Something I've known about for awhile but forgot to mention til now

I am going to the NH Theatre Awards at the Palace Theatre in Mancheter on February 5th. I am so excited because this is my first time attending. I am looking so foward to this and counting the days down. I hope a lot of the shows I have seen through out this year get nominated for awards. I have no idea when the list of shows that are nominated comes out.

Latest Milford Cabinet Article

Where kids who dream of being on Broadway get their start
By Janine Leffler



Where can young thespians learn tools of the trade close to home? There is no better place than the Riverbend School of Theatre Arts at the Souhegan Valley Boys and Girls Club in Milford.

The school was started in 2006 by Toby Tarnow and has grown in leaps and bounds since its inception. Tarnow was a TV and film actress from the 50s to the 90s and wanted to share her talents and passion for the arts with local youth. Shows she starred in included Amerika, Til Death Do Us Part and King of Kensington. Due to her professional background all of the shows that have been done so far have been teaching experiences. The school’s mission statement is: To provide a safe theater environment for children, ages 10-18, to learn the values of cooperation and collaboration, build group communication skills, and develop presence and confidence, all the while discovering and experiencing their own creative process.

The school of theatre offers classes for high school students in which to earn credit which are called Educational Learning Opportunities Credits. These classes are competency based. Currently there are two ELO classes, Iradio Theatre and an Audition Class. Tarnow is hoping to add more ELO classes next fall some of which include Sound Design and Set Design and Construction. One current ELO class that is being offered is Iradio. Instructor Bill Griggs says that this type of theatre is used as a forum for those students studying communications to express themselves through scripting production and distribution of an house radio show. Griggs said the following about what he teaches in the iradio class is as follows “I work on script continuity, and how to enhance the characters through the audio stream. Vocal reads, foley props, what music should be performed and what music should be from needle drop. We have a great contributor, Andrew Cass. He is performing about three or four different characters while sitting at the keyboard and playing our live music cues and stings we need. Radio shows are all about multitasking and overlapping. All of the actors in the show perform various duties as well as performing characters. It is this collaborative decision making and creativity that I try to inspire the students to develop.”
Other classes the School of Theatre offers include Beginner Tap, Beginner Musical Theatre, Costume Design and Construction, a play writing workshop and festival, Sing Broadway and Musical Theatre Dance. Tuition for classes ranges from $50-$300.

Tarnow said that the School of Theatre rises interest amongst youngsters to get involved in theatre and hopes that the prime location of the Amato Center will attract new membership to the Boys and Girls Club. Currently classes are only open to students but Tanrow hopes to have classes for adults in the future.


While there was an initial delay of getting the word out about the fall semester’s classes the fall production of My Fair Lady has a cast of thirty four and two junior apprentices assisting with backstage tasks Tarnow said in a recent interview “The parent volunteers of My Fair Lady have also been a wonderful support to the school.”

Performances through out the year include a winter Jr. Musical, a Fall Musical, A Christmas show, Playwriting Festival, Student Cabaret, Summer Touring Shows and Dinner Benefits.

Going downhill

Since I already did my weekly So You Think Dance review summary I figured I would just talk about the show in general for a minute and how somewhat diasppointing it has been this season.

Since the first season in 2003 I have been hooked and have watched every single season up to the current one. I have been reading a lot of threads on the fox.com message boards in which various people have said that the show has gone downhill this season and I completley concur with thier opinions. The show is becoming less and less interesting and sorry to say more and more predictable with each passing week. First off I think it was a huge mistake for them to do Season 6 so soon after season 5. That threw me off from the start of course my viewership of both So You Think You Can Dance and Glee have been rather sporadic due to academic reasons plus I typically avoid watching the audition episodes because they tend to drag out and all the drama gives me a headache. The show says it's supposed to be the search for America's favorite dancer.. I am beginning to disagree with this statement a lot because lately it seems like the judges opinions have a big part in who goes foward to the next round and America's votes are really put on the back burner. They cut the GOOD dancers like Victor and Channing and keep the not so good ones, Mollee and Nathan referred to by Mary Murphy as the Dream Team. I like a majority of the other couples who made it to the top 10 and am happy one of the couples I was originally rooting for from Day 1 is still in the contest, Russell and Noelle, Compared to the other dancers on the show Mollee and Nathan are a lot less mature and less seasoned then the other dancers and I personally think that they only reason they are getting so many votes is because the teenage girls think Nathan is so cute. Very few of thier numbers have stood or been memorable while Channing and Victor who have been voted off in the past two weeks gave amazing performances, sure their solos might have been weak but their partner performances were good. Mollle and Nathan on the other hand had the WEAKEST solos this week and Mollee's ankle injury was definitley a deficit to her performances in my opinion. Another mistake they have made is changing the stage. I liked the stage the way it was and do not at all understand why they had to change it.. the ligthing design is also bad from what i've been reading on the fox.com message board I haven't really noticed that very much though. Also one of the best chreographers Mia Michaels has left the show. This saddens me because her pieces were award winning and she one one of my favorite choreographers.

