Evita (Better Title TBA)

I've brought you some soup

2009-10-03T22:05:00.000-07:00

So. I'm a big nerd and I've hijaked Scott's computer to blog...

And he used to nag me about not updating. Hah.

Yesterdays confession was a little too obscene to post online. I'm pretty sure it would get me kicked off of blogspot. But tonight's post (as obscene as it is) is post worthy:

So Zak, when you and Elmer 69, do you use crunchy or smooth peanut butter? Caril

Zak said crunchy... his dog needs his protein. Ugh.

And for the record, Taylor would like to let all you know that she is not a terrible person. Really. She isn't.

One week done, three more to go. Phil was fucking intense tonight and it was awesome but really creepy.

I'm kind of scared of Phil as Charlie. It's the same fear I had of Korinko in Assassins and Zak, well, all the time.

Kidding. I'm gonna get back to the party and eat more of the huge pizza that I brought. It was so big, it couldn't fit in the door.

Oh and Scott, your computer automatically logged you in on blogspot. I totally could have posted something obscene under your name... but I didn't.

Until next week,

Trish

Preview tonight

2009-09-30T23:55:00.000-07:00

Just a quick little update before I get back to some paperwork at work...

Preview tonight!

Our last tech rehearsal went fairly well. Phil somehow found a way to mute his microphone halfway through the show and then "escaped" from his cell and ran up to the booth where Matt fixed him.

And a bottle was not preset. Whoops.

But other than that, it went really smooth and I'd say we're ready to have some audience!

And Taylor's confession for the night:

"Manhandler is a 15 inch dildo with a handle. Looks like a sword. Zak can take it. Caril"

And now that I think about it, every person in the cast has to read this on stage. That's hilarious.

Alright back to work.

-Trish

It's time.

2009-09-30T03:13:00.000-07:00

We only have one more day until our preview and things are feeling very good. We've added all elements now and the cast has adjusted beautifully. The band sounds fantastic and the music is getting tighter and tighter every night. It's amazing.

I've started to run the board. (No more line notes!) Rock musicals are always so much fun to run. The cues feel different. It's more... and I know I keep saying this about this show... but it feels like there is more emotion behind them. In this show especially, we're going from different locations and the timing with the music - it just looks pretty.

I've started my midnights shifts (Thanks to the coworkers who have switched me so that I was able to do the show) and my body has miraculously gotten used to the night schedule. I have a lot more energy for the show now, which is great. This is probably because I get to sleep as long as I want without waking up with an alarm clock and by the time I get to the theatre I'm all refreshed. I love being nocturnal.

But everything has come together. I've screwed up a couple times during the past couple runs but they're the kind of screw ups that you make once and never make again. And isn't that the point of tech rehearsals? One time, a cue was written to go after Zak's song was over... and when it was executed, the lights changed, leaving Zak in complete darkness to say, "It's time."

Giggling ensued.

This is one crazy cast. Since the beginning, they've tried everything to make each other crack up. The following are confessions (the typed up confession that Merle gives Charlie to have him sign) written by cast members and then given to Phil who has to read it (to himself) during a scene:

"I the undersigned, do admit to flagrant biting of childrens' buttocks. I furthermore did pinch the taints of a passing circus performer and his monkey, Ruprecht. While eating a penis-shaped cake on a roller coaster. And I raped a dog, but she wanted it so bad. C. Starkweather"

"I, the undersigned, totally love George Michael. I am gay for his hairy, British nads. Also, I love Judge Judy. She is the woman I wish I could be. I want a black robe with a doily around the collar. Sincerely gaily, Chuck"

Now, those are just the rehearsal confessions. Unfortunately for the run, we've typed up a fake confession for Charlie to look at every night. And it's nothing obscene or funny... Well, it might be. Scott typed it up.

And then every night, Caril has to write her confession. With her permission, I get to post these as well:

"Dear Merle, Gertrude told me she fakes it every time. Ouch. Caril"

"When I was small, I thought condoms were made out of tire rubber. Think about it. Caril"

"Did you see when I fell backwards into my cot? I feel drunk. That is all. Caril"

"Lipstick is red, it comes in a tube, Gertrude pegs Merle, without any lube, cuz we lesbians! Caril" (Although, I think it originally said "me" and not Merle)

God, I love this cast. Stay tuned for more.

And seriously. Come see this show.

-Trish

Photo from Here

Coming Along

2009-09-19T10:59:00.000-07:00

We only have a couple weeks left and the show is really starting to take shape. Mike has started to join us, playing along with Scott. The keyboard, even with the guitar patch, still sounds like a keyboard... To me, at least.

Mike and I were talking about the difference of the two instruments. The keyboard is so final... It's beautiful but you hit the key and then hit another key. The guitar is a much more flowing instrument. You strum. It's very emotional.

I'm not sure how else to explain it. I feel so scattered right now. Lot's of stuff going on.

I'm trying to get props together. I need to do this soon but lately I feel like I haven't had a minute to think.

I've started the first wave of line notes. The actors took them and corrected a majority of them. I can't tell if I hate line notes or love them. Maybe it's more of a love hate thing...

Anyway, I have to get going. This post wasn't as long or as profound as I wanted it to be. Ah, well. Maybe next time.

-Trish

Runnin' Right Along

2009-09-08T06:49:00.001-07:00

We've started to run the show in full now. Blocking is all done. The show is done in one act with no intermission so rehearsals have been moving pretty quickly.

One thing I have noticed with the smaller cast is that they often forget some of their blocking... Not a big deal (yet). And I think it's because there are only four of them and rarely is there a scene with all four of them. I think when you have a bigger cast, the actors are able to play off each other more, it's easier to remember what to do.

The blocking for this show is so intimate and although Scott has set specific blocking in some places, a lot of it is constantly changing as the actors tweak themselves and get a better understanding of everything going on around them.

This cast is doing amazing with lines. I'm not sure if it's the style or structure of the script or maybe that they are working their asses off when they aren't at rehearsals but their dedication is really showing.

Maybe it's just that they are all working so hard to get it memorized so that they can start to dive deeper into the scripts emotions. A difficult journey they all have started on. I already know this is going to be one powerful show.

I'm just speculating... I'm the stage manager. I've been observing. :0)

I haven't touched the props list yet. All I've done is think about them; maybe a little research online.

I had to update since Scott sent me a not-so-subliminal, friendly, message asking how I was but had worked in the word "blog" between every sentence. It was hilarious.

And so, I have updated. More later!

-Trish

Photo from here

Digging deep with some blocking

2009-08-29T03:33:00.001-07:00

So, we've begun blocking. And damn does this script hold a lot more than I thought it did! With every scene, Scott's able to lay down some blocking and because there are so few actors - we don't really have to spend much time giving them their blocking. Things are moving really quickly and this gives them lots and lots of time to really dissect the scene.

It's an amazing process to watch. And it's so cool to discover things that you didn't know were there.

Anyway, we're continuing blocking this week. I'm starting to think about props. There aren't that many for this show but some of them are going to require a bit of homework.

That's all I got for now. Promise I'll post more later.

Back to work I go.

-Trish

Photo from Here

This is my kind of musical

2009-08-22T03:53:00.003-07:00

So, I promised that I would update more often. And I'm thinking I need to stick to that promise seeing that Scott and I are the only people blogging for this awesome, new show...

I'm super excited to be working on a new piece of theatre. It isn't often when something like this falls into your lap.

Scott gave me a copy of the recording nearly a year ago. I took it home and fell in love with it. This is the type of music I listen to daily. The songs all take on different styles and continued to amaze me. The guitar is such a powerful, emotional instrument.

I'm excited for several different reasons. First of all, I do not know anything about Charlie and Caril and their story. All I know is what I gathered from the script. I want to learn more about this duo. This show plays with the idea of why they did it. It creates a back story for this horrible event in history. I want to know more.

Five days a week, I work in a police department and I watch the security cameras for the cells. The environment where the majority of this show takes place is a very real thing for me. I have never been to prison but I deal with prisoners on a daily basis. I know how cold it is back there, how bored they get, how being in this small room makes some people flip out. Just last week, one guy climbed to the top of his bunk and started to kick the ceiling. When I asked him what his problem was over the intercom, he responded with, "I need a bible!"

After being with a show for such a long time, I begin to deeply analyze the characters. I did this with the kids in Spelling Bee and I think that I will start to do this with Charlie and Caril's relationship. There's a lot to be understood. Why did they do it? Was he in control? Why did she stay? Was it love?

I'm also very excited to be working with such a small cast. Allison is amazing on stage, so sincere and genuine. I cannot wait to see Zak in a serious role. I thought Phil was amazing in Forbidden Planet and I'm excited to work with him... And I think Taylor may have taught me a tap lesson or two when she was filling in for Robin... back when I could fit things like that into my schedule.

An excellent cast... Can't wait to see them in action.

And even though I am going to truly miss Petersen, our conductor/keyboardist, I'm excited for this small trio (Mike, Dave, and Schurk). Mike will have to step into Petersen's shoes and become involved in the show much earlier than he has in the past and I think that it's going to be a very good thing for him.

Well, that's all I have for now. I'm so freaking tired and ready to go home (I'm at work and it is Q _ _ _ T. (I don't dare say the word in fear of waking up the city)

Oops! I still have to enter a towed vehicle... Back to work I go.

Goodnight, everybody!

-Trish

photo from here

B-E-N-E-V-O-L-E-N-T

2009-07-12T11:49:00.000-07:00

My lack of posting is due to a couple of things. I'm now working days and off midnights. I feel like I'm a much more normal person now, going to sleep at night and waking up in the morning... but what is normal, anyway?

I've had a lot of personal stuff happen within the last couple weeks and it's been hell trying to trudge through them and be in a workable mood. I have a lot of people to thank that have been there for me. You know who you are.

Anyway, I'm picking up our trophy when I get off of work and (unfortunately) Sam's Club closes at 6pm on Sundays. So, I'm going to hit that tomorrow before rehearsals and pick up our edible props. Tonight, I think I'll just chill out and get high off of the sharpie that I'm using to make the kids' number placards. Have to finish those, get together some last minute props at home, and get some sleep because I have to get up at 5:30am all week through hell week.

The show is really coming together. Yesterday, Ken hit a new New Line record by completing cue to cue in only two and a half (maybe three) hours. That's skill. The actors were very, very, happy when they learned that they wouldn't have to be there until nine at night. And I felt like I showed up just to drop off some cables and to eat Vicki's lunch...

Right now, everybody is at sitzprobe and I'm sitting here at work blogging cuz there's really no reason for me to be at sitzprobe anyway. I hope they're doing good. Sitzprobe can be one of the most frustrating times for everybody. I hope it's going well.

I'll leave you with another clip from the 2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee... This kid's facial expression is priceless.

s-w-e-l-t-e-r-i-n-g

2009-06-22T01:29:00.000-07:00

So I'm starting to realize how hard it is to keep a blog while working a full time job.

I've been going non-stop these past few weeks. I've been working the midnight shift (this will change to day shift when we get closer to the show) and I get off at 7am. I go to sleep around 8 or 9 and wake up around 4 to take a shower. If I'm good, I leave my (north county) house around 5pm... giving me an hour to get to rehearsal. Since the city is pretty much isolated due to the closure of Hwy 40 and the Big Bend bridge out of commission... my only two options are going 270 to 44 or taking 70 through downtown to 44.

Much to my surprise, the 70 trip takes less time. Highway 270 is a BITCH during rush hour.

Anyway, I get to rehearsal and we've been doing pretty good with time. We get a ton of work done, still being able to stop and laugh at ourselves a couple times each night, and we've been getting out around 9-9:30.

I have more than enough time to get to work, but not enough time to go all the way back home. So, I usually stop and get something to eat and arrive at work a good thirty minutes early... which my coworkers love. I get off at 7am and start all over again.

Mike and I are living at my mom's place and saving for a house. I realize now that I really would like to find a place in the city... or close to it. I miss being so close to everything. It really puts me in a terrible mood when it takes me fifteen minutes to get to a damn highway.

And in an even more terrible and pissy mood when I have to make a loop of the St. Louis area in ninety degree temperatures in a car with NO AIR CONDITIONING.

