Saturday, February 25, 2023

One More Shot!

All right...the team has spoken: We're on for 2/27 and 2/28!

As a reminder, here's the schedule:

2/27: Fight Call and Dress (no makeup) rehearsal run - Call: 400p; Release 700p

    -Actors, Mgmt., Run Crew, Costume all called (except for those who couldn't move their conflicts...get there when you can)

2/28: Final Performance - Call: 530p; Go: 730p; Release: 930p

    -All Called for one last go around!!!

3/1: Strike - Call: 400p; Release: 700p (or sooner, if goals accomplished)

    -All Cast/Crew/Builders/Mgmt/etc. called to convert the space back to normal.  Anything not done by the end of this session will be handled in Stagecraft.

**Biggest thing: GET THE WORD OUT!!!  This is basically all for naught if we don't get our audience in the house.  I'll push it on my end...you do the same!  Let's go big on our last show!

Hang in there, y'all...we're almost there!

- jm

Friday, February 24, 2023

...Well, Crap.

Ok...we are officially at worst case scenario.  The district has pulled all building use permits for the whole of the weekend.  All three shows are cancelled from the top.

That said, I have a solution.  That solution is this:

2/27: Fight Call and Dress (no makeup) rehearsal run - Call: 400p; Release 700p

2/28: Final Performance - Call: 530p; Go: 730p; Release: 930p

3/1: Strike - Call: 400p; Release: 700p (or sooner, if goals accomplished)

I am linking below a Google Form (not attached to student emails, Jack...I see you) confirming everyone's availability.  Please, whether you're cast, crew, mgmt., house, costume, whatever, respond by 500pm today, 2/24.

Show Run Extension Form

Thanks, y'all...keep your heads up.  We'll finish this strong yet!!!

- jm

Thursday, February 23, 2023

Cancellation: 2/23

Well...so much for the best case scenario.

We are on to the mid-tier scenario.  Until we hear otherwise, we are on for tomorrow night, 2/24:

-Call/500pm for Mgmt/Actors/Costume/Makeup: Work fights and transitions 

-Call/600pm for Run/House Crew: Begin Show prep

-Go/730pm

-Out/930pm at the latest

-----------------------------

Now, do I think this likely?  To be honest...no.  Looking over the weather forecasts for today and tomorrow, I'm inclined to think we'll lose tomorrow's show as well.  Between now and then we are predicted to get a whopping 2-3 hours above freezing.  Even then, it's only supposed to get to 35 degrees or so...and we saw what happened yesterday at 35 degrees.

As for the run of the show, there is a not-zero chance that we'll be able to perform Saturday night.  We'll have several hours above freezing on Saturday, so I'm cautiously optimistic for that show.  Keep your fingers crossed, and your snow dances...ahem...on ice.

As for things like Strike, or the absolute unthinkable and a Saturday cancellation, we'll cross that bridge when we get there.  I'll have options to share once I have more concrete information.  In the meantime, rest up, enjoy an extra day off, don't do any homework (seriously, relax), and I'll reach out with an additional update soon.

- jm

Wednesday, February 22, 2023

All activities cancelled: 2/22

 ...and tonight is cancelled.  PPS has called off all evening activities due to inclement weather.  Stay tuned to the blog for details on Thursday about plans for that day. 

Do me a favor, y'all, and review your scripts, blocking, and fights tonight, since we won't have a pickup before the Thursday performance.

Thanks, y'all...

- jm

On to the end of the run!

Hopefully everyone had a good couple of days off...recharge the batteries, reconnect with friends and family, catch up on the academics.  I did, and I'm ready to get back to it!

And then...weather.  *sigh*

Given the forecast over the next couple of days, I have to go over some contingency plans for the rest of the run.  As of now (and I check four separate weather sources, including NOAA), we are due to have snow restart after a break in the weather this afternoon, and continue through the night.  Some forecasts have up to 3 inches of snow tomorrow, and no thaw/melt-off until Saturday.  On the other hand, nothing is set in stone.  Here's our options, depending on what we actually get:

1) Best case scenario: The snow is overstated and it's just cold...school is on and the roads are de-iced.  In this situation absolutely nothing changes, except I'd advise caution and attention when driving.

2) Mid-Tier scenario: Tonight is a thing and we lose tomorrow's performance to a school cancellation.  For those of you who don't know, when school is cancelled for inclement weather, so are all afterschool activities.  The hope is then that Friday and Saturday are on.  In that case, I'm moving call to 500pm from 530pm for all cast/mgmt on Friday, so that we can run both Fight Call and all of the scene transitions prior to costume and show.  Call on Saturday will remain the same.

