Damn Yankees opens in a week

Garland Summer Musicals production of Damn Yankees opens Friday June 20th. I play the Catcher for the Washington Senators baseball team, Smokey. I am featured in two songs, "Heart" and "The Game," and I also dance in "Shoeless Joe" and "Two Lost Souls." Our wonderful cast includes Joshua Doss as Joe Hardy, Morgana Shaw as Lola, and John Garcia as Applegate. The rest of the cast is tremendous, too.

The show should be a blast, so please come check it out.

You can order tickets by calling the Box Office at 972-205-2790. If you use my name (Marty Scott) when ordering, you will receive a $6.00 savings off the regular price of $25.00, so you will pay the cast price of $19.00 plus a $1.00 service charge per ticket.

Performances are June 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, & 29. Fridays & Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm.

New Head Shot

I went this evening after work and got my first ever professional Head Shot done by Mark Oristano. I think he did an amazing job.

KCCT's 35th Anniversary Season Announced

Kaufman County Civic Theatre has selected the shows for its 35th annual season starting in September 2008. KCCT has been providing quality live theatre for Kaufman County since 1973. This year, KCCT has selected shows the entire family can enjoy. The season will open with the delightful story of a man and his best friend, an invisible 6' 3 1/2" rabbit named Harvey. Following that is the zany fun of Seussical: The Musical. Coming in the spring will be the family-friendly Cheaper by the Dozen (the original, not the dreadful remake with Steve Martin). Closing this historic season, KCCT will present the Neil Simon classic, Barefoot in the Park.

Up from the Chorus

The past two years, I have been part of the Singing Ensemble for Garland Summer Musicals. This morning, I returned a call to the Director, Buff Shurr. He offered (and I accepted) the role of Smokey in Damn Yankees. It feels good to move up into the realm of Featured Performers.

I am coming out of a long string of theatre work. Starting with last summer at Garland Summer Musicals, I've been involved pretty much non-stop and won't be getting a break until The Philadelphia Story closes April 19th. After GSM, I taught Children's Theatre camp at KCCT. Following that, I directed Brighton Beach Memoirs, directed and acted in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, played Miles Gloriosus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and finally played the lead role of Mike Connor in The Philadelphia Story.

I am the most burned out on theatre that I have ever been. I have my audition for GSM tonight, but I am looking forward to the period from April 20 until rehearsals start for GSM. I should be looking at a little over a month's respite. That's assuming I even get cast for Damn Yankees.

After that, we're taking a family trip to Michigan in July. Then, I may do whatever musical KCCT is doing next season (it's still not decided but we are leaning toward The Music Man), but I'm not planning on directing anything or doing any other shows in the near future.

Of course, that doesn't mean I won't wind up involved in a show. Just that I'm not planning anything right now.

Newest Full Resume

Sound of Music, Kurt, KCCT
A Christmas Carol, Collector, KCCT
Medea: A Noh Cycle Based on the Greek Myth, Chorus, THS
The Wizard of Oz Private/Ensemble, KCCT
Years Ago, Mr. Sparrow, THS
The Actor's Nightmare, Sir Henry Irving, THS
Under Jekyll's Hyde, Inspector Seek, KCCT
Macbeth, Macbeth, THS
Loving Molly, Pookie, UNC
My Fair Lady, Butler/Ensemble, KCCT
Twelve Angry Men, Juror #4, KCCT
You Can't Take it With You, Ed Carmichael, KCCT
It's a Wonderful Life, Sam Wainwright, KCCT
Crazy for You, Bobby Child, KCCT
The Odd Couple, Roy, KCCT
To Kill a Mockingbird, Mr. Gilmer, GCT
42nd Street, Bert Barry, KCCT
All My Sons, Chris Keller, KCCT
Anything Goes, Elisha Whitney, KCCT
Little Shop of Horrors, Voice of Audrey II, KCCT
Annie, Bundles/Fred/Servant/Harold Ickes, KCCT
Rumors, Ken Gorman, RCP
The Odd Couple, Oscar Madison, RCP
Kiss Me, Kate, Cab Driver/Priest/Ensemble, GSM
It's a Wonderful Life, Radio Show, William Keighley/Ernie Bishop, KCCT
Broadway Lights, A Stroll Through Life:A Revue, Ensemble, KCCT
Hello, Dolly!, Chef/Ensemble, GSM
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Bob Bradley, KCCT
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Miles Gloriosus, KCCT
The Philadelphia Story, Macauley "Mike" Connor, KCCT

KCCT=Kaufman County Civic Theatre (previously known as Kaufman County Community Theatre)
THS=Terrell High School
UNC=University of North Carolina
GCT=Garland Civic Theatre
RCP=Rockwall Community Playhouse
GSM=Garland Summer Musicals

Pics from Forum

Here are a few pictures from KCCT's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Pretty much from Act 2.

Click a picture to see it full-size.

A Glorious Windbag

The cast for KCCT's production of A Funny thing Happened on the Way to the Forum had a meeting last night to get scripts and discuss the schedule.  Rehearsals don't start until after the first of the year.

You should come check out the show, which opens February 15, 2008.  It should be a good show. 

Courtesans & Eunuchs

I was cast last night as Miles Gloriosus in KCCT's upcoming production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.  I would have loved to have had the opportunity to play Pseudolus, but I'm happy with the role.  It was my second choice.