I totally yelled at my Dad because I left him my car for two days and still no air conditioning. God, and I yelled at him on Father's Day. I'm such a terrible, pissy, daughter.

I think the only people subjected to my abuse have been my family. I haven't smacked anyone at rehearsal. I haven't had any need to (ha, ha) and St. Marks has A/C. :0)

But rehearsals are going very well. We are almost done blocking. I've put together a props list and I've started to gather some things. There are a lot of things I need to get done soon... like the cards for Rona and Panch, the kids' placards...

I've emailed a guy about a trophy. We may get a free trophy. Keeping my fingers crossed on that one.

I've been able to take a couple rehearsal photos (and some videos but I'm not sure if the cast would want me to post that...). If I can ever find my USB cord for my camera, I'll be able to do some uploadin'.

One of my duties during rehearsal has been to be all three guest spellers. I can spell if I can see the word. So, my technique has been to take my pencil and write the word out on my hand. Sometimes it works... sometimes it doesn't. I get pissed when I miss "easy" words; although I haven't missed the easy, easy words... I can't explain in any more detail because I don't want to give anything away. But for anyone wanting to be an audience member, don't be embarrassed. It's rigged. Totally rigged. There is absolutely no way you are going to take home the trophy. So don't even think about it.

Hey, at least you'll get some free juice.

It is an awesome experience to get up there and be apart of the Bee. So I do encourage everyone to try to be a "guest speller."

Alright. I have updated. I'll leave you with another clip. After watching this, I kind of wanted to punch this kid in his face... I wonder what he'll be like when he's thirty.

-Trish

So happy to Bee back!!

2009-05-28T07:30:00.001-07:00

Incredibly lame title. I apologize. But, hey! It's 9:30am and four days away from our first Spelling Bee rehearsal! And I wanted to revamp my blog before I go to bed... (I may be working midnights and on a screwy sleep schedule but I'm happier than ever because I'm BACK!)

I wanted to blog more about Forbidden Planet and I still might. But I wanted to get this blog up and running again.

More later! I'll leave you with a wonderful clip found on Youtube.

-Trish

Growing up

2009-04-22T10:05:00.000-07:00

As you can tell by my lack of blog, I was unable to be at rehearsals due to my new job. I still had a little hope that maybe, just maybe, there would be some chance of my schedule working out. However, when I took home my schedule I examined and analyzed...

There was absolutely no way of me making rehearsals and running the show.

First of all, they had put me on evenings where I work 3pm - 11pm. Secondly, I was in "training" where I would have a trainer on my shoulder. Thirdly, I knew I wouldn't be able to start taking off right when I started.

So, I called Scott that night... quite upset.

And I became restless. I revamped my training binder for work, I began making a wedding "prompt book" (starting to plan for the wedding)... All because I didn't have a Forbidden Planet prompt book to work on.

And then there was the day at work when the city hall people were trying to hang this enormous metal sculpture from the ceiling. They had a lift and some ladders out and were hanging out in the city hall lobby for a really long time and I, of course, was watching them on the camera (we've got a neat camera system), while my coworkers started a left brained conversation about how much the sculpture cost the city. As a result, I ended up going home really, really sad from watching them and feeling like I belonged over there hanging up art and not stuck in a room answering phones and dispatching police units.

And I knew that this day would come sooner or later. One day I'd have to grow up and get a job that I could depend on. I wish I could do theatre for a living but it's just not possible. I need the money and I do believe that I'm good at what I do. And the adrenaline rush is there... sometimes.

But fortunately, I found a co-techie of mine from high school to run the show. In all honesty, I haven't kept in touch with anyone from high school but I sent out a facebook message to everyone I knew was a techie. I have faith that she'll do a good job and run the show smoothly.

Looking forward, I am able to stage manage and run Spelling Bee because I'll be on day shift. I'll be one cranky mother fucker from getting up everyday at 5:30am but maybe I can take some naps in the booth... before the show.

Well, that's about it. Vicki, Mike, and I went prop shopping yesterday. Well, I drug Mike with me to drive because I had a horrible headache (probably from the fresh air... ha). And we have almost all of four items needed. Yes, four items. Now is the time that I appreciate Scott's minimal prop use.

I'm going to go create a big wrench and be happy today. :0)

-Trish

Photo from www.kidentrepreneurs.org/whoweare.html

Blast off!!!

2009-03-09T08:14:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody,

I am back and hoping to keep you updated with the tech stuff for Return to the Forbidden Planet or RTTFP. A lot has happened since my last post. Hair has ended, Mike and I moved out of the city, we casted the show, we had a production meeting, I got a new job, we met the cast, and I learned that when you google my name... you can find this blog. It's pretty easy and my new employers found it... and they were probably entertained (hopefully). Well, they hired me despite my quirkiness. I guess that's a good thing.

Sitting here, typing out thoughts, I rarely think about who can actually see this blog. I just write and don't usually write for a specific audience. Reading this blog is very much like sitting in front of me, listening to me talk. I guess now, I'm much more aware that anyone can read this. Anyone who googles me will read this. So, hello to all those old friends, people wanting to know more about me, ex-boyfriends, whoever...

You are now reading my New Line Blog. About a theatre company. Here in St. Louis.

I first heard Scott mention RTTFP during Assassins last spring. While loading all those guns, a couple of us would sit and chat before the show. He started talking about this show that combined the 50's movie, Shakespeare's The Tempest, and Rock and Roll music. Initially, I thought it sounded like a mess... Like three things that should not be mixed. I found a copy of it, read it, and was truly shocked. It is absolutely amazing how well this show works.

I'm not a big fan of Shakespeare but the fakespeare that they use is refreshingly funny and pokes fun at the language. And that's awesome for all those Non-Shakespeare fans... because it's usually the moldy, fermented language that we can't stand. (...I'm sorry.)

And listening to the cast album, I feel like this show is going to hold the same type of energy as Grease did. Grease was a nonstop, fast-paced, high energy show. I felt like I was reliving high school prom each night. It was a fucking party. I think that RTTFP is going to be similar but have Sci/Fi magic instead of high school drama.

Which is going to be awesome.

I will be back at rehearsals, ironically the same week I start my new job. I'm fairly confident that I will be able to make all the rehearsals... but only time will tell if I actually get to run the show. If not, I have a couple people up my sleeve - all worthy of taking over during my unwanted time of absence. Although, not being there during the performances will sadden me.

A lot.

:0(

Stay tuned for more!

-Trish

Photo from Here

Damn you, Blackout!

2008-10-11T11:15:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

I don't think our audience enjoyed the blackout as much as these two little guys.

It sucks because the show was going really well. We had a really great audience last night...

So. I have a nice break between Cue 35 and Cue 36 and so I'm sitting there stringing together some love beads when ... Zzzzrrrrmmmmm.

(That would be the sound of all the electricity going out.)

Matt and I grab our flashlights. We head into the back room where all the dimmers are. I'm wondering if the entire building is out. My board is still running... ready to go... if we get power, we'll be right back where we left off. I won't have to wait for my board to reboot. And that's a cool thing, thanks to our awesome lighting designer and the backup battery thing we have hooked up to the board.

But it doesn't come back up immediately. And the battery back up thing starts beeping at me. Scott stops the cast and tells everyone to sit tight. I follow him out, to see if the rest of the building is out - and sure enough it is. Security is up there with us. They call the Wash U maintenance people... Scott calls Ameren.

It's going to be awhile.

We all go out back to have a smoke, while the cast is leading the audience in song. Chris is one of the first people to notice that the neighborhood behind the soccer field is also out of power. By this time I think we all knew that we weren't going to finish the show.

This is confirmed by Ameren, who says that the power will be out until 2:30am (this means 6am in real person time). Wash U police informs us that someone hit an electricity pole down the street.

Hey thanks, A-Hole.

So, Mike and I go to Ciceros with Dave (the bass player) and his girlfriend Kella... probably two of my favorite people. We have a good time. Have some drinks. Eat a bunch of fried food.

But anyway. I'm about to do some laundry. Mike and I are all out of black.

I just wanted to post about our blackout and apologize.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

Peace and Love,

Blackout

Good Morning Starshine

2008-09-25T11:22:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how normally we would be one week from closing week... and we still plenty of time left. I haven't grown sick of Hair yet and I'm pretty sure I won't. I still see new things every night that amuse me, make me think... there are things that I understand better - like the plot, the characters... It's such an amazing experience.

I'm almost running the show without my prompt book. I know by the end of the run I'll be able to run the show without even opening it up.

I almost posted last week about my little break down at work Sunday night. I think Hair has opened my eyes to see the anger and hatred all around me. It sickens me how humans have no respect for other humans. I won't get into a huge rant... but it did make me feel better getting it all out on to paper. Maybe I could burn it or something.

Mom's coming to see the show on Friday. She's came to a couple of our shows... Superstar, Grease, High Fidelity. She LOVED High Fidelity. I'm pretty sure she won't understand this one and she'll probably be asking Dennis a load of questions through the entire thing... But I know she'll think it was amazing. This is the woman who took me to see Rent when I was fourteen and taught me all the cuss words I know. I love you, Mom!

I thought I had more stuff to say. I guess that's it. I'll return in a few... maybe.... probably.

Peace and love!
-Blackout

Letting the Sun Shine In

2008-09-13T10:47:00.001-07:00

I apologize for not updating in quite some time. Hell week consumed the majority of my time... as well as picking up some extra shifts at work. BUT Hair is now opened and I've had three days off of work... so I'm feeling quite wonderful.

Everything about the show is very ritualistic. I have a ritual, the tribe has a ritual... It's very comforting. I get there around six o'clock (give or take) and I start my ritual. I think it'd be pretty boring to walk through details...

The hardest part for me is to not get into the world of the show. Mattman (my booth brother) agrees with me. We both find it extremely difficult to not get sucked into the show and totally forget about our cues. I haven't let that happen yet... I've been pretty good... but it's damn hard.

The show is pretty intense. I hope everyone gets a chance to see it. It really is an experience. And I'm so happy that I get to help make it happen.

I'll be back soon.

Peace and Love,
Blackout

Crap. I just smeared the Atlantic with my foot.

2008-08-31T06:03:00.000-07:00

So we all gathered yesterday to lay down some color. TLove brought some awesome donuts and Todd brought some... inspiration.

We all picked a piece of the floor to work on - that way it would look consistent... or as consistent as hippie art can be. I'm not sure why I went straight to the earth. I drew it out last week and was quite embarrassed by my lack of knowledge for geography. Saudi Arabia is definitely not in the correct place but... whatever. The altar will cover most of Africa, anyway.

So. For some reason, I went back to my earth on the floor and decided to tackle the color on it. O.M.G. It took forever. I went home looking like a smurf from leaning all over the blue paint but it looks really cool so far. I'll have to finish it later.

But everyone did such a great job with the paint. Even Scott picked up a paintbrush... Sparger brought Little Sparger and he was painting out some really cool planets for us. I had forgotten what the planets even look like (besides the huge earth I was painting...) but this little guy knew exactly what color and texture they were... I think we have a Jupiter and Mars... maybe a Neptune. I don't think Pluto made the cut. He is, afterall, no longer a planet.

Afterwards, they all gathered at Todd's for BBQ and swimming. I had to go home and take a nap cuz I had to work midnights. (Yeah. Lame. I know.)

Days before that, I met with Ken to help him with some of the lighting stuff. We are spending more on bringing in our own dimmer system than renting lights... which sucks. But I cannot believe how we are just creating this entire dimmer system so we can have a digital board. Hopefully it works and I won't have to run the show on the ancient two scene board that they have now. The ladder we bought is kind of creepy... cuz it's an extension ladder and bounces a bit. It will take some getting used to. The minute a lamp goes out, I'll climb up it with no problem...

Um Ummm Um. What else? Line notes start on Monday. I'm sure the cast simply cannot wait until I start harassing them about things they mess up.

I went down to the Loop the other day. Bought some incense cones and rolling paper from Sunshine Daydream and left them tons of postcards on the window sill. Then I walked down to the smoke shop and bought all our stuff to make the joints. Cost us about $120 for the entire trip... which is a lot of money... but I bought enough stuff to make about 350 - 400 fake joints. The hippy guy at the smoke shop said to use tea bags for the fake pot. I tried it when I got home... doesn't work man. It just doesn't work. I felt like I was smoking sand.

