We are now on the morning of our second string of overnights. This one takes us north to Brunswick, OH; Joliet, IL; and Springfield, OH, and we will be at this last stop for two days. We've all packed for four days and said goodbye to our rooms. It's motel beds for us for a while. We are doing The Legend of Sleepy Hollow six times in a row on this trip.
We have a Springfield area map, courtesy of Cat, and a handful of brochures to help us kill our down time while in the city. We do wish we had more time in Illinois, if only perhaps to spend some time in Chicago. We'll drive through it, naturally, on our way out west.
Yesterday, at the Defiance Public Library in Defiance, OH, we performed in an outdoor tent. It was...interesting. We had never had to contend with the elements before, and when the wind blew over our backdrop as soon as we put it up, we knew things were about to change drastically. The lovely library staff hefted out some sandbags for us to anchor our drops with, though the fabric continued to furl in the breeze. So we used that one thing which theatre people know cures every problem: gaff tape! We taped the poles to the weights and, for the most part, our set remained stationary.
We also contended with a large metal pole in the center of our stage, but we were able to use it and incorporate it into the scenery. Perhaps the most difficult obstacle was the grass. The trees are on wheels and at several points have to spin around and/or move laterally across the stage. But the wheels kept sinking into the ground, getting caught in the grass. The tree-movers had to basically carry the trees while skating the wheels gently over the lawn, but we made it work in the end. The audience was receptive, the scenery was gorgeous (we were but fifty feet from the shores of a picturesque autumnal river scene) and the people were friendly. They gave us free donuts, hot cider, and popcorn before sending us on our way. All in all, a positive experience for everyone.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Bogan Elementary School, Oxford, OH
Today we performed An Algonquin Cinderella and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow about an hour northwest of us, in Oxford, OH. We were near Miami University, where Teresa spent a year of college. She was able to point out the old haunts as we drove past.
Our shows went well, and the children were quiet but seemed attentive. They had intelligent questions after each show, too. The second Q&A lasted a little longer than normal, but we didn't mind and the teachers didn't seem to, either.
We had a large break between the shows, so after taking down the first set and presetting the second one, we had a leisurely lunch in Oxford. We bonded and the time flew by. Even if we don't know what to do with ourselves during these breaks between shows, we seem to be able to fill it easily with conversation, laughing, getting to know each other even better. As Marva observed today, "It feels like I've known you all for forever." It's true. It doesn't quite seem right that today marks our one-month point: September 16 was our first performance, at the Campbell Co. Public Library in Newport.
We listened to Madonna on the ride back, almost getting through the whole album because traffic on I-75 had slowed down in spots.
Tomorrow, we have another twofer, performing Sleepy Hollow in the morning in Morrow, OH, and Cinderella in the afternoon in Cincinnati. Once again, our call is early in the morning, but as we are staying fairly close to home the morning shouldn't find us too groggy. Til then, so long!
Our shows went well, and the children were quiet but seemed attentive. They had intelligent questions after each show, too. The second Q&A lasted a little longer than normal, but we didn't mind and the teachers didn't seem to, either.
We had a large break between the shows, so after taking down the first set and presetting the second one, we had a leisurely lunch in Oxford. We bonded and the time flew by. Even if we don't know what to do with ourselves during these breaks between shows, we seem to be able to fill it easily with conversation, laughing, getting to know each other even better. As Marva observed today, "It feels like I've known you all for forever." It's true. It doesn't quite seem right that today marks our one-month point: September 16 was our first performance, at the Campbell Co. Public Library in Newport.
We listened to Madonna on the ride back, almost getting through the whole album because traffic on I-75 had slowed down in spots.