The show opens February 15th.  Put it on your calendars now. 

The Joy of Directing

I am currently directing my 6th Production for KCCT. Prior efforts were All My Sons, The Foreigner, It's a Wonderful Life:Radio Show, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (for Children's Theatre), and Brighton Beach Memoirs. I think I'm a decent Director, but I have discovered that I don't really enjoy doing it. I am just not too much of a details oriented person. I'm good at seeing the "Big Picture" and having a vision for how I want a show to be, but I'm not great at the administrative stuff that goes hand-in-hand with Directing. Or at least with Directing at KCCT.

I have a little more help on the peripheral stuff for this show than I did for Brighton Beach Memoirs, but there's still to many minutiae for my tastes.

Brighton Beach Cast

And here's one of the cast after the final show.

Brighton Beach Set

Here are a couple of pictures of the set from Brighton Beach Memoirs, which closed today.


This is the living area with a view of the bedrooms on the second level.


This is a closer view of the bedrooms.

The Lights are Bright

I mentioned in the last post that I'm running the light board for KCCT's Brighton Beach Memoirs. I'm pretty proud of the lighting design, even if it is somewhat basic. I've never designed the lighting for a show before. I'm still very much a novice, but I think I did a decent job using the lights to help tell the story of the play.

Come to the Beach

I Directed Brighton Beach Memoirs for Kaufman County Civic Theatre. We opened Friday, have a matinee tomorrow at 2pm, and run for two more weekends. You can leave a comment here and let me know you're coming (I'm also running the light board—It is community theatre after all), or you can call the theatre at 972-563-8991 and leave a voicemail for reservations.

Tickets are $12 ($10 for Senior Citizens).

If you come, I'll go have a drink with you after the show. Terrell has a really great place to get a Margarita! If you're under 21, you can always come along and get a Dr Pepper. ;)

The show is rated PG-13 for language and some adult discussions.

Please come. I think you'll like it.

Children's Theatre, Day Two

We had a pretty good day on Tuesday. We did a couple of more acting exercises, and I taught the kids about character development. After that, we held auditions for this year's show. Letting everyone read who wanted took a long time. Especially with some kids who can barely read, or who cannot read at all.

On the technical side, I discovered that the reason I couldn't get the stage lights to come on was because the breaker switch for the dimmer packs was off. Also, I figured out how to record on my computer using an external microphone, so we'll be able to do some things that I wasn't sure we'd be able to handle.

Today, we start blocking the show.

Children's Theatre, Day One

I am teaching the Children's Theatre camp at KCCT this summer. Burning about a whole week of vacation to do it, too. Missing a chance of a lifetime as well (although it might not be gone completely). Today was the first day. If my brain hasn't completely lost its functioning, I believe I have 26 kids ranging from Age 6 to 16.

We had a pretty good first day. The attention spans of some of the younger ones leave a little to be desired, but I guess that's to be expected. I've been a little spoiled. My #2 daughter is the youngest camper, and she behaved exceptionally, so I think the other kids should, too.

I am exhausted. It's time for a shower and then to bed. I am working half-days and teaching the camp in the afternoons, so I have to get up and drive downtown again in the morning.

Dream Shows/Dream Roles

I would love to see what shows & roles people are dying to do.  Please use comments to share yours.

If you aren't a performer, you can list shows you would love to see staged.

For me:

MUSICALS 

City of Angels (Buddy Fidler)
A Year with Frog and Toad (Toad)
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (I should get the chance for this one next spring)
The Music Man (Would love to play Harold Hill, but would be happy as Marcellus)
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Chicago (Billy Flynn or Amos Hart)
Cabaret (Would love to play the Emcee if I ever get thin enough, if not, then Ernst)
1776
The Producers (Max Bialystock, but would be happy with a number of roles)
Avenue Q (Brian)
SPAMalot (Sir Robin, King Arthur, or Patsy)
High Society

PLAYS

Mr. Roberts
Teahouse of the August Moon
Inherit the Wind
Death of a Salesman
Proof
The Glass Menagerie
The Importance of Being Earnest
Laughter on the 23rd Floor
Barefoot in the Park
The Prisoner of Second Avenue
Noises Off

SPAMalot

My wife and I went to see SPAMalot last Thursday.  All in all, it was a good show.  The sound/acoustics in the Fair Park Music Hall may have been the worst I've ever experienced.  Several of the lines were difficult to hear, but thankfully, I knew most of what was being said from familiarity with the Cast Recording and the source material, Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

I laughed more at The Producers, and overall, Wicked is a better show, but SPAMalot is worth seeing.

Closing night

We closed Hello, Dolly! today at GSM. In all, it was a good run. We had a full house (about 720) today. Lots of GSM alums were there because of the 25th Anniversary celebration after the show. On that front, I am pleased to say that I met Mr. Peppermint, Jerry Haynes.

A few folks were lobbying Buff Shurr and Patty Granville to do a particular show next season, but I'll leave it at that for now.

What a Difference it Makes

I have been having fun with Dolly rehearsals at GSM. However, I had been a little bummed about it because I thought I was just doing singing and a little "choreographed movement." Tonight, I found out that I actually have lines. Yea!!!!

I've always considered myself and actor who can sing, so it's nice to be able to use those talents.