One final move

 ONE LAST TIME FOLKS.. this blog is moving one last time.

 I have made the official switch over to wordpress as of   Tuesday night.

Link to this blog on Wordpress

http://j9thetheatregeek.wordpress.com/


As noted in the earlier entry  the reason for the switch is that tumblr was not  cutting it for  me as  site in which to have a professional blog on.    I will be deactivating this blog on both tumblr and blogger  once things die down between Annie and  It's A Wonderful Life.

Thank you for your continued support of following this blog.

It might be time to move back

Options for this blog

1.  Moving it back to blogger
2.  Moving it to my website on Weebly.
3. Moving it to another website. Reccomondations for other blogging sites to go do would be lovely.

 I have been on tumblr for  eight months and while it  is userfriendly I have come to the determination that it is a not a professional interface and  this is a professional blog.. or at  least  I'm hoping it's viewed that way. One entry I posted most recently on tumblr about being insecure about auditions may have come off to readers as unprofessional.   I am hoping that's not the case but  that's really  not how I want myself to be viewed by readers of this blog. 

So... what's been new...

1. NON Theatre Related  I have been in a job training program at  PLUS CO in Nashua since August 13th. Gaining so much from it  than  I did from Project Search and the job training program I was in prior to that at the Boys and Girls Club in Nashua. I have been loving my internship and am really hoping  they hire me once the program is over. Also the other night  I went to the opening party for my friend Vouli's new dance studio on 101A. It's a lovely place. :)
2. Kind of a big deal!!   I got into the Holiday show at the Amato Center  It's A Wonderful Life.   I have a minor speaking part which  I am pretty stoked about. It's my first speaking part ever in a play so   I am happy.  I am Mrs. Hatch, Mary Hatch's mother.    So far we've only had two rehearsals but  I am super excited to be part of this show.   Many of my Oklahoma cast mates are in the show with me so it's great to be work with them in the off season and to work with Roger again as director.  I have not ruled out if  Io  am auditioning for the PTA  Play yet this year. We'll get to in a minute.
3.  Princess K.I.M.  Work on this will  start to pick up after the Holidays. We have a  Play Reading  next Saturday  November 3rd so  I am excited  for that.  I also can't wait  til  we go to  OHio in April to see the play performed at the New Play Festival! Please go to www.princesskimthemusical.blogspot.com  for everything you need to know about Princess K.I.M
4.  Sing a little  FA LA LA      No, not exactly Christmas time yet but  I have been in a  voice class at the YMCA for a month and my recital in next Friday.   I am singing Bless The Broken Road by Rascal Flatts   pretty  nervous.   Still debating  joining the Stagecoach Women's Chorus or Souhegan Valley Chorus for the spring.  It will largely depend on my schedule (and budget for Stagecoach Women's Chorus since they have an entry fee) A good back up is the choir at my church.
5. Winter audtions So as  I said I haven't completely ruled out auditioning for the PTA Play  Meet Me In St Louis yet.  While the show may not intiallay  have much appeal to me  I'll learn to love it once the reheearsals actually start.  Auditions haven't been announced yet but the show times  had to be pushed back because of scheduling conflicts at Souhegan so the show will be  at the beginnng of May instead of in April.   I am also hoping to audition for  Company with Stagecoach Productions and Curtians with Actorsingers. Both of these auditions are in January.   I haven't decided what role for Curtains or Company yet due to lack of familiarity with either show but  I've got time to figure something out.  I may end up either doing tech work for  Curtians or Meet Me In St Louis so my primary focus can be on Princess K.I.M. The Musical.  Now that  I know  what to expect from Actorsingers and Stagecoach  auditions I am less nervous about them.   If anyone has ever been in Curtains or Company and can reccommend a good song for me to use for the audition feel free to leave a comment here or email me.

Not much else to report. Time for bed.  I've been  kind of run down lately so  I am hoping I am not getting sick.

Hello!

So   I have been really debating switching this blog back to blogger.   As much  as I have enjoyed blogger and how much easier the interface has been for me to use   I feel like   the entries will get more readership since they get DIRECTLY imported to the facebook fan page on this blog.   The other blog is more so linked to my personal faeebook  profile and since this blog is more professional I feel it is more important for this blog to be more connected to  the facebook page.

I have been living in Nashua for four months and  I ADORE IT!!  So much more of an active social scene then  in  Amherst/Milford.    The best thing about my apartment complex is that it so close to downtown.  I am literally  three minutes from the Court Street Theatre where I go to see Stagecoach Productions and Peacock Players shows. It's amazing!  Also this summer I saw a few  free concerts in Greely  Park which was a great change of pace.      