But I put the mix together... mostly. I had to get some different brands (they didn't carry a type of shwag that we use) but it will work out fine. Maybe if I get the apartment cleaned up I'll have everyone over on Thursday to help roll out some fatties.

And that's what I've been up too. I've been unable to sleep today and I've been making more love beads, which are not technically love beads because they are way too freaking big to be actual love beads... Maybe I'll glaze them tonight while at work. "Emergency 911, uh... hold on... I have Sculpey Glaze dripping down my arm..."

That's all I have for now. I'm so proud of the cast. You guys rock.

Peace and Love,
Blackout

Sore muscles and a bruise on my ass

2008-08-25T21:12:00.000-07:00

We are in the new space!!!

Saturday morning, I stumbled out of bed and drove to the old CBC school off Clayton Rd which is now owned by Wash U.

And nobody else was there.

I circled the parking lot... a couple times... cuz it was fun, then decided to go see if there was another entrance somewhere. I was fairly sure that I was at the right place... after all, my little brother attended the school and I remembered dropping him off there once.

After driving around for a bit, I drove over to Breadco and they were obnoxiously busy. So I drove back to the parking lot and to my surprise there was a Jeep parked near the hidden staircase that leads to the back door.

I forgot that Todd owns a Jeep.

Anyway, after finding Todd, I went on a run to QT (one of the evils of the world) for some much needed coffee and some ice for Todd's cooler.

I returned and carried in some wood... I hate how people think I can't lift things because I can. In fact, my chest acts as a really nice shelf and aids in the carrying of heavy items... Possibly the only thing it's good for.

Zak, Nikki, Rachel and Scott showed up and we got to work. We built the set and erected it (teehee). Lots of work. Todd is a great teacher and leader. He works at a very fast pace while very laid back and easy going. His students are very lucky. We had a collection of sixties music which was played while we worked and we all brought in stuff to snack on. It wasn't a bad day. Tons got accomplished. It was very satisfying.

On Sunday, I stumbled out of bed and had to go to Sonic for some breakfast... They make a really great frozen coffee drink that is like ice cream... and also very bad for you, I'm sure. I met Scott and Todd at the Storage space and then Scott and I headed back to the theater while Todd stopped at Lowes for some more wood.

Nikki, Rachel, Zak, TLove, T.M., Ryan, Sparger, and (eventually) Lawson (Sorry if I missed someone... let me know) came in and we started the painting, as well as some more work on the set - like setting up the fire pole. Right now, everything is painted white... like a page in a coloring book. Next weekend, we're going to start coloring and adding in detail. It's going to look awesome.

I'm going to try to figure out how to add the pictures taken from my phone...

And tonight we ran the entire show. Matt the sound guy came in to watch... as well as Ken, our lighting designer. Ken's got some great ideas brewing... He brought up 4,000 xmas lights. I think he said 4,000. It was two boxes worth... I can't wait to see everything come together.

As for the space, I really like it. It's got a ton of seating but the audience is still very close. It's very open and the booth is nice. Two huge dressing rooms, each having it's own bathroom. I think this place will work very nicely.

Watching the show, or even just going to rehearsal, has been so good for me. I've been going through a lot of stupid shit at work, at home... At rehearsal, I'm able to step away from it all... In a way, I'm at a point in my life where I feel a lot like how Claude feels... Sort of re-evaluating your life. Seeing what's important. What makes you happy. What you want to do. I think being apart of Hair is helping me do that.

God knows what the outcome will be.

But anyway. This is my long post. More to come later. I'm going to bed.

With Love,
Blackout

An update

2008-08-20T08:49:00.000-07:00

It's really coming along.

Everyone in the cast has decided on their tribe names. All are very unique...

For my name, I chose Blackout. I wanted to pick something to stick with the technical side of the show since I am one of the two techies that will be running the show.

A blackout (in theatrical terms) is when all the lights go out. The theater gets pitch black and you can't see a damn thing. When you work at New Line, there is rarely a blackout. Scott hates them. And with good reason. I think that they are often overused and totally disrupt the world, tempo, feel of the show. At New Line, the blackout has a purpose. It's rare. And it stands out.

Also, and I thought of this the other week when our entire building didn't have power one night, during a power outage... you tend to appreciate things that you normally didn't give a rat's ass about. You start to miss the A/C, the TV, the radio, the lights in the hallway. Your life gets a little more simple because you have to sit in silence and surround yourself with candles. It forces you to escape the noisy, complicated world and just embrace what you do have. I like that. And I think we should do that more often...

And lastly, a blackout (either a communication blackout or lighting blackout) was a wartime strategy. It was a deliberate cut in either light or radio communication (or both) to basically hide from the enemy. To me this shows that war was not just about killing the enemy but also how the enemy is also after you. That war isn't just about rage, power, control and just charging at the enemy... but it also contained much fear. Purposely hiding just so you can survive... I don't know... to me that's way more scary than charging at them.

Anyway, today or tomorrow, I'm going down to the loop to pick out some incense and go to the smoke shop. Todd is having a "build-in" and paint day, this weekend - which will be tons of fun... for me at least... being the tomboy that I am. I'm typing up the prop list and sending it on it's way to Scott who will pass it on to our lovely props lady, Miss Vicky.

But the show is really looking good. They gave me chills yesterday running Act II. It's going to be A M A Z I N G.

More later,
Blackout

Sweaty Underwear

2008-08-12T21:06:00.000-07:00

We ran Act I in it's entirety tonight. Holy crap, this cast can remember things. There were only a couple places where they got lost. Sometimes I give them clues with ridiculous hand gestures... but they really got it. This stuff really sticks. And that's awesome because it all seems so completely random.

I've started up a prop list. Nothing too weird this time... although I'm going to have to throw a "Joint Rolling Party" so we can have a stash for the show. I can already tell that there's a lot of prep work that has to be done before the show and rolling the fakies will be just one more thing we'd have to do. I'll have to go get the stuff for our secret mix. And no, there is no real Mary Jane in it... Or is there...?

Okay. There isn't. But wouldn't that make for a trippy show?

I'm having some fun researching the props and making sure we're accurate with the times. Did you know the first Bic disposable lighter came out in 1973...?

I'm way excited that Ken is back and designing lights. He's a lot of fun to work with... totally trusting me and knowing that I am capable of doing things... I still have those pot leaf gobos from Appleweed, Ken!!

This show is going to be awesome. Yes. Awesome. You should come see it. I get to pick up sweaty underwear at intermission. Please come and support me... :0)

Okay. More later. I'm going to go make myself an Eggo.

Peace out,
Trish

A whole month. I apologize.

2008-08-08T14:36:00.000-07:00

Oh. My. Freaking. God.

Okay. So my computer kind of freaked out on us when we tried to install a new hard drive. There was a of couple weeks when I would go visit Mom just to check my email and eat some of her leftovers.

Then we had a sort of working computer for a few days and then poof... it decided to stop loading Windows.

Then we had this thing where we would have to press F8 when the boot up screen would come on. So, I would have literally 2 seconds to push F8 before it would finish loading on to the wrong hard drive. On a good day, I would have to restart the computer at least three times because I would forget to press F8.

And really, I didn't have much to blog about since the cast was learning music and I briefly showed up for the first rehearsal and took a little break. (But that would be a really lame excuse.)

Anyway, I'm back to blogging. And I promise I won't leave you for a prolonged period of time.

In all reality, it's taken me a bit to jump out of HiFi mode. I still have these tapes I made for people that I have to send out and I almost feel like if I move on to Hair it will be too late.

But in the past week, I've jumped back in. Coming in to record blocking. On some pages I have a TON of blocking... on others I draw a big F which basically means that the actor was told to freestyle it. Which means there's nothing specific that I should write down... until Scott tells them not to do something... at which point I make note of it.

One thing I noticed on my return was how energetic the cast was. This is a really tough show. The cast is just amazing. You can just feel this energy when you step into the room. It never dies. It's beautiful.

They are also so focused and dedicated. It's great. I'm going to love working with this group.

I'm excited about Hair. I mean, the people I work with at the PD have already labeled me "Hippie Girl." I'm not really sure how that started... Maybe it's because they're all die hard Republicans and I came in as this little college student. Maybe it's because I drive a VW beetle. Maybe they've read the pins on my purse or the fact that I sit there and make hemp bracelets to pass the time... Who knows. I'm not sure why that's my nickname at work and frankly, it annoys me just a little bit. It's not really something I'm trying to be. It's just their label created from their perception of who I am. Whatever.

I guess I'm "hippie" in the way that the "hippies" hated being called a "hippie."

I've seen the show before, years ago when WashU did it. My fiance played guitar for it. Ever since then I've been very curious about the show.

After reading the script, I realized how messed up this show is. I couldn't follow anything. I wasn't sure if there was even something to follow. The words made sense. Everything else did not.

Since we've been blocking and the show is on it's feet, I can sort of see what it's all about. It's becoming a much clearer picture than what I was thinking just reading the words off the page. It's a celebration, a gathering, a fight, a war, a dream, a really fucked up trip, a ritual, and a rally. It's all of these things and more. And the tribe just wants you to understand. That's all. They don't want to hurt anybody.

This is going to be awesome.

In my blog, I plan on updating you with all the technical stuff, as I've done with the last blogs. I also will have a "guest" blogger on here who will be able to comment from the musician side of the show... but he's unable to make a statement at this time because he's sleeping due to his really crappy midnight job that he will be resigning from in approximately one month.

And of course, I'll be sure to load it with tons of pictures, videos, links and any other goodies I find on the net.

Peace out,

Trish

When Album Covers Attack...

2008-07-01T00:55:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon this a couple days ago. It's kind of freaky but I think it would be a clip that Rob, Dick, and Barry would have enjoyed.

Enjoy.

Also, I found a blog where people are sharing memories and the music that they have associated with them. Very cool. Check it out.

http://www.jamsbio.com/

My Top 5 Favorite Tech Moments

2008-06-30T23:28:00.000-07:00

So. I totally have to copy off of Scott (with his permission, of course) and blog about my top five favorite moments in the show...

Top five favorite TECH moments of the show from the P.O.V. of the SM (and in no particular order):

1. Light Cue #33. The ex-girlfriends and Rob just finished singing, "You don't represent my last best chance at a meaningful relationship and let me give you one last tip!" The lights abruptly change when Laura enters to come back for her toiletry bag and totally interupts Rob's little fantasy with his ex-girlfriends. It's a cue that I have to take without being able to see Kimi enter because the apartment flat is blocking my view. I love it because Laura totally kills his fantasy. It's sad how Rob has to snap back to reality and the abrupt light change is the most visual way which displays that. (Besides the actual physicality of Laura entering... I guess that would be the most visual... but hopefully you know what I mean.)

2. Light Cue #64. It's during "Number Five With a Bullet." Laura takes Jackie's spot on Rob's list and the ex-girlfriends are singing, "Number five with a bullet to your heeaaarrrrrt." On "heart" (that's usually when I go) the lights change into this creepy redness and Ian gets in his weird Bollywood pose and bounces like... two times... just in time for Rob to point at him and say, "What the hell is he doing here?" I like this one because it seems to set the scene for this nightmare that Rob is having. Cue #65 and Cue #66 make it even more creepier with the red lights and finally, Cue #67 (when Rob just can't take anymore) he screams "Stop! Show me no more!" I don't know... those are all funny to me and I don't reallly know why.

3. The scene change after "Terrible Things." Almost everybody is on stage watching Marie LaSalle sing her last song and I wonder if this transition looks as cool from the front as it does from the back. After Margeau's song is done, the lights change as Rob does this monologue about bringing us all up to date on why he's an asshole but while this is going on, everybody else is exiting the club. The guys go back to the record racks, the girls exit, people put mics back... it's this whole wave of movement. Everybody is moving and it's beautiful because while everyone is moving... Rob is standing still, centerstage, giving us his painfully true side of the story. It kind of reminds me of Peanut's HiFi photo of him being the only one in focus in a crowd of blurry people. It's very artsy. I love it.