Tomorrow, we have another twofer, performing Sleepy Hollow in the morning in Morrow, OH, and Cinderella in the afternoon in Cincinnati. Once again, our call is early in the morning, but as we are staying fairly close to home the morning shouldn't find us too groggy. Til then, so long!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Jac-Cen-Del Elementary School (Osgood, IN)
We set out today at 11am, traveling south and west to Osgood, IN. The drive was a little over an hour; not bad, considering there have been days with drives of up to five hours or more. It was Marva's first time navigating, and she did a wonderful job getting our van through the autumnal hills of eastern Indiana. We did get a little turned around on US-50 because of local road construction, but after getting directions from a pharmacy, we made our way to the school.
We were to perform An Algonquin Cinderella in the gym. It had been a week since we last did this show. With Halloween approaching, it's no wonder that most schools and theatres have booked The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and we are only halfway through October. By the end of the month, we will have performed Sleepy Hollow twenty more times! We have five more Cinderella shows before Oct. 31. Once November rolls around, though, the tables turn: The first full week is almost 100% Cinderella.
The seasons dictate the shows, sometimes.
--
The show went well today. Again, not having done the show in a week, we half-expected to be a bit rusty. But after a small touch of confusion at the show's start, we settled back into our groove and the students were quite responsive.
Almost every time we do the Cinderella show, we are asked how the Rough-Face Girl's hair magically turns from burnt to beautiful. Teresa and Marva have their answer down to a science. Teresa talks about her preparation for the scene, donning two wigs on top of one another, and right on cue, Marva explains how the switch is made on stage, during the part where she pours the healing water on Teresa's head. The children always seem awestruck by the simplicity of stage magic. Whenever we do Sleepy Hollow, invariably someone will ask a similar question about the Headless Horseman, and Keith and Marva march backstage to retrieve the costume piece.
--
Chris picked up our scripts for A Christmas Carol yesterday and we got them as we embarked for Cincinnati. We are excited to take on new roles and a new show in a little over a month, and even more excited to meet our fifth company member when he arrives.
That's all for now. Tomorrow, we travel north to Oxford, OH, to perform both shows throughout the day. Call is early in the morning, though, so for some of us, this may be a night with an early bedtime.
We were to perform An Algonquin Cinderella in the gym. It had been a week since we last did this show. With Halloween approaching, it's no wonder that most schools and theatres have booked The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and we are only halfway through October. By the end of the month, we will have performed Sleepy Hollow twenty more times! We have five more Cinderella shows before Oct. 31. Once November rolls around, though, the tables turn: The first full week is almost 100% Cinderella.
The seasons dictate the shows, sometimes.
--
The show went well today. Again, not having done the show in a week, we half-expected to be a bit rusty. But after a small touch of confusion at the show's start, we settled back into our groove and the students were quite responsive.
Almost every time we do the Cinderella show, we are asked how the Rough-Face Girl's hair magically turns from burnt to beautiful. Teresa and Marva have their answer down to a science. Teresa talks about her preparation for the scene, donning two wigs on top of one another, and right on cue, Marva explains how the switch is made on stage, during the part where she pours the healing water on Teresa's head. The children always seem awestruck by the simplicity of stage magic. Whenever we do Sleepy Hollow, invariably someone will ask a similar question about the Headless Horseman, and Keith and Marva march backstage to retrieve the costume piece.
--
Chris picked up our scripts for A Christmas Carol yesterday and we got them as we embarked for Cincinnati. We are excited to take on new roles and a new show in a little over a month, and even more excited to meet our fifth company member when he arrives.
That's all for now. Tomorrow, we travel north to Oxford, OH, to perform both shows throughout the day. Call is early in the morning, though, so for some of us, this may be a night with an early bedtime.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Welcome to ArtReach!
Welcome, friends, teachers, students, and parents! This is the official blog of ArtReach, a Division of the Children's Theatre of Cincinnati. Our 2008-09 tour has already begun (our first show was on September 19), and we will share our stories online with you as often as possible in the following months.
We've been busy. Currently, we are touring two shows: Ohio playwright and ArtReach founder Kathryn Schultz Miller's stage adaptation of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving, and directed by Andrew Gaukel; and An Algonquin Cinderella, written and directed by ArtReach alum and Ohio playwright Mary Tensing. We will continue to tour these shows into mid-November. Starting Nov. 17, we begin rehearsals for A Christmas Carol, which hits the road after Thanksgiving.
