If anybody is interested in auditioning for the next show, "The Nether" directed by Sharon Sullivan, auditions will be held Monday, November 30 from 4:00-5:00pm or 5:00-6:00pm. Sign up for an audition time in the theatre office in Garvey 133.
You can find a description of the show here. A PDF version of the script is available here.
I'm relatively familiar with "Into the Woods." I've watched the Broadway production multiple times. I watched the movie. I read the script multiple times before I saw the show, so I knew what I was getting myself into when I bought my ticket.
I have to say I was partial to the set. The way the trees were moved to signify transitions was extremely unique because they were moved during the scenes, rather than between them. It made for very smooth transitions between the scenes, and shaved several minutes off the total production time.
The costumes were pretty much what I would have expected, had I not spent several weeks working on them before the show opened. Traditionally, fairy tales are set in a medieval/Renaissance looking era, and Washburn's production held true.
Photo courtesy of Washburn Theatre
The costumes were as effective for the show. I was confused by the Wolf's costume. He was dressed as a sort of Russian palace guard, which did not make sense with the rest of the show.
I really enjoyed the blocking and choreography, except in one scene. Towards the end of Act Two, the Baker's Wife comes back from the dead for a moment to help her husband learn to take care of their infant child. They sing a moving duet, and it's one of the most tender scenes in the show. However, the blocking put Cinderella, Red, and Jack downstage center right in front of the audience. The three characters turn around to watch the show with the audience, which would be cool. The problem was, all I could see was the butts of these characters. I was sitting in the front row, and I couldn't see any of the action on the stage. I missed the duet because I was too busy trying not to giggle at the butts in front of me, as immature as that may be.
Overall, however, I think the show was good. The cast worked well together, the costumes were appropriate. There were no major technical difficulties (or tornadoes, which happened during one of the "Mauritius" shows). Altogether, I would give it 4 out of 5 stars.
There are a few terms you should know, if you are writing a paper over a show.
House left (the left side of the stage when you are looking at it) is referred to as Stage Right (SR).
House right is Stage Left (SL).
The front of the stage is referred to as Downstage (DS).
The back of the stage is referred to as Upstage (US).
This is because in Greek threatre, the audience was on a level field, and the stage was on a hill, so when the audience went away from the audience, they were literally going up the stage. I don't have a historical explanation for SL and SR, except that having universal directions allows directions (referred to as blocking) to be given without complications.
In costuming, Washburn has something that we refer to as "stage perfect." This is when a garment may not actually be perfect, but the audience won't be able to tell that. If there is a blemish on a garment that the audience won't be able to see, you would say "The audience won't be able to read it."
House lights refer to the lights above the audience. Stage lights are above/shining onto the stage. A spot light shines on a specific character, usually during a solo or monologue.
The set refers to the backdrop, floor, or panels used in the show. Props are any items used. A chair would be a set piece, a basket would be a prop.
Break-a-way or Tear-a-way objects are made to be broken or torn on stage and repaired easily, or cheap enough to replace.
Okay so there's a fantastic shot of my floor, colors and all.
Photo courtesy of Washburn Theatre
This picture just makes me feel good. I contributed to this shot, (and more importantly, the show) even though I wasn't cast. There's a certain joy in providing so much anonymous help to the show. I'm the man behind the curtain, and the fact of the matter is I've only scratched the surface of what I can learn about theatre tech. There's still lighting and stagecraft to learn at all, not to mention practicing my skills in the areas I've already studied.
I only have a rudimentary knowledge of sewing, but since I am in the costume design class this semester, I was recruited to help. I sewed a lot of snaps/buttons, fixed some hems, and shortened the straps on Red's dress. One of my biggest projects was painting Cinderella's ball gown.
Photo by Jamie Schartz
Yes, you read that right. Sharon (Sullivan, the costume director) bought a white wedding gown, and Corey Perkins and I spent several hours painting it Cinderella blue with special fabric paint.
Personally, I am one who likes to get my hands dirty when I'm working on a big project, so this happened to me:
Photo courtesy of Lynn Wilson
My entire arm was blue, but after about 10 minutes of scrubbing, I got most of it washed off my hands. Lynn stopped me on my way out to snap this picture, and I'm glad she did.
