Is This Thing On?

I haven't written anything on this blog in quite some time. Not that I haven't tried, on the contrary, I have tried posting several entries but for some reason I couldn't publish them... Hmmm, but now I'm back, and will finally update on EVERYTHING as quickly as possible!

            1. I'm still acting in theatre, having recently been featured in Hairspray and Once on This Island! More "in depth" looks at both of these shows coming soon... I hope!

2. Since last September I have been working for Springer Opera House (The State Theatre of Georgia), teaching Puppetry and Puppet Building classes with The Springer Theatre Academy. I can't begin to describe the trill it is to work with a HUGE groupe of people who live and love theatre like I do! In December, I got to design and build a set of animal puppets for Springer's production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, I also made a brief on-stage appearance in the show as "Puppet Master". How cool is that?

           3. I'm also on TV! In the last few months I've been working on a national TV and web show that shoots in Phenix City, AL called Light Talk with Sam Beman! Chase Golden and I appeared as guests on this show in May of last year, and since then Sam has been giving me lots on-the-job traing, letting me build some new puppets, work crew on shoots, create and star in some skits, even "host" an episode myself! It's been very nice to work in-studio and shoot with a great guy who's (almost) as quirky as I am!

      I've also been making regular appearances on Heath and the Checkershoe Band Show, a local Christian-based show hosted by a group of puppets! These shoots are always fun, plus they give me another chance to play with my buddy Hare!

4. Speaking of Hare: My web show The Puppet Improv is going strong! With my puppetry partner, Alex Hubbard, and a new group of up-and-coming puppeteers from Springer's Theatre Academy, I've been able to work on some REALLY fun stuff, most of which will be coming out in the next season of the show...including a special episode featuring one of my characters at the "Happiest Place on Earth"!

Well, that's all I can think of right now...I'll be in touch soon!

Alice in Wonderland: March 3-5, 7&8

I'll just wrap all of Alice in Wonderland up in one post:

Didn't have too many mishaps, other than a few plunger malfunctions during my fight scene...much to the joy and amusement of the stage hands. We added an additional performance for Tuesday, March 8, because tickets sold out for every show! That's two years in a row that ticket sales have allowed me to live in a fantastic world for another day! It's really been too long for me to remember all the details, but I do remember what a great show, and a great cast I got to work with for my senior year. Thank you all.

March 2, 2011 pm: Opening Night

So, even though our first audience didn't do too much for our spirits, we were all still quite excited for opening night. So, before we knew it (and after a nap) we were back again, ready for the show to begin.

And the crowd was great! The laughed in ALL the right places (and then some!)

My only complaint for this performance comes late in the second act... as The White Knight, I, after a quite comedic scene, give Alice a lift to the 8th chess square (all of Wonderland is a giant chess board after all). To accomplish this Alice jumps on my back, piggy back style, and I gallop away on my broomstick horse (with a kick stand!)

As part of my costume, I wear a tool belt with a roll of duct (duck?) tape, a paint brush, and a wooden mallet on it, but one night during our final dress rehearsal Kati had issues hanging on because of that darn roll of duct tape, so from now on I make sure I shift my belt to the side so she won't have that problem again, however it caused me a problem when I performed a stunt. I get thrown from my horse, whom I affectionately refer to as Buttercup, Buttersworth, or Fredrick, and get thrown to the ground. On this night I'd already shifted my belt and I came down on the wooden mallet..hard.

But I couldn't dwell on my pain, because hey, we had a show going on! So I kept going, and got through the show, it wasn't until I was in the dressing room changing that I realized I was still quite sore for the fall... I've done stage falls before; Milky White the cow's death, and a few more in some workshops, but I'd never landed on a hammer before... that was something new!

But other than a slight bruise, the show was great! Got a lot of good reactions (during and after the show), and I don't think it could have gone better!

Six more shows to go, and the end is in sight...

March 2, 2011 am: School Show

What can I say about our school show? Well, I suppose I'll just quote the audience on this one...







