getting to know you night

Fabulous turn out for last night's "getting to know you" meeting! If you were unable to make it, fear not! All pertinent information is available on the MCP web site and you may ask any of the team any and all questions you have. We talked about the auditions, at Mary Hogan School remember, we talked about rehearsal scheduling and we had a demonstration of how to cow tow! If you are even maybe/ kinda/sorta thinking about auditioning we encourage you to go for it. Get the materials off the web site, wear comfortable clothes and pull all the stops out. I LOVE auditioners! It is NEVER a personal accessment of your talent, ability, or looks. Getting cast is a combination of will you "fit" (height, age, etc.) with all the other potential people in the cast. Yes, you will need to sing but, I know right now that many if not ALL of you will be able to sing. Once again it's not a personal judgement on whether or not you are a "good" singer but rather will your voice, at this time, be the closest to what we invision for the role. This is a wonderful show with an exotic look and feeling for us all to explore. You may have heard that you will HAVE to dye your hair for this show. Well of course we cannot INSIST that anyone do this and you certainly dont have to for auditions but, we ARE talking about asian people here. We cannot afford to buy wigs for a cast of this size. (45-50) Check the web site for more information about how we may have to make this work out for all concerned. With the wonderful turn out from last night we know this is going to be a great cast and a great show!

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

Clementine emerging!

Here is my latest commission piece, a bloodhound named Clementine. She's a great girl, had a fun day photographing her for reference shots. I decided to put her in a spot in the garden that her owner tells me is verboten for her! I t is going to be interesting because in the spring when I took the pics she was in the process of shedding her winter coat but her owner wants her portrait to show her summer coat. She is an unusual bloodhound because her coloring is black and red. So a photo was sent later showing the actual brightness of her coat. She was a very personable dog and as I work on her I feel the cozy presence she exudes.