The Show's Closed

Congratulations to everyone on a terrific run and thanks for coming to see the show.

Party! We're open.

Well last night was when it all comes together; the hours of memorizing, rehearsing, standing around, stressing, and having fun all unite and the show opens. Opening is very exciting because the audience is friends and family, reviewers, artistic directors, agents, etc. Basically everyone you want to impress. But like a soldier going to war you've got to put all that behind you and rely on your training and what you spent four weeks rehearsing. Thankfully there's always a party afterwards where you can unwind. This is the most "celebrity blog" this blog will get.

My girlfriend liked the show So did my mom I think my dad liked the show too (he's drinking my beer)The party was at the Firehall and it was packed. Everyone had a great time.

Congratulations to everybody on a great opening; Let's have a great run.

Backstage at Preview

Yesterday's preview went really well with a big audience who seemed to love the show. Well of course they loved it; it was free. Today is the real test: a paying audience. Not to mention mom, dad and girlfriend are coming. Here are some pics from backstage during the preview.

The swords are laid out and ready to go. James and Meghan wait patiently to go on. You have to be really quiet backstage because even a whisper can be heard in the audience.

James and I scramble for our quick change with help from Sydney.

Stay tuned for photos of the opening night party! Woo Hoo.

Lights! Costumes! Set!

Well we've gone into the space and for the last few days we've been teching the show; adding all the costumes, make up, lights and sounds to finally make the show a show.

Josue Laboucane on the set I play the Jailer and there's my jailer gate Sydney Cavanah puts on Meghan Kinlsey's skull prosthetic The lovely Cherise Clarke under all the lights Georgina Beaty waits back stage to solve any problems Tonight is the free preview and we'll have our first audience to see the show. Very exciting.

Costumes!

Yesterday costume diva Mara Gottler and her assistant Sydney Cavanah came with beautiful costumes for us to try on.

• I suggested the sunglasses but they got turned down; not period enough.
• Meghan Kinsley, Anna Hagan, and Cherise Clarke look hot in a 16th century kind of way.
• Sydney helps Josue Laboucane with a quick change during a run. The quick changes are rehearsed like a dance so they'll run smoothly during the show and the actor won't miss their cue.
  

Today was our first look at the actual theatre. You can see the lighting folk are hard at work hanging up the lights. It's hard work carrying heavy lights up and down those ladders. Stay tuned cause next up are pictures of the set with lights and colour.

The Revengettes

Although the show doesn't have a live musical accompaniment, some sound effects and music is provided by the lovely voices of Anna Hagan and Cherise Clarke. They have a real good time together. In other news: costumes arrived, stay tuned for images.

Take Note

At this stage of rehearsing, a week before preview, we do a lot of "runs", where we just run the whole play or large sections without all the technical wizardry that will be added later with costumes and props. At the end of these runs everyone gets their notebooks out and gathers to get notes from the director. Then Jimmy flips through his notebook of notes that he took during the run and lets them fly. Anna Hagan writes fast. Some actors get sulky if they get a particularly mean note. But in the end it's all about making the show better.

Rehearsing a Scene

I promised you real actors acting so here it is. Here's how a scene is put together. Director James Fagan Tait watches as the scene is played with what was set in an earlier rehearsal. He runs in and changes some stuff around. They do it again. Jimmy and Rachel Peake, assistant to the director confer. Actors James Pizzinato and Anna Hagan watch and wait for their turn. Jimmy makes more changes and they play out the scene again until someone is happy or until it's time for lunch. This week the production moves closer to the performance space and begins to rehearse at the Firehall rehearsal space. Stay tuned for images from the Firehall... Here's a great action shot to leave you out on. (Don't worry no one got hurt in the making of that)

Coffee! Yes Coffee!

One of the most important aspects of rehearsing a show is the coffee. So this entry is dedicated to Georgina Beaty, our Assistant Stage Manager and coffee barrista. A little water......and some grounds. =happy groggy actors ready to act their hearts out. Without coffee, and our assistant stage manager there would be no show. Also strange props just keep coming... The Blog returns on Tuesday with more exciting posts.

Actor's Stab!

Well I promised you real actors acting but I've done you one better; real actors stabbing. It was stab day today, with the show's writer, David Bloom putting on his fight coordinator hat and choreographing one of the shows more bloody sequences. Here actors Michael Eisner and James Pizzinato first get to know their weapons. Michael tries to do some kind of lame twirly trick with his knife. And he gets stabbed in the back for his trouble by James. Enough fooling around, It's time for David Bloom to step in and show them how it's done. Then James has a go. A lot of people get stabbed. Also today this weird prop arrived. Stay tuned for more....