Okay, I know this post is about three weeks late, but I want to give you guys a quick run down on behavior that is acceptable in theatre.
First of all, don't talk. I know this is the oldest rule in the book, and I am probably one of the most frequent breakers of this rule, however, it is still true.
Next, no photography, unless approved by the house manager or other appropriate member of crew. A lot of work went into putting the show together (I've only touched on the backstage stuff), and unauthorized distribution of photographs means all the artists involved lose their artistic license. Seriously, no theatre, whether on Broadway or a local theatre allows photography. If they do allow photography, they will make sure you know.
Finally, and most important, because about half the audience left every night, stay for the entire show. "Into the Woods" is two acts. TWO ACTS. Anybody who tried to write a paper about the show after just seeing act one is going to have a rough time. In Act Two, everybody dies.
On the flip side, laughter is highly encouraged. If you are amused by something in the show, let the actors know. They feed off the energy the audience provides. It sounds weird, but it's true. If a scene is meant to be funny, it's reassuring to hear that it is coming off that way.
Applause is also highly acceptable. Actors like to know they're appreciated. There's more to acting than just memorizing lines. You have to build a background for your character. If somebody asks a question about them, you need to be able to answer as easily as you could about yourself.
Many people don't realize how much money goes into mounting a musical. According to the Artsbeat blog of the New York Times, most Broadway musicals today cost upwards of $2.5 million. To put that in numeric terms, that would be $2,500,000. For comparison, the poverty line for a four person family, according to aspe.hhs.gov, is $24,250.
To stress this even more, $2.5 million is just the baseline. "Next to Normal," which was nominated for the Tony for Best Musical in 2009, cost $4 million. "The Book of Mormon" (a Broadway sensation currently on tour) cost $9 million, and "Spider-Man: The Muscial," one of the greatest Broadway flops of all time, cost $75 million.
All of this really puts Washburn's little production into perspective. According to Paul Prece, the director, the total budget for the production was over $10,000. This includes sets, costumes, lighting, props, tickets, ads, royalties, musicians, musical director, choreographer, and rehearsal accompanist.
Breaking that down, approx. $3000 went to royalties and rental of orchestration and scripts. This was based on the number of performances (seven), ticket prices ($6 with student ID, $12 without) and the number of seats in the theatre (330).
Costumes had a budget of about $4000. I know that sounds like a lot, but that had to be divided by 21 cast members. Of those 21, most of them needed multiple costumes. This means that each character has a budget of $190.46. This would be enough for a killer night-on-the-town dress, but most of the girls needed a ballgown, which costs between $150-$350. This is why sewing is so important. Quite a few of the costumes were handmade, or hand-altered. The fabric was purchased at JoAnn's Fabrics or online.
When I wasn't working on painting the floor, there were plenty of other set pieces to be working on. In an early version of the set, the trees and circles were all on one platform. I traced them, using a projector and sharpie.
These trees did not make it into the final show, but neither did the colored circles, either. Paul, the director, made a technical choice to only show the black sides of the circles.
Photo courtesy of Lynn Wilson
It was an interesting experience. I saw three versions of trees get scrapped before the final version. Those three were only the ones that the director (Paul Prece) and sceneographer (Tony Naylor) agreed were worth trying. Tony spent all summer coming up with concepts for the show.
Photo courtesy of Marissa Meis
Notice the trees in the background, and compare them to the trees I'm tracing in the two top pictures.
As we got closer to the show time, there were more and more things that needed to be done. One of the big ones was costuming. Costume design, like everything else in theatre, has a process.
1. A theme for the costumes must be chosen and approved by director/producer/costume designer/powers that be.
2. The show must be cast.
3. Measurements are taken for all actors.
4. Costume pieces are pulled (found in the costume shop), purchased, or made. Typically two or three options are pulled for each actor/character.
5. Actors come in to try on costumes. The best are set aside.
6. Alterations, repairs, and other changes are made to the costumes.
7. Everyone prays nothing awful happens to the costumes between the dress rehearsals and final curtain call.
I only have a rudimentary knowledge of sewing, but since I am in the costume design class this semester, I was recruited to help. I sewed a lot of snaps/buttons, fixed some hems, and shortened the straps on Red's dress. One of my biggest projects was painting Cinderella's ball gown.
