For a really cool look at all of the inside of The Theatre, click on this link:
http://www.gotyoulooking.com/1fifthavenuetheatre/mht.html
Sunday, November 22, 2015
On stage
Its' been a very, very busy time at The Theatre. In the middle of this month, we worked for nine straight days at one point. The last day of that period, rehearsals moved from the practice rooms to the stage! It's pretty fun to rehearse on stage, especially in a theater as big and beautiful as The 5th Ave.
For a really cool look at all of the inside of The Theatre, click on this link:
http://www.gotyoulooking.com/1fifthavenuetheatre/mht.html
For a really cool look at all of the inside of The Theatre, click on this link:
http://www.gotyoulooking.com/1fifthavenuetheatre/mht.html
Friday, November 13, 2015
Seats!
I've been in a few plays now and I'm starting to understand more and more abut how plays are put on. It's much more than just us actors showing up to rehearse and then act. Many super nice and important people, who don't go on stage, are needed to make sure the show happens. Actually, some times it seems like the actors are only a small part of what goes on at a theatre and definitely a small part of running a place like The 5th Avenue. I will tell you all about The 5th's important management people who run it in my next posts.
But one thing I will tell you now about one aspect of management: marketing! The 5th sits 2,130 people. So, that means over 90,000 people will see The Sound of Music during this run!! (A "run" means how long a particular show is on a particular stage. For us, it's Nov. 24 - Jan. 3rd. With matinees, that's 43 shows!) To sell all those tickets, The Theatre has to do a lot of "marketing", which means advertising, which means using TV, radio, buses, billboards and the internet to get people to want to come see us!
Here are a few of the ads the 5th has put out there to show us off:
But one thing I will tell you now about one aspect of management: marketing! The 5th sits 2,130 people. So, that means over 90,000 people will see The Sound of Music during this run!! (A "run" means how long a particular show is on a particular stage. For us, it's Nov. 24 - Jan. 3rd. With matinees, that's 43 shows!) To sell all those tickets, The Theatre has to do a lot of "marketing", which means advertising, which means using TV, radio, buses, billboards and the internet to get people to want to come see us!
Here are a few of the ads the 5th has put out there to show us off:
A couple of the ads are actually videos of us kids auditioning:
And, here is a bus ad:
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Spotlight Night
Last week, on Tuesday evening, The 5th Avenue held it's "Spotlight Night" for The Sound of Music. It's a free evening at The Theatre to spotlight or highlight the next play. The principle actors participate by singing a few songs - in street clothes, not costumes - and there is usually a talk about the history of the play. On Tuesday, The 5th was "sold" out - 2,130 seats! Artistic Director of The 5th David Armstrong came on stage to talk about the making of the original play in 1959 by Rogers and Hammerstein. I talked about them a few blog posts ago, but will again later!
Next, David talked about the real Von Trapp family. Here is a picture of them:
A couple of really neat thing about the Von Trapps and the real story - the play is not how it really happened - is that Maria was actually very strict and stern and the Captain was gentle and warm. If you know the play or movie, you know it's just the opposite in the play and movie, that's for sure! Also, one of the most famous scenes in the movie and the play is of the Von Trapps escaping the Nazis by hiking over the Alps to Switzerland. If you look at a map, hiking out of Austria over the Alps puts you closer to the Nazis . . . in Germany!! The Von Trapps took the train to Switzerland :). They eventually ended up in Vermont, where some of their decendants still run the Von Trapp Family Lodge today:
Another thing we learned at Spotlight Night was pretty funny. After the play started on Broadway, staring Mary Martin as Maria, but years before the movie was even cast or filmed, Julie Andrews, who played Maria in the movie, and a famous comedian named Carol Burnett, both of whom are still alive, did a show together at Carnegie Hall in New York City during which they did a skit poking fun at The Sound of Music and Julie Andrews played Maria!
The best part of the night for me though was getting to meet backstage Duane Chase who played Kurt Von Trapp in the movie and was interviewed on stage by David. He was so nice and took time to speak to each one of us.
And, here is a picture of all the movie Von Trapp family actors together:
Toward the end of the Spotlight Night, I came out with all my "siblings" and Maria to introduce ourselves and sing Do-Re-Mi (The Gretls will be played by two great actors, who will alternate performances and both were on stage.)
