I was just staring off into space, like I happen to do a lot in the real world and I remembered when I was doing Alice in Wonderland Jr. in the community theatre at home. I was leading a group of children in the green room in a song and the ever helpful parents (they are the Mama Rose type of mothers found in my not yet posted list of people you might meet in the theatre world) had to stop me from giving the children a vocabulary. I was trying to explain what a preview was and why the theatre did not do them when the mother said, "They don't really need to know that," and tried to lead them from there.
I have a lot of my own opinions and I do not like getting pushed around but in a later conversation with the other mothers in the group I learned something I already knew about the small little town where I grew up. "Never Be Better Than You Already Are" is the motto of many members of the community and the attitude is frequently annoying and contagious. I do not know if they realize it or not but sometimes this mindset gets placed into positions of power and there is nothing you can do about it except educate the next generation.
ANYWAY, so off point, what I wanted to write about was why, after being brainwashed by this community theatre, did I go back after I was educated? I will tell you: because it was an experience.
Not all theatres are the same, community theatres doubly so but they all have some things in common:
- almost everything is done with volunteer work
- the actors usually have no more than their high school drama class and this theatre for experiance
- doughnuts and pizza are always welcome
Sure, they tend to be unprofessional, unorganized and run by people who would be better off running a liquor store or mom and pop shop. There is always the mother who joins the board because she played Clara in the nutcracker every year until she had three kids and grew taller than the eldest male dancer in the town who wants her children, no matter if they are talented or not, in the lead of every production. The smell of stale popcorn is never gone and every actor thinks they know better than anyone else. Any male part over the age of 27 was coerced or guilted into auditioning (or in reality just showing up to sing). Nearly every production will be a musical because they sell better than straight plays (ones with no music). I am not even going to do my usual rant about the sound and light person who barely knows how to use a light switch exclaiming to everyone that they are the only person in the entire town qualified to use the switchboard and no one else is allowed to use it. The props and many of the sets are made of cardboard for every production and everything has at least twelve layers of paint on them.
So why should anyone get involved? Easy. The experience may be stressful and nobody will listen to a thing you say even if you are Steven Spielberg and have brought an entire film crew with you but it will make anyone willing to learn into a better member of the theatrical community. I learned things that worked and a lot of things that didn't. I was a stage manager, assistant director, and technical director of a triple-casted production of Alice in Wonderland Jr. where every actor (all 138 of them) was under the age of sixteen. I learned most of their names, their acting abilities, their mothers, how to produce a chaotic production, and then to never, EVER triple-cast a jr. production by age (or to triple-cast at all). These are only a few things and I wasn't even wearing a costume.
I do encourage getting involved with Community Theatres BUT do not keep bad habits. Try as hard as possible to make it more professional with every production you assist with or act in. Be the voice of change in making them better.
Amen. :) :P
Sarah K
Friday, February 28, 2014
Saturday, February 22, 2014
The Success of a Play
What is the difference between the success of a play/musical and the success of a blockbuster movie?
That's right: ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
Success can be measured by different things depending on who you are and what you want but when it comes to the theatrical world there are two things that make the production a success: You can pay everyone, and you at least break even.
I know it sounds self-centered and inartistic but that is the truth. Unless you live in an utopia state where art is more appreciated than money every production you do needs to understand that if you don't break even you won't get to do another one and if you can't pay your people they won't come back. (Unless it is a community theatre where only the director might get paid, everyone else is there for the sake of being there.)
The same holds true for movies. if you put out a crappy film that doesn't make any money after spending hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars on it (The Last Airbender) you get fired and no one will trust you to make another movie ever again. (I am not even going to mention the freak of nature movies that are awful, or at least not good and that still do well in the Box Office.)
ANYWAY... back to the theatrical world: success is measured in the amount of money you make. If you put on a production of Oklahoma! and not only break even but make enough money to fund the next production, you will be asked to come back. Producers like to see that their investments were not a waste and that they are awesome in every way.
Gotta go, but remember to always dream,
Sarah K
P.S. I promise to write later about artistic integrity...
That's right: ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
Success can be measured by different things depending on who you are and what you want but when it comes to the theatrical world there are two things that make the production a success: You can pay everyone, and you at least break even.
I know it sounds self-centered and inartistic but that is the truth. Unless you live in an utopia state where art is more appreciated than money every production you do needs to understand that if you don't break even you won't get to do another one and if you can't pay your people they won't come back. (Unless it is a community theatre where only the director might get paid, everyone else is there for the sake of being there.)
The same holds true for movies. if you put out a crappy film that doesn't make any money after spending hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars on it (The Last Airbender) you get fired and no one will trust you to make another movie ever again. (I am not even going to mention the freak of nature movies that are awful, or at least not good and that still do well in the Box Office.)
