Theater

[Bookman]

So who's enjoys being in or watching the theater? I personally am a shameless addict and can't get enough of it. I currently am getting ready for a show this weekend. The Outsiders (based off of the book/movie) I'm playing Johnny! (the title under my avatar is a backstage joke) We have a CRAZY cast. What're everyone else's experiences? Or whataver else about the theater that'll fit in here.

[Hoseki]

Just saw Hairspray on Broadway, and I loved it.

[Don Beegles]

I am what you would call a drama nerd, though at my school 1/3 of the school of 600 does drama, so that's not daying much. We just did the Sound Of Mucis, and I was just the 3rd place winner at the festival, because I also do Lighting, but I did have a very funny monologue, according to everyone who saw it. I am very happy because recently, the director has been talking about how talented he feels I am and how much potential I have. Just the other day he asked if I could sing, I replied "Vaguely, why?", and he said tat he was planing shows for next year.

As for watching theater, that can be just as good, and reading it as well. The last play I saw was Cyrano, and that was superb, and right now I'm reading Love's Labour's Lost, and I ahve to say that Shakespeare can be very funny.


Break a Leg this weekend.!

[Beleriphon]

I enjoy live theatre. I personally prefer the works of William Shakespeare, largely because I can go to the Stratford Festival (in Ontario Canada) more or less whenever I want. The last time I went they had a terrific productin of Taming of the Shrew.

[Spit_Dog]

I was in David and Lisa (as Simon, the evil geek) and The Skin of Our Teeth (as messenger boy / licentious partygoer at Atlantic City), both in high school.


I enjoy live theatre. I personally prefer the works of William Shakespeare, largely because I can go to the Stratford Festival (in Ontario Canada) more or less whenever I want. The last time I went they had a terrific productin of Taming of the Shrew.

I saw King Henry V there a few years ago...it wasn't a bad production at all.

[The Prince of Cats]

I trained as an actor and a director but now I am an engineer. I still miss those days but sometimes, you just have to accept that mistakes were made.

One day, I will play the Danish Prince but probably not for a couple of years...

[Roland St. Jude]

Me too. I enjoy theater immensely. It is one of those activities that I am excited to do, always enjoy, am pleased to be at, and invariably recall fondly. I have regretted seeing certain movies, but I have never regretted seeing a play, even those that weren't that good. (I once saw a version of Guys and Dolls in which Nathan Detroit had a blatantly Chicago accent. It messed up the whole show.)

I attend shows as often as I can manage. I especially like Shakespeare plays and other "classics", even those "re-envisioned" in a different time period. I also have a soft spot for certain plays that I have been in, directed, or saw at a very young age, such as: The Fantasticks, Guys & Dolls, Anything Goes, and Chicago. I also love certain one acts and shorts for the same reason.

I don't do theater any longer, but I try to see as much as I can. I saw an excellent production of Hamlet last week by the Georgia Shakespeare Festival. Hamlet is a tough role and Daniel May did a great job.

EDIT: Because spelling "Georgia" without an "a" is just wierd.

[HempRope]

Hamlet is myfavortie play to see on stage. As long as people actually make it as funny as the dislogue warrants.

I'm an amateur writer/actor myself, but at this young age I'm an amateur at just about everything (meaning I've tried a lot and not gotten very good at any of it).

And like the rest of America's youth, I prefer short stuff. Unless the playwright is brilliant or the play is very dynamic (which rarely occur at the same time), I get bored and lose attention.

[El Jaspero, the Pirate King]

I, on the other hand, am what you would call a Bitter Old Man of the theatre. I have acted, built and painted scenery, and done lighting for 20 years. You might say I've seen my share of shows.

I loathe the vast majority of theatre. To me, it just looks like actors being stupid, begging for attention. Musicals make me violent. Seriously. If I see The Sound of Music one more time, I will climb onto the stage and start strangling people. To get my attention, live theatre has to be really freaking good or I start looking at the scenery and figuring out how it was done and what it cost.

That said, really freaking good theatre, something that really grabs my attention and can speak on a level deeper than "Look at me! Aren't I cute and loud!?!", is still a wonderful thing for me. It's just very, very rare.

[Stick_Ninja]

At my school we have a fairly small theatre community, but I really enjoy being in it. Last winter I played Hysterium in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and I've seen Wicked and Spamalot, and am seeing both again soon ;D (Wicked twice ;)) My dad was a theatre major for years, so every show I see usually has an accompanying critique. I really like and enjoy the theatre and can't wait to continue in it.

PS. Any advice from the hardened veterans for a newbie with only a few shows under his belt? ;)

[Bookman]

Wow lots of theater people here :o guess RP'ing/OOTS attracts drama nerds. For some reason I can't read plays cause they bore me. I need to SEE the show or be part of it. (bad thing for a wanna be director eh? I have horrible visualazation) All I have to say is I hope to see a Broadway show one day. Right now on the wish list is Spamalot, Avenue Q, and The Producers. So El Jaspero what do you mean by "really freaking good theater"? Like what shows have you seen and enjoyed?