I am trying to get as involved in the Nashua Theatre Scene as I can between auditioning and volunteering at  the various  groups  in Nashua.  As people  know  I had two auditions in August but  did not get cast in either show.  I am so excited to help out with both shows.  I am  helping out with publicity for Pirates of Penzance with Stage Coach Productions and am doing sound design for  Annie with Actorsingers.  I am also hoping to volunteer for Peacock Players again.  I previously volunteered for them in 2008 helping with publicity for their fall show Once Upon A Mattress. 

Auditons?  Now there's a quandry!!   The PTA Play performances got pushed back to the beginning of May this year because of scheduling conflicts at SHS.   The spring show for Actorsingers  Curtains  has the exact same production schedule so  it's a matter of  choosing which show I want to audition for.    Trying out for both shows is one thing  but  I obviously won't be able to do both of them if I  get cast.  I mean based on my audition experience for Annie  I know what to expect and that Actorsingers  shows are diifficult to get into.   I can't totally rule out the PTA Play yet.. maybe it's because  I feel so at home with that group but   I think Curtains would be such a fun show to be in so  that leaves me in a  lurch.  Oh well, it's only September 19th so  I still have  8 months to decide.  I'll start freaking out about it more after Christmas when the actual auditions get closer.   Coming up in a few weeks I have an auditon for the holiday show at the Amato Center It's A Wonderful Life.  I am wicked excited for the auditon because  I haven't auditioned for a show at the Amato Center in 2 years.   Secondly    a lot of the PTA play people do these shows  so I am excited to be in a play with them.  It willl also be really cool to work with all the kids I have seen in the Riverbend Youth Company Shows.

Work on Princess K.I.M. The Musical is going to start picking up really soon which  I cannot wait for. We have a play reading workshop at my house on November 3rd and  I  can't wait for the direction  this show will go in...  I am especially excited to travel to Ohio in the spring to see it performed as  I have never been to Ohio. :)

Viewing Schedule for  Fall 2012

 

*= Tenative

October 6th  Milford Pumpkin Festival Talent Show

* October 11th or 13th  Come Back To the 5 and Dime  Jimmy Dean Jimmy Dean  Nashua Theatre  Guild

October 14th  Fiddler On The Roof  Manchester Community Theatre Players

October 28th Pirates of Penzance  Stagecoach Productions

* Miracle On 34th Street The Musical  Portland Players  Portland Maine   Show runs  November 30-Dec 16  Not sure when we  are going to see it  because the holidays tend  to be a super busy time of year.

 

 

 

PEOPLE BETTER COME SEE ANNIE AT ACTORSINGER November 9-11th.  It will be amazing! :P)

 





Audition Summary

Had two audition  last week on the 12th and 13th.  Jumping in with both feeet to the Theatre scene in my  new hometown of Nashua.

Sunday night  I auditioned for  Annie with Actorsingers.  I knew going into the audition process that Actorsingers shows were hard to get into  but  I didn't let the knowledge of this stop me from choosing to audition.   I  was fighting with myself to audition for Grace Farrell and weather or not  it was a good idea to audition for a lead.   I knew that woul be a challenging thing for me but  I am always up for a challenge.  I ended up choosing to primarily  auditon for the ensemble and put Grace Farrell down as my second choice  knowing full well that my chances of getting cast  in that role  were pretty slim.   Overall the audition was pretty easy but  parts of the dance audition were kind of hard.  I openly admit  I am not a very strong dancer.. that could have been part of  the reason why  I wasn't cast because there are  quite  a few big dance numbers in Annie.   I'm still moderately diappointed   I didn't get in  but  I think those feelings will eventaully fade.  I am planning on helping out backstage in some capacity.
Monday I auditioned for  Pirates of Penzance with Stagecoach  Productions. Operetta is not my strong suit at all but  I am pretty open  ended to trying out new things.   Due to lack of familiarity with the show  I  auditioned for  Ensemble.   Overall i'd say it was  a good experience despite the fact I didn't get  cast. Based on my prior experience with auditioning for Gilbert and  Sullivan shows  (H.M.S. Pinafore senior year of high school) I know  this show was going to be a challenge to get into especially  since.... as I mentioned operetta is not my strong suit..

  I think my biggest regret about the Annie audition was  putting myself  under so much  preasssure to audition for Grace Farrell.   I knew way in the back of my mind that I wasn't going to get the part but  I figured why not audition for a lead anyway... you only live once!! :O)

Future of This Blog

 Don't really get on blogger anymore except when I need to update  in the Princess K.I.M  blog which hasn't really been updated lately but will be  more often soon since things will be starting to pick up for our production in the fall.

