Today's auditions

Aaaaah...
First day is over.
And it was fantastic.
We had a nice blend of new kids and veterans.
20 people in all, ranging from 7 years old to 19.
I'm sure about half of them will come back tomorrow night, which will be awesome.
That way I can mix-n-match kids from today and tomorrow.
Yay!
If tomorrow goes as well as today, we are going to have a really nice cast for the show.
James is seems concerned that only a few folks will show up for the auditions because of the superbowl.
Though that is a plausible situation, I told him, "If people really want to audition, they'll show up. Otherwise they weren't that interested in the show to begin with...."
:o)
I have a feeling, however, we'll have a good number of fresh faces with which to work...

We may not be able to do the read-through at all if Little Johnny Jones is rehearsing this week, which means we'll just go right into rehearsals on the 9th.
I really holding my breath and praying Susan decides to do the brush up on the 12th (Thursday) instead of the 10th or 11th, both of which are days we T.I. folks have scheduled for our first blocking rehearsals.
Not fun....
I'm sure it will all work out though.
:o)
Hopefully, by Monday we'll have castlist to post.....

Countdown the hours.....

It is 12:16 am on Friday, January 30th.
Technically, auditions are TOMORROW.
In 36 hours, I will be sitting in a meeting for the dance studio and not paying one iota of attention to what is being said...
All my focus will be on the ticking clock and wishing it would speed to 2:30 pm....

Further info about auditions

We are threeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee days away.
How fabulous is that?
I am so pumped about it all.
I've received so many emails from parents about the play, and folks have approached me everywhere.
It's going to be so fantastic.
I just got an email from a new parent and she was full of questions, which I love.
Actually, I loved them so much I wanted to post them here for anyone else who may have questions about the auditions....

"He is 11 - are there places for someone his age?"
-I am not casting on age so much as ability.
The majority of the characters are adults, so your son is fine.

"Do we need to make an appointment for the audition? Do we just show up and do we come on both days? Do we show up early,is it a first come first audition type of thing? Are there many that show up? We are picturing an "American Idol" kind of thing."
-You do not need to make an appointment.
Just come at 2:30/7:30 and you'll fill out an audition sheet and hand it back to either myself or my assistant director.
Then, everyone will be seated in the auditorium and I'll be calling those auditioning up onto the stage in groups of 4 or 5.
Everyone will get a turn to state their name, age, school and then their monologue.
After everyone has had a turn, we will do cold reading, which is reading scenes from the script.
We are expecting a good crowd of folks to show up, but this is a good thing.
Oh, if you want to come to both days, that would be fantastic.
I actually love to have folks from the first day come back to the second just so I can see everyone together, and get a feel for how they would work with each other.
If you can't, though, that is not a problem.

"Also, is there any chance for parents to just help?"
-Ah.
Those words are music to my ears....My biggest philosophy when it comes to childresn's theatre is if the child is involved, mom and dad are involved.
This is a family/community theatre, and I totally encourage that theme.

So...

We have four days.
I can now use one hand to count down the days til auditions.
YAY!

Little Johnny Jones starts this weekend.
I would love for everyone to go out and support the cast.
If you take a non-perishable item, you get a dollar off your ticket.
The cast is dedicating the show to our troops and has adopted a troop in afghanistan, to whom they are sending a care package.
I love it.
There are adults and kids in the show, and I think it should be really great.

7... SEVEN days away!!!!

A week from this moment, I will be going over the audition sheets of the actors who will show up to audition for our fabulous play.
Yes, even though the auditions will be at 2:30, I will still be going over stuff after 11 in the evening.
lol
Not that I'm obsessed or anything...

There was an ad for the auditions in the Circleville Herald, and the Dispatch.
Fabulous stuff.

I'm so excited...
So anxious because we're so close, yet so far away.

After auditions, I'm going to email the cast list to everyone, post it on the doors at the theatre, and post it here.
THEN, we're going to have a read-through on the 4th to get everyone kinda familiar with the lines.
THEN, rehearsals start on the 9th at 6:30.
UBER fabulous!!!

