One Dad's Life

More Shameless Self-Promotion

Actually, the title is a slight misnomer, as I am not directly promoting myself, though I'm heavily involved in the production, "Annie", and play in the orchestra.   I will however feature pics of the REST of my family.

I don't have too much to say that I haven't already said.  YOU MUST GO! I know, I know - you are thinking that amateur theater means BAD, grade-school-like productions.  This could not be further from the truth.  I'd say that for many, the quality and entertainment level is as close to the big touring Broadway shows - we just lack the budget and ticket prices to make it "pro."  The quality is there, though!  I'm certain that the show will exceed your expectations in every way.  Come say hi!

This first shot is a "promo" shot of the two leads - Oliver Warbucks and Annie.   Photo credit goes to Larry Jost.  As much as they look the part, they sound the part, too.  They are both AMAZING singers and are fantastic actors. You'll get chills.

Possibly my favorite scenes in the show opens Act 2.  It's the "Hours of Smiles" radio show featuring Bert Healy and the "lovely" Boylan Sisters.  This is another promo shot, but the old Shure microphones are actually used for the scene and our sound guys really make it sound like an old radio show.  There is so much to watch in this scene you'd have to see the show a few times to catch it all!  What a great bunch of characters.  My wife, Dianne, is the blond in the center.  As you know, she is the opposite of blond and she looks, well, interesting as a blond.  Also, she chain smokes.  Again, the opposite.  I totally love this photo, though!  Photo credit again goes to Larry Jost.

I have so many more (hundreds!) of great pictures I could show you, but this will be the last post I can do before the show is over (waaaaa), so for all of my friends and family members that read this, I'm going to close with a few pics of my family backstage.

First, if you read yesterday's "behind the scenes" post, you know we have a large video monitor in one of our green rooms so the cast can see the show when they aren't on stage, or waiting in the wings.  Here is a shot my wife took backstage featuring both of my daughters on the stage!  Rachel is all the way on the right in this picture, and Rebecca is third from the right.  The adult in the scene is Ms. Hannigan.  Her character is a lush.

Next, here's a self-portrait my wife took backstage of herself and Rebecca.

Finally, in what clearly seems to be a self-portrait from my youngest, a shot of her incredible orphan hair!  BTW, in the background is our tech lead and stage manager, Larry Jost, who took the first two pictures in today's post.  Hi Larry!

Please come and see the show!  The remaining schedule at the time of this post is as follows:

Friday - 7:30 PM, doors open at 7:00, tickets on sale by 6:30 PM, at the latest.

Saturday - 7:30 PM, doors open at 7:00, tickets on sale probably by 4:45 PM.

Sunday - 2:30 PM, Matinee (note different time!), doors open at 2:00, tickets on sale by 7:45 AM and during all church services.

The show is at Christ Memorial Lutheran Church, 5252 S. Lindbergh, St. Louis, MO 63126.  We're in what used to be a Target building, next to Ronnies plaza and in the same building as Incredible Pizza.

For more information (though web sales of tickets are now closed), visit our production company's website at Christ Memorial Productions. 

For MANY more pictures, visit Larry's Shutterfly site by clicking here.  You may also read the last few posts on THIS website. 

I hope to see you there!  I'll be playing keyboards and synths.  Come say hi!

Annie - Behind the Scenes

Unless you've been living under a rock, or perhaps don't read "One Dad's Life" on a regular basis (for reasons that I absolutely can't fathom), you know that we are very busy putting on the show "Annie."  This Friday, Saturday and Sunday is our second (and final) weekend of shows.  Click here for more info, or read the recent two weeks of posts right here for more pictures and info.

Today, I thought I'd give you some behind the scenes shots.  I have lots to share with you, so lets get started!

The excitement starts for the tech crew hours before performance time.  One of the most important tasks is the cleaning and inspection of all the wireless mics.  We use nearly 30 for this show!  The picture below shows our mic table back in the "green room" backstage, and one of our actors getting his mic "installed."

