Plaza Suite

As we open this week, I should probably blog on this a bit.

SHAPE Players' fall production is Plaza Suite by Neil Simon.  The play has three acts that all take place in suite 719 of the Plaza Hotel.  Kyra and I were both cast in the play.  Kyra plays Mimsey Hubley, a bride who has locked herself in the bathroom on her wedding day.  I play Muriel Tate, a married woman who has gone to the Plaza Hotel to meet her high school boyfriend who is now a famous Hollywood producer.

Over the past few weeks I have been keeping busy with rehearsals and helping with the set (thus few blog posts).  The volunteer who used to help with set construction moved this summer so there is as much to do, but fewer trained hands to do it.  Thus Thomas (the set designer and builder) has taught me to use some of the power tools - circular saw, nail gun, staple gun and drill (already knew some drill skills).  I've also done a good amount of painting as one look at my clothes will confirm.

Rehearsal wise, I've had a lot of fun.  I most definitely prefer the shows with a smaller cast.  I guess I'm selfish that way - I like to have more time with the director, more time to run lines and the calmer atmosphere of a small cast.  Plaza Suite is essentially three small shows that share a common setting.  So in some ways we are functioning as three separate shows.  Full run throughs allow us to see what our fellow cast members are doing but otherwise we don't rehearse together.  I've seen a good amount of act 3 solely because I bring Kyra to rehearsal and then sometimes stay to watch.

The show is set in 1968 so the costuming is fun.  Yes I will post photos - keep an eye out for them.

Oklahoma

Curly and Gertie center stage - Gertie's laugh hillarious!

 Now that I have some time (and before I don't have very much again) I've been reviewing past blog posts to see what I have missed.

One of those things was Oklahoma!  By blogging about it now, I miss the in the moment thoughts and feelings, but maybe I gain the perspective of time.

It seems odd to realize I have only done two productions with SHAPE players because those productions were all consuming and seem so much more than just two shows.

Tartuffe had a small cast of under 20 and Oklahoma had a large cast over 60 of us.  That meant bigger stage, more people and more moving parts. Scenes took longer to stage and rehearse because it took everyone really paying attention.   Tartuffe and Oklahoma were two entirely different experiences.

semi-pro photographer in the audience took this one

I will note, I have never considered myself a singer, and still do not.  The role of Laurey was challenging for me in that respect.  I did work on vocal training.  I think the hardest thing for me was to just get over myself and potential embarrassment of not singing well (which I didn't) and just get on with the show.

I enjoyed the energy and laughter of working with a larger cast but missed the intimacy of a small one.  I also enjoyed the more intergenerational -ness of the Oklahoma! cast.  It was fun to share the stage with children and youth.

As a show, you can't go wrong with wonderful songs like Can't Say No, Kansas City and Oklahoma, especially because those were ones I didn't sing.

Very soon auditions start for the next show - Plaza Suite.  Yes I'll be auditioning and we'll see what happens.

Cinderella Weekend

 First of all - hooray!  We start a brand new month, which means our internet is back up to regular speed and now we have an unlimited data plan.  That means photos I put on the blog upload faster and I don't have to worry about using up limited data.

This was performance weekend for theater camp.  The kids all did a great job and it was fun to watch parents and friends enjoy their kids' production.

I enjoyed watching the evolution of the performances from learning lines and blocking to practice runs to dress rehearsals and then the live shows.  Many of the kids got bolder and braver in their characters and gave some very entertaining performances.  Some stepped up in ways they didn't think themselves capable.

There were some days of theater camp that were more enjoyable than others.  The mice certainly gave me a "fun" time.  Let's say they weren't the most focused characters nor did dance steps stick in their brains.  In the end they were an audience favorite.

The icing on the cake for me though is that now when I am going about my errands in the SHAPE community I enjoy surprise hugs from the kids at the PX and Post Office.    Can't beat that.

Theater Camp

This summer three out of four Dunlaps are involved with SHAPE Players' theater camp.

Allen spends morning at the theater working on back stage production - painting, carpentry, costumes, etc. In general I think he likes what he is doing.  What he likes best is hanging out with all the other teenagers who are working there as well.

Kyra is a camper - this means she experiences the fun stuff of camp - learning theater stuff and is part of the production.

I am the choreographer.  This means I get to work with over twenty kids of varying ages and dance abilities and most challenging - differing desires to be in theater camp.  Overall it is fun and the kids are great, even if they are loud!

The camp is putting on a production of Cinderella next week.  They are doing the Disney version and I would have to say they are doing a good job.  Lines are memorized, choreography is memorized, the set and costumes look great.  Some of the kids are amazing actors and are quite good at getting the audience's attention.

The theater intends to offer an after-school version of this camp a couple of times throughout the school year.  I think Kyra is seriously considering this.  I am on board to help with choreography.  I think Allen will jump ship though and return to cross-country and track.

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.

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!