So is it the contest for America's favorite dancer or a contest for who the judge's favorites are?

I think it's moreso the second one than the first one and if Fox thinks that's going to get them more viewers they are DEAD wrong. The changes they are making are causing people to lose interest in the show.. including me. After this season I will probably not watch So You Think You Can Dance anymore...I may change my mind by when Season 6 starts in the summer but I somehow tend to doubt it. So You Think Can Dance is turning in to a popularity contest and that's really not what it should be at all. Like they say it's a contest for America's favorite dancer... that;s what it used to be but it seems now that they are making a lot of poor choices to improve their ratings and that won't serve them well in the long run because they willl end up losing viewers especially diehard viewers like me who have been watching since the beginning.


American Idol is pretty bad too... a lot of the stuff they do is more so based on the votes and on popularity. People are so farsighted that they true miss truly talent when they see it. If I had it my way Adam Lambert whould have come in 3rd of 4th last year instead of second and the person who was third would have been the runner up. I like Kris Allen because he is down to earth. Adam Lambert ... well he's a bit too flashy for me sorry to say.

Both American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance will most likely lose my viewership next year. I just find both shows to be really over rated. If it wasn't for Glee there would be nothing good on Fox to watch.


I'd also like to add... that not EVERYTHING about this season has been totally and completley horrendous. The season has definitley had its good points such awesome dances choreographed by Sonya and NappyTaps and some amazing Broadway routines. As far as the top 10 dancers are concerned I think it may be a tough descion for the rest of the American Voting public and the judges but in my opinion her is who I think the top 3 dancers will be.
1. Jakob He has been absolutley amazing ALL SEASON long and he really deleivers every week. Even if he doesn't win he will definitley have a sucesssfull dance carreer after the show
2. Kathryn
3. Ellenore

Channing was my favorite female dancer for most of the season until she got voted off two weeks ago. Since she got voted off Ellenore and Kathryn have really started to shine through. Both girls have their own set of talents but all things considered they are both very versatile dancers and are great assests to their partnerships.

SYTYCD/Glee Weekly Uipdate

So You Think You Can Dance/Glee Weekly Update

Two genres per couple this week. After this week some of the most dynamic couples of this season willl be broken up. I was sad at this point last season when Randi and Evan and Ade and Melissa were going to be split from their partnerships. I feel the same way about Jakob and Ashleigh and Noelle and Russell this season.

Bolded= got my vote.

Top 6

Ryan and Ellenore

Genres Lindyhop/Broadway Overall Rating 16 Break Down Lindyhop 6 Bway 10

Both of these dances were energetic and fun to watch. They had fabulous chemistry in the Broadway routine. Perfect song choice for the Broadway routine because the routine certainly had a lot of Razzle Dazzle.

Kathryn and Legacy

Genres Jazz/Viennese Waltz Overall Rating 17 Breakdown Jazz 7 VWaltz 10

The jazz routine was not my favorite routine of theirs however the Viennese Waltz was beautiful and they had wonderful chemistry and truly emotional.

Karen and Victor

Genres: Tango/Hip Hop Overall Rating15 Breakdown Tango 9 Hip Hop 6

Complimented each other well in both pieces. Both pieces were very emotional and powerful

Mollee and Nathan

Genres: Hiphop/Can-Can Overall Rating 15 Both dances rated a 7,5

The went from being my least favorite couple to totally redeeming themselves. The hip hop piece was really creative. By far the best dance they have done. Can-Can was a new style introduced tomight and I feel they did quite well with it.

