Tartuffe

Yes I know, it's been a while.

Oklahoma and Kyra's recitals have been eating much of my time.  I'll try to write about those things soon but today I'd like to share some news I am excited about.

Last weekend was the European military community theater's equivalent of the Tonys.  It's called the TOPPERs - Tournament of Plays.  As Kyra had rehearsals and recitals all weekend long, I did not go, but hope maybe next year I can.

During the run of Tartuffe, a couple of judges came to see our performance.  They judged it as part of deciding who would be nominated (and win) in a variety of categories.  They also provided the cast and crew with feedback about our production.

As you can see from the photo, yes I did win a TOPPER for best actress in a comedy.  What you can't see from the photo is that the other female lead won as well.  You also can't see that the entire cast was nominated for acting awards and that every lead won.  We won best ensemble.  The show won.  The director won.  Many of the crew were nominated and several won.

When Judi Dench won a best supporting actress award for her role (8 minutes long) in Shakespeare in Love she said of her director (John Madden) that if he called her up and asked her to lean a a door way for a few seconds in a film she would.  I understand what she is saying.

Dan took an entire cast of amateurs and created an award winning show.  Even the young girl with the non speaking role won for best featured actress in a comedy.   At the moment I feel a bit in over my head with Oklahoma but I trust my director to help me perform well.  I trust him so much I'm willing to sing solo in public for him.  (I'll let you know how that goes)

I can't post this until I note that Kyra was nominated for her role in Bye Bye Birdie.  She was nominated as Outstanding Female Youth in Community Theater.  (btw - the award went to Melyssa Gomez for her role in Tartuffe)

Direction

I was motivated to audition for Tartuffe while watching a rehearsal for the previous SHAPE production (Bye Bye Birdie).  I had arrived at the theater a bit early to pick Kyra up and so I took a seat and watched the director work with a couple of actors on stage.  He had a clear vision of what he wanted, he communicated it in a straight forward manner, if they didn't understand he demonstrated it and what he was asking made the moment better.  I thought to myself - I'd love to work with him.

As much as I love working with this director (I'm willing to sing solo in public for him) not everyone feels that way. Kyle shared with me a bit of conversation that he had with a co-worker whose son was in Bye Bye Birdie.  This son (a teenager) has done theater in a number of places and really likes it but does not plan to do another production here at SHAPE.  Why? The director - not because he is not excellent at what he does or because the productions lack in quality but because of the way the director treats the actors.

The actors are not mistreated nor abused.  We are held to a high standard and pushed to get there.  The director does not coddle us.  He says what he wants, he says it plainly.  He does not waste time cajoling us and praising us.  When he gets angry it is because someone is wasting everyone else's time - punctuality, learning lines and remembering blocking are all musts.  Failure to support the work of fellow cast members is not tolerated.

Maybe this style of direction isn't for everyone, but I know that I appreciate it and find that my skill improves when I get clear direction.  Kind words are nice but they don't help me grow, they simply make me settle for where I am.  Without a doubt my performance has improved from when we started rehearsing to what people see on stage.  That improvement didn't happen because I was coddled and praised, it happened because I was challenged and pushed.  I am grateful for it.

Opening Weekend

 Tartuffe opened on Thursday evening to a small but enthusiastic crowd.  It was alot of fun to sit backstage and listen to the audience enjoy the performances of the cast.

It is amazing to think of how far we have come from rehearsing on an empty stage with five chairs in street clothes.

Throughout the weekend we enjoyed performing the show and sharing it with our audience.

On Sunday, judges from the Tournament of Plays (TOPPER - military theater equivalent of the Tonys) came to see our production.  Of course Murphy's Law was in full effect.  One of the wall planters fell off the wall when a door slammed and the table that I lean backward over (alot) broke.  Fortunately the table did not fall apart completely but it forced us as a cast to reblock the end of the second act as we went along.

The judges were complimentary of the production overall.  They said they enjoyed it and laughed throughout.  They appreciated our work as an ensemble.

The two comments they made specifically about my performance were that I wore my dress well - I looked natural moving around in it (and believe me I do move in this dress - walk, run, up and down steps, bending over forward and backward) - and that my Southern accent was believable.  One of the judges even asked a fellow cast member if I was from the South.

The comments from the judges were nice but in the general scheme of things unimportant.  I think I am most pleased that our director has enjoyed our performances and so have the audiences.

I have two evenings off now before we do a run though on Wednesday and then begin our closing weekend.

Update on Dunlap Activities

Lack of blog posts = we've been a bit busy

I may have a bit of time this week to delve more in depth to the list below.  In the meantime, here's a bit of what has been happening lately:

• Tartuffe opens Thursday.  I've been in rehearsal and spent my days helping with the set.  I'm not helpful with construction, but I can paint and have done quite a bit.
• Allen has started running track.  Each student has been allowed to choose three events.  Allen's choices 200, hurdles and 1500
• Kyra has been invited to apply for membership in the National Junior Honor Society.  Her interview is this Friday.
• Kyle has been working numerous hours.
• The sun has been shining more than not over the past week. I have certainly enjoyed the blue skies and dry air.

As Promised

I promised to take a photo of the publicity sign for Tartuffe.  This board faces all the traffic entering the front gate of SHAPE.

Opening night is in less than two weeks.  I'm definitely getting nervous.

