Improv for Homecoming!

Friday night.  Homecoming.

What says “welcome back” more than uncomfortable silence followed by uproarious laughter?  Not unlike most family reunions.

Students in the Improv Acting class, combined with a few veterans of Belhaven improv, showcased their skills of… um… well… making things up… in front of people.  They poured their hearts and souls into that performance, and people just laughed at them.  Laughed, I say!  Which was the point – so, good job!

We were all amused by:  The Illiad from the point of views of Achilles, Helen and Paris, the first time Murphy ever ate bananas while riding a bike, a visit from Selena Gomez (kind of), superheroes fighting a more ordinary kind of toxic gas, and the story of Detective Octopus.

HENRY V REHEARSALS

We are heading into the breach dear friends.  Week 5 of rehearsals for our lean mean production of HENRY V.   This cut is designed for 8 actors (4 men/4 women) to tell the story of King Henry the V.  He wasn’t King for long but during his reign he took France for his own.  This is one of Shakespeare’s history plays which are full of humor, action and romance and this play doesn’t disappoint.

All 8 of the actors get a shot at playing King Henry.  (Henry has 8 scenes in the play)  Next week I’ll post a video from rehearsals…

This one hour and forty minute cut was done by Hisa Takakuwa with some help from me.  We produced it at Actors Co-op in Hollywood, CA in 2005 with Ms Takakuwa directing and myself acting.  It was a very low budget second stage production that really hit home America’s situation in Afghanistan and Iraq.

There is no intermission and the play moves quickly.  The actors get a chance to play followers and leaders which really highlights the questions:  What does it mean to be a follower?  What does it mean to be a leader?  What if you are asked to go to war?  What do you do if you no longer believe in that war?  What does it mean to be conquered?

There will be a discussion after every performance and we’d love to talk with you about the play and how it resonates with you.  Follow!  Follow

Opening Angel Street

This week is the show week for our Theatre 151 production of Angel Street by Patrick Hamilton.  Last night’s opening was a wonderful performance, and was followed by a delicious tea and biscuits reception.

Angel Street is the first Theatre 151 production to flex the expectations of a performance in a small venue – usually the stage is set up as a traditional proscenium set-up, but for this show it was arranged as an ‘alley’ set-up, with the stage in the center of the room and a bank of seats on either side.  This made for an even more intimate presentation – which heightened the sense of suspense in the play; a Victorian thriller.  The impending return of a suspicious character is all the more intense when the furthest seat from the stage is hardly more than 10 feet away…

Congratulations to student director Ginny Holladay, the cast and crew of the show!

 

Amazing Character Development & Storytelling

Often in our business we get to create what the audience views as magical.  This video I believe is an example of that.  The character development and artistic creation come together to draw us into caring about this creature/character.  I really enjoyed this TED talk and I hope you will like it as well.

 

 

You may also watch it here: Handspring Puppet Company: The genius puppetry behind War Horse

Catching up on the Spring Semester 2012!

In the flurry of activities at the end of our spring semester left us a bit behind on blogging through our process.  We apologize, and offer the following recap of the end of the spring 2012:

March – The beginning of the month saw about a dozen students and three faculty members head off to the Southeastern Theatre Conference convention in Chattanooga, TN.  Faculty presented as part of panel discussions, attended Undergraduate Auditions, staffed our information booth, and took part in the leadership meetings for SETC; students participated in workshops, auditioned and interviewed for professional summer work, auditioned for graduate study, competed (and won) in the improv comedy competition.  A great conference year, and an opportunity we look forward to every year – convention will be held in Louisville, KY in 2013.

April – A busy time of the year for us as we wrap up our production and academic calendar.  Eleemosynary by Lee Blessing was directed by senior Eleanor Baxter in our intimate Theatre 151 space.  Ms. Baxter then followed up the closing of that show by performing her Senior Recital two days later!

The last week of the semester saw our 2012 Belhaven Theatre Festival, which featured 11 different events, from staged readings, class presentations, original productions, music concerts, improv comedy, and a presentation from our Alpha Psi Omega student-led organization.  A great tradition – which leaves us all both inspired and exhausted!

After the semester concluded, 10 students from both the theatre and dance departments at Belhaven went on a two-week trip to visit The Art Factory, a missions organization in Kandern, Germany.  While there, students worked at the Factory (doing various cleaning and organizing tasks), led workshops in dance, acting, and improv comedy, visited Black Forest Academy to lead chapel services in both the high school and middle school, and presented Shakespeare’s The Tempest.  We were very grateful for the hospitality of Rick and Mary Beth Holladay, who head up the work of the Art Factory, and look forward to future connections with their work for the kingdom.

There are many more exciting things happening in the community and work around Belhaven University’s theatre department – we promise to be more active in sharing our joys, struggles, thoughts, processes and news with you in the future!

Mayfair Affair — Production Pictures

Hey , check out our production pictures from the Mayfair Affair.  If you would like to purchase prints or downloads from this production CLICK HERE.



Pining forSam Ingersoll

Saaaaaaaammmmmmm Innngersollllll !!

Who else is here?

No she can't stay here.

Nooooooooooo !!!

I thought I heard someone else here?

The Mayfair Affair opening

A fantastic opening night last night for The Mayfair Affair – a new farce by Joseph Frost.

Our production is the premiere workshop of this play, which will continue rewrites after the show closes – the Belhaven audience response will help to reshape the play!  Frost and director John Maxwell worked through several drafts of the play before the production and made adjustments to the scenes and dialogue through rehearsals – a challenge for the student actors, which they met admirably.

Mayfair Affair has 7 more performancesFeb 24, 25, 29, Mar 1 & 2 at 7:30 and Saturday matinees on Feb 25 and Mar 3 at 2 pm.

Evening of One Acts announcement

Congratulations to the playwrights whose work was selected for the 2011 Evening of One Acts, which will be performed November 29 & 30!

…Of My Dreams by Brent Hearn
Director: Ginny Holladay
“They say love has no bounds; even within the realms of your sleeping dreams?”

Treed by Hal Corley
Director: Anna Rebmann
“Three Christmas tree ornaments vie for supremacy, finally rediscovering ‘peace on earth.’”

First Class Failure by Jill Cromwell
Director: Amy Grabow
“AUDIENCE BEWARE: Observing writers are within your vicinity. If you are not careful, you could very well be immortalized in their writings or…one act plays. “

Gummy Bears by Alice Grimwood
Director: Grace Varland
“Three girlfriends face heated discussion of life-long difficulties, each choosing her own method of dealing.”

Opening the Past by Anna Rebmann
Director: Eleanor Baxter
“What it might look like to meet your match at exactly the wrong time.”

Many thanks to all who submitted plays for consideration.  Anyone wishing to submit material for consideration in next year’s Evening of One Acts, mark your calendars for the submission deadline, September 1, 2012.