Miss Erskine Says....and Yoda Says

"So I went to see 'Eclipse,' and it wasn't bad by Twilight standards," says Miss Allison Erskine.  "But what made the director think that a brooding Robert Pattinson is more attractive than the most beautiful person I've ever seen: Taylor Lautner?  Just sayin'!

"I'm just so frustrated with the director because, okay, he cast Robert Pattinson in the first movie and he did wellish.  But then he's just stuck with him!  And I don't know what he's doing.  Robert is making these acting choices that just take you out of the story.  He's supposed to be head-over-heels in love with Bella, but whenever he's within two feet of her, he looks like he'd rather vomit than kiss her!  Then you have Jacob, who has every right to be in pain when he's around Bella, because she's in love with a dead guy.  But he is always smiling and and is surrounded by this warm light (and that was a good directing choice... Bravo!)  Well the point is, when you're watching the movie, I don't want Bella to be with Edward, because it doesn't communicate to me.  With Jacob love is easy because it's like breathing...he just loves her.  Love just is.  And, I mean, it might just be my personal preference, but love between Bella and Edward has to be fought for, and it shouldn't be that way!"

"Find your character, you must, the point is," says Yoda.  "Focus.  Focus.  You must learn focus."

Lights, Camera, Action?

Screenwriting is easy.  And now that BKT Productions has its own digital movie camera, can anyone say, "Lights, camera, action?"  How about this for our first fifteen minute short?

Nathan Patinkin (Matt Rogers) is a frustrated actor who lives in his studio/apartment with girlfriend Stormie Wether (Alyson Tober) who plays Snow White at a D-List amusement park in Passaic, New Jersey.  Their flat is located above Disco Tech, a dance studio run by off-off-Broadway choreographer, Tony Hustle (Mr. E), who always dresses in tight white bell-bottoms, an open-collared tangerine silk shirt, enough gold chains to anchor the Queen Mary, and white patent leather boots.  A group of studio musicians, El Capitan and Chenielle (Mr. Bill Pepper, Mrs. Melody Hubner, Mrs. Tracy Clark), performs at Disco Tech every night, rattling Nathan's dishes from 11 until 2; they are joined on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays by Saree, a trio of boistrous blond Bollywood dancers (Madison Bendistis, Allie Spaccarelli, Brittany Yeo).

After months of auditions, Nathan finally lands the lead role in the regionally acclaimed musical, Playing with Paintbrushes, in which he plays Pablo DaVinci opposite Linda Streisand (Rebecca Wilson) who plays Pablo's favorite model, Lisa Mona.  As rehearsals begin under angsty director Orson Hitchcock (Alex Messick), Olive Stone (Jack Shinn), the script supervisor, takes a strong dislike to Nathan.  One Wednesday morning while awaiting the deaf sound man Amadeus (Kirby Wilson), Olive drops a jelly donut sprinkled with itching powder into Nathan's lap.  Seeing Nathan's gyrations, El Capitan and Chenille strike up the Eleven O'clock Number, "Pigment Gets in My Eyes," and Saree dashes onto the set, thinking they have missed their cue.  In her haste, Saree superstar, Nu Deli (Allie Spaccarelli), collides with a stage light, causing it to fall on Toni Chenille (Mrs. Tracy Clark)....

Okay.  So maybe BKT's first film should be a full-length feature.  Can anyone say, "Over-budget?"

Monday Mourning

Scene.  Monday, July 26, 2010, 8:00 a.m.  The stage is dark and bare.  The auditorium is empty.  Allie Spaccarelli is still sleeping, but for once hasn't missed her bus!  Alex Messick and Madison Bendistis, for the first time in weeks, are not late.

Yoda enters, stage left.  "No more training do they receive, this summer.  Already know they, much of what they need.  But not all.  Not quite yet.  One thing remains.  Performance.  They must confront an audience.  Then, only then, actors they will be.  And confront them they will."

Do the Padawan miss the academy?  Miss Allison Erskine certainly does.  She places pining post on the Broadway Knights Theatre Academy Facebook page.

Yoda sighs, exiting stage right.  "Dark times to the theater have come.  Many days have I waited for them.  Actors they will be.  Great shows they will perform.  But more training they require."

Allie Spaccarelli stirs under the covers....Scene drop.

And the Obi-Wan Goes to....

