Thursday, October 28, 2010

So, What's in the Card?

Tears, tears, and more tears.  "Nice job, the Broadway Knights did, reading through the show script," Yoda said, after this evening's rehearsal.  "Proud of the students, was I.  But, ask not, what in the envelope, is.  The playwright, only, the answer has."

The reaction of the cast, at the end of the first reading of the full script, proves how invested many of the Broadway Knights are in the winter show.  And if acting is doing, what about Ciara Jacobi's interpretation of the stage direction to deliver her lines "like a Southern evangeliist."  Who knew that she felt so passionately about music history, John Pierpoint, and Jingle Bells?  And what about that Georgian accent?  After such a stirring monologue, it won't be surprising to find out that Mr. Benjamin Erskine's music class is standing room only, tomorrow.

Even Mrs. Shelly Erskine, Mr. Benjamin Erskine's mom, tried to find out what was in the card Tiffany gives Jack in Scene 7.  "Tell you, I will not," Yoda said, when she asked.  "Better left, some things are, until the night of the performance."

Monday, October 25, 2010

The Night of a Hundred Understudies

Has anyone in the Broadway Knights Theatre Academy noticed the many faces of Matt Rogers?  One rehearsal he's five foot six inches tall with wavy, dark hair.  The next, he's five foot nine inches tall with straight, slightly lighter hair.  The next, he's five foot eleven inches tall with a buzz cut!  Cameleons have nothing on him!

And he's not the only one.

Consider the case of Alyson Tober who, in one scene, looked remarkably like Brittany Yeo, and in another, was the spitting image of Wuendy Juarez-Sanchez.  Or Kaitlyn Cash, who resembled Allie Spaccarelli.  Or Brianna Lecates, who appeared to be Joanie Shinn's doppelganger, until she metamorphosized into Logan Hudson.  Perhaps most startlingly, Mrs. Melody Heubner, who looked an awful lot like the waifish Rachel Bradley.

"Need to get the right actors in their proper roles, pretty soon, we do!" Yoda remarked, following rehearsal.  "Confusing, it is, when part of the cast, only, is here.  Impossible, it is, to figure out what a scene will look, or sound, like, until everyone, in their place, is."

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Who Knew, a Joke, They Could Not Recognize?

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences called, and Mr. Vaughn Hogans', Joanie Shinn's, and Mrs. Shelly Erskine's Oscars are ready.  Can those three sell a script, or what?  You know the acting is stellar when some of the people watching the closed-circuit TV broadcast get...well, irritated.

If interpreting a script is about suspending the viewers' disbelief, these three definitely hit a home run.  Everyone at Georgetown Middle School, especially the teachers who eat with Mr. Hogans during last lunch, already know about his unfortunate fascination with floating strips of Oscar Mayer bologna- pork, not beef- in a bowl of lime Kool-Aid, but, apparently, many people had no idea that his wife wouldn't allow him to buy Oreo's.  Surely, the irritation had nothing to do with the cell phone!

The fact that Yoda wrote the script may have had something to do with the reaction.  "Called on the Force, not the Dark Side, I did, to come up with the concept.  And cool, it was" he said, smiling.  "Not know, did I, that question, anyone would, Mr. Hogans' dietary choices."  As for the cell phone?  It was a prop!  "Who knew, a joke, they could not recognize?" Yoda said.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

So You Think You Can't Dance

Smart Padawans learn from their mistakes.  Intelligent Padawans learn from others' mistakes.  Broadway Knights Theatre Academians?  Can't means won't!  Learn a lesson from Padawan Vicidomini: Acting is doing!

How is it that when presented with the chance to dance with a pretty young lady like Alyson Tober, Sal Ingrassia decided he'd rather do the monkey than the mambo?  Did he think that Yoda had asked him to perform to Dancing with Myself?  Apparently he has not heard how Kirby Wilson captured Tiffany Raeuber's heart- a thought that boggles the imagination, we know- in The Blue Note.

"The young Padawans, an important lesson, must learn," Yoda said.  "Consider Jedis Hogans, Palmer, Erskine, and Chamberland, they should.  Remember Jedi Knights Bendistis, Messick, Rogers, Raeuber, Shinn, Spaccarelli, Tober, Yeo, and Wilson.  Model trying new things, they do.  Better actors, it makes them."

