Preview

I got to watch a run of Lend Me a Tenor last night. The show is in fabulous shape. Many, many laughs from me and they are still several runs away from opening (December 2nd!). It will be even better with the finished costumes and set and the last minute tweaking that will go on between now and then. They look ready for an audience!

Speaking of - Walterdale's first Student Night will be on November 30th (Monday) at 8 p.m. Anyone with a valid student I.D. can see the show for free (subject to availability). Hope to see a lot of new faces there that night!

Need a Tenor? I got one to lend to you...

Coming up next at Walterdale -

Ken Ludwig's

Lend Me a Tenor.

It should be worth a lot of laughs!

Dialects Workshop... Today

I should have put this up earlier, but I got caught up in other things. We are holding a Dialects Workshop today at the theatre. This will help fulfill the needs of Beautiful Thing which requires a very specific dialect and will be fun for those not in the show to learn how to speak in different accents. In any case, the workshop had enough people to run and there was ample advertising in the newsletter and other places so it's all good. This is one of the cool services available to Walterdale members. You can attend workshops for free! We had one in September that we had to cancel due to low enrollment (acting - and we only have 3 people sign up - we need a minimum of 6). There will be another one in the new year called Auditioning for Musicals that I will attend but not participate in. As the Director of this season's musical I want to be there to offer tips about what I will be looking for so that people can come in better prepared for the audition. After Sweeney auditions I was really surprised at how many people came in very unprepared for the audition. This was despite the fact we were very specific about what we wanted to hear from them. It is off-putting to a casting team when you walk in and say, "I know that's what you want to see/hear, but I want to do this instead". I then wonder how you will deal with direction during the process of rehearsal.

We have one open workshop to replace the skipped one, so if you have ideas for what you'd like to do... send them my way. You can either comment here or send me an email at walterdalead@yahoo.ca. I would love ideas!

From Cradle to Stage

The 2 scripts selected for this season's From Cradle to Stage are Stillborn by Andy Garland and Kiss Within a Kiss by Jim Herchak. They will be working with Brian Dooley and Tracy Carroll respectively on the development of their scripts! Congratulations!

Next Season Thinking Already...

I like getting things done well in advance. I find it lowers my stress and in my life anything that lowers my stress is a good thing. So, I am starting to think about NEXT season (2010-11). The next Walterdale newsletter will have the request for submissions for the season. These should include a copy of the play along with a Director's Analysis/Plan of Action (I want to see that the Director submitting understands the challenges of the piece, particularly if they are a new Director). I get many scripts submitted to me without Directors attached. I also got 21 submissions last year from Directors. It makes for a lot of reading. A bit of the work is technically done. The show I want to direct is in the queue and the DONOR VOTED SHOW is narrowed down to three and technically out of my hands (I have already done my reading there). As for the Donor Voted Show, we are busy planning a fun evening to thank the donors and coordinate the voting. This will take place in January and will feature readings from each of the three shows up for selection (The Seagull, Much Ado About Nothing, and Hedda Gabler). I hope it will be a close race as I have my favorite, but I actually tend to flip between 2 of them and I have heard plenty of interest in the third selection, so who knows which one it will be?

In further news, I should find out this week which of the One Acts will be produced at From Cradle to Stage in May. I am waiting to hear form our dramaturges so that I can set up the process for dramaturgy. Stay posted!

Up Next: An Operatic Farce!

Lend Me a Tenor is next up on the Walterdale stage! In the span of a few days walls have been erected on the deck and soon the cast will be able to move downstairs to rehearse in situ. It's a complicated show that will benefit from having a few weeks to slam doors and jump on real beds and run around in the real space. This is a perfect show for the Christmas season. There's music and it's hilarious and in that hectic time it is nice to go out for a belly laugh!