Dress Rehearsal and Opening Night!

Well, as always, dress rehearsal and opening night go by in the blink of an eye. I'm always amazed at how things really do always come together in the end and yesterday was no exception. (it does help to have an amazing production team who you trust immensely!)

We started our day at 10:30am when we met at the theatre to go through notes from the technical run with Lesandra and Lisa. To give you a sense of how the chain reaction has continued until the very last moment, both of them were still making considerable adjustments right before the dress rehearsal. This can be stressful on the performers as you really want to feel that the piece is somewhat settled in your brain and body before the show opens, but at the same time you really want to fulfill the vision of the choreographer and need to trust that the changes are for the good of the piece. I didn't have a ton of mind-altering changes, but Mel and Carolle had lots to think about and I think they both did amazing to assimilate and experiment on the fly.

Overall, the dress rehearsal went well, with only a few minor hitches. Personally, I always like a few things to go wrong because it rattles you a little bit and then you're all the more focused for the real show.

After the dress rehearsal, we said goodbye to Lesandra who was driving back to Fredericton. Unfortunately, she couldn't stay for the show, but it was so great to have her theatre for the tech and to get some final notes on the piece. It always makes the piece fresher when the choreographer reminds you of some of the original nuances that may have been lost in the rehearsal process. I also rushed off to pick up the programs before the printer closed. Can't have a show without a program!

At 5:30pm, we all met back at the theatre to prepare for the show. After make-up, warm-up, review of the changes from the morning, and a pre-show set up, we were ready to share the show with an audience!

Things went smoothly and the show was well received by a very receptive audience. Following the show, we held a reception that was superbly decorated and co-ordinated by my mom and Alicia's mom, Irene with a crew of volunteers. We're so lucky to have such incredible moms and a network of supporters who are so generous with their time and effort.

My day started early when I drove Rebecca to the airport this morning at 7:30am and it was sad to see her go. I wish she was staying for the whole run of the show. She has been so amazing to work with and her lighting is awesome. I know we'll work together again soon. I took some photos during the dress rehearsal from backstage, but they might be a bit dark to see anything.

We're off to do a photo shoot at the theatre with Holly this afternoon and then two more shows. Hard to believe that our season is almost at an end. Bitter sweet...

Sara

Huge Tech Day at the Dunn

So...a very long tech day today. We started at 9am and went right until 10pm! Cue to Cue with the lights and sound, running each piece with the cues...then a final tech run of the entire show at 8:30ish. The lights look great and things went very smoothly today. Rach arrived with some new costumes....things are really coming together now and we're ready to open tomorrow!

Dealing with a bit of nerves now with my solo, so I thought I'd be honest about that and write about it. I guess I'm dealing with the combination of lights (slightly disorienting), adrenaline and a technically challenging solo. I plan to eat a banana right before the dress and show tomorrow to see if this helps....it's supposed to calmn the adrenaline rush. I'll let you know how that goes. I'm also going to try some deep/centreing breathing to lower my heart rate slightly (recommended by my opera singing sister Erin who has actually taken whole courses on this stuff).

Here are a few pics from the theatre today....Hope you can make it to the show....we open tomorrow!!
Also - here's the link to a lovely article in today's Herald! http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/ArtsLife/1057103.html

Our photographer extraordinaire Holly (front row at the Dunn), choreographer Lisa Phinney and company member Sarah Rozee watch the tech run. Note the Sarg's special brief case sitting in the front row to the right....he can fix anything with this box of tricks!

Mel and choreographer Lesandra Dodson work on some final details during the warmup before our tech run tonight....something about a lightening flash!

Here's Sarg and our crew chief Deb hanging something that I won't give away...you'll need to come to the show to see it.

Given The Circumstances Opens in TWO DAYS!

We're in production this week for our home season mainstage, "Given the Circumstances", which is set to open on Thursday! Production week began on Sunday at the Sir James Dunn. Our lighting designer Rebecca Picherack arrived from Toronto for a full day of hanging and focusing the lights.
We spent the "holiday" Monday in the studio. It was a doozy - we started at 8:30 working on some final changes with choreographer Lisa Phinney for her duet; ballet bar at 9:30; more work with Lisa at 10:15; cleaning rehearsal with our rehearsal director Catherine Walker at 11:00 and an interview with the Herald over lunch at 12:00. The afternoon was spent running the entire show for Rebecca. It felt great to do the four pieces in a row and get a sense of how the evening will feel. It feels like a FULL show....lots of dancing and lots of emotion!
The whole process for this show has been so interesting. You may know this already, but we decided to make the 4 works in sequence like a chain reaction. Each choreographer in the chain used the previous works as inspiration (in whatever way they wanted) for their own creation. The works are connected in a number of ways. The "reactions" have continued to evolve over the last month as we returned to the process and made final changes! Last Friday we had an in-studio showing for some invited guests who were asked to provide feedback.....and some final changes came out of that showing.
Today was spent partly at the studio and partly at the Dunn while Rebecca and Sarg (that's Marcel - our tech director - see previous posts) continued with the focus and levels for lights and worked out other technical details. It was also spent partly on the administrative details that go along with producing/presenting your own show! (i.e. finishing the program, making a plan for the photo shoot that will happen this week, final postering efforts, etc....) Tomorrow will be the first full day in the theatre for the dancers (9:00am - 10pm).....can't wait. The Dunn really feels like a second home for us and we're anxious to get settled in the theatre!!
I'll try to take some pics tomorrow and we'll let you know how it goes!
Have you got your tickets yet???
CC

Post show Post

Well, it really was a fantastic run! We so enjoyed dancing this new work by Susie Burpee. Thanks to everyone who came to see us, and for all your feedback and response!

The shows on Saturday and Sunday went very well. Sunday was a particularly nice house of people (I think that there was a lot going on last weekend and lots of people had to wait until Sunday). Sunday was also a very emotional performance for us....the last one. We all felt that the shows were over too quickly. With such a physically and emtionally demanding/satisfying work....we were craving more performances. I could have had a few days off and then another run of 4 shows!! (my meniscus says otherwise)

I spent my down-time after Sunday in a bit of a post-show daze - a bit sad that it was over. Iced some parts. Went to physio for my knee. Saragan spent her time eating.....her body still thinks she's going to put it through the paces, so it's storing up! Lishe and Sarah spent some quality time with their babies.

We know that this work will have a life in the future and we look forward to dancing it again soon! We feel so fortunate to have had this experience with Susie.

So, what's up next for us?? Our Home Season Mainstage is only about 4 weeks away!! We're back in the studio preparing for "Given the Circumstances" - at the Sir James Dunn Theatre May 22-24th. Don't worry - you'll be seeing posters and flyers very soon for this one! We'll be doing another full week of bloggin' for this production. So stay tuned for more Moblog.
CC.