Final Entry
Tuesday May 12

My goodness, I had no idea after that last blog entry that I just wouldn't have the time or energy for another one until the whole darn thing had been packed up and trucked away!
But here we are two days after closing and we've all had a chance to reflect and remember. It's impossible to be prepared for the pace of doing nine shows in two weekends, preceded by a heavy week of rehearsal every single night. But we did it! And I think it's pretty darn safe to say that the crowds loved us.
I felt so bad that I missed the presentation by the cast after the final performance.
I had to drive ASM whiz Mara home quick for her Mom's surprise party, so my apologies. I absolutely love my little Jester, he'll be my perfect little memoir of the show, sitting on a tiny shelf above my desk. And in honour of the final blog entry, I searched through the fridge and found the last diet ginger ale, and cracked open the teeny little Crown Royal (yum-thanks!)
So, my little grasshoppers, with some fine Canadian Whiskey warming my insides, allow me to chronicle some of my favourite moments in this show.
It was so cool how the audience was awestruck from the get-go, first by being entertained in the lobby by two rascally puppets, handled by Sarah and Martin and then, after being greeted by Chris's faithful army of peddler/ushers in medieval costume, stepping into the 3-dimensional set as envisioned by Tadek, which literally surrounded them on all sides. I saw so many people gazing around in wonder. And that's before the show had even started! Austin, Meagan, Bailey and Elaine looked terrific in Brenda's colourful, coordinated costumes, and they really stayed in character.
By the time the patrons were filing in, I was usually up in the booth with my trusty side-kicks. Michael M. wasn't just the light designer and operator, he was also the tech guy for set-up, and I felt like I was in good hands with him as my right hand man up there. Present for every show, he never made a mistake, never lost his cool and always supported me - thanks Mike. William B. and Erik alternated running the sound, which made for some variety for Mike and I, and they were both quite entertaining company while remaining dedicated sound technicians.
Yet with all the technology surrounding us, it was kind of fun that we relied on a good ol' visual cue, a thumbs up from Minstrel Michael A. up to us in the booth, to cut the lute music and turn up his mic, so that he could entertain the gathering crowd with his own inimitable guitar stylings.
After the signal from Anne or Rochelle on box office, via Chris on headset, we'd start the show with Chris's fantastic bell-ringing town crier, warning patrons of the perils of using recording devices such as cell-phones or crystal balls to attempt any recording. I loved that late addition to the show!
Shawn's wonderful thrumming of the gong would accompany the black-out, with a quick check via headset from either Mara, Brefney or Maegan A. that everyone was ready, and the show would begin.
Of course no choreographer was listed in the program, that's just ANOTHER of Jester Meghan's AMAZING talents, along with singer, actress, make-up entrepreneur and all round ray of sunshine. Her opening number went from delirious happiness to abject misery in a heartbeat, showing this young actress's remarkable range and depth - a highlight every night.
Favourite moments from Andrew's King include his discovery that maybe it was the cookies that gave him that darn toothache! - also being chased by the Food, bowled over by the Knights and intimidated by the Guards.
I loved how Helena made her two characters so distinct - the Cook, rolling in to defend his culinary decisions, and the Queen, the model of calm propriety in ACT I who ends up screeching in ACT III "It's toothache this, and toothache that, now everything's a mess!"
The next time I am feeling lonely and frightened (yes, it happens to everybody) I will summon my courage by remembering the brave words of a little girl lost in the woods at night - "I'm a very brave little princess, darkness and cold doesn't scare me". Tiffany's rendition of that dark little song was one of my favourite moments.
Margot made the fussy Maid so much fun - the bit where she sits on the King's throne and then pops right off, her constant sweeping, her fight with King over the broom - all priceless.
Of course Julia's slinky, pampered Cat was a crowd favourite among the kids, and who didn't love it when she was getting those loving pets from the King on his throne, only to be tossed off with a yowl, a moment later. We laughed up in the booth every time at that!
Sandy always made her King Father-in-Law the voice of reason, except when he himself gets his feelings hurt and agrees to a war - I loved the stand-off at the end of ACT I - "An eye for an eye!" "And a tooth for a tooth!" Silly men!
Holden's conjuring up in the tower, amongst (sometimes anyways) all that smoke, was another highlight, making the Wizard a wonderful moment. (Also loved Jenny's saw sounds which added great effect to the magic!) Likewise his officious Dentist guides the Shadow Play Climax that solves the problem - Yay!
Snoring Guards, bickering Guards, marching Guards - they were all hilarious. Cabot and Sam gave them such distinct personalities and endearing movements, that every time they showed up, they were another highlight. I especially loved it when they put their heads together to solve a problem - sometimes#1 called #2 an "idiot", other nights a "moron" - both seemed a propos for them both!
The intermission entertainment was also tops. Minstrel Maddy playing her flute in her gorgeous flowing dress made an elegant addition. Minstrel Mary Jane's spirited a cappella singing was another special moment every night.
Thank goodness William E. captured it all on tape for us.
Marie, Mary Jane, Nea, Lisbie and I each made our own contributions to this zany puppet show, but it was the puppeteers, the buskers, the minstrels, the peddlers and the crew who made it all shine, performance after performance. We love you all, for all of your hard work, your constant pushing for improvement, your sunny attitudes and your glorious creativity! Congratulations, one and all, on a terrific run.
This is your Stage Manager, Kerry, signing off.