Photo by Jamie Schartz
Yes, you read that right. Sharon (Sullivan, the costume director) bought a white wedding gown, and Corey Perkins and I spent several hours painting it Cinderella blue with special fabric paint.
Personally, I am one who likes to get my hands dirty when I'm working on a big project, so this happened to me:
Photo courtesy of Lynn Wilson
My entire arm was blue, but after about 10 minutes of scrubbing, I got most of it washed off my hands. Lynn stopped me on my way out to snap this picture, and I'm glad she did.
I started with the colors on the background pieces: red, blue, yellow, and green. I'm sorry the picture is so washed out. The stage lights don't make for good photography.
Photo by Jamie Schartz
This still isn't the best picture, but you can see more of the colors. There's some pinks and purples. I also mixed some oranges, some different shades of green and one brown.
Also notice how the background has changed. In the last post it was circles on bars, which are still visible in the very back. More prominent now, (and more used through the show) are the black tree silhouettes.
So, when I started painting the floor, it was just a bunch of white circles. Forty-one, to be exact. I got to choose where they would go (I was roughly following a picture) and how big they were (they were roughly to scale of the picture).
It seems self explanatory, but colors get laid down one at a time. I started with the center black one, then added the blue "moon" around it. Notice the scenery is still skeletal.
Okay, so I think everybody is aware that Disney released a movie version of "Into the Woods," which I finally got around to watching over fall break. (I know, I know, bad theatre kid.) The movie was not widely received, especially among theatre fans. And there's a laundry list of reasons for this.
1. They cut out characters. Sort of. The Mysterious Man is in the movie for about two minutes, without explanation. He just sort of pops out and the Baker is like, "Dad, why'd you leave?" Also the Baker is the Narrator, which is actually okay. It worked for a movie. Also, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty don't make an appearance in the show. Which brings me to number two.
2. They cut out songs. The "Agony" reprise is one of the funniest songs in the show and it was taken out.
3. Johnny Depp's Wolf character is SUPER pervy. Like, Criminal Minds level pervy. He out-pervs the original Broadway production wolf, and the costume for that literally had *ahem* genitalia.
4. I want to preface this one by saying that Meryl Streep is fantastic. I love her. But compared to the other actors in the show, everything she did was just too big. She was really playing for the back row, which is completely unnecessary since its being recorded and there's no live audience.
5. Sondheim wrote a new song for Meryl Streep that (thankfully) did not make it into the final cut of the show.
6. The third time Cinderella runs away from the prince, he has spread pitch on the stairs, which allows for a ballad. However, time just sort of freezes in the movie. It doesn't make sense. I guess, it's supposed to be stream of consciousness for Cinderella, but it doesn't make sense.
7. Check out this video from CinemaSins to see all the random continuity and weirdness problems with the show (stage or movie).
This show is not all bad. The cast works well together. Emily Blunt and James Corden share a nice duet. Lilla Crawford and Daniel Huttlestone (Red and Jack, respectively) give two of the best singing performances, despite being the youngest characters/actors in the show. It also showed the giants, which is pretty cool.
To sum it all up, as CinemaSins says, "This story is basically all the unexciting things your favorite fairy tale characters did when they weren't doing their fairy tale stuff." But we still love it.
Lynn snuck a photo of me while I was measuring out a circle on the floor.
Photo courtesy of Washburn Theatre Department
So after coming to terms with the fact that I didn't get cast (and realizing I hadn't posted anything on here in over a week) I talked to Tony Naylor, the scenographer and set designer for the theatre department. He agreed to let me help paint the set. What I didn't expect was that he would let me choose what the floor would look like (Well, he had a design chosen but I got to choose how it laid on the floor), and be in charge of getting it painted!
It was a bigger challenge than I expected. I've taken the set design class, but it's a whole different ball game to actually apply the knowledge. Everything has to be measured out in scale on the small picture so that it can be applied to the real floor. For example, if I wanted to paint this on a wall:
Photo courtesy of stock exchange images
I first have to determine how big I want them. If my wall is eight feet long by seven feet high, and I want the squares to cover the whole thing (without the reflection) I have to count how many squares there are, measure them in scale and then calculate how many will fit.
