Yesterday in celebration of my new job Matt and I ventured up to Henniker to see the Open Door Theatre Production of Woyzeck. For those who read this blog who do not go to New England College the Open Door Theatre is a summer theatre offering at NEC which is opened to alumni and community members. Favorite past open door productions include Judevine Weinsburg,Ohio and Much Ado About Nothing. The thing that always impresses me about these shows besides the obvious talent among my friends in the show and other alumni is the variety of versitile characters that they play. Some people play multiple characters throughout the show.
Woyzeck is based on a true story which was written by Georg Buchner, a German playwright in the late 1800s. It is set sometime in Eastern Europe sometime in the 20th century... couldn't make heads or tails if it was set during a war or not. It is a story of a deeply troubled man who ends up killing the one person he loves. The murder doen't happen till midway through Act 2 but is foreshawdoed in Act 1 Scene 3.
I was at the edge of my seat during most of the production easily hooked on the inner turmoil of the main character Woyzeck played by Eric Doucet. Though this play is mostly a drama there are a few scenes which add in bits of comic releif. I found this play to the be the most powerful and thought provoking to previous Open Door Shows I've seen second of course to the 2006 production of The Diviners. Woyzeck is in a relationship with Marie (Keri Bresaw) and thier relationship is rather pivotal to the show especially since Marie is cheating on Woyzeck with Sergeant Majaor (Zach Shea). Woyzeck catches on to the infidelity and eventually ends up killing Marie. The murder is the most tragic part of the whole play.
The last paragraph of the director's notes in the program says " Woyzeck is a decent caring human being , a compassionate man set adrift in a world where no one else is decent,or caring or compassionate." Eric Doucet did a fantastic job with capturing the essence of this truly troubled character.
Congratulations to director Glenn Sturart Cast members Keri Bresaw, Eric Doucet,Kevin Guimond, Jennie Leonardl,Russ Rattery, Zach Shea and Greg Stuart and crew Jackie Hawkes,Joe Paredez Elliot Greer and Monica Boore on a truly wonderful production.
Happy Birthday to my fellow thespians who had birthdays in August and the early part of September <3>
Rachel Kepnes, Jesse Einstien, Andrea Crocker, Tess Amadeo Vickery, Dashiel and Levi Morger, Matt Forbes. Christina Giordano, Jay Johnson, Maggie Politi, Zach Shea, Sarah Mitchell, Shawna O'Brien, Rachael Claborn, Lindsey St Louis
Upcoming Productions I will be viewing (budget and schedule dependant)
October 16th-25th The Foriegner Milford Area Players
October 30th-November 1 Seasonel Help New England College Carriage Theatre Ensemble
Nov 19-22 Edges Clark University Musical Theatre
December 5th Holiday Spectacular Concord City Auditorium
About Me
- Janine
- Amherst, NH, United States
- I am 25 years old and I live in NH. I have mild cerebal palsy but I have never let that affect me. I am very passionate about theatre and writing. For my professional theatre blog go to http://theatretechdiva.weebly.com
Monday, September 21, 2009
My most recent Milford Cabinet Article
The Rehearsal Process
By Janine Leffler
Now comes the grueling part… the rehearsals. It’s time to develop each character and blend them together with other characters in the production while intertwining the props and costumes. The rehearsal process definitely has its challenges, but the biggest reward for any group of actors is putting on an entertaining performance for an audience.
Rehearsals begin the minute the play is cast and go until the final week before the production. The actors spend the first week of rehearsals getting to know their characters and seeing how their characters relate to other characters in the production. Early on, they have their scripts in hand and have a prompter there to assist when they forget their lines. A lot of time is spent by the actors perfecting their characters; part of this process involves memorizing their lines.
Most of the actors I talked to in the Milford Area Players fall main stage production of Larry Schue’s The Foreigner usually practice their lines at home on their own time. One method that Dave Kulvette who plays Charlie Baker finds it to be helpful is to make cds of his lines so he can study them in the car on his commute to work. Kristen Lawson who plays Catherine Simms finds it helpful when her husband goes over her lines with her so that way she knows at what point in the script to come in. When it comes to character development one common challenge seems to be development of an accent. Once the character is more developed and the actor is more used to the character’s mannerisms, the accent almost becomes second nature.
A rehearsal typically lasts about three hours and usually consists of fine tuning a particular scene in a play and working on blocking. Blocking is a term which refers to the movement and positioning of actors on a stage during a play. When asked about blocking Tom Partridge said “It is important to see how everything fits together and where people fit on the stage. You want to make things look. natural.” After certain about of time the actors have to be off book which means they have to have their lines memorized and are not allowed to refer to their script during the course of a rehearsal. Throughout various parts of the process props are integrated into the rehearsal and costumes are usually integrated close to the end of the process. Director Tom Partridge said ““Props come in at various times, depending on when needed or available; costumes usually do not come into use until the last couple of weeks before the play depending on the play itself.”
The members of the cast and director Tom Partridge are in agreement that the show is coming along well. All members of the cast are looking forward to entertaining audiences.
