KaseyonTour

2007-11-18T12:45:00.000-08:00

So many things

I'm just going to list the fun and crazy things that have happend recently and then some musings too.

1. Sally Feild is amazing. If you don't watch Brothers and Sisters you should start.

2. With my recent freeing up of time, after leaving Producers, I have had a greater chance to expand my horizons (by watching more tv)

Desperate Housewives is as good as ever. Pushing Daisies is quaint and charming. Law and Order SVU - stellar. And The Office is as funny as anything on TV. If you haven't seen 'the commercial' epsiode watch it on NBC.com.

3. Last weekend I ran a traditional jewish deli in the Bronx. What?, You may find your self asking. But it is true. On craigslist I responded to a caterer looking for some help over the weekend.

It consisted of me basically running this jewish deli while the owners went out to events they were catering. We are talking babaganoush, bagels and many kinds of herring. Quite the experience. By the end of the day I found myself asking 'Oi, you want I should shmear a little spread on that for you? Bubala! I need more lox'

4. I am currently living in harlem which isn't as scary as it sounds. It's not the same harlem it was 5 or 10 years ago. Still kind of ghetto but doesn't ever feel particularly unsafe. (Hopefully I won't now get mugged tomorrow)

5. I am having a birthday get-together at splash on Monday Nov. 26th. Around 9ish if you're in NY.

6. I'm trying to eat just special K for breakfast and lunch and then a lean cuisine for dinner. Trying to be smart before thanksgiving so I can gorge that week. My body has hit the part of the diet where it has started to eat itself. I'm also drinking my protein shakes so that helps a little. Sympathy cards can be sent to my parents home and i will read them later.

7. I'm going to Ian's parent's house for Thanksgiving. Should be wonderful. Two little neices of his, an eccentric aunt to bake with and football on tv all day. Who could ask for anything more.

8. I think I might audition for Big Brother 9 on Sunday. I don't really expect to get on it but it would be fun to audition. I just get so nervous. I hope I don't get in the room and have zero personality. I'd rather do Project Runway though. Except I don't design clothes. . .

10. Reason 103,409,424 to loathe Tyra. On last night's top model (I told you I have been watching a lot of tv lately) when she announced who got the last picture, she stood there and talked to the girl for like 2 minutes while the poor girl who was voted off had to stand there and wait for her pity speech. It was so awkward and strange. Like Tyra. And her bangs.

I guess that's all that's new for now. Happy Holidays. (And yes, I mean Thanksgiving and Christmas because it's never too early to start wishing the world a merry christmas)

It's the end of the Road

2007-10-28T12:52:00.000-07:00

Today is my last day on the road. At least for a while. Sad? A little. Excited? A lot.

I can't wait to spend a little time taking lessons and pounding the pavement. I've solidified a lot of bad habits in the last few years and the time has come to fix that.

I will definitley miss a lot of people but I will also get to see/hang out with a ton of friends that I never get to see.

I will be in New York and Chicago for the month of November and then I will be in Spokane for all of December enjoying the month of Christmas. Then it's back to NY in January to look for an appartment, a job and a future.

Here goes nothing. . .

Tour Wrap up musings

2007-06-17T07:53:00.000-07:00

Summer is coming for me and I can't wait. It's strange to be touring this late in the year and even stranger not to be doing summer stock. This is my first time not at either CDA summer theatre or The Theater Barn in 8 years!

I'm starting to go through withdrawl but hopefully I'll be so busy I won't have time to get too down. I have only 18 shows left (16) after tonight and then it's home. I do miss the orchestra rehearsals and the apartments though:(

We've been in Tampa all week and it's been wonderful. The hotel has a pool that's open 24/7 so it's been BBQ and pool party til all hours of the morning. (Of course I usually peace out around 2 or 3 because I have a week constitution). Last night a few injured Yankee pitchers that are down here doing rehabilitation came and hung out.

I tried to set one of them up with a show girl but I eventually got tired and had to go to bed.

Last week I got to see my friend Dustin from High School, who lives in Memphis. He's doing amazingly and it was so great to get a chance to hang out. We were a few years apart in school and mostly did theatre and music together so it was fun to get to know each other as adults now.

I scheduled my U-Haul and my storage unit in NY yesterday so I guess the drive is really happening. I think I conned a friend into driving to Chicago with me:) and then Ian will go the rest of the way to New York. Then it's bumming around the city and Ocean City, Maryland until Producers starts rehearsals again in mid-august. Ian's grandparents had a property there that we're going to pull a 'This old house' on. Should be fun.

Well I guess that's about all that's new.

Most Amazing Tour Moment Ever!!!

2007-04-15T10:02:00.000-07:00

Yes, you read that right. 'Most Amazing Tour moment ever!!!' complete with three exclamation points. (I don't know that I've ever actually written the word exclamation until just now)

Occasionally in 'Producers land' we have a local celeb (ie television news affiliate anchor or radio personality) guest start as the foreman of the Jury. The foreman has one line and then walks off stage.

Up to this point the guest stars have been merely amusing. Some forget the line and sort of make it up. Some walk off the stage and skip wing one trying to squeeze off stage between the light tower and the proscenium.

But our latest takes the cake. He delivers 'We find the defendant . . . . (Pause for dramatic effect) INCREDIBLY GUILTY'.

Then he walks about five feet downstage and takes a Liza Minelli solo bow. He then turns upstage with arm outstretched to acknowledge the little old ladies and the judge.

He then proceeds downstage, stepping off the show deck to start a round of applause for me and the orchestra (we're not playing at the time but he doesn't seem to mind).

Then to top it all off he Shuffles Off to Buffalo into wing one. And yes, he was from a Fox news station.

After the bows the entire playing company Shuffled off to Buffalo offstage in some sort of tribute. Maybe my favorite 30 seconds ever.

Calgary and such

2007-03-26T23:12:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting in myvhotel room in Calgary, AL and all of the news channels are from Spokane. It makes me a little homesick to see the skyline of Spokane during the weather segments and getting to see Dana Haynes talk about Spokane issues. Beautiful.

I have one week in Calgary then off to Southern California for a while. Should be a blast. Between the two I'm heading to New York for a few days to see Ian and hopefully to take a piano lesson with a great jazz pianist.

I can't wait to hit some warm weather and finally mail my winter coat home!

Trapped in Midwest

2007-03-19T03:51:00.000-07:00

Don't get me wrong I like the midwest. We've just been here for a while. I'm ready to hit the Southern Calinfornia portion of the itinerary. It's time for swimming pools and movie stars.

We leave Wichita, Kansas today and head to Bismark North Dakota. Two weeks from today I'll be heading from Canada to Palm Desert and I can't wait.

I sent out several emails to various piano teachers in cities we're playing. I'm hoping to set up a few lessons with each. I figure I might as well not wait until I'm back in the city.

I guess that's all the new 'news'.

Around the World

2007-03-08T17:09:00.000-08:00

Tonight the Producer's tour hosted it's very first around the world party. We were lucky enough to have the night off so of course we had to put it to good use.

The evening started in Wisconsin where we partook in a quiz covering the history of the 'Dairy State'. Jello shots and Cran/vodkas were provided as well as a meat and 'cheese' platter.

We then continued to Ireland where Guiness and Bailey's flood like beer and liqueur. A fiery 'lute off' broke out but quickly subsided.

On we trucked to the Carribean. A few pirates greeted us at the door and forced everyone to limbo under swords for entrance to the room. Once inside we saw that the hosts had moved there mattresses and bed frames into the corner providing an island in the middle of the room for food. (I guess it was very easy) I don't remember the drink but I'm sure it was strong.

In New York City, the room I co-hosted, we treated the guests to an Appletini straight from the big apple. I've never had or made one so it might have been a bit vodka heavy. Ok a lot. We provided a New York/Producers cross word puzzle which proved to be harder than the New York Times'. Then the gang had to bob for apples in the Jaccuzzi tub.

In the next room, representing the Republic of Chad, we ate a small piece of bread and worms covered in dirt. When broken up into teams we did a project Chad, outfitting one team mate in clothing made from a collection of bathroom towels a la project runway. The bathtub was filled with coffee grounds and tea lights reminiscent of a muddy Chad river. Except for the tea lights.

We fled chad and headed off to Paris in the Spring. The room was decked out for lovers complete with chocolate covered croissants, champainge (however it's spelled) and blind folds.

The USSR provided some potato and cheese dish and black russians. I prefer a white russian but you can't really be picky. Their activity was a photo op with Stalin, provided by Jason Flanders in a Stalin wig and mustache from the show.

Finally, Mexico brought up the rear. With a pinata, tequilla shots, margueritta shots and sunbathers it really did feel like the streets of Tiajuana. Again, my spelling awful.