There are four of us in ArtReach, all recent college graduates at the start of our acting careers.
The primary author of this blog, Chris Stewart, is originally from Omaha, NE, and graduated from Hillsdale College (MI) with a degree in English and Theatre.
Keith Taylor, from Columbus, OH, has a degree in Theatre from Muskingum College (OH).
Teresa Wellman is from Dayton, OH, and she graduated from Wright State University with a degree in Musical Theatre.
Marva Williams is also from Dayton, and she has a degree in Psychology from Sinclair Community College.
Together, we tour the tri-state area (though we go as far north as Sandusky, as far west as Joliet, as far east as Baltimore, and as far south as Tullahoma, TN!) in ArtReach's big white van. In this van, we pack our state-of-the-art sound system, our sets, props, costumes, repair kits, and personal suitcases for overnight trips. It's a tight fit, but we've made as much use of our space as possible...and even developed a way to keep the mountain in the back low enough so the driver can still see out the rearview mirror!
We've already played such austere venues as Stuart's Opera House in eastern Ohio, Sandusky's State Theatre on Lake Erie, the Cincinnati Art Museum, and recently, the Palace Theatre in Marion, OH. But we've loaded into libraries, gymnasiums and cafetoriums as well! Any place wide enough for our backdrop and deep enough for our Sleepy Hollow trees to spin around is fair game. Our best load-in time is around 22 mins., so we've got a pretty good system.
Tomorrow is a very welcome day off. But we return to the van on Wednesday, to drive to Osgood, IN, to perform Cinderella for the first time in a week!
There will be more to come, of course, but for now, that's all from us. We look forward to hearing feedback via this blog, as well, in the form of your comments. Please feel free to share your experiences as we share ours!
We've been busy. Currently, we are touring two shows: Ohio playwright and ArtReach founder Kathryn Schultz Miller's stage adaptation of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving, and directed by Andrew Gaukel; and An Algonquin Cinderella, written and directed by ArtReach alum and Ohio playwright Mary Tensing. We will continue to tour these shows into mid-November. Starting Nov. 17, we begin rehearsals for A Christmas Carol, which hits the road after Thanksgiving.
There are four of us in ArtReach, all recent college graduates at the start of our acting careers.
The primary author of this blog, Chris Stewart, is originally from Omaha, NE, and graduated from Hillsdale College (MI) with a degree in English and Theatre.
Keith Taylor, from Columbus, OH, has a degree in Theatre from Muskingum College (OH).
Teresa Wellman is from Dayton, OH, and she graduated from Wright State University with a degree in Musical Theatre.
Marva Williams is also from Dayton, and she has a degree in Psychology from Sinclair Community College.
Together, we tour the tri-state area (though we go as far north as Sandusky, as far west as Joliet, as far east as Baltimore, and as far south as Tullahoma, TN!) in ArtReach's big white van. In this van, we pack our state-of-the-art sound system, our sets, props, costumes, repair kits, and personal suitcases for overnight trips. It's a tight fit, but we've made as much use of our space as possible...and even developed a way to keep the mountain in the back low enough so the driver can still see out the rearview mirror!
We've already played such austere venues as Stuart's Opera House in eastern Ohio, Sandusky's State Theatre on Lake Erie, the Cincinnati Art Museum, and recently, the Palace Theatre in Marion, OH. But we've loaded into libraries, gymnasiums and cafetoriums as well! Any place wide enough for our backdrop and deep enough for our Sleepy Hollow trees to spin around is fair game. Our best load-in time is around 22 mins., so we've got a pretty good system.
Tomorrow is a very welcome day off. But we return to the van on Wednesday, to drive to Osgood, IN, to perform Cinderella for the first time in a week!
There will be more to come, of course, but for now, that's all from us. We look forward to hearing feedback via this blog, as well, in the form of your comments. Please feel free to share your experiences as we share ours!
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