Since the American Theatre Wing has the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre (Tony), motion pictures has the Academy Awards (Oscar), off-Broadway has the Off-Broadway Theater Awards (Obie), and The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has the Emmy Awards (Emmy), it only seems fitting that the Broadway Knights Theater Academy should have an equally pretentiously-named award, but alas we are from Slower Lower Delaware and decided it would be best just to leap to the abridged euphemism.

The coveted Obi-Wan- named for a Jedi Knight- recognizes achievement in the Georgetown Middle School theater academy and is presented by Yoda to the Padawan who has grasped the lesson: "Use your feelings, young one, and find real character you will."  And the Obi-Wan goes to....

• The Eva Le Gallienne Obi-Wan for Shakespearen Monologue: Joanie Shinn, "To Be, or Not to Be"
• The Wizard-of-Oz-Judy Garland Obi-Wan for Singing: Rebecca Wilson, "Temorary Home"
• The Dick Van Dyke Obi-Wan for Comedic Stage Presence: Kirby Wilson, "The Blue Note"
• The Lon Chaney Obi-Wan for Wolfman Stage Presence: Matt Rogers, "The Blue Note"
• The Cassandra Peterson Obi-Wan for Grim Reaping: Tiffany Raeuber, "Don't Lose Your Head"
• The Janet Leigh Obi-Wan for Eerie Death Scene: Allie Spaccarelli, "Don't Lose Your Head"
• The Carmen Miranda Obi-Wan for Salsa-Hip-Hop Dance: Alyson Tober, "The Blue Note" 
• The Jim Carrey Obi-Wan for Elastic Facial Expressions: Brittney Yeo, "Sculptures"
• The Sir Lawrence Olivier Obi-Wan for Shakespearean Melodrama: Alex Messick, "Row, Row, Row, Your Boat"
• The Vanna White Obi-Wan for Puzzle Presentation: Madison Bendistis, "Don't Lose Your Head"
• The Tammy Wynette Obi-Wan for Standing by Her Man: Logan Rae, "No Place that Far"
• The Viola Spolin Obi-Wan for Theater Games: Miss Allison Erskine, "Bibbity, Bobbity...Boo"
• The John Travolta Obi-Wan for Disco Dance: Mr. Benjamin Erskine, "Stayin' Alive....Barely"
• The Ansel Adams Obi-Wan for Stage Photography: Mrs. Chrisina Palmer, "Sculptures"
• The Shirley Temple Obi-Wan for Dramatic Exuberance: Bailey Erskine, "Frozen French Fries"

Yoda, Obi-Wan "Mr. Ben Erskine" Kenobi, and the academy thank all of the parents, teachers, and administrators of these award-winning Padawan cum Jedi Knights for allowing them to enter our far-far-away galaxy.  George Lucas would be proud.  May the Force of the Theatre be with you!

Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow

Good night, good night!  Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow.

Okay.  So it was noon, not night, when the academy students left the theater for the last time until the 2010-2011 school year begins.  And the sorrowful parting was sweetened by Jack Shinn's delicious two-berry cake.  But for all the work Yoda put us through early in the day, which academy Padawan would have missed Alex Messick's Shakespearean rendition of "Row, row, row your boat," Allie Spaccarelli nearly losing her head to the Grim Raeuber, or Kirby "Hip-Hop" Wilson getting all he could handle from Tiffany at the Knight Klub?

While we had a lot of fun, one of the best things about the academy is the family that we have become.  What have we learned, you might ask?  "Only what you take with you," Yoda says.

Stayin' Alive...With Apologies to the Bee Gees

What does Tony Manero have that Mr. E doesn't?  Agility, a white suit, a disco ball, and Saturday Night Fever!

Well, you could tell by the way he used his walk, he's a disco man: no time to talk.  Music loud and glasses smoked, he's been kicked around since he got stoked.  And now it's all right.  It's okay.  And we tried to look the other way.  We can try to understand the GMS effect on man.  Whether he's a brother, whether he's a mother, he's stayin' alive, stayin' alive.  Feel the city breakin' and everybody shakin', and we're stayin' alive, stayin' alive.  Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive, stayin' alive.  Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive.

Expressionism?  Think Heavy D doing John Travolta in aviator glasses!  Realism?  Watch for the video on Broadway Knights Theatre Acaemy Facebook.  Good thing Mr. E's Stephanie Mangano wasn't in the house!

And Speaking of Auditions....

Will I cut my hair?  Will I dye it?  Am I available between 3:00 and 6:00 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays,  and Thursdays?  Can I sing and dance?  If I'm not cast, will I work in the technical side of the show?