For the show, I was working in 1/4" scale which means that 1/4" = 1'. so if a circle on my template is two inches across, it would be eight feet across in real life.
Here's a scale table I made in my set design class in quarter inch scale.
This table is made in quarter inch scale. If it were real it would be 7'x3'x4'.
Photo by Jamie Schartz
If it were a real table, it would be 7 feet long by 3 feet wide by 4 feet tall.
The Original Broadway Cast, led by Bernadette Peters as the Witch
Courtesy of Martin Beck Theatre
Okay guys, so I've had some questions as to the titles of my posts. To clear this up, all of my titles are pulled directly from the show. Most of them (He's s Very Nice Prince, ...Well He's Tall) are lyrics. Others (First Midnight, Second Midnight, Last Midnight) are song titles. The rest of them (A Bean Can Begin an Adventure) are quotes from the characters. The title of the whole blog, "Just a Moment: Into the Woods" is a play on the lyrics from the song "Moments in the Woods."
CINDERELLA'S PRINCE This was just a moment in the woods. Our moment, Shimmering and lovely and sad. Leave the moment, just be glad For the moment that we had. Every moment is of moment When you're in the woods... Goodbye.
I chose this because the show is just one of many. Washburn only does a musical every two or three years, but Topeka has multiple theatres that regularly put on shows, both musicals and plays. Regardless of the outcome of the casting, it is just a moment that we had.
The final step to the audition process is the posting of the cast list. This is the make-or-break moment for an actor. It's everything you've been waiting for and dreaming of.
If your name is on the list, it's the most exciting feeling.
If your name is not on the list, your heart drops into your butt, your stomach drops into your knees, and all you can wonder is "Why hasn't anybody told me I suck? Do I suck? Maybe the director sucks."
It's a beautiful and horrifying experience. Either way, there's usually screaming and gibberish talk. Some people cry, out of joy or pain. Some people are so accustomed to the outcome that they just walk away.
If you are cast, you gear up for the rehearsal process, which lasts anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, depending on the show and the theatre presenting it. Some theaters are constantly mounting new shows, so one show is rehearsing during the day while the current show is being shown at night.
Sadly, I did not get cast. It was a difficult pill for me to swallow, for a number of reasons. First of all, almost all of my friends were cast, which means once again, I will be left out of all the fun. Another reason is that I have not been cast in anything since my first show at Washburn,
"The Language Archive," despite auditioning for every other show that has been put on.
It took me awhile to post this because it took me a few days to be able to work myself up to talking about it. I avoided all my friends who were cast, out of jealousy mostly.
The next step in the casting process is callbacks. This is the director's chance to hear more than just a snippet of what an actor is capable of. Often times it also allows them to see how two actors interact with each other, which is more important than you think.
Have you ever seen a movie where the two main characters are supposed to be madly in love (or hate each other but end up together anyway) but the actors have absolutely no chemistry? Callbacks are the director's chance to make sure that doesn't happen. When it does happen, it is usually because the actors have big names (meaning they are super popular and will bring lots of people to see the movie), there are scheduling conflicts with a performer more suited to the role, or financial reasons.
Callbacks, from an actors standpoint, can be very stressful. If you get a callback, it could mean that you were good enough that the director wants to see if you could handle a larger role, or it could mean that you were not as impressive as the director hoped so they want to give you a second chance. It could also just mean that he wants to see how well you work with another actor.
On the flip side, not getting a callback either means you were super fantastic and the director already knows which role he wants you for, or it means that you were awful (or just not what the director was looking for) and your on-stage involvement with the show is over.
I had my audition today (Saturday, August 29). I'm really not sure what to think. "Still Hurting" went wonderfully. I was really proud of it. "The Trolley Song" was not as good. However, since I memorized it on Friday night and put it with the accompaniment on Saturday morning, I think it went okay.
Paul said to check the board on Tuesday for the Callback list. So basically I have two whole days to sit and obsess. I'm trying to tell myself that the important part is that I actually had the courage to go in and audition at all, but let's be real. Everybody who auditioned did so because they want a part (except maybe a few scholarship kids) and there's only about 18 parts. If I get any part, I will be happy with it...I guess.
