Night two photo...

Junia, filling in as Alice, Katie as Dorothy, Chase as Judson, and Richard as the Mad Hatter.

Week one: Night two

Last night's rehearsal was...
Well, it was the first rehearsal.
lol
Blocking is always tedious, and last night wasn't an exception, save the fact that the cast managed to make the most out of it.
We managed to cover 90% of the show, which kinda surprised me.
We still have a couple of chase scenes to cover, which, in turn, will determine blocking in ceartain spots of the show.
A couple of our young thespians were already showing signs of having memorized some lines.
Hizzahs all around for that!
I'm hoping everyone will be of book by the end of this month.
*FINGERS CROSSED*
Tonight's rehearsal will be touching up on what we did last night.
We were missing a few actors last night due to vacation, so we probably won't see them tonight.
Also, rehearsal ends at 6 instead of 6:30 because the RTP banquet is at 6:30, and Ju and I, and whoever else is going from our show need to skeeeeeedaddle over to JR Hooks.

See you all tonight!

Week one: Night One (sort of...)

Last night was technically supposed to be our first night of rehearsals, but I had another plan.
All of the set pieces leaning against the front of the stage are meant to go behind the upstage curtain.
That couldn't happen until all of the crap from upstage was cleared up.
On top of that, Junia and a couple of our actors weren't going to be there last night, so I didn't want to start rehearsals with only half of the cast.
So, as everyone trickled in, I quickly informed them as to what we were doing, and everyone pitched in to move set pieces, wood, and random theatre-related items.
We also have a costume crew now.
YAY!
Many thanks to Kris Warner and LeAnne Six ahead of time.
We already have part of the costume for the White Rabbit, part of the Tin Man costume, and a tentative costume for Dorothy.
We still need a waistcoat for White Rabbit, along with other small details.
Apparently, as I've just found out, a "waistcoat" is a vest.
Huh.
Learn something everyday...
I also broke the news to Robert that we are going to curl his hair to make a "mane" for his Cowardly Lion.
YAY!!!!
lol
It's a process that's just beginning, of course.
With the great cast and growing crew we've got, I know the resulting production is going to do so well.
:o)

Read through

Yesterday's read through went well, according to Junia.
She said everyone read well and she thinks the show is going to be a good one.
Meanwhile, I (with Help from Josh) attempted to paint the stage back to Black.
Not a fun task, especially if you have certain qualms about getting splattered with paint, or sweating.
Luckily, the deed is done, or at least the first coat anyways.
It'll be finished by Monday for sure.
Speaking of Monday, that is our first rehearsal, at 4:30.
BLOCKING!!!!
Yay.
We will be blocking the entire show next week.
Hizzah.
Readreadread those scripts, m'dears.
:o)

Obsessing....

Obsessively, I have begun the program for our show.
I know.
I started last night and have modified it since then.
I know it's a wee bit early to ask the actors for their bio's, so I'll wait on that one.
I've learned my lesson from Treasure Island, though.
I cannot forget to get these things done in a timely manner.
This time around, I've typed it up myself.
When the time DOES come, I will ask for bio's, and add them to the program.
THEN, I shall take them to the printing company and get a mass quantity printed for the massive amounts of people I KNOW are going to come to our show.
I'm also going to take a page out of Tracy Kawasaki's book and check into Vista Print for some Posters and whatnot.
Hizzah!

I've also been mulling around ideas for costumes and make-up.
Please believe we are going all out for make-up, my friends.
Tabitha shall look like a mouse, ears and all.
The Lion will have Crazy awesome Lion make-up.
I'm actually considering curling Robert's Hair for the Lion.
He has long enough hair that we could probably form it into a delightful mane fit for any lion of the cowardly persuasion.
Jake will be covered in silver for his role as the Tin Man.
For Judson, I'm considering either a polo shirt and Khakis with tennis shoes, PJ's and slippers.
It would be awesome if we could find matching shirt and pant PJ's....
Hhhhhhmmmmmmmmm.....
Dorothy and Alice will be quintessential Dorothy and Alice.
Braids, Blonde, and both in Blue.
Dorothy will have her french braided pigtails, white blouse, checkered blue dress, and ruby slippers.
Alice will be straight blonde, black ribbon headband, blue dress, and black shoes.
Oooohhhhh....
The ideas are stirring.....
:o)

We have a cast!

