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Thursday, January 29, 2009

Shining a Light on Jim Hutchison

Jim Hutchison is a lighting designer and tech with many years' experience in the entertainment lighting industry who recently moved to the Denver area.
More importantly, he is a frequenter of my blog, so I wanted to direct you all to his blog Jim On Light, which is, to use Jim's own words, "a blog about light - lighting, light and art, lighting devices, lighting control, lighting fixtures, lighting concepts, and anything else that deals with light as its medium."
We have a lot of really great designers here in the Denver area (Jen Orf's design for PHAMALY's Steel Magnolias is particularly impressive), but I think it's great to have a fresh perspective from another area come into town. There is a tendency to stay with the known and reliable for reasons of comfort, but, like any form of design, new faces are important to the local industry. Jim, of course, has a lengthy resume that should help assuage any concerns as well. And, again, he does read my blog.
I hope that you will stop in at his blog, and, if you're in need of a designer, reach out for his perspective.
Welcome, Jim. I hope you like our little city.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Branching Out: Hello, Seattle

I know there are a few of you in the Pacific Northwest who read my blog already, and perhaps there are a few more out there, so I wanted to let you readers in the Seattle area know that one of our Rocky Mountain directors is branching out with a production in the shadow of the Space Needle. (Yes, I know that there actually has to be sunshine for there to be a shadow -- just roll with it.)
Bernie Cardell, one of the Front Range's busiest directors, has been commuting between cities to direct Three Viewings, which will open January 16th and runs through February 7th. The three-part play will also feature recent Colorado transplant to Seattle Mari Geasair reprising her role from the 2004 Denver production. (I saw it. You definitely want to catch it.)
For more information, check out the Cheshire Cat Theatre website.
Bernie's next Colorado project, for my local readers, will be Once Upon a Mattress (one of my all-time favorites) in February for the Longmont Theatre Company.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Gettin' PAID

Hello, my rosy-faced little cherubs. The Big Bad Wolf stumbled upon one little piggy sitting nice and cozy in his brick theatre lobby during this cold, cold, blow-your-house down time for theatres around the country.
Whoah, I think I strained myself a little on that metaphor. Hang on, let me walk it off for a second.
Okay, back to business. So, we know that theatres are having a bit of a rough time pulling in dollars this year. The 42-year-0ld Magic Theatre in San Francisco is running a $350,000 deficit, a dinner theatre in Ohio just closed, and a number of theatres around the country (including here in the Front Range) have been feeling a bit of a pinch.
This is why eyebrows were raised a bit recently when it was disclosed that Joe Dowling, director of the Guthrie Theater in the Twin Cities was paid a salary of $682, 229 this last year.
The story is here in the Star Tribune.
Now, believe it or not, folks, I'm not really sure what to think about this. Some folks in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area are up in arms about this because of the disparity between Dowling's salary and those in his position in other cities.
On the other hand, that's just a fraction of what some high-powered executives, movie stars, and professional athletes make.
What do you think, gang?
Here's a recent video podcast tour of the Guthrie from the Mile High City's own John Moore of the Denver Post.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Phantom of the Opera, Part Deux

Every time I've mentioned this when out and about, I am met with exclamations of disbelief. Well, for those naysayers, here's your proof. Andrew Lloyd-Webber is really working on a sequel to the long-running and highly-lucrative West End, Broadway, and all-around worldwide hit stage production, The Phantom of the Opera.
The sequel is currently titled Phantom: Love Never Dies. Rejected alternate titles include: Phantom - Beating a Dead Horse, and Well, One Can Never Own Too Many Castles. (Yes, I did make up that last part, thanks for playing.)

I don't know what to say about this one, folks, but, if it's a success, we can probably expect to see eight sequels to Cats.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Local Gem

Hey, gang, there's a nice article about the Denver Vic in The Denver Post, if you get a chance. Currently running at the Vic is Educating Rita, featuring Wade Wood and Rita Broderick directed by Rick Bernstein. That's a whole lot of talent all in one place.

Since this is a short entry, I'll share one of my favorite theatre quotes with you:

"I personally would like to bring a tortoise onto the stage, turn it into a racehorse, then into a hat, a song, a dragoon and a fountain of water. One can dare anything in the theatre and it is the place where one dares the least." - Eugene Ionesco




Friday, January 2, 2009

I received an e-mail the other day from Scott Kadera of the Fort Lewis College Department of Theatre in Durango, Colorado.
Fort Lewis will be hosting this year's Rocky Mountain Theatre Association (RMTA) Festival, and Scott asked if I would mind mentioning it here on the old blog.
So, here is the information that Scott sent to me:

DURANGO, CO – Every year the Rocky Mountain Theatre Association (RMTA) brings the best and brightest of the region’s theatre world together for the RMTA Theatre Festival.

For the upcoming Festival, theatre students and professionals from Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Arizona and New Mexico will converge on Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO.

The Festival runs from February 4-7, 2009, and is open to anyone interested in the performing arts. Prices start at just $55 for all four days, plus optional workshop and audition fees. Registration is available at www.rmta.net. Register by December 31, 2008, and receive $10 off the Festival price.

The Festival at Fort Lewis College will offer workshops, performances, competitions and auditions in acting, dance, theatre design and technology. Just a few of the highlights are the Collaborative Dance Concert featuring dance companies from across the region, Metro State’s production of “A Chorus Line,” “Rabbit Hole” by Adams State, and a performance of “Glimpses…Portraits of the Soul: The Stories of our CCA Community” presented by the Community College of Aurora.

Two prominent presenters will be part of the Festival as well. First, Kari Margolis, creator of the Margolis Method™ of acting, will lead a workshop. Margolis is the co-artistic director of the Margolis Brown Adaptors Company in New York City. She has authored and directed productions that have toured across the United States, Europe, Mexico, Canada and Southeast Asia.

Second, John Flax, founding artistic director of Paris, France’s Theater Grottesco, will teach a masterclass on the physical aspects of performance.

You can read all you ever wanted to know about the festival in the latest Curtain Call, the official RMTA Newsletter. The December RMTA Curtain Call is now online. You can download it here: http://www.rmta.net/newsletter.php

It contains everything you need to know about our upcoming theatre festival and more.

Inside This Issue:

* Letter from the Host
* Letter from the President
* RMTA Board Members
* RMTA Organizational Members
* 2009 Festival Info
* Regional Showcase Winners
* Competition Awards & Sponsors
* Tentative Schedule of Events
* General Information
* Festival Lodging
* Master Teachers Spotlight
* Festival Host Contacts
* Presenter Biographies & Workshops
* About the Fort Lewis College Department of Theatre

Check it out today. http://www.rmta.net/newsletter.php

What? You still don't have enough information?

Call or email me:

Scott R. Kadera
Media Coordinator/Administrative Assistant
Department of Theatre
Fort Lewis College
1000 Rim Drive
Durango, CO 81301

Ph: 970-247-7089
Email: kadera_s@fortlewis.edu

So, okay, there you go. Sounds like a fun and festive time. Here, too, is a link to the City of Durango's website.
I recommend that you stop in at Gazpacho's at least once while you're there.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

A New Year

Welcome to 2009, my little red-hooded cherubs.
As you can see I have updated the look here for