Sunday, May 28, 2006

The Final Curtain

Today, we closed the run of The Odd Couple. Nine performances. Eight of them pretty good. Last night, we don't want to talk about.

I had fun, and I enjoyed the challenge of carrying a show. Despite all my fears, I never "went up" one time.

I am looking forward to cutting my hair. I had let it grow out to maintain that sloppy look. I think I'm gonna chop it quite short. I have a month before rehearsals begin for Kiss Me, Kate, so it'll have time to grow out.

Friday, May 19, 2006

Congratulations

I want to wish a hearty congratulations to the new Officers for Kaufman County Civic Theatre.

President -- Lonny Schonfeld
VP Administration -- Dennis Gullion
VP Production -- Jeff Vaughan
Treasurer -- Regina Bailey
Secretary -- Sarah Garland

Best of luck to y'all.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Top 5 Shows I've Seen

Here are the 5 best shows I have seen in my life:

5. The Crucible - Snyder High School, U.I.L One-Act-Play State competition 1986

Snyder High School was a theatre juggernaut back in the 80's. This was the show that won First Place the year my alma mater made it to state. I mentioned that before here.

4. Cabaret - Watertower Theatre 2005

A good friend of mine, Lindsey Holloway, won a Leon Rabin Award for her portrayal of Fraulein Kost. The female Emcee worked much better than I thought it would. I'd like to do this show someday.

3. The King and I - Dallas Summer Musicals 1982 or '83

Yul Brynner's final tour.

2. The Producers - Dallas Summer Musicals 2005

I haven't laughed out loud as much in a long time. This show is extremely entertaining.

1. Wicked - Dallas Summer Musicals 2005

I don't like the happy ending that seems tacked on, but other than that, this is a wonderful show. The music is phenomenal, and the cast for the tour was terrific. The two leads sang the roles of Elphaba and Glinda even better than Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth did on the Soundtrack.

Sunday, May 14, 2006

The Day that the Lights Went Out in Rockwall

Today, we had a matinee. Mother's Day. Ugh!

Well, I think the idea of having a show on Mother's Day is horrible, but I didn't notice the date when I auditioned for this show. But, being the consummate professional I am, I showed up as required. We were rocking along until about 3 minutes were left in Act One when BOOM! the power went out.

There wasn't an actual "BOOM" noise, but it was instantaneous. Okay, maybe not quite instantaneous. There was a slight power dip, then a surge, then the lights went out. I kept going with my lines. Felix was a little shaken, not knowing whether to plow ahead. He eventually started back up, but after a few lines, the Stage Manager pulled the curtain.

The audience was asked at the premature intermission what they wanted to do, and they all wanted the show to go on. Thankfully, there was enough light from the outside to be able to see on stage.

We did all of Act Two and most of Act Three before the lights came back on with about 3 minutes to go before the final curtain.

The audience was very responsive while the lights were out. I'm guessing that because there weren't many visual distractions, they were paying more attention to the lines than they might otherwise.

Saturday, May 13, 2006

Opening Night

Good crowd. Not quite a sell-out, but close. Good performance.

Bruised the tar out of my left thumb when I slammed my hands down on the table. It's ugly, and it's just gonna be uglier tomorrow. When it happened, I actually thought I had broken my thumb. Thankfully, that does not seem to be the case.

Friday, May 12, 2006

You have to wonder about some people

Last night, my Director for The Odd Couple told me that one of the audience members at last night's preview show said that she thought I was better than Walter Matthau. I appreciate the compliment, really. But, come on, that's more than just a little absurd. Walter Matthau is Oscar Madison.

All I'm hoping for is to entertain the folks who come see the show and not bore them.

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Getting Tea'd Off

In tonight's preview show for the Board of Directors of RCP, the glass of water that I am supposed to throw in Felix's face was not pre-set, and I had no idea until it was too late. So, when the fateful moment came, I had no choice but to dash all the way across the stage and grab my glass of "Scotch", which was really tea.

Felix's shirt was stained. I do hope the stain comes out because the actor was wearing his own shirt.

Other than that small glitch, I thought it went pretty well. I'm enjoying fleshing out this character now that I feel confident that I know the lines and won't go up completely on stage.

Monday, May 08, 2006

The Last Rehearsal

Tonight is our final rehearsal proper for The Odd Couple. Starting tomorrow, we have preview audiences every night leading up to Friday night's opening. The show has really come together well in the past week. I finally seem to have remembered all my lines, and most of the previous issues have been resolved. There are always things that could be better, but overall, it's a decent show.

Monday, May 01, 2006

Rehearsal Report

Tonight went much better. The pace was sharper and I only forgot my line one time, and perhaps even better, it wasn't one of the ones that had been a trouble spot for me before. I got all of those.

The show seems to be shaping up fairly well. I think it may still be a little rough for the Preview shows, but we should be okay by opening night.