Out in front,  the orchestra gets their instruments and music ready.  It takes a couple of dozen microphones to mic the orchestra.  This is important though, as it allows our violins and other quiet instruments be heard at an appropriate level compared to loud instruments such as trumpets and drum kits!  We can also achieve a nice balance between singers and orchestra.  Both things are VERY important for a professional sounding production.  BTW, that big box contains our drum kit.  Why in a box?  Drums are LOUD, but I prefer acoustic over electronic, hence the big insulated box.  The drummer uses headphones to monitor the singers and rest of the band and orchestra.  My position is behind the double-high pile of keyboards and synths just in front of the drum cage.

Since we don't actually have a theater with wings, set design and set changes are TRICKY.  Our crew has this down to a science, though I suspect they also use a touch of magic to make it all work!  We have incredibly fast set changes, as a result.  This picture is a shot of the set change notes taped backstage.  Though I know you probably can't see it in this scaled down photo, there are notes on the changes that included EXACT times the changes occur - like 8:09 PM!  Did I mention the science part?

Here is the stage set behind the curtain for Act 1, Scene 1.  100% of our sets and furniture are made in-house for each production, including all of these beds for the orphans.  We even made the pillows! An interesting note on all of our furniture: while it may look like a comfy bed (or couch, or ...) they are usually NOT.  Most of the furniture is build quite sturdy and has a hard, flat, non-slip top designed to be danced on and support the weight of a jumping adult!  Some of the furniture is also bolted down, so it can't slide during the moving of sets or strenuous dancing.

Backstage, we have three main dressing rooms (Women, Men, Orphans), plus two "quick-change" rooms located closer to the stage.  There are some costume changes that happen in a minute!  We also have two "green" rooms, where performers wait to go on.  One is open with just a few tables, giving the kids a place to play and do homework between their scenes.  The other is shown in the picture below, where we have a few rows of chairs set up for the performers to wait and a wide-screen video monitor where

they can actually watch the show!  There are also audio monitors in these rooms so they can hear what is going on.  This shot was taken before the show started, so all you see on the video screen is the curtain.  The small photo on the right is a shot of the signs you see taped on the floor.   We have lanes identified (and taped off) in this room that you must stay out of, or risk serious injury.  Between scenes (and during scenes) there is frequently VERY rapid movement of people and props through these areas.  The lanes lead to the dressing rooms, and stage doors.  Also, this room is ringed with tables that hold the smaller props used in each scene by the actors.  STAY OUT OF THE WAY!

Before opening the doors to the eager public, the performers all assemble in the auditorium for mic checks with the sound crew, vocal warm-ups, and any last minute notes and/or changes to be made for the performance.  Minutes after this scene, the performers are banished to their backstage areas, the curtains are closed, and people begin filling the seats!  I took this picture standing on a chair behind my keyboards, so this is my vantage point throughout the show (but a bit lower!).  You can see the stage to the left (with the orphan's beds) and the seating straight ahead and to the right.

If you have any doubts as to how good this show is, I present to you this picture my wife took backstage during the show. These actors are sitting in the previously mentioned green room, watching a scene on the monitor.  Does it look like they are enjoying themselves?  I think it does!  Remember, they are showing THIS reaction even after seeing the same thing dozens and dozens of times!  Think of the reaction you'll have. You owe it to yourself to COME TO THE SHOW!  See you there!

Wordless Wednesday - You Want an Orphan?

Annie in Hannigan's office.  That's the secretary for Mr. Warbucks looking for an orphan to improve his image. Shot from the orchestra "pit" on one of last weekend's performances.  You still have three chances to see it! Click here for ticket information.  Scan down in this blog for more pictures or click here to see over 100 that our stage manager took during Sunday's show.

Tomorrow: behind the scenes!

Opening Night!

As I write this, less than 11 hours remain until our opening night performance of "Annie."

I literally can not wait.  This show, I was smart enough not to go to work on the show days, because I'm absolutely useless, anyway.  All I can think about is doing the show.  The day just crawls.

Last night, we had our "preview" final dress rehearsal and it went really well, with one major technical difficulty - Oliver Warbucks couldn't make it onto the stage for the radio show scene!  What a bummer! The scene is so hysterical.  However, the lock on the door he needed to come through malfunctioned and he was unable to get through the door to the stage!  He was literally trapped a few feet from where he needed to be on stage.  Any alternate route to the stage was too long, and the scene continued without him.

We've made sure this is NOT possible for tonight's opening!

