Sleep that knits up the ravell'd sleeve of care, the death of each day's life, sore labour's bath

Ah... sleep. :) We had another snow day today, so I have time to sleep in and update.

We had a rather productive rehearsal last Saturday and officially blocked The Exit, Toba, and the beginning of Genesis.

And oh my God.

Genesis is just amazing.

The head choreographer, Lindsey Orgren, asked her talented friend, Haylie Ritchie, to be her dance partner in Genesis, and then proceeded to create the most amazing dance I have ever seen in my entire life.

It's gonna be bomb.

The Exit is looking great too, but I'm still unhappy with a couple parts of it, and that isn't anyone's fault but mine, so don't take it personally if you're involved and reading this. XP

Toba is going to be great as well. :D Katy does an outstanding job of beating up Travis.

So, we have, in essence, blocked every single song that we're going to perform:

Genesis, The Missing Piece, Life is Looking Up, The Spider and the Lamps, Toba the Tura, The Oracle, The Exit, It's True Love, Meet the King, Doctor Doctor, and The End and the Beginning.

We need to work on just about all of them. xx

ESPECIALLY Life is Looking Up. We haven't gotten very far with that one and it's pretty much the most intricate song. Lots and lots of dancing. The Spider and the Lamps is really intensely intricate too, but Life is Looking Up has a huge chorus line involved whereas The Spider and the Lamps only has like six people being spiders. Hopefully. People are dropping like flies from our fledgling troupe.

We need to start thinking about the set. Especially since our set manager dropped out.

For the set, the only thing I can think of is revolving panels that have dark scenery painted on one side and light scenery painted on the other. Others have suggested simple black and white curtains. I really don't know. The main problem is that there is no real set in the first act because it's supposed to be neutral, so any set we come up with for the second act will have to be placed onstage during the intermission. We need to keep that in mind when thinking about it.

I watched the music video for Life is Looking Up, which can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoV66UPGX_Q

It's very interesting. It's sort of an abstract summation of Razia's Shadow. And, strangely enough, the man who plays Pallis in the video looks very similar to the person playing Pallis in THAT's production, my friend Fernandez. It doesn't really make sense when he drags her away, though. Still trying to figure that one out.

We may have a labcoat provided by one of my old English teachers, Mr. David Walker. He also intends to donate $50. :) Thank you so much, Mr. Walker. It's pretty awesome how we still keep in touch and you haven't been my teacher since sixth grade.

My cousin, Jim Howell, is also donating $100 for the show. Thank you so, so much, Jim!

And also, I need to thank The Red Cup for letting us use their stage. I haven't properly done that yet. I'm not quite sure how, but I really probably should.

And while I'm on this crazy spree of gratitude, thanks to everyone involved. All the dancers, singers, actors, and crew. You all are the ones pulling the strings, keeping us together, and ultimately creating an amazing show. :)

Adios. :)

We are the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world

Razia's Shadow is coming along very nicely. :) We've blocked The Missing Piece, The Spider and the Lamps (mostly), the beginning of The Oracle, most of The Exit, It's True Love, Meet the King, Doctor Doctor, and the vast majority of The End and the Beginning.

It's going to be so completely awesome.

I have complete faith that everyone involved in this production is 100% dedicated and excited for its success.

I really don't mean to be pompous or critical, but after watching other schools perform this same musical, all I have to say is that our interpretation is really going to be epic.

However. Comma.

We have a lot of work to do. A lot.

I swung by Goodwill this evening and picked up about sixty dollars' worth of clothes and props with the RS donations. We goooot:

Blue dress
Blue robe
Coat rack
Pinstriped suit
Pinstriped pants
Pinstriped skirt
Three solid colored shirts: white, yellow, and green
Three flower vases

The blue dress and robe are for the king and queen. The pinstriped suits are for all the Dark people. The flower vases are for the Doctor's potion bottles. The coat rack is the thing that'll hold the lamps up. The solid colored shirts are for the first act.

:D

We had $159 but now we have $94. Ish. I'll calculate it all a little later.

Next rehearsal, we're going to have everyone bring their costumes and take inventory.