Finally, the Captain - Hans Altweis - joined us on stage to sing So Long Farewll to Spotlight Night and the wonderful audience who joined us, included my parents and sister Caroline! It was a super fun night. Thanks so much to all who came out.
More tomorrow . . .
Next, David talked about the real Von Trapp family. Here is a picture of them:
A couple of really neat thing about the Von Trapps and the real story - the play is not how it really happened - is that Maria was actually very strict and stern and the Captain was gentle and warm. If you know the play or movie, you know it's just the opposite in the play and movie, that's for sure! Also, one of the most famous scenes in the movie and the play is of the Von Trapps escaping the Nazis by hiking over the Alps to Switzerland. If you look at a map, hiking out of Austria over the Alps puts you closer to the Nazis . . . in Germany!! The Von Trapps took the train to Switzerland :). They eventually ended up in Vermont, where some of their decendants still run the Von Trapp Family Lodge today:
Another thing we learned at Spotlight Night was pretty funny. After the play started on Broadway, staring Mary Martin as Maria, but years before the movie was even cast or filmed, Julie Andrews, who played Maria in the movie, and a famous comedian named Carol Burnett, both of whom are still alive, did a show together at Carnegie Hall in New York City during which they did a skit poking fun at The Sound of Music and Julie Andrews played Maria!
The best part of the night for me though was getting to meet backstage Duane Chase who played Kurt Von Trapp in the movie and was interviewed on stage by David. He was so nice and took time to speak to each one of us.
And, here is a picture of all the movie Von Trapp family actors together:
Toward the end of the Spotlight Night, I came out with all my "siblings" and Maria to introduce ourselves and sing Do-Re-Mi (The Gretls will be played by two great actors, who will alternate performances and both were on stage.)
Finally, the Captain - Hans Altweis - joined us on stage to sing So Long Farewll to Spotlight Night and the wonderful audience who joined us, included my parents and sister Caroline! It was a super fun night. Thanks so much to all who came out.
More tomorrow . . .
Monday, November 9, 2015
School
I go to school in Leavenworth, WA at Osborn Elementary. As you might guess, I'm not going to class right now and that is one of the things I miss most. I miss my friends and my awesome teacher Mr. Hassinger, whom everyone call Mr. H. Without Mr. H's help, I couldn't even do the play! He has been helping my parents a lot to help me keep up with school. And, my parents said I couldn't even do the play unless Mr. H said it was okay. He did :). Mr. H is such a fun and great teacher. I can't wait to get back to school in January!
Mostly because of Mr. H, we have such a great 4th grade class.
Mostly because of Mr. H, we have such a great 4th grade class.
Full cast rehearsals begin
Its been a while since my last blog post. We've been working pretty hard on the production and my parents say it took me a while to "get back up to speed" with a busy rehearsal schedule. Anyhow, the Von Trapp camp is over and the adult actors and we have begun regular rehearsals together. After the Von Trapp camp - two weeks of rehearsals for just the kids in the play - we had a little party to celebrate. A few days later, we also cerebrated Halloween and even wore our costumes during rehearsal! It was a little crazy and a lot of fun. In the photo are the younger Von Trapp kids and our "kid wrangler" Becca.
Everyday - we rehearse six days a week - we get an hour for lunch. Almost everyday, all the younger kids eat together.
It may seem like a lot of kids, even for the Von Trapp family :). That's because there are also our "covers" or understudies. An understudy or cover is an actor who rehearses with us every day and are an important part of the show. If one of us gets sick or for some crazy reason can't make it to rehearsal or even a show - there are about 45 I think - that actor will fill in for us. I really don't want to get sick or miss a show, but I also really want my cover to get the chance to perform in the play. She is sooo good.
Everyday - we rehearse six days a week - we get an hour for lunch. Almost everyday, all the younger kids eat together.
It may seem like a lot of kids, even for the Von Trapp family :). That's because there are also our "covers" or understudies. An understudy or cover is an actor who rehearses with us every day and are an important part of the show. If one of us gets sick or for some crazy reason can't make it to rehearsal or even a show - there are about 45 I think - that actor will fill in for us. I really don't want to get sick or miss a show, but I also really want my cover to get the chance to perform in the play. She is sooo good.
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