 As followers know this blog moved over to tumblr in February.  I have found that  I have gained a much stronger following on tumblr than  I did here on blogger so I am  there to stay.  I will keep this blog  so  I can go back and reference my  past reviews..   I struggle with writing reviews for plays lately so  it's good to look back at my past reviews.  Most of my reviews thesse days  have been summaries of the plays with random commentary thrown in.  I know I  can do far better than that.

As far as the future for this blog   I honestly do not know where it will go.    My interest in American Idol and Glee has dwindled in the past year so there will be  not a lot of commentary on that anymore.   The primary focus of this blog was mostly to  document my Milford Cabinet articles and  my   job status for them is on an as needed basis so I am not writing as many articles for them  at the current time.  However  in February  I did get a new  freelance job at Manchester Community Theatre Players which  will have an article coming soon for thier fall show Fiddler On The Roof. Congrats to all my friends from Oklahoma who got into Fiddler... so excited for you guys!! :)

I have two auditions coming up on the 12th and 13th for the fall producitons at Actorsingers (Annie) and Stagecoach Productions (Pirates Of  Penzance)   Nervous and excited for both. Let's see where casting  will lead me.  I think if I get cast in both shows  it will be very hard to balance my schedule. I am working two jobs right now and am also hoping to either join the Souhegan Valley Chorus or  the Stagecoach Women's Chorus.   I don't want to spread myself too thin that's for sure.  Whatever ends up  happening  I look forward to it extensively. :)

:)

So as most of you followers should be aware of by now this blog has transferred over to tumblr. I am not completely sure at this point if I still wish to keep it there or not. So far i am leaning toward moving it back in May or June... we'll see what happens

Last weekend I went to see the 1 Act Plays at the Amato Center. I really enjoyed them a lot. My favorite one was probably Finger Food. I do not know if I was biased because I had seen it when I was at NEC but it is still one of the funniest one act plays I have ever seen. The Lottery was pretty interesting.. I have the book around somewhere and now I am inclined to read it. Everyone did a very good job!! Excellent job Milford Area Players

My life has been very consumed by Oklahoma rehearsals.... not that I am complaining. I am so happy to be in the PTA Play again this year. I remember when I saw Oklahoma a few years ago at Summer Theatre In Meredith Village and I remember really like the show... now I am even moe excited to be in it. The production process has flown by so quickly and I can't even beleive that tech week starts next week and the performances are two weeks away. Craziness! Loving every minute of being in this show and it's gonna hit me like a ton of bricks when it is over. I think the fact that it is 60th anniversary of the PTA Plays this year is what makes it all the more exciting. I wrote an editorial for the newspaper about the effect that PTA Plays has had on me over the years. The thing that makes eame the happiest sbout being involved in the PTA Plays is that I finally found a local theatre group that I can conncet with....and in more ways than one. I discuss in my editorial how I went to school here in middle school and high school and saw the plays every year from 6- 12th grade. I kind of wish I had actually gotten involved in a few of them when I was in high schooll.. kind of kicking myself for that now oh well. I go on to discuss how there are people who I have looked up to over the years and how lucky I am that things have come full circle for me and I get to work with them in the show. One person that particulary stands out to me is Mrs. Emmond. Her support has meant a lot to me throughout the process of thos production and I have already mentioned that to her. In general though everyone has been amazing to work with. I really love the family I have found within the PTA group!! :)

Thinking of moving back

So I am indecisive about moving this blog back to blogger. I feel like I haven't been getting the following I was expecting on Tumblr. I will give it a little more time and see what happens.


I will give Tumblr another week or so... I may be back to updating this blog again after Oklahoma is over. Who knows?

Theatre Is My Life HAS MOVED

Dear Followers-
First of all I would llike to thank you all for following this blog and also thank the followers of my facebok fan page for your followship. As of yesterday this blog has moved to Tumblr. I will no longer be updating the blog on this site anymore. Please continue to follow this blog as it moves to Tumblr. http://theatrereviewer826.tumblr.com

Tumblr allows my blog to become a lot more intearactive. Please feel free to send me any theatre related quotes, links or pictures to my my inbox as well as questions you may have related to theatre and my interest it it.

Basically

So as I mentioned back on January 8th the Cabinet/Telegraph have been going through layoffs lately and have cut their freelancer budget in half. Basically they only need me to write articles on an as needed basis. My next article is about Anne Of Green Gables which will be put on by Riverbend School of Theatre Arts at the beginning of May. I have no articles coming up in the immediate future so I am doing research for other theatre companies in the area to to PR for. I decided to give Manchester Community Theatre Players in Manchester a shot. I heard about them because lots of people who do the PTA shows with me do shows for them as well. I am talking more with the head of their PR department either tomorrow or Tuesday so I am excited about that possibility.

