Longtime readers of this blog know that my favorite musical is Children of Eden. This past summer I was extremely blessed to have taken part in a production of it by the Theatre Guild of Rockingham County. Well, if you've never had the pleasure of beholding this amazing show and you live near Greensboro, North Carolina you're in luck this weekend and the next. Jay Smith, who played Cain in our production, is directing Children of Eden at The Sanctuary, located at 900 Sixteenth Street in Greensboro. The show begins Friday, February 20th at 7:30 p.m., and runs through February 28th. Many of the same faces from Theatre Guild of Rockingham County's production will be in this new show, including Neil Shepherd returning as Father. Click here for more information, and hope you can come check it out! :-)
Showing posts with label children of eden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label children of eden. Show all posts
Thursday, February 19, 2009
CHILDREN OF EDEN at The Sanctuary in Greensboro starting this weekend!
Longtime readers of this blog know that my favorite musical is Children of Eden. This past summer I was extremely blessed to have taken part in a production of it by the Theatre Guild of Rockingham County. Well, if you've never had the pleasure of beholding this amazing show and you live near Greensboro, North Carolina you're in luck this weekend and the next. Jay Smith, who played Cain in our production, is directing Children of Eden at The Sanctuary, located at 900 Sixteenth Street in Greensboro. The show begins Friday, February 20th at 7:30 p.m., and runs through February 28th. Many of the same faces from Theatre Guild of Rockingham County's production will be in this new show, including Neil Shepherd returning as Father. Click here for more information, and hope you can come check it out! :-)Sunday, August 17, 2008
"Ain't It Good?"
Last night at Rockingham Community College the Theatre Guild of Rockingham County held its season-ending banquet, followed by the 2007-2008 Golden Guild Awards. That's the annual ceremony that honors those who volunteered during the previous season. The various award winners are chosen based on votes cast by the cast and crew of the shows.
In addition to the Best Actor and Best Actress categories, Best Production etc., there is what is called the Spirit Award. There's one given for each show during a season's run. I was told that it goes to the person who "best exemplifies enthusiasm for a show".
The last Spirit Award for the 2007-2008 Golden Guild Awards was the one for Children of Eden.
And I'm still reeling in shock after the envelope was opened and hearing "Chris Knight" announced as the winner!
I barely remember staggering on stage, and the first words out of my mouth at the podium were "Holy cow!" I quickly stammered how I'd first seen Children of Eden performed at Elon in 1998, and how I fell in love with the show and for almost ten years wanted to be part of it. How I told the producers at the audition that I knew that I couldn't sing and that I get booed off stage every time that I play Karaoke Revolution. That I just wanted to be part of this even if it meant working backstage and how thankful I was that they let me have this opportunity. I thanked my wife Lisa for supporting me, thanked God for letting me do this, thanked Mom and Dad and that I was glad that they got to come see me perform. And I said that even though he was no longer with us, I knew he was there in spirit and I thanked Gene Saunders, my drama teacher in high school and the founder of the Theatre Guild, 'cuz I definitely wanted to give this my best shot to honor his memory. And I vaguely remember getting a standing ovation 'cuz by that point, folks, I was seriously holding back the tears.
Getting to be in Children of Eden was not only the fulfillment of a dream, it became one of the greatest experiences of my life. And the best part of that was getting to know so many wonderful people. Making not just new friends, but becoming part of a terrific family: people who know and love and stand beside each other through thick and thin. To receive the Spirit Award for Children of Eden from these people... well, that has to rank right up there with Eagle Scout and marrying Lisa for lifetime achievement in my book :-)
Here I am with the Spirit Award for Children of Eden...
Seth and Seth's Wife reunited! Me and Tish Owens, who also racked-up Golden Guild Awards for Children of Eden and Steel Magnolias...
And here's most of the people who received an award at this year's ceremony (including Pete Barr, the director of Children of Eden which won for Best Production)...
I'll throw up the complete list of who won what as soon as I can get hold of the official roster of recipients.
Thanks to Tish Owens for providing a lot of these pics.