[Roland St. Jude]

So El Jaspero what do you mean by "really freaking good theater"? Like what shows have you...enjoyed?

I had this same question. What connects with the bitter old man of the theater?

[Mr Croup]

Musicals make me violent. Seriously. If I see The Sound of Music one more time, I will climb onto the stage and start strangling people.

Most definitely. With a few exceptions here and there, I just can't stand musicals. I think the biggest problem for me is that musicals don't stand in any one camp. They usually lack the depth of a play, as well as lacking the musical brilliance and stylization of the opera. Just not my cup of tea.

I've been out of the theatre for a few years now, and I sorely miss it. I'm trained as a director, though I acted for a few years, built sets, worked on sound design, was a costumer and a dresser, and worked as an apprentice master electrician for a few years. The one benefit that not working in the theatre has given me is that I'm less critical of performances, but still, I'm a bit harsh on most productions I see.

I'm a big fan of Absurdist drama, and some "post-Absurdist" playwrights like Ives. I have, and always will have a soft spot for the Elizabethans.

I've been doing some film work lately, and my first feature has just gone through the final edit and is getting geared up for release. Still, it's just not the same as the theatre, and I miss it. It's such a different animal.

[Don Beegles]

I, on the other hand, am what you would call a Bitter Old Man of the theatre. I have acted, built and painted scenery, and done lighting for 20 years. You might say I've seen my share of shows.


Woot lighting!! We kick ass!!! Bow before the might of the lights!!!!

Er, em, well, sorry about that. I get very emotional sometimes.

[The Prince of Cats]

Woot lighting!! We kick ass!!! Bow before the might of the lights!!!!
Back when I started techie work, I had an actor who was convinced that every lighting tech was named Alex. Whenever we read from the book, we just used the abbreviation LX and assumptions were made.

Of course, I once joked that if I couldn't remember a techie's name, I should just call him Dave. It worked without fail, sadly... At one point, there were three Daves in the auditorium at once (one stage-hand, one in flies and one on sound) so I only had to shout 'Dave!' and have technical assistance appear.

Of course, you non-fringe techs don't know your born. I have rigged by going hand-over-hand across the bars with a parcan hanging from my belt and a maglite between my teeth because we were that pressed for time. I have replaced bubbles and soldered luminaires without taking them down (unplugged, I am not crazy) while the audience waited outside the door.

Ah yes, my days as a techie were some of the most exciting (and dangerous) of my life...

(and I trained on a battered 18-channel Pulsar with 12 working channels, gotta love London fringe...)

[Pensive Pine]

I don't really consider myself a theater person, but I *love* musicals ^_^ Not necessarily watching them, but listening to them. My tastes run to the obscure, though. I mean, I'm not that fond of Rodgers and Hammerstein or Lerner and Lowe, but I like most of Charles Strouse's stuff. Generally, I go on a show-by-show basis. My top three:
1. Starlight Express
2. Big: the Musical
3. Scarlet Pimpernel or Starmites (a tie)
And yes, I do own a copy of The Doonesbury Musical ^_~

[Bookman]

My thread she LIVES AGAIN! haha Anyways Pensive Pine have you heard Avenue Q? That's a really good musical in my opinion

My current situation in theater is I've been helping out in the local community theater every Tuesday and Thursday building things or painting or whatever. I've helped build a set for the next show and some shelves for the prop shop ^_^ We started building 2 horses on stick with moving mouths and stuff (expect pictures in the "You" thread) I'm debating whether or not to audition for the next play with all the school I've got going on.

So anyone else doing anything?

[The_bard]

i would do acting but low selfesteme and "gets in the way of the sports i do" kinda gets in the way

[Waka]

I will be attending the Lord of the Rings musical this Tuesday and will regal you all with my review when I return. (Though I've heard nothing but bad reviews thus far).

As for acting, I love it. Drama major in high school, and a (very) low-level actor since (a couple of extra roles in TV, and one film).

I love to act, personally, I prefer to be in front of the camera, but every actor has to admit there is something about live theatre that is forever exciting!

[Bookman]

But but Lord of the Rings MUSICAL?! *eye twicthes* it sounds WRONG. Tell us all about it definatly Des. I'm not a fan of being in movies.......mainly cause I hate my voice. :P

[The_bard]

yah http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiH3AZJTF6w&search=hobbits and http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/taters and http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/gollum.php

[Indurain]

I'm also a high school drama major who's done some small things around Toronto. Actually a background role in a Bollywood film that may be in the Toronto Film Festival (cross your fingers for me).

I actually just got home from Spamalot myself.

If you haven't seen it...find a way to do so. If you like Python, you'll love Spamalot!

My only regret is not getting a chance to see the original cast. David Hyde Pierce, Hank Azaria, Tim Curry...oh man, that would have been SWEET!