Even though the party was held in various rooms and last no later than 7:30 PM we got a few noise complaints and had to shush the rest of the evening. But oh well. It's nights like this that make touring worthwhile. And it was only 7:30.

I was very impressed by the lengths to which people went. Kudos. I tried to put some pictures up but blogspot.com has a new set-up. Oh well.

Heading to Canada Again. . .

2007-02-14T16:58:00.001-08:00

We had our first Snowed out Show last night. Very fun. I got to spend extra time with Ian who was visiting for a couple of days. However, on a sad note out 'Bowl-o-rama' that was scheduled for Tuesday night was also cancelled. I was looking forward to getting to hang out with the cast and crew for a bit. But it was nice just to sit in a hotel room and watch tv and movies all day. It was definitely a throw back to 'Snow Days' from elementary school.

I think we're probably gonna head back here to make up the show during the beginning of our one week lay off in May. That's kinda sad seeing as how we only have one scheduled break between Thanksgiving and July 1st but oh well, what can you do.

I'm working on my plans to move back to the city in August. I'm going to go home for my sister's wedding and stay at home for most of July.

This coming Tuesday we are heading to Canada for three one week engagements in Edmonton, Vancouver and Saskatoon. It will be nice to have the week sit downs to relax a little. I need to get caught up on my 'Oz' and 'Six Feet Under' Netflicks.

2007-01-23T22:05:00.000-08:00

After rehearsing in Ontario for 3 weeks in August/September we are back again to take Canada by Storm. About an hour from Kitchener (Where we rehearsed) we're setting up Shop in London, Ontario. The city is beautiful and ironically enough looks a little like a miniature London.

The hotel is beautiful. The gym is fantastic. And tonight's show was, well interesting. It was sort of the evening of sound issues. An RFX box (I think that's what it's called) wasn't working at sound check which meant for of the wireless mics weren't patching into the sound board. Luckily our sound guys fixed the issue before the show. Then during 'Keep it Gay' the sound board crashed for about a minute and a half losing all mics, key boards, monitors, basically every sound thing that plugs in. And let me tell you, vamps sound very unique when played on two flutes and drum kit.

To add insult to injury, the theatre is an ice-skating arena. That's not the strange part, we've played those before on occasion. But for some reason the ice under the plywood we were sitting on was particularly cold. All of the brass and reed instruments were freezing, as were most of the musicians. I think I might be coming down with a cold from it for which I'm popping vitamin C like it's my full time job.

Despite the technical difficulties the show was fun. The cast is great at just going with the flow which helps immensly. The boarder crossing was fairly uneventful.

In Huntsville about two weeks ago we had our first 'walk-on' role. To publicise the show they will occasionally have a 'Producers' radio contest and the winner wins a walk on role in the show. Below is a letter 'Walk-on John' sent to his acting liason in the company.

Hey Alison,

I had a great time last night and thanks for being my
“leading” lady. The cast and crew of “The Producers”
were absolutely great and truly made my weekend
memorable. It was amazing to see the production from
the backstage and to watch all the “goings on”. You
and Chris were particularly kind to make sure that I
made it safely across stage. After the show, my wife,
friends and family (a.k.a. adoring fans) were waiting
at the stage door and presented me with a dozen roses
to commemorate my stage debut. We all went back to
the hotel to celebrate and party.

My wife’s included a blog on her professional website
(the Writers’ Playground) that I thought you and the
other cast members might enjoy. The link is
http://writingplayground.blogspot.com/ and the entries
are January 13 and 14th. The pix from last night are
posted too.

Again, tell everyone I said thanks much for being so
warm and welcoming and “break a leg” on the rest of
the tour!

John

Split-weeks

2007-01-13T21:22:00.000-08:00

We're now in the throws of split-weeks for January and the beginning of February. Fun Fun Fun. And in a few days we should have our first cast replacement. One of our 'Character Women' is leaving the show. We'll rehearse her out her and have her in the show in a few weeks.

Sittting in Huntsville, AL for the weekend. There's beautiful lake between the hotel and theatre so it makes the walk amazing. It's also about 70 degrees which is nice too. Our Ulla cover went on today for the first time. She did a great job. It's always nerve-wracking when a principle cover goes on for the first time and sometimes I'm sure I'm more nervous than they are. 1/2 of it is just being nervous for them and the other half is having to concentrate harder because 'their show' is usually slightly different than the principles so you have to stay on your toes.

I joined NETflicks and I love it! I have a ton of great old movies and HBO series on my queue.

All right, heading out for a cast member's birthday party.

A New Year

2007-01-01T15:39:00.000-08:00

By my calculations I have exactly six months of Producers left. The week in Montreal looks like it's not happening and I'm not sure if I will do the Atlantic City engagement or not so I think my involvement with the show will come to a close on July 1st. Just in time to head home for my sister's wedding.

We just wrapped up our week in Virginia and I'm sitting in the airport waiting for a massively delayed flight to Fayetteville, AK, birthplace of the first Wal-mart.

Our director made a surprised visit out this week to see and note show. He seemed very pleased with the shape the show was in and spent a fun New Years with the cast and crew last night. It was fairly tame as most of the company had to leave the hotel at 4AM for a 6AM flight.

We start a few difficult months of split weeks next week. January and February are rough touring months anyway. Once we get to the Candian dates everything should fly by.

Finally a Posting

2006-12-22T08:27:00.000-08:00

I know I've been a blogging slacker. The show is going well. We're camped out in Newark for the week, just a stones throw from Manhattan. I was in the city on Monday night and got to see a lot of friends I haven't seen in anywhere from months to years.

I also hit 'The Apple Tree' with Kristin Chenoweth on the Wednesday matinee. The show was all right. I loved the first act and was fairly indifferent about the other two. The three leads were fairly good but the tiny ensemble didn't seem used very well. They didn't come off as the best performers but it was hard to tell why. It's easy to see why the show itsn't done that often.

We got a great review in Jersey and good review in Jersey. One said I conducted the orchestra with panache. I think that's a good thing but I haven't looked it up yet.

I think I'm heading into the city on Monday to have Chinese food for Christmas Dinner and maybe see Dream Girls, the movie. If the weather is bad we'll have to leave that day though so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't snow.

We've had some pretty great audiences lately. The crowds in Scranton were ridiculous and filled with several crazy laughers. After you do a show for a few months, it's usually the insane audience members that help to break up the monotony.

Birthplace of Freedom

2006-11-17T21:13:00.000-08:00

So we walked to see the Liberty Bell today. It seems like a big fuss for a big bell with a crack in it. (I offered to repair the crack but the security guard declined)

We had the requisite photos taken with the Bell. It's a cool little museum, though the documentary takes itself a tad too seriously. It boasts that the Liberty bell is the most important bell in the world. In all honesty the list of important bells in the world can't really be that long. But it was fun none the less.

The weather in Philly has been beautiful. Sunny and in the mid sixties. Philly's like a scarier version of NY. I was offered Oxycotton, pot and 'stuff' on the walk home from the theatre the first night. The city is great but makes me miss New York so much. There's no place quite like it. I can't wait to see the tree at Rockefeller center or the store windows when we play Newark. New York at Christmas is amazing and I haven't seen it since '03. I'm going to try to get tickets to St. Patrick's Cathedral for Christmas Eve.

Captions

2006-11-09T22:43:00.000-08:00

The top photo is one of our trumpet players Shannon Seals dressed as Kasey RT Graham for Halloween. The next is Matt Wade dressed as Franken-room. And the final is our Assistant Company Manager as Dan Weisberg as Mary Catherine Gallagher.

Halloween Pictures

2006-11-09T22:41:00.000-08:00

Pirates, Halloween and Lobsters, Oh My!

2006-11-09T22:28:00.000-08:00

I got to see my first 'out of town try -out' preview of an upcoming Broadway musical. The experience was a mixed bag. It was great to get to see something that undoubtabley will go through a metamorphasis before hitting the great white way.

But on the other hand it feels like it might need to be an entirely different show for it to really work on Broadway. Everything in the show is really tepid. The score is supposed to be romantic and lush and it just kinda sounds like western family Les Miz. The cast is good but their talent deserves an emotional, engaging story. One thing that they can improve on easily is the transitions. In their current state most are completely abrubt and anti-climactic. It feels like an evening of clapping because you feel like you're 'supposed' to at that moment.

Oh well. I was hoping that there would be a big, splashy, beautiful and grand new musical heading to the Broadway skyline but I'm afraid this isn't going to be it. It might be too early to call though so who knows.

Here's a few Halloween photos from our party in West Virginia.

Penn State

2006-11-04T20:58:00.000-08:00

Having a blast playing Penn State. The town is amazing with great stores, restaurants and bars. The show is going really well. It's not selling great but the product is wonderful. Hopefully the sales will catch up.