Monday, October 18, 2010

Not Always Saying Lines, Acting Is

"Not always saying lines, acting is," Yoda reminded the Broadway Knights Theater Academy, while working on a scene from A Charlene Brown Winter.  "A face, you have.  Arms, legs, hips, hands, fingers, you have.  Shoulders, neck, you have.  Eyes, mouth, you have.  Use them!"

And the Obi-Wan nominations for presenting character without lines, go to:
  • Tiffany Raeuber, as Lauren Lynch, accepting the only party invitation that matters from Bradley Thompson.
  • Jack Shinn, as Charlene Brown, realizing that her best friend, Brad Thompson, wants to go to Lauren's party, more than he wants to hang out with her.
  • Allie Spaccarelli, as Christina Cross, oh, those inimitable eyes, and facial expressions!
  • Sal Ingrassia, under-studying Bradley Thompson, passing the invitation to Lauren.
  • Mikala Herlihy, as Holly Holmes, riding her skate board through the crowded food court.
  • Brianna Lecates, as Crystal Lyons, interacting with Lauren, during "Bust a Move."
An honorable mention goes to Josh Vicidomini, as the hapless wall-flower, Steve Johnson, who would do anything to get Lauren to notice him, except come down-stage without a cue from Yoda.

And the Obi-Wan goes to....Tiffany Raeuber for her stellar presentation of the emotion, grief, while playing sculptures.  Whatever sense memory she used to bring that emotion to her person- crying is always okay, when you're on the boards, Tiff- is something that she should store in her acting warehouse for future use.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Just Blame the Wolfman and Facebook

"I really love those BKTA kids," Miss Allison Erskine said from Gettysburg College today, "at least most of them!"  What caused such a measured reaction from the Mistress of Theater Games?  Just blame the Wolfman and Facebook.

"I know Joanie is trying to be the best actor she can be and all, and she is pretty talented, okay, maybe a little more than 'pretty,' maybe more like reeeeeally talented, and Lord knows that she can screech, 'My name is Sylvester McMonkey McBean!' with the best of them.  But leading theater games?  In my house?  On my stage?  I mean, sheesh!  The kid forgets that I first acted on that stage when I was eight years old.  Eight years old!  In Cat on a Hot Tin Roof!  You know.  Tennessee Williams?  I gotta tell ya, if Mini-Me keeps this up, I'm gonna have to come to Georgetown and slap her down....just sayin'!"

You can almost see the smile crossing Matt Rogers' lips like a midday sun emerging from a storm cloud, as he pecked on the computer keyboard, doing this bit of long-distance Facebook gossiping about Jack.  One has to wonder what would happen if the remainder of the Jedi Knights- Alex, Allie, Alyson, Brittany, Kirby, Madison, Rebecca, and Tiffany- would friend Allison and do some world wide web warbling of their own?

Friday, October 15, 2010

Watch Out, Allison!

"Hard to tell the difference, sometimes, it is," Yoda said, after watching Miss Allison Erskine's protege, Joanie "Mini-Me" Shinn, leading the theater game, Bibbity-Bobbity-Boo, Thursday afternoon.  "Get some of the Padawan Learners out, I could not.  The young Jedi, a fine job, she did."

Perhaps Allison did too good a job teaching the theater games, but Allie, Alyson, Brandon, Kenya, Matt, Meredith, and Sammie just refused to be eliminated from the game!  No amount of trickery could get them out.  So, in a last ditch effort to get the stage cleared, Yoda called upon Jack to use the Force, and channel her Jedi mistress.  Once Matt fell, the rest tumbled like a row of human dominoes.

The Broadway Knights even managed to draw an audience of teachers, thanks to impending parent-teacher conferences.  Perhaps, next time, we could have a vegetable off between the Georgetown Middle School teachers and the theatre academy students: the losers could treat the winners to pizza.  Better keep your wallet handy, Mr. Pepper.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Happy Birthday, Miss Bendistis!

Happy Birthday, Miss Bendistis!  But what made you think that such an auspicious occasion would give you the right to use a cell phone in the theater of Georgetown Middle School?

