Bottles, Pantaloons, and a Proposal

Laughter is quite a phenomenon. Making thirty people in a cast sincerely laugh together after all these shows is one thing, and even greater is making two hundred and thirty audience members share the same laughter. It has been an interesting week of performances for me and I am sure that there are others who share my views. In Friday night’s performance I was constantly in tears and wondered just how closely the audience was looking at my red rimmed eyes and if what I was doing was in the moment or masking something.

But then came Saturday’s performance and what a fun day that was. The wedding scene in Fiddler is one of my favorites in the play…maybe it’s because it is long and eventful. There are all sorts of things that happen, dancing, big “noddings of the head”, wailing, the bottle dance, singing (of course), people getting beat up and heated arguments. You’d think this would be enough to keep me entertained but this story constantly provides even more. During the bottle dance our men line up proudly and then proceed to show us how well they can balance a bottle on their heads. As the women watching we are very impressed by this.

It started when Tevye dropped his bottle. Of course we have to make a bid deal about dropped bottles. There are lots of groans and hand waving, laughing and pointing at the person who somehow messed up. So the bottle was dropped, a few moments later I hear a great deal of laughter. I look up to see Tevye, his face turning a deeper shade of crimson,  frantically clutching the waistline of his pants. His pants were falling down in front of a full house! It didn’t help that the men were about to be on their knees in a climactic impressive choreographed moment. If the pants were about to fall down nothing would stop them when they were all spread-legged on the floor. The audience could not miss this and neither could we.

Moments like that you really have no choice but to laugh along with the rest of them instead of pretending that it’s not happening. And it was really funny. Tevye finally had to leave the stage when complete dropping of his pantaloons seemed imminent. He left with as much flourish and poise for the circumstance and we laughed again. 

I do believe that the audience appreciates us more for that and this was not even the end of the merriment. During intermission there was a marriage proposal in the audience. The man even sang “Wonder of Wonders, Miracles of Miracles” to his sweetheart, with a voice worthy of the show. The rest of us peeked through the curtains from back stage to see this real live performance and we too were caught up in the happiness. That tiny opera house is a gathering of many people and for a few short hours we share something. Two hundred and sixty people laughing at the lead who did not tie his pants up and smiling at the girl who is now engaged, is in my opinion a great way to finish off the week.
 
To Life! Once again,
 
Kendra Hutchinson
Graduate of mentorship level one

To Life!!!

Alright here it is…the student summer blog. I am supposed to tell our readers out there the details and adventures of my summer spent in this tiny town of Rosebud. I am backstage writing this, and the enthusiastic clapping of the audience can be heard as our men boisterously sing L’chaim. We are already at the halfway point of our show run [of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF].

Originally when faced with the 90 performances that were to take place this summer it seemed like a huge mountain to climb. However here we are half done and it seems that another month and a half may not seem so bad after all. It is actually a joy. Yes the songs get stuck in your head and the mercantile gift shop has a habit of playing the soundtrack so the songs echo through the hallways of work and on our thirty degree days that stage is an oven. But I cannot deny the happiness I feel to be a part of such a story. Who wouldn’t want to spend their summer being in a show?

And at this halfway point what have I learned? I have learned to let myself feel, laugh or cry because the show calls for both and even after all these performances I am not beyond being moved. I am constantly surprised at what this show brings forth. I know how to gage the audience. Going to work right before the show does have its benefits, it means I usually get to see and talk to most of the people we are performing for.

I have learned other things as well, things that our patrons are not aware of but in our every day life is essential. I know that the bottom step on the ladder stage right squeaks loudly when stepped on and therefore have the habit of skipping it. (Of course this being said someone might have fixed the step and I would never know!) It is interesting to watch the rest of the cast and their habits. I have started to become familiar with them whether it is the Constable reading on the couch, Perchik contemplating backstage or the fascinating conversations next to the costume repair sheet. Some of the topics we have covered so far include hypnotism, relationships and underwear. I guess this first blog is to tell the world that I am having fun, that I love being a part of Fiddler on the Roof and there are more entries to come.

To Life!!!

Kendra Hutchinson
Graduate of mentorship level one

Highlight Reel: When the Sun Meets the Earth

So we opened April 11!!!! After a week of late – like 11 PM ish – rehearsals we went into opening feeling prepared and nervous, but so ready to no longer be in rehearsals while also doing full time classes! So we are off and more than half way done our run of When the Sun Meets the Earth.

Let’s see, the highlight reel… opening was good, we had a smaller crowd then I would have liked but they were blessed by the show. Thursday (April 17) was a rough show – first show back without rehearsals and such, we all took it as a hint to work a little harder and we have. Allen (the author) came out on April 19 to see the show. He was not really what any of us expected….he was younger than I thought he’d be. And so funny and genuine about our performances, hearing gifts like this from the author of a show you’re working on is a rare and precious gift, and is probably something I will treasure for a long time.

A little boy about 4 came earlier to see the show with his mom. He loved it. But something that he said struck me – he looked at the abuse of the daughter (who I play) in such a child like way that it brought me to tears; he said “The daddy broke the little girl’s heart, and then she forgave him! ” I often have a hard time looking at that scene and wondering how Marianne could forgive her father so instantly…but I got my answer, from a child non the less.