With a few days off this next week I'm travelling to Chicago to visit a friend and to see a preview of the Broadway bound musical 'The Pirate Queen'.

I'll post some Halloween pictures soon

Another Clip

2006-10-29T19:55:00.000-08:00

This is the U tube clip of 'Keep it Gay' from the Producers National Tour.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-ZokyAgtdM&NR

Commercial

2006-10-29T19:52:00.000-08:00

I think this link will take you to the producers commercial.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xdijz3V1RAc

Hopefully it works.

Long Time No Post

2006-10-27T13:10:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've put anything up but I've been super busy and sick for about the last week. We just finished a few days in Erie, PA and are now in Easton, PA for a few days. Thetwo venues this week have been small and challenging but still good shows.

In Erie the pit was on the same level as the audience and only about 5 feet deep so we had to spread out a lot. We ended up using a lot of video monitors so that the musicans further away could still see. All in all the shows were pretty tight. The cast had to deal with a lot less room backstage so their tracks became more hectic than their usual chaos. They did a fantastic job adapting to the smaller quarters and luckily these are our last challenging venues for a little while. It will be nice to get back to the full 'scenic' design of the show.

There was a really great (kinda bad) all night diner in Erie that was fun on occasion and every bar was ridiculously cheep. If I had been feeling better I'm sure I would have partaken more regularly.

And if you have time you should definitely be watching 'The Office' and 'Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip'. Both excellent shows. Well I've only seen the pilot of 'Studio 60' but I have the rest to watch when I get time.

I'm trying to find a way to put a link to our B roll video footage so hopefully I'll that soon. Until then I have some small photos from our photo shoot. For some reason they're really tiny but oh well.

Biallystock and Bloom. . .

2006-10-27T13:08:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth Palowski as Ulla in 'When you got it, Flaunt it'

Spot on. . .

2006-10-27T13:06:00.000-07:00

Austin Owen and Elizabeth Palowski as Leo Bloom and Ulla in 'That Face'. No white set but they still look pretty good.

Used to be the King. . .

2006-10-27T13:04:00.000-07:00

Jason Simon as Max Biallystock and the company of 'The Producers' in 'King of Broadway'.

Leo and Max. . .

2006-10-27T12:59:00.000-07:00

Jason Simon and Austin Owen in the final moment of 'The Producers'
(photo by Joan Marcus)

The Bet is on. . .

2006-10-16T21:52:00.000-07:00

So my roommate Gregg bet me $250 that I can't go until January 1st without getting my hair cut. I think I can do it, if for nothing else than to show Gregg that he has to stop making these ridiculous bets with me because my will power in unshakeable.

I'll keep you posted on how that turns out.

We had our first one nighter tonight. Luckily we don't have another until 2007. It went fairly well actually though it definitely was a '9th' show. Thankfully we have tomorrow night off to rest and re-coup. And I can't wait to play Bloomington this weekend. It's IU's homecoming weekend so the campus will be insanely busy.

Let it Snow, Let is Snow, Let it Snow

2006-10-12T09:24:00.000-07:00

There's snow in the forecast tonight for Ft Wayne and South Bend Indiana. Won't that be fun? It feels like the arctic tundra already here so I guess it will be fitting.

I went running by the river this morning and it's really beautiful. Ft. Wayne has the strangest downtown. There's several museums and hotels but very few restaurants or stores. I guess it's in the middle of a re-development.

The audiences here have been great which make the shows much more fun. I'm gonna jet to a brush rehearsal right now.

Get This Show On The Road. . .

2006-10-04T21:37:00.000-07:00

We've been on the road for a bit now and the show is running more smoothly. We've ended up cutting a few small scenic pieces that make the load in and the backstage running of the show much easier.

I'll be happy to get out of North Charleston, SC. There's not a lot to do here. Not that we've had the time. I had 4 hours of understudy vocal rehearsals today and we shoot B-Roll tomorrow so it'll end up being a long week.

I think the cast is holding up pretty well. The cast and musicians and crew seem to gel pretty well so hopefully that will hold out for the next 9 months.

I was sad to leave Sarasota, FL. It was really great to hang out with the company on the beach every night after the show. It was red tide so there were dead fish all over during the day but by the evening they were carried out to sea. Florida audiences tend to be quiet (that'll happen when the median age is well into their 80's) but the house was nice and the weather amazing.

Anyhow, I'm gonna go to bed so I can get up for work tomorrow.

1st Previews

2006-09-23T20:10:00.000-07:00

We got through our first previews with no major hitches. Due to an over-zealous fogger part of 'I Wannna Be a Producer' looked like we lit a few showgirls on fire but other than that no big gaffs.

We have tomorrow off then our official opening on Monday night. We have a photo call on Wednesday but here are a few back stage photos snapped during rehearsals.

Rehearsal Update

2006-09-09T20:48:00.001-07:00

Rehearsals are going really great. The cast is really talented across the board. I can't wait to get into tech and get the orchestra and sets and costumes. We went into the recording studio on Friday to record the click tracks. That was really great and a lot of fun

Here's a link to my friend Matt Wade rehearsing a little choreo from 'Springtime for Hitler'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep7v8Vg0eoY

and here's a pick of Elizabeth Palowski as Ulla

A few more theatre memories . . .

2006-08-30T09:12:00.000-07:00

Here's a few more great theatre memories from friends:

ADAM LEHMAN

As an unknown comic I'll take a performance opportunity when I can get it. A month ago I was mistakenly booked on a "Chanakah in July" showcase at Don't Tell Mama, finding out the title of the show when I arrived to perform. It isn't the first time I pretended to be Jewish to get something... I mean those eight days off around the holidays were much better than the two days off I would have gotten for Christmas. People have a hard time believing I'm not in fact Jewish, citing the Jewish overtones in my last name and the predominance of my nose, so everything was fine.

This past weekend I performed on a show at the Duplex where a few of our audience members were deaf. I had no idea what to expect. My initial doubts consisted of wondering how this could possibly work. Like I said, though, I'm hungry for stage time... so any chance to perform, whether as a non-Jew Jew or in front of the aurally handicapped, is greatly appreciated.

As the details unravelled, I found out there would be an interpreter on the stage diagonally behind me, translating each joke into American Sign Language. Knowing a few choice phrases of sign language myself, I decided to bridge the gap.

"I know a few things in sign language," I said, "and if you don't mind, I'd like to share them with you." "I like popcorn," I said, making the gesture for popcorn with the interpreter behind me doing the same. "I also enjoy hamburgers." Once again, the interpreter and I were in perfect harmony. "And this is really embarassing," I said, "but if you really don't mind, I'd like to sing for you."

At that moment I sang the end of the alphabet song with both my voice and my hands, shocking the interpreter to a certain degree. I picked it up back in middle school when we had an introductory course to ASL."Now... I... know... my... A... B... C's..."

Halfway through the song the interpreter stopped interpreting me, so I looked over and said "you're ruining the joke!""Next... time... won't... you... sing... with... me." I turned to the audience and said... "I'm sorry guys, that song was supposed to be in stereo."

This show totally has changed me to a degree. I went into the room with doubt and a sense of "what the hell am I getting myself into?" Most of all, I had fun and felt like I was among a group of friends. Comedy definitely keeps me humble. One set you can have every joke resonate and leave people in stitches, but later the same night with a different audience you struggle to even make a connection. Each moment I even think I'm making progress is mirrored with another moment where I realize I have lots to learn. I feel there's a certain beauty to be found in that dichotomy. No matter how many steps you have taken to get to this moment, there will always be more steps to take.

REBECCA

I was in the cast of The Laramie Project at Civic, directed by Marilyn Langbehn. The script itself is incredibly powerful and there were so many moments during the process that will forever be close to my heart but opening night was particulary memorable. We had spent so much time just trying to "Say it correct" as the script reads. From interviewing a man who knew one of the assailants to receiving an email from Rebecca Hillaker (whom I played) to studying the reports from the actual event, it was a life altering look at the human condition.

We became a very close cast using each other for support to relive this horrific event in human history and we tapped into some pretty strong emotions, so it was really difficult to go onstage opening night. Having felt the gambit of emotions and then rawly exposing them to house of freinds and strangers was probably the most vulnerable I've ever felt. I even screwed up one of my first lines! We all spent time sitting in the audience throughout the show and got to feel a part of them at moments, but I don't think any of us were fully prepared for the end of the show.

As the lights came up for the curtain call, we collected in the center of the little black box and there were tears streaming down most of our faces. It took a moment for the audience to applaud because they were so overcome (we finally realized!), but when they did applaud it was thunderous for that little room. We went backstage and just held each other for good, long moment. The gratification of knowing that they got it, that maybe we did, "say it correct" was overwhelming. I remember thinking that if I never did another show again, that was okay. This was what it was about for me. It was incredible. I hope one day to be able to have a show touch me like that again. I only pray it also touches the audience, too!

