Cinderella is one of the most popular and well renown fairy tales in existence. It has been done over and over and over and over and over and over again with only slight variations. A beautiful yet misunderstood girl gets mistreated by an evil stepparent and often very ugly stepsisters, usually the mother. On the night of the largest social event of the year the step-evil finds a way of making sure that the girl does not get to go. While the girl is crying and generally feeling sorry for herself something magical happens (a fairy godmother, a magic tree, magic birds, crazy inventor/artist, talking mice...ect.) and the girl is given a mere few hours to go to the event in her amazing dress and form of transportation made from a common garden gourd. At the event she meets a prince who falls in love with her in a matter of seconds and all to quickly the time is up and she has to run out and accidentally leaves a shoe behind. The next day the prince (who is almost never given a name) scours the entire kingdom/state/country to find her and eventually he finds the one foot in the entire kingdom that fits the magic (often glass) shoe, and they get married and live forever in bliss.
Now I could start by saying "WHAT A FREAKING LOAD!" and I will.
WHAT A FREAKING LOAD!
First of all, the story is based solely on physical appearance. A girl who a prince wouldn't look twice at her in her natural habitat gets a pretty dress, takes a bath, and puts her hair up and suddenly he wants to spend the rest of his life with her. I mean superficial much?
Also, the evil and ugly step-things. I do understand that there are evil step-things in the real world. I really do, but not all of them. Also, why do the stepsisters always have to be ugly? Why does Cinderella have to be beautiful? What would happen if everyone in the story was average looking?
Here are some other strange questions that have popped into my head:
Why is the prince never given a name?
How is it that in an entire kingdom that only Cinderella's foot fits the shoe?
Why glass shoes? They would be uncomfortable and dangerous.
Last thing before I go...
How come we, as a society, teach our children to depend on the magic fix-all? Sadly no fairy godmothers come to our aide when we cry, no mice come to make us a dress, no prince gets a magic shoe that will only fit on your foot. Really, we should just save us from ourselves.
Sarah K
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Gotta Have a Gimmick
So I am trying to add my ideas and education to the FCTAC before I leave town. Where they need the most help is advertising for the non-junior plays. The straight plays and the bi-annual Christmas musical (which, by the way is "Scrooge" because they already own it). So I pull out one of my books during the meeting to mark the advertisement page and they all start giving me weird looks. I just kept it on my lap, just in case and continued with the meeting. I am a technical, in the background kind of person and I am still the best actor in the room.
Still, I am getting off course. The point of today's post is the gimmick. Selling a production is, and I am ashamed to say it, a lot like selling a politician. There is a lot of word-of mouth, getting the information out, and dumb signs all over town but the most important thing is the slogan. For Obama it was 'Hope' for others it was 'A Change to Normalcy' and 'A Stronger America'. Some of these worked and some didn't. Still the concept is the same, and once you find something that works, use it. Just stay on your toes and be ready to change it when it doesn't work anymore.
When coming up with a gimmick do NOT get the Korean War vets who sit in the local coffee shop all day talking about the glory days to come in and give their ideas. Don't get me wrong, they are great people, and they did a great service to not only our country but they are not very creative. Instead, call up the most creative people you know including the Artistic Director, scenic designers, the art student who hangs out in front of the theatre trying to copy the brick patterns, everyone. Get them all to think of ideas and draw up basics. Then all of you agree on what to use.
Once you have a gimmick, use it in EVERYTHING. The handbills, the window cards, the flyers and postcards and window displays. Don't let the public forget what, when and where the production is. Plus modern technology is AMAZING and social networking can go a very long way if you do it right.
Well, now that I have bored you nearly to death, I want to add some things:
- Don't ever let the old fogies on the board get you down. They just don't get some of the newer ways of doing things.
- Keep up with your colors. Bright is beautiful and no one will forget you.
- Stay up to date on your promises so no one gets left in a rut.
See y'all later!
Sarah K
Still, I am getting off course. The point of today's post is the gimmick. Selling a production is, and I am ashamed to say it, a lot like selling a politician. There is a lot of word-of mouth, getting the information out, and dumb signs all over town but the most important thing is the slogan. For Obama it was 'Hope' for others it was 'A Change to Normalcy' and 'A Stronger America'. Some of these worked and some didn't. Still the concept is the same, and once you find something that works, use it. Just stay on your toes and be ready to change it when it doesn't work anymore.
When coming up with a gimmick do NOT get the Korean War vets who sit in the local coffee shop all day talking about the glory days to come in and give their ideas. Don't get me wrong, they are great people, and they did a great service to not only our country but they are not very creative. Instead, call up the most creative people you know including the Artistic Director, scenic designers, the art student who hangs out in front of the theatre trying to copy the brick patterns, everyone. Get them all to think of ideas and draw up basics. Then all of you agree on what to use.
Once you have a gimmick, use it in EVERYTHING. The handbills, the window cards, the flyers and postcards and window displays. Don't let the public forget what, when and where the production is. Plus modern technology is AMAZING and social networking can go a very long way if you do it right.
Well, now that I have bored you nearly to death, I want to add some things:
- Don't ever let the old fogies on the board get you down. They just don't get some of the newer ways of doing things.
- Keep up with your colors. Bright is beautiful and no one will forget you.
- Stay up to date on your promises so no one gets left in a rut.
See y'all later!
Sarah K
Friday, August 16, 2013
The Importance of Being Smart
Ug. It has been over two weeks since I last wrote in, and I apologize to anyone out there who actually cares. I am working with my local theatre and they have given me some brilliant incites, not all of them good. I learned that even though they have been doing movies for many years, none of them watch the box office reports. I was the only one in the room who knew where Despicable Me 2 landed on the current weekend chart.
I mean if you want to run a movie house than you should know about movies right? The movies supplement the live theatre and in turn the live productions entertain and educate the community. It is the only standing live theatre in Preston, and as such it should be more careful about how they present themselves to the people who shell out the money.
Anyway, that is not the point. The point is that I signed up to do the thank you to the community because it not only should be done, but no one else was willing to do it. September is coming up and that is the annual board meeting when new officers are elected and maybe, just maybe, I can get on. Here's to hope. They are also looking for an executive secretary who would be paid $300 to $500 a month, but sadly, I cannot do that because they are looking for someone who will say around for a while. :(
Oh well, maybe next time.
Sarah K
I mean if you want to run a movie house than you should know about movies right? The movies supplement the live theatre and in turn the live productions entertain and educate the community. It is the only standing live theatre in Preston, and as such it should be more careful about how they present themselves to the people who shell out the money.
Anyway, that is not the point. The point is that I signed up to do the thank you to the community because it not only should be done, but no one else was willing to do it. September is coming up and that is the annual board meeting when new officers are elected and maybe, just maybe, I can get on. Here's to hope. They are also looking for an executive secretary who would be paid $300 to $500 a month, but sadly, I cannot do that because they are looking for someone who will say around for a while. :(
Oh well, maybe next time.
Sarah K
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