Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Opening Night!

It's late & I'm oh so tired, but I just wanted to share these images of our final dress rehearsal before opening Les Mis tomorrow night. I took over 400 shots. I will get more up soon.






Sunday, September 26, 2010

I won the lottery!

Well, ok, maybe not, but I sure feel like it! After a 13 hour work day, a birthday party for my sister-in-law (doesn't look 50, does she?!), and a long rehearsal for the musical all day Saturday, I stopped off to get some things I needed for the show. 


...this is where it gets good...

I found these great drawer knobs for only $1 each! I got 6 for my son's new furniture in his bedroom at the new house we are buying.

...here's where it gets great....

I found these baskets, complete with little black-boards to label the contents of each basket in a fun way, & they are the perfect color for my workroom in the new house...on sale at 40% off!

...here's where it gets AMAZING...

When the baskets rang up they came up for ONE CENT EACH! I got $50 of merchandise for only 2 cents! Well, how could I be anything but excited? My first purchase for the new house and it was practically FREE! Now I'm about to start the longest week of the school year...the week we open the musical. That means 4 hours of rehearsals after school each day Mon-Wed, followed by show nights Thursday - Saturday & not getting home until midnight. It's a good thing I like what I do, & that this particular musical is so AMAZING! 



Now, to pass the savings on to you....post a comment on this blog and share the love by telling others about it on your blogs, Facebooks, Twitters, etc.... then come back here & let me know what you did & where with another comment. Print out the blog post & bring it to the show for a discount on your tickets!

Sunday, September 19, 2010

M&M's & a new house.

I have been participating in a 15 day challenge to shoot a subject commercial product style for 15 days. It's been fun, but with everything going on (the musical, the new house, etc...) it has been a far bigger challenge than I expected! With a daily deadline to have the entry posted by 9pm, I have to start setting it up as soon as I get home from the 12 hour day at work if I want to get it edited & posted in time. I like doing these challenges because it keeps the creative energy flowing & forces me to think outside the box. Great brain workout!

The new house is exciting. The current owners have great taste & as they move on to better things for themselves we get the honor of taking over the responsibility of keeping that beautiful house alive with a new story to tell as the years begin to unfold for us in our new life there. I took lots of pictures so I can start planning how we will set up our own lifestyle there. The wide-angle lens makes the place look bigger than it really is, but it is pretty!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

So many posts, so little time!

I have plans to post the latest about the new house purchase, the musical, & my latest photo challenge. I don't know where to begin, so I'll make the choice to share updates on the musical first.

We open Les Mis in less than two weeks, we still need an orchestra, but the company is working hard & doing an amazing job! I wish you could hear them sing! Once it opens I will post a few highlights from the show, videos. I am stunned at the multitude of amazing voices in this show & I am moved to tears each day at rehearsal. When the lights are up, the fog is rolling in, the costumes are gliding across the boards, then all in the world will be right! Our music director, John Branch, & his accompanist, Anita, have done a great job setting the stage with the voices, and I strive daily to match their standards in my staging of the show. I hope these images move each of you reading this blog to come see out show if you are in the area!

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Life in the Theatre as the New Guy

Having time to post in my blog will become far more difficult for a few weeks. Besides being in the early stages of buying a new house, I am busy directing a musical for the high school.

Every new school year brings new students. Young, eager, fearful, and occasionally mature enough to know how dive in & get involved. Things are coming along well. The set should be ready to paint sometime this week, the lights are getting hung & focused, and now it's time to work on costumes.

Rehearsals yesterday were quite productive, if not accident free. There is something wonderful about sitting in a dark theatre with young actors on stage singing away, while the sound of power saws comes humming beautifully from the scene shop. How many parents of teenagers can say they are not worried because they know where their kids are after school? These teenagers love what they do & they do it well. One new student in particular, Chris, works hard on crew doing whatever needs to be done without being told to do it.

This morning I arrived to the theatre thinking I would work quietly by myself getting some work on the costumes done. When I arrived Chris was there, sweeping the theatre house, picking up trash, and working away in the unairconditioned school all by himself. He even brought donuts!

He worked away on the set while I took care of some costumes & props, and when the classes resume Monday morning for another week of long hours & hard work things will be a little bit farther along thanks to Chris...the new guy in theatre.