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Showing posts with label musical. Show all posts
Showing posts with label musical. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Day 7 Reading!
On Sunday January 19th we introduced IN MY BODY to our first ever audience at Christ Church Neighborhood House in Philly! They cried, they laughed, they LOVED it! The amount of positive feedback that we have been receiving has been overwhelming and we are so grateful. We are quickly recovering from this fantastic experience and are trying to figure out what our "next step" is. Thank you to all our musicians, actors, producers, writers, behind the scenes peeps, and of course our fantastic first audience, for making some quite spectacular magic that night!
Friday, January 17, 2014
Rehearsal Day 5
Today we moved our operation from the "burbs" to our official reading space in Old City, Philadelphia. We welcome the final member of our team, tech extraordinaire Alyssa Cole! Found out that Alyssa is a proud WCU alum just like our writers, Kate and Melissa!
Load in day was filled with lots of action! From piano moving and tuning, to setting up chairs, stands, risers, lights to last minute script changes...WE ARE WIPED! However, the excitement grows as we approach Sunday!
Load in day was filled with lots of action! From piano moving and tuning, to setting up chairs, stands, risers, lights to last minute script changes...WE ARE WIPED! However, the excitement grows as we approach Sunday!
Day 5 Photos
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| Robin's equipment |
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| Dan Martin and Fred Lassen going over score |
 our "bright, bold, beautiful" singers/actors! | ||
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Thursday, October 18, 2012
Learning Broadway Part 1
I titled this first of a series of postings, "Learning Broadway" because I have come to believe, Broadway is its' own language, culture, world, place, entity and then some. Broadway IS the theatre. Broadway IS the dream and the hope. For two years now FBP has been writing and rewriting for our concept musical called...(you all should know this by now) In My Body. In this time, I have become fascinated about everything theatre---everything Broadway. People who write musicals secretly, or not so secretly, hope they will land on Broadway or get as close as they can to Broadway. That's what Off Broadway and Off Off Broadway are all about---feeling close to Broadway. That is what I feel and I am pretty sure my fellow collaborators feel the same way I do. (I cannot even begin to cover everything we have learned about Broadway in this post.)
Before I talk more about Broadway, I want to explain the difference between "theatre" and "theater."
According to grammarist.com There is no difference in meaning between theater and theatre. Neither has any special definitions. Theater is the preferred spelling in American English, and theatre is preferred virtually everywhere else. Some American writers do make distinctions—for instance, that theater is a venue while theatre is an art form, or that theater is a movie theater while theatre is a drama venue—but these are preferences, not rules, and they are not consistently borne out in real-world usage.
Now Some Basic Broadway:
1. Broadway is literally a street in New York City which starts at #1 Broadway in Manhattan where the International Mercantile Marine Company Building stands and then all the way to north to West 225 Street in the Bronx. It is a one way southbound street which is about 15 miles in length.
2. Broadway is the premier theater district in the United States, if not the entire world. Some argue London's West End is equal to Broadway. I've been to London's West End. I've seen many shows there. I loved it but there is nothing like Broadway. The most famous part of Broadway is considered the Theater District which is between 42nd and 53rd Streets (including Times Square). If you have never been to Times Square, it is worth the trip just to see it. I am pretty sure the lights from Broadway billboards can be seen from space. When I first experienced it, I was in high school and I just stood in awe of the flashing lights, billboards, stores and people. The smells and sounds alone were unlike anything I had ever experienced. It was so futuristic and saturated with every color in the rainbow. It is total sensory overload, to say the least. In the theater district there are around 40 large theaters. The largest is the Gershwin Theatre which seats up to 1,933. The smallest is the Helen Hayes Theatre which seats up to 597. The oldest is the Lyceum Theatre which opened in 1903.
The Flying Bulldog Three visited one such theater together when we went to see a "staged reading"of Marry Harry at Foxwoods Theatre. I will explain what a staged reading is in a later posting. IMB's Lyricist, Michael Biello and Composer, Dan Martin wrote the music for Marry Harry. So maybe we viewed it in Foxwoods rehearsal studio but it still counts as Broadway! Now playing there is Spiderman, Turn off the Dark.
3. Did you know the Broadway theater district is nicknamed The Great White Way? This is because in the 1920s most theaters changed from using colored bulbs to white bulbs which lined their marquees because they didn't burn out as fast and lit the streets up even brighter. What is a marquee you may ask? The Dictionary defines it as "A rooflike structure, often bearing a signboard, projecting over an entrance, as to a theater or hotel."
Stay tuned to this blog for Learning Broadway Part 2. I will try to decipher some theatre terms we've picked up!
Before I talk more about Broadway, I want to explain the difference between "theatre" and "theater."
According to grammarist.com There is no difference in meaning between theater and theatre. Neither has any special definitions. Theater is the preferred spelling in American English, and theatre is preferred virtually everywhere else. Some American writers do make distinctions—for instance, that theater is a venue while theatre is an art form, or that theater is a movie theater while theatre is a drama venue—but these are preferences, not rules, and they are not consistently borne out in real-world usage.
Now Some Basic Broadway:
1. Broadway is literally a street in New York City which starts at #1 Broadway in Manhattan where the International Mercantile Marine Company Building stands and then all the way to north to West 225 Street in the Bronx. It is a one way southbound street which is about 15 miles in length.
