From the Director…
This show is quite a departure from our usual productions. It is an opportunity for many actors to study, shine and, most importantly, a chance for you, our audience, to see the wealth of talent here at our small school. One acts look easy but are actually surprisingly hard. Each character must be unique, defined, the actor must establish a particular character, and he or she must master the timing necessary to impress in a very short performance. The actors must be creative, employ and exercise multiple techniques, and rehearse consistently to get that chemistry ‘just right.’
The dance numbers are an opportunity for our actors to show that they are multifaceted and disciplined. Many come to Stage Left stating, “I can’t dance,” and are told to ‘just try.’ One of our dance numbers, “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” is also a departure. To participate in this dance, the dancers were required to audition. In this audition, only six were chosen: Stage Left is constantly raising the bar. Our choreographer, Jimmie Lee Brooks, has taken these dancers, as well as all of the ensemble dancers, to a new level for this show. Many thanks to him and to all of the dancers for their work.
Another change was the time allotted for rehearsals. The actors and dancers were given six weeks. In most theatres, six to eight weeks, is a gracious amount of time to put up a show. So, I compressed their rehearsal time knowing they would have to balance school, home, social, church, work and rehearsal to get things done. This balance is what I call a ‘take away skill.’ They can use this for the rest of their lives. And they did it.
A special thanks and a bow to my cameo actors: Jessica Everett, Necy Morris, April Rife, Matt Campion, Seth Rose, and Trent Jones. Your participation and support of this program and its actors leaves a lasting impression. Bravo! Bravo!
Thanks to Stephen Nichols for his counsel from the ‘green room’, to Gillie for her unwavering support, to Holly Humphlett for headshots, to Hunt Thomas for technical support, to Joe Walker for his set building skills, to Miss Jean for the costume help, and again, to Stephen for his graphic arts abilities! A big thanks to Maggie Sexton for organizing the food, and to all of the theatre parents for the tremendous support given this program.
Finally, a shout out to you, our faithful theatre audience family. Your support is so critical to our continued success. Thank you for believing in these actors and technicians. They work hard, and their reward is your applause.
Enjoy the show…and don’t be afraid to sing along!
Connie Rose