The orchestra was also really tight, despite missing a key musician for the preview.  We'll be in full force tonight for the opener! (full disclosure: I'm playing keyboards)

To hopefully tantalize you into coming to the show, I've included two shots that our stage manager, Larry,  took at Wednesday's rehearsal.  Both are from scenes in the Warbucks mansion.

The first picture shows much of the house staff, with Oliver Warbucks behind his desk and Annie and Grace sitting on the settee.   My wife also appears in this scene, in one of her three roles - this time as a maid in the mansion.  She is the maid on the front right, in the middle of the picture.  She also plays a bum in Hooverville and one of the three singing Boylan sisters in the radio show.  You MUST click on this picture for a better view!

Interesting note on the staging. The chandelier was handmade by our set builders for this show.  It is made up of THOUSANDS of pieces of hand-cut glass that were cut and assembled by the set people! They are NUTS. 

Next, is an action shot of Annie (in the final, famous, Annie outfit) running across the stage.  I'm not exaggerating when I say that you will not find a better Annie, anywhere!  Annie is played by the young Grace Robertson, and she is doing a phenomenal job! Again, click on the photo to enlarge.

Show dates and times are as follows:

• Friday, September 18th - 7:30 PM
• Saturday, September 19th - 7:30 PM
• Sunday, September 20th - 2:30 PM (Matinee)
• Friday, September 25th - 7:30 PM
• Saturday, September 26th - 7:30 PM
• Sunday, September 27th - 2:30 PM (Matinee and final show)

The show is at Christ Memorial Lutheran Church in South County at 5252 S. Lindbergh Blvd, Saint Louis, MO, 63126.  For long-time South County residents, we are in the old Target building, next to Incredible Pizza (our tenants).

I'd recommend getting to the show 30 minutes in advance.  Ticket sales open about 1 hour before the show.  All seats are reserved.  Tickets are also available in the church office between 9 AM and 3 PM, and during any of our church services.  You can get more information, or reserve tickets online by going to the Christ Memorial Productions website.

Sixty-Four Channels of "Annie" Audio

Command central for our production of "Annie."  Also, our video and lighting controls at the far right. Opening THIS FRIDAY.  Buy your tickets now. See last Friday's post for more pics! (scan down, or click here) That is all. 

Out with River City!

Out with River City, Iowa....

 

... and in with New York, New York...

... for our fall production of "Annie!"   It's hard to believe, but in exactly one week from today, it is opening night for our fall production of "Annie."  Things are going very well, and tickets are selling fast.  This is good, because if tickets stop selling, we stop doing shows.  Funny how that works.  A couple of weeks ago we held a 5-year anniversary of our production company.  Our orphans from the show had a surprise performance of "Hard Knock Life" during the celebration and wowed the crowd.  Below is a shot of our Annie, Grace Robertson, getting a costume check, with some of the New York bums in the background.

The Grand Finale of the five year anniversary bash was "the shaving of Oliver Warbucks."  You can't have an Oliver Warbucks with hair, now, could you?

You don't want to miss this production!  Our last show, Music Man, sold out for the final performance!  This year, we have added two shows and split them over two weekends.  Click the graphic below for more information and a link to buy tickets.  You'll be glad you did.  If you come to the show, please come say "hi" to me. I'll be playing the pile of Kurzweil keyboards in the middle of the orchestra.

 

Shipoopi! One Last Time.

If I've been lucky enough to have you reading here for a while, you know that my family works on a lot of musicals.  This all started when our church did a "One Time Only" production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat"  as a way to get the community into our new location - an old Target store on South Lindbergh.

Well, much to our surprise, the production was a HUGE hit, as night after night we looked at the lines of people, reaching out into the parking lot, streaming in to see the show.  Well, we were hooked.  We've been producing both sacred and secular production ever since.

In 2008, we produced our 4th fall musical (the time of year we have settled on doing a Broadway show).  In 2008, we did "Music Man."

Again, it was a huge success by any measure, and best of all, we were all really proud of the work we had done, which involved somewhere around 150 people, both from our church and the community.  This year, we learned that we received 12 "Arts for Life" nominations for the show, including the big one "Best Large Ensemble Musical."  No matter what else happened, our show was selected as one of the five best of the year!  We also tied one other theater company in most award nominations.  The "Arts for Life" awards are basically a St. Louis version of the "Tony's" for amateur theater.  It's thrilling to receive the recognition these nominations provide from the theater community!