See It Now! See It Now!

2006-08-21T10:32:00.000-07:00

Go see 'The Drowsy Chapersone'. Hands down one of the most enjoyable experiences of my theatre life. The show is a two hour smile-fest. About an hour in I had smiled so much my face was aching.

As 'The Man in the Chair' says 'The Drowsy Chaperone' isn't the best musical and he's right. Some of the music itself isn't wonderful but it's kind of the point. The whole evening is a beautiful letter to 'musicals' in general and 'the show tune' in particular.

It will validate your love for theatre.

Avenue Q on Avenue 7

2006-08-18T22:53:00.000-07:00

Hung out briefly with Jeff Marx, one of the writers of Avenue Q tonight at a bar in the village, a friend of a friend. I wished I'd been feeling better because it would have been cool to chat with him more but after hiking all over Manhattan today I had to peace out early.

He was wearing a 'Wicked' T Shirt which I thought was funny considering Q beat out Wicked for the Tony.

Theatre Moments - 3 to get ready. . .

2006-08-18T10:07:00.000-07:00

Here's some more special theatre moments shared by friends:

AMY
Playing Sister Amnesia in NUNSENSE II and doing the bingo game scene. It was always a scary scene for me because I'm not great at ad libbing and I have to do that scene all by myself and work with the audience.

I remember, one night, looking down and seeing a woman wiping tears of laughter off her face. And knowing....I did that.

BONNI
Not to repeat you, but I have to say that the ACL- Alternatives scene and "What I Did For Love" is now one of my fondest memories. Every night listening to Kelly deliver her lines about only having a few years left as a "chorus cutie" and questioning if she was "giving up or copping out" always brought me to an emotional edge, but the last night it was too much. I began to cry and could barely sing the song. Thank God for Max who was standing by me. We always shared many special moments during that scene, but that last night he sensed my emotion and gave me an extra hug and just held me there on the stage. God, that show becomes a part of you like nothing else... would to God that we could do it again...

Another favorite memory has to do with you Mr. Graham... and that is being cast in my first show: Joseph, which you directed. You may not remember, but where we met (at Whitworth in Suzanne's class) was the first time I had begun to dance again after having ended and ruined my classical ballet career two years previous via injury. Suzanne encouraged me to try theatre and you were gracious enough to cast me (though I had no idea you were the director when my mother forced me to go to my first audition). Yes the show was fun and all, but it was more than that... it was the beginning of me believing that I could still dance and that my passion for dancing didn't have to die just because of a stupid dancer injury... and that Broadway style dance was just as rewarding, if not more fun than classical ballet. The rest is history. I not only have had a string of great musicals, I also got back into ballet and performed a lead role this year in the Nutcracker.

BRANDON
I remember my first “big show” audition for Spokane Children’s Theatre. It was for Alice In Wonderland and Kasey happened to be the musical director. So, he started to play the music, and come to find out, the person who had played it for me before had done it a little different (surprise! lol) and I just got lost and really confused, along with being VERY nervous and I thought I had blew it! But, I made it! My first big role… Card/Door… lol

Another show I will never forget was Freeman Jr. High’s production of “Tom Sawyer” that I co-directed with my drama teacher in 7th grade. It was fun… but also kinda terrible all at the same time. It all went fine, for a Jr. High anyway, in the end and just prepared me for basically running the class my 8th grade year. lol

ANGELA
When I was a background performer in Romeo and Juliet in college, I played some female and some male characters with lots of costume changes. My best friend paid me a dollar every night that I wore a sock in my tights as a boy. I WAS RICH!

I was once in a children's show where I played a jack-in-the-box and my cruel director refused to make a hole in the back of the box for me to get out in between scenes. During one performance, I popped out of the box, toward the end of the show and got so dizzy I actually fainted. The kids in the audience were quite upset. That effing director STILL didn't put an escape hatch for me!

Memorable Theatre Experiences - The 2nd Coming

2006-08-17T23:28:00.000-07:00

Here's some more experiences from another theatre friend. I love the joy this art form brings to audiences, actors, musicians and crew alike.

J. Dyme
Honestly my favorite "moment" in theatre was the first year I was in the "Vagina Monologues" and I played "Angry". Enough said really. The crowd was rolling, and my delivery was absolutely perfect and on point. Each time I finished a sentence I had to wait 2 minutes for the crowd to settle down, there was such a flow to it....it gave me the biggest rush ever. It's the closest I think I'll ever get to being a stand-up comedian and that's what I've always wanted to be!

The next one that comes to mind is when I was playing the role of "Cassie" in a recent production called "The Queen of Hearts Ain't That Pretty"....I had an understudy for the matinee showing, and so I had the opportunity to roam backstage and mess with the whole crew. I was in our dressing room listening to the chat over the headsets that came over the loudspeaker in the room, and as the show was going they were telling all kinds of jokes, and doing everything they could to keep themselves entertained, and THEN proceeded to talk about how lame they thought this play was and can't believe the director chose this production.....I was pushing all sorts of buttons to try and figure out how I could put my voice over and speak to them so I could agree and let them know I was hearing everything, well apparently I was hitting the wrong button and it kept beeping over everyone's headsets.....so as I'm cracking up by myself in the dressing room....they are all freaking out about the beeping noise thinking it's being heard onstage....and then they started saying "Oh my god, someone snuck in the dressing room!!!....." FINALLY I figured out how to get my voice heard, and we all were on the ground rolling when they finally found out that I heard everything they had said.....The behind the scenes are always the most entertaining.

P.s.- in this same production, one of the props was a bottle of gin and of course for all showings we had a gin bottle with water in it, on closing night.....I replaced the water with real gin without telling the rest of the cast.....and many of the scenes called for huge gulps from the bottle.....so I was ready to get loose on stage from the gin, but the CREW was two steps ahead...because they replaced MY GIN with Salt water....so when onstage.....I was surprised and pissed off at the same time, but of course had to hide all emotion and continue to act drunk...... in the end I had to laugh, but I still was pissed that they wasted the perfectly good alcohol.

Memorable Theatre Moments Series - Take One

2006-08-17T22:50:00.000-07:00

Every so often I'm going to post some of mine and my friends favorite personal theatre moments. I hope to appreciate and learn from everyone else's experiences. Please feel free to leave yours.

KASEY
I'll never forget looking up from the pit during the Special Chorus of 'Oklahoma' on the tours closing show and seeing 8 people already sobbing. I could see a chapter of my life closing before my eyes.

I also really enjoyed conducting 'What I did for Love' in Chorus Line this summer at CDA Summer Theatre. I think I enjoyed it for mainly two reasons. One it's a very simple song to conduct but you still feel like you're rocking out. And secondly because the 'Alternatives' scene that proceeds the number and the song itself are so meaningful to me now but moreso I know how much more meaningful they will be to me someday and I think I'm looking forward to that day.

And finally I'll always Cherish the opening day of 'Babes and Toyland'. With the crazy running around trying to amp the keyboards to the costumes being finished downstairs until well after the Overture. I wouldn't trade a second of it. I guess it is true - you never forget your first.

JESS
I'll never forget the first time I saw a full length show that I wrote, a modern adaptation of "A Midsummer Night's Dream". It was hokey, and the plot was all Shakespeare, but it firmly cemented my desire to be a writer.

I will cherish, for all time, the first time I wrote and directed a show. It was called "Death Comes to Herman", a dark comedy about the Grim reaper taking a vacation, and getting a mild mannered CPA to take over for him. For the first time, responsibility for the quality of a show fell squarely on my shoulders. It was deeply satisfying, heartbreaking, and a complete joy.

I'll never forget the dream sequence from "It's a wonderful life" the musical. The whole production was fundamentally flawed. I mean, who the hell writes a musical based on a untouchable and timeless holiday classic? Despite all this, there was a purely magical moment where, in a dream of sorts (and behind a scrim), I got to waltz, in a Tux no less, with a beautiful woman who had a remarkably beautiful dress on, under the lights of the stage. Wonderful.

KASHANA
I'd have to say that my ultimate theatre moment would have to be playing the narrator in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" for Missula Childrens Theatre. It was such a vocal challenge and when I got to enter onto that stage to start the show, I remember feeling a warmth of pure happiness. Just knowing that some of my best friends and I had accomplished something beautiful together and had the blessing of sharing it. That show was very full circle for me in my growth as a performer.

Another wonderful moment for me was dancing with Greg Pschirrer in "Kiss Me Kate" and also in our senior showcase for Box 'n' Hat Players. I didn't get to dance with him much in KMK, but there was a part in "Too Darn Hot" where I had a little moment with him into this lift and I always felt so secure. I didn't feel that way with any other dance partner. He was such a strong lead and a true joy to dance with. I miss that.