Noelle and Russell

Genres: Samba/ Comtemp Overall Rating 12 Breakdown Samba 5 Contemp 7.5

Noelle was very weak in the Samba but quickly bounced back in the contemp routine. The contemporary piece was on of my favorites this week. Tice Diorio is one of my favorite choreogrhers but I must admit I miss Mia Michaels's routines immensly.

Ashleigh and Jakob

Genres: Lyrical Jazz/ Cha Cha Overall 14 Breakdown L Jazz 9 Cha Cha 5

Cha Cha is my least favorite dance style on this show,. I don't think I have seen very many couples that have done it well and if they have been any they have certainly been few and far between. The lyrical jazz piece was purley emotional and very much enjoyed.

Bottom 6: Mollee Nathan Karen Victor Ryan Ellenore

Top 10: Ashleigh Ellenore Jakob Kathryn Legacy Mollee Nathan Noelle Russell Ryan

I was expecting that Karen would go home because I think she has done a lot better in previous weeks in opposition to this week. I was disappoted that Victor went home because he is definitley a stronger dancer than Nathan. I am starting to lose a lot of faith in this show all together. My overall liking of the show this season has gone down hill. Perhaps because this season was to quick to follow the summer season.

Now on to Glee... the drama still continues

* Kurt set Rachel up with Finn and sexed her up much like Frenchy did for Sandy at the end of Grease. To Rachel's diappointment Finn didn't have the same feelings for her as she originally thought causing Rachel to get mad at Kurt and Kurt Rachel the daunting truth that him nor Rachel will have him. Bluntness can hurt but I still think Finn and Rachel will end up together in the end.

*Sue leaks the set list for sectionals to the other schools so the Gleeks have to revise thier plan. Which involves a mash up of the title song from HAIR and Crazy in Love by Beyonce. Other musical numbers were Imagine by John Lennon and Bootylicious by Destiny's Child.

*Baby drama continues! This storyline is dragging on and I am getting sick of it. I think Terri is getting a little bit closer to confessing to Will which is good. Now Puck and Quinn just need to come clean that Puck is the father and everything well be FAB!

Happy Thanksgiving lovely blog followers!

3 Show Weekend

1 Weekend 3 Shows I've been super busy!

Friday I went to my high school to go see their fall show. They did three one act plays. Clot Girl,Accused of Comedy and Making Choices.

Clot Girl was written by my former drama teacher Steve Hodgman. While it wasn't my favorite show out of the three one acts it was definitley very emotionally riveting. The story is about a girl named Jess who is a high school teacher and track coach who suffers a blood clot. While the topic of this play was very serious it did have some lighthearted moments. Sophie Gagnon and Monroe Kingsley as Jess and Robert were the most powerful characters in the play. The second show was Accused of Comedy directed by Stan St Onge which finds two comedians Hooper (Andrew Amerein) and Dobbs (Jamie Wallisch) and their lone fan Willhamena (Emerald Smith) are awaiting their judgemet for being too funny in a place where everyone is supposed to be serious. Madam Magistrate (Abby Darin) hands down their sentences but in the end lets them go free once she realizes that it's hard to be serious all the time. The final play was Making Choice a social issue play directed by Joey Abis as part of his senior project. This show starred Alyssa Peterson as Denicese, John Constable as Shawn Kinsey,Sophie Gagnon as Jessie Simpson, Dan Gilligan as Michael Carp and Shawna Sousa as Claire Montoya. This was a very powerful social issue play about safe sex and practicing abstinence that definitley had its intense moments. Great job to all involved in the fall play on an amazing show! I look foward to seeing Bye Bye Birdie in March.
Last night Matt and I went to Henniker to go see the Mainstage production of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. I read this play in my theatre class in high school and was quite excited to seeing it performed. Once again the members of the NEC Theatre Department never cease to impress me. They put an interesting twist on it with the genders playing opposite roles. I was finding it hard not to laugh through out the whole show. My favorite character was most definitley Cecicly Cardew played by Bill O'Donnell. I have never enjoyed myself so much at a play! Congrats to my lovely NEC theatre friends in the cast and crew!!
Today Matt and I went to the Amato Center to go see My Fair Lady put on by the Riverbend School of Theatre. I had sat in on a rehearsal a few weeks ago when I was doing my Cabinet Article interviews and the cast definitley came a long way in two weeks. I had never seen My Fair Lady before so I was looking forward to seeing it. Standout characters were Annie Rielly as Eliza Doolittle, Alec Paulson as Freddy Eysford Hill and Andrew Cass as Alfred P. Doolittle. The cast was full of a diverse amount of talented middle school and high school children from Amherst Milford and surrounding towns. I was quite impressed. Favorite musical numbers included Get Me To The Church On Time,I Could Have Danced All Night and On The Street Where You Live! Congrats to everyone in My Fair Lady on an amazing show!