Dressed for success!

I really need to get to work on costumes/set/props because our photo shoot is only a month away. xx We only have one costume completed, and that's Pallis. He'll be wearing a black, pinstriped suit jacket with a black shirt underneath, fatigues, and combat boots. Oh, yeah, and not to mention the best part - black fedora. :D I love me some fedoras.

I have Anhura's dress, but we really need to doll it up more. The whole theme for the Light is hippie, gypsy sort of clothing, whereas the Dark is 20s gangster. And the before-Razia people will be wearing sort of starch, unnoticeable clothes because they're neutral, but also because they're not even that economically/fashionably developed yet.

For sets, I am so screwed. I have little to no idea of what's going to be in the background. I was thinking it's be cool if we had panels that could be turned around depending on where the scene was - Light and Dark, mainly. for the neutral scenery, we can just have a cloth draped over them or something simplistic like that. We have an incredibly low budget, so simple is always better.

And we are definitely going to have a monstrous poster of Pallis in the background of the Dark, doing some sort of Uncle Sam WE WANT YOU pose or some fascist salute. I'm not sure yet. But that's definitely going to happen. No buts about it. XD

As for props, I'm going to take a look around my house(s) and see what I can scrounge together. I used to actually collect props but they always just sat in the bootom of my closet in a huge plastic container. I have crazy wigs and mardi gras beads and ray guns and... Wow, we could probably do Rocky Horror Picture Show if we wanted to. XD

But, tangent aside, we have a throne/Doctor's barstool. Not much else, though. :/ We still need stuff for the lamps, tools, a skeletal structure of a house, and some decent sword-fighting swords, not flimsy pirate ones. I'd even be okay with fencing swords despite that those are pretty flimsy.

I have the gist of what to do for the lamps, which includes wire, tissue paper, and some kind of illumination, like glow-sticks or something, but they still need to be made. I'm really putting off props and set right now to focus on blocking, but that's probably a bad idea. :/ Blocking is important though, so at least there's that.

More later, I suppose.

With wine-colored eyes and a dream of clear skies, he sighs, tries not to cry, and replies with, "Adieu, adieu."

THE FINALLY OFFICIAL OFFICAL CAST LIST:

O the Scientist - me
Narrator - Katherine Benton
Ahrima - Travis Conaway/Kevin Zarate (understudy)
Nidria - Amber Gillmore
Barayas the Spider - Lindsey Orgren and Emily Adams
Toba the Tura - Katy Hirsch/Fernandez (understudy)
The Oracle - Rachel Strand
Adakias - Travis Conaway
Sangara - Amber Gillmore
Pallis - Fernandez
Princess Anhura - Katy Hirsch
King Malka - Tyler Kelly
Queen Luminesca - Brittany Stack
Doctor Dumaya - Patrick Lobb


SO now that that's done, I have director notes:

For me - I just suck. At singing. Suck. xx But we don't have enough people and it's a small part, so I thought it'd be okay. But I suck. I'll need to work on doing that first song with Katherine over and over again until I get it.

For Katherine - She and I sing the first song together rather than Ahrima and O, and we would do it really well, except that I suck and she doesn't hold her notes out long enough, but that's easily fixed. She's an AMAZING narrator. Amazing. Her voice is so dulce smooth, and she holds so much emotion and history in her inflection, it all just comes together as someone who was born to narrate. But she needs to work on her cues a little more. :)

For Amber - I love her resonant, alto voice. :) There are times when it seems to get a little nasal and soft, but that just takes a little practice to clear up. I love her intense facial expression and body language. JUST PRACTICE! XD There's several things that need to be perfected and memorized, and that can only come with practice. Everyone has got to practice at home. I don't have enough time to go over it with everyone over and over again.

For Lindsey and Emily - Wow. Just... wow. These two rock the entire stage with their schizoid spider act, and they both were clearly born with the grace of dancers, despite what Emily may have to say about it. ;) Emily needs to strengthen her voice and make it louder, but not too loud because I really love the contrast with Lindsey's vociferous, dominant voice and Emily's soft, subtley insidious one. Both of them are doing awesomely. I just hope they don't forget the choreography!

