Monday, March 30, 2009

FREE show!


Pictured: Keith Warren as Billy Bigelow; Sarah Geist as Julie Jordan. (Photo by Phillip Lamb)


That's right, kids! Donations are encouraged (by me as well, support the arts, folks!), but not required.

Here are the deets:

What: Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel, presented by Denton Community Theatre

Where: The Campus Theatre, located in Historic Downtown Denton, TX
214 W. Hickory Street
Denton, Texas

When: Wednesday, April 1, 2009 (this is no April Fool's joke, I promise!)

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Company rehearsal, Feb 3, 2009

An excerpt from my journal during the rehearsal process for Company:

Tonight at rehearsal, we finally got to the big Amy/Paul/Bobby scene at the end of Act I. Running "Getting Married Today" in the actual scene and not just standing at the piano was a real eye-opener. I forgot to take the big breaths necessary to sustain me through the entire verse, and my voice was struggling through what's left of a cold as well. Yikes. However, the entire cast was really supportive and encouraging, which is par for the course with this group. There's a lot of trust and companionship between all the cast members, which I think is really necessary in this type of show. It's an ensemble piece, with every role playing equally important to the next. I love shows like this for that very reason. There is no segregation between "leads" and "chorus" and there are no temper tantrums or dirty diva attitudes. I think most of that is also due to the maturity level required to really play each relationship on stage the way it was intended.

ANYWAY, back to the scene we ran tonight. It's a real emotional roller coaster of a scene for me because Amy is having a minor meltdown. I'm wrestling between trying to find a "back story" and a motivation behind what she is saying and doing, and just reading the lines my way and trusting them as written -- simply letting George Furth's script come through. I mean, I AM making choices and educated decisions, both with the help of the director and discussions with Michael (Paul) and Tyler (Bobby) during any down time we get during rehearsal.

I think we got things off on the right food tonight, for sure. We made a lot of progress, even for two very shaky runs through it as we try to get off book and get scripts out of our hands. What I didn't realize would be so tough, though, is working directly opposite my husband. On one hand, sometimes it's hard to keep a straight face and take each other seriously. On the other, the very nature of the scene and the lines really break my heart. I was brought to actual tears tonight at one point, which, while a bit distracting to me, probably actually added to the scene in a good way. And while I'm reeling from that, there's still what I consider to be the second-most poignant moment in the whole show -- Amy's moment with Bobby. I love Tyler and respect him so much as a friend and a fellow actor that I truly treasure this moment on stage!

While it's in my nature to step back and immediately begin cataloguing all the things I need to fix, I truly am very happy with the progress we're making. It's my hope that these onstage relationship continue to grow and develop as this process continues.


Wow, it was fun to re-read and post that! I definitely hope to post more of these, and to continue to keep journals during the rehearsal process of pieces that I work on.

And the winners are...

"Please help spread the word of your winners! Below is the list of winners and total amount of awards your theater companies won. Please post them in your newsletters, official theater websites, email "newsletter" blasts, etc.

It would mean the world to the Board and I'm sure the winners to see their COLUMN AWARD wins on your websites, newsletters, email blasts, etc. Thank you all so, so, so much for your support!" --John Garcia; Editor and Chief Senior Theatre Critic, The Column by John Garcia


You got it, John! Here they are, ladies and gentlemen!

The 2009 COLUMN AWARD WINNERS ARE...............

Best Play – Non-Equity
Topdog / Underdog
Upstart Productions

Best Play – Equity
Bent
Uptown Players

Best Musical – Non-Equity
NINE
ICT Mainstage

Best Musical – Equity
The Who's Tommy
Dallas Theater Center

Best Sound Design Play – Non-Equity
Kyle McClaran
Murder on the Nile
Garland Civic Theatre

Best Sound Design Play – Equity
Heath Gage
The Pillowman
Kitchen Dog Theater

Best Sound Design Musical – Non-Equity
Jeff D. Sones
NINE
ICT Mainstage

Best Sound Design Musical – Equity
Ryan Rumery
The Who's Tommy
Dallas Theater Center

Best Costume Design Play – Non-Equity
Suzi Cranford
The Facts Of Life
Uptown Players

Best Costume Design Play – Equity
Bruce R. Coleman
Trysts in Toledo
Theatre Three

Best Costume Design Musical – Non-Equity
Ryan Matthieu Smith
Sweeney Todd
Onstage in Bedford

Best Costume Design Musical – Equity
Barbara Cox
A Year With Frog and Toad
Dallas Children's Theater

Best Lighting Design Play – Non-Equity
Ana F. Petit
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Grapevine's Runway Theatre