Things Musical Theatre Girls Say (Response)

This video and the vides that it is in response to are both hysterical. Thanks to Rae for showing me these!

NHTA 10

Happy 10th Anniversary NH Theatre Awards

For the complete winner list go to the NH Theatre Awards Website or here: http://http//caughtintheactnh.blogspot.com/2012/02/2011-nh-theatre-awards-winners.html

I love the NH Theatre Awards because it really exposes me to shows I may have not seen throughout the year as well as new theatres to add to my ever growing list of places to go see shows at. Last night was fabulous. Prior toe show Matt and I went out to dinner at Ignite Bar and Grille which is a few doors up the street from The Palace Theatre. The food was delicous. As previously noted Music Man was nominated for 9 awards so it was a very exciting night for me and the rest of the cast. There was pretty tough compettion all around but I was so excited that Ashely Hughes got Best Actress in A Musical for playing Marian Paroo. It was certainly well deseved. Paula Troie also got in the top 3 for best costume design but was beat by Allison Szklarz for her costume design for The Dionsaur Musical at Peacock Players (one of the many shows I wished I had seen.) Milford Area Players also won several awards for their Production of August Osage County which I am quite excited about. I was impressed by the performances my favorites were definitley Guys and Dolls- Actorsinger (Love Sit Down You're Rockin The Boat) The Dinosaur Musical Peacock Players, Oliver Manchester Community Theatre Players amd The Drowsy Chaperone New London Barn Playhouse. I was so happy for my co-worker on Princess K.I.M The Musical Toby Tarnow for her award for Children And Yoiuth Theatre. I have worked with her twice before now (once as a theatre camp counselor and once backstage for Man Who Came To Dinner last year.) It was certainly a well deserved award as I am costantly impressed with everything the Rivebend School of Theatre Arts puts on.

Shows with Multiple Wins
The Dinosaur Musical Peacock Players Best Youth Production, Best Youth Actor (Taylor Morrow) ,Best Director (Keith Weirch) , Best Musical Directo (Judy Hayward, Best Costume Designer., Best Sound Design (Rich Loomer) Best Lighting Design ( Keith Weirch,Norm St Germain Jeremey Robarge)
The Drowsy Chaperone New London Barn Playhouse Best Production (Professional Musical) ,Best Actress (Anne Torsigerler Bri ( Best Actress) Best Musical Director (Joel Mercier) , Best Director (B.T. Mcnichol) Best Chroregraphy (Sarah Case&Keith Coughlin )
Tom Ford also took home an award for Best Actor in A Musical for A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum
Measure For Measure Peterborough Player Best Production Drama Comedy (Professional) , Best Sound Designer (Kevin Frazier), Best Scenic Designer ( Charles Morgan) Best Costume Designer ( Lara de Bujin), Best Actress Karen Peakes)
The Drowsy Chaperone Community Players of Concord
Best Production Musical (Community) , Best Supporing Actress Candace Azerola
August Osage County Milford Area Players
\Best Director Vick Bennison Best Supporting Actress Deb Shaw Best Productin Drama Comedy (Community)
Suessical The Musical Peacock Players
Best Supporting Actress Youth Megan Dwinell Best Supporting Actor Youth Nathan Schwartzberg



Congrats to all winners and nominees for the 10th Annual NH Theatre Awards.


I hope Okalhoma will get nominated for a few things next year. I look incredibly foward to the prospect of that. :)

2011-2012 Viewing Schedule

2012 Viewing Schedule

Listed by venue then by month, Shows that are bolded are definites all others are subject to change due to schedule or budget.

Actorsinge

May- Chicago

November- Annie

Lyric Stage Portland Maine

Blithe Spirit

Milford Area Players

March Night of One Acts

July Shakespeare In Hollywood

October The 39 Steps

Palace Theatre

Royalty of Rock and Pop

Peacock Players

Beauty and The Beast

Riverbend School Of Theatre

Anne Of Green Gables

Riverbend Youth Company

April Clue The Musical

August Damn Yankees

November Oliver

In keeping with my ongoing goal of seeing a show at new theatres here are the theatres I am hoping to add to my ever growing scedule

1. CommunityPlayers of Concord
2. Capitol Center For The Arts
3. Manchester Community Theatre Players
4. New Thalian Players
5. Not Your Mom's Musical Theatre
6. Peterborough Players

This list will be updated once I get the schedules for the theatres and determine what shows I want to see there.

