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Yes, yes, let's talk about the weather!
Oh sweet Jesus, Pirates is over HALLELUJAH.
Not that I didn't love the experience but it took up an enormous amount of time, even after it opened. I can play softball and soccer on the weekends again! I have free time! YAAAAAAYYY! This weekend was especially time-suckalicious--we moved the show to the cemetery. (The first two weekends were at the amphitheater in Frank Sinatra Park, the last was at Hartsimus Cemetery in Jersey City. They do shows and events like this as a fundraiser for their cemetery--we're doing a couple of performances of Rocky Horror there as well, in October.) The move sucked up time because I had to have a rehearsal on Wednesday adapting the blocking to the new space, which only about half the cast could attend. Which meant that I had to get there very early on Saturday, to show the remaining cast members the space. Then it rained--we held, then started again. It immediately started raining again, so we held again. Poor Taylor had to sing "O Is There Not One Maiden Breast" THREE TIMES (we had a hard time finding the place where he'd stopped on the track). We finally finished the show and the audience loved it--they were really rooting for us by the end!
Sunday I played in my organized soccer league--we had been undefeated but we played one of the best teams in the league and lost. Not by much (2-0) but still. Kind of frustrating because we played pretty well, we just didn't convert our chances. HOWEVER I played probably my best game so far--I was trapping very well, handling the ball, getting around defenders and wow! I was thrilled, especially when not just once but several times the goalie warned the defenders about me. Ooooh, I'm dangerous! Very flattering.
After the game I went into Jersey City to the cemetery for our closing performance. The show started off very hot and sunny (my hair is crazy-blonde today from all the sun) and then AGAIN during "Oh Is There Not One Maiden Breast" it started pouring. We huddled under the tents for quite awhile--at least a half-hour, possibly closer to 45 minutes. Finally it started to clear up and Paul (one of the ensemble pirates) and I were sweeping the bigger puddles off the "stage" and laying down carpet. But now we had a new problem--Duncan and Michael (our Pirate King) both had to be gone by around 6, and we were well past 5:00 already. I ended up having to cut two songs from the second act on the fly--thankfully the actors were all good sports about it, and Lauren (our sound designer) could figure out where to pick up. We still went past 6:00 but Duncan had a ride to the PATH station and I told him to take a cab once he got into the city. It really was a perfect storm of inconvenience--when we started again it was still raining just a bit and Dave told me if it rains any harder than this, I should call the show (he had to leave so I was the House Manager). But no, it stopped raining completely--which is a good thing, but I was also super-stressed about getting Michael and Duncan out of there in time. Anyway it all worked out.
After we packed up everything, we all walked over to Dave's apartment for a cast party and I screened The Pirate Movie for the cast. Melissa and Kristy LOVED it--they were glued to the screen the whole way through. Dave's friend Christian loves the movie as well and he and I were singing the blow job song ("Pumping and Blowing"). If you're treadin' water and romance is on the slide/Don'tcha ya know you have to swallow/Something more than water/....It's your pride... Ah, good times. Such a guilty pleasure that movie is. Afterward Dave and I were talking about Rocky Horror--we need to set the dates for auditions, they will probably be sometime in late August. And I ended up being schmoozed by Tawni (who played one of the daughters in Pirates)--she REALLY wants to audition for Magenta. Um--I'm actually not that crazy about Tawni. She gave off major attitude during the Pirates rehearsal process (at one point she tried to correct me on my own choreography)--lots of attitude with nothing really to back it up. (She's going for her MM, really? From which school? Because she really does not sound well-trained.) She has her moments onstage but she's a very sloppy, fidget-y performer and DOES NOT take notes. And frankly she's kind of lazy onstage--she's more interested in having fun than actually playing a character and being invested in what's going on. She's complacent, which I detest in performers. Several weeks ago I put her on my mental "will not cast again" list. But she was all sweetness and light last night and we actually had a fun conversation about 19th century art music, specifically lieder. She would be a good fit for Magenta, but I'd have to talk with her first and say "dude. You'd better clean up your performances and DON'T cop an attitude. Do not ever try to school me on my own staging." Also if Kelly Anne comes back (last year's Magenta), she will have the first shot. Dave and I are going back and forth about whether or not to flat-out offer everyone in the last cast their roles again. I would be fine with doing so, but for one exception--Stephen who played the Criminologist. He really misfired, IMO--I love Stephen but did NOT like what he did with that role. Susan wants to audition and I can't come right out and say "you're in" but of course I'm probably going to cast her. She's a fierce dancer and looks great in skimpy clothes, and I love working with her, it's a no brainer. She was interested in choreographing but I really want Robert to do it again, I loved those dances! So much fun.
