From Chelsea Cunningham, senior theatre major and director of the upcoming UNISTA production of Best of Broadway:
The cast of Best of Broadway performed three successful pre-show gigs this weekend at the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center. We performed 30 minutes of music before each performance of the National Tour of Annie, grabbing the attention of many theatre-goers. Spectators clapped along with the songs while members of the Best of Broadway team passed out postcards with show information on it. Ticket sales increased following these performances.
What's more, several cast members of Annie came to watch our pre-show Sunday night, saying that they were excited for the opportunity to hear other people sing. Last night, Annie cast members listened again - some coming right out to the lobby and others listening at the end of the hallway near their Green Room. I had the opportunity to introduce myself to them and they spoke praisingly of the talent of the ensemble, even pointing out several Best of Broadway cast members that they thought should audition professionally. One Annie ensemble member ended up asking me if we'd come to his dressing room and let him take a picture with us!
Attached is a photo of the Best of Broadway cast posing with Alex (front, blue sweater) who is an ensemble member in Annie, and with Amanda Balon (Annie) and Mikey the Dog (Sandy).
Thanks for your continuing support of Best of Broadway! We are working to make this a most successful production. For more information, continue to visit www.bestofbroadwayunista.com.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Monday, November 12, 2007
November
Sorry it's been a few weeks. Numerous times I've composed entries mentally but finding the time to actually type them out has been a little more difficult. Sometimes I wish I could simply project my thoughts directly onto the page. Of course I'd have to then find the time to edit.
Anyway, Cloud 9 and Midsummer closed last week. Both had very successful runs, playing to enthusiastic audiences.
Auditions for Death of a Salesman were held last week. Seventeen majors had their auditions recorded and sent to Larry Paulsen, the director. Call-backs will be held after Thanksgiving. Our stage manager Vanessa is currently putting together a list of dates relating to the production and collecting schedules in order to arrange a conference call for a design meeting before the end of the semester.
On Friday afternoon, Eric Lange, our department head, took five students to the Iowa Thespian conference in Davenport. Richard Glockner and I joined them on Saturday. Katy and Chelsea lead workshop on musical theatre auditions; Eric lead one on lighting design; and Mikey, Scott, and Briton on warm-up techniques and games. Richard attended auditions to scout for potential students and I staffed our table in the high school hall, answering questions about our program. We also talked to five alum who are now teaching and a former colleague now in Iowa City. I have to admit that I spent much of last week considering begging out of the event as I wanted to spend a Saturday at home for the first time in several weeks. But in the end, I'm happy that I went. It was nice to see the former students and to get out of town for awhile. And the reality is, I would have probably ended up helping out with the storage moving that was also happening on Saturday afternoon here in Cedar Falls.
Progress continues on The Crucible. During this morning's production meeting, we spent time going over the scenic design to determine how to make it fit the financial and labor resources assigned to the project. Later, several conversations were held to determine how best to accommodate the scenic design needs of the two productions currently rehearsing in the Strayer-Wood Theatre. In addition to the rehearsals for The Crucible, UNISTA's (UNI Student Theatre Assocation) production of the musical revue, The Best of Broadway, will be performing on the Strayer-Wood stage the weekend after Thanksgiving. The lastest word that I've heard is that a compromise acceptable to both production teams has been reached.
Earlier this evening, I spent about 30 minutes ordering perusal copies of several musicals in consideration for next season, including Urinetown, Spin: A Musical Myth, A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine, The Apple Tree and Little Shop of Horrors. My next task for the evening is to finish reading Tales of the Lost Formicans, a play that Richard is directing a workshop production of early next semester.
Anyway, Cloud 9 and Midsummer closed last week. Both had very successful runs, playing to enthusiastic audiences.
Auditions for Death of a Salesman were held last week. Seventeen majors had their auditions recorded and sent to Larry Paulsen, the director. Call-backs will be held after Thanksgiving. Our stage manager Vanessa is currently putting together a list of dates relating to the production and collecting schedules in order to arrange a conference call for a design meeting before the end of the semester.
On Friday afternoon, Eric Lange, our department head, took five students to the Iowa Thespian conference in Davenport. Richard Glockner and I joined them on Saturday. Katy and Chelsea lead workshop on musical theatre auditions; Eric lead one on lighting design; and Mikey, Scott, and Briton on warm-up techniques and games. Richard attended auditions to scout for potential students and I staffed our table in the high school hall, answering questions about our program. We also talked to five alum who are now teaching and a former colleague now in Iowa City. I have to admit that I spent much of last week considering begging out of the event as I wanted to spend a Saturday at home for the first time in several weeks. But in the end, I'm happy that I went. It was nice to see the former students and to get out of town for awhile. And the reality is, I would have probably ended up helping out with the storage moving that was also happening on Saturday afternoon here in Cedar Falls.
Progress continues on The Crucible. During this morning's production meeting, we spent time going over the scenic design to determine how to make it fit the financial and labor resources assigned to the project. Later, several conversations were held to determine how best to accommodate the scenic design needs of the two productions currently rehearsing in the Strayer-Wood Theatre. In addition to the rehearsals for The Crucible, UNISTA's (UNI Student Theatre Assocation) production of the musical revue, The Best of Broadway, will be performing on the Strayer-Wood stage the weekend after Thanksgiving. The lastest word that I've heard is that a compromise acceptable to both production teams has been reached.
Earlier this evening, I spent about 30 minutes ordering perusal copies of several musicals in consideration for next season, including Urinetown, Spin: A Musical Myth, A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine, The Apple Tree and Little Shop of Horrors. My next task for the evening is to finish reading Tales of the Lost Formicans, a play that Richard is directing a workshop production of early next semester.
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