Just checking in...

So, nothing major to report at this time....
Except for the fact that WE HAVE 9 DAYS LEFT TIL AUDITIONS!!!!!
9 DAYS!!!!
I am so pumped.
I have never counted down for anything like this before.
I a soooo ready to get started.
Auditions are in 9 days...
Then we have the read through for the cast on the 4th...
Then we offically start rehearsals on the 9th.
I can't touch any set or costuming stuff til then, in respect for Little Johnny Jones going on til the 8th.

AGH!
I'm so pumped.

Oh my gosh... YAY!

I know we've all waited and waited and waited....
BUT...
THE SCRIPTS ARE HERE!
IN MY POSSESSION!!!!!
And one of them is at the Pickaway County Library on Court Street.
And it is there for anyone to read.
Thank you for your patience!

13 days to go!!!!

Because I can't help it, I'm counting down the days.
We've past the two week mark on the countdown!!
SO close!
My next endeavour is to finalize tracking down my sound effects and music.
Easier said than done....

The show itself will be an adventure....

16 days.
AGH!!!
16 days.
And because of faulty schedules and weather, I haven't been to the library as of yet.
I apologize.
James and I are really excited about the production.
It's going to rock.
This will be James' first time taking a stab at directing, though he's been involved in RTP productions for several years now.
You may have seen him aroud last year with Pinocchio.
His fabulous wife Vera played the Police Officer, and he was at a lot of practices.
He's going to be a great member of the production team, and I truly believe he is going to add something great to the show.

Thus far, we've had a lot of different folks voice interest in the show, adults and children, male and female alike.
Which is always FANTASTIC.
I really want a lot of different people to audition.
The better the variety, the more options from which we have to decide.
I think, thus far, the ideas I've thought up casting-wise have been creative.
BUT, that could change if the right people pop in.

So far, my excitement hasn't subsided.
lol
I keep thinking up different things that need to be done, and, if I CAN do them now, I attack them.
Then, there are the certain instances where I realize something that will need to be done once Little Johnny Jones is done and I have the theatre for Treasure Island.
THOSE are the instances which are killing me.
Insanity.
Beacause I have this overwhelming desire to get everything done and ready NOW.
At that point, I attempt to remind myself that we have til the END of MARCH to get everything done.
The end of March.
That's two months away.
lol
It's hard to feed yourself a chill pill.
It can be done though.

Don't be surprised when I'm spazzing out excited at auditions.
I think I'll end up hugging EVERYONE just for the sheer fact that they showed up.
LOL
It's going to be an amazing show.
It totally is.

Character break down....

This is a semi break down of the characters.
Please note that the "ages" I list are the ages for the characters and not the actors for whom I am looking.
The actors could be just about any age. (Make-up, Make-up, Make-up...)
The characters are listed in order of appearance...