One more show to see in 2009 Little Shop of Horrors @ Merrimack High School on Dec 11. 2010 has an awesome line up of shows to see ahead. Schedule of shows I plan on seeing is a few entries below this one.

Happy Thanksgiving lovely blog followers! Eat lots of turkey!

Yet Another Favorite from the NLBP video vault

Be prepared for a very indepth review of the three shows I'll be seeing this weekend on Sunday.



For now I ask you to enjoy the following video..another favorite from the NLBP video vault. I should mention that I am a huge Disney movie fanatic. Not really too ashamed to admit that at 24 years old. Disney movies have a knack for having awesome love songs in them and A Whole New World from Aladdin has always been one of my favorite songs. I sang that at my Uncle Jay's wedding when I was like 8 or 9. The following video is from the Just Desserts cabaret that I never saw because I had to go back to school. I must commend Maggie and Will because they did an awesome job with this song. I actually want this song sung at my wedding.. no idea if they will sing it but it would be cool if they could. I'm not getting married for like 3 years or something .. just a thought though.

So You Think You Can Dance/Glee Weekly Summary

So You Think You Can Dance/ Glee Weekly Summary Wednesday Nov 18th

So You Think You Can Dance

No couples ranked lower than a 6 this week and no one was in my bottom 3. We'll have to see how America voted though I predict that Mollee and Nathan will go home

Top Couples

Channing and Victor

Jazz

Rating Out of 10 8

Comments : Tice Diorio is one of my favorite chreographers on SYTYCD. He has always has fresh and creative routines. Channing and Victor are definitley contenders for a spot in the top 10.

Karen and Kevin

Broadway Rating 8

I credit Evan Kraprzek of last season for introducing this lovely genre to SYTCD. They danced to If My Friends Could See Me Now from Sweet Charity. As with most Broadway perfromances I've seen on the show so far with the exception of Kathryn and Legacy's pefromance of I Wanna Be Like You from The Jungle Book last week this one was very energetinc and had its share of poweful emotions

Elinore and Ryan

Contemporary Rating 8.5

One of the 2 180% turn performance from last weeks bottom three couples. Very riveting and powerful. Like a mjority of this seasons couples they compliment eachother well.

Middle

Noelle and Russell

Foxtrot Rating 6

The first time they picked this genre Noelle was injured so the chreograpger Melanie had to replace her. The judges refer to this style as the second kiss of death genre the first one being the Quick Step. Three things strong about this performance Lines. Emotion . Chemistry.

Mollie and Nathan

Pop/Jazz Rating 7.5

The second of 2 180* turn bounce back couples from last week's bottom 2. Quite impressive. Very eneregetic and an enjoyable performance to watch

Kathryn and Legacy

Pase Doble Rating 9

Three words can sum up this performance easily. Sensual. Emotional. Powerful

Bottom

Ashleigh and Jason

Hip Hop Rating 6

Very emotional and well chreographed.

Results

Bottom 6 (those who went home will be in red.)

Channing

Karen

Kevin

Mollie

Nathan

Victor

I am clearly disappointed tonight with results show. Clearly America does not see true talent and what a breath of fresh air Channing is. Her and Victor were truly a dynamic couple and I am sad to see the two of them being broken up. I will have to regroup and find a new couple to vote for because Victor and Channing were my top... who to choose who to choose?

On to Glee...

