Theater Transformed!

Well, we finished the run of "Arsenic & Old Lace" this weekend -- thanks to all who came out to see the show. It was a lot of fun!

The set for "Arsenic" has been struck and flats are leaning against the back wall ready to be moved into place and painted (or vice-versa!) I'll be working with David Clack tomorrow to get the set design in place. This means we will be able to start building hopefully that night!

All cast & crew, please plan to attend all future rehearsals (starting Tuesday night). Those not being used on stage will be needed to help build, paint, clean, hoist, tote, and do all the things necessary to transform the theater into the magical land of Narnia.

We have MANY conflicts for next week -- Spring Break week. That's understandable and unavoidable. After Spring Break week comes tech week and opening week! Please make arrangements to be at all rehearsals that crucial week. Those of us who remain in town during Spring Break, please come to the theater ready to work hard to get the set into place, all technical aspects ready to go, and the theater looking great.

I can hardly believe we're so close to opening night -- and there's an awful lot of work to be done. Let's buckle down and make this show as amazing as it can be.

Lion ad sheet

Go here to download an ad sheet.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2410708/Ad-Rate-Sheet-lww?ga_uploads=1

Shoes for Wood Nymphs

There were a few concerns about shoes for the Wood Nymphs. So if anyone is interested and doesn't already own a type of ballet slippers. Wal-Mart on 124 has nude colored shoe liners. In the sock section they are called George Microfiber Liners. They basically are ballet slippers but a little thinner. Cost $2.00, and yes they are on clearance.

Tonight's Rehearsal (3/17/08)

Remember, tonight's rehearsal is for speaking roles only! We don't need wood nymphs, Witch's Army, or Aslan's Followers tonight. However, everybody should be at the rehearsal tomorrow night, 3/18/08.

(Yes, I know we have a few conflicts :)

The rehearsal calendar is here (I haven't added the latest conflicts to it yet so don't worry if you don't see your name there).

Cast A or B?

There have been a few questions about which cast is which, especially for Wood Nymphs, Aslan's Followers, and the Witch's Army.

We have not decided this yet. Before we can do that, we want to be sure we have everybody's conflicts and also work with you if you have any preferences as to which nights to do. So keep that information in mind and let me know via e-mail or at rehearsal.

To the Unicorns and Mr Tumnus

Hello, please remember to bring gym shoes to rehearsal on Saturday March 15 th. They will be the base between your feet and your hooves. Please make sure there thin soled and are snug. Also, we will be placing screws thru them so, if there your favorite shoes I wouldn’t recommend using them.

Thank you

Joanne

Good luck Marc

Let's all think good thoughts about Marc, our White Stag. He's got a couple of big auditions he's doing. Of course, if he gets them he won't be able to do our show -- but these auditions are a bit more important to his career. Marc, if you're reading this -- break a leg. And if they can't use you, remember, we still need you!

I'll let folks know if we need a new White Stag.

Scripts are IN

Those of you who don't have scripts yet -- speaking roles -- scripts have arrived. Please come by the theater some night next week to pick them up. My elves, my dwarfs, one of my unicorns, and one of my Peter Pevensies -- also my stage manager -- come by this week and get your scripts!

UPDATE: And, of course (how could I forget!) Mr. Beaver and Fr. Christmas.

Tony and the Medleys have theirs -- the rest are on the concession counter, labelled with my actors' names.

Note from Leslie

Leslie, our producer for the show, sends the following:

Hello Lion cast, I am giving you a heads up that I will be at your first rehearsal, March 15th, to collect the t-shirt/insurance fee of $15.00. Please bring cash or check made out New London Theatre. If this fee is a financial burden for you or your family, please let me know.

Also, please remember that each cast member is asked to sell at least one $25.00 advertisement for the program. More info/details will be coming soon on this. You can go to area businesses and sell these ads very easily or you can go to businesses that you frequent, such as your dentist, orthodontist, chiropractor, fast food restaurant, your employer, your hair dresser, where you get your nails done, etc. The ads help to pay for the printing of the programs, which can be very costly.
Also, parents and other cast member special persons can purchase personal ads for their actor, to wish them well or congratulate them on their performances. I am not sure of the price of these at this moment but will get details on this as well later.

Thanks for your cooperation and I will look forward to seeing you on the 15th.
Leslie Raab
Producer for Lion

Mailing list DENIED

Folks, Google in their infinite wisdom has decided not to permit me to create a new mailing list with all your e-mail addresses in it. It will take me about an hour to type all your email addresses in to invite you to the mailing list. Therefore I'm posting this link to the mailing list and requesting that you all request membership in the mailing list. This is also a good way for me to know who's looking at the blog! :)

CLICK HERE AND REQUEST MAILING LIST MEMBERSHIP

We'll have a mailing list this weekend, one way or the other. Thanks for your patience.