4. The Conflict Resolution cues. (#132 - #141 for those who want to know). Oooooh, yes. I do have fun with these just as much as the audience has watching them. I always like the cues where the timing has to be just right. I always take four very fast beats during the black outs so everyone can reset themselves. I love how almost every night Zak gets caught mid-arm-wave for a blackout. That's probably the most fun I have pressing a button through the entire show.

5. Steve's sound effect cue when Barry enters with Klepto and TMP to sing "Turn the World Off". It's a hilarious mix of a heartbeat, evil laughter, and something else. I can only imagine how fun that would have been to create.

And those are my top 5 favorite tech moments in High Fidelity. Not as cool as Scott's top 5. But, I tried.

Round 5

2008-06-17T12:43:00.000-07:00

You thought it was over??

Oh no, my friend. THIS is not over.

What is your favorite song from High Fidelity??

I have a three way tie.

"Number Five With a Bullet" sounds so great with the guitars (and did I mention that I'm engaged to the hot blonde on guitar?) and Kimi rocks.

"She Goes" I've always been a huge Aretha fan and Nikki does it right. She is spot on.

"Nine Percent Chance" - I love the lyrics. They're hilarious and pitiful and yet, Rob (and Barry and Dick) think of the percentages, small as they might be, as such a positive thing. It's funny.

I also LOVE "Laura, Laura" and the "Conflict Resolution." And the first and last numbers... Dammit. This show is just full of great music. I can't choose.

I screwed up my round 5. I lose.

Can you choose a favorite?

>insert title here<

2008-06-17T12:33:00.000-07:00

Hey.

I figured I'd update so Scott wouldn't yell at me.

I'm kidding. He doesn't yell. He just nags... I guess you can call it nagging.

I'm kidding again. He doesn't nag. He pleads with us through email.

Okay. He doesn't plead either.

He just asked us all nicely to update our blogs. So, I'm complying. Because he's cool... you know? And he'd definitely beat me if I didn't do what he said. Ask the others. They'll show you the shoe marks.

Ok. I'm kidding again. He doesn't beat people either.

He's probably reading this and getting really annoyed with me. Scott, I love you!! Hee hee hee. I am so annoying... I know.

Opening week is finished. Great shows. I think. I watch the show from behind. But the back of everybody's head looked really great. I was even indirectly mentioned in the KDHX review. Chris Gibson wrote, "Michael Bergfeld's lighting is well executed."

Maybe that's something they write when they don't know what else to say about a specific element... but Hey! That's my job! I execute the lights! Whooo Hooo.

I'm in a much better mood than last week. I have people (and things) to thank for this. Kimi and Katie, Mike, greasy food and chocolate, Tylenol...

Most importantly, Matt Korinko. He may be miles and miles away but still remains so supportive. He really cheered me up. I wish he could be here with us.

After the show on Saturday, we all hung out and I stayed up till 5am trying to switch my sleep pattern around. Sunday, I went over to Dad's for Father's day and gave him a gift card to Best Buy so he could buy some more crappy "B" movies which he enjoys so much. Tortured my brothers by turning on the Tony's. My family is so lame.

Worked midnights. Decided to quit one of my two jobs. This morning at 4am I drove out to North Co. and put in my two weeks. My last day is July 1st and I will be an employee of just one department... not two. My life will be a lot less complicated. Still in the process for a full-time job. That will probably take a couple more months.

And this blog just totally turned into an update of my life... not the show. Crap.

So with the SHOW...

I'm getting into my groove. I love having a routine before and after each show. I can't wait to do it all over again.

But that's about it. A friend from work taught me about the whole torrent thing and now I'm sitting here downloading megabytes and megabytes of music. It's awesome. I'm listening to In the Heights now. It's pretty damn cool.

I wonder if all this is fucking up Peanut's internet connection... if so, I'm sure I'll get a call sometime soon with him complaining that his free internet just isn't working right. Hehehe.

Kidding. You can freeload off of us anytime. Just kill the freaky bugs when Mike isn't home. That's all I ask.

... And now the whole world thinks our apartments are infested...

They're not. Stupid house centipedes. Seriously, go do a google image search for them. You'll see why I can't sleep on some nights.

I'm done rambling about stuff that doesn't pertain to the show. I'm going to go visit Mom and eat her food since we haven't gone grocery shopping in like... 2 months.

-Trish

Muh.

2008-06-13T08:12:00.000-07:00

So our preview went very well last night.

There were only two light cues that I screwed up on.

We had some mic issues last night. Really weird. They were working... only sometimes... and would come in and out. Then we couldn't hear Zak.

Steve fixed Zak at intermission and it turns out that the hand mics switched places somehow. That still doesn't explain the in and outness... hmm.

I always like to know what causes problems so we can prevent them. And when you can't figure out why something isn't working... that sucks and I continue to worry.

So while Scott and Steve talk via headset (and Steve is frantically pushing buttons and turning knobs and making the monitors in the booth go off for short periods of time so he can isolate people and making it hard for me to hear the lines that I take cues off of) I'm sitting there going, "Pay attention. I've got to pay attention. Don't get distracted. "

And of course, I end up turning to Steve to ask him something... and whoops... that was a cue right there.

The second fuck up happened when I was watching the show. Like really watching the show. And really interested in it and drawn in. Then I realize that Jeff just started a monologue that has a special. WHOOPS. That cue was... obviously... late.

Today, I'm going to try to make a danish out of cardboard and paper bags. Vicki has mentioned to do this and I totally forgot about putting something in the damn bag until the preview. Nikki held up her bag of danish and with the lights shining on it, you could totally tell that there was, indeed, nothing in the bag.

I could just buy a damn danish and call it a day. Then I'd be able to eat a danish after the show because it would go stale and I could buy another one. Then I could eat that danish. Then I would gain like twenty pounds from eating danishes every night after the show... Fuck it.

But we open tonight. I think we're ready.

Hopefully I don't screw up anymore. The past week, I've felt like I've been doing nothing but screwing up. Not just lights. Everything I do is wrong. It's a really crappy feeling that I hope goes away soon.

Okay. My body needs some chocolate. Brownies for breakfast, anyone?

-Trish

So, Here's Where I Stand:

2008-06-09T07:13:00.000-07:00

Caution. This will be a very long post.

Lots has happened since my last post. Especially with the tech side... In fact, almost everything technical has come together to collide. So let me try to think back.

We had load in which was... interesting. I've never worked in the space before. I knew what things had to get done but I wasn't familiar with anything in the space. Everything moved along very quickly which was kind of frustrating to me. One person would learn how to do something and just start bossing people around. The much more organized and efficient way would have been to have a couple of people in different areas so more than one person is learning how to put crap together. We could have worked as a team but like I said... Everything was moving so fast and some people (not from New Line) seemed to be in a fucking hurry to get the hell out of dodge... so whatever. We got it done. Now that I know what happens, perhaps strike will be a little more organized. Poor New Line has been a bit nomadic, so we'll have have to start all over again when we move to the Ol' CBC place.

Next we had a couple rehearsals in the theater. I sent off my last line notes this weekend. The cast has been doing incredibly well taking the line notes and trying to correct themselves.

Then on Saturday, we had our Cue to Cue. Just like with the load in... I had absolutely no idea how this was going to work. It's up to the designer and where he is in his design. Whenever I do get used to a particular designer and how he works Cue to Cue, we go and have a new guy come in for the next show. We've had C2Cs where the designer actually writes the cues. We've had C2Cs where the designer goes through the show and edits. I think this is the first C2C that I actually ran the light board. I had a dry tech with Michael and then we ran through Act 1. We had a lunch break while he fixed some things and then we ran Act 2. I wish I could tell you how the design looks but unfortunately with the way the booth sits... I get to watch the show from behind... Very weird.

Excuse me for a minute... I have to figure out why this CD is deciding to skip while I'm trying to tape the damn thing...

As I expected. There is nothing wrong with the CD. Stupid CD player... I'll explain in a bit. Where was I?

Oh yeah. So with the way we've got the box set up, I am in the corner completely opposite of the band. It's very weird. At first, I was worried about being able to hear them. K. Well, that's no longer a worry. Phew.

And then yesterday, we had the sitzprobe. My lovely fiance (one of the two guitar players) wakes up fifteen minutes late. I'm trying to get some props together and battle him for being the first to take a shower (I win). We load up the car with his two guitars, an amp, music stand, his music, my backpack, a bag of ten or so beer bottles, and a strip of cardboard that I had spray painted black two hours prior. We're on Forsyth when my phone rings. It's ten till 1pm. If we were really good we would have been there twenty or thirty minutes ago. It's Scott. I answer the phone with, "We're on Forsyth." I can already tell that he's starting to get stressed.

The sitzprobe. Hum. It got off to a slow start because Steve (my adoptive little bro who is and will always be the New Line baby) was trying to figure out how to get Jeff to come through the band's monitor. I'm sure he was trying to figure out how things were hooked up. Being in a totally new place takes some getting used to... but once you figure it out, everything seems to fall into place.

But anyway, time is ticking away. Scott knows this. He knows how much work there is to be done. The cast is bored. Things are taking a long time. The band is trying to figure stuff out. The whole process is kind of painful... but not too painful... It's painful like - I want to say like ripping a band-aid off but I know some people like to do it really fast and get it over - No, this was like going really slow so it hurts just a little but it takes a really long time to get through it. And when you finally do get through it... you're good.

Me? I laid low the entire time. I spent most of my time underneath the risers setting up the prop table and Xmas lights. Kimi and I also put up our makeshift air vent cover. So now, the back row won't be blasted with cold air during the show and the actors below have a nice stream that they can step into while waiting to go on.

Although, you can still feel it if you're sitting in the two last rows on the stage right side. So, if you sit there... bring a jacket.

And the band sounds great. This show is going to sound like a rock concert. I asked Mike how he liked his partner (the second guitarist) and he says that he's awesome. Thank God. Mike can sometimes be pretty picky when it comes to playing guitar. And Jim has played with New Line before... He frightened me during Urinetown as the trombone player. He was awesome... but I have a fear of trombone players... possibly related to my fear of robots. Playing the trombone looks very robotic to me... Okay. I'm rambling. Anyway, Jim is a lot less frightening as a guitar player. :0)

Anyway. We got through it. Scott didn't kill anybody. I've actually seen him at his worst... maybe it was his worst... the Ivory was a nightmare.

Lastly, poor Chris Peterson! That poor guy went like... a whole five hours without having a cigarette. And Holy Christ was he doing a great job of not lashing out due to lack of nicotine. You wouldn't of even known it 'til he stood up after sitzprobe ended and excused himself to go take a -much needed- cigarette break.

And that pretty much brings us up to date. As Rob would say. Right now, I'm winding down after working midnights, where I spent most the night rewriting the light cues in my prompt book (It was dead out there last night). Having myself a black cherry rum and coke. Which would explain the fragmented sentences and bad grammar and random punctuation... Aw, who am I kidding... I hate grammar and I like random punctuation. I'm putting together the preshow music. Yes, I actually found a job to steal from Scott so that he can do other things of more importance. So after work this morning, I went to Walmart (I know. Ew. It was the only place open at 7am that sells cassette tapes) and get this... I had to actually ASK where the blank tapes were. It's virtually an extinct form. There was only one brand and they came in a pack of five for about seven dollars.

And I'm going to go do some laundry. I need to get some clean black shirts... I'll need 'em this week. And maybe some dishes. Then I'll join the fiance in the bedroom and take a little nap until it's rehearsal time.

I'll make sure his ass is on time... Well, we have to drive separately anyway because he'll have to leave for work.

Alright. Congrats if you've read this entire thing. I'll write more later.

... I love this Beastie Boys song...

Peace out,

Trish

Round 4

2008-05-27T14:53:00.000-07:00

Nobody cares about my game anymore.

Oh, well. I'm still going to play.

Name a guilty pleasure that you sing in the shower or in the car.

Mine is "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears. Oh. Yes.

Ok. YOUR TURN.

Leave me a comment.

Please?

You can be anonymous.

It can be a dirty song...

I don't care.

Really.

Okay?

Ready?

1, 2, 3, GO.

No?

Fine. I win!!!

Whoooooooooooooooooo!

-Trish

Thank you, Willis... with a double W and a double S... whoever you are.