Sunday Morning May 3

What a whirlwind weekend we've all had!
By now, pretty well everyone in the cast and crew has had a friend or family member come to the play, and reported how much they loved it! My family was at the Sat. matinee, and they were very impressed with everything. My son-in-law, a musician, loved all of the music in the show, my daughter raved about the Royal Cat and my husband loved the King. He also really liked the little puppet show that Martin and Sarah put on at the end of the intermission, that recaps the plot so far, "just like the Dukes of Hazzard!"
As well, a number of Marie's friends and contacts in the "Puppet Biz" have taken in the show, and you can just see the respect and admiration in their faces for all of the creative energy and fantastic spirit that permeates this group.
So far, Cabot's Mom Susan and Meagan's Mom Debra have volunteered to help out in the basement during a performance - thank you! (These photos are by Susan) Today there will be a Challen in the basement, not sure if it will be a Mom or a Dad, but we'll find out this afternoon.
Marie, Nea, MJ and I appreciate so much all of the hard work and dedication it took to bring this fantastically magical story to life - so have a great show today, everybody, and then have a hard-earned rest tonight and this week before we have another weekend of FUN, FUN, FUN!

Tuesday April 28

Wow, getting close!
I failed to mention in the Buskers account that MJ and Sarah will be performing a pleasant recorder duet at intermission, watch out for that!
Marie, Michael, AJ and I had a lot of fun Sunday morning running cue-to-cue for lights, and now everyone is lit beautifully! (and probably a LOT hotter backstage - remember how important personal hygiene is now, everybody!)
Brenda has once again gone above and beyond in costuming the front of house performers; they will look fabulous! In the next column are some of her photos from rehearsal. Also Tadek's set is starting to really take shape, can't wait to see everything completed.
Work hard, everyone, opening night is almost here!