So...go...now...come to Toronto, I'll put you up. As long as you're not creepy...or smelly.

[Bookman]

I'm also a high school drama major who's done some small things around Toronto. Actually a background role in a Bollywood film that may be in the Toronto Film Festival (cross your fingers for me).

I actually just got home from Spamalot myself.

If you haven't seen it...find a way to do so. If you like Python, you'll love Spamalot!

My only regret is not getting a chance to see the original cast. David Hyde Pierce, Hank Azaria, Tim Curry...oh man, that would have been SWEET!

So...go...now...come to Toronto, I'll put you up. As long as you're not creepy...or smelly.


I've always wanted to see that.......

Good luck with the film!

Darn I gues I can't visit ya then :P

[Pensive Pine]

My thread she LIVES AGAIN! haha Anyways Pensive Pine have you heard Avenue Q? That's a really good musical in my opinion
Of course I've heard of it ^_~ It's one of my favorite OCRs (Original Cast Recording). The songs get stuck in my head way too easily.


But but Lord of the Rings MUSICAL?! *eye twicthes* it sounds WRONG.
From what I've heard, it's more like a play with incidental songs than a typical musical.

[Caillach]

"the theatre, the theatre. What happend to the theatre?" (ten big points to however can tell me where that little quotation came from)

I am also a Drama geek. I've done set design, set makeing, lights sound, and acting. It is much fun.

I am actually attempting to memorize a part right now, for the play we're doing next year (it's Called "polariod stories" but I prefer to call it "one seriously messed up play." I play Eurydrice) , and frankly I do believe my teacher has seriously overestimatd my acting ability. :P

[Nasrudith]

I've attended two of shakespear's plays.First was Twelth Knight, the second was A Midnight Summer's dream. They were great plays.
On the subject of musicals personally I find them to be both boring and mindnumbingly stupid, especially the death scenes. It's basically "Oh no you shot me in the lungs, I'm going to start singing in with a randomly appearing chorus about how you betrayed me just before I die!"

[The_bard]

I will be attending the Lord of the Rings musical this Tuesday and will regal you all with my review when I return. (Though I've heard nothing but bad reviews thus far).




please, if it didnt make you fall asleep, tell us about it

[Waka]

LOTR - The Review

First off, I will say that I am a lover of the books, hater of the movies.

With that said, I can say I am a liker of the play.

It is indeed not your typical musical, but moreso as was worded perfectly earlier, "a play with incidental songs". The play kept very true to the source material despite having to hack and slice at a number of scenes (Don't go looking for Gondor).

I think I was blessed by a friend who had seen it, and disliked it immensely (as did many critics), as he set my expectations incredibly low. Therefore there was nowhere to go but up. And the play did indeed go up.

First, the easy stuff. The costumes and set design were immaculate (as one would hope with a record breaking budget). The set was truly out of this world with multiple rotating platforms, allowing for some very dynamic uses of the stage. The costumes were all very realistic (as far as Middle-Earth is concerned) and the only costuming I didn't like was that of the Lothlorien elves.

The acting was mostly great. I had the stand-in for Gandalf and he really blew my socks off. I find it funny that the main actor is considered one of the worst parts of the play due to his soft-spoken, high-pitched portrayal of the mighty wizard. Gollum's voice work was great, however his multiple convulsions and constant twitching took away from what could have been the highlight performance. Frodo was really the only weak link (which is unfortunate). Just some sub-par vocals, combined with mediocre acting.

The story. As I said, a LOT of the books has been cut, however it manages to stay true to the feelings of the books (something the movie never did). One moment that made me laugh was when my girlfriend (who has never read the books, but has seen the movies), commented at the end, "Why would they add in that Sharkie thing?". I then had to explain to her that it was in the books, but the movies not realising the THEME OF THE BOOKS, had cut it out.

Highlights. The battle for Helm's Deep was the most brilliantly choreographed bit of theatre I have ever seen with amazing use of the multi-level rotating stage mentioned earlier. They then followed this up with an incredible scene between Sam and Frodo reminicsing about the Shire. These two moments back to back really created the pinnacle of the play. Shelob, the Ring-Wraiths, Lothlorien, the Urk-Hai and the Shire were all done incredibly well too.

Lowlights. The river crossing at Rivendell, while admitedly really hard to pull off, was not done well. A couple of white sheets with projecter images of horses, really didn't do justice to the scene. As well if you didn't know what was going on it would have been confusing. The Balrog, again hard to pull off, was really weak, and confusing as well. It was a large sculpture, but it lacked substance, and appeared flimsy which took away from the terror that it should have inspired. Other than that though, nothing really stands out as bad.

I would recommend this to anyone who was a fan of the books, or a fan of the movies, but I would add an addendum saying, go in with low expectations and that way at least you won't be disappointed.

[Suan]

The quote is from a Danny Kaye song and dance called Choreography, from the movie White Christmas.

[Caillach]

Ten big points to Suan! :D