And thanks to the cast and crew of Children of Eden for giving me this honor. 'Twould be an understatement to say that I've been immensely humbled by this.
By the way, after the Golden Guild Awards last night, Lisa and I were driving back and we decided to stop by Mom and Dad's first to show the Spirit Award to them. I couldn't think of a better song to celebrate with than to crank up "Ain't It Good?" from the Children of Eden soundtrack on my iPod over the car stereo system.
"Ain't It Good"? It is indeed :-)
Monday, June 30, 2008
CHILDREN OF EDEN: The final performance and out-of-control strike party!
This is the way the world begins: not with a whimper but with a bang!
Yesterday was the final performance of the Theatre Guild of Rockingham County's production of Children of Eden. After the amazing reaction that the show got on Saturday night, could Sunday afternoon possibly be any better? Judging by the approval of the packed auditorium at Rockingham Community College - the biggest audience of the entire run - the answer to that is an emphatic "yes"!
The show went great! One funny thing that happened came during the scene where Father (Neil Shepherd) is banishing Adam (Stephen Hale) and Eve (Rose Cutuli Wray) from the Garden: when Father smites the Tree of Knowledge, the special effects crew had the tree rigged so that there was a very loud flash of light and smoke,as the tree splits in two. Well, they must have put some extra powder in the flashpot 'cuz it was a way loud "BANG!" yesterday. And while those of us who were Storytellers were looking wrathfully at Adam and Eve, we heard one guy in the audience say that "I thought that I'd been shot." I think everyone had to fight hard to not giggle when that happened :-)
Act I continued, and I took to the stage for the last time as Seth in the act's final scene, and this time... I don't know how it happened but I had a ton of tears streaming down my face as I approached the dying Eve when she gives Seth the Staff of Adam. Maybe I was holding back for this final show and I didn't realize it. People in the audience noticed it too.
Then Act II began, and "Generations" seems to have been a big hit. But then later on came "Ain't It Good", which really had the audience rockin'! I think that might have been the most enthused response for a single song during the entire six-show run.
Well, not long after came the show's final song "In The Beginning". We took our bows and fled up the aisles to meet the audience members as they were leaving. And then a very funny thing happened: it started to rain hard. You see, because of the weird way the auditorium is designed, during the show everyone in the cast has to walk around the auditorium to get from one place to the other, and for those on stage left this means exiting the building and running around outside. It has been a bigtime worry that during a show it might be raining and that the audience would wonder why our costumes were so wet. Lo and behold it didn't rain during a single performance... but immediately after the final one, the bottom fell out of the sky and this whole area got drenched. Was that God's way of saying He approved of our performance? That's what most of the cast said they liked to believe :-)
All the while it was raining we had to strike the set. My task was to help take down the risers and the "God perch" that Neil stood on most of the time during the show as Father looking down on the world. After all that was done (in less time than we'd originally anticipated) we were supposed to go to one of the crew members' house for a poolside strike party. But the rain and lightning kinda canceled that plan. So then Rose had the idea of having all the catered food delivered to the student center at Rockingham Community College, since we were all already there anyway.
So that's where we were from 7 last night on 'til almost 10:30, munching on hot dogs and hamburgers after being treated to the backstage crew premiering their new show "Children of Eating".
And then there was the karaoke...
I'm not going to post all the pictures of what happened last night 'cuz some among the cast and crew have threatened me with litigation if certain photos ever show up on this blog, but I can at least post the ones of myself acting crazy...
The first is what happened when I took the mike and belted out a rendition of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody":
And then came the new group Mama, Papa and Seth (Roses Cutuli Wray, Stephen Hale and Chris Knight) singing "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves" by Cher:
The "Bohemian Rhapsody" performance got a standing "O" and most of the audience even waved their opened cell phones. It was hilarious!
Then not long afterward the party had to draw to a close, and after being together for two months we had to say our goodbyes for now. But not goodbye forever, because just about everyone is now a Facebook or Myspace (or both) friend with each other, and we're already talking about doing more shows together in the future.