National Tours

June 3rd Beauty and The Beast Very excited to see this!! Beauty and The Beast was my first Broadway show and I look forward to seeing the touring producion of it and seeing Caroline Kittrell again since I haven't seen her since we left NLBP. :)
Suessical The Musicrrial TBA Still waiting to find out info from Maggie Politi about when it is coming to Boston.
Billy Elliot is coming to the Boston Opera House in August. I am hoping to go to see this with my family for my birthday. I don't know what day we will go see it yet.

High School Shows

Souhegan Anything Goes

Pentucket Regional High School Wizard of Oz

College Shows

4-21 A Midsummer Night's Dream UMASS Amherst

Summer

Listed by Venue

(Some shows subject to change based on schedule and budget)
If bold it means it's a definite

Arundel Barn Playhouse Arundel Maine

Aug 26th Beyond The Rainbow

Hackamatack Playhouse Berwick Maine
Boeing Boeing

Interlakes Summer Theatre Meredith NH
All Shook Up &Singin In The Rain

Back up choice Annie

Maine State Music Theatre Brunswick Maine

42nd Street

Back Up Choice Sunset BLVD

New London Barn Playhouse New London NH)

Legally Blonde The Musical or HAIR

Back Up Choices Oklahoma or Our Town
Winnipasaukee Playhouse Laconia NH
The Last Night of Ballyho

The schedule for Andy's Summer Playhouse has not been announced yet.

Summer Viewing Schedule will hopefully be finalized by Memorial Day Weekend or the beginning of June!

My main theatre related goal for 2012

Happy 2012 followers!

My main theatre goal for 2012 is to PROMOTE PROMOTE PORMOTE

Promote what you may ask?

Why Princess Ki.I.M. The Musical of course!!

I am so happy to be part of such a wonderful creative team. What we have come up with is an amazing play based on my mom's children's books Princess KIM and The Lie That Grew and Princes KIM and Too Much Truth and it's JR versiom counterpart. It's been quite a busy 18 months but I am so proud of what we have accomplished and so EXCITED for what's to come. Our first single will be relesed in March and I am stoked for that.

Now as I said my main goal of this year is to promote Princess KIM The Musical. We are hoping to build up a following of local theatres to come to ou premiere and also theatres from around this beautiful country. I have already put the twitter page up and the facebook fan page will be up in 3 weeks (Feb 8th is the day)

What I am hoping is that my theatre friends will help to spread the word about this amazing project I am working on and also that they will spread the word to theatre companies they have worked at that we already have on our ever growing mailing list :)

Winds of Change

So the use of this blog may end up changing slightly. Here are the reasonss

The primary focus of this blog was to post my Milford Cabinet Articles. It has grown in leaps and bounds since it's inception in the fall of 2008. However. the primary use of this blog has never been lost. The reason why this might be changing is because the Telegraph and the Cabinet are going through a lot of personell changes in terms of their freelancers. Budget cuts have hit both papers hard and have caused freelancer budgets to be cur in half. Due to this the amount of stories I am able to write will be very minimal. It will largely depend on what is not already being covered by other people at the paper. I am trying to stay positive about this but we'll see how long that positivity stays afloat. I had started a seperate blog for my fanfiction but eventually realized it made more sesne to combine both blogs together. Lately my life has been cosumed with work, Princess KIm stuff and rehearsals for Oklahoma (and practicing at home) so I haven't had much time to myself to write. Once I compete all the fanfictions that are in progress I will go on a much needed hiatus from writing fan fiction to get my priorties straight. My main theatre related priority is Princess Kim folllowed close behing by Oklahoma. Rehearsing at home and rehearsals take a lot of time. On that note Oklahoma is very well. This week we are working on learning the dance to the Farmer and The Cowman which is fun. I haven't done square dancing since I used to g to my mom's illustrartor parties at Boyd's Mills Press in Honesdale PA.. it's taking a bit of time to get used to that dynamic of dance again. tis fun nonetheless :)

I will still be reviewing shows that I see on this blog but I am getting an indication that I may get more of a following on Tumblr so I may eventually end up moving this blog over in that direction by March. We'll see what happens. I am not sure how much of a follwing this blog is still getting here on Blogger to be honest. If have you are a follower in this blog and still read these entries please leave a comment letting me know you still read these entries Ifenough people respond back then I will keep this blog on blogger.. if not then as of March 1st this blog will be making the move to Tumblr and if you choose to make the move with me you can do so.

