Well another Spring semester has come to a close. But before it did we mounted, presented, & have now struck our production of Murder in the Cathedral. Please check out our pictures here.
Also a huge THANK YOU!! to our photographer — Merianne Dietrich of Merianne Dietrich Photography — please stop by her site and check out all her albums, and check her out on Facebook as well.
Knights mocking Thomas in Murder in the Cathedral
Last night’s rehearsal was splendid. If, in your language, splendid is defined as: the passing of two hours during which amiable conversation is made concerning blood, guts, howling winds, putrescence….well, you get the idea….basic dinner conversation.
The task in rehearsal last night involved divvying up the lines of the four young ladies playing the Chorus. Apparently the “poor women of Canterbury” have two styles: gross and grosser. Other extremely applicable synonyms include (gotta love dictionary.com) creepy, revolting, disgusting, repulsive. It’s true. Ask anyone in the cast!
After the gag-fest, our SM team got to work spiking the stage. All this means, is that we are laying down visible tape that marks out the actual dimensions of the stage…it also means practicing your math skills. That’s why I left the numerical conversions to the much more talented Stage Manager!
Can’t wait to find out what comes from tonight’s rehearsal!
Cast members of Murder in the Cathedral getting used to the stilts they will be wearing for their performance as the Knights who come to Canterbury to silence Archbishop Thomas Becket.
We are in the beginning stages of rehearsal, with some rough outline blocking done and some time spent on practical necessities (like stilt practice). We have a long way to go over the next few weeks, but we are all excited about the progress that we’ve made already.
Well, this semester started with many changes, but as we examine the changes and trials God brings our way we are starting to see the silver lining and the new opportunities this is opening up for us. In regards to the show we started everything a week behind due to some unplanned water shortages and school closure so we were in a scramble to catch up. But in our desperation and weakness God has opened some new doors to work with new people and renew some old acquaintances.
Thankfully a former student has returned to fill in as our Shop Supervisor and TD keeping the progress moving forward in the shop and working to read our Designer’s (my) mind as best he can. 🙂
Our costumes are being taken care of …. (at least the beautiful gowns) for our upcoming production of “The Importance of Being Earnest” by a company in Michigan called “The Sewing Room”. Kellie & Kathy have been great and the bonus for us as they are just as excited about doing these as we are about having them made.
Anyway I wanted to share with you how we are using technology to our advantage to try and collaborate from a distance regarding these costumes.
We have started with a blog site that has renderings and and measurement sheets and a few pattern suggestions with Designer notes and from that have been emailing and blogging back and forth as we go along.
To See our Costume blog check click on this line of text.
To check out Kathy’s blog as she keeps us updated as to her progress click on this line of text.
Hey and if there is anyone talented and ambitious enough reading this blog to tackle any one or more of the men’s costumes rendered on our site and can meet the deadline of in our hands here at Belhaven by Feb. 12 …. Please email me ASAP because we would be a happy to negotiate a deal with you. — or leave a comment on our blog.
We have been working hard to update our website and revamp much of the information on it but as that is still a work in progress we can share with you some of the pictures from shows that we have uploaded to Flikr.
Here are some of them… (in no particular chronological order)
Stay tuned for more to come both on Flikr and on our website. Please leave comments if you see something you like! 🙂
My experience with the One Acts Festival started my freshman year, when (for some stupid reason that I do not even remember) I missed my chance to see the one and only performance. Trust me, after hearing all about the show, I truly wished and still do wish I had been there.
The next year, I co-stage-managed for Philosophy of a Kiss, directed by Rachel Bowman. (Before POK, I had only stage managed for a dance show at my high school) At Belhaven, I quickly learned that calling a show is not the only job of the Stage Manager. I don’t think I had any idea how important a stage manager is to a production. I had an awesome time tapping into my very strong Type-A, oldest-child personality. I loved all the organization and office supplies that I was required to use. Making forms, calling late actors (almost every rehearsal), taking blocking notation, supporting the director… I had found a new love in the world of theatre.
Junior year I was cast in The Collector, directed by my roommate, Moriah Whiteman. Seeing as how I am a Production emphasis, I had only been in one other show at Belhaven. I was a wee bit worried. Jumping right in with my fellow cast mate, P.A.S., we had a real groovy time exploring and getting to know the characters. Our rehearsals were not exactly what one would call normal. We spent one rehearsal just wandering around the Center for the Arts, taking pictures. Another time, we brought in five things that we found meaningful and told the story that each object held; these became the props we used for the show.
It was after The Collector that I pretty much begged Joe to let me take his directing class. (I had to beg, because the directing class was not within my catalogue and I had not taking the Acting I class.) I did not really have a desire to direct, but I wanted to learn what a director’s process is and how, as a designer or stage manager, I could better communicate with and aid Directors in their process.
This semester has been a huge learning process. I am learning how to communicate with actors, stage managers, designers, and professors in a way that I have never had to before. I am in charge of making sure that the story is told in the best way possible. Talk about pressure. My roommate and former director, Moriah Whiteman, wrote the script that I chose to use.
[Sic] is a strange and personal story and I have been very aware of upholding the integrity of the script and making sure that the story is told in a respectful manner. My amazing cast and wonderful Stage Manager have made this process unforgettable. I cannot wait for everything to come together, and to see how an audience responds to the story. I have been so blessed by this directing experience, and by the vast and varied experiences, I have encountered through the One Acts Festival.
—– Senior Production Emphasis (CS)
This afternoon, in our departmental meeting, the theatre performance emphasis students and students in the Acting 1 class will be auditioning in front of the rest of the department, presenting their headshot and resume, much like the format of formal auditions at SETC, URTA, etc. An Audition Day appears once each semester.
In our format, Performance emphasis students must present to the audition panel a list of 10 monologues that they have prepared, and the panel will choose two for them to perform on the spot. Non-performance emphasis students who are currently taking Acting 1 class must choose two monologues and present them (no list of 10).
This semester, we happy to have, as our guest panelist, Francine Thomas Reynolds, the Artistic Director of New Stage Theatre.