However, the most special show for me will always be a tie between "Hansel and Gretle" and "The Secret Garden." Those shows had the most heart and were definately the most fulfilling to me. There were so many young people involved and it just brought me back to that feeling of fresh love. In SG, Ben and I fused our souls into making that show what it was. In that project, I got to see the magic of our love in action.

Other honorable mentions include flashing the guys in "Carousel" at Mead High while they were doing their sailor number. Character developement for "Going to See the Elephant." And getting to slap Joe every night during "Meet Me in St. Louis" (can you say method acting?).

Blame Canada, Blame Canada!

2006-08-16T21:35:00.000-07:00

Well don't really blame them but because of an unforseeable setback we will be rehearsing in Toronto, Canada. It will be exciting as I've never been to to Toronto. But it will also be sad as I was hoping to get to spend a while in NYC.

I'm excited to start rehearsals though. On Monday, August 21st I will conduct my first NYC audition along with the Asst. Choreographer and the Asst. Director to find a replacement boy for the ensemble. It should be fun and I'm looking forward to it. Then Monday night I head to Toronto to start rehearsals with my supervisor, director and choreographer and the principles. The full company will start later in the week.

Here's a couple of photos. The first is John, Elizabeth and Austin (Max, Ulla, and Leo) hanging out at the photo shoot.

The second is a pre-run publicity shot. It will be used for the press before we do our official photo shoot once the show has opened. It's taken without the set and after a preliminary Costume fitting. Photo credit Robin Pendergrast/RFP Photography

Scattered Thoughts

2006-07-28T00:32:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure why this posting carries that title as most of my thoughts are fairly scattered.

I've been crazy busy helping to write the 2nd keyboard (strings) book for Producers. It's been a really great experience and between this, re-writing the Peter Pan music and transposing music fo 'The King and I' I feel like I'm really learning how to use Sibelius. So all in all I'm glad to have had the chance to work on all these projects. (Though I would kinda kill for just a get out jail free day to play in the sun)

I can't wait to get back to the NY. And I just found out Lacey (one of my besties) is going to come hang out for a few days. Can't wait.

As my summer draws to a close it will be sad to say goodbye to a few people this summer. I didn't get to know everyone as well as I would like to have since I was kinda slammed and a little anti-social but I did enjoy working with pretty much everyone. And I feel like I have a little stronger grasp on my bits and takes thanks to Steven Dalke.

Well, I'm gonna head to bed and try to push through the last of my transcription work in the morning.

RUN DON'T WALK. . .

2006-07-22T23:18:00.000-07:00

To see Lady in the Water - the best worst movie of the year. I don't want to give away anything away, not that it would really help you understand the movie anyway but you have to see it.

The plot is ridiculous and ever changing the rules but not in a good way. I haven't laughed this hard in a long time. Go with someone and just make quiet snide comments the whole time. You really won't be able to help yourself.

Thank you M. Night. Thank you.

COMING TO A CITY NEAR YOU!

2006-07-09T22:21:00.000-07:00

Well maybe not so near. But here is the Producers Itinerary. The highlighted dates are those that I think someone I know may be close to. Hope to see you at a show and out for drinks before or after. (Well probably after because I try never to drink before a show)

September 25th - 28th - Columbia, SC
September 29th - October 1st - Sarisota, FL
October 3rd - 5th - North Charleston, SC
October 6th - 8th - Greensbourogh, NC
October 10th-12th - Ft. Wayne, IN
October 13th - 15th - South Bend, IN
October 18th -19th -Evansville, IN
October 20th- 22nd - Bloomington, IN
October 24th - 26th - Eerie, PA
October 27th - 29th - Easton, PA
October 31st- November 2nd - Morgantown, WV
November 3rd- 5th - University Park, PA (Home of the theatre that collapsed during Oklahoma)
November 6th- 8th - Amhearst, MA
November 10th - 12th - Portland, ME
November 14th -19th - Philadelphia, PA
November 21st - 26th - Washington, DC
November 28th -29th - Pensicola, FL (My birthday city)
November 30th - December 1st - Tallahassee, FL (home of the amazing cast parties)
December 5th - 10th - Schenectady, NY
December 12th - 14th - Binghamton, NY
December 15th - 17th - Scranton, PA
December 19th - 24th - Newark, NJ
December 26th - 31st -Norfolk, VA
January 2nd - 7th - Fayetteville, AR
January 9th - 11th - Jacksonville, MS
January 12th - 14th - Huntsville, AL
January 16th - 18th - Columbus, GA
January 19th - 21st - Knoxville, TN
January 23rd - 25th - London, ON
January 26th - 28th - Akron, OH
January 31st - February 1st - West Laffayette, IN
February 2nd - 4th - Peoria, IL
February 6th - 8th - Iowa City, IA
February 9th-11th - Lincoln, NE
February 13th-14th - Springfield, IL
February 15th - Muncie, IN
February 16th - 18th - Aurora, IL
February 21st - Edmonton, AL
February 27th - March 4th - Vancouver, BC
March 6th - 11th - Saskatoon, SK
March 13th - 15th - Sioux Falls, SD
March 17th - 18th - Wichita, KS
March 20th - Bismark, ND
March 21st - 22nd - Fargo, ND
March 23rd - 25th - Winnipeg, MAN
March 27th - April 1st - Calgary, AL
April 4th - 8th - Palm Dessert, CA
April 9th - 11th - Esconida, CA
April 13th - 15h - Mesa, AZ
April 17th - 22nd - Thousand Oaks, CA
April 24th - 26th - Bakersfield, CA
April 27th - 29th - Long Beach, CA
April 3oth - May 2nd - Santa Barbara, CA
May 4th - 6th - El Paso, TX
May 8th - 9th - Rapid City, SD
May 10th - Casper, WY
May 11th - 13th - Colorado Springs, CO
May 15th - 17th - Little Rock, AR
May 18th - 20th - Springfield, MO
May 29th -31st - Paducah, KY
June 1st - 3rd - Lexington, KY
June 5th - 6th - York, PA
June 8th - 10th - Memphis, TN
June 12th - 17th - Tampa, FL
June 19th - 24th - Fort Meyers, FL
June 26th - 28th - Melbourne, FL
June 29th - July 1st - Gainesville, FL
July 10th- 15th - Montreal

Hope to see you somewhere along the way! Shoot me a message and I can reserve house seats.
KC

Flying, Crashing and other thoughts

2006-07-07T13:11:00.000-07:00

Peter Pan is up and running. Or flying should I say. Or maybe I should say wiping out. The show is going really well saving the few minor catastrophes. Last saturday a wire got crossed and Michael Darling went flying into a set piece. It gave us all our first hand 'Peter Pan' horror story that everyone in theatre seems to have.

Overall though it's going very well. I'm really happy with how the music turned out. And I'm very excited to not have to be chained to my laptop working on it any more. Though I will be starting work on the Producers keyboard book soon so I guess my reprieve from the computer will be short lived.

Peter Pan is definitely a fun show to conduct nightly. The flying is fun and it's short and sweet.

Pippin starts pretty soon which will be a 180 from PP. Should be fun or at least pass the time:)

Later

Step, Kick, Kick, Leap, Kick, Touch, Again. . ..

2006-06-05T16:43:00.000-07:00

So we're about a week from opening. It's a lot of material to get through but it's going fairly well. If cleaning and tech goes well it will be fine.

We had our first orchestra rehearsals yesterday. They went ok. I was a little unfamiliar with a few tunes having only been through them once in rehearsal or not at all and really needing to stage them to get a feel for them. But that will all iron itself out in the next week. The Montage will be difficult for the first few dress rehearsals and will be difficult every time a sub musician comes in. I wish they wouldn't allow subs for a such a short run but I don't really get to decide that. Oh well.

Tech is going really slowly (I'm doing this while they're focusing a light) but hopefully it will all be worth it. Anyhow, I'm gonna jet and get some work on Peter Pan done.

Summer Stock Aaaaaaaand Go!

2006-05-25T21:49:00.000-07:00

Like Micky and Judy I will plunging myself into the exciting world of summer stock on Saturday. I really do love it though I know this summer will be stressful. I really shouldn't have taken on Chorus Line but I'll make the best of it. At least the musicians are first rate and the performers too so that makes it easier.

In the midst of re-writing orchestrations for Peter Pan and going a little crazy. Been at my computer and keyboard from 8AM-10 PM everyday since Ok ended (that I wasn't at auditions that is) Hopefully it will pay off and make the show a little easier. I know with the flying element the time will be crunched.

Can't wait to get out to CDA though. It's a fun environment and I'm looking forward to working with a few friends from last summer.

On a seperate note, I just realized yesterday that once rehearsals start for Producers in August I go straight from August 21st through May 20th without a real day off. Our first layoff isn't until May! It will be a lot different than the last two years. Luckily I'll have my roomie from last year to go crazy with!