1. Bill- An old seadog with an unhealthy addiction to Rum who befriends Jim, and terrrorizes the neighbors. As the tale moves along, you learn why he seems so paranoid... (age is in the 50's)
2. Jim- A sweet, honest, and brave boy, Jim lives alone with his widowed mother. He craves adventure, and is the protagonist of the story. (ages 12-17)
3. Mrs. Hawkins- An honest, upright woman, Mrs. Hawkins also seems to have been weathered away by life. She owns the Admiral Benbow Inn and works hard to provide for her son Jim, who she loves dearly. (Age is in the 40's)
4. Dr. Livesey- The local doctor and a Magistrate. Dr. Livesey appears to be a no-nonsense man, yet there is still a twinkle of adventure in his eye. (30's-40's)
5. Black Dog- A vicious Pirate with no good on her adgenda. (Ages 30's-40's) (Though this character was originally listed as a man, I have decided to change Black Dog to a woman. I think it will truly add to the ruthlessness of the character. It will also add different levels to the dialogue between this character and Bill.)
6. Blind Pew- This man is the most evil of all the characters. Don't let the poor, decrepid blind beggar persona fool you. (Ages 50's-60's) (Though the character is male, I am going to cast a young woman in this role.)
7. George Merry- A greedy pirate, loyal to the wrong cause. (Ages 20's-30's)
8. Tom Morgan- Same as Merry
9. Squire Trelawney- Trelawney is a bubbly and kind man, though very naive. He also seems to be a big nerd for pirate stuff.... (ages 20's-30's)
10. Redruth \
11. Hunter -These men are servants. Very loyal, and don't speak much. Ages 19-25
12. Joyce /
13. Captain Smollett- A true pirate, but a good man. Smollett is a no-nonsense man and runs a tight ship. But he does have a heart (age is in the 50's)
14. Long John Silver- A sea-faring man with one leg... You find yourself second guessing where Silver's loyaty lies til the very end. (age is in the 50's)
15. Mr. Arrow- A true Pirate, Arrow is the first mate of the ship, Smollet's right hand man. (Ages 40's- 50's)
16. Dick- A young pirate who truly wants to learn the way of the sea. Dick seems to be an impressionable youth... (age is in the 20's)
17. Israel Hands- A rutheless pirate up to no good. (Age is in the 40's)
18. O’Brien Same as Hands
19. Alan- Same as Hands
20. Gray- A pirate who chooses to fight for justice rather than mutiny. (ages 30's- 40's)
21. Ben Gunn- Ben is a half-crazed ex pirate who has been marooned on the island for many years. (age undetermined)

20 days... and counting... and counting.. and counting...

Yes.
I woke up this morning, looked at my phone and saw that it is indeed the 11th.
Which can only mean we have 20 days til auditions.
Two weeks and six days.
But hey...
Who's counting?
:-/
The scripts still aren't in, which is really frustrating for me.
They were supposed to be in this past week, which only means they will definitely be in THIS week.
Hopefully.
In more positive news, James and I finally met up at the Tuscan Table last night so I could go over all the play details.
(James will be my assistant director for the show and I know he's going to do a great job.)
That was fun.
Because I think I may have overwhelmed him at certain instances.
I spared him the painful details of the blocking, knowing full well that would've taken a good hour to go through.
However, I cover everything else I've worked on, including details about each character.
I was hoping to give him a script for his own BUT that's another story...
I am really hoping that meeting with him last night will help me in the next few weeks...
Or it could just make me even more anxious to get started.
argh.

I'm about 3/4 of the way finished with my emotional blocking.
This has proven to be more tedious than the actual movement blocking, if possible.
On the flip side, it seems to help to put thoughts on paper.
I find I'm writing out notes in the script to offer later or to refer back if need be.

Once the scripts finally come in, I'll be able to take a copy to the library and start making all the neccessary arrangements with them.

Until then, I'll just play the waiting game.....

Character list and synopsis

I thought I'd put up a list of characters for fun.
If you've read Treasure Island, all these names will sound familiar.
If not, I'd say a visit to Wikipedia is in store for you....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Island
This site has a really great synopsis of the novel.
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/Treasure-Island-About-the-Novel-A-Brief-Synopsis.id-175,pageNum-4.html
After reading it, it's actually a fairly great synopsis of the play's storyline as well...

The characters marked with * are pirates
1. Bill*
2. Jim
3. Mrs. Hawkins
4. Dr. Livesey
5. Black Dog*
6. Blind Pew*
7. George Merry*
8. Tom Morgan*
9. Squire Trelawney
10. Redruth
11. Hunter
12. Joyce
13. Captain Smollett*
14. Long John Silver*
15. Mr. Arrow*
16. Dick*
17. Israel Hands*
18. O’Brien*
19. Alan*
20. Gray*
21. Ben Gunn*

Set design... kinda....

