One Dad's Life

One for the Bucket List - Godspell

I haven't actually fallen off the face of the earth - turns out the thing is technically a GLOBE, plus it has no face except in limited areas like Mount Rushmore (which you probably could fall off of).   Additionally,  as nearly every school child knows, only the moon has a face. Duh!

In any case, I'm resurfacing here briefly because I thought you'd all like to know that this weekend, I'm checking something off my bucket list - playing in Godspell!

This isn't just any version of Godspell, though, nope!  We are doing the same score from the 2001 Tour.  This is significant in a number of ways:

1. The original was created with the contemporary folk/rock music of 1970.
2. It's sounding a little dated.
3. Alex Lacamoire re-wrote the score, modernizing the sound while retaining all the classic melodies.
4. Stephen Schwartz loves it.
5. You can't get the rights for it.
6. I really wanted to do this version (hence, BUCKET LIST)
7. I wrote to Stephen Schwartz's office asking about it.
8. Stephen Schwartz's office put me in contact with the composer and music director (Alex Lacamoire) of the 2001 Tour.
9. Alex Lacamoire turns out to be a very personable guy!
10. We work out a little deal, lawyers are briefly involved, money changes hands and he grants us the rights to use his score!
11. Alex sends me his score in a big box from FedEX.
12. This weekend we PERFORM it!

So, you see, it is really quite extraordinary and you really don't want to miss it!  We have a great cast, a great crew, and some of my favorite local musicians making up a killer rock band! You may never get another chance to see this.  Why miss it? 

The performance is for three dates ONLY.  When it's gone, it's gone.

Tonight, Friday July 15th, 2011 at 7:30 PM,  tomorrow night, Saturday July 16th, 2011 at 7:30 PM, and Sunday afternoon, July 17th, 2011 at 2:00 PM.

The show will be at Christ Memorial Lutheran Church at 5252 S. Lindbergh Blvd. 63126 (the old Target Building in South County next to Ronnie's plaza!)  Tickets range from $10-$20 and are available at the door.  Tickets will be for sale starting 60 minutes prior to show time.

Complete information is available at www.cmpshows.org.  Click on the links for "Godspell."

You can come see me in person, I'm the guy buried up to my neck in instruments, and find out what I've been up to!

Congratulations, Cast and Crew of "Annie"

This will be old news for some people, but since I know that a whole group of people watches this blog for information JUST LIKE THIS, I'd share it anyway.  Plus, as a bonus, I've included a picture of me in a tuxedo.  You don't see that everyday!

This past Sunday was St. Louis' annual "Arts for Life" best performance awards show.  If you don't know what that is, this is where all the St. Louis theater people dress up in tuxedos and fancy dresses, then show up at this big dinner party and hug each other endlessly while acting surprised to see everyone there! It's tremendously fun, actually.

Oh, and then there is the awards show portion of the evening.  This part is like a local "Tony" awards show...or any other awards show you've seen on TV.  Local amateur musical theater groups are nominated in a number of categories for their shows of the previous year.  So this particular event was honoring the musicals that were produced in 2009.

Our production company, Christ Memorial Productions (CMP), was honored to have received 16 nominations for our fall 2009 production of "Annie."  Out of those 16 nominations, we took home 2 awards:  one for Actress in a Cameo Role - Kristen Heard as "Star to Be", and another for outstanding juvenile performance - Marissa Pineda as "Molly."

There are three things that I am very proud of for CMP related to these awards:

1. In the past two years, we've received a breathtaking 28 nominations!
2. In each of the past two years, we've been nominated for Best Large Ensemble Musical Production - the coveted "Best Musical" award!
3. As of the last Sunday, our show "Annie" had won the popular vote on the Arts for Life website for best show!  People like us! They really like us!

I think this is a great testament to the hard work and dedication that all of our cast, crew, and volunteers put in for each of these shows.  Putting on our fall production every year is certainly the high light of my year.

Since we were nominated for one of the "Best Musical" awards, we get to perform at the show, too! This year, a portion of the orphans (those who could attend) and Burt Healy performed (by request) the number "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile."  I just stumbled on a picture from this performance at the awards show on the website, too.  If you click here you can see Rachel on the very left (partially cut off) and Rebecca 4th from left.

It is a cliche, but it IS actually an honor to be nominated.  These shows that are put together are incredible.  You can't complain about who actually GETS the awards each year, because everyone is so deserving.  St. Louis has an amazing and prolific theater community, and I'm happy to be involved with local theater.

As promised, here is the picture of me (oh, and the rest of the family) all dressed up.  I don't do this for many things, so enjoy it while you can!  Believe it or not, I actually own the tux!

 

Left to right, myself, Gregg, proprietor of "One Dad's Life", my youngest daughter Rachel, my wife Dianne, and my oldest daughter, Rebecca.

That's it for now, see you next year at the show.  HUGS!!!

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!