Anyhow, gotta go. TTFN

2 points

2006-05-17T22:57:00.000-07:00

1. Auditions are goin, g well. It's been great to sit in on this side of the table and see the audition process. The truly painful part of auditions is not seeing someone who's bad. Or seeing someone butcher a song. It's really seeing someone who's wonderful but not right for this particular show or a an open slot in this show. It really does feel bad to have someone who's great that you can't use. I've been very impressed by the director/choreographer/casting agent's desire to let these particular people know that they did a great job but weren't right for it. I think it helps the actors to know and appreciate when something went well especially when they don't have the possitive reenforcement of actually getting the role.

We also had a crazy audition story that will I'm sure go down in NYC audition lore. This man auditioned for Franz including full costume, heltmet, suspenders and hankerchief that turned into a cane in the number. He got dangerously close to the the creatives including touching the assistant choreographer and 'reader'. Too close for my comfort. He then proceeded to pull out a 'glove' puppet of Adolf Hitler and talk through him for a few minutes, including such memorable phrases as 'The Furor has a cold' and 'Don't you want to meet the little wittle furor?' It was so strange and ultimately scarry. I was fairly certain he was going to pull out a gun from his bag. I was only slightly relieved to see that it was a Hitler puppet.

2. Saw the Producers tonight. It was pretty sloppy both vocally and choreography wise. This is often the case I've found with shows that have been open for a while. The cast wasn't very insync and several ensemble members weren't very focused throughout the show. It was fun thought. Most of the leads were solid and it helped to finally see the show. It will definitely be a fun show to do night after night. It's all about schtick and keeping it tight which will be a great change from R and H. The set's are so huge it will be interesting to see what get's cut for this year of touring. Anyhow have to go to bed now. More to follow.

PRODUCER'S CALL BACKS - TAKE 1!

2006-05-15T05:25:00.000-07:00

Today is my first day of callbacks for the National Tour of 'The Producers'. Of course my flight getting into NY was and 1 1/2 late and I didn't get to my hotel till 1:30 AM Monday morning. Luckily I realized that with the time zone change it was really like my 10:30 PM Sunday night. This feeling of relief was quickly dashed however as Gregg, one of my OK roomies pointed out that when I got up the next morning at 7:30 it would really be like my 4:30. Sad but true.

I started the morning with a jog in Central Park and now I'm getting ready to head downstairs to meet the Musical Supervisor and head to the auditions. It will be a lot of fun to see random people from Oklahoma and other shows come into the room. Well have to dash.

Stick a fork in it.. .

2006-05-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

It's done. It's weird to be finished with it. It feels like the end of high school or some thing. But all things end and new things begin.

At the final show most of the girls sobbed their way through 'Oklahoma' and I'll always remember the look on Molly's face.

Waiting in the airport now to fly home and start summer work. Kind of exhausted but also realy to be on to new things.

That's just a picture of the Marquee from a theatre a while ago. I just thought it was a nice pic for the end of a chapter.

It's Been A While

2006-04-30T13:53:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've posted anything since I haven't had internet at the past few hotels. So here's a smattering of what's been going on:

New Mexico is beautiful. In Farmington there was this amazing string of parks that made up their 'River Walk'. I went jogging in it one morning and it stretched on for miles along the river. In Alto we played the smallest theatre this tour has ever played. The 500 seat theatre is state of the art and located literally in the middle of nowhere on a mountain top. It's one of those great stories about a woman who was tired of driving to the bigger cities to see shows so she just built her own theatre. In Albequerque my friend Annie and I walked 2 miles to the theatre last night after the show. Had a drink and walked 2 miles back. It was one of my favorite tour nights so far. We talked a lot about professional theatre, dancers, actors, grad school and our lives. Some of the neighborhood we walked through was a little sketchy but you're usually fine in a college town.

We're down to almost one week of shows left. It will so weird being done having worked on the show for a year and a half. I don't think it will really hit me until later in the summer.

Today's matinee performance marks the 666th performance of the touring company. I think I've been with the show for about 420 or so of those performances. The mark of the beast? We'll see about that.

I'm heading to NY for a week so sit in on 'The Producer's' tour auditions and musician auditions. I can't wait. It will be my first round of auditions on that side of the table. I'm hoping it will be give me a lot of insight into that end of things. I'm also really looking forward to working with the director. I've heard great things about him and it should be fun.

In my spare time on the road I'm workin on the Peter Pan score for this summer in CDA. The piano/conductor score is a disaster so I'm trying to rewrite it out with my new computer program. It's also a good way to learn how to use the program. I can't wait to get the Chorus Line score and start learning that too. It'll be a busy summer but fun hopefully. I'm excited to be back at CDA and enjoy the northwest a little.

Well I guess that's all that's really new. We only have for cities left on the tour and then that's all she wrote. Weird but I guess all things must come to an end. Including this blog entry. So bye.

NYC

2006-04-22T11:07:00.000-07:00

Hey all! I'll be in NYC May 15th -20th for Producers call backs and musician auditions. Drop a line if you wanna hang out some night. It'd be great to see anyone who's in town.

Oklahoma hits Reno!

2006-04-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

And what a pair they are. I wasn't sure how 'Oklahoma' would play in the city that never naps but it's been really fun. The audience is mostly locals so the attention span is longer than that of say the average Reno review crowd.

I was hoping the theatre would be equipped with slot machines in every seat and game table in the lobby but no such luck. The audiences here have been great.

In Fresno a few nights ago we had the craziest audiences this tour has ever had. They were either all drunk or REALLY into 'Oklahoma'. A woman in the front row sang along with the entire intro to 'Oklahoma'. I mean who really knows the lyrics "They couldn't pick a better time to start in life. It ain't too early and it ain't to late." ? And she wasn't just humming she was full on belting her guts out. It was awesome. I couldn't stop laughing until well after Jud was killed.

These are the audiences that revive you after 450 shows and make you realize again why you do this.

Monkey Business

2006-04-17T19:38:00.000-07:00

On a day off in Palm Desert, California we were lucky enough to visit a few chimps that are managed, raised and cared for by a friend of Sarah Shahinian, our Ado Annie. It was amazing. These are fascinating animals that are at once so human and yet so animalistic as well.

The animal refuge also cares for some of Hollywood's most recognizable lions, panthers, foxes and alligators. You know the Lubriderm Aligator? He was there. I didn't get my picture taken with him because he was like hybrinating or something.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

2006-04-15T08:21:00.000-07:00

Everyone in theatre has the stage where they know they've achieved a goal. Not a stage in the abstract sense but a physical theatre that they've dreamed of playing. Mine is the Spokane Opera House. Since seeing Carol Channing in 'Hello Dolly' (I know, so me isn't it) I've dreamed of coming through Spokane with a show.

I remember the feeling I got watching the show for the first time in Ft. Lauderdale in October of '04. That feeling is back and I don't think you could wipe the smile off my face this entire weekend if you tried. Well I was a little tired and irritable yesterday but other that you can't wipe the smile off.

I'm so proud of this company. They've been plugging along through a string of one-nighters with admirable aplomb. Sunday night will mark 17 shows in a row without a day off. You're typical show week is 8 then a day off. I could not be more happy with these great actors, technicians and musicians.

Below is the review from the Spokesman Review:

So outstanding, it's reborn

"Oklahoma!"

Spokane Opera House, Thursday night

Jim Kershner
Staff writer
April 15, 2006

This national touring production of "Oklahoma!" is so
good that one cynic, who has endured this old warhorse
way too many times, said at the curtain: "And I never
even knew I liked 'Oklahoma!' "

I was that cynic. This production – based on the
Cameron Mackintosh-Trevor Nunn Royal National Theatre
revival – is superior in almost every way. The
costumes are dusty and realistic; the sets are
windblown and imaginative; the lighting evokes an
Oklahoma sunset; and the Susan Stroman choreography
has a Ray-Bolger-in-Oz comic exuberance.

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Yet the sheer talent in the lead roles is what hooked
me from the first two numbers. Spencer Plachy is the
best Curly any director could ask for, with an open,
good-natured face, an aw-shucks demeanor and the kind
of singing voice that comes along rarely.

He has a powerful baritone, perfect pitch control and
impeccable diction. He made "Oh What a Beautiful
Mornin' " sound brand-spanking new, which is quite a
feat, considering the song is 63 years old.

Plachy and the two equally marvelous female leads –
Jessica Lavin, as the tomboyishly endearing Laurey,
and Pat Sibley, as the lovable-irascible Aunt Eller –
turn "The Surrey With a Fringe on Top" into a
comic-dramatic short story. Plachy's use of dynamics
is particularly effective; he can drop to a whisper
and still have us hanging on his words.