Today was our audition workshop.  For two grueling hours we answered questions, read, acted, were given direction, read and acted again, and ultimately each had our turn in the "hot seat."  How fun was having our audition critiqued in front of the whole academy?  Not much!

On the bright side, three of us got cast in our faux show: Alex Messick as Gandalf, Allie Spaccarelli as Bilbo Baggins, and Alyson Tober as Gollum.  Perhaps tomorrow, Yoda will audition Mr. E, Mrs. Palmer, and Miss Erskine and put them on the hot seat.  I hope they remember to bring their asbestos underwear.

When Teachers Come Calling

You know Broadway Knights Theatre Academy is becoming a hot commodity at Georgetown Middle School when teachers are requesting parts in the 2010 winter show; co-writers Matt, Jack, and Tiffany beware!

One of the hottest musical acts of the 2010 spring show, "Reduced Seuss: A Tip of the Hat to the Shakespeare of Silliness," was the teacher duet Mr. Bill Pepper and Mrs. Melody Huebner- although Mr. Pepper's Denny Terrio dancing style is still under discussion.  Mrs. Michelle Erskine's and Mrs. Christina Palmer's rendition of the Zax was show-stopping.  And Mr. E's comedic antics brought a whiff of Jim Carey to our Wonderful World.  So when Ms. Peggy Mullane contacted us on the Broadway Knights Theater Academy Facebook fan page and suggested she might be interested in being part of the winter show, "Home for Christmas," we were very excited.

Imagine the implications of a panel of students giving the test- audition- while the teacher takes it.  Can anyone say, "Easy 'A'?"  No wonder Yoda wants to give us a workshop on auditioning tomorrow.  We wonder how many teachers will be there.

La Cage Aux Faux

"Always two there are, no more, no less; a master and an apprentice," said Yoda to Obi-Wan "Ben Erskine" Kenobi..  "Help you I can."

The acting exercise was straight-forward: Express emotion through movement, as a series of songs is played.  Things were going along great, even when Cartman snarled, "Come, Sail Away."  Then we stalled on the Broadway tune, "Mr. Cellophane."  Yoda suggested that Obi-Wan show- not tell- by performing the tune for the students as Robin Williams would have in "The Bird Cage."  None of the cast had any idea how much acting range Mr. Erskine had until Yoda suggested he do it a second time as Nathan Lane's character!  When Mr. E twisted his shirt into a scarf....well, let's just say range doesn't begin to cover it!

All those cell phones in the theater, and not a single one within reach!  It's a good thing for Mr. Erskine that- thanks to school policy- what happens in GMS theater stays in GMS theater.

The Hardest Role We'll Ever Play

Anyone who says Shakespearean roles are tough to play should have been in the Georgetown Middle School theater today!

When we walked into the auditorium and saw "The hardest role you'll ever play is yourself," we knew the day was going to be challenging.  What me?  Play myself?   Sure Shakespeare said that "all the world is a stage," but here?  Now?  Without a costume or make-up?

The exercise was probably the most challenging thing we've done so far this summer, particularly the first part, when we looked into the mirror of one of our classmates playing us.  But experiencing Jack playing herself, transforming into Joanie, was something special.

Around the World in Eighty Minutes

A smart actor learns from her mistakes, an intelligent actor learns from someone else's.  Thanks to a field trip to Possum Point Players dress rehearsal of "Around the World in Eighty Days," the Broadway Knights Theatre Academy students had a chance to do both.

With brains in our heads and feet in our shoes, we trekked the quarter mile to the theater to watch the show.  To ensure an educational experience, Yoda told us to practice writing director's notes, answering the query, "What went right and what went wrong?"- a question we academy students face under his tutelage multiple times, each day.

Did we mention that Delaware is experiencing a drought?  The only conclusion we could draw from the downpour that greeted us when the show ended and we had to return to the school on foot, was that the god of the theater, Dionysus, preferred that Yoda had told us to leave our notebooks at the school!

Forget Johnny Depp

Casting Alice in Wonderland is so much better when the Fates intervene.  Could Lewis Carroll have ever imagined Kirby as Alice, or Tiffany as Tweedle-dum?  Okay Tiffany....Maybe!

But could L.C. have imagined the Smoking Caterpillar as the Godfather or a stoner?  Alex's rendition of the caterpillar as Marlon Brando had everything but a horse's head.  And Brittany playing the same role as Tommy Chong?  Tell us Miss Yeo, what exactly was it that you had in that kazoo?