And right now, on the day after... I definitely feel like a better person for having done this. I tried out for Children of Eden almost on a lark, not expecting to land a role because frankly, I can't sing well. I even told the directing staff that I would have been happy to just help backstage if they needed it. I ended up not only in the show but also playing a fairly important character. This is a musical that I've wanted to be a part of for almost ten years, since first seeing it performed at Elon in 1998. Most people have no idea how big a dream that has been for me. Two months later and I get to say with a lot of pride that I not only got to live that dream, but I'm taking from it a lot of precious memories and very many people who I feel like are not just friends, but family. And it's going to be an experience that I am going to be forever thankful to God and a lot of good people for happening as it did.
(By the way, special thanks to Mike Jerrell for the amazing modification that he made to part of my Jedi Knight costume, that is going to make that a much better outfit for me to wear from now on!)
"For every moment of our life is the beginning..."
Now we begin. And I like to believe that the best days are yet to come.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
CHILDREN OF EDEN: Performance #5!
Tonight... we brought down the house!!!
Our best performance yet, playing to the most packed audience so far.
Okay, off to celebrate now :-)
CHILDREN OF EDEN: Performance #4 and wild cast party!
Last night we had our fourth performance of Children of Eden. Widespread consensus is that this was the one thus far most plagued by mishaps. A keyboard went out, there were problems with the microphones early in Act I, at least one cast member fell ill (but bounced back and rejoined the show), Noah's Ark almost crashed, and I tried hard to hold back a sneeze immediately following "The Flood" and just when I was about to leave the stage, it happened anyway.All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Names and identities have been withheld to protect reputations and careers.
But all things considered, the audience seemed to have really enjoyed last night's show!
Following the performance, just about all the cast and crew met at Pizza Station in Reidsville for a party that stretched well on into the night and may have gotten a little too wild for anyone's good...
Don't worry: nothing immoral or illegal or otherwise illicit happened last night. Good heavens, there were children present! About the worst thing that happened was me dancing to a Barry Manilow song...
Children of Eden has another performance tonight at 7:30 at the Rockingham Community College Advanced Technologies Building Auditorium, and then its final show tomorrow afternoon at 2:30.
Friday, June 27, 2008
CHILDREN OF EDEN: Final weekend of performances begin tonight!
Children of Eden
Tonight begins the final three performances of Theatre Guild of Rockingham County's production of Children of Eden. The hit musical takes to the stage tonight and tomorrow night at 7:30 and then one last performance on Sunday afternoon at 2:30. All shows are in the auditorium at the Advanced Technologies Building at Rockingham Community College. So far the show has been a huge success, and many patrons are swearing that it's one of the best musicals that the Theatre Guild has ever done! Word is that the shows for the next few nights are selling fast so if you wanna go, get yer tickets now and get ready to enjoy Children of Eden. Or, don't see it, and perish in flame. It's your choice, but not really.
(Hey if nothing else will entice you to come, how about getting a chance to see Yours Truly dressed old-school biblical in tunic and sandals as Seth, the third son of Adam and Eve? :-P)
Monday, June 23, 2008
CHILDREN OF EDEN: More photos!
Here are some more pics from the Theatre Guild of Rockingham County's production of Children of Eden. Some of these were taken by my wife Lisa and others were taken by Dean Brown...Father (Neil Shepherd) realizes his dream and creates the universe in "Let There Be", the opening song of Act I in Children of Eden Eve (Rose Cutuli Wray) listens as Father tells her and Adam what they must do as they begin "The Naming" Adam (Stephen Hale) and Eve (Rose Cutuli Wray) are cast out of the Garden as Father (Neil Shepherd) curses the Tree of Knowledge during "The Expulsion" in Act I Young Abel (Jasper Thomas III, left) and Young Cain (Aaron Boles, right) join their father Adam (Stephen Hale) in asking Father to accept their sacrifice Cain (Jay Smith) brings Abel (Winston Sims) and Eve (Rose Cutuli Wray) to a place that they have no business being in "Ring of Stones" Noah (Jon Young) and his family thank Father for their blessings during "A Piece of Eight" in Act II
More coming soon! And remember: Children of Eden plays for three more performances this coming Friday through Sunday, June 27-29th at Rockingham Community College Auditorium. Visit the Theatre Guild's website for more info!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
CHILDREN OF EDEN: The Third Performance
Are we really halfway through our performance schedule already? Sure doesn't seem like it.