Sure, you could argue that it was Matt Rogers' idea; he did, after all, write the script for the Friday announcements, which required you to break school rules in the first place.  You could also blame Rebecca Wilson; she, of course, directed the scene, and encouraged you not to put it in your jeans pocket.  But in the end, it was surely you, yourself, who proved your guilt, by trying to hide the cell phone behind your script.  As Shakespeare might have written, "Madame, how like you this play?"  And, of course, the logical response would have to be something like: "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."

All kidding aside, Miss Bendistis, you were wise to use Matt Rogers' cell phone, instead of your own.  When Alyson Tober tells Mr. Williams, and he traces the calls you made within the building, it's Matt's phone, not your own, that he will seize.  Having Jack text Mr. Turssline on Matt's phone, guarantees that it will be he, and not you, who will spend the next twenty days on social probation!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Farewell, Mistress of the Game

The Broadway Knights Theatre Academy bids another fond farewell to The Mistress of the Game, The Great Gleek, Miss Allison Erskine, as she rides over the Chesapeake and through the woods, back to her Gettysburg College apartment.

"I didn't appreciate it when Yoda called, and said, 'Get up, you must.  Disappointed will the Jedi Knights and Padawan Learners be, if come to see them, you do not,' and drug me out of bed, and told me I couldn't sleep in, or take a shower, or eat breakfast, or brush my teeth- yeah, Tober, I know you hugged me, get over it!- on my last day away from Gettysburg!  The sun was still in bed, ya know, so why couldn't I....oh, never mind...I love those guys, ya know?  But what was up with their synapses....synapsi....oh, just forget it: what was up with their slow functioning brains, and why can't they understand that Be...uh, I mean, Mr. Erskine, may be able to take flubber and make an elephant the size of a Cadillac, and may be able to get all red in the face picking the thing up and all, but did he have to through it on top of Mini-Me, and crush her like that?  I mean, sheesh!  Where's my theatrical legacy, ya know?  Okay, okay, so I was glad I got up.  And I enjoyed playing in the Broadway Knights' sandbox more than I want to admit.  And I can't wait to see their Chr....uh, winter show....just sayin'."

"Home for four days, and still the verbose side the child embraces!" Yoda said, shaking his head, after reading this quote.  "Mini-Me?  Hmm?  Hmm.  A certain resemblance in the child's early acting, and looks, both, can I see."

Sunday, October 10, 2010

The BKTA Sandbox

The Great Gleek is coming to play in the Broadway Knights Theatre Academy sandbox on Monday- can you smell the main ingredient with which Yoda is cooking?

Asked for a brief quote to include in the BKTA blog, a bone to draw Wolfman Rogers to the auditorium, a slight morsel to feed to GMS's aspiring actors and actresses, The Great Gleek said, "What wisdom shall I impart.  I only have so much time.  I could be an intern on the Broadway, next summer.  But I will condescend to your amateur stage for such a time, that you may glean knowledge from my wealthy purse...just sayin'!

"If Wolfman doesn't come to the theater," The Great Gleek spat, "I will hunt him down, and stare at him, very disapprovingly!  Not that he's the only one that matters.  I will hunt any of the Jedi Knights down, and...."  Ironically, The Great Gleek made the self-same gesture as Jack Shinn, the BKTA actress who plays the hall monitor in the Friday GMS commercials!

Saturday, October 9, 2010

The Great Gleek Cometh

It's only Saturday, but Monday's coming, and what a Monday it will be!  Anyone who's part of Broadway Knights Theater Academy- especially the Jedi Knights- will want to do their best to be in the GMS theater, Monday morning, to meet our mystery guest, The Great Gleek!  Jack?  It's time to get your Gleek on.

Who is this interloper who would invade our inner sanctum?  A person who thinks, "Glee is dumb in the traditional sense, because in the traditional sense, theater is, ya know, presentational and, um, and- wait, what have I said so far?- but seriously, though, Glee does what I love: it takes themes and ideas that you'd never think of putting together in a show, and then uses them in such a way that you get a plot line- granted it's ridiculous- it's the type of show I can watch it, and one minute be rolling with laughter, and the next, wanting to scream because the performances are so good, and the next minute, weeping because they take songs like "I Want to Hold Your Hand"- which is a sappy love song- and turns it into a touching song about a father and son; and it's creatve genius....just sayin'."