Thoughts- On Where I Began and Where I am Now

So I was just looking over some old NLBP pictures on facebook. It made me look back on numerous things. Not just season itself the issues that unfolded after I left that led to my depression. I reflect on that summer the amazing time I had and realize that I am a stronger actor for having worked there because it was a step to every aspect of my career in theatre... it was a stepping stone for everyone in my group in a way i suppose. I don't like to touch on the depression so much but more so what the process of it taught me. I have spent a lot of time since leaving New London trying to carve out my niche in theatre. My main goal in the theatre is to eventually work for a theatre in the public relations office and then do acting on the side. Since leaving the Barn Playhouse I have definitley built upon technical, pr and acting experiences and I must admit I'm pretty happy with where I have found myself. In 2008 after I graduted from NEC I did some PR work for Peacock Players for a month (the very same theatre co I did theatre camp with in high school) and landed a job for the Milford Cabinet , a local newspaper where I have been writing freelance for four years. Sadly, due to budget cuts that job may be ending soon but I sure have built up quite the portfolio over the past for years. I then got involved in heping out backstage with Riverbend Youth Co and Milford Area Players shows. At the Barn Playhouse I mostly did props work for tech work since leaving I have had my hand at sound desigm and spotlight operator. Quite a great experience. Running the sound and the spotlight certainly gave me a different vantage point for viewing the show from. I kind of came full circle last summer doing PR for Nancy Barry ar Interlakes Summer Theatre in Meredith. It was a great experience and I am thankful to Nancy for the opportunity to work for her again. :) I also had my first article published in a NH travel magazine called NH To Do in Summer 2010 that highlighted summer theatre all around NH. Quite an accomplishment.

As far as acting goes I am still trying to build up my resume. Last year after a four year hiatus *Yes the last show I did previously was Annie Get Your Gun at the Barn. I was cast in the PTA Poduction of The Music Man as a member of the Ensemble. I must admit comparing my performances in Annie Get Your Gun and Music Man helped me to realize how far I have really come as an actor. I have to admit in Annie Get Your Gun I was awkward some of the time because that really my first role in a musical either and I don't think I really grew into my character until the end of the 2 week run. Music Man was vastly different. I found myself much more easily adjusted to my character in the ensemble which made it much simpler for me to interact with other people in the scenes I was in. Both shows were great experiences. With Oklahoma rehearsals underway I am excited about what's to come and am so blessed to be part of another AWESOME PTA cast.. a great mix of familiar faces from last year and new ones. It's going to be a wonderful four months.


I have an equal amount of emotions for the place that started it all. The skills I gained at the Barn Playhouse really helped shape who I am as a theatre artist. I am blessed to know all the people I worked with that summer and am so happy to hear of where their paths away from New London have led them all. They have all gone of to do such amazing things and I am happy to call all of them my friends and have them as part as my ever growing theatre family.

Snow's on the mind but my mind is thinking SUMMER

So I have my viewing schdule pretty much solidified till the end of May. It's the summer where things get difficult. So many shows to see at so many different theatres. Due to family vacations time will be short and some shows may not even be options especially since a few of them over lap with their schedules.

Definites: Singin In The Rain and All Shook Up (Interlakes Summer Theatre) Blithe Spirit (Lyric Stage Portland Maine), Beyond The Rainbow (Arundel Barn Playhoue)

Other theatres on the docket

New London Barn Playhouse: Thier summer season looks to be good this year. It includes Ragtime Oklahoma, Legally Blonde The Musical, Our Town, A Legendary Romance and the Straw Hat Revue

Top Choices: Hair or Legally Blonde The Musical

Back Ups: Oklahoma or Our Town

Hackamatack Playhouse Berwick Maine

Thier season includes Burt and Me , Oklahoma Boeing Boieng and Harispray

Top Choices: Boeing Boieng and Oklahoma

Back Up Hairspray

Ogunquit Playhouse Ogunquit Maine  This theatre may not be in our budget but  I am hoping we can make  it fit somehow. .  I haven't been there since 2005 when I saw CATS so  I look forward to the possibility of going back there again.

Their season  includes  9 To 5   Always Patsy Cline  Buddy The Buddy Holly Story, Damn Yankess 

They still have one show they have yet to announce.

Top Choices: Always Patsy Cline, Damn Yankees

Back  Ups  Buddy The Buddy Holly Story   9 To 5
Maine State  Music Theatre Brunswick ME
Thier season includes  A Chorus  Line, Legally Blonde The Musical  Sunselt BLVD and 42nd St
Top  Choice  42nd St
Back  Ups   A Chorus Line, Legally Blonde

I am also hoping to go see the Billy Elliot National Tour for my bday in August,  We will see how that will fit in  the schedule.  I am also stil awaiting the release of schedules  for  summmer shows for Wellsely and BU.