Every day seems to bring new growth in the students' acting skills.  Who needs Johnny Depp, anyway?  We have our own maniacal Mad-Hatter, right Madison?

Characters Without a Word

The academy students practiced finding real emotions and real presence through the theater game "Sculptures."  Their artistry would have made Michelangelo proud!

And talk about physical presence.  Was it the home-made chocolate chip cookies or the Kit-Kat bars that turned Matt into such a wolf man?  One thing for sure, he can take direction: Roll your shoulders, lead with your nose!  Once Yoda told him that he never wanted to see dead eyes again, Mr. Rogers left them out of his emotional neighborhood.

And Kirby as The Man?  Never has a fedora- and a wolfy wingman- transformed such a wallflower into the hottest property in our Birdland set!  The seventh grade at Georgetown Middle School had better brace themselves for their newest BMOC.

BKTA Gets Real

What a difference a day makes!  Who are these full-body actors?

You have to know that the students are gaining ground when Tiffany Raeuber's million-dollar smile is replaced by a look of genuine concern.  Real Emotion?  Real Presence?  Even though neither Allie nor Alyson can spell the words, they certainly have learned how to bring them to the stage.  And what about Alex and Brittany demonstrating trust by presenting romantic emotions far beyond their years?

But perhaps the most interesting scene of the day was delivered by Kirby, acting out Bon Jovi's power ballad, "I'll Die for You," opposite our twenty-one year old Gettysburg College theater major, Miss Allison Erskine.  Maybe he should be cast as Gandalf instead of Bilbo Baggins!

Publick Edukashun Iz Gud

Our first day back from the Fourth of July holiday found us on stage, playing several warm-up games.  Thankfully, no Language Arts teachers were present!

Things got off to a killer start with a few brisk games of "Bang."  While the stage was ultimately strewn with bodies, we still had a great time.  Then came the acting game, "Busy Bee," which requires us to scurry around the stage, playing bees, until the leader calls out a letter and we freeze in the shape of anything that starts with the called letter.  Creativity is key if you want to win; duplicate characters are eliminated.

When "K" was called, Mr. Ben Erskine went through the cast's poses and when he asked Allie Spaccarelli what she was, she informed him that she was a "kougar."  A "KOUGAR"!  When Mr. Erskine pointed out that the word is "cougar with a 'C'," Allie was stunned.  But imagine the cast's surprise when two rounds later- with "N" being the called letter- Alyson Tober told Mr. Erskine that she was a "nuckle sandwich!"  Again, Mr. Erskine pointed out that "the word 'knuckle sandwich' starts with a 'K'."  Alyson argued with him, trailing him across the stage, saying, "NNNNNN."

Good to know that that public education thing is working out for you, girls!

PBS at GMS

When principal Mr. Michael Williams asked us to create a dramatic presentation for Georgetown Middle School's Positive Behavior Support program, odds are he didn't expect a guillotine to be part of the play; but hey, our school has their problem students just like everyone else's!

The initial rehearsals started off innocent enough.  Jack, Matt, Alex, and Madison did a great job.  But when Alyson Tober insisted on violating school rules by chewing gum and wearing flip-flops, what choice did we have but to name the play, "Don't Lose Your Head!", and slide Allie Spacarelli's neck under the blade?

So far Allie has managed to keep her head, but if Alyson keeps violating school rules, Tiffany may find herself replaced by GMS's real Grim Reaper, Mr. John Turssline!

Who Was that Masked Woman?

Who knew that inviting Miss Allison Erskine, a theater major from Gettysburg College, to share her stage experiences with us would lead to bodies strewn all over our stage?

We probably should have known something was rotten in Delaware when she suggested we play the theater game "Bang."  Having us play quick draw in the name of "focus" was a dastardly way of eliminating any future competition she might have on the Great White Way!

How many of our little troupe, you might ask, survived Miss Erskine's O.K. Corral moment?  Enough to perform the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet, provided we cast an old-fashioned dust mop as the object of Romeo's affection!

An Academy Is Born!

Was it Sponge Bob's mysterious appearance on the classroom's white board or Jack Shinn's rendition of Shakespeare?
After months of clubbing, our theatrical troupe finally climbed the stage steps and formed Broadway Knights Theatre Academy.  So what if we have to write our own plays?  So what if we have to give Mag Lights to the audience to light our stage?  So what if we have to ask half of our patrons to bring lawn chairs to straddle the broken seats in the school's auditorium?  We're on the stage and THAT is ALL matters!