Best Lighting Design Play – Equity
Laura McMeley
Doubt, A Parable
Water Tower Theatre

Best Lighting Design Musical – Non-Equity
Sam Nance
NINE
ICT Mainstage

Best Lighting Design Musical – Equity
Sam Nance
The Light in the Piazza
Theatre Three

Best Scenic Design Play – Non-Equity
Dennis Canright
The Facts of Life
Uptown Players

Best Scenic Design Play – Equity
Bruce R. Coleman
Bent
Uptown Players

Best Scenic Design Musical – Non-Equity
Paul Fiorella
NINE
ICT Mainstage

Best Scenic Design Musical – Equity
Beowulf Borritt
The Who's Tommy
Dallas Theater Center

Best Stage Manager Play – Non-Equity
Jodi Kopaniky
Murder on the Nile
Garland Civic Theatre

Best Stage Manager Play – Equity
Cory Boulieris
Bent
Uptown Players

Best Stage Manager Musical – Non-Equity
Stacey Street
NINE
ICT Mainstage

Best Stage Manager Musical – Equity
K. Doug Miller
The Light in the Piazza
Theatre Three

Outstanding New Work By a Local Playwright
Bruce R. Coleman
Whatever Happened to Pixie DeCosta
Theatre Too

Chita Rivera Dance Award – Female
Jennifer Laws
Damn Yankees
Garland Summer Musicals

Chita Rivera Dance Award – Male
Darius-Anthony Robinson
Footloose
Garland Civic Theatre

Best Choreography of a Musical – Non-Equity
Michael Serrecchia
NINE
ICT Mainstage

Best Choreography of a Musical – Equity
Nan Gammon
Zanna Don't
Uptown Players

Best Musical Director – Non Equity
Scott A. Eckert
NINE
ICT Mainstage

Best Musical Director – Equity
Jeff Crouse
Damn Yankees
Garland Summer Musicals

Best Director of a Play – Non-Equity
Andi Allen
The Facts Of Life
Uptown Players

Best Director of a Play – Equity
Bruce R. Coleman
Bent
Uptown Players

Best Director of a Musical – Non-Equity
Michael Serrecchia
NINE
ICT Mainstage

Best Director of a Musical – Equity
Kevin Moriarty
The Who's Tommy
Dallas Theater Center

Best Featured Actress in a Play – Non-Equity
Laura Warner
Steel Magnolias
Repertory Company Theatre

Best Featured Actor in a Play – Non-Equity
Andrew Phifer
Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-5
Risk Theater Initiative

Best Featured Actress in a Play – Equity
M. Denise Lee
Doubt, A Parable
Water Tower Theatre

Best Featured Actor in a Play – Equity
Clayton Younkin
Bent
Uptown Players

Best Featured Actress in a Musical – Non-Equity
Deborah Dennard
Sweeney Todd
OnStage in Bedford

Best Featured Actor in a Musical – Non-Equity
Chris Edwards
La Cage Aux Folles
Onstage in Bedford

Best Featured Actress in a Musical – Equity (Tie)
Melissa Farmer
Zanna Don't!
Uptown Players

Delynda Moravec
Damn Yankees
Garland Summer Musicals

Best Featured Actor in a Musical – Equity
Darius-Anthony Robinson
A Year With Frog & Toad
Dallas Children's Theater

Best Supporting Actress in a Play – Non-Equity
Jennifer Sipes
Crimes of the Heart
Garland Civic Theatre

Best Supporting Actor in a Play – Non-Equity
Chad Peterson
The Facts of Life
Uptown Players

Best Supporting Actress in a Play – Equity
Natalie King
Legends
Uptown Players

Best Supporting Actor in a Play – Equity
Gary Floyd
Crimes of the Heart
Theatre Three

Best Supporting Actress in a Musical – Non-Equity
Sarah Geist
Sweeney Todd
OnStage In Bedford

Best Supporting Actor in a Musical – Non-Equity (Tie)
Drew Kelly
All Shook Up!
Garland Civic Theatre

Tyler Martin
Sweeney Todd
OnStage in Bedford

Best Supporting Actress in a Musical – Equity
Lindsey Holloway
Zanna Don't!
Uptown Players

Best Supporting Actor in a Musical – Equity
Gregory Lush
The Who's Tommy
Dallas Theater Center

Best Actress in a Play – Non-Equity
Catherine Dubord
Proof
ICT Mainstage

Best Actor in a Play – Non-Equity
Chris Robinson
The Facts Of Life
Uptown Players

Best Actress in a Play – Equity
Jessica Wiggers
A Streetcar Named Desire
Contemporary Theatre of Dallas

