ok, I'll tell you

If you haven't already guessed, these people are the actual Anna Leonowens, King Mongkut, and his highest ranking wife.
I've heard that MANY people are planning on auditioning! Super! I hope they will also be able to attend the meeting on the 29th of Nov. There will be an opportunity them to see audition material, and to sign up for a dance workshop in December. Looking forward to it.

Do you know who these people are?

Remember, this is a true story.

I'm not looking for yul brenner!

The part of the king is tricky sometimes for actors who would like to audition because almost everyone has an image of Yul Brenner as the King. Bald. Well King Mongkut may or may not have been bald so relax, you wont HAVE to shave your head! You will have to show us a mature ruler, used to complete obedience but sincerely trying to bring the country he loves into the modern and westernized era. It IS a singing role but more in a character type style. He is in a tough place. On the one hand he wants Siam to take her place in the modern world but he also knows he is potentialy going against hundreds of years of a traditional monarchy. Mongkut was a highly educated man himself having spent some of his youth as a monk. His interaction with Anna is a struggle, sometimes humerous, to understand what is important from HER standpoint. All in all we LIKE him. We sympathize with him and we we want him to be a real feeling, breathing human being. At the time of the action he is any where from 50-70 years old. Meaning stage age of course. He is in his final years of power.

let's get blocking!

So Act I sc.1 is on paper. Paper and my little clothespin people! I draw the over head look of the stage then move my clothespins around. I'm excited because I have figured out a way to have actors just "appear" on stage without a visible entrance from the wings!Cant wait to try it with real bodies. The THT is a beautiful theater with a potentially nightmarish logistical problem for this show. Such limited wing space , coupled with hoop skirts, and a huge cast are going to add an element of engineering skill that I am looking forward to experimenting with. We will be using an entrance from the house for our boatmen to approach but after that all the action takes place in the palace. We're going for colorful and oppulent with a minimum of complicated set pieces and NO actual set changes. Stay tuned!

King and I, let the splendor begin!

well....I dont know how many of you, if any, have ever looked at this page before but, as I mentioned to begin with, ANY artistic endeavor is FAIR GAME! So... I'm about to embark on a blow by blow about the latest artistic project which is a cooperative affair with the Middlebury Community Players! The King and I! Last night we had a super meeting beginning with watching the ballet. This is my FAVORITE part of this show. I ALWAYS wanted to dance "Simon"! Anyway, lots of creative "stuff" was set in motion last night. This is a BIG cast that we are going to reduce in total number by doubling. I'm very excited about the pre-audition meeting on the 29th of Nov. It's not required to attend in order to audition but it will answer a lot of pertinent questions not to mention the fun thing! The enthusiasm of the team is catchy so be forwarned!I can hardly wait to start rehearsals