2008-05-27T14:29:00.000-07:00

Okay. So, I have this computer training class that my work sends me to. I whine about it but it isn't so bad. I have to sit there and listen to these people teach other people shit that I've been doing over and over and over again for four years. Then we have to take a test. I get paid for it. And it's way closer to my apartment... I get an hour lunch break and 4 fifteen minute breaks.

But the whole building is big on the security thing. We have to wear these stupid badges and ring the intercom to enter and they have to unlock not one, but two doors to let us through. Even the police departments I work for isn't this secure.

Anyway. I'm there with my co-worker and we're bored shitless. They even took solitaire off the damn computers. I bring my little Nintendo DS, but that only keeps me busy for a half hour.

But (Praise God), my co-worker has somehow obtained an employee's user name and password for the Internet. So, there's this little piece of paper with this guy's user name and password being passed around between the people in the back row. Only problem is only one person can be on the Internet at a time.

Anywho. That's how I got to send my nine pages of line notes. Yeah. Nine. It's ridiculous and the cast is doing fantastic.

I mean, these are really tedious line notes. Like, you said "good" instead of "nice."

Or you said "won't" instead of "don't."

So, they are not screwing up everywhere... it's just really fucking specific.

I almost feel like they know when I'm about to make a line note. Like, I don't know if they watch me... but last night, I could swear that Jeff saw me put my pencil down to circle something and totally corrected himself before I could do anything.

I'll try to stay on top of things. When we did Urinetown, I would get behind and end up sending line notes like ten minutes before rehearsal started. Matt Korinko would want to shoot me because he would check his mail on his damn phone and get those line notes... right before rehearsal started.

Korinko really loved his line notes.

Weirdo. :0)

I hope it does end up helping those that actually read them.

That's all I have for now. I'm going to go post Round 4 of my game.

- Trish

Round 3

2008-05-22T14:32:00.000-07:00

Ok. I think I lost a lot of people for round 2. Thankfully, Joel, Margeau and Katie were brave enough to share! You guys rock. Katie might be on to something with the prize thing.

Round 3 will be easier.

Name a song that contains lyrics that you do not understand.

This could be anything... like maybe you know it's a story and you don't know what it's about. Or maybe it's in a different language. Or maybe there's some off-the-wall phrase that they put in there that came out of nowhere.

Just name any song that you want to go up to the artist and say, "What the hell does that mean?" Or "Does this mean what I think it does?" Or "Does this have any meaning?"

Mine will be Come Together by the Beatles... I mean, come on. Those boys were smoking something...

Here come old flattop, he come grooving up slowly
He got joo-joo eyeball, he one holy roller
He got hair down to his knee
Got to be a joker he just do what he please

He wear no shoeshine, he got toe-jam football
He got monkey finger, he shoot coca-cola
He say "I know you, you know me"
One thing I can tell you is you got to be free
Come together right now over me

He bag production, he got walrus gumboot
He got Ono sideboard, he one spinal cracker
He got feet down below his knee
Hold you in his armchair you can feel his disease
Come together right now over me

He roller-coaster, he got early warning
He got muddy water, he one mojo filter
He say "One and one and one is three"
Got to be good-looking cos he's so hard to see
Come together right now over me

I wish Lennon was still alive. I'd totally write him and ask, "Dude. Wtf?"

Your turn!
-Trish

Line, please?

2008-05-22T10:13:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile.

Sorry about that. I've been battling my air allergy and have not been able to breathe or hear properly for a good three weeks now. I hate mold. In fact, that's like the only thing I have been able to smell lately... everywhere.

But we are totally finished blocking. I drew some rather interesting stick figures to help remember some of the poses in "Crying in the Rain." And my records have been utilized, sorta. Sometimes we discover things that I failed to write down. Which sucks.

My job at rehearsal now is to follow along in the book and be there immediately when someone calls "line." I've been doing pretty good, so far. Especially if you consider the fact that I may have a slight case of ADD and sometimes I get distracted and want to watch the show.

Act I went okay. Act II was better. Starting next week, I'll become the Line Nazi (mwuhahaha) and take down meticulous line notes whenever they paraphrase, call line, or use words other than what's written in the script. Scott has mentioned to them that what is written is sacred... ... ... so yes. The line notes will be coming next week.

Amy came in and dressed everybody for PR pics. Michael, the lighting designer has been by to watch the blocking. Vicki has her prop list. And I think David and Jeff are doing their own thing...

That's pretty much it for the tech stuff. For now, anyway.

More to come later!

-Trish

ROUND TWO (ding, ding, ding)

2008-05-01T05:49:00.000-07:00

Thank you to Scott, Margeau, Katie, Lori, Smoore, and Amanda who all participated in Round 1!!

Ok, round two might be tough.

Name a song that holds some sort of great significance in your life.

Deep, I know. You don't have to say "why" or even submit lyrics... You can if you want too.

I hope I didn't scare anyone away with this one. Also, I've set up my comments settings to allow anyone to leave a comment. You don't have to be signed up at the blog thing. You may even submit a comment anonymously.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mine is a song by Catch 22, an awesome ska band. It's called "As the Footsteps Die Out Forever." I think there are only a couple people from New Line that can figure out why this song means a lot to me...

she was diagnosed on a friday
the kids were almost home
the kids were on their way back home from school
lying faced down in the gutter
of unaccomplished dreams and broken memories of things to come
sorry ma'am i really am
i have to break the news
i have to make the phone call
to tell you that you're due you know where
and i'll tell you when
and i suggest that you start living the next three weeks the best that you can
every night for three long weeks
she'd roam the hallways half asleep
and as the footsteps fade away
in my mind i can swear i can swear i heard her say
don't wait for me
i got a lot to do
i got a lot to be
and in the end maybe i'll see you there

lost her strength on a saturday
spent the day in bed
yeah i'm fine it's just the flu she said
with a smile
but when they turned their backs
the tears would flow
she knew she only had a while
to live
to breathe
to be
to see
to bleed
to stand on her own two weakened feet
and so i prayed
every day
"don't take my mother away"
every night for three long weeks
she'd roam the hallways half asleep
and as the footsteps fade away
in my mind
i can swear i can swear i heard her say
don't wait for me
i got a lot to do
i got a lot to be
when in the end maybe i'll see you there

Post Grope Update

2008-04-29T03:48:00.000-07:00

Much has happened since my last update. The cast is done with their music rehearsals and I have returned to record blocking. Although, I wasn't very focused tonight because I got a call right when rehearsal started from some women who said I won a three day/two night trip to the Bahamas or some shit. Mike and I have to go to some thing Saturday morning and I think they are going to try to sell us some really expensive cookware. Soooo... I'm not sure how good the deal is. We'll have to see.

Anyway. Hifi. It's begun, my friends and there's no stopping us.

Scott showed us computer generated pictures of the set-to-be. It really looks fantastic. Nothing extravagant (from what I hear and read from the reviews of the New York production... people kept pointing out how beautiful the set changes were... wtf?). High Fidelity shouldn't get an outrageous set. It doesn't need one. The show itself is so well written that the audience doesn't need huge clues pointing to where and why the characters are there. And sometimes, setting doesn't matter. Some of the scenes are pure fantasy or memories and flashbacks. It's so much more real to place them in a set that doesn't really define a specific location. For example, one scene is supposed to be set in a gym. The scene could take place anywhere. They could be waiting for the subway or having a cup of coffee. If you have a memory of something, something that you care more about what happened than where you were, you aren't necessarily going to remember the setting. You'll remember what was said, what action is taking place. And I think that our set will be more successful at grasping that idea by playing it down.

David and Jeff are great set designers. Everything is going to be mobile (whoo!) and they've incorporated a really cool idea that reflects the theme of the show and it will distinguish the main settings without overdoing it. Also, I LOVE how they recycle the set pieces. In one scene it's one thing, in the next it's something else. They did this for Assassins and I thought it was so efficient.

I made up a prop list which Scott quickly sliced up... Neatly and effortlessly... kind of like a sushi chef. He hates props and tries to go with the absolute minimum, so I knew there was a lot of stuff on there that we didn't actually need. Thank god. Nothing too outrageous (like 7 real guns that I have to clean every night :0) ) ... except for some banana pakora. Damn you, Ian and your weird ass Indian food.

Amy (the costume designer) has been in and out... doing her thing... ... ummmm...

Yeah. That's about it for the tech stuff, I think.

I'm still needing to get the rest of my stage managing stuff together. I need to do this soon... Work is kicking my ass and I've been recruited as the light board op for Hydeware's Caucasian Chalk Circle (by the way, go see it! Margeau is in it! And it's funny!). But sometime this week, I'm going to get all that stuff together. I was so organized for Sex, Drugs...

And returning to the Ivory with another company has been a bit weird. I couldn't help but feel lost and kind of sad without my New Line family. There is a stage manager, Jamie, who calls the show... so I get to play Brain Age on my Nintendo DS for two hours. Not at all like New Line shows where I have to be fully involved (and focused) on the production. Some advice to theatre companies - if you want to save money, make your stage manager run the light board. It is possible. You get rid of the middle man. If you don't tour and you don't have a trillion things happening during a production... it really makes it less complicated. At least, that's how I see it. I don't think anyone else in St. Louis does it New Line's way... Oh well.

We've had a couple dance rehearsals. Robin's choreography kicks ass. Recording blocking for the dances can get quite complicated but I'm sure it will be utilized. Katie groped Jeff's balls last Sunday at a dance rehearsal. That was fun. To watch. I mean... crap.

I'm kidding. I had to mention that and embarrass Katie even further. She kept wincing every time she had to "pet" Jeff with the other girls. Come on, Katie. It's not like you've never felt balls before... jeez.

But it's been great fun! Stay tuned for Round Two of my game! Whooooooo!!

-Trish

Are you ready to ROCK (and shake and rattle and roll)?

2008-04-19T00:38:00.000-07:00

I'm proposing a game.

But I'm going to need your help.

A couple times a week, I'm going to post a topic or a question. The object of the game is to leave a comment with a song that would answer that specific question.

I think it will make more sense once we get started. I'd love to give away prizes but I have no idea how I would do that.

Ok. Are you ready??

In honor of our lovely little earthquake this morning, name a song that is either about or contains a natural disaster...

Don't be shy. It will be fun!

Here, I'll start. Bob Dylan's "Black Diamond Bay" - That contains everything from storm clouds to lightning to a volcano erupting.

Your turn!

-Trish

Wow. There are seven of us?

2008-04-16T15:59:00.000-07:00

Ok. So... Welcome to my HiFi blog! I'm the stage manager and I updated my bio a little bit ago... That's on the ... left ... side of this page (I think). In the spirit of High Fidelity, I've also added some google "gadgets" (they sounded a lot more fun than they actually are...). But, they are also on the ... left... side of the blog. I added a lyrics search and also a little thingy that brings up new releases in the music world.

I've also added links to the six other bloggers. Check them out. I'm pretty sure their blogs will kick my blog's ass.

I thought I had a cool idea when I was going to include top five songs every post about random topics but Katie beat me to it.

Then I thought about taking really funny pictures with my camera phone... but that's just lame ... and Katie has a camcorder and she has some amazing software to put together cool clips...

So screw that.

What else do I have to offer my wonderful blog audience?

Well, I am the only technical person blogging. So, I'll give you all I can give about the technical side of HiFi.

... and steal the cassette tape feature off everyone else's page... because that is such a kick ass feature.

I have been addicted to music since I bought my own computer with babysitting money when I was fourteen. My older brother is (or was...) the piracy music KING. He even has a t-shirt that says, "Sharing is Caring, Fuck the RIAA." I think the torch was passed on to my little brother who has meticulously downloaded every single eighties song ever recorded. Well, they've taught me a lot. And I have to admit, it is a hobby of mine and I do have about 12,000 songs on my computer - all neatly organized in their own folder by artist - but let me tell you something... it's the only way I have mastered the art of making mix CDs... or tapes... with my generation it's been CDs and mp3 playlists on the Ipod... that's the newest form of mixing now.

How about THAT for a run on sentence?

I love making mix CDs (Well... it's been playlists recently because my phone doubles as an mp3 player). There is definitely an art behind it. Maybe I should dig up some of my favorites and post them up here. That would be fun. I'll have to find some of them.