This afternoon was the third performance of Children of Eden, produced by the Theatre Guild of Rockingham County. It was the biggest audience yet! And the show went great again. Today's performance was especially important for me personally because I was finally able to do something that I've been working on all this past week: have some serious tears flowing when I played Seth at the end of Act I. It worked... but man, that was tough! Will try to do it again for the next three times we do this.
My parents got to come and see the show too. One neat moment happened when I got to introduce my real Mom to Rose Cutuli Wray, my "Mom" (she plays Eve) in Children of Eden. Also got to see a lot more friends who came today, and a few who are seeing it for a second time during this production!
(Yeah I'm talkin' 'bout you especially Nell ;-)
You know, this blog has chronicled a lot of... strange and unusual things from my life in the past few years. Everything from running for office to taking on a major corporation to fighting what many have said is evil incarnate, along with everything in between. Doing Children of Eden with the Theatre Guild has been, far and away, the greatest ongoing experience that I've written about here thus far. I have met so many new and wonderful people, have learned so much, and have rediscovered what may be a real passion that I might follow for the rest of my life in some form or another. God has used this experience to make me think about some things, and in ways that I haven't talked about here, He has used it to show me humility and how there are still some matters in my life that need addressing. Through Children of Eden, I have gained not just new friends, but some new family.
And, it's been a heckuva lot of fun!
I'm going to genuinely miss this time when it's over. But until then, we still have three more shows, so we ain't done just yet.
We have off 'til Friday night, although there may be a "brush-up" rehearsal before then. But for now, we've got the next few days to rest and reflect, and figure out how to make the second half of our schedule even better than the first!
Maybe some more pictures soon also. Stay tuned! :-)
Saturday, June 21, 2008
CHILDREN OF EDEN: The Second Performance
Just got back from our second performance of the Theatre Guild of Rockingham County's production of Children of Eden. Somewhat larger crowd tonight than our opener last night. Hopefully word of mouth will bring in bigger audiences tomorrow and next week.
Well, I honestly can't remember what much of the audience reaction was during the show itself last night 'cuz we were all so busy making sure we were in place for our cues and such, but tonight I was able to let myself see how the crowd was taking it. The reaction was incredible! There was lots of laughter and applause, but what really caught my attention was what happened as we were about to head down the aisles toward the stage for "Ain't It Good": people in the audience were bopping their heads and clapping and snapping their fingers right to the beat! And then in the next song "In The Beginning", the final one of the show: I counted at least four or five people in the audience who were crying. Which there's nothing wrong with that: I shed some tears too when I heard that song the first time I saw Children of Eden.
We put it on again tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 (same place, the Rockingham Community College Auditorium) and then we're off a few days before coming back for one more rehearsal, before doing it again next Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and then the last regular performance on Sunday, June 29th at 2:30 p.m.
I might post some more pics of the show soon, along with photos of some of the insanity that's been taking place behind the scenes :-P
After-Action Report from CHILDREN OF EDEN's Opening Night!
Tonight, the shared sentiment among the cast and crew of Theatre Guild of Rockingham County's production of Children of Eden is TRIUMPHANT!
The show went beautifully! It was the first time that it had ever been performed in Rockingham County. And judging by the applause and the kind words that members of the audience gave us after the show, this was a huge hit! Lots of people said that they loved the uplifting and powerful message of the story and that the music was "wonderful!" Cast members also received a lot of praise for their acting.
We just got back from a very crazy opening night cast party at a Mexican restaurant in Reidsville (which included the strangest rendition of "In Pursuit of Excellence" that I've seen since this production began... and that's saying something). Everyone involved is ecstatic about what happened tonight. Some have said that this might be the best production done in the history of the Theatre Guild.