Once again another intense episodes. In tonght's episode Mr. Scheuster broke up the Glee Club members up into pairs to work on ballads. Because of a person being absest Scheuster is paired with Rachel who develops a crush on him. There was a brief moment of tension between Scheuster and his wife as she got jealous because thought Will and Rachel were going to have an affair. A touching moment was when Finn sang his ballad to Quinn.. however he picks a very bad time to sing as singing the song drops the bombshell on Quinn's parents that she is pregnant leading to her getting thrown out of the house and her moving in with Finn.. who by the way isn't the father of the baby. Don't remember if I mentioned that in the last entry or not. A second touching moment was when all the Glee kids sang Lean on Me to Quinn and Finn at the very end. A song that to me is the true definition of what being a true friend means.

Upcoming Performances

• Nov 20th SHS Fall Play 3 One Acts
• Nov 21st NEC Main Stage The Importance of Being Earnest
• Nov 22nd Riverbend Youth Company My Fair Lady
• December 11th Merrimack High School Theatre Department Little Shop of Horrors

OH!! and my high school's musical this year is Bye Bye Birdie!! So excited as this is one of my favorite musicals of all time. I saw this play at Peacock Players 8 years ago. Jared Nathan was Conrad Birdie and he was amazing. He will always be rememberd for how talented he was and is sorely missed by the greater theatre community of NH.

This weekend- 3 days 3 shows

Three shows back to back this weekend
Friday SHS Fall Play 3 One Acts
Saturday NEC Mainstage SHow The Importance of Being Earnest
Sunday Riverbend School of Theatre My Fair Lady

Reviews to follow!



Stay tuned later this evening for the weekly So You Think You Can Dance/Glee update

Theatre related new years resolutions

Okay so this year I am actually doing a lot better at keeping my new years resolutions. In the past I have not been very motivated to keep up with my resolutions. My non-theatre related resolutions include writing more poetry, working out more and find a good job that pays more than the two current jobs I have. They are very good jobs but I need to start paying back my loans from NEC soon. I feel a very big sense of accomplishment right now. 2009 has definitley been a year of improvement.
Updated on 11/16/09

Here are my theatre related resolutions for 2009. If bolded it means it has been accomplished.
1. See shows at theatres in New Hampshire I have never seen shows at before ( Andy's Summer Playhouse, Palace Theatre in Manchester) Save this for next year as I hope to go see shows at Andy's Summer Playhouse and Seacoast Repretory Theatre in Portsmouth
2. Get technical experience in areas other than just props. This is more of a long term goal. I am hoping to try to see if I can work at Summer Theatrei in Meredith Village this summer. I will have to where my currrent employment will lead me and if that will be able to fit comfortably into my situation.
3. Introduce myself to at least one new Broadway soundtrack. My itunes library needs some new blood in it.. i am getting kind of sick of listening to Annie Get Your Gun and Little Shop of Horrors all the time.
Soundtracks which I have purchased music from since June *Oaklahoma *South Pacific
Not much of huge dent but I don't have a huge amount of money in my itunes account right now.
4. See at least one show @ the Barn Playhouse and one show @ Interlakes Region Theatre this summer. Saw not one but two amazing shows @ Interlakes Theatre!! Grease and Oaklahoma both which were fabulous. and I got to see my loves Matt Densky Maggie and Marco again! YAY! Reviews of both these shows are furthur back in my entries. I also saw Anything Goes at the Barn Playhouse which was equally as amazing.
5. Go to see a broadway show in New York... perferably West Side Story or Billy Elliot but that will depend on what's still around due to all the recent closings. I saw HAIR on April 25th and it was phenominal. Next up I am hoping to see A Little Night Music in March!
6. Go see the Spring Awakening Tour in Boston in the spring. I really wanted to see this show for awhile but then I kind of lost interest in seeing it. In The Heights is coming to Boston in January so hopefully my budget will allow me to see that.

A poetic interlude

So I have a bit of a break from writing Milford Cabinet Articles and show reviews ( i am seeing two shows this weekend On Friday the SHS Fall Play and Saturday The Imporatance of Being Earnest NEC's Fall Mainstage Production)
I wrote this poem a year ago. It actually still fits me now as I still my find my life in a quite transitionary process. The song Skid Row (Downtown) from Little Shop of Horrors inspired it and I tried to use the song as a metaphor but am not sure if I was successful at doing that or if I failed. You be the judge.