Final Preparations for One Act Play Festival
Underway

By Janine Leffler

As performances for the Riverbend School of Theatre approach excitement is
mounting. Be sure not to miss these wonderful student written and directed
performances. The talented student playwrights are Devon Labonte age 16, a sophomore at Alvirne High School in Hudson, playwright and director of Just Wait, Renee Reeves of Merrimack, a 17 year old home schooled student,
playwright and director of A Ghara and Sarah Gill age 16 of Gilford, playwright and director of The Wednesday Man.
Devon Labonte said the inspiration behind Just Wait came from a recent trip to
the dentist and the atmosphere of thewaiting room. She explained that
sometimes people can be nervous or uncomfortable in that
situation and strangers striking up conversations. She
feels her plays ties in very well to the setting. She has been impressed by the progress of her production.“So far we've gone through the play quite a few times, but we are at the point
that we need to focus on the little details and humor of the play.“
Just Wait stars Jonathan Edelblut, Emma Ayotte, Kat Feraco and Jessica Harper.
For JonathanEdelblut, a 17 year old homeschooler from Wilton a challenge he had to overcome
was to find a balance when it comes to his character’s personality and how he
relates to the other characters on stage. When it came to character development
he stated ““I think that breaking the "fourth wall" between the
actors and the audience is always present if the actors can bring the audience
into the scene with their characters.”

Sarah Gill is new to the Riverbend School Of Theatre Arts One Act play festival and will
hold this experience close to her for a long time. Her play The
Wednesday Man is a fictional piece that was inspired by her fascination with the job of every English teacher she has ever had. A character that stands out to her is D.B.
who is played by Alec Paulson of Hollis. This character is constantly challenging the way of thought of the main character that is played by Lucas Nevrlaof Amherst. She finds this character
very easy to relate to. Gill is looking forward to the performances “The theatre is beautiful and being given this opportunity is fantastic. I can't wait to see the show all done and in action.”
The Wednesday Man stars Lucas Nevrla,
Alec Paulson and John Sheridan.

Renee Reeves of Merrimack, playwright and director of A Ghara has enjoyed her first directing experience with the one act play festival
“This has been an entirely new experience from the beginning. I'd never watched
auditions before, never cast a play, never hosted a read-through, and never
done music direction. The cast has been energetic and creative, though, and
Toby and Lucas have been dependable support.” Along
her writing process Reeves researched St Bridget’s Complaint which is said to be
a tradition which dates back to 5th century Ireland. The idea behind St Bridget’s Complaint is
that St Patrick said that women could propose to
men on a February day during the leap year. One question Reeves considered in her research was “What If?” Shestated in a recent interview "What if, instead of viewing this as a
special opportunity, a young woman decided to exploit this tradition?"
"What if" is the question writers thrive on, and once you ask it doors
open everywhere.”
A Ghara stars Lily Ayotte, Elizabeth Long, Max Barnaby, Elizabeth Elkin, Haley Brannelly, Connor McDonald and Matt
Campbell.
Elizabeth Elkin, a sixteen year old sophomore at Hollis Brookline High School makes her
debut performance in the one act play festival as Noamh in A Ghara. She has enjoyed
getting to know and working with such a great cast. Her role is the most dramatic one she played
up to this point and she looks forward to the performances. She describes her character in the following
way “A lot of what she does isn't verbal, so playing her is more than just
saying lines. I've had to learn to show
rather than tell.”
Raven
Bartlett, a thirteen year old homeschooled eighth grader from Wilton is the
stage manager for the one act play festival.
Up to this point she has enjoyed her experience and is impressed by how
well written and well-cast the one act plays are. What stands out to her most
about the productions is the way the
characters interact with each other on stage.
She took notice of Jon Edelblut’s character Ben in Just Wait “Dr. Carter’s character is hysterical and it shows to me
that Jon is not afraid to put himself out there.”

The Seventh Annual Riverbend School of Theatre Arts One Act Play Festival has two
evening performances at the Amato Center for the Performing Arts at 7:30pm on January 27th and 28th. Tickets are $5.00 at the door.

Part 2 of a two part series
Part one was publlished today
Part 2 will be published next week.


Due to budget cuts the Cabinet and Telegraph are cutting their freelancer budget in half. I am hoping that this will not be the last article that I write for them. In the event that it is I will be exteremly disheartened. Through my time is a freelancer I have wrtiten many articles and learned so much about the process of putting a play together through my writing process. I have nuilt up quite the portfolio over time and it will definitley benefit me when I apply for other freelance jobs.