I have to say, as much as I loved working with Susan this time, I wish she had been a little bit more on the ball. I told her "I need you to choreograph this and this and this"--about 4-5 things (not even full numbers) all in all. And we would get to rehearsal and she would sort of figure it out during rehearsal--girl, I need it AHEAD of time, you need to come with it already blocked for the most part. In fact you need to show it to me beforehand so I can decide if it'll work. And she kept saying "my" choreography--uh, no, *I* choreographed nearly all of the show! This is why I added "musical staging by Clara Barton Green" to the program. I'm very proud of my dances, I worked my ass off on them!
Anyway it was fun to look forward to Rocky--I NEED some time off (I am exhausted today) but am definitely antici....pating the fall! And I must say, the extremely positive response we have gotten for Pirates makes me very happy. It wasn't an ideal show (Michael never really worked as the PK--not sure what his deal is but he was a sinkhole of charisma, really bland. I tried so hard but he flickered to life only a few times. Also, Mara is a sweetie but has some major liabilities as a performer--for one thing she needs to look people in the eye!) but it was a pretty good one, a very light, sweet, delightful show, if I may say so myself. The cast did a great job and I loved the costumes (Roe did exactly what I wanted with the daughters) and the laughter from the audience was extremely gratifying. And I know Dave was thrilled.
Not that I didn't love the experience but it took up an enormous amount of time, even after it opened. I can play softball and soccer on the weekends again! I have free time! YAAAAAAYYY! This weekend was especially time-suckalicious--we moved the show to the cemetery. (The first two weekends were at the amphitheater in Frank Sinatra Park, the last was at Hartsimus Cemetery in Jersey City. They do shows and events like this as a fundraiser for their cemetery--we're doing a couple of performances of Rocky Horror there as well, in October.) The move sucked up time because I had to have a rehearsal on Wednesday adapting the blocking to the new space, which only about half the cast could attend. Which meant that I had to get there very early on Saturday, to show the remaining cast members the space. Then it rained--we held, then started again. It immediately started raining again, so we held again. Poor Taylor had to sing "O Is There Not One Maiden Breast" THREE TIMES (we had a hard time finding the place where he'd stopped on the track). We finally finished the show and the audience loved it--they were really rooting for us by the end!
Sunday I played in my organized soccer league--we had been undefeated but we played one of the best teams in the league and lost. Not by much (2-0) but still. Kind of frustrating because we played pretty well, we just didn't convert our chances. HOWEVER I played probably my best game so far--I was trapping very well, handling the ball, getting around defenders and wow! I was thrilled, especially when not just once but several times the goalie warned the defenders about me. Ooooh, I'm dangerous! Very flattering.