Finally, last weekend (the weekend after Father's Day), the award show was upon us.

 

The awards show was held at the beautiful "Sheldon Concert Hall" smack in the middle of the theater district in Mid-town St. Louis.

 

Interestingly, this year I had decided not to rent a tux to save a bit of money (these formal events can be costly!) and go with my suit, instead.  However, at the last minute I learned that my suit was in no condition to be used and was in a bit of a bind!  Believe it or not, I ended up BUYING a Clavin Klein tux.  This now expands my mostly t-shirt wardrobe to include t-shirts AND A TUX.  Well, over time, this will save me some money, right?  The rest of the family is smashing as always.  This picture was taken just before going in for the awards show, in a reception area.  That's Rebecca, Rachel, and Dianne in the front, and me in the back.  You didn't actually think I looked like Micky Mouse, did you?

 

Since my wife, Dianne, won an award last year.  She was a presenter this year.   Here is a fuzzy, low-light picture of her opening the envelope to reveal the winner from her category this year!

 

Since we were nominated as best musical, we got to do a production number during the awards show.  We did a combination of "76 Trombones", "Sincere" (the barbershop quartet), and then "Shipoopi."  In the actual show, the "Shipoopi" dance had over 80 people in it!  Fortunately, not everyone could come, because they would not have fit on the small Sheldon stage.  We DID have around 30 performers though, and they BROUGHT THE HOUSE DOWN.  It was incredible.  We looked like "best musical" contenders!  My wife is in the middle of this shot, back row, just under the video of our program cover.  My daughter, Rebecca, is actually on the floor in front of the stage, but you can't see her very well in this exposure.

This shot is the BIG FINISH of the dance.  They had just yelled "Shipoopi!" for the last time. <sniff>

Eventually, we got down to the final award presentation for "Best Large Ensemble Musical."  As it turned out, we did not win.  "Big - The Musical" won, and it looked like it was also an incredible show.  They were also the OTHER show that had 12 nominations.  They ended up walking away with three awards, and we received two.

Our award winners were Bethany Poppitz for "Best Actress in a non-singing role" and Kristi Eberley for "Best Lighting Design." Congrats to everyone!

Afterward, there was a nice reception where we mingled with the rest of the St. Louis Theater Community, including a number of Muny performers that were in "Annie" at The Muny.  The shot above is "Mint Julep" on the left (you've read about her here before! Click the link!) and my daughter Rebecca on the right.

Obviously, you want to be part the excitement this year, right? Well we will be doing "Annie" ourselves for two weeks in September.  Tickets go on sale August 8th.  For more information, click through to the Christ Memorial Productions website!

Wordless Wednesday - Annie: Day 1

Although "behind the scenes" work has been going on for some time, last night was the first cast rehearsal for this fall's musical from our production company, Christ Memorial Productions. We're doing "Annie" this September (for two weeks - 18th, 19th, 20th, 25th, 26th, 27th!) and boy did the Muny set the bar high this past week! Their production of "Annie" this year was the best I've seen.  Still, I promise that you will not be disappointed with our production.  Anyone who has ever seen one of ours will tell you the same!

Here are a couple of shots I took at the initial cast rehearsal.  You know the drill, all shots available light, Nikon D60, 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 kit lens.

FDR's wheelchair.  How awesome is that?  As far as you know, this really could BE his wheelchair!

...and here's the cast!  Doing their first read-through.

We got kids!  You wouldn't believe how many talented kids are right here in St. Louis!

A part of the world's greatest tech crew. Someday, they will invent awards just to give them to this group.  How many tech crews show up at the first read through?  OURS! They rock.  Seriously.

Believe it or not, this really is our lighting director, Kristi.  She HAS won an award!  If you look closely at this picture, you can see why she is so awesome at lighting.  She's pretty much a colorful blur!

Leaping Lizards!

This weekend was fun for more reasons than just wearing a Burger King paper crown most of the day Sunday, though I did that, too.  This weekend, our daughters had a Studio Show from the performing arts studio they attend - "Leaping Lizards Performing Arts Studio."