If Sibley looks familiar, it's because she was once a
Spokane actress – as Bella in the Spokane Civic
Theatre's 1996 "Lost in Yonkers," and Madame Arcati in
Interplayers' 1995 "Blithe Spirit." Even then, it was
obvious that she had national-class talent. It's hard
to imagine any actress, with the possible exception of
Patty Duke, creating a more strong-willed and
admirable Aunt Eller.

I mention Duke because she played Aunt Eller three
years ago in the Broadway production on which this
tour is based.

Andrew Lebon displays an eerily stunted and effective
speaking voice as the American theater's ultimate
creepy stalker, Jud Fry.

As for Lavin, she can not only sing and act, she has
serious ballet chops as well, as she proved in the
"Out of My Dreams" ballet sequence to close Act One.

That Stroman-choreographed ballet, by the way,
exemplifies the difference between this and most other
productions of "Oklahoma!" It is far more gritty,
hallucinatory and frightening than the original, with
disembodied hands beckoning Laurey into the cornfield.
At one point, it descends into Fosse-like decadence,
with scantily dressed dance-hall floozies representing
the dark side of life, in comparison with the open and
sunny American wholesomeness celebrated by "Oklahoma!"

Don't get me wrong – this is still the beloved and
cheerfully corny "Oklahoma!" with all of those tuneful
Rodgers and Hammerstein songs. The plot still revolves
around a box social. Yet this production manages to
make it compelling instead of silly.

One final note: Spokane's own Kasey RT Graham, the
tour's musical director, does a fine job of presiding
over the seven-piece pit orchestra. He received a warm
ovation from his hometown crowd.

That was followed by a standing ovation that erupted
on the final "Yeooww!" of the final curtain encore. No
doubt about it, people just love this show. Yeah, I
get it, finally.

A few random thoughts

2006-04-10T14:15:00.000-07:00

Ok, so a lot has happened in the last few weeks that hasn't made it onto the blog because I have been been either tired or lacking sufficient internet access. So here goes:

In Colorado Springs we were amazed to find a pit the size of a foot ball field. We thought it looked a little strange and it did put me about 50 feet from the stage but the local crew assured us all was fine. About 3 minutes before they went to open the house the local presenter realized that they had left out four full rows of sold, season ticket holder seats. In a mad scramble we moved everything in the pit (ie drum kit, keyboards, stands, chairs, cables, instruments, amps, etc.) about 30 feet. It was a zoo! Kinda crazy and definitely memorable.

2 of our new cast members are in the show now. Anne Marie Waltz has taken over the role of Gracie Lou and is doing a great job. Devan Walker is now in the role of Becky and is a great addition as well. Melody and Barbick are extremely difficult to replace but these ladies are wonderful. And more than that they are both great personalities and energies to have around. Our 3rd new cast member arrives on Friday and will hopefully be in the show on Sunday. Then everything will be back to normal just in time for the tour to close:)

I'm almost through with Harry Potter and The Tri-Wizard Tournament (4).

At last night's show Ali Hakim didn't come onstage after 'Farmer Cowman'. The cast, in a brilliant move just decided to make the silent auction upstage slightly less silent. Awkward? yes. Uncomfortable? yes. Memorable? Of course.

And lastly here's a picture from our St. Patrick's day bash in Madison Wisconsin.

5 WEEKS TO GO. . .

2006-04-04T10:18:00.000-07:00

Here we are nearing the end of tour. We lost three cast members last week and I'm not sure who's replacing them. J. Michael, our Will Parker tore his ACL in the show the other night. It was a very sad loss. We also lost our Gracie Lou, Jessica Barbick due to a knee injur. Another very sad loss. And our Becky Skidmore has been out for 8 weeks with her temporary replacement leaving this last week as well. It's been a crazy week in Oklahoma Territory.

I am still looking forward to playing Spokane though! It will be fun regardless of how stressful it will be to get there. It will be good to see friends and family and get a chance to play the Opera House. I just hope there is something recognizable of the show left:)

Here are a few pictures that my friend Jeff took for use in an article at home. Hopefully they'll work out.

TOUR RELATIONSHIPS

2006-03-26T23:51:00.000-08:00

Tour is the craziest place to deal with relationships. All kinds. You get trapped into thinking that the 40 people you're around in this whacky microcosm are the only people in the world. In normal life you might meet other people through your friends, co-workers, church, bars, or other social activities. On tour all of these grouping blend together.

Touring also makes it hard to deal with relationships at home. You end up not wanting to spend all your free time on the phone or on email but at the same time you still want to maintain the friendships you have outside of tour.

It's a delicate ballancing act but I still don't think I'd trade it for a sack of gold. . .

Travel Day From H - E - Double Hockey Sticks

2006-03-22T14:12:00.001-08:00

We arrived at the airport in Madison, WI on Sunday only to find out that the flight that 1/2 of us were supposed to be on to Dallas then to Palm Desert had been cancelled. Not delayed but just plain cancelled for technical reasons.

After a half our of trying to fit these 30 people on flights that simply didn't have room they finally decided that if we just drove to Chicago we could probably make a flight to Orange County that evening. Hoping on the bus we watched 'Anchor Man' as we sped to Chicago.

Now, Orange County being 2 1/2 hours from Palm Desert/Palm Springs the airline had to hire us a bus to take us the extra distance. The cherry on top of the day was, after arriving at Orange County air port two hours later than we were supposed to be in palm desert, the airline had sent our bus to LAX instead.

We waited on the side walk an additional hour and 10 minutes for the bus to come. In the meantime I spearheaded the efforts to order a large selection of pizzas that we picked up and ate (on the bus company's tab) on the way out of town.

But alas we made it and the sun is shining and as Anne of Green Gables would say "God's in his heaven, all's right with the world."

You Just Might Be On a Bus and Truck Tour If. . .

2006-03-15T21:56:00.000-08:00

In loving memory of Jeff Foxworthy (I don't think he's actually dead but his act pretty much is)

You can't say 7:00 without saying 7:00 for 7:30.

You never really know what time the bus call, curtain, company meeting or fight call is.

You look at your copy of USA today to figure out what day of the week it is and then get really confused with the Friday/Saturday/Sunday edition.

You haven't seen prime-time-television since Clinton was in office. The first term.

When you're home on layoff you call your mom from your cell phone and demand to know why your room wasn't made up while you were out.

You love, hate, cherish, fight with, make up with, hug, drink with, dine with, live with and laugh with the same 40 people all year.

Everything you own fits in two suitcases and an FAA approved carry on.

You know every rule about flying by heart. Including that on December 22nd of last year it became legal to carry small manicure scissors in your carry on.

You always get out of work after the hotel pool and hot tub have been closed.

And finally You Just Might Be On a Bus and Truck Tour if you're always exhausted but deep down invigorated by the sheer madness and energy of spreading musical theatre bliss across eastern, western and middle America. And sometimes Canada.

THE MAGIC OF LIVE THEATRE. . .

2006-03-15T21:50:00.000-08:00

Is starting to grate on my nerves. Yesterday the sky drop that comes in with the Corn Row got caught on something and ended up dumping it's weighted poles onto the stage. Picture javelins dropping from the sky. Luckily none of the cast were hurt and the show didn't have to stop. One of the poles went through our 3 inch show deck and 1 inch into the theatre's actual deck. If it would have hit someone it could have killed them.

Tonight Laurey's mic freaked out on her first entrance. She left the stage during 'Surrey' to have it swapped out and didn't make it back in time for the dialogue. Aunt Eller just sat there Churning butter and Curly kind of swaggered about. Ah the joy of live theatre.

I can't wait until the weekend. We'll be in Maddison, WI this weekend and then fly to Palm Desert on Sunday for a whole week. I plan on laying by the pool, showering and doing the show. Rinse, lather and repeat.

Aerosmith dinner date

2006-03-05T20:37:00.000-08:00

Well not really with the members with Aerosmith but with their company manager. Randomly he was in Lexington a few days early and came to the show. Having worked with our musical supervisor and CEO several years ago, he struck up a converstation and invited me out to dinner. Gregg our amazing drummer and I went and had a great time.

Over italian food he regailed us with stories of crazy start demands, groupies, outrageous figures and such. It was really interesting getting some insight into the world of the touring concert market. It's basically the same trials and tribulations of a bus and truck tour but on a ridiculously larger scale. Picture 17 trucks and a traveling crew of 80 not to mention the local call of 120 more to load the show in and out.

Yikes!

Happy Days Are Here Again!

2006-03-02T22:30:00.000-08:00

The show has finally gotten back into it's stride and I couldn't be happier. Our director is visiting in a week or so and that will be great. It's always good to have a cleaning to make sure everything stays Kosher. And our musical supervisor will be out in about 3 weeks.

For some reason I've been really giddy lately. I think it's because Spring is almost here. I can't wait for the warm weather, sun, beaches, flip flops, the works!