Meanwhile, go to www.artofthemix.org and take a look at some mix CDs that other people have submitted. You can even search a category. The site runs kind of slow. Go to "Find a Mix," wait two hours for the page to load, then click on "Search" and you'll be allowed to search for... let's say... a really cool mix for road trips. Or a break-up mix. Or a mix with all techno music.

Man, I wish the site worked better. It really is cool if you don't keep getting the system error messages.

Anyway, while the rest of the cast learns their music... I'm getting together my stage manager kit/book bag thing. Yeah, I've actually decided to be prepared for this show... More on that later.

I'm going to go clean my apartment and find some of my old mixes but I'll leave you with five songs that I love, not my favorite, I love too much to pick five all-time favorites, but this is a sampling of what I'm listening in my car right now. Enjoy.

Peace out,

Trish the SM

Top 5 Most Recent Songs Played On My Mp3 Player

1. Edgar Winter Group - Free Ride (Man, I love this song.)
2. Blue Man Group - Rods and Cones (I go eighty-five on the highway to this song...)
3. Reel Big Fish - Beer (I'm a Ska freak. I love these guys... saw them live last summer. I wish they had some other songs. I would have put on "New Version of You", "Party Down", or some older stuff... they also have a really mean version of Phil Collin's "Another Day in Paradise")
4. Tears for Fears - Everybody Wants to Rule the World (Yeah. You can start making fun of me now.)
5. Bob Marley - Jammin' (Nothing completes a mix better than some feel-good-Marley-music.

In preparation for Hifi...

2008-04-12T05:01:00.000-07:00

What would the soundtrack to your life sound like?

Here's how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc).
2. Put it on shuffle.
3. Press play.
4. For every question, type the song that's playing.
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button.
6. Don't lie and try to pretend your cool.

This will be interesting. I have like over 12,000 audio files on my computer.

OPENING CREDITS: Mr. Music Master - Artie Bernstein

WAKING UP: Surrender - Evanescence

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL: Rickover's Dream - Michael Hedges

FIGHT SONG: Sleeping With the Television On - Billy Joel

BREAKING UP: Could I Be You - Matchbox 20

PROM: You & I Promise - Howie Day

LIFE: Castles Made of Sand - Jimi Hendrix

MENTAL BREAKDOWN: Spade - Marilyn Manson

DRIVING: A Fine Romance - Fred Astaire

FLASHBACK: Living With a Hernia - Weird Al Yankovic

GETTING BACK TOGETHER: Advice for the Young At Heart - Tears for Fears

WEDDING: I've Got My Mind Set On You - George Harrison

BIRTH OF CHILD: King Herod's Song - Jesus Christ Superstar

FINAL BATTLE: Addicted - Simple Plan

DEATH SCENE: Ordinary World - Duran Duran

FUNERAL SONG: Burn - Usher

END CREDITS: Sweet Little Rock and Roller - Chuck Berry

Wow. That's one messed up soundtrack.

If you don't have sex and you don't do drugs, your rock 'n' roll better be awfully good. - Abbie Hoffmann

2007-10-03T04:16:00.000-07:00

The good news:

My stupid homework is (for the most part) caught up. I turned in some very, very, (very, very, very) important papers, so that I can graduate in December...

And my fingernails are starting to grow back. :0)

The bad news:

I'm going through withdrawal.
...Is it Thursday yet?

-Trish

The show will go on!

2007-09-29T08:24:00.000-07:00

After this entire mess, (and the Catholic church took a look at our video and said, "Ooooooh. It's like ... that? And... anyone can come in...? Nevermind," and sheepishly smiled and disappeared.) the show officially opened yesterday.

Leaving us with the hounding media.

I guess we've really defined our title "Bad Boys of Musical Theatre."

I REALLY could have used that preview night to run the show another time - seeing as this was only the THIRD time to run the lights for this entire run... Hey thanks, Burke.

But, in all sincerity, it was a great show last night.

Words can't even describe how relieved I am.

Well, that's it. Come see the show that the archbishop didn't want you to see!!! :0)

-Trish

Well, forget sleeping.

2007-09-28T00:56:00.000-07:00

(S)He had gone to the tower
to save us all.

And for our part...

...we could do nothing but wait.

- Moulin Rouge

REF TO: "Play closes before it opens"

2007-09-28T00:17:00.000-07:00

I think I've had a little time to think about this situation. And we are all at the point of being amused by it.

Of course, I've just got back from our traditional Thursday Tuckers Trip. And I had myself a couple drinks...

Ok. Maybe I'm still freaking out a little because I've just watched the little video cast on www.myfoxstl.com.

It's kind of flattering to be the top news story. Free publicity rocks. Thank you.

But, you know I'm going to have to rant. So, you can read my rant or just do whatever you want... I don't care.

Here we go:

The building is NOT a church anymore. It was sold to some nice folks who decided to turn it into a beautiful theater. It is a beautiful theater. We have gone through HELL to get the beautiful theater. God has moved out. His friends are still painted on the wall and they are behind a curtain. It's a theater now... not a church. We do not perform the sacraments, we do not do witch craft, we do not dance topless around poles while men pull out dollar bills.

This is a theater.

Art is created here.

It is not pornography. It is not a burlesque show.

It's true that New Line is a company that deals with adult issues. THAT'S what they have a problem with - Our "adult content."

... Or the fact that they think "adult content" means it's restricted to adults only. Give me a break.

You can bring you're five year old. But, he will be extremely bored and probably disrupt the audience members around him and then giggle when we mention the word "penis."

I'm catholic. (or used to be... I'm not so sure anymore.) But, this is just ridiculous. Really, it is.

Nobody even knows the content of the show. The only people who know are the people directly involved in this production. The archbishop has not come to any of our rehearsals. So, why does he think he can shut down a show when he doesn't even know what's in it...?

Oh. It MUST be the title. A phrase that has been used since... what... the sixties?

The truth. I've been apart of this show since the first damn rehearsal. It's a brilliant show. Scott, using his super musical genius power, took songs from various musicals... some very popular... some you probably have never heard of. And he created somewhat of a plot involving various couples. The songs are taken out of their original context, but he has magically melded them together into a show that will force the audience to think about some pressing issues.

THIS IS WHAT NEW LINE THEATRE DOES.

So, yes. There are songs about homosexually, adultery, drugs, porn. If you don't care to explore these topics with us - stay home. The show itself is not a huge porn flick. We want the audience to explore them with us - realize that these issues exist, not be afraid to discuss them or hide them. Accept the fact that this is what is going on beyond your living room.

We don't put an age limit on any of our shows. So, bring the kids if you want them to be exposed to all this... It's your discretion.

Ok. Excuse my A.D.D. way of thinking... you ever go to any art museum and see the picture of a naked woman?

Well, the art museum is opened to the public. You can bring your five year old to the art museum... but, you make the choice of exposing him to the oil painting of a penis...

So, why isn't that considered porn? Why isn't that considered to be inappropriate? Oh. Because it's a painting? Because it's ART?

Yeah. Well, we're creating art too. Except our paintings are on stage and alive.

... I guess it all comes down to the fact that it's an ex-church. Whatever. They don't own it anymore.

There are so many people excited about this theater being built. There are so many people supporting us... The girl in Fox's video, waving our program... you rock... Everyone standing out there rocks. Anyone who wanted to come see our show rocks.

We love all of you and we hope we can put on this show for you.

So. There is a hearing tomorrow at 1pm. Our humble director is going to go and defend us in a court of law.

God bless that man. Really. He is fucking awesome.

So, pray, pray, pray, for us. Yes, Catholics... you pray for us too.

I really want to go on with the show.

Signing off -

Trish
The Stage manager
(of an unbelievably awesome and fantastic show that you should all come see if we still get to do it.)
:0)

P.S. I love how in the video you can hear the show going on. Well, it's a chipper little song about STDs. So. Ha.

Mmm, Chocolate Covered Lies

2007-09-22T01:08:00.000-07:00

So, I thought our lovely readers would like an update...

The theater is finished and beautiful. It's exactly what we wanted. We are all done with all the tech stuff and we're ready to open.

Wow. That tastes really good, doesn't it?

That must be the extreme sugarcoating... I'm sorry, but you all have diabetes now.

Ok. Things have been a little hectic lately. (This would explain why all the bloggers have mysteriously disappeared.) When I last posted, we had put off moving into the theater for a week for many tiny reasons.

Well, the theater wasn't finished.

It still isn't finished.

It was supposed to be finished on the 9th.

And we're starting to worry a little bit.

Okay, not a little bit.

Scott probably has five hundred ulcers. Anyone who puts on a show knows how stressful the last couple weeks can get. Ok, well take that stress and add on the fact that we're rehearsing under extreme conditions and that we get new surprises every time we enter the theater.

-Like the wall of boxes left in front of the stage... and that is tiny compared to all the other shit we've had to deal with.

I'm not sure how the man is sane.

But, the cast keeps going and they're putting on a great show. Just having the bed there to play on has done so much for the first act. They keep giving all that they've got. You couldn't ask for a better cast. It's going to be an amazing show.

I just hope the theater is finished by opening night. :0)

(Trying to be optimistic)
-Trish

This is awesome.

2007-09-09T20:53:00.000-07:00

Intermission

2007-09-09T02:24:00.000-07:00

So, we were going to move today... But, for many tiny reasons, Scott decided it would be best to wait until next week. This gives the Ivory people time to finish up. And actually works better for me - I'm stuck working until 7am.

And works better for Lawson. You better be there on Sunday, biatch. There's no excuse, now.

Somebody go crash that boy's birthday party tonight! I think he may be at the Chuck E. Cheese. He's the kid looking up the chicken's skirt... if she still wears a skirt... I'm not really sure.

:0)

For you my friend...

Rock and Roll is the hamburger that ate the world.

2007-09-01T22:29:00.000-07:00

First of all, I would like to apologize for not posting in... almost three weeks. In the time that has passed - I have become involved in rehearsals. My duties include: helping set up/clean up stuff, take very specific blocking notes for whoever needs them, taking notes on other stuff... like props and... (well, if I tell you what I'm making tomorrow, it might spoil some things that happen during Act II... I'm not even sure if it should be a big surprise... hum...), OH! and providing the cast with the appropriate food. (Those drug trip scenes sure make them crave cheese popcorn and starbursts...)

As far as memorization goes, it's all lyrics. I can't feed them lines. They just have to learn their music. And they've been doing really good. "Sexually Free" was the only song that was pretty rough. They sounded something like this:

"Then we'd be free, sexually free!
Free to let eanoam mum na mum dun manum
Andnan a h labum na mum...
Free! Sexually free!
Free to calala hum nala faula lanum
If la nel onanama one mumna elt!
Free! Sexually free!
Free to folllla lolds tho blah lalala munmana elt.
See what it is to be satisfied and unfrustrated,
Free and at liberty to be loved and stimulated
Be unashamedly, sexually liberated..."

It was hilarious. You guys make for some great entertainment.

Meanwhile, I'm taking down meticulous blocking notes.

Usually it's the ol "so and so" X SR
"so and so" X DSC
"so and so" picks up telephone

Not in this show...

Some of my blocking:

All, circle bed clockwise "Disney march" (this is while they are singing about STD's)
Nick gives A1 a brownie
Nick passes joints around
All, form tight clump
Tight clump becomes an "organism" - fluid, slow movements
All, stand, reach for colors
Touch the colors
Isabel gives audience member a lap dance.

Whoops. That one is supposed to be a secret.

That would be fun though... It would also be fun to add "Tripp takes A2's innocence" during "Perky Little Porn Star"

Perhaps I'm the only one who thinks this is funny... Please don't let this stop you from coming to see this show... nobody is going to rape Lawson and Isabel will only give you a lap dance if you pay her...

But, it's been fun. I'll try to post more often.

Peace out,
Trish
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scott to the cast during "Morphine Tango" (who is supposed to be a "living organism" and constantly moving arms, legs, etc.)

Scott: Okay, you have to be constantly moving... Right now, it looks like you are waiting for a bus.

Korinko: It's the Morphine bus.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Whaaaaaaaaa?

2007-08-14T22:34:00.000-07:00

Ok. So, I'm not New Line's first stage manager...

