Board Meeting Tonight

The December Board meeting is tonight. Lend Me a Tenor closed last night and now Beautiful Thing will move into the house. The season seems to be running along smoothly with few arising issues or snags. I would like to think that is due to good organization and thinking ahead instead of always being in debrief mode. The next thing on my list is constructing an audition notice for From Cradle to Stage. There will be a variety of roles for our membership to audition for but I really want to highlight the wonderful plays that will be up on our decks to attract people. It is hard with new works because the plays are not known, they are new, so people don't know what they are getting themselves into. One of the plays also one the Canada Peace Play competition this year, so you know it's got to be good. The other thing I am looking for/working on is submissions for the 2010-2011 Season. I have many submitted scripts that do not have assigned directors. I have very few directors submissions. I want more because the more choices I have, the better the season can be!

Isn't It Nice When They say Nice Things?

http://www2.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=6ee7a5eb-e427-4448-83b3-80cb67b80f86

The above review was in the Edmonton Journal today. I quite agree! This show is a high note. I am quite pleased with the piece and it is so much fun. The laughs will certainly warm you up in this ccccccold weather!

OPENING NIGHT!

Tonight is Opening Night of our December show - Ken Ludwig's Lend Me a Tenor. Already we are hearing the informal reviews on Facebook Statuses from those who managed to see the show at the Director's or the Artist's Preview. They are overwhelmingly good and one of our actresses has even gotten an informal marriage proposal! Not bad! Now, this show is not going to make you think, it isn't going to have an impact on the world at large, it isn't socially conscious and may even be a titch naughty. BUT it should make you laugh! For those of you writing papers and finals - go see the show - have a good laugh! For those of you contemplating Christmas craziness - go see the show - relax and take a mental time-out! For those of you looking for a good time - GO SEE THE SHOW!

I will be there tonight. I hope to see you there!

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!

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!

Lend Me a Tenor - A Fabulous Cast

After 2 nights of hilarious auditions and a few days of contemplation of personalities, skills, and schedules, Lend Me a Tenor is cast. I am excited! This is a great cast if the auditions are to be trusted and December is going to start with lots of laughter!

The Cast:

Tito - Gerald Mason

Max - Kris Loranger

Saunders - Andrew McCready

Bellhop(s) - Devin Bruce and Stan Woo

Maggie - Elena Porter

Diana - Kristin Johnston

Julia - Jan Streader

Maria - Erika Conroy

Understudy Maggie/Diana - Nicole Smashnuk

So we have a wonderful mix of old and new members, as well as some people who we haven't seen on our stage for a few years. I love the potential for new chemistry when you mix people up.

I hope that those who didn't get cast come out for other auditions. There were many, many fabulous auditions on Tuesday and Wednesday last week and I now that Elizabeth and Sarah agonized over the casting. They had the luxury of knowing they would get a great cast, but they also knew they were saying no to some amazing performers.

Anxiously Waiting for News...

What terrific Auditions! We had two lovely nights of auditions for Lend Me A Tenor this week. I do not envy Elizabeth Day and her team the challenge that faces them as they cast this show. Not only do they have more than one option for each role, but they also have the challenge of matching schedules to make the project work! I went through my list and there were roles I had a list of 10 possible people for. It's a jigsaw puzzle - casting. Casting one role will lead to the next and so on. No matter the outcome, I am excited to hear who she decides on, and excited to see the show in December. If the audience laughs as much as we did during auditions it is definitely going to be a fabulous show! Stay tuned for the cast list which I hope to get and post some time next week!

Lend Me a Tenor Auditions - Filling up the sheet...

Things are progressing well in terms of the audition sheet for Lend Me a Tenor. Typically when a notice goes out there is an immediate response from several people in the first few days. Then the names trickle in until one week before the auditions when we will get a surge of people making that last minute decision. At this point we are in good shape. I can see more than one name on the list that would be good for each character. This is delightful for the director. She will be able not only a good cast, but a great cast! If you are planning to audition, email me for a time (adwalterdale2009@yahoo.ca). The sooner you email, the sooner you will get the pages to practice and the more likely you are to get the time you prefer!

Auditions - Lend Me a Tenor

AUDITION NOTICE
WALTERDALE PLAYHOUSE
Ken Ludwig’s Lend Me a Tenor
Performance Dates: December 2nd – 12th, 2009
Audition Dates:
Tuesday, September 8th, 7:00 – 10:00 p.m.
Wednesday, September 9th, 7:00 – 10:00 p.m.

Walterdale Playhouse (10322 – 83 Avenue)
Director – Elizabeth Day
Assistant Director – Sarah Jackson
Stage Manager – Megan Lindmark

There are 4 men and 4 women in the cast:
Saunders - Maggie's father, General Manager of the Cleveland Grand Opera (40-50)
Max - Assistant to Saunders (25-35)
Tito Merelli - A world famous tenor, known as “Il Stupendo”, imposing, Italian accent (40-50)
Bellhop - (18-25)
Maggie - Max's girlfriend, pretty and quirky (20-30)
Maria - Tito's hot-blooded wife, busty, proud and excitable, Italian accent (40-50)
Diana - A provocative soprano, beautiful and very sexy (30-40)
Julia - Chair of the Opera Guild (50-60)

Monologues are not required; we’ll cold read scenes; so please familiarize yourself with the play before auditioning. Copies are available at Theatre Alberta (please call ahead, 780-422-8162) and from Kent Sutherland, Walterdale Administrator, at 780-439-3058. Walterdale is a volunteer organization. We cannot engage Equity performers.

To book an audition (drop-ins are also welcome) or for further information, please contact
Kristen M. Finlay at adwalterdale2009@yahoo.ca or phone 780-406-1256