I bought my teddybear a new outfit today at Build-a-Bear. It's a pair of St. Patrick's Day boxer shorts and a 'Fighting Irish' Notre Dame T-Shirt. He's all pimped out.

I have finally paid off my School Loans! I want to shout it from the roof tops! But I guess I'll settle for just saying it on my blog. 20 K later it feels amazing to be out from under any sort of debt. I don't really know what to do with myself now.

Um, I'm kind of rambling but I got two pairs of jeans yesterday and I like them both. I never find jeans I like so I'm really excited. Of course today at dinner I spilled tomato sauce on them and had to have our Costumer wash them during the show.

That's all.

IS THIS THE BUS AND TRUCK OF TITANIC. . .

2006-02-17T12:24:00.000-08:00

Last night's show was a first and most likely a last for me. During 'Beautiful Morning' the first tune of the show I heard what sounded like a water bottel rolling somewhere in the pit. I just assumed it was our drummer Gregg's. He's always doing this sort of thing. (Well not really but I was just hoping he'd read this and get a little peeved.)

After a few seconds of the rolling sound I heard a massive crash behind me. We tried to see what had happened but couldn't really see anything in particular wrong. Our pit rat Steve went and fetched our TD. By a strange coincidence our light board happened to crash during the first scene. It got stuck in one cue. We decided we had to take a brief intermission and stop the show.

When the show stopped I turned around and looked into the house. The chunk of seats dead center and directly behind me had dropped about 10 inches. Even though we really stopped for lighting issues we had to hold while the 36 people in those seats were evacuated. I guess a riser had given out and collapsed.

Oh, the joys of live theatre. To show up for a nice musical comedy and have to take a trip in the 'Tower of Terror'. It's an evening I can easily say I will never forget. (Even with my bad short and long term memory. Maybe my Ginko Biloba is working after all. . . )

GET OUT YOUR TAP SHOES FRANCIS. . .

2006-02-12T22:00:00.000-08:00

The cast of 'Oklahoma' is dropping like flies. Our Becky is out for at least 2 weeks with a chiped bone in her foot. Our Hank is out with a sprained ankle. Our female swing has rolled her ankle too. Our Slim has vocal problems and no voice right now. And our Ado Annie has been out sick all weekend.

I'm kind of scared to wake up tomorrow. . . What could possibly be next? The 4 horsemen? But the shows have been going surprisingly well. I guess the old addage is true. The show does indeed go on.

COMING TO A CITY NEAR YOU!

2006-02-03T12:32:00.000-08:00

Here are the dates of shows in cities near where I think I might know someone:)

Brookville, NY - Sunday February 19th

Palm Desert, CA - March 21st - 26th

Eugene, OR - April 4th - 6th

Yakima, WA - April 7th-8th

Bellingham, WA - April 9th

Tacoma, WA - April 10th

Medford, OR - April 11th

Olympia, WA - April 12th

SPOKANE, WA - April 13th - 16th YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!

Fresno, CA - April 18th-19th

San Luis O'Bispo - May 2nd

Stockton, CA - May 3rd

Bakersfield, CA - May 4th

Ceritos, CA - May 5th - 7th

If you're in the area shoot me a message or an email or a call. It would be great to see you!

KC
kaseyrt_graham@yahoo.com

PRUNING THE SHOW

2006-02-03T12:28:00.000-08:00

In the past few weeks the Oklahoma company has become quite accostomed to pruning the show to play various venues. For those of you familiar with the show we have done the show without the show deck, corn drop, windmill, harrow, several electics, school house arches, all the miniature pieces, Claremore hanger etc.

The one nagging thing I've learned is that in the long run it doesn't make a whit of difference. The show succeeds on the cast, music, story and heart. Some of the most in-tune audiences have been in these tiny venues. Of course I prefer to have our full show in tact but it's refreshing to realize you can strip it of so much and still the show goes on.

As the little girl in Poltergeist says 'THEY'RE BAAAAAAAACCCCCCCKKKKKK'

2006-01-23T18:41:00.000-08:00

The Oklahoma cast and crew are back with a vengence. It was really great to see everyone. Everyone is just as they were when we left save the the few holiday pounds gained or crazy every-day cardio pounds shed.

This is really a great group of people. The sheer number of smiles can't help but make coming to work a joyous occasion. With a good company of people last year I can't help but feel like eventually the other shoe will drop and I will someday be stuck with a miserable group of people. But I hope not.

BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN

2006-01-18T07:35:00.000-08:00

As I'm packing my stuff up again to head out on the road I'm realizing that I'm becoming contented to live with less. I think this has much less to do with me becoming a less materialistic person as it has to do with me not wanting to Schlepp two 50 lb suitcases everywhere I go.

I can't wait to get back to the show though. As crazy as it may sound I miss the sound checks, bus calls, and late-night hotel viewings of downloaded Desperate Housewives episodes. So here goes. The last 15 weeks of 'Oklahoma'!

Thoughts on the National Tour of Mama Mia

2006-01-04T07:21:00.000-08:00

I wasn't sure what to expect with the (4th?) National Tour of Mama Mia. (It might be the 3rd?) Having been on Oklahoma for over a year I was thinking the line between a union tour and a non-union tour would be fairly distinct. I was pleasantly surprised to find otherwise.

Mama Mia was a good show. A good show that also suffers from some of the same touring life hazards as 'Oklahoma'. The talent was for the most part fine. A few performers I wasn't particularly crazy about and a few really great ones.

There was the occasional missed spot cue. The randomly focused light. There were cuts made for this leg of touring. (The stones in the show deck no longer light up)

But what I noticed most was where every tour suffers that I hadn't noticed until working in touring spaces. For the last year or so I thought some things about Oklahoma were odd but have come to realize that all shows have to deal with the same problems.

For instance, growing up I never realized that the show decks rarely cover the whole stage. You can always see the black or bare wood beneath around the edges. And that messy snake of coil is always present, running from the stage to the sound booth. At some theatres it's elevated, in some it's hidden and in some it's just taped over on the floor.

Mama Mia opened my eyes to the fact that seams show in just about every touring show regardless of the tier and that ultimately it's what's going on onstage that the general theatre-goer focuses on. (Thank goodness)

Kasey RT Graham

Baby's 1st Load-In

2005-12-21T10:51:00.000-08:00

Ok. So I did my first (and maybe my last) load-in with the crew of Oklahoma! (I'm not really soooo excited about Oklahoma! that I have to put the exclamation point, there just is one in the logo. I mean I am excited about it and I love my job but I sometimes think exclamation points are over used. And since I'm going to use a few when describing the crew, I want you to know that I don't use them superfluously.)

I have learned a lot about not only the process but also the kind of people it takes to make a touring show happen. These guys and gals are, to borrow from the vernacular of Sean Greiner, are hands-down, I'm not gonna lie, amazing!

I don't know how they keep the schedule they keep especially on a one-nighter schedule. Oklahoma on average takes 3 1/2 to 4 hours to load out. That means their crew bus rarely leaves the venue until 2:30 or 3:00 AM. Load in the next day begins usually at 8:00 AM. This gives them on average 4 to 5 hours of sleep. String a couple (or 5) one nighters together and you get the idea.

If that's not bad enough the hours they spend at the theatre are not exactly a mindless day's work. Each load-in they encounter a new local crew who have to be fairly closely monitored. Regardless of the local crew's experience each show is different thereby making it nearly impossible to simply delegate a job to them and go on to something else. They have to be at the top of their game and leaders all day long. And I mean all day long.

I shadowed Tim Schmidt our fantastic 'Superman' of a sound guy. From 8AM until about 2:30 AM the next day you never saw this guy doing anything but working. And the same goes for every other department. It's no wonder these guys form a surrogate family that no doubt is thicker than water and even blood at times.

I know I could never keep this schedule and deliver quality work as these guys do. Heck, I can barely make it through my day without two or three naps. So next time you see a crew guy, be it on your show or some other, give him or her a kiss. And not some lame theatre peck on the check, I mean a full throttle, dipped, open mouth, someone's gonna catch something or do some dental work kiss. They certainly deserve it. Thanks Andy, Scott, Tim, Steve, Lisa, Julia, Michael, Sue, Tara and Trinity.

1st Blog Entry

2005-12-20T10:30:00.000-08:00

It's a little odd to be starting a 'kaseyontheroad' blog when I'm at home for the holidays but I guess you have to move when the impulse strikes. I just thought this would be fun way to stay in touch with friends and family and share fun things that happen across this crazy country. ( FYI, avoid Louisianna, if you can. I'm really sorry Carrie Love. You're great but a lot of the state leaves something to be desired)

So, if you have any questions about touring life shoot a comment. Just don't shoot the messanger. (I also do not spell well, so please forgive me)