I thought I was totally embarking on new, virgin territory where no soul has ever been... but, you know, it's okay. :0)

Being the second stage manager for New Line is still pretty cool... I guess...

Wait. I am the second ... right...?

Fact is - they haven't had one since 2000. And at that time, I was a sophomore in high school and learning how to drive.

Wow.

Annnnnyway, I'm still just floating around. Bought a bunch of cool supplies because back to school sales rock. And I'm just hanging out until I'm needed.

I need to go and visit everyone and give Korinko his flashlight. Yeah, it's just sitting here... on my table... kind of whimpering for it's owner.

Peace out.

-Trish

Welcome to SD&RR!

2007-08-08T01:35:00.000-07:00

Dude!

I'm so totally back. How can I not come back and blog again for my lovely audience? -which is probably a total of three people.

Our next show has taken off and I am now labeled as "stage manager."

I didn't need any more college credit cuz I'M ALMOST DONE. But, that's beside the point.

I love stage managing... but, New Line has never had a stage manager, so I will be creating this position and trying to pry odd jobs out of Scott's hands, so he can use his time more being the brilliant director that he is and less worrying about other retarded crap.

I get to worry about the retarded crap now! Ha ha ha haha.

Well, I don't get to worry about anything right now other than turning a score into a script-like document and blocking doesn't happen until late August...

So... I guess I'll just twiddle my thumbs. I'll come back to and visit everyone and see how rehearsals are going. I'm in the process of getting a bunch of stuff stage managers should carry around... Like pencils, umm... mints,

Fuck, it's like 3:30 in the morning and I cannot think.

I'll post more later!

That was our show!

2007-06-25T05:15:00.000-07:00

I have all the time in the world and this is going to be one long ass blog... And I may get a little teary eyed. So, bear with me.

Jeez. I don't even know where to begin.

First of all, I want to thank everyone involved in this show. I decided to do this internship because - well, mainly because I didn't want to take another goddamn class - I've been doing the college thing for four years now and I started to get a little burnt out. I had a not-so-good experience during my last project as a director (the show itself was a success... but... well, long story) and I really started to question WHY I'm spending thousands and thousands of dollars to obtain a piece of paper. What is the point? Is it really worth it? And more importantly, is this really what it's like? And ultimately, do I want to do this for the rest of my life?

I really needed to know.

After working with Scott Miller as a lighting technician and seeing a year or two of his work - I knew that if I wanted to intern anywhere for credit... I wanted to intern with him. I wanted to see the secrets of rehearsal. Because up until now, I had come in at "hell week" and seen the almost-finished product. I wanted to know how he did it. How does he put these brilliant shows together? How does he get the best out of every single person in the cast? There had to be something... something that I didn't know about... something that has not been present in any other production I have ever been apart of.

And I still don't know what that something is.

But, (and here's an ego boost for ya, Scott) The man is a musical GENIUS. Really, he is. Go read his books. I did and I barely have the time to read anything. I couldn't put them down. And if you can't afford to buy them, find them in the library - they're out there. Or better yet, go to http://www.newlinetheatre.com/ and read his analysis and chapters on the shows. Read his director notes in the program. He really knows his shit. He has mastered the rules of musical theatre... so, he has EVERY right to break them.

There are many theatrical people in St. Louis who come see New Line shows and don't really understand or don't like the way they are staged. I think it's because they are either used to the traditional staging and want to keep it that way or maybe just don't grasp the concept of reaching out and actually engaging the audience. Maybe, it's not important to them. Maybe they frown upon how Scott breaks these rules and gets away with it.

But, nonetheless, that's why you come see a New Line show. Many people are drawn to the unorthodox nature. Times are changing. We live in a world where entertainment is only a button-click away. This era is... I'm sorry, but it's true... lazy. People can just sit at home and get movies by going to channel 999. I mean, even Blockbuster is having a hard time and having to change their system to fit this utter laziness. I think it's almost repulsive that people don't even have to get in their cars and drive to see a movie - or better yet, drive to a freakin' Blockbuster and rent one! Jesus! What's this world coming to?!? And theatre - who goes to the theater anymore? Theatre people. We are quite the breed and we are the only ones who are really keeping it alive. But, you know what? I think that the biggest and best challenge is to get the people, who normally sit at home on their recliner, off their asses and into the theater. Better yet, get them into a theater and make them REALLY THINK. As Scott said in a previous blog (I don't care how wrong or retarded it is to quote someone else's blog... I'm doing it anyway),

"If it is to survive, theatre has to jump down off that stage and engage its audience! Theatre has to stop separating actors from audiences! Theatre has to stop giving audiences sitcom plays and emotionally dishonest (or worse, emotionally empty) musicals! Theatre must be, once again, about something!"

SEE? He's on to something! I'm telling you!!!

And there are musicals out there that have changed the theatrical world. These musicals accomplished that biggest and best challenge of bringing a new generation to the theatre.

You can see these musicals at New Line. They do musicals for people who hate musicals.

But, the people who like musicals love them too... So, everybody wins!!!

I must sound like I am high as a kite... but, I'm not. In fact, I'm writing this (once again) at 3am at a silent police department, while my partner is quietly snoring... maybe I should type more quietly. Ha ha.

BUT anyway -

I have learned SO much through this experience. And the whole directing a musical thing (which, I've had like... one class of musical theatre through my fourteen years of dance, one voice class, and no classes relating to musical theatre during college) so, I've enjoyed musicals for a very long time, but learning how to direct one is something new to me. The structure and the lyrics and the rhyming and ... wow. It's fucking awesome. I love it. Plays are cool, but musicals... the fact that one can tell a story through lyrics fucking rocks. And more so, if one is talented enough to get a story out through ROCK musicals... that's even cooler. PLUS, you get the song and dance and the whole "showy" theatrical essence. PLUS, a really awesome band and for rock musicals - a really talented and hot guitarist. :0)

And it's not only the whole musical theatre thing that I've embarked upon. I've also learned that in the professional theatre world, there ARE people who will give you 150%. They will trust you and be completley and utterly afraid at first, but they will go and work their ass off until they get it right. They have PASSION for this. They are not doing this for a grade or to up their funds (because lord knows, they don't get nearly as much as they deserve). They do this because they love it. They want to be there. And frankly, if you don't have that kind of passion - then you need to go work elsewhere. Maybe Charter Communications is hiring telephone operators to assist the people in their recliners...

I learned that it can be difficult to work with some people. That you will have people who just spontaneously combust and you never hear from again. People who you thought were trustworthy. You learn who you can trust. Who gets it, who doesn't. And it isn't so much a political thing (Fuck politics), but a chemistry thing. You learn who fits in with the New Line family and who just... doesn't.

I've learned that everything is built during rehearsals. Playing is important. Some of our funniest moments in the show came from something that just happened in rehearsal. It's important to let the actors just explore and find themselves... and it might take just one thing like a sock or a flashlight. (Korinko, I'm gonna try to fix my other flashlight and give that one back to my dad cuz I really think you should have your maglight...)

I've learned that it's okay to make the audience turn their heads to watch a scene. It's also okay if they don't get to see everything because there is so much to see.

I learned that repeated gags sometimes get a laugh and sometimes don't. It all depends on the audience.

And I also learned ... kind of already knew... that the audience can be a flop. Or sound like a flop, but then later surprise you and give you a standing ovation.

I learned that doing a show with huge flourescent lights suck. But, the audience will understand and not be angry with you - if you put on the same show and really kick ass.

And that the best form of excercise is performing "Snuff That Girl" and "Run, Freedom, Run" back to back for a month.

I learned that learning the music is a long and tiresome process when there are a lot of harmony parts, but the ending product will give the audience chills. (I will DEFINATELY miss, "We see a river flowing for freedom. We see a river just in view. You see a river flowing for freedom. You see a river straight and true."

I've learned a lot from this show. This was an experience that you can't find in any textbook. I will miss it. It really is sad when I think of how I won't ever see Urinetown on stage, with this group ever again.

Most definately worth the "A" I was given.

You all did fantastic. You're truly admirable and inspirational to this 22 year old trying to find out where she belongs in all this mess. I will miss the show, but I know I will see you all again... somewhere down the line.

And thank you, Scott Miller, for unintentionally being one of the best teachers I have ever had.

Don't miss Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll... which stars many of the cast members from Urinetown.

And I'm sure I'll be involved in some way, shape or form... Maybe Scott will even break down and decide to aquire a stage manager for the new space - not to "call" the show, but to run lights, make prop lists, do techie stuff, and ... you know... take line notes for the actors.

Then I'd have a reason to sneak into rehearsal and see everybody!

Thank you! And good night!!!

Blogging from work again... because the biggest thing we've had this morning was a funeral procession going down the Rock Rd.

2007-06-08T09:29:00.000-07:00

So... I'm kinda bored and was reading everyone else's blog.

I don't think I have much to add - other than I am so lucky to be able to watch this show night after night after night.

I am so lucky to be apart of this show... even if it was mostly as an observer - still so extremely lucky.

Jeff Pruett came up to me yesterday and asked, "Are you sick of watching us yet?"

Absolutely not. And this is why...

Every time I watch this show, there is something new that I see that I didn't see before. After watching it so many times, you also notice how the writers snuck in repeat jokes - something you wouldn't normally notice first time around.

The audience seems to receive the show well - although we wouldn't know since many of them don't really catch on to the style of the show until the act I finale... (still my favorite scene above all).

I've been telling everyone I know to come see the show. I've posted the event on myspace and was happy to see a couple other people pass the bulletin on.

After three great reviews, proof that you SHOULD come see this show, the cast has much confidence in what they are doing. Those who have seen the show say that the back risers are the best place to sit... However, it is also the place that is least engaging. So, sit in the back of the house if you MUST watch everything... or become apart of the show by sitting on the floor. The choice is up to you.

You will get a different show from each location. (I've said this before.)

So hell, come more than once. It's totally worth it.

Am I selling this yet?

It's a brilliant show! Directed by a brilliant director! With a brilliant cast!

...and I helped... sort of. :0)

More later!
- Trish

P.S. And of course, big congratulations goes out to NICK AND AMY!!! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! YEAH!

Blogging from work... it doesn't get any more illegal than this.

2007-05-30T06:49:00.000-07:00

Hello to all,

First of all, I apologize if this blog is totally random and has no organization to it... I haven't been to sleep since... 8am yesterday. But, I am blogging from the computer of the better of my two jobs (the one that has internet access and is much more laid back than the other one...). In fact, I wanted more than anything to be hit by a car on my way to the horrible midnight job last night. Not a terrible, serious accident... just one good enough to not go to work... but it didn't happen.

Damn it.

I think I might take a "mental health day" tonight. But, sssshhh. Don't tell them that.

Urinetown (the musical) gets better everytime I watch it. I'm done with the line note thing... since it's too dark to be following along with the script. I sent out line notes like, two or three times I think, some times sending them right before the rehearsal (literally, right before the rehearsal). But, the thing with line notes is that they really are beneficial to the cast - However, they took me like 2 hours to type up and send them. Mainly because I would get distracted being on the computer... you know how that is.

Last night, I watched the show from the second row. And boy - was it a different experience. I'm not going to spoil any surprises, but I learned that just by my location - I saw things I hadn't before and heard things I didn't know were there. And isn't that how a New Line show should be?

I can't believe there is only one more run left until we open.

And the cast has much confidence in what they are doing. One of the main things Scott has been telling them is to have fun.

And fun they shall have... mwuhahaha.

:::sips from her 16oz of burn2 and lays her head down for a 5 minute nap:::

Yes, this blogger still exists

2007-05-16T12:33:00.000-07:00

Holy Christ!

I apologize for not posting in... forever. Still trying to juggle two part time jobs, classes (one more day to go!), my brother's freakin' wedding, and this wonderful, wonderful internship.

And it really has been wonderful, seriously.

I've learned more just sitting there soaking this up than in most of the classes I've taken.

I'm so burnt out on school right now... it's ridiculous. I'm so sick of getting to rehearsal late and ... yeah. I just want it to be over.

Classes... not rehearsals. (Thought I should clarify that.)