Escape from Skid Row (with skid row being a metaphor)

by Janine Leffler

Skid Row isn't glitz and glamour
but there's more to it than meets the eye
for there's a certain allure to it if you will
I'm from a common town
that there's not much to do
but it depends on your point of view
guys aren't drips here
it's scenic most of they year
I'm like Seymour in a lot of ways
with a dream that he's trying to achieve
all though I guess our dreams are different
though ultimatey both of our goals
are to get away from small town life
In our own ways we want
to break free from mediocrity for a change"
Show me how and I will I'll get out of here"I'm still in transiton
on my wayjust taking things day by day
(i wouldd make reference to Godspell here but let's just stick to one musical :) )
My destination goal is Portsmouth
the town by the ocean
I'll get there!

Getting excited to start working on the show

So the cast list was posted at the end of last week.. lots of familiar faces in the cast from previous years in the PTA Play and other shows I have seen in shows at the Amato Center.

Congrats to all who were cast. I am looking foward to working with you all.


Janine

So You Think You Can Dance Week 8 Summary

Week 3 So You Think You Can Dance Summary

style="font-weight:bold;">Top Couples
1.Channing and Victor
Their captivating contempoary dance got stole my heart and won my vote. They were both truly in their element tonight and have amazing chemistry. I easily see them making it into the top 10. Rating out of 10: 9
2. Kevin and Karen
Another couple with great chemistry. Their hustle was very energetic.. so energetic I was tempted to get up and dance along.
Rating out of 10:8
3. Noelle and Russell
A new style was introduced and they truly brought out the best of their talents. African Jazz has never been on the show before. This will definitely be a style I will grow to like.
Rating out of 10:9
Middle Couples
1. Katherine and Legacy
Broadway was definitely out of both of their comfort zones and they pushed it to the limit as much as they could. Katherine was not very good in this style at all and I think that is going to hurt her this week.
Rating out of 10: 6
2. Mollie and Nathan
A very sassy Salsa! They stumbled in certain parts. The lifts were pretty good
Rating out of 10:6
Bottom Couples
1. Ashley and Jakob
This jazz routine would have been so much better without the use of the cane. Other than that the dance was really fierce.
Rating out of 10:4.5
2. Ellenore and Ryan
Hip Hop is by far not one of my favorite genres and this was probably one of the worst hip hop performances I have seen on the show. Ryan was way too stiff with his arm movements and the choreography seemed off for most of the dance. They didn't have very good chemistry. I think they are going to go home this week.
Rating out of 10: 3
3, Pauline and Peter
The quick step can be a blessing or a curse on this show but most of the time it is referred to as the KISS OF DEATH. I guess we will have to see what the results show will hold for them and how the votes will pan out. The dance itself was very energetic. Lots of good lifts.
Rating out of 10: 4


Looking forward to tomorrow's results show and getting my Glee fix after it not being on for two weeks because of the World Series.
Results:
Bottom 3 Couples Couple who went home is bolded
1. Kevin and Karen
2 Pauline and Peter
3. Elenore and Ryan

I would have chosen either Mollie or Nathan or Elenior and Ryan to go home. While Pauline and Peter may have not danced their best they should gone on one more week, Mollie and Nathan were by far the weakest and I think Nathan got the votes because all the teenage girls think he is cute.

Now to talk about Glee... I thought for some reason that tonight's episode was the season finale and I don't know why. Clearly it wasn't but it was the best and most intense episode of the season. Tension really heated up between Finn and Puck as they vy to be the best father for Quinn's baby. This was a very heartwarming episode as the members of Glee raised money by having a bake sale so Artie the character who is in a wheelchair can go to nationals with them by a bus purchased by the club. Artie ended up deciding to have his dad drive him but the moeny ended up going toward getting a wheelchair ramp for the theatre. The sex of Quinn's baby was also found out.. It's a girl!! The other tense moment in this episode was between Rachel and Kurt as they had to compete against each other in a DIVA off for the solo in Defying Gravity from Wicked. Rachel ended up getting the solo but Kurt came out on top proving to his dad that he doesn't let being gay stand his way way of doing what he loves despite how much disprect he gets from outer people at school because of his sexuality. Can't wait for next week's episode!


I have actually kind of lost track of what week of So You Think You Can Dance we are in. The last entry I did was Week one but I actually think it was technically week 5 or week 6 since I didn't watch during the weeks of auditions.