3) Worst Case scenario: We lose both Thursday and Friday to snow and ice, but keep Saturday.  I'll contact all ticket holders to join us Saturday night, we'll call all cast and crew at 500p on Saturday for safety, and run a hell of a closing show to a (hopefully) huge house!

So...those are the contingencies, and I'll post to both this blog and the Remind (if you're still not on it, text '@sw2monstrs' to 81010) once a decision is made.  Be flexible!  I'm in no way interested in cancelling performances, but I also may not have much choice in the matter.

As For Tonight:  I am adjusting the plan.  We will meet at 530pm and go through a full fight call for safety.  Immediately following, we will get into Costume, Hair, and Makeup for a photo call...and then we'll be done, in the interest of safety.  The schedule for tonight is now as follows (this is a change!!!):

530-630pm: Fight Call

630-700pm: Get into Costume/Hair/Makeup

700-815pm: Photo Call

815-830pm: Clean Up/Release

**No Run Crew/House Crew called...Cast/Costume/Mgmt only**

Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Notes - 2/14

 All - The time calls for preshow (starting at 530pm) are: 

-Places

-10 to Places

-Warmups

-45 to Go; 10 to Warmups

-One Hour to Go; 25 to Warmups

-Fight Call (at Call)


All - Call Times for the Evening: 530p, Actors/Mgmt/Costume/Makeup; 600p, Run/House Crew


-Shaelyn: Come in from right center and in from the dark...no longer the Vom

-Dory: you have a phone prop…and take a bigger beat on ‘average, average, average’ in indignation

-Sound: did you turn the mic on behind the screen?

-Dory - Hear the end of the car crash before responding physically

-Sound: Titles music should be louder…is the shop music playing?  It can be a bit louder early…it got there later

-Connor: Make eye contact with Agnes…you're looking down a lot

-Dory/Connor: Where’s the notebook? If it was there, I missed it

-Dory: Hear what Connor says before you respond

-Connor: You can start your move to turn the shop around when Agnes leaves

-Connor: Keep your cape in the shop, and just stay there after you turn it at the end of Sc. 1

-Ops: Good timing on the transitions early

-All: Quite a bit of rushing tonight…slow down and listen, it ain’t a race

-Ian: Don’t rush ‘Wicked Good’ and ‘My Bad’

-Lillyann: Voice started strong…keep it consistent; match Agnes

-Sound: Fade the music down a bit earlier into the Bugbears so we don't miss lines

-Connor: Keep your diction clear

-Marissa: Don’t rush your Orcus entry lines…

-Marissa; Hear ‘Don’t I know you?’...don’t anticipate his line

-Marissa: Take a longer beat to notice you’re back where you started after the montage

-Katelyn: Nice touch admiring yourself in the knife!...just slow those lines down a bit

-Marissa: Don’t back Tilly down from the fight until Connor’s fight call

-Katelyn: The sequence is Magic Missile, Oh Sh*t!, Light/Sound, Die

-Orie: How would you react to finding a dude looking like that in your place?

-Adventurers: The holding Lilith back bit worked really well tonight!

-Shaelyn: Let the music establish a bit longer before speaking when Evil Tina comes in

-Ella: Watch getting quieter when you’re being ‘nice’

-Eden: Delay the kick just a bit longer…build the suspense a bit

-Dory: Let the cheerostitues get out of sight before you go to console Tilly

-Dory: Don’t start talking until the hallway fades

-Sound; Fade the hallway sounds a bit earlier on the Lily/Agnes scene

-Marissa: Lost you a little bit in the office…just a bit louder and clearer

-Dory: Lost your clarity too…

-LillyAnn: Don’t rush…

-Connor: Pick your moments…don’t over-manipulate every line.  Sometimes you can just talk.

-LillyAnn: Watch turning profile…

-Aspen/Orie: Some masterful response work in the Office scene together

-LillyAnn/Orie: Don’t rush D-N-D…we need to hear it

-Katie: Watch rushing…Nice slide over on the ‘Copulate’ line

-Adventurers: The banter around making Miles a Jello Mold was superb!!! Aim for more of that…

-Dory: More beat on ‘He touched me’...’He what?!”

-Costume: I may have a red shirt for Ian…but it’s short sleeved

-Costume: Do we have armor for Miles the barbarian?

-Eden: Don’t speak until the hallway noises fade down

-Cheerleaders: Which one of you means it, talking about Tilly?  When we talked about relationship, you said one was nice…

-Molly: The black slide needs to come earlier after ‘Get the hell out of my classroom!’