On Thursday April 24 I had a special blessing. There was a little girl, who was handicapped, deaf, and in a wheelchair. She LOVES conflict. In the first scene I have with Scott I have to bend over the edge of the stage and this little girl reached out to me and tried to touch me, it threw me a little, but throughout the show she was kind of an inspiration to keep going for it. She squealed with delight nearly every time I spoke.

April 25 was a spectacular show for the whole cast, we brought the energy and played the lines and the audience responded with loads of laughter and tears. Saturday's show came with the most drama. About 15 minutes into the top of Act Two, the show had to be stopped because there was a medical crisis with one of the audience members, we held for what felt like forever…but finished the show.

Dressing room goodies: Nathan smacking his head on his chair and having a goose egg for the show (this was caused by Angus and his black face make-up), Aaron and his itchy beard, Jonathan's inability to do his own hair, boobs in the face, the charcoal, there are numerous other dressing room shenanigans but here is just a nibble. Needless to say between our backstage antics and this wonderful, blessing of a show….COME SEE IT. There are only 3 more shows left and tickets are selling fast. Blessings….

Sammantha Isaman
Mentorship II Student

The Countdown Begins

So…we open in two weeks. That seems just a little terrifying at this point, but manageable somehow!!! It will never cease to amaze me how different the process of putting up a Theatre 359 show is from main stage. But as much as it is drawn out and the process feels like it takes forever, it seems to bring us together for one common purpose… let's just be better!!! Act better, don’t be so shit-tastic . This show has so many elements that just keep getting added in… the musicians came this weekend… they were AWESOME and it was way less painful than I thought it would be to place them in, they just kind of fit with us (YEAH Aaron and Angus!!!). The run was really good compared to last week's… Paul actually smiled and people laughed, instead of just the big “Oh crap, we’re screwed!” – NO COME, IT’S GOING TO BE GOOD CAUSE WE’RE BETTER NOW!!!! So needless to say let the countdown begin….11 days until opening and 5 more rehearsals.

Bring it on...

Sammantha Isaman
Mentorship II Student
Acting in When the Sun Meets the Earth

NEW YORK, NEW YORK...

Posing in the heart of the Big Apple: Kelsey Krogman (top left), Megan Craig (top right), Belinda Jackson (bottom right), Sammantha Isaman (bottom left), photo credit Paul F. Muir.

We escaped the Alberta deepfreeze just in time to find the weather in New York quite warm, despite some rain and snow. Our time there was spent seeing shows and the sights (like the Mac store on 5th Ave.), and participating in workshops. We audited some classes at HB Studios, home of the quintessential acting textbook Respect for Acting, and saw a play there, Lilian Yuralia, which was like watching a master class in Uta Hagen’s acting principles. We learned some basics of the Alexander Technique at the Neighborhood Playhouse, Sanford Meisner’s school for acting. We revisited some of the scenes from last spring’s Studio Stage production of As You Like It at Shakespeare and Company in Lenox, Massachusetts.

In Toronto, we had the opportunity to explore text and movement under Gerry Trentham’s guidance again; he led an Intersession class with the Mentorship students last spring in Rosebud. I took in some fabulous shows, like David Mamet’s hilarious new play November, about a president on his way out of the Oval Office, and The Seafarer by Conor MacPherson, about two brothers playing cards with the devil. I returned to Rosebud, inspired to play and explore within the work ahead of me.

Kelsey Krogman
Mentorship II Student

Welcome to the first-ever RSA Blog!

So, here's an odd thing...not only is this the first-ever RSA blog, but it's also my first-ever blog! Yes, it's true, Paul F Muir has never blogged in all his forty-something years of running around on the planet...until now. So it seems somehow fitting that my first blog is an RSA blog. So, I still don't really get what a blog is. I've read a blog or two...I remember when Jordan and Eben (former RSA students) went on their big sailing adventure off the coast of Florida, they had a blog, and it was great to hear about their escapades and misadventures as they happened. Maybe that's all I need to know...maybe a blog is just a cool way of saying "journal" or "diary"? I can live with that. And I do like name...BLOG! Very fun!

This RSA blog will be a way for the world to get an inside peak on life in Rosebud. Students and staff will be assigned to blog many of the various activates, shows and events connected with Rosebud School of the Arts. For instance, a student may be asked to blog about the rehearsal process of an Opera House or Studio Stage show, about a specific class, and of course about our Theatre Trips to London, New York, and BC. A director might also be asked to blog some these things from his/her point of view. There will likely be entries about all the other events here in Rosebud like the Budding Playwright's Festival, Choir Concerts, Student Showcases, Final Projects, Performance Nights, Risk Nites, and even the ever popular 15 Minutes of Fame Festival.

So, if you're into knowing what life in like in Rosebud, this is a blog for you to keep an eye on. Stay on top of things in this little hamlet and keep checking back as often as you like.

Thanks you Rosebud School of the Arts for forcing me to stay current and write my first blog!

Go with God!

Paul Muir
Education Director