Upcoming Performances
Nov 21st- NEC Mainstage Show The Importance of Being Earnest




Upcoming Milford Cabinet Articles
December

1. Riverbend School of Theatre
2. A Christmas Story

January

Annie Jr

New York is beckoning again

So I live in a very unexciting town in Southern NH. Sometimes I wish I lived in a bigger city where there was more to do. This is why I really want to move to Portsmouth in the next couple years. I love the area and there is so much to do there in terms of the arts and other things. I really do miss working in a theatr.e Right now I am doing backstage work for Annie Jr in Milford.. props! So excited. I have created a seperate blog to document my work on the show.

NYC always seems to beckon to me. I really wanted to go down over Christmas to see all the decorations in Lincoln Center and see the Radio City Rockettes but that will have to wait til next year. Matt and I are hoping to go to New York in March to visit my friend Rae in NJ. She lives an hour from the city and we plan on making a day trip into the city to see a show as part of her 21st birthday present. There are so many good shows to see on Broadway.. way too many options to choose from. Since it is her birthday we are letting her pick the show. Her three choices are Billy Elliot,Jersey Boys and A Little Night Music. I have heard good things about Billy Elliot (umm hello, it practically swept the Tony's in June) and my parents saw Jersey Boys when they went to Chicago in July but I know very little about A Little Night Music as far as plot and music is concerned. If we end up going to see that show it will excite me greatly because my friend Ramona Mallory from the Barn Playhouse is in it and it will be so awesome to see her in a show again..or just to see her again in general since I haven't seen her since I left New London.

I find it to be an awesome perk that I know people in Broadway shows! HORRAY!! Wish I sort of knew more about what my other friends from the Barn Playhouse have been up other then the ones I already know. I know my friend Louie is part of the national touring cast of Cabaret... that's exciting and such a fun show. We worked on that togethter at NLBP. :) Other than that I have no idea what my other friends have been doing. I hope life beyond the Barn has shown them marvelous paths. I wouldn't expect anything less from such a talented group of people such as them. <3 NLBP 2007 4eva!

time for bed.
Love Janine


Recent movies I have seen and how they rate
*- theatre **-rental
*A Christmas Carol C
Disney's spin on a timeless holiday classic was interesting.. especcially in 3D. Jim Carrey never ceasess to amaze me.
*Couples Retreat B
The funniest movie I have seen in awhile. Haven't laughed so hard in such a long time.
**Ghost of Girlfriends Past C-
I refer to this as a modern day version of A Christmas Carol. Another movie that I feel the previews hyped up and didn't end up being as good when I saw it.
My friend Lytle from the Barn Playhouse was in this movie but I did not know what scene she was in. :(
** The Soloist A-
This movie has got to be one of the most heartwrenching and powerful movies I have seen to date. It's right up there with My Sister's Keeper on the tearjerker factor. A must see.

Movies I want to see
New Moon
Harry Potter
Fame (anxiously awaiting for this to come out on DVD since I missed it in theatres)
Amelia
New York I Love You

Latest Milford Cabinet Article

Riverbend School of Theatre presents
My Fair Lady
By Janine Leffler



Come enjoy the timeless classic My Fair Lady performed by the Riverbend School of Theatre. The cast and production staff looks forward to entertaining you with a fabulous and most enjoyable show.

The Riverbend School of Theatre is a new troupe which differs from the Riverbend Youth Company. In the School of Theatre, run by Tody Tarnow, professional actors help to train the young actors and teach them to withhold to professional standards. The ages of the actors in the Riverbend School of Theatre is 12-18 with very few students cast who are under age 13. The age level of Riverbend Youth Company typically ranges from age 8 and up depending on the production.

Producer Toby Tarnow says that she is excited about putting on the show My Fair Lady. It is a multilayered show full of quick and complex scene changes. Even though the show is challenging, Tanrow feels blessed to be working with such a talented production staff and cast and looks forward for the upcoming performances.