After the game I went into Jersey City to the cemetery for our closing performance. The show started off very hot and sunny (my hair is crazy-blonde today from all the sun) and then AGAIN during "Oh Is There Not One Maiden Breast" it started pouring. We huddled under the tents for quite awhile--at least a half-hour, possibly closer to 45 minutes. Finally it started to clear up and Paul (one of the ensemble pirates) and I were sweeping the bigger puddles off the "stage" and laying down carpet. But now we had a new problem--Duncan and Michael (our Pirate King) both had to be gone by around 6, and we were well past 5:00 already. I ended up having to cut two songs from the second act on the fly--thankfully the actors were all good sports about it, and Lauren (our sound designer) could figure out where to pick up. We still went past 6:00 but Duncan had a ride to the PATH station and I told him to take a cab once he got into the city. It really was a perfect storm of inconvenience--when we started again it was still raining just a bit and Dave told me if it rains any harder than this, I should call the show (he had to leave so I was the House Manager). But no, it stopped raining completely--which is a good thing, but I was also super-stressed about getting Michael and Duncan out of there in time. Anyway it all worked out.
After we packed up everything, we all walked over to Dave's apartment for a cast party and I screened The Pirate Movie for the cast. Melissa and Kristy LOVED it--they were glued to the screen the whole way through. Dave's friend Christian loves the movie as well and he and I were singing the blow job song ("Pumping and Blowing"). If you're treadin' water and romance is on the slide/Don'tcha ya know you have to swallow/Something more than water/....It's your pride... Ah, good times. Such a guilty pleasure that movie is. Afterward Dave and I were talking about Rocky Horror--we need to set the dates for auditions, they will probably be sometime in late August. And I ended up being schmoozed by Tawni (who played one of the daughters in Pirates)--she REALLY wants to audition for Magenta. Um--I'm actually not that crazy about Tawni. She gave off major attitude during the Pirates rehearsal process (at one point she tried to correct me on my own choreography)--lots of attitude with nothing really to back it up. (She's going for her MM, really? From which school? Because she really does not sound well-trained.) She has her moments onstage but she's a very sloppy, fidget-y performer and DOES NOT take notes. And frankly she's kind of lazy onstage--she's more interested in having fun than actually playing a character and being invested in what's going on. She's complacent, which I detest in performers. Several weeks ago I put her on my mental "will not cast again" list. But she was all sweetness and light last night and we actually had a fun conversation about 19th century art music, specifically lieder. She would be a good fit for Magenta, but I'd have to talk with her first and say "dude. You'd better clean up your performances and DON'T cop an attitude. Do not ever try to school me on my own staging." Also if Kelly Anne comes back (last year's Magenta), she will have the first shot. Dave and I are going back and forth about whether or not to flat-out offer everyone in the last cast their roles again. I would be fine with doing so, but for one exception--Stephen who played the Criminologist. He really misfired, IMO--I love Stephen but did NOT like what he did with that role. Susan wants to audition and I can't come right out and say "you're in" but of course I'm probably going to cast her. She's a fierce dancer and looks great in skimpy clothes, and I love working with her, it's a no brainer. She was interested in choreographing but I really want Robert to do it again, I loved those dances! So much fun.
I have to say, as much as I loved working with Susan this time, I wish she had been a little bit more on the ball. I told her "I need you to choreograph this and this and this"--about 4-5 things (not even full numbers) all in all. And we would get to rehearsal and she would sort of figure it out during rehearsal--girl, I need it AHEAD of time, you need to come with it already blocked for the most part. In fact you need to show it to me beforehand so I can decide if it'll work. And she kept saying "my" choreography--uh, no, *I* choreographed nearly all of the show! This is why I added "musical staging by Clara Barton Green" to the program. I'm very proud of my dances, I worked my ass off on them!
Anyway it was fun to look forward to Rocky--I NEED some time off (I am exhausted today) but am definitely antici....pating the fall! And I must say, the extremely positive response we have gotten for Pirates makes me very happy. It wasn't an ideal show (Michael never really worked as the PK--not sure what his deal is but he was a sinkhole of charisma, really bland. I tried so hard but he flickered to life only a few times. Also, Mara is a sweetie but has some major liabilities as a performer--for one thing she needs to look people in the eye!) but it was a pretty good one, a very light, sweet, delightful show, if I may say so myself. The cast did a great job and I loved the costumes (Roe did exactly what I wanted with the daughters) and the laughter from the audience was extremely gratifying. And I know Dave was thrilled.