BUT, Urinetown. OMG. I tell everyone I see that they HAVE to come see this show. It's going to be excellent. The cast is working so hard. They are leaving rehearsals and coming back even better. In fact, I made a bunch of line notes from the last time we ran Act I and never sent them - I was going to send them... I typed them out on my laptop and had it all ready to go. But, then I left my laptop at my brother's house and didn't get it back until three days later. By that time, the cast had moved on and well, the notes would have been useless. So, last night (the first full run through ever and the first time they got to use the art loft) I spent most the time erasing the old note marks (and making a couple new ones - which I will email immediately after I'm done blogging.)

But, I feel for the cast. I really do. They are so out of breath after ... what was it... "Run, Freedom, Run"? They're trying really hard. Their work is going to pay off big time.

Meanwhile, Seth the lighting designer has joined the picture and has some really good ideas... which is cool because now I have someone to hang out with while Scott is doing his piano/directing thing and the cast is ... you know... acting.

Which is another thing! Scott Miller is the best multi-tasker is the entire universe.

And the set is up! It's a monster... but has some really great features. This whole show is full of surprises. It's fucking awesome.

So, yeah.

Come see the show and you'll see what I'm raving about.

I'll be back... soon. I promise!

Are we doomed for Urinetown??

2007-04-26T20:24:00.000-07:00

Water Woes Coming With Warming

Seth Borenstein, Associated Press

April 17, 2007 — As the world warms, water — either too little or too much of it — is going to be the major problem for the United States, scientists and military experts said Monday.

It will be a domestic problem, with states clashing over controls of rivers, and a national security problem as water shortages and floods worsen conflicts and terrorism elsewhere in the world, they said.

At home, especially in the Southwest, regions will need to find new sources of drinking water, the Great Lakes will shrink, fish and other species will be left high and dry, and coastal areas will on occasion be inundated because of sea-level rises and souped-up storms, U.S. scientists said.

The scientists released a 67-page chapter on North American climate effects, which is part of an international report on climate change impact.

Meanwhile, global-warming water problems will make poor, unstable parts of the world — the Middle East, Africa and South Asia — even more prone to wars, terrorism and the need for international intervention, a panel of retired military leaders said in a separate report.

"Water at large is the central (global warming) problem for the U.S.," Princeton University geosciences professor Michael Oppenheimer said after a press conference featuring eight American scientists who were lead authors of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's climate-effects report.

Roger Pulwarty, one of the federal government's top drought scientists, said states such as Arizona and Colorado, which already fight over the Colorado River basin water, will step up legal skirmishes. They may look to the Great Lakes, but water availability there will shrink, he said.

Reduced snow melt supplying water for the Sacramento Valley in California means that by 2020 there won't be enough water "to meet the needs of the community," Pulwarty said. That will step-up the competition for water, he said.

On the East Coast, rising sea levels will make storm surge "the No. 1 vulnerability for the metropolitan East Coast," said study lead author Cynthia Rosenzweig of NASA. "It's a very real threat and needs to be considered for all coastal development."

Rising sea level can harm Florida's biodiversity and be dangerous during hurricanes, the scientists added.

A few hours later, retired Gen. Charles F. "Chuck" Wald focused on the same global warming problem.

"One of the biggest likely areas of conflict is going to be over water," said Wald, former deputy commander of U.S. European Command. He pointed to the Middle East and Africa.

The military report's co-author, former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan, also pointed to sea-level rise floods as potentially destabilizing South Asia countries of Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Lack of water and food in places already the most volatile will make those regions even more unstable with global warming and "foster the conditions for internal conflicts, extremism and movement toward increased authoritarianism and radical ideologies," states the 63-page military report, issued by the CNA Corp., an Alexandria, Va.-based national security think tank.

Kristi Ebi, a Virginia epidemiologist on the scientific panel, said reduced water supplies globally will hinder human health. "We're seeing mass migration of people because of things like water resource constraint, and that's certainly a factor in conflict," she added.

Peter Glieck, president of the Pacific Institute, an Oakland, Calif., think tank, said the national security and domestic infighting over water comes as little surprise.

"Water is connected to everything we care about — energy, human health, food production and politics," said Glieck, who was not part of either panel. "And that fact alone means we better pay more attention to the security connections. Climate will effect all of those things. Water resources are especially vulnerable to climate change."

Discovery News

Looooooook at the sky!

2007-04-25T08:55:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody. I apologize for my absence. I've been trying to juggle classes, rehearsals, a bridal shower, a part time job, and you know... my life. Actually, I decided that all this wasn't insane enough and decided to take on another part time job, which I was hired for yesterday...

I had to take a lie detector voice stress test. It was funny.

I cannot wait until June.

BUT, Urinetown (the musical) is coming along magically. This cast is amazing. They are picking it up and it's sticking.

Thus, I've learned lesson #1: You should cast people who are willing to do their homework.

Which you can't really do unless you've cast them before and know how they work. Hmm.

Anyway, from an observer's point of view, this is going to be one intense, awkward, fucked up musical. Parts of it will make the audience squirm with - well, I'm not going to give anything away. You'll have to come and see it.

I also had the privilege of taking some footage with Katie's camera during the rehearsal to "Snuff That Girl." I'm not a very good videographer, but I did manage to capture what it's like to sit in Hope's chair during the song. Watch out, Izzy. It's intense.

And I've been thinking a lot about this water shortage thing, especially after taking a history test last Thursday where I had to write a three page (handwritten) essay on The Great Depression.
Discuss the major causes of the Great Depression. Then describe how the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Works Progress Administration, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and Social Security helped Americans during the Great Depression. Lastly, explain how Americans coped during the Great Depression.

And as I was writing, I started to think about the "Great Depression" that exists during Urinetown (the musical.) What were the major causes? For my essay, I stated that it was a number of things... the stock market crash of 1929, the tax hikes, the over production of everything and the penny pinching nation who wasn't buying, the dust storms in the plains...

I try to envision what a water shortage would be like twenty years from now. There would obviously be panic stricken people who would kill for a bottle of water... (St. Louis can compare it to the reactions of people during our blackout. Jesus.) During a crisis, people freak out. So, imagine a time when you turn on your TV and the President is telling everyone, "Please be calm, we are working on a solution."

And I'm sure this wasn't some sudden crisis. I mean, people today are talking about the water problem. I watched a short clip narrated by Leonardo Dicaprio, which explained how unique our water system is... okay it was really corny. But, if this guy is worried about it -

I should post that video. It's kind of stupid though.

Envision a drought that starts today. No more rain. And in twenty years, it will be Urinetown (the musical) the year 2027.

First the price of water will rise. Only the rich will be able to afford clean, pure, bottled water.
The price of anything that contains water will rise. Hell, without water, the workers in most of the factories can't do their job - so all prices rise. And the plague of unemployment begins.

People will move and set up camps around lakes and rivers. They drain those out pretty fast.
Those who still have some money will move to Alaska and Switzerland... they still have some water... right?

Meanwhile, in order to save our country, the president puts out the WPA (water preservation act) and the PHA (Public Health Act), obviously copying off of President Roosevelt's solution to his depression (TVA, CCC, WPA... sound familiar?)

President whoever (hopefully not a descendant of Bush) hires scientists to do research to help save the dehydrated and dying nation. They come up with the bare minimum amount of water that one can have daily to survive. The WPA will put a stop to the hoarding of water and the many who have started fires on the coasts, trying to boil the salt out of their supply. The WPA controls the water supply of the country.

The PHA was enacted to provide a safe way to recycle this water. Because of the drought, we can no longer depend on the cycle of rain to help recycle our water. So, anytime somebody goes in the bushes water is wasted. What goes in must come out and be recycled and accounted for. So, a company (formally known as the Walmart corporation) takes control of this task and builds public amenities all over the country.

And the Urine Good Company now controls the lawmakers and the law enforcement.

Then the show begins...

That's all I have for now. I hope to post more soon (or Scott will beat me.)

Well, back to work. The morning rush is on...

The water shortage is a very big problem in our world - especially Australia

2007-04-12T12:19:00.000-07:00

Droughts can make people go insane!

I'm glad this guy isn't my neighbor...

I can't think of anything clever... sorry.

2007-04-10T09:25:00.000-07:00

So, we had our very first rehearsal yesterday. I actually started this post last night and didn't finish it... Then I realized today that everyone else has started blogging. I'm such a fucking procrastinator.

But, before I get into that - let me introduce myself. I'm Trisha. I am 22 years old. I go to Fontbonne University where I will be graduating in the fall. I have blogged before on my myspace page, but I don't think anyone ever reads those posts. I'm kind of nervous because I think people will actually read this thing. Hmm. I'll try to use correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation. (Does this thing have spell check?... ... ... Oh good.)

And I ramble quite a lot... and go into many different tangents, which kind of makes me think I have ADD, but maybe that's just how I was raised.

You'll have to bear with me.

And Katie's blog is so awesome! So, if I disappoint you - go check out Katie's blog.

Anyway, I go to Fontbonne University (or as I call it, FU) and I've taken practically every theatre class that they offer. So, I was running out of things to take for credit and I saw that we can get credit interning with a theatre company... Thank god.

I was introduced to New Line as an audience member... I met their oh-so-talented-and-bad-ass-looking guitar player while stage managing Fontbonne's Batboy. Sparks flew, I brought home the guitar player, and then I realized that he wasn't as "bad ass" as I thought he was... He turned out to be a real big nerd. Funny, cuz I'm a really big nerd too... So, yeah.

Ironically, I was supposed to come see New Line's first Batboy because my substitute teacher was in it. I believe she said, "You should totally come see this awesome musical I'm in..." And I was totally going to go. Unfortunately, I had to assistant stage manage my high school show.

SO. My first experience with New Line was with The Robber Bridegroom. I LOVED IT. I nearly peed my pants watching it. I can still remember Jeffrey Pruett wandering through the house getting attacked by forest animals. I didn't even know squirrels could hiss! Wow. It was so fucking hilarious.

And meanwhile, I'm trying to get a degree and wondering where I fit in with this so-called-major of mine. I've always had a blast working on the technical side in theatre. It was high school where I got my taste for directing. I took a directing class and became addicted. My senior year, I directed The Great Pandemonium with my friend and we won "Best Directors".

But, that shit doesn't count. It's high school.

I'm not sure what I was thinking going to college for a performing arts degree. I mean, how the fuck am I supposed to make a living on that?

That's why I answer 911 calls. It's a really crappy job but, I rock at it, I'm in high demand, and it pays the bills.

See. I'm rambling.

Ok. So, then I kept going to see the New Line shows because a.) It was different. b.) It was shocking c.) It rocked. And d.) My boyfriend was the guitarist... duh.

And like a year goes by and then THEY NEED A LIGHT BOARD OPERATOR.

Hells yeah.

I brush up on my lighting technician skills. Get over my fear of a fifteen foot ladder. And try and do the best damn job I can.

I do this for a couple more shows and even get promoted to "food wrangler".

And I have never EVER worked for a company whose members got along so well. Any time I would do a show with a couple of the other companies that I worked for - I'm just not going to mention any names - there were always idiots who would treat the techies like dirt or the techies would fuck up the show to get back at the actors. Then you had actors that refused to work with other actors and things not getting done in time which would make the actors pissy... it was a fucking mess. Scott Miller must hold some kind of secret that makes everyone play together so well. Wait, could it be the - weed?

Anyway, by watching New Line's shows, I realized the type of theatre I want to do. I want to shock the audience. I want to make the audience think. I want to offend them. This is what New Line does. And I need to learn how.

As for the musical theatre part, it's been a long time since I've been involved non-technically. I've taken musical theatre classes a long, long, time ago. I don't have a beautiful voice - the only time you'll hear me sing is for my playstation 2 game Karaoke Revolution (which I really want to see what trained professionals think of it - I'll have to bring it to a cast party or something). I love musicals, especially rock musicals. I was exposed to Rent when I was twelve - pretty early to be exposed to Rent, but whatever. This is my favorite. I will direct it someday. It actually hit me on a much deeper level because it was around that time that my Mom had cancer. So, the lesson is to live each day as it was your last and I abide by that.

Annnnnnnnnnyway. So, that's where it puts me. I'm here to learn.

Hopefully, Scott will give me a good grade.

More later!