Our Set

I'm a bit delayed in this post, but I've fallen behind on a number of things.

Last Sunday SHAPE players finished their run of Bye Bye Birdie.  On Sunday afternoon the stage at the theater was decorated for the needs of that musical - moving walls, wing curtains, benches and other sizable props that could be moved on or off stage by a couple of people.

As we have been rehearsing Tartuffe simultaneously, we have been moving our chairs, table and settee on and off of the Birdie set while imagining a significantly wider stage and walls, stairs and doors.

On Monday evening when I arrived for rehearsal I no longer had to imagine.  There was stage where there had not been stage.  There were walls, doorways (doors arrived Tuesday), steps and a much wider stage.  I wish I had before and after photos to show you.  You'd be impressed.

This doesn't mean the set is finished or dressed by any means.  The walls have been cobbled together from previous productions.  It was fun to listen to my fellow cast members tour the set noting which panel came from which production - this one is from Anyone Can Whistle, this from Scrooge, is this one from Annie?

It is helpful to have a set and know the width and depth of the stage.  It is also a bit scary, it means our debut is growing ever closer and I'd like to be alot more prepared for it than I currently am.  Hopefully as the set gets finished and polished so will I.

The next few weeks will be fairly full of Tartuffe, so my blog may become a bit one note for a while.

Publicity poster update - I still don't know if I am a roadside banner but I am a large placard (4ft high by 3ft wide) just inside the main gate. (I will get a photo of myself by it)

I'm a Magazine Cover

A while ago now I wrote about the publicity posters for Tartuffe.  As I said earlier, the photo shoot was one small thing among many others that I was focused upon at the time.  Only later did the implications of the photo shoot begin to sink in.

Well, they are still sinking.

It's one thing to know your photo is going to be everywhere and another to actually encounter it.

I see them everywhere I go - the theater (to be expected), the library, the post office.  I see it at the language school where I study French.  I saw it when I went to buy wine at the rationed goods store.  I am told it is displayed at the Pizza Bowl (bowling alley, pizzeria) and at the base eateries.

Now I am the back cover of the SHAPE magazine, Kyle brought a copy home just so I could see.

It is quite a weird experience, one I am sure I won't have again.

Publicity Poster

Last week amongst many other activities we shot photos to create the publicity poster for Tartuffe.  At the time I didn't think much of it.  The photos were crammed into a short time slot when the guy playing Tartuffe, the photographer, the director and myself had concurrently open schedules.  The fact that we found 45 minutes was quite remarkable.

Within that short frame of time, we had to find a costume that fit me and the time period of the play (the one I'll wear in the play is being made), get into costume, find an OK background, light the setting, pose and shoot the photos.  During the photo shoot I didn't really focus on anything other that the fact that we needed to get the photos done.

Afterwards a number of other thoughts occurred to me.  The first was prideful/vain - I'm over 40 and my neck, shoulders and decolletage still look good.  I enjoyed this thought for a day or so and then I realized...

The photos were going to be on the publicity poster.  The publicity posters are going to be displayed everywhere in the community - public bathrooms, the post office, the library, the gym, chapel, cafeteria, etc.   This could get a bit odd, especially if this is the image they are using for the large roadside banners.

Weight Loss by Theater

Since being cast in Tartuffe I'm down three pounds.  Given that my weight has been within the same 5 pound range for years now and that I am now three pounds less than the lower end of that range, I find it to be remarkable.

My BMI is in the normal range, though at the high end of normal for my height.  With this recent loss I am now trending toward the middle of that range.

I'm not a terribly healthy eater and I can't say that I've improved much in that category.  I do exercise daily (thank you accountability partner) and attempt some strength training.  I think this has helped me maintain a healthy weight.

What I believe is making this recent difference is rehearsal.  I've forgotten how physically demanding it is to be on stage.  One would think it is just a bunch of sitting, walking and talking but it is more.  I spend a good amount of time leaning away from various characters and I can tell you my core muscles are getting work out to achieve a position and then hold it.  By the end of the evening I am really tired.

I am being a bit more careful about what I am eating as well.  My costume will have a tightly fitted bodice and vanity spurs me on to maintain the loss and strive for a trimmer torso.  Time will tell if I can maintain this or not, but I'd like to.  There's nothing wrong with a healthy BMI and really strong core muscles.

Thank you Tartuffe!

Ugly Green Dress Comes in Handy

Ignore the Charlie's Angels type pose.  Admire the dress, the lovely hue of green, how figure flattering it is and how large it is.

This is "my" Nutcracker dress.  The past two years that Kyra has danced in the Nutcracker, my contribution has been to be an adult party guest.  My reward for doing so is the privilege of wearing this ugly green dress.

Until yesterday I did not realize that the ugly green dress had anything to offer me.

Last night was our first rehearsal for Tartuffe.  I've been cast as Elmire.  According to the costume designer, my dress will be quite something. The director warned us ladies that we will need to become accustomed to wearing a dress with a fitted bodice and long bulky skirt.  That we needed to know how it felt to wear one, how one moves in it, how one sits, the space one takes up with such a dress on.

And I thought - check!  After all I danced in the ugly green dress and worked back stage doing quick changes in the ugly green dress.  I know the movement, feel and spacing of the ugly green dress.

I just hope my Tartuffe dress is prettier.