This was one of the greatest nights of my life! For ten years I've wanted to not just perform in Children of Eden, but especially take part in "Generations", the opening number of Act II and my favorite song of the show. Tonight I got to fulfill that huge goal. And it will happen five more times over the next week or so.
If you missed Children of Eden tonight, you can see it tomorrow night at 7:30 at Rockingham Community College Auditorium, and then again Sunday at 2:30 p.m. and then next Friday, Saturday and Sunday. For ticket information visit the Theatre Guild of Rockingham County's website.
Okay, I'm off for now. Time to recharge. "And the night was perfect..."
Friday, June 20, 2008
Theatre Guild of Rockingham County's production of CHILDREN OF EDEN opens TONIGHT!
Children of Eden
Here it is at last: Opening Night for Children of Eden, produced by the Theatre Guild of Rockingham County. The curtain opens at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Rockingham Community College Auditorium. The show runs each Friday and Saturday night at 7:30 and then Sunday afternoon at 2:30 between today and June 29th.
If you are coming, and you have never seen Children of Eden before, then prepare yourself for a treat.
Children of Eden, with music by Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Pippin, Godspell and the music for the motion picture Prince of Egypt) based on a book by John Caird (the musical Les Misérables), is based on the first nine chapters of the Book of Genesis. Throughout the stories of the creation of the world, the Garden of Eden, the fall of mankind and then Noah and the Ark, Children of Eden explores the age-old issues of relationships between parents and children.
Something that we have joked about during the past several weeks: Children of Eden is a show that has three deaths in Act I, billions of deaths in Act II, violence and mildly suggestive lyrics and explosions and Satan himself... and yet it is one of the most family-friendly musicals in production today! It is also one of the most wildly popular. Shows sell out all over the place whenever it's put on.
And I'm in it! Ever since Elon's production of Children of Eden ten years ago, I've wanted to take part in it. It took a decade, but tonight God will answer my prayer as I step into the cloak and sandals of Seth: the third son of Adam and Eve.
There is a place in Eden for children of all ages. It's going to be quite a show no matter who you are. So y'all come if ya can! :-)
Thursday, June 19, 2008
CHILDREN OF EDEN: 1 Day Left Before Opening Night
Here's a photo from rehearsal last night, from the end of Act I. This is right after Eve (Rose Cutuli Wray) has bid goodbye to Seth (me), Seth's Wife (Tisha Owens) and is now telling the rest of her descendants farewell. Also in this picture are Justin Marcellus, Jamia Parker, Jessica Wray, and Tyler Alverson...
Rehearsal went extremely well! We've got one more left before the curtain opens before a real audience tomorrow night for Theatre Guild of Rockingham County's production of Children of Eden.
One thing that's kind of funny is that Pete Barr, the director, came to me the other night and asked if I could "tone down" the boogeying during "Ain't It Good". It's like the story of when George Lucas was filming Star Wars Episode I and Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor kept making the noises with their mouths and didn't realize it, and Lucas told them they didn't need to do that. I've been listening to the Children of Eden soundtrack for nigh on a decade, and the beat and rhythm are now ingrained into my brain and body. Long story short: I'm having way too much fun up there! But the past few nights I've held back a bit, while still enjoying the beat of the song (perhaps the liveliest of the entire show).
The Media General papers also have a great story about the Theatre Guild's production of Children of Eden.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
CHILDREN OF EDEN: What do I look like as Seth?
Okay, sure...
Here I am as Seth (while holding the Staff of Adam) in the Theatre Guild of Rockingham County's production of Children of Eden:
No, your eyes aren't playing tricks on you: that is a good part of my Jedi Knight costume! I'm also playing a Storyteller and we needed something to differentiate me when I appear as Seth at the end of Act I. Children of Eden's costumer Kathy Morrison and I were talking about what we could do, and I mentioned that I had a Jedi Knight getup and then... click! I brought it in the next night and she worked over the next few days adding some color to the tabard and waist sash.