"Powerful you have become, Gleek, but the verbose side I sense in you," Yoda said, upon reading The Great Gleek's quote.  As he walked away to get his lightsaber for Monday's rehearsal, Yoda mumbled, "Happens to every person, sometimes, it does.  But who's this one's Jedi master?"

Friday, October 8, 2010

Cast to Type, or Not? That Is the Question.

It's exciting to have so many talented teachers, participating in Broadway Knights Theater Academy!  But with so much talent in the house, we should have known that something was up, when Yoda told us, "Cast to type, I always, do not."

After many anxious inquiries, Yoda has decided that, rather than tape the teacher's cast list to a varnish-deprived door, in a dim hallway or, worse, on a wall in one of the stage wings, he'd post it on a blog- and, by default, the Broadway Knights' Theatre Academy Facebook page- for all the world to see.
  • Mrs. Jamie "DJ Jazzy J" Chamberland, Jane Foskey- Band Director
  • Mr. Ben "Obi-Wan Kenobi" Erskine, Christopher Cross- Mall Owner
  • Mrs. Shelly "Velvet Fog" Erskine, Lisa Brown- Lounge Singer, Mother
  • Mrs. Melody "Annie Camden" Heubner, Melanie Johnson- High School Teacher, Mother
  • Mr. Vaughn "Grandmaster V" Hogans, Martin Monroe- Tool and Die Maker, Dad
  • Mrs. Christina "Shutterbug" Palmer, Debra Jones- Mall Photographer
  • Mr. Bill "La Cage aux Folles" Pepper, Dr. Robin Lehman- Professor of Music at State University

After submitting his list, Yoda said, "Cast to type, or not?  In the eye of the beholder, it is!"  Is Mr. Erskine really that mean and nasty?  Can Mrs. Heubner possibly be that sweet?  Should Mr. Hogans keep the shades?  What about covering his shaved dome with a do-rag?  And, perhaps most importantly, how will Mr. Pepper look with a leopard-print fanny-pack and a pink sweater tied around his neck?

Thursday, October 7, 2010

And Speaking of Talent....

You have to know, if the teachers are openly weeping during a rehearsal, something is going very right at the Broadway Knights Theatre Academy.  Kudos to Tiffany Reuber, Matt Rogers, Josh Vicidomini, and Joanie Shinn, all of whom brought a load of emotion and a depth of character- far beyond their years- to "A House Is Not a Home."

But they weren't the only stars in the scene.  Obi-Wan nominations, for supporting actor, would have to go to Bianca Campbell, Brianna Lecates, Alex Messick, Kenya Neal, and Geosha Thomas for doing a fantastic job, staying in character in the background of such an emotional scene.

"Age matters not, in acting," Yoda said, following the rehearsal.  "Just watch them.  Judge them by their age, do you?  Hmm?  Hmm.  And well you should not.  For their allies are the Force and hard work, and powerful allies they are!"  One other thing Yoda said: "Okay to cry, Jack, it is."

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

All Hail Grandmaster V!

Like Dr. Victor Frankenstein's monster, Kirby "Li'l D" Wilson's Blue Note character lives- and now he has a legal guardian!  Who knew that Georgetown Middle School had so many talented teachers?

First, the Broadway Knights Theater Academy was blessed with Mr. Bill Pepper, Mrs. Melody Huebner, Mrs. Christina Palmer, Mrs. Shelly Erskine, and Mr. Benjamin "Obi-Wan Kenobi" Erskine.  Then we discovered Mrs. Jamie "DJ Jazzy J" Chamberland.  Now, at long last, we have been blessed with the LL Cool J of GMS, Mr. Vaughn "Grandmaster V" Hogans- and he can Bust a Move....at least we hope he can.

After his first rehearsal, Yoda contacted the American Theatre Wing and Grammy award committees, alerting them of this new talent.  In a related gesture, Governor Jack Markell has banned Kanye West from the state of Delaware until after Mr. Hogans receives his statuettes.