2. Broadway is the premier theater district in the United States, if not the entire world. Some argue London's West End is equal to Broadway. I've been to London's West End. I've seen many shows there. I loved it but there is nothing like Broadway. The most famous part of Broadway is considered the Theater District which is between 42nd and 53rd Streets (including Times Square). If you have never been to Times Square, it is worth the trip just to see it. I am pretty sure the lights from Broadway billboards can be seen from space. When I first experienced it, I was in high school and I just stood in awe of the flashing lights, billboards, stores and people. The smells and sounds alone were unlike anything I had ever experienced. It was so futuristic and saturated with every color in the rainbow. It is total sensory overload, to say the least. In the theater district there are around 40 large theaters. The largest is the Gershwin Theatre which seats up to 1,933. The smallest is the Helen Hayes Theatre which seats up to 597. The oldest is the Lyceum Theatre which opened in 1903.
The Flying Bulldog Three visited one such theater together when we went to see a "staged reading"of Marry Harry at Foxwoods Theatre. I will explain what a staged reading is in a later posting. IMB's Lyricist, Michael Biello and Composer, Dan Martin wrote the music for Marry Harry. So maybe we viewed it in Foxwoods rehearsal studio but it still counts as Broadway! Now playing there is Spiderman, Turn off the Dark.
3. Did you know the Broadway theater district is nicknamed The Great White Way? This is because in the 1920s most theaters changed from using colored bulbs to white bulbs which lined their marquees because they didn't burn out as fast and lit the streets up even brighter. What is a marquee you may ask? The Dictionary defines it as "A rooflike structure, often bearing a signboard, projecting over an entrance, as to a theater or hotel."
Stay tuned to this blog for Learning Broadway Part 2. I will try to decipher some theatre terms we've picked up!
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
FAT is the new UGLY on the Playground or maybe it's not so new...
I was recently reading an article about how the word "FAT" is the new "UGLY" on the playground and it got me to thinking about my childhood .
This is a picture of me from 1986. I was 7 years old. I LOVED that pink polka dotted jazz costume that I wore at my end of the summer dance recital. That summer I played soccer, danced, smiled, giggled and played with my sister and all my friends. A week later I started a new school year. I will never forget it....A week later the school nurse sternly called me OBESE in front of the other kids in my class.
At 33 years old I look back on this picture and this memory still stings me. Adults must keep in mind at all times how they speak to children and what they talk about among themselves when they are around children. Comments and words from adults are soaked into kids brains as if their brains are like little sponges. One thing is for sure, I will remember it for the rest of my life. These are the types of experiences that have inspired me when writing some of my characters for our In My Body Musical Theatre piece.
At 33 years old I look back on this picture and this memory still stings me. Adults must keep in mind at all times how they speak to children and what they talk about among themselves when they are around children. Comments and words from adults are soaked into kids brains as if their brains are like little sponges. One thing is for sure, I will remember it for the rest of my life. These are the types of experiences that have inspired me when writing some of my characters for our In My Body Musical Theatre piece.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Autism Friendly Performance
How is it possible this is the first time I've heard of an autism friendly performance on Broadway?!!! Seems like it should have begun a long time ago. Bravo to the Theatre Development Fund for coming up with this! Here is an example of letting people be comfortable in their bodies, even if they have an affliction to shout and yell. In fact, it is embraced! TDF has taken a setting where it is considered taboo to make any sort of noise unless you are laughing at the funny parts and crying at the sad, and turned it into a safe haven for children who are autistic and their families. Hurray!!!!
Autism Friendly Mary Poppins Performance
Autism Friendly Mary Poppins Performance
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
WE ARE ATTENDING OUR VERY FIRST BROADWAY BOUND WORKSHOP...
Tomorrow is the big day. The 3 bulldog's better known as KC, MJOY, and LISWRITE were invited to attend our VERY FIRST BROADWAY BOUND WORKSHOP. I am starting to feel like we are in an episode of SMASH but this is real life baby! You might be wondering how did these ladies score an invite to such an exclusive thing, well here is how:
For our show part of our writing team is an amazing lyricists, Michael Biello and a genius composer , Dan Martin. Biello/Martin have been working on another Broadway bound show for the last 3 or 4 years and this show is in the official workshop phase. Ahhhhhh, some of you might be wondering to yourselves, what is an official workshop. Well, we learned the hard way that the theatre world does not use certain terms and expressions lightly. Each phase of a musical theatre piece has very specific definitions and if you are new to the theatre world like we are, using these terms incorrectly is a big No No. So to keep us all on the same page, tomorrow we will be attending an official workshop production and from what I can understand here is the definition of this to the theatre world.
For our show part of our writing team is an amazing lyricists, Michael Biello and a genius composer , Dan Martin. Biello/Martin have been working on another Broadway bound show for the last 3 or 4 years and this show is in the official workshop phase. Ahhhhhh, some of you might be wondering to yourselves, what is an official workshop. Well, we learned the hard way that the theatre world does not use certain terms and expressions lightly. Each phase of a musical theatre piece has very specific definitions and if you are new to the theatre world like we are, using these terms incorrectly is a big No No. So to keep us all on the same page, tomorrow we will be attending an official workshop production and from what I can understand here is the definition of this to the theatre world.
Workshop Production: a work in progress. The writers,lyricists, composers and director, and sometimes the actors as well, continue to work on a play or musical as they present it to a paying or nonpaying invite only preview audience.
Needless to say we are very excited to be part of this. The new show is called Mary Harry and we are thrilled for Biello/Martin!
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