We have a cast!!
YAY!
We are so pumped with this cast.
Auditions went really well, and this really was a case where we wanted to use everyone who came.
Unfortunately, the characters are pretty limited, so we had to set ourselves to find 11 actors to fill our characters.
And we did!
Our first scheduled rehearsal is Monday, but the read through is the first time everyone shall come together as a cast.
That falls on Wednesday, two days from now.
FUN!
All actors have been sent a cast list, contact list, and schedule to help aid them in their quest to becoming one with their characters and production.
Hizzah!

CAST LIST

DOROTHY- KATIE WARNER

ALICE- GWEN AUME

JUDSON- CHASE EUTON

MAD HATTER- RICHARD WILSON

SCARECROW- SAMANTHA ROBERTS

WHITE RABBIT- HANNAH UTT

TIN MAN- JAKE SIX

DORMOUSE- TABITHA CLIFTON

COWARDLY LION- ROBERT WILSON

WICKED WITCH- MIRACLE HIGGINBOTHAM

RED QUEEN- JESSICA MINNEY

Audtions, part two...

Yesterday's auditions went very well.
We had 10 young people come.
Add the young man who had to audition on Friday because of a boy scout outing this weekend, and we have had 11 adolescences audition for the show.
Everyone had do remarkably well througout the audition process.
There were a few RTP veterans who never fail to perform well, as well as a few brand new to RTP who did very well their first time around.
The rest of those who auditioned were young people who were brand new when they auditioned for Treasure Island.
These kids showed a great improvement from the first time I met them in January, which made mom, Junia, and I all smile.
All in all, it was a lot of fun, which makes me excited to see what today's auditions will bring.
:o)

Auditions- The final Frontier....

Wizard of Wonderland is going to be a blast.
In three hours, we'll start our auditioning process to find our cast of 11 actors/characters:
Dorothy- A young girl from Kansas
Alice- A young girl from London
Judson- A boy from New Jersey who likes to procrastinate
Mad Hatter- Character from Wonderland
Scarecrow- Character from Oz
White Rabbit-Character from Wonderland
Tin Man-Character from Oz
Dormouse-Character from Wonderland
Cowardly Lion-Character from Oz
Wicked Witch- Oz baddie
Red Queen- Wonderland baddie

This show will be a total breeze after Treasure Island.
In fact, I think, besides doing a musical, Treasure Island proved how difficult a children's production can be, and on quite a large scale.
The cast of Wizard of Wonderland equates to about a third of the cast of Treasure Island,the set is a bunch of trees and bushes, and a sign post, all of which NEVER get moved, and the production is about an hour in length.
BREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZE.
It's a great little show to do in the summer.
The only thing that bums me out is that I have a limit as to how many people I can cast.
We'll see how things turn out...

Reflection...

What an interesting ride this was.
My friends, actors, crew, and parents alike, I thank you all.
I am glad to say the good, by far, outweighed the not-so-good points.
I'd say we did a heck of a job, folks.
I am so proud of what we created and I'm proud of everyone for all of the hard work that went into our production.
I thank you all for your support.
I also thank you for your help in making my dream into a reality.
I so mean it when I say I would work with everyone again, and I truly hope so in the future.

I love you all.

Production weekend TWOOOOOOOO.....

Well, my friends, we have made it.
It is indeed Friday, April 3rd.
And I'm still proud of everyone!

Brush up was....
VERY special.
It got only slightly out of hand, but I know you were all having fun, so I guess it's all good.
:o)

Remember, the cast party is TOMORROW night AFTER the production, in the green room.
I am uber pumped for this weekend.
Since the high school productions are over, we should have better crowds.
PLUS, it's a rainy day AKA perfect weather to attend a show!
YAY GOD!

See y'all between 5:30 and 6:00!