That is also the very first time in well over 25 years that I have worn sandals. Most of the time I wear sturdy leather hiking boots, either that or tennis shoes. It kinda goes against my attire philosophy to look like this. Yeah, just one of many personal quirks that most people don't know about. But hey, how many people in antediluvian days wore hiking boots? It kinda reminds me of the line that Kent Brockman once had on The Simpsons: "Authorities say the phony Pope can be recognized by his high-top sneakers and incredibly foul mouth." Anyway, I wanted to be in Children of Eden, so here's my chance and it's a small enough sacrifice :-)
The rest of the time in Act I I'm wearing the same outfit minus the kimono, tabard and sash. There's a blue vest that I put over the tunic in Act II 'cuz that's the more colorful period. Speaking of the tunic: it's hard to walk in that thing! I've a pretty long gait and it's becoming something to trip over. But so far, I haven't fallen (and I'm knocking on wood as I type this).
Maybe more pictures later tonight!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
CHILDREN OF EDEN Update: 3 Days to Opening Night
Theatre Guild of Rockingham County's production of Children of Eden is now less than 72 hours away from opening (June 20th and 21st at 7:30 p.m. and 22nd at 2:30 p.m., with the same times for June 27th-29th). Everyone involved has been working whatever time they can squeeze in to get this thing ready. This past Friday night I worked with some other cast members in getting the lighting set up ('cuz all cast members are expected to work at least one day during "Tech Week" and I wanted to take the opportunity to learn some stuff about lighting, since it might come in handy with videography). Most of the other cast loaded the props on Saturday. And Sunday was our first technical rehearsal: going through the show with everything going full-bore so as to tweak the lighting cues, the sound levels, and the props.
The thing about Children of Eden is that this is a very props-intensive show. The first part of Act I involves moving lots of foliage on stage very quickly so as to create the Garden of Eden. And even then, it's not static: stuff gets shifted around all the time. And there are two scene changes - one in Act I and another in Act II - that also require certain items to be brought on and taken off. Those alone have taken significant time to consider and then re-consider how to best do it. One of these is something that I've been assigned to, and if you know anything about Children of Eden, you'll know what I mean when I say that it's possibly the most mysterious part of the story.
So Sunday was our first tech rehearsal. It ran from 2 p.m. until past 9 p.m. that night.
Last night we did it again, practice starting at 6:30 p.m. and then running to about 11.
Tonight was our first full dress rehearsal. We began going through the show at around 7:30 p.m., and finished just after 10:30. Almost average for a typical production of Children of Eden. We have definitely come a long way since where we were just two days ago.
Tomorrow we'll be taking pictures and maybe shooting some video. I can't post any video, but I will certainly try to have a pic or two up of what this is looking like, including me in my getup as Seth :-)
Friday, June 06, 2008
CHILDREN OF EDEN Update: 14 Days to Opening Night
Two weeks from tonight, we will all be in makeup and costume, and about to take to the stage with the Theatre Guild of Rockingham County's production of Children of Eden.
We have come a very long way in a short time. But there's still plenty more to do.
The past few nights have been spent on cleaning up the choreography for the bigger numbers. Last night it was work on "In The Beginning" and "The Naming", and that one was especially fun to watch. The two that I'm working on most in my spare time have been the dances for "Generations" and "Ain't It Good". I've written about it before here and I have to admit again: "Ain't It Good" might be the most difficult song of the show... but I absolutely think it's going to rock the house when we get to perform it. It might get easier to practice when we get everything so far as the stage floor put in place.
In case anyone's wondering why there aren't pictures to go along with these reports: I've been taking some, but have been asked not to post them here. I might be able to post a pic of me in costume sometime next week though. And I'll be getting a scan of the production's poster up soon too :-)
Best part of doing this has been getting to know a lot of new and interesting people. I don't think it's possible to work on a show like Children of Eden and put your heart into it, without bonding with each other somehow. Everything about Children of Eden contributes to a camaraderie that I think is going to go with us for the rest of our lives.
Just one more reason why I'm very thankful for the opportunity to be in this production.
Oh yeah, last night I wore one of the t-shirts that I made for Forcery. Most other people have been wearing shirts from productions they've been in. I didn't have one of those, so I thought "Okay, I'll just wear a shirt from the movie that I made!" Got a lot of people asking about it, 'specially the kids. I'm already thinking that I've wound up with a huge pool of talent that I could ask to help me out with my projects down the road.