For Rachel - She's perfect for the oracle. :) Her voice needs strengthening and we need to work on blocking that song in general, but I really have faith that she'll fit the part just wonderfully.

For Fernandez - His Pallis performance takes my breath away. It's like he was made to do that one singular part. I think it's his ever-suspicious facial expression. XD But really, he does it wonderfully and the only thing I can ask for is that he increases his volume about a million times and really tries to get into character, because all the basic necessities are there, but it still needs some toning and conditioning on his part, and that's just about diligent practice.

For Travis - He's just perfect. He's completely perfect for Adakias, anyway, and really, really awesome at being Ahrima. I just really hate to double-cast so I tried like three different guys for the part. XD But none of them were better than Travis. His voice needs to be a little stronger and louder, and his facial expression tends to drop into a blank face from time to time, but those are just normal habits everyone has to break. It's really, really a huge relief that he does exactly what I ask him to do exactly when I ask him to do it. Good job, Mr. Conaway. :)

For Katy - What can I even say? The girl was born to act and sing, and she dominates the stage every time she's on it. She and Travis are pure eyecandy when they're performing together in these roles. She's just the coolest cat ever and, since she's been acting for nine years and been one of my top best friends for about four of them, she knows exactly what to do when I ask her to do it. So I really have no criticism at all. :)

For Tyler - He does the part wonderfully! :D The only request I have is that he get a rein on his crazy facial expressions and increase the volume of his voice. XD But other than that, he's just perfect for the king. :)

For Brittany - She is so adorable. :3 She fits the role so unbelievably well - and thank the Lord, too, because I had nobody left to fill the part - and the only thing I must I ask of her is to increase her confidence onstage and the volume of her voice.

For Patrick - He's just kinda... perfect for the role. :D He's so creepy! And he definitely makes everyone laugh, which is exactly what I pictured for this character. The only correction I would make is the Jack Sparrow swagger that doesn't belong there, and getting to know the character better, because once he understands what the doctor is saying, he'll definitely have a feel for how to act it out, and then he really will be a completely perfect doctor. :)


I'm so lucky to have such wonderful people so close to me.

More later, everyone. :)

An Amazing, Authentic, August Array of Actors, Actresses, Adjutants, and Abettors

I like alliteration.

Anyway, I'll list all the cast and crew in this post - at the discretion I'm allowed, of course. Some have requested I don't give out their full names. :)

I suppose I need to explain the characters first, though, wouldn't you say? Brace yourself - this is gonna be a long one.

Firstly, there's O the Scientist sung originally by Casey Crescenzo, and he is the theoretical deity of this world, (probably a sort of caustic or suggestive statement of modern Christianity), who creates the "Angels." O doesn't say much, instead communicating through paradoxical subtleties and smiles, which just frustrates the hell out of Ahrima. O lets his creations govern themselves for the most part, just sitting back and watching as the deist philosophy of life theorizes about the mainstream God of earth.

Then there's Ahrima, played by no other than ingenious inventor Thomas Dutton himself, who is the patron saint of disgruntled brilliance. He feels that "his gifts had been exhausted, oh, how they'd misused them." He tries to tell O the Scientist about this, but "even this brash avowal was met by no mouthful. O simply just... smiled." So, Ahrima's only sense of sanity amidst this frustration is his best friend and later lover, Nidria. He becomes "The King of the Dark and Forgot" after tearing down the lamps, an obvious metaphor for their knowledge and prosperity, and is forever separated from Nidria and the rest of the world. He spawned somehow though. Somehow...

Nidria is one of only two girls in the entire production, but Lizzie Huffman's jazzy, soulful voice definitely makes her stand out. She's in love with the discontented Ahrima, and pleads with him to be patient and wait for his moment to shine. She spends the entirety of her stage time understanding Ahrima's anguish. The narrator, played by Aaron Weiss, mentions that both she and Ahrima are especially gifted, but Ahrima's the only one whining about it. Nidria remains calm, collected, and in love with someone that she later must give up to the darkness.