...Exactly. We heard very little from this audience; not to say they didn't enjoy the show, they just didn't give us much response during the performance, and that can be slightly discouraging.... but we did the show, despite the crowd's non-reaction.
Let's see... did anything funny, odd, or just plain wrong happen during the show? Ah, yes! So, at the beginning of Act 2 Alice (Kati Judd) meets up with Mouse (Stuart Bell), and Mouse begins telling her "tail", (clever pun, no?) but just as she gets started Mouse is interrupted by a Card Soldier (Mitch Warren) doing battle with The White Knight (me). So I am doing some stage combat with a wooden sword and a plunger, (The White Knight is a handy man, of course.. I also find plungers humorous) battling the Soldier who has only a wooden sword to defend himself (ha ha!) As we are battling his sword spontaneously combusted.. well, not really, it just broke. BUT shards and wood dust did fly out. So, being quick about it, I up looked at him and said: "Now I've got you! You sir, are my prisoner!" A line I was supposed to say anyway, but this made it even more effective. And the audience had no idea this wasn't supposed to happen, ah, the joy of live theatre...
            We hang up our costumes, and head out, knowing that we'll be back in a few hours to do it all over again!

Welcome to Wonderland...

I can't believe it's been a year since Seussical... seems like only yesterday... actually no, it doesn't, I remember yesterday, we had our final dress rehearsal for Alice in Wonderland, riiiiight.
Yes, it is true, we open tonight. But this morning (EARLY this morning) we are giving a special "school show", which is basically our first, and only, preview performance. I'm not sure of how many we're expecting for this show, but most of our other performances are sold out, which is quite exciting.
It's also going to be a bitter-sweet week/weekend, for this is my last production with AACT's children's theatre. I'm not going to cry..... I'm not going to cry.....
Either way, I'll keep the blog updated with news, stories, pics, and anything else I want ('cuz hey, it's my blog!), so stay tuned for more to come!

The next Broadway show on the agenda was Stephen Schwartz's Wicked; the prequel to L. Frank Baum's novel "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz". The show opened in 2003 with Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth as Elphaba and Glinda respectably, and was nominated for 10 Tony Awards. I saw the national tour two years ago in Birmingham from balcony row xxx, so center stage orchestra level seats were a whole different ballgame.

From the moment the orchestra began the overture a chill ran through me, I could really feel the power this show has. Soon Katie Rose Clark made her first appearance as Glinda, descending from the sky in a mechanical bubble, and hitting some of the highest notes outside of Phantom of the Opera.
As the show continued you could feel the crowd's delight and excitement, I wasn't even in the show and I felt a pride for the cast. Once Elphaba (Mandy Gonzales) made her first appearance, the show really started rolling,

At this point the show is flying by and I'm just trying to soak it all in, you could feel the tension building as Ephaba and Glinda debate their fates in "Defying Gravity"; and when Elphaba took flight the audience's cheers rattled the building. The show was incredibly incredible, and it was only intermission!

The second act was even more moving than the first, and my only complaint was that it ended, I could have lived in that world for a few more hours at least.

The cast knew exactly what to do, and every little thing they did impacted the story in the best way. The costumes, props and special effects are arguably the greatest in Broadway's history, everything added an extra few layers to this occasionally dark, insanely clever show.

I cannot recommend this show enough, you will be moved, and incredibly impressed with this (for lack of a better word) wickedly awesome production!!!!

Lions, Times Square, and Broadway, oh my!

NYC. what can I say about NYC? Not enough. My trip to NYC was the most exciting experience of my life! Broadway! Times Square! FAO Schwarz! Central Park! Oh, I could go on all day. But as I promised, I will share my comments about the Broadway shows I saw, starting with Disney's The Lion King:

The Lion King film was released in 1994, and the unique Broadway production opened three years later. A combination of masks, puppetry, interpretive dance, and live actors the show has been a hit with critics and audiences alike, and still remains one of Broadway's top shows. Since Lion King was a last minute addition to my NY plans, I didn't have time to research as I had for the other shows, so I wasn't as prepared as I should have been for what I was about to see. But when the first notes of Circle of Life came crying through the theatre I got a little misty...yes, I admit it, I cried at my first Broadway show. Deal with it.

And it just got better, full-sized elephants and rhinos came down the isle of the theatre joining the rest of the jungle of creatures onstage to witness Young Simba's presentation. The puppets were beautifully built and operated, making me wonder to myself "...could I build that?" But I didn't let that distract me, I still got caught up in the story, even with the occasional glimpse of the stage hand off stage left. The cast had some very impressive vocals, with Tshidi Manye as Rafiki as a personal favorite.

Even with all the specifics required for that show, whether stilt walking to become a giraffe, very precise dance steps and lyrics, or walking with a giant Warthog strapped to their bodies, the cast made it look effortless. I applaud you all again.
It was a great first show, and I highly recommend it. Stay tuned for the continuation of my NY journey.