Another update sometime next week!
Monday, May 26, 2008
CHILDREN OF EDEN Update: 25 Days to Opening Night
"Now uss dee time undt Schprockets ven ve dantz!"
Okay who can tell me where that's from? Still can't believe that I thought of it Sunday afternoon.
So yesterday we started doing choreography for two of the biggest numbers from the Theatre Guild of Rockingham County's production of Children of Eden: "Generations" and "Ain't It Good". Singing the songs? No problem, 'cuz like I've mentioned before after frequent listening to the soundtrack for almost a decade now, that's easy...
...but dancing is a whole 'nother thing.
Stephen Hale, who's playing Adam in our production, is also our choreographer. He's mapped out some terrific routines for these songs. They're also a bit complex, especially "Generations", which requires everyone radically changing positions on stage no less than three times. I'm thinking of bringing a video camera for next time we do this so that I can study it later (and possibly making a privately-available YouTube video only for those involved in the production to be able to look at, if they need to). But given the work and commitment that everyone is giving this, I think the effect is going to be pretty amazing when showtime comes. The other piece we worked on yesterday, "Ain't It Good", is going to be nothing short of ecstatic: a well-executed gospel-style number that's only going to be missing people doing backflips across stage (except it's not a big enough stage).
I have tomorrow night off, 'cuz that's being devoted to working with everyone playing the Snake (and word is that it involves something very clever, that I don't think I've seen before after watching Children of Eden a number of times over the years). Then it's back to practice from Tuesday through Thursday night. Yeah, I'm gonna miss some of the Lost season finale, but since we're DVRing it I should be able to catch up in real time quickly when I get back. But the play is the thing... and that is how we are playing! :-)
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
CHILDREN OF EDEN Update: 38 Days to Opening Night
I've a few nights off from rehearsal for the Theatre Guild of Rockingham County's production of Children of Eden ('cuz those are being used to focus on the solo numbers and I don't have one of those). In the past few sessions we've finished going over all the choral pieces. I'm still amazed at how much work we've done in so relatively short a span of time.
The last major song from the show that we took on was "Ain't It Good" from Act II. I've thought for years that "Generations" might be the most complicated song from Children of Eden but having done "Ain't It Good" now, I'm pretty confident that it might be the more difficult of the two. But by the end of the night last night we'd put together a very rousing rendition. "Ain't It Good" is the kind of style associated with gospel music from traditionally black churches, which I've always enjoyed listening to and this is the first time in my life that I've ever had the opportunity to sing like this. All this number needs now is members of the cast doing cartwheels across the stage, like the church scene from The Blues Brothers. But even without that (I don't think the stage would be big enough) this might wind up being the hit song of the entire show.
Something that I'm doing as personal preparation for this is that each night I've been reading Genesis chapters 1 through 9 again, and trying to "get into the heads" of Adam and Eve and Noah and even God (who's called Father in the production). Even though I'm playing none of those characters, during the songs that accompany the plot I think it's helping to bring some nuance and emphasis as I sing them. Could that be called "Method Singing"? :-)
There's one more practice for the music itself, and then we begin blocking on stage next week.
Monday, May 05, 2008
CHILDREN OF EDEN Update: 46 Days to Opening Night
It was a week ago tonight that I found out that my longtime dream of being in a production of Children of Eden was about to really happen. The cast came together for the first time a few nights later. We've now had three nights of practice and in that time we've done work on many of the major songs from the show ("Let There Be", "The Naming" and a few others).
One thing about Children of Eden that makes this an interesting production is that a lot of the melodies repeat, with a number of reprisals in Act II especially. This is well in keeping with the overarching theme of Children of Eden's story: that each new generation often faces the same ordeals as the one that sired it. But also, that every generation - and the individuals that make it up - has a choice, and it's up to each person to find his or her destiny. That's what I've thought of most as we've practiced the show's final song, "In The Beginning".