The King on his throne


The Royal Cat, the Maid and the King

Wednesday April 22

First of all, a reminder about tonight's Special Village Theatre Night at Boston Pizza. Come on out for dinner or a snack, and support VT! There will be VT servers, and VT entertainers.
Sounds like everybody had a good rehearsal last night; sorry I missed it. Did Erik have a trial by fire, running the sound for the first time? Things are moving forward well in preparation for opening night.
I wanted to fill you in on the role that the Buskers and Ushers will play in this production. The Buskers will be entertaining the audience before the show and during the intermission, to give our old Hall the feeling of a medieval marketplace.
First up are Sarah and Martin, who have a funny skit worked up to welcome the audience in the lobby with their hand puppets, Oscar and Conrad. They'll also do a little skit at halftime with some finger puppets - great work, kids!
There will also be some awesome musical entertainment during the intermission, courtesy of Maddy on Flute, Michael on Guitar and Jenny on Musical Saw. I can't wait to hear them playing for everyone; they've all been practicing so much.
During the intermission, Ushers will wander through the crowd, selling snacks from trays, workin' the crowd, so to speak. So far Austin and Elaine have signed up.
And also, welcome to Shawn, who showed up to ASM, and did a great job, changing scenery and helping backstage. He's a professional drummer so listen for some nice effects from him. He also gave Julia and Cabot a lesson on the gong, and does it ever sound impressive now!

Sunday April 19

Changes, progress, fun, fun, fun! Tadek and Nea have been VERY busy painting the buildings for the medieval market square, while A.J. hangs lights with Michael's help. Austin and Sidney continue to fine-tune the set. William showed up to run sound last Thursday and it looks like he'll stick around! Also, house manager Chris popped in last week to introduce himself and have a look-see, and he seemed pumped for his role! (Chris, we'll be on head -set before the start of the show - can't wait)
After a long search for an ASM (Maegan would be perfect but she's going to PARIS, with her parents! Did I mention that Maegan is going to PARIS, in the SPRINGTIME!!! Is EVERYBODY jealous??) we finally have a few people showing up today to help out. I'll let you know who they are once they have committed in person!
As for the show, what can I say? Andrew is absolutely hilarious as "poor little King me", and Tiffany is constantly a darling as his headstrong daughter the Princess. Helena plays the duel roles of the Queen and and the Cook, and makes them so distinctive you'd never know it was the same person (love her songs). Likewise Holden handles both the Wizard and the Dentist with his distinctive wry humour. Sandy is quite imperial and yet shows a nicely subtle underpinning of spoiled monarch as the King Father-in-Law. Margot is the fussy, fuming, forbiddingly funny Maid, while her talented daughter Julia almost steals every scene she's in as the precocious Royal Cat. Cabot and Sam have brought their hearty off-stage friendship to bare in their portrayals of the bumbling Guards (#1 and #2!) making them another humourous highlight. And last but DEFINITELY not least, Meghan the Jester opens and closes the show with such an air of confidence mixed with youthful exuberance, that she'll have the audience eating out of her hand by the time the curtains open!
Well done, everyone!
Gotta run... after today's rehearsal, I'll fill you in on the BUSKERS. That's a whole 'nother part of this production, that's going to add a bright new dimension. Yay!


Saturday April 4

WOW - mentioned in the newsletter - thanx Jen! Guess that'll keep me on my toes! I know I'm behind, I've had MAJOR computer problems this week, and have been out of commission, blog-wise - keep your fingers crossed that the VISTA gods have been placated.
Thursday's rehearsal was FANTASTIC - the first time we ran a whole Act, and the newcomers in the audience were thoroughly entertained! Ryan, production coordinator for VT, has been hanging around offering support and answers, Janet is taking over publicity now that Lisbie is away, and Maegan will now be script assistant - a hearty Hip Hip Hooray! from all the Courtiers for their help.
I have to remind all participants that BIOS are due now! If we don't start receiving them, I'll make you write them at rehearsal (I'm so mean).
Also, congratulations to everyone for being so far along in memorizing lines; you've all made terrific progress and can see how important it is to have hands free for puppet manipulation.
I love these photos that show the puppeteers from behind the foredrop; it gives a good depiction of the teamwork that is building backstage. Take a look at Sparkly Marie, our WONDERFUL Director.
And of course thank you so much AGAIN to Austin for his fabulous improvements to the set and puppets - every time we show up, things look better and run more smoothly. Congratulations to the Wizard (Holden) on recovering from a bad bout of "Frozen Shoulder" - now he has use of both hands!
Below is what cast members do instead of working on their lines or writing their bios!! (Those are pretzels!)