Best Actor in a Play – Equity
Regan Adair
Doubt, A Parable
Water Tower Theatre

Best Actress in a Musical – Non-Equity
Sara Shelby-Martin
NINE
ICT Mainstage

Best Actor in a Musical – Non-Equity
Donald Fowler
NINE
ICT Mainstage

Best Actress in a Musical – Equity
Wendy Welch
The Light In The Piazza
Theatre Three

Best Actor in a Musical – Equity
Cedric Neal
The Who's Tommy
Dallas Theater Center

Kathleen Freeman Award
Brittany Stene

Ben Brettell Youth Award (5 individual awards)

Erich de la Torre
Taylor Scorse
Sam Swenson
Brett Thiele
Caleb White

Rudy Seppy Volunteer Award (3 individual awards)

Robin Stephens – ICT Mainstage
Judy Bauman Blalock – Grapevine's Runway Theatre
Jake Correll – McKinney Repertory Theatre

TOTAL AWARDS FOR THEATER COMPANIES:

Uptown Players – 14
ICT Mainstage – 12
Dallas Theater Center – 6
Garland Civic Theatre – 5
Theatre Three – 5
OnStage in Bedford – 5
Water Tower Theatre – 3
Garland Summer Musicals – 3
Dallas Children's Theater – 2
Grapevine's Runway Theatre -2
Repertory Company Theatre – 1
Risk Theater Initiative – 1
Contemporary Theatre Dallas – 1
McKinney Repertory Theatre – 1
Upstart Productions – 1
Kitchen Dog Theater – 1
Theatre Too - 1

The Column Awards!

Yesterday, on the official "The Column Awards Day" in Dallas, the 10th Annual Column Awards were held at the Irving Arts Center.

I was, sadly, unable to go due to financial constraints, but I am SO anxious and excited to see the official Winner's List! I'm hoping that John Garcia will send out a press release very soon today, so that I can repost!

Meanwhile, if anyone has any picture albums to share, I'd be happy to post them here! Please send any online web albums (Picasa, Shutterfly, etc) to dfw.backstage@gmail.com and I'll be happy to post some pictures. It would be a tremendous help if you have already tagged or captioned the photos with names of people in the photos, so that they will come up in search engines once I post them.

Very exciting! Stay tuned!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

auf Wiedersehen, À bientôt, good night...

The acting world lost a bright star this week in the tragic and unnecessary death of actress Natasha Richardson. She will be greatly missed.

Tonight, March 19, 2009 at 8:00pm, the lights of Broadway will dim for one minute in honor of Natasha.

Below is a clip of the 1998 Broadway Revival of Kander & Ebb's musical Cabaret. Rest in peace, Sally Bowles.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Pictures* from "Company" - Finally!

Getting ready backstage...getting our hair "did."

The amazing Lauren, sound technician, handing out our microphones in the dressing room.


Beautiful Rachel (Marta) getting ready.

I love this picture! Front and back of the hairdo. Wish Nathan would do my hair every day!

"The Little Things You Do Together"

"Have I Got a Girl For You!"


Jenny (Olivia Norine), David (Rob Stadt) and Bobby (Tyler Donahue)


"You Could Drive a Person Crazy" -- Marta (Rachel Robertson), Kathy (Kathryn Murphy) and April (Amy Wells)


"Getting Married Today" -- Amy (Mandy Rausch)



"Side by Side/What Would We Do Without You" -- Company


"Ladies Who Lunch" -- Joanne (Shelby Johnson)


"Being Alive" -- Bobby (Tyler Donahue)


The cast and production team! What a fun show!

*All photos courtesy of Eagleton Photography

Monday, March 2, 2009

Closing the Show

Yesterday was the final performance of Music Theatre of Denton's production of Stephen Sondheim's "Company." What an amazing experience performing in that show turned out to be!

Now that the production has ended, I'm hoping to post some of my journal entries that I wrote while in the rehearsal process for this amazing show. Playing Amy, the neurotic bride-to-be, was one of the most challenging and rewarding things I have ever done, and I'll never forget her. I'm going to miss Amy, and I hope that I get to revisit her some day.

To all my fellow cast members: thank you for going on this journey with me. What an amazing experience to mark my return to the stage after a nearly four year hiatus, and how lucky I am to have worked with my husband and some of my best friends onstage!

So until next time, I will be posting about my experiences learning the role of Amy, and getting ready to start rehearsals for my next project, which will be playing Irene Roth in MTD's production of "Crazy For You!"

Did you see the show? Please, tell me what you thought (and try to be objective!).