ANYWAY... back to the theatrical world: success is measured in the amount of money you make. If you put on a production of Oklahoma! and not only break even but make enough money to fund the next production, you will be asked to come back. Producers like to see that their investments were not a waste and that they are awesome in every way.
Gotta go, but remember to always dream,
Sarah K
P.S. I promise to write later about artistic integrity...
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Measure Twice, Cut Once
Two posts in a week, or even a month is almost unheard of for me so try not to get used to it, okay?
Anyway, I spent about thirty minutes today at the local high school. They are getting ready for their annual musical that they use to fund anything but the next musical. This year their main backer backed out (no pun intended) and they had to select a large show that would make them a lot of money and they chose "Dreamworks Shrek: The Musical".
I was asked by the Electronics teacher to come over and look at the sets, lines and mics. As much as I hate the place that made my life a nightmare I willingly walked in and started looking around. Sure I noticed that they had those stupid hanging mics and one of them was a foot higher then the rest and even though they were pointed, one of them was pointed at one of the giant dangerous sets that the director is so disturbingly obsessed with.
As I was going through, the director brought in a fabric she special ordered to look like dragon scales for the giant dragon that they had built. She ordered 16 yards of fabric but they only had 9 so she took what they had. It was then that I realized that she had not measured the dragon ahead of time to know how much fabric she really needed. Which is Dumb. Very Dumb.
I have been working for my family's cabinet shop for over a year now and one of the things that my grandfather always preached was "Measure twice, cut once. That way you don't have to measure, cut, measure, cut and get a new board. It annoyed me to the very depths of my primal brain that this so called director was spending money uselessly and recklessly especially with no backer.
I have been watching this choreographer turned director for four years now. "Fiddler on the Roof" "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" "Little Women" and now "Shrek". Every show gets bigger and more elaborate, but on that little, teeny half stage with those older and older sets and castors and lights that never get cleaned I just see accident after accident happening. I do hope in the bottom of my heart that the school will shut down the program or hire someone who knows what they are doing before someone gets really hurt, but I know that they won't.
The musical is a town tradition that in four nights makes around two to four thousand dollars not including sponsorships. That is enough money to keep it going but not to make it better and that is what the school does best. They are masters of trickery, putting their best readers in classes with the illiterate to throw the curve and make the numbers look good and get money. Put special needs kids on sports teams to get money. Specialized training for dumb students to get money.
They are just in it for the money they get from the government and not in it for the students that would get good things from the project. Seriously screwed up.
bye,
Sarah K
Anyway, I spent about thirty minutes today at the local high school. They are getting ready for their annual musical that they use to fund anything but the next musical. This year their main backer backed out (no pun intended) and they had to select a large show that would make them a lot of money and they chose "Dreamworks Shrek: The Musical".
I was asked by the Electronics teacher to come over and look at the sets, lines and mics. As much as I hate the place that made my life a nightmare I willingly walked in and started looking around. Sure I noticed that they had those stupid hanging mics and one of them was a foot higher then the rest and even though they were pointed, one of them was pointed at one of the giant dangerous sets that the director is so disturbingly obsessed with.
As I was going through, the director brought in a fabric she special ordered to look like dragon scales for the giant dragon that they had built. She ordered 16 yards of fabric but they only had 9 so she took what they had. It was then that I realized that she had not measured the dragon ahead of time to know how much fabric she really needed. Which is Dumb. Very Dumb.
I have been working for my family's cabinet shop for over a year now and one of the things that my grandfather always preached was "Measure twice, cut once. That way you don't have to measure, cut, measure, cut and get a new board. It annoyed me to the very depths of my primal brain that this so called director was spending money uselessly and recklessly especially with no backer.
I have been watching this choreographer turned director for four years now. "Fiddler on the Roof" "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" "Little Women" and now "Shrek". Every show gets bigger and more elaborate, but on that little, teeny half stage with those older and older sets and castors and lights that never get cleaned I just see accident after accident happening. I do hope in the bottom of my heart that the school will shut down the program or hire someone who knows what they are doing before someone gets really hurt, but I know that they won't.
The musical is a town tradition that in four nights makes around two to four thousand dollars not including sponsorships. That is enough money to keep it going but not to make it better and that is what the school does best. They are masters of trickery, putting their best readers in classes with the illiterate to throw the curve and make the numbers look good and get money. Put special needs kids on sports teams to get money. Specialized training for dumb students to get money.
They are just in it for the money they get from the government and not in it for the students that would get good things from the project. Seriously screwed up.
bye,
Sarah K
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Ugly Duckling Syndrome
When I first saw the Musical "Honk! The Musical" I very nearly cried. The story of the ugly duckling is a lot like my own personal life and it used to be my ultimate dream in life is to be just like the ugly duckling.