This is fast shaping up to be quite a terrific production! Already it feels like the cast is becoming a family in its own right... which is fitting, given the nature of Children of Eden.
I won't be able to practice tomorrow night ('cuz I'll be doing other duties in the capacity of treasurer for Eric H. Smith's campaign for North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction) and I'm gonna certainly miss it. But Wednesday night we're going to start work on my most favorite song from the entire show... and I can't wait!! :-)
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Back from first meeting of the CHILDREN OF EDEN cast
We met for three hours tonight in the auditorium at Rockingham Community College. I got to know quite a few of my fellow cast members (Children of Eden demands a fairly large number of people for this show, which is one of the reasons why it hasn't been run on Broadway yet). As one of the principles I got to bring home a script, but it's not mine to keep and in order to have this copy I had to leave a security deposit. That gets returned to me at the end of the show, when I give the script back.
Then all the principles and some of the kids who'll be portraying animals listened to the 2-disc soundtrack of the Paper Mill Playhouse's production of Children of Eden, the one that gave this musical its final form. For a lot of the cast this was the first time they had ever listened to the music from the show. Since I've been listening to this same soundtrack for almost eight years now, I knew the songs by heart and couldn't help bopping along to the beat, especially when "Generations" started playing :-)
During the listening session, we were each called out of the auditorium to get measured for our costumes. I've no idea what mine is going to look like: all that happened in that regard tonight is that my height was measured along with my chest size and a few other dimensions taken. But since I'm playing Seth and he only shows up toward the end of Act I, I'm thinking it'll probably be something more than the "skins and rough fabric" that Adam and his family wear after the expulsion, but nothing like the colorful pageantry that we see a thousand years later at the beginning of Act II either.
Right now we're scheduled for six performances in June: one each for Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the final weekends of that month. It could go into another weekend, if there's enough demand (and I'm hoping there will be).
We meet again tomorrow night, when we go over the first and last songs for Act I.
Did I say that there are a lot of wonderful people in this production, and that it's a great honor to be working with them?
This is gonna absolutely rock!! :-)
Monday, April 28, 2008
Guess who will be among the CHILDREN OF EDEN!
Well, this day has seen it all.
I spent most of it working on stuff in my capacity as treasurer for my friend Eric Smith's campaign for North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction. This mostly entailed finishing up the First Quarter Campaign Finance Report. Also had a few errands around town.
When Lisa got home from school I gave her a birthday card and the new Mario Kart Wii (also got another Wii steering controller so that we can race each other :-). Then we went to dinner at the Olive Garden in Burlington, and afterward we got another Wii game at the Best Buy near there. Then came on home and I finished the report, and joined Lisa for some Mario Kart Wii. It was a little after 8 when Johnny called to tell me about the Star Wars-themed Deal or No Deal that was on NBC tonight.
And then about thirty minutes ago, the phone rang again.
Remember two days ago when I auditioned for the Theatre Guild of Rockingham County's production of Children of Eden?
I just received a callback. They offered me a part!
Which I honestly had to wonder (and I even asked the nice girl this) if they had called the wrong number because my singing was, admittedly... off (and that's being way more charitable than I deserve :-)
Anyways, after almost ten years of wanting to be in Children of Eden, my dream is about to come true! I'll be playing the part of Seth, and whether you've seen Children of Eden before or you just read the Bible a lot, you know that Seth is the son that Adam and Eve have after Abel is killed.
As has happened many other times on this blog whenever I've been involved in some kind of project (running for school board, the Transformers score petition, the Viacom/YouTube copyright fiasco, school uniforms etc.) I'll do my best to chronicle what it's like to do a theatrical production like this, especially in case anyone else ever thought about going for a role in a musical ('cuz I believe that everyone should follow their dreams). I'm just glad that for once it gets to be something thoroughly fun that I'll be getting to write about :-)
Okay, I'm off to celebrate. Starting with playing "Generations" from the Children of Eden soundtrack full-blast on our stereo system!
(And thanks to everyone who wished me luck and even kept me in their prayers when I said that I was going to take a stab at this :-)