-Connor: Make your entrance into the Miles scene just a bit earlier

-Connor: You can leave the notebook on the table

-Cheerleaders: Don’t mime stuff that isn’t there…if you’re snacking on Miles, it has to be near him

-Eden: Don’t rush in after Lilith’s death…let it linger

-Cheerleaders: Make the decision that the ‘dance off’works for you

-All: Fill the space and time getting into the dance off

-Adventurers: Find a consistency in your beats on the dance…Hayden will cut it off when you pose.

-Connor: you can’t go out that early…let’s work it.

-Tilly/Agnes: I want to tweak the post-dance off conversation movement

-Connor: Leave the post-Agnes rant when Miles does

-Dory: Your intensity in the monologue is wonderful…don’t lose your diction

–LillyAnn: Please leave through the Center exit on SR

-Ian: Tuck your tails when in the real world…and can you change shoes? (Costume?)

-Katie: Can you get the leg armor off when going into the real world?

-Marissa: Great timing and energy on the letter reading

-Dory: Take a longer beat making the decision to fight…we need the transition time

-Aspen: That was twice on a missed entrance…what’s up

-Costume: We have to solve the quick change problem into Sc. 16…thoughts?

-Sound: You missed two Mic Calls for Connor…what’s up?

-Adventurers: Remove your dragon heads as you get up to leave

-Riggers: Have you spiked your positions?

-Sound: Let’s loop the music 

-Sound: Don’t start the music until you see Perses come out


Fight Notes:

Trio-

Marissa- Great vocalizations


Bugbears-

Abby- Keep your grip higher on your axe so you don’t lose your grip, and make the swing more horizontal rather than diagonal

Russell- Keep your stance wide and low. Your legs are too straight right now

Sam- Get deeper in your stance

Bugbears- React to Abby’s death

Dory and Jack- Air in the head punch

Sam- More intensity on your cross to stab Dory and more intensity on the stab

Dory and Shae- Move slightly stage right on “We stand side by side and raise our weapons”


Marissa- This is the third time your daggers have fallen. Do we need new sheaths? Also, remember to keep your grip firm on the daggers unless you’re in the middle of switching to ice pick


Montage-

Jake- Aiming way too high again

Russell- It looks like you’re just waiting for Katie to stab you in the back. Pretend to try to fight or run

Sam- aimed way too high on the first shoulder cut to Ian.

Sam- You back was almost to the audience when Ian stabbed you, so the killing stab looked fake

Monsters (Especially Sam)- Exit with a little more urgency

Addison- Aiming a little too high on those shoulder cuts


Farrah-

Aspen- Missed entrance

Ian- great work taking the hat off before the punch. But try not to over vocalize so we can still hear Farrah’s lines after it

Marissa- Great vocalizations

Ian- forgot the wraparound

All with headpieces- We can pin them so they don’t fall during fights


Orie- Missed the first shove


Cheerleaders-

Shae- If you can’t nap on the head kick by Friday, can you try hitting your uninjured hand on the stage to make a sound?


Miles v Agnes-

Both- Wider, deeper stances

Orie- Faster on the head swipe

Dory- Faster on that belly swipe after the shunt

D and O- Faster on the first cut to reinforced parry

Shae- I liked the unsheathing your sword when you were afraid Agnes was in trouble


Cheerleaders 2-

Dory- Where is your stance? You’re just standing with a sword.

Cheerleaders- Great improvement on the heart rip

Marissa- Remember the battle cry

Shae- Veering a little low on that first cut, try to aim for Eden’s upper thigh

Shae- Prep a tiny bit higher for the final belly swipe, make sure we can really see that blade


Tiamat-

Katie- If it’s too difficult to change back into the sword belt, you can go without it. There’s no need for it in this scene

Aspen- A little quicker on the knife throw, but great work hiding it

Aspen- Great physicality on rising from the dead

Lillyann- You can exit when the rest of them do, around when Aspen is rising from the dead

All- Try to keep varying levels

All- Take Ian as your cue for the clap

Dragons- Now that there’s music, you guys need to make the vocalizations on the slashes even bigger. Match Dory

Dory and Shae- Beautiful moment, and Shae, beautiful work when reviving your dead friends



Monday, February 13, 2023

Let Spirit Week Commence!


Monday - Monster Monday
Tuesday - Tutu Tuesday
Wednesday - Throwback (90s) day
Thursday - Plate day

Here are our monsters spirit week days. Help promote our show and share your pride in the work!

- jm

One More Shot!

All right...the team has spoken: We're on for 2/27 and 2/28! As a reminder, here's the schedule: 2/27: Fight Call and Dress (no make...