Although these sorts of things are generally known best for their tediousness, I actually look forward to the shows from this studio.  This studio is not centered around the dance competition circuit, and the students (both kids and adults) really seem to have fun with their performances and each other.  I know that both of our kids really enjoy doing the show, and I'm pretty sure it's not just because of the zebra cakes (now a future hit song!) backstage!

Each dance class presents a dance,  plus there are also some solo dances and even vocal solos!

This particular year, the show was centered around 80's music and style, and was called "The 80's Lizard Show."   And, yeah, they really try to work that whole "Lizard" theme into everything.  Rebecca was in about 8 dances, due to being in two classes (a jazz class and a ballet class) and plus she is in the studio's touring group, which did a bunch of numbers from "Grease" to frame the two acts in the show.   Rachel is in a single class that covers jazz, ballet, and tap.   Here are a few shots I took at the dress rehearsal on Friday.

 

This is the grand finale of Rachel's dance to the "Stray Cat Strut."  They are "clawing" at the audience! This dance was very cute, and I was impressed with how well Rachel did.  Rachel is on the far left, and her and her classmates were positively beaming the whole dance.  It was funny!

 

This is Rebecca performing in a Janet Jackson's "Control."   Though you can't see it in this photo, she loved this costume due to the chains that were on it.  I'm pretty sure she did some arm-length self-portraits of this one!  I had a lot of fun taking low-light pictures at the rehearsal, and played around a lot with silhouettes and blurring, which are two of my favorite things to do with photography.  To me, it seems like dancing has really clicked with Rebecca this year.  She was incredible in this dance and it was quite tricky, it seemed to me.  Oh, and it's just coincidence that both of these dances were dark with red lighting.  There was a lot more variety to the show that it would appear!

 

Rebecca's ballet class did a dance to the song "Hallelujah."  I lucked out and could take a long exposure where Rebecca (brightly lit in the center) was standing relatively still with dancers dancing behind her.  Her friend in the right in this picture has been taking dance classes with Rebecca since they were wee lasses!

 

Of course, after the show, you simply MUST get your picture with the Studio mascot - The Lizard.  All in all, it was another great show!

First Solo!

On Friday, I mentioned our Good Friday Passion musical that we were doing as part of our Good Friday service.  This is a musical with a small amount of dialogue, full orchestra, and choir, along with several soloists.

This was very exciting, this year, for the "One Dad's Life" family, because my wife Dianne was the producer/director/costume person...and also because our 7-year old, Rachel, was going to be singing a solo in the production!

The trick with this solo is that it is a brief couple of lines, inside another song the choir and orchestra are doing.  So, the choir sings their part, the music modulates into another melody over four measures, and Rachel sings - by herself, with the entire orchestra playing.  The measure her part is over, the whole choir comes in.  So, she has to pick up her cues, sing exactly with the orchestra and then the choir comes in. Nerve-racking for a 7-year old, right?

Well, we arrived early to make sure that there were no problems, and that all was in place for the service that contained this musical.  At the time we got there, a family oriented service was going on, so we attended most of that.  During what would be the sermon time, all the kids gathered up at the front and the pastor talks to them at their level about the significance and events of Good Friday.

Rachel would NOT go up in front!

Gregg: Why don't you want to go up there?

Rachel: (acting very shy) I just don't.

G: Are you shy?

R: (nods head)

G: You are KIDDING me, right?  In two hours, you are going to be standing up there, by yourself, in front of HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of people, singing a solo with the orchestra!  How can you be too nervous to go up there now?

R: (shakes head, shrugs shoulders)

G: Is it so different?

R: (shakes head in affirmation, vigorously) Dad, THAT is TOTALLY different!

G: Really!?

R: Yes, it is. I'm not going up there without a drama going on!

Kids, these days!  However, we are VERY proud of her for doing the solo, which she pretty much ROCKED on!  She can actually sing on pitch and keep time with the orchestra, which isn't bad for a 7-year old at all.

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Photo credit: Larry Jost.  I was running sound for the orchestra and soloists, so couldn't get one in, even though my camera was at arms length from me!  Click on the photo to enlarge. Rachel is the little one in the shot...just in case you couldn't figure that out.