The show has been cast and rehearsals have been underway for several months. When performing this musical, actors face many more responsibilities than simply memorizing their lines. They also have to remember music and choreography, British accents, familiarize themselves with the plot, as well as dealing with the length of the show. Anastasia Feraco elaborated on the fact that it is sometimes difficult to switch back and forth between the dialects of the upper and lower class British accents. When it comes to character portrayal Emily Getchell Lacey says her biggest challenge has been acting snobby and stuck up because it is not something that describes her real personality. For Alec Paulson, who plays Freddy, Eliza Doolittle’s love interest, the difficulty is acting ‘love struck’ because he has never been in that situation in real life. He said that another challenge has been hitting the high notes in his song On the Street Where You Live.

Actors in this production have various methods when it comes to getting into character and memorizing their lines. Kristin Withers likes to read books about the time period so she can learn more about the history. This also helps her from a technical standpoint when it comes to designing the costumes. Alec Paulson uses the simple method of going over his lines numerous times until he is comfortable with saying them. When it comes to line memorization, Andrew Cass of Milford tape records his lines and the preceding lines so he can figure out the proper time for him to say his lines. People in the ensemble, who do not have a speaking role, have creative ways to get into character. Adele Patnaude and Brittney Gentilhommme like to picture themselves in certain scenes and imagine what they would say to bring out the emotion of the character.

One thing that stands out to Emily Getchell Lacey is how close the cast has become over the period of rehearsing. “We’re all really close, almost like a family.” Getchell-Lacey stated. From both an acting and technical standpoint Kristin Withers enjoys seeing how everything has come together. Both the cast and producer Toby Tanrow look forward to performing My Fair Lady, at The Amato Center for The Performing Arts in Milford from November 13-November 22nd. Friday and Saturday performances will be at 7:30pm and there will be a Sunday matinee at 2:00pm.

Auditions

Last night was the first night of audutions and it was pretty hectic. My task was to check the auditioners in and assign them numbers. Pretty self-explanitory. There's still another night of auditions but from what I saw last night there are lots of talented kids trying out. I look very forward for the cast list to be posted on Friday to see who gets casted.

Good luck to everyone who is auditioning. I look forward to working with this cast and production team.

Janine

And it begins

My process of working on Annie Junior begins tonight with auditions. Let the fun begin!

LUL *Longer update later*

Get In The Halloween Spirit

Happy Halloween (A day late)

Two awesome performances this week to fit the theme of Halloween. Friday evening was my sisters final performance for dance team.. the last of her high school career. It was a fabulous show and I am so proud of my sister and all her fellow dance team seniors for all of their accomplishments on dance team. My favorite dances were the Overture from the First Act and Jellicle Song for Jellicle Cats, Don't Scream and Spooky Skeletons from the second act. I grew a little bit nostalgic during the Jellicle Song for Jellicle Cats number because that was of the shows I worked on when I was at NLBP. Congrats to the SHS Dance Team on such an awesome show.
Last night I went to NEC to see the CTE Play Seasonal Help which was written by NEC Alum Paul Lloyd and is based on an experience he had over the summer.
The play starred senior Joe Paredez as Mazzone, Junior Nate Hartley as Shane, Junior Dean Amegashie as Chuck, Sophomore Micaela Hill as Eve and Sophomore Adam Boisellle as Dyer. The setting is a Lexington Massachuetts cemetery where Shane (Hartley) starts a summer job. For Shane this is a rough experience because this is the cemetery where is father is buried. Shane is trying to deal with his father's death and how his father never got to see him grow up and graduate high school and college due to ac holism. Even though this play has kind of a depressing undertone due to the setting Hartley's character brought a lot of humor to the show. The whole first act basically focusses on how Shane gets to know the other people who he works at in the ceemetary. They have a lot of deep and thought provoking discussions in the break room. The second scene goes by in the blink of an eye so you don't want to fall asleep. It features Hartley and Paredez giving monolouges over the tombstones of their fathers saying how they forgive for what happened in the past and don't intend to let them drag them down in the present of future.
The tech staff consisted of Elliot Greer director, Christina Vasta (Stage Manager) Kyle Fullford (Sets) Wally Pineault (Lights) Ian Allen, Dean Amegashie, Adam Boiselle, Rachel Buck, Bill O'Donnell, Lauren Dummich, Dominique Grant, Becky Gissell, Elliot Greer,John Hanks, Nate Hartley, Micaela Hill, Alexis Johantgen, Paul Llyod, Joe Paredez, Katie Sullivan, Christina VAsta

Great job to all on a great show 1