Seriously though, I just want to be in another production. I haven't been in anything in over a year. Not since "The Language Archive."
It's interesting to me how much my voice has changed since I was in high school. I used to sing soprano, and now my voice has dropped to mezzo-soprano, if not all the way to alto.
The first step to staging a show is always casting. For the actors, this means preparing an audition. In my case, Paul (the director) wants us to have two musical selections prepared--one up-tempo and one ballad. We only have to sing 16-24 bars, which is about one verse OR one chorus. Approximately.
I had a much easier time settling on my ballad. I chose to sing "Still Hurting" from The Last Five Years. It's a really moving piece sung by Cathy (the female protagonist) to/about her husband, Jamie, of five years, who has just left her.
Jamie is over and Jamie is gone/ Jamie's decided it's time to move on/ Jamie has new dreams he's building upon/ And I'm still hurting
Jamie arrived at the end of the line/ Jamie's convinced that the problems are mine/ Jamie is probably feeling just fine/ And I'm still hurting
The full song is absolutely gorgeous. It's heartbreaking, especially when it is well performed. As a bonus, Anna Kendrick plays Cathy in the 2014 film of the same title. Watch her full performance if you want to cry.
I'm the first to admit that I'm better at singing ballads than upbeat. In my opinion, it's a lot easier to make a great performance by singing something that really tugs on the heart strings. Upbeat songs, while they can definitely pull on your emotions, tend to be more for fun than for making a dramatic statement. Please understand that I am not saying that ballads are the only songs worth singing or listening to, I just mean that for me it is easier to sell my performance with a ballad.
Not surprisingly, my upbeat song took a lot longer for me to choose. For various reasons, I switched my choice several times. I finally settled on "The Trolley Song" from Meet Me in St. Louis. In contrast to "Still Hurting," "The Trolley Song" is about falling in love for the first time.
With my starched white collar/ And my high top shoes/ And my hair piled high upon my head/ I went to lose a jolly/ Hour on the trolley/ And lost my heart instead
With his light brown derby/ And his bright green tie/ He was quite the handsomest of men/ I started to yen/ So I counted to ten/ And I counted to ten again
The song was originally sung by Judy Garland. (Yes, she did more than just The Wizard of Oz.) Her performance is hard to match, but wonderful to watch.
Basically Into the Woods is a huge retelling of a bunch of fairy tales all twisted up together. All the stories take place in one magical forest, and there's only two adulterous princes and one cursed witch for all of the characters to share. Cinderella, Jack, Red Ridinghood, and Rapunzel all have something that the witch needs to reverse the curse her mother put on her, so she sends The Baker off in search of them in return for lifting the curse she put on his family for stealing the beans that caused her curse in the first place.
Act One ends pretty much with the Happily Ever Afters that the Grimm Brothers left us with. Jack and his mother have plenty of money from the gold-egg-laying-goose that he stole from the giants, Cinderella and Rapunzel have their respective princes, the Baker has a baby, and the witch is pretty again (think Tangled).
Sondheim's special twist really comes into play in Act Two. Apparently Happily Ever After actually only lasts for like, a week. Then the money isn't enough, the Prince loses interest, the baby is a loud smelly pain in the butt, marriage is boring, and giants come down for revenge. Oh and everybody dies, except like five characters.
The whole show is really just making a point about greed being part of human nature. Everybody gets exactly what they wished for, but then its not enough. To top it off, when everything blows up in their face, nobody wants to admit that they screwed up so they go in circles playing the blame game (literally there's an entire song about it).
If you want specifics, check out wikipedia.org. There's literally a summary that's like four pages long.
Even better, check out the original Broadway cast production.. It runs about two and a half hours but it is definitely worth a watch. Below is a slideshow featuring the main characters of the production.
Hey guys! Welcome to Just a Moment: Into the Woods. My name is Jamie. I'm a dual major at Washburn University in theatre and mass media with a PR emphasis. I invite you to come with me for just a moment as I journey into the woods at Washburn. We'll start with my auditions and wrap it all up with the production in November. Don't worry if I don't get cast. By the time the show opens we will all be experts on what goes into putting on a stage production, both on and off stage.