Be sure to mark your calendars for October 16th-25th at the Amato Center for the Performing Arts at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Souhegan Valley in Milford. Showtimes are 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays and 2pm on Sundays. Tickets are $12 for adults and $7 for students and seniors. Stay tuned next time for a review of The Foreigner.
By Janine Leffler
Now comes the grueling part… the rehearsals. It’s time to develop each character and blend them together with other characters in the production while intertwining the props and costumes. The rehearsal process definitely has its challenges, but the biggest reward for any group of actors is putting on an entertaining performance for an audience.
Rehearsals begin the minute the play is cast and go until the final week before the production. The actors spend the first week of rehearsals getting to know their characters and seeing how their characters relate to other characters in the production. Early on, they have their scripts in hand and have a prompter there to assist when they forget their lines. A lot of time is spent by the actors perfecting their characters; part of this process involves memorizing their lines.
Most of the actors I talked to in the Milford Area Players fall main stage production of Larry Schue’s The Foreigner usually practice their lines at home on their own time. One method that Dave Kulvette who plays Charlie Baker finds it to be helpful is to make cds of his lines so he can study them in the car on his commute to work. Kristen Lawson who plays Catherine Simms finds it helpful when her husband goes over her lines with her so that way she knows at what point in the script to come in. When it comes to character development one common challenge seems to be development of an accent. Once the character is more developed and the actor is more used to the character’s mannerisms, the accent almost becomes second nature.
A rehearsal typically lasts about three hours and usually consists of fine tuning a particular scene in a play and working on blocking. Blocking is a term which refers to the movement and positioning of actors on a stage during a play. When asked about blocking Tom Partridge said “It is important to see how everything fits together and where people fit on the stage. You want to make things look. natural.” After certain about of time the actors have to be off book which means they have to have their lines memorized and are not allowed to refer to their script during the course of a rehearsal. Throughout various parts of the process props are integrated into the rehearsal and costumes are usually integrated close to the end of the process. Director Tom Partridge said ““Props come in at various times, depending on when needed or available; costumes usually do not come into use until the last couple of weeks before the play depending on the play itself.”
The members of the cast and director Tom Partridge are in agreement that the show is coming along well. All members of the cast are looking forward to entertaining audiences.
Be sure to mark your calendars for October 16th-25th at the Amato Center for the Performing Arts at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Souhegan Valley in Milford. Showtimes are 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays and 2pm on Sundays. Tickets are $12 for adults and $7 for students and seniors. Stay tuned next time for a review of The Foreigner.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Surprise!
Last weekend I went to New Jersey for a family function and I got a last minute surprise when my aunt's sister invited to go to a play with her her husband and her granddaughter Marissa. Usually I am not a fan of straight play and have more of fan of musicals but this play was the best play I've seen in awhile I have never laughed so hard.. not in a very long time.
The theatre we saw the show at was The Shakespeare Company of New Jersey located on the campus of Drew University ..a college I had never even heard of before. The play was called Noises Off. I am not sure how many people actually read this blog and how many people have heard of this show but as I said it is the funniest play I have seen in a very long time. It is a play within a play about an acting troupe who putting on a show. The first act is the final dress rehersal, the second act is the first preview of the show and the third act was their actual first performance of the production. It was really interesting concept. Those of you who are fans of the show and subsequent movie Sex and The City should take note that one of the actresses in this play, Lalia Robbins who played the character Belinda Blair. I do not know what character she played on Sex In The City. It would have been neat if I had gotten to meet her but unfortunately I didn't have a backstage pass like I did at HAIR. Overall it's a great play. The whole cast had really awesome chemistry. I highly reccommend it to anyone who is looking for a great laugh.
Upcoming Performances
October 16-25 The Foriegner Milford Area Players. Stay tuned for my next Milford Cabinet article all about the rehearsal process.
October 29-November 1st Seasonal Help New England College Carriage Theatre Ensemble Production
The theatre we saw the show at was The Shakespeare Company of New Jersey located on the campus of Drew University ..a college I had never even heard of before. The play was called Noises Off. I am not sure how many people actually read this blog and how many people have heard of this show but as I said it is the funniest play I have seen in a very long time. It is a play within a play about an acting troupe who putting on a show. The first act is the final dress rehersal, the second act is the first preview of the show and the third act was their actual first performance of the production. It was really interesting concept. Those of you who are fans of the show and subsequent movie Sex and The City should take note that one of the actresses in this play, Lalia Robbins who played the character Belinda Blair. I do not know what character she played on Sex In The City. It would have been neat if I had gotten to meet her but unfortunately I didn't have a backstage pass like I did at HAIR. Overall it's a great play. The whole cast had really awesome chemistry. I highly reccommend it to anyone who is looking for a great laugh.
Upcoming Performances
October 16-25 The Foriegner Milford Area Players. Stay tuned for my next Milford Cabinet article all about the rehearsal process.
October 29-November 1st Seasonal Help New England College Carriage Theatre Ensemble Production
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