight Tony Awards, including Best Costume Design, Best Musical, Best Leading Actor (Brian d'Arcy James), Best Leading Actress (Sutton Foster). Out of the eight nominations the show only received the award for Costume Design. A majority of the other awards went to Elton John's show "Billy Elliot" (against which I still have a grudge...)

The Original Cast Recording was released March 24, 2009, featuring (almost) all the songs from the show. "More to the Story" sung by Princess Fiona (Sutton Foster) was a song cut from the show in previews but recorded and released exclusively to iTunes. On October 4, 2009 the hit song "I'm a Believer" was added to the show as a post curtain call number, this song was recorded by most of the original cast and also released on iTunes. Dreamworks has also announced recently that they are planning to release the show on DVD this year. 

So, I want to say farewell to one of my favorite shows ever to grace the Broadway stage. First national tour is set to start this Summer, and I know I'll go see it when it comes to town! In the mean time, I'm going to be listening to the cast album, and singing at the top of my lungs.

2010

It's 2010, a new year! But, of course you already knew that...
Now that I've gotten used to 2009, they have to go and change it! Darn politicians!
Resolution time I guess... First I'd like to go on record by saying that I don't like to make resolutions, they are too easy to break. But 'll give it a shot! Soo...
- I'd like to make a short film, and finish it! Have a few ideas, not sure what I want to try first but I've always wanted to make one.
- I'd like to book a few shows, preferably solo ones, working on a new program specifically for a library Summer program.
-I want to lose 50 pounds, climb Mt. Everest, solve the Tiger Woods issue, and kick my smoking habit. :)
- And I'd like to get a lead in a Broadway musical (this one probably isn't going to happen this year, but I'll just put it out there...)
Looking forward to Seussical rehearsals starting next week, I've memorized all I can, I'm ready to go!