Shake it!, Grove it!, Stomp it!, Move it!........

Rehearsals are continuing to move along, as Assassins, another show that is part of the 2011 Blue Ridge Summer Theatre Festival begun it's rehearsal process last night. Next week we will be full steam ahead as Twelfth Night will kick in and we will have our entire cast and crew on site.

This week has been a good one as our amazing director Geoff arrived on site and has been finessing and working with the show to take it to another level and continue to tighten it up and improve things. We are mid-week and of course there is more to do, but he says we are in a good place, and I believe we continue to get better each time we run or work a scene (at least I hope so!)

One thing is for sure, I have laughed harder this week than in a long time, I mean the kind of laughing where you can't stop and when you do, it's not long before someone giggles a bit and we start all over again. This show is one that is so much fun, and has so much energy to it. As we continue to get more familiar with where we should be on stage and what we should say when, we are making new discoveries about ourselves and these unique characters that we have been given the privilege to play.

As more and more elements continue to get added (costumes, props, etc...) the show really is beginning to come alive and Bad Bad Island is starting to show itself though it's dare I say "zany" inhabitants. Although I must admit, "Rosa" is definitely doing her best to show us "bad bad's" what it means to be nice and respectable. Not sure what I mean or perhaps you are interested in learning more about what happens......well I guess you better make sure to get your tickets for one of the performances taking place June 1-5 (check out here for more information).

I want to take a moment here, and publicly thank my fellow cast mates for 1. being totally rad, and     2. for being completely awesome. They are so cool in fact that they surprised me with a cake on Tuesday for my birthday. It was completely unexpected and incredibly thoughtful- thanks guys - you really made me feel special that day (and thank you Walter for your expert artwork on the cake) :)

We are gearing up to head out to perform at some of the local schools next week, and we are pretty jazzed about it. It will be fun adapting to new environments as each school set up will be different. We will be spending some time this weekend figuring out exactly how we will present at each individual school. We are looking forward to meeting the students and hopefully some of them will come see us when we perform at Sweet Briar as well. I know we will see you there too! Right? RIGHT! (click here to get info on tickets). I promise this production is getting more and more fun each day, and I am looking forward to seeing what the rest of the rehearsal process will result in.

Keep checking back for more reports as we continue plowing through rehearsals and head into the actual performances, I am sure you won't want to miss a minute!!

Till next time~

Cheers!
MAH
(Company Manager)