MUSIC!!!! SKETCHES!!!! ACTION!!!!

MUSIC

Well - Sunday's rehearsal was a disaster thanks to the fact that it is IMPOSSIBLE to find a version of each song that is familiar to people AND that we have the music for!! Nonetheless, we had a music meeting today and literally listened to EVERY song, at least twice from different sound tracks and cast recordings to find the most accurate version that fits our score. With that being done, things should be much clearer from here on out.

SKETCHES

I also got some sketches from my designer today and VERY excited about how my set is going to look. I LOVE the process of layering a designers ideas with my own and what ends up coming to fruition! It can be a very frustrating process (I'm sure my designers would attest!) but it is so very rewarding in the end. (ps NOT my set for Grease to the right, I just loved this drawing! :)

ACTION

 Had a fabulous rehearsal with Lucas Blaney & Alex Gullason last night (we don't normally rehearse on Mondays but we're trying desperately to get in some rehearsals while SIX of my leads are busy rehearsing another show on the SAME days!!). We worked on Lucas' main song and then did the scene at the drive-in. I find one of my difficulties is taking my own spin on scenes when there are so many moments that have been forever etched in our mind from the movie! I like to give people the moments that they're longing for, but still make our 'take' on the scene honest and original. I think Lucas and Alex did just that. Great actors, great chemistry - not much I had to do there!

LAST BUT NOT LEAST...

Still hoping and praying for a new space!!! There has GOT to be somewhere in Burnaby/East Van for rent that doesn't have 6 foot ceilings and carpet (OH so good to dance on!)!!! Oh yeah - and is cheap! :)

Watch Your Head AND Photoshoot!

FIRST REHEARSAL

And so it begins!

We had our first rehearsal tonight and I was truly blown away by the talent in the room. The energy, the sound when they all sang (they looked JUST like the image to the right), being able to give them choreography and when I came back to it they remembered - it was so exciting!!! Haven't had that much adrenalin running through me for awhile!

I AM worried about our rehearsal space though. It is a very long, narrow room with an extremely low ceiling. When I am standing at the front (where the audience would be seated) I can't even get everyone in my eye view because they are so close to me! It felt like a bit of a ping pong match looking back and forth as they reviewed Summer Nights. In fact at one point I was trying to go quick enough to get a sense of what it will look like side by side - but I only proceeded to make myself a little nauseous.* 

Furthermore, the ceilings are insanely short! When my musical director, Tom Arntzen, walked in (all 6 foot 4 of him) I was seriously concerned that he might hit his head! At one point I wanted Sandy (Alex Gullason) to get up on a chair or table but she wouldn't have been able to because her head would have gone straight through the ceiling! LASTLY (and I promise I'll move on) the lighting in the room was only ceiling pot lights. Which are great for a groovy, relaxing space but as the evening got darker so did our room - I think it made us all a little sleepy! Needless to say - I'm HUNTING for a new rehearsal space (ANY suggestions - let me know!).

*It needs to be said that I am 100% responsible for this - I DID approve the space, thinking I would mainly do blocking in there. But due to crazy schedule conflicts and the sheer amount of material we have to cover I'm going to have to use Tues/Thurs for choreography also - almost an impossibility in this space

PRODUCTION TEAM

On an extremely POSITIVE note - we had our first production meeting and our team seems fantastic. A couple of 'newbies' - John Bussette - Set Design, Des Renard - Technical Director, Tami Sinosich - Props, Tom Arntzen - Musical Director. I handed out googly eyed pens to everyone to remind them that we have a huge tasks at hand - but we must always have fun doing it! (A photo of us, hard at work, ALL with our googly eyed pens - forthcoming!) Budgetary constraints this year are going to make things a little more difficult - but I always seem to get more creative when someone says 'No'!

PHOTO SHOOT & POSTER

LASTLY - we had our promo/poster photo shoot and can I just say - they looked amazing!!!! I really wanted to recreate some iconic moments from Grease that are so familiar to us now - but also some unique ones. I found an image of an original Grease movie poster that I fell in love with - it was quirky, so fifties, and not at ALL the image that we are used to seeing (Danny & Sandy all tarted up, in an embrace at the end of the movie). Our masterful photographer and great actors recreated that poster for me, but with our own twist. Looking forward to getting the layout of the poster ready and OUT THERE for all to see!

First Rehearsal and CAST LIST!!!!!

FIRST REHEARSAL! AHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Today is our FIRST rehearsal for Grease and I am ridiculously excited!!

Up until now I haven't published the cast list and I'm actually glad that I haven't as there have been some MAJOR changes! But instead of worrying about the cast changes, I am completely AMAZED at how well things have worked out. I couldn't be happier with my cast of AMAZINGLY talented performers!

Drum roll please...

Here is the Cast for:

Footlight Theatre's 2012 production of GREASE!

Danny Lucas Blaney
Kenickie Craig DeCarlo
Roger, Danny U/S, Doody U/S Dustin Freeland
Sonny Dimitrios Andreas Stephanoy
Doody Caleb Di Pomponio
Sandy Alex Gullason
Rizzo Jennie Neumann
Marty Emily Canavan
Jan Steffanie Davis
Frenchy Jianna Ballard
Patty Emily Kapahi
Eugene Luke McAndless-Davis
Cha Cha Claire Wardle
Miss Lynch Jennifer Long
Blanche, Miss Lynch U/S Katie Stone
Coach Calhoun Robin Sukorokoff
Vince Fontaine, Sonny U/S Theo Marx
Anthony Adam Bungag
Gwendolyn Rose , Jan U/S Amy Jean McElwain
Anna Jane / Dance Captain Angela King
Steven Ethan Shankaruk
Deborah Jeanne Jennifer Suttis
Michael Maddison Popov
Donald Noel Hollett
Peggy Sue, Cha Cha U/S Kate Holley
Ronald, Eugene U/S Alan Blackwell
Barbara Ann, Marty U/S Rebecca Friesen
Cindy Lou, Patty U/S Angela Cotton
Mary Anne, Rizzo U/S Michelle Bardach
Cathy Leigh, Sandy U/S, Frenchy U/S Quinn Cartwright
Kenneth, Teen Angel U/S Kyle Vesterback



**appearing courtesy of Actors Equity Association