Barayas the Spider is the ignition for all this madness, the role aptly given to Say Anything's Max Bemis, one of my top favorite lyricists. "The world was looked upon by jealous eyes" and there are definitely eight of them, the image vividly painted by a choppy, piano interim and amazingly spider-like tunes. When Ahrima goes off to the darkness to sulk, Barayas takes this opportunity to crawl onto bitter little Miss Muffet's shoulder and whisper evil thoughts of destruction and power into the dismayed angel's ear. Without Barayas, there would be no story, so thanks, Max Bemis! In my production, I decided to have two people play the spider so we'd actually have eight legs. :3

"So Toba the Tura was sent to hold Ahrima responsible for his mess, to ban him to this fiery abyss while the remaining found a new place to live." No one really knows what a Tura is, but it must be important. Toba, played by Chris Conley, sings a haunting song of anger and despair, taking all this destruction personally when he sings, "And my words will tear through the air, pierce through the despair to find your arrogant, throbbing ears, and if it's too much to bear or to hear or to take, I'll be frank, let my inflection be crystal clear! This mess that you've made, it's a six-foot grave, it's a home for your lonesome bones that remain. We'll disappear, but you'll stay here and rot as the King of the Dark and Forgot." It's one of my favorite songs. :)

The Oracle, like O the Scientist, only appears in two songs and doesn't really do much except reveal the prophecy that the world will be reunited by two star-crossed lovers. Played by Danny Stevens, the notes are ethereally high, and the strange, whimsical music in the background set an atmosphere that lacks time and space. The strings and entrance of Ahrima, Nidria, and the rest of the angels into the song give a semblance of a last goodbye, one last performance before Toba's judgment goes into motion.

Enter Adakias, stage left! Our daring, purehearted hero is performed also by the multi-talented Thomas Dutton, and happens to be an agent of darkness. He is the younger brother of the infamous Pallis, and the only person in the entire kingdom of darkness that wants to leave and explore the Light. In an act of impulsive bravery, he defies his omnipotent, overruling brother and ventures into the Light, falling deeply in love with Princess Anhura. He ends up sacrificing his own life to save her, and, in a final attempt at fulfilling the prophecy the way he always dreamed to do, he asks Pallis and Anhura to marry. At least, that's how I'm interpreting it.

Sangara is listed just as one of the townsfolk, sung by Dan Young, and the narrator, (or anyone else, for that matter,) never specifies who he is. :/ So I interpreted it differently and decided that Sangara would no longer be a man, because, let's face it, there need to be more girls in this thing, and because there was no indication that the character had to be male. And I am the director, so I'm allowed to make that call. At least for my own show. XP So I decided that my version of Sangara was to be Adakias's first girlfriend, his first attempt at a social connection before he finally abandons all hope and heads for the Light.

Pallis, the heir to the throne of Darkness, is a very complex character. Portrayed by the eerie yet angelic voice of Brendon Urie, he is the true leader of the Dark, and vows to make Adakias suffer for his rebellion. However, moved by his little brother's unbound compassion, his perception changes and he works to reunite the Dark and Light and dispel Razia's shadow. Again, this is just my interpretation of it, because it really isn't clear.

Princess Anhura is the other girl in this musical, and her only true defining feature is that she is in love with Adakias. Sung by Greta Salpeter, she dreams of a different life away from the norm, and thinks Adakias is the key. However, she doesn't know until the very last song that he's from the Dark. I don't know if this is how it actually happened or not, but I decided that she married Pallis in the end because Adakias dies and she's just trying to fulfill his dying wish and also hold on to the last remnant of her true love. Whether their relationship works out or not, no one can really tell, eh?

King Malka, performed by Nic Newsham, is also a complicated character, even though he's only in one song. He loves his daughter and senses something wrong with Adakias, but he's also very greedy and haughty, repeating, "Well, I'm the king; it won't be that easy." I also gave him a queen because the timing of that song is a little sketchy, and, as an assignment to all my cast members so they'd understand their character better, named her Sylvia. Their relationship is interesting, the way my actors play it, and I can only hope Mr. Dutton would approve. D:

The Bawaba Brothers are, I assume, the ferrymen of Holy the Sea. They take Adakias and the sickly Anhura across the sea to the Dark so that she can be cured of her unexpected illness, all the while explaining to Adakias the accuracy of the prophecy that he grew up on, adding that Adakias is the fulfillment of it. However, they also caution him against trusting those that seem trustworthy, an ominous foreshadowing into the last song.