Mailing list created

Hopefully within the next day or so you'll get an email from me -- I have created a mailing list but google wants some time to make sure I'm not a spammer. It includes a link to the blog, and my e-mail address and a couple of notes on the read-through. Let's keep our eyes on the prize!

SCRIPTS

Those of you who don't have scripts yet -- don't worry, first of all -- you'll have plenty of time to learn your lines. Scripts have been ordered for all of you and I will let you know when I have them.

I decided against sending you copies of the script because I don't want to get the theater in trouble. Theaters can and do get into LOTS of trouble for distributing unauthorized copies of the script.

Off Book Deadline Change

Folks, I've decided to change the Off Book requirement. Please keep on learning your lines, however. I want us off book by March 22, not March 15. Spread the word!

HOUSE CREW NEEDED

Tom Martin says: House Crew volunteers needed to help during all shows. Family members and friends of cast members are encouraged to support their actor by being involved as part of the house crew. Crew members help sell tickets and concessions and help as ushers at each show. It's a vital element to the full theatre experience for our patrons. No experience is needed. If you want more details and are considering volunteering, please contact Tom Martin, House Crew manager, at 770-979-8939 or twmartin50@yahoo.com

What does Off-Book mean? ("LINE!")

Off-book means you've learned your lines. You can still call for lines, however. The way to call for lines is to stay in character and simply say, "Line!"

That's expected and it's a normal part of developing a show. But if you break character and say, "Sorry, I knew this last Tuesday, I swear we went through this three times!" it's very disruptive to a rehearsal.

We will permit line calls Until April 5. I'm hoping for the April 7 rehearsal to include a line-through. (That's where we just call out our lines in place instead of trying to run blocking and everything.)

WELCOME JOSHUA

Let's be sure to welcome Joshua Davis to the cast. Joshua will be playing Peter in cast B. He was originally cast but we had to work around some conflicts that we thought were going to be too much to work around. This is great news!

By the way, for those who are curious: "A" and "B" are simply handy ways to refer to the two casts. You're both equal in my heart and my mind!

Memorization Tips

UPDATE:

I just realized, I set the Charley's Aunt blog as readable only by the cast. That's because I included personal information in some of the links. (We have no personal information in the links here.)

So, here is the appropriate contents of that old posting:

Here is a site with a lot of tips for memorizing lines. I use two main methods from the site, which I've quoted below. However, maybe you can find a tip there that will help you even more.

From Jannie: Here is a huge tip for people who want to learn to memorize lines. What you need to do is have your lines out infront of you so that you can see them clearly. Then you read your first line outloud. After you are done, then close your eyes and repeat it without looking. Then read the next line outloud. HERES THE CATCH. then you have to close your eyes, repeat the first line you said and then say the second line. after a while all of the lines will just start naturally flowing out of your mouth.

Another thing you can do to memorize lines is to use a tape recorder. Read the lines of each scene into the tape recorder. All the lines, not just yours. Say the lines in a flat, monotone voice. Try not to use any inflection at all. Record the other characters' lines in a normal speaking volume, but record your lines in a whisper which is loud enough to hear, but noticeably softer than the other characters' lines.

Play the recorded scene over and over, bit by bit. As you hear your lines, try to speak them with the recording. Talking soft enough so you can hear the recording. As you start to remember your lines, say them louder and louder until you are speaking louder than the recording. If you are uncertain, simply get quieter again so you can hear the recording.

Remember, we're off book on March 15. That's two weeks, with no other rehearsals interrupting your flow...that should be plenty of time. We're going to work on character on Saturday and it will help a great deal if you can remember your lines so that we can refer to lines that occur at different parts of the show. Take about 30 or so minutes each night and use the techniques in the post above, and you'll be amazed at how quickly the lines are learned.

CALENDAR POSTED

I have posted the director's rehearsal and performance calendar for the show. It's in the list of links at the left. You can also click here.

SHOWS ADDED!

Exciting news: in addition to the previously scheduled shows, we will also be doing Saturday Matinees each weekend. This means a Saturday show at 2:30.

I have one known conflict for these -- Adam Monforton, our Cast B Aslan, cannot do Saturday Matinees. We could use Cast A only for Saturday Matinees, and Cast B for Saturday Evenings. I'm going to schedule it that way for now.

With a cast this size, and double casted to boot, this will give everyone a chance to get more performances under their belts, as well as give the theater a chance to sell more seats. Win-win!

Cast List

Here's a link to the Cast List. I'm going to keep this up to date as we add or lose people (sadly, one of our Pevensies, as well as several of our woodland nymphs and Aslan's Followers and Witch's Army have dropped.)

UPDATE: The Pevensie who dropped the show is back in the fold!