Disheartening News

So on Wednesday I found out the Cabinet/Telegraph are going through company wide layoffs that affect freelancers. Basiscally the budget is being cut in half. I am hoping that my job at the Cabinet will last at least until May. My job at the Telegraph was a very limited engagement.

We''ll have to see what happens.

2011 Theatre Viewing inHik Review

The 2011 In Review Theatre Post

Movies and Plays

It has been a busy year for me in both seeing movies and plays. Here's the run down

I made my return to the stage in 2011 after a four year hiatus landing an ensemble role in the Amherst PTA Producation of The Music Man. What a great experienee! It was such a great show to work on and so great to work with people I had seen in other PTA shows over the years. I am looking forward to auditioning for Oklahoma on Wednesday and hope that if I get cast the experience will be just as amazing as being in Music Man was. During January I was quite busy running back & forth between Music Man rehearsals and rehearsal for Guys and Dolls JR with Riverbennd Youth Company where I ran the spotlight. I think I found my technical niche finally which makes me quite happy. In March I tried something new and saw the annual Irish Music Show at the Amato Center around St Patrick's Day weekend. It was very cool to introduce myself to a new genre of music and I think Matt and I are likely to make this an annual tradition. At the end of April we went to NEC to see Hotel Laputts the annual spring mainstage production which was directed my former theatre professor Wally Pineault. Prior to the show we went to a reception for Wally's retirement at Country Spriit resturant which was quite lovely. I then had a whirlwind month between the end of April & middle of May where I saw 5 shows in the course of four weeks. A very interesting musical interpertation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sesibility at Wellsely College, NEC Movement Concert, Les Mis with Riverbend Yout Company (One of the best shows Riverbend has dne IMHO) Guys and Dolls at Actorsingers and Suessical The Musical at Peacock Players. All five shows were amazing. To read the full review see my entry The Killer Viewing Update. Suessical is nominated for several NH Theatre awards and I think that all nominess will be well deserving of the wins. Over the summer I had season passes to Summer Theatre in Meredith Village and the season was thier best season yet. Out of all the shows they did I'd have to saw my favorites were Buddy Holly Story and Hairspray. Looking very foward to their 2012 season, Though the schedule has not been finalized yet the show I am very excited about seeing Little Shop of Horrors. In August I saw The Producers for Riverbend Youth Company. I thoight the Riverbend crew did that show incredible justice. It is easily in top 5 list of favorite muscals. In September I saw I Love You You're Perfect Now Change at the Palace Theatre . Matt and I got our seats upgraded from aisle seats to onstage seating which was quite amazing. It was a whole new way to see a play.. which has be laughing the whole time In October I was blown awaya by amazing performances at the Milford Pumpkin Festival talent show espeically that of the winner 11 year old Caroline Burns of Hollis who did an amazing rendition of Adele's Rollin In The Deep. On October 23rd I saw And Then There Were None , Milford Area Players fall show and it definitely kept me guessing and on the edge of my seat. On November 6th I saw A Chorus Line at Stagecoach Producitions (Another show up for numerous NH Theatre Awards) which was quite impressive. Chorus Line is one of my top favorite musicals and I feel that Stagecoach did it wonderful justice. I also saw a benefit concert for the Motivating Miles Foundation the week before Halloween which was quite lovely. My 2011 theatre viewing schedule wrapped up with the Riverbend Youth Company/Milford Area Players joint Holiday production The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. This was Sonya's acting debut and I was very excited for her I thoight this was lovely interperation of one of my favorite holiday books growing up. Great job to everyone in the cast.

As for movies here is my top 10 list

Top 10 Movies of 2011

*Home Viewing ** Theatre Viewing @Remake

1. @* True Grit Rating A

2 **@ Footloose Rating A-

3 * The Departed A-

4 ** Harry Potter and The Dealthly Hallows Part IIRating A-The overall rating for all the Harry Potter movies is A.

5. ** The HelpRating A

6 * Country StrongRating

A7 ** Sherlock Holmes II Game of ShadowsRating A-

8. ** Twilight Breaking Dawn Part I Rating B

Ratings of past Twilight Movies Twilight B New Moon B- Eclipse C+Overall Rating of Series up to this point C+

9. ** MoneyballRating A-

**10. Green LanternRating B-

Movies that did not make the top 10 but are still worth seeking out: Burlusque, The King’s Speech, Enchanted. Mildred Pierce, Sherlock Holmes,Horrible Bosses

If you have seen any of these weigh in with your view points. It will merit fine discussion.