The story of the ugly duckling is simple and for those of you who didn't have a childhood or are totally illiterate or had parents/guardians/nannies that hated you I will summarize: Mommy duck hatches all of her eggs and most of them are regular, normal ducklings but one of them is larger, more grey in color, and makes an awful honking sound instead of a gentle quacking sound. All of his life the ugly duckling is made fun of and he eventually runs away.
Through some misadventures the duckling grows and it isn't until he comes home and sees his reflection in the water of the pond that he realizes that he grew up and is now beautiful and accepted by everyone who ever made fun of him. And they all lived Happily Ever After, The End.
Now don't get me wrong, the story is moving and lovely but like most fairy tales, it just isn't in line with the REAL WORLD.
The other day I was at work, making sawdust for a living, and listening to my music when the last song of the "Honk!" soundtrack played. (I keep my music in a random rotation.) As the song went through and the miraculous turnabout that can only happen in musicals and Disney movies happened I thought to myself: "Am I really so shallow that I need the undivided attention, admiration and forgiveness of everyone who ever made fun of me, called me fat, spread rumors about my sexuality behind my back and generally didn't like me?"
I thought about it. I have spent a good portion of my life trying to get away so I could become better. What I didn't realize was that I only wanted to be better than them. I didn't see myself as having faults because they created them.
I don't need my high school peers to accept me. Not anymore. It is time for me to move on. They can stay behind, work at the local grocery store, go to the local community college, get married to each other and raise their 12 children. I am moving on to bigger and better things. I am majoring in a field I love, I plan to travel the world and meet exotic people. I am going to be amazing and hopefully rich and if I find Mr. Perfect and raise my 2.5 kids then Fan-Freaking-Tastic. I am a wonderful person and maybe when I come back they still won't accept me even with my fabulous career and acheived life goals, I will still be the most amazing person I know and that is all I really need.
Loves,
Sarah K
The story of the ugly duckling is simple and for those of you who didn't have a childhood or are totally illiterate or had parents/guardians/nannies that hated you I will summarize: Mommy duck hatches all of her eggs and most of them are regular, normal ducklings but one of them is larger, more grey in color, and makes an awful honking sound instead of a gentle quacking sound. All of his life the ugly duckling is made fun of and he eventually runs away.
Through some misadventures the duckling grows and it isn't until he comes home and sees his reflection in the water of the pond that he realizes that he grew up and is now beautiful and accepted by everyone who ever made fun of him. And they all lived Happily Ever After, The End.
Now don't get me wrong, the story is moving and lovely but like most fairy tales, it just isn't in line with the REAL WORLD.
The other day I was at work, making sawdust for a living, and listening to my music when the last song of the "Honk!" soundtrack played. (I keep my music in a random rotation.) As the song went through and the miraculous turnabout that can only happen in musicals and Disney movies happened I thought to myself: "Am I really so shallow that I need the undivided attention, admiration and forgiveness of everyone who ever made fun of me, called me fat, spread rumors about my sexuality behind my back and generally didn't like me?"
I thought about it. I have spent a good portion of my life trying to get away so I could become better. What I didn't realize was that I only wanted to be better than them. I didn't see myself as having faults because they created them.
I don't need my high school peers to accept me. Not anymore. It is time for me to move on. They can stay behind, work at the local grocery store, go to the local community college, get married to each other and raise their 12 children. I am moving on to bigger and better things. I am majoring in a field I love, I plan to travel the world and meet exotic people. I am going to be amazing and hopefully rich and if I find Mr. Perfect and raise my 2.5 kids then Fan-Freaking-Tastic. I am a wonderful person and maybe when I come back they still won't accept me even with my fabulous career and acheived life goals, I will still be the most amazing person I know and that is all I really need.
Loves,
Sarah K
Monday, September 9, 2013
Shaky Past for an Unknown Future
So, I recently recieved conformation from my institution of higher education that I will be allowed back into classes this spring despite my under ambitions and failure to succeed previously. Still I don't want to let them down so now I am stressing about everything. What classes to take, how to manage time, where to sleep. You know, the usual.
Then my magical mind remembered that I had written most of this down before so I decided that I am going to write a book/blog about how to not fail your first year of college. It is called "HOW NOT TO FAIL YOUR FIRST YEAR OF COLLEGE" if any of you care and wish to see it. *smiling emoticon*
Still, I feel the need to write about the theatrical world at least a little bit and so here it is: the bi-annual production of "Scrooge: The Musical" is going to happen really soon and I will be around just long enough to be in it so I am going to audition. Still, as I am not much of an actor and much prefer to be backstage, I will most likely be using "They Had it Comming" from "Chicago" as my audion piece. WHOOOOOO!!
Bye bye,
Sarah K
Saturday, August 31, 2013
What is up with Cinderella?
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
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 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
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