Sunday March 22

Wow, I guess blogs are supposed to be updated DAILY? Phew, I'll have to work up to that; weekly will have to do for now, with stage management duties keeping me so busy.
The puppeteers are in for a real treat today when they show up to rehearse Act III, because the puppet set is up! Austin, Des, Nea and Sidney spent 4 hours yesterday working out the angles and today, the puppet manipulators can finally see their playing field - I know they'll be thrilled. (Too bad I forgot my camera yesterday but I'll show you pix next time.)
What has been thrilling the "ladies behind the table" during rehearsals - MJ, Marie and Kerry - is the way these basically inanimate puppets come alive under the control of our talented actors. It is amazing how much expression and emotion that they are able to invoke. Mind you, Marie really puts them through them their paces before they start; see the active exercises they do in the first two photos in the next column..
Andrew's King is always a hoot (Andrew reminds me of Robin Williams, his mind never stops!) and Helena makes the Queen an elegant contrast. That's the two of them rehearsing in the next image. Next is Sandy, who makes King Father-in-Law so deep, I mean he's kind, but quick to temper, understanding yet obstinate, wise yet sometimes given to rash statements. We love the character she has created!
MJ the Music Lady is in the last pic (Shyza!) - makin' sure everybody is heard and in key.
And finally below I bring you some craaaaazy hula hoop girls - Meghan the Jester & Tiffany the Princess - glad to see they know how to have fun at rehearsal!
That's all for now, I'm heading to the hall. See you soon!

Sunday March 15

What happens when you try to put on a puppet show? Watch this space for ongoing news on the making of A Royal Pain. We've been through the preliminary stages - the audition, the casting calls and the read-through - and are into our rehearsals. We've had some people drop out - so sad - bye bye to Julia K, Rose P. and Greg W.
Things got started with spirited music rehearsals at MJ's house for the singers - what voices we have for this production! Then it was on to workshops for everyone.
Of course when your director is also a teacher, you know there's gonna be some learnin' involved, and Marie didn't disappoint! Our first rehearsals, in the basement of the Hall, were actually puppet making workshops. Marie felt that puppeteers would be much more respectful of their individual puppets if they saw how much goes into their construction. Also, having their own home-made puppet gives them something to practice on at home.
Then we had a wonderful workshop in the Montessori School where Marie taught us all about the history of puppets - did you know that their development closely paralleled the development of theatre? - and we did some very important exercises on how to walk with a puppet, and how to bring out its personality. The puppeteers were finally introduced to their puppets and it was quite a party!
Now we finally have the hall for our rehearsals and, after the March break, we'll be able to install the puppet stage - YAY!!
In the column on the right are a couple of sketches from Tadek with ideas for creating a Medieval village right inside Memorial Hall. Meanwhile Nea is working feverishly to make sure all the details are taken care of, and Austin continues to come up with wonderful ideas to solve "puppet storage" challenges. Anne has just signed on as an ASM.
But the biggest news of all has to be the addition of the new buskers - Oscar & Conrad! Oscar has been hiding out a bit, but Conrad has been at every rehearsal. He came to the auditions but I guess he was too afraid to try out - never be afraid to audition, even if you don't get a part, you still learn a lot about theatre.
Anyways, I guess Marie saw how committed Conrad was, so she brought in Oscar, and now Martin and Sarah will bring these two rascals to life. I hope they're ready for this; these two can be quite a handful, with minds of their own. I mean, look at their pictures; Conrad couldn't even sit still for his photo!
Well, that's all for now. I'm off to a wild blueberry pancake festival downtown at the Sky Dragon Cafe and then I'll be heading up to this afternoon's rehearsal.
After today (Act III), we will have practiced every part of the play, which means that actors must now really concentrate on learning their lines!
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Thanks!
Kerry the Stage Manager