Doctor Dumaya is the one that fixes Princess Anhura and, played by Shawn Harris, is definitely the creepiest character. He says he'll fix her, but demands in return that she live with him and fulfill his sick fantasies forever. However, after Pallis bursts in for the dramatic ending, the doctor is never heard from again, so his disappearance is left to be pondered.


As for the cast and crew, here we go!

O the Scientist - me
Narrator - Katherine Benton
Ahrima -
Nidria -
Barayas the Spider - Lindsey Orgren
Toba the Tura -
The Oracle - Rachel Strand
Adakias -
Sangara -
Pallis - Fernandez
Princess Anhura -
King Malka -
Queen Luminesca - Brittany Stack
Doctor Dumaya - Lindsey Orgren

And the crew includes:

Director - me
Graphic Designer - Nicole Knox
Set Manager - Hannah Nielesen
Tech Director - Brian Akins, Conner Mercer, Beth Stoneman
Costume Design - Katherine Benton and myself
Choreographer - Lindsey Orgren
Photographers - Steve Akins and Hannah Nielesen
Set Construction - everyone involved

Steve Akins is an actual PROFESSIONAL photographer and also, by mere happenstance, is my beau's father. So super bonus! I'm so amazingly grateful to have his completely free assistance! And, if you couldn't guess, his son, my beau, is the tech director.

I'm so proud of all my cast and crew, it's incredible. :D I'm so lucky to have so many gifted and dedicated friends. Everyone fits their character perfectly! And my narrator just... kicks... ass? She's exceptional. XD

I guess it's good for me to keep all these topics separated, so I'll write about other stuff in another post. :)

Whose Misadventured Piteous Overthrows

Every day is a new day, right?

I mean, that's what everyone says.

I'm prepared to explore this age-old adage and record every new event that occurs on every new day right here for all to see.

My name is Kate Howell, and I'm the leader, founder, and director of THAT: The Howell Acting Troupe. I'm currently seventeen years old, a junior in high school, and an aspiring, novice director.

THAT is taking on the challenge of performing Razia's Shadow: A Musical by Forgive Durden.

I DID NOT WRITE THIS MUSICAL.

We are making monumental progress, but I'll start from the bottom and venture upward for this blog.

Firstly, the five-sentence synopsis of Razia's Shadow: A Musical -

1. O the Scientist creates a world of angels and Ahrima feels that he is better than all the others, so he creates light for their world in the form of lamps, but nobody seems to understand how talented he is.
2. Barayas the Spider convinces Ahrima to tear down the lamps, but it ends up burning down their entire civilization, so he's banned to the charred ground they previously occupied and the other angels build a massive wall to separate themselves from him, thus creating the Dark and the Light.
3. A prophecy is made that one day, two lovers will reunite the world, and 100 years later, a boy from the Dark, Adakias, runs away to the Light, despite his vengeful brother, Pallis, and falls in love with a Light princess named Anhura.
4. However, the omnipresent darkness in Adakias begins to affect Anhura and make her very sick, near deathly, so the two lovers venture back into the Dark to find a doctor who will have a cure.
5. The doctor cures her, but before they can live happily ever after, Pallis bursts in and lunges his sword at Princess Anhura, but Adakias jumps in the way and takes the blade himself, and Pallis, so overwhelmed by such compassion, decides to give up his throne for the Dark and, at Adakias's dying request, marry Anhura to reunite the Dark and Light into one world.

That was a challenge. XD I left quite a bit out.

It's sort of a cross between the Bible, Star Wars, and Romeo and Juliet. It's a wonderful musical, so eloquently written, (Thomas Dutton is my new hero), and I'm going to put on a show that will do it justice. I have a wonderful cast and crew, which I will address in another post.

That's all for now, folks! I'll continue updating as much as I can. :)


Kate