The set will be fairly simple in detail and, I hope, in construction.
The Inn will consist of a large flat with a door and a window and a fireplace, along with tables and chair.
Contrary to my first interpretation, I decided to not have a back flat.
To change the set, I'm going to have the actors move down stage so they are standing in front of the curtain when it closes.
If all goes well, the Inn set pieces go offstage, and the back curtains are opened to reveal the back railing of the ship, which will be higher than that on the front of the ship, which I want to be on the very front of the stage, but it'll probably need to be behind the curtain, which is do-able.
Then the curtain opens, and there is a mast in the middle of the stage.
The trapdoor is opened so, when the time comes, the "pirates" will be "loading up the ship" by taking boxes onto the ship and down below.
It's going to be cool.
I'm debating on a platform SR to signify where the helm would be...
I dunno...
Set change for the Island/stockade scenes will be during intermission.
That'll consist of pushing everything back behind the back curtain and pulling on trees/brush and the stockade AKA a large flat of some sort.
I've decided to utilize the staircases in the front of the stage.
We have three and, by jove, I'm going to use them.

If all goes well, the scene changes will flow nicely and carry out well throughout the show.

Needless to say, I will need a surefooted set crew.

Rehearsal schedule

Rehearsal Schedule
February (Rehearsals are 6:30-8:30, unless otherwise noted)
Week 1-9 Blocking pages 1-13 (Jim, Mrs. Hawkins, Bill, Customers, Livesey)
10 Go over 1- 13, Block Pages 13-29 (Jim, Mrs. Hawkins, Bill, Livesey, Black Dog, Pew, Morgan, Merry, Job, Trelawney, Redruth, Hunter,Joyce)
11 Go Over 1-29
Wk. 2- 16 Blocking pages 28-37 (Squire, Livesy, Smollett, Silver, Redruth, Hunter, Joyce, Jim, Black Dog, Arrow, Merry, Dick, Morgan, Hands, O'Brien)
17 Go over 28-37, Block pages 37-51 (Squire, Livesey, Smollett, Silver, Jim, Redruth, Hunter, Joyce, Arrow, Merry, Dick, Morgan, Hands, O'Brien)
18 Go Over pages 1-51
Wk.3-23 Blocking Pages 52-69 (Jim, Livesey, Joyce, Hunter, Redruth, Squire, Smollett, Pirates, Ben Gunn)
24 Go over 52-69, Block Pages 69-94 (Jim, Livesey, Squire, Smollett, Pirates, Ben Gunn)
25 Go over 52-94
March
Wk. 4- 2 Go over Act 2
3 Go Over Act 1
4 Go Over Combat scenes (Actors TBA)
Wk. 5- 9 Go Over Combat scenes (Actors TBA)
10 Run Act 1
11 Run Act 2
Wk. 6-16 Run Show Practice Curtain Call
17 Run Show
18 Run Show
Wk. 7-22 Tech Rehearsal- 4:30-TBA (depending on show runtime)
23 Run Play Call time at 6 pm. Curtain at 7 pm
24 Run Play Call time at 6 pm. Curtain at 7 pm
25 Run Play Call time at 6 pm. Curtain at 7 pm
26 Run Play Call time at 6 pm. Curtain at 7 pm
27 Play Call time at 6 pm Curtain at 7:30 pm
28 Play Call time at 6pm Curtain at 7:30 pm
29 Play Call time at 1 pm Curtain at 2:30 pm
April
1 Brush Up
3 Play Call time at 6 pm Curtain at 7:30
4 Play Call time at 6 pm Curtain at 7:30
5 play and strike set Call time at 1 pm Curtain at 2:30

Counting down: 24 days!

As of today, we've got 24 days til auditions and I am pumped!
The scripts will be here by the end of the week.
I'm pretty much ready to go...
I've got all the blocking written down, along with light and sound cues.
I have my set design down.
The schedule is ready to go.
I have the scenes broken down.
I have a props list and what act/scene/actor with which they are set and used.
I still have to mark on which side of the stage they to be, which won't be hard.
After Little Johnny Jones, I'm going to start going through the costume stuff and decipher what I need vs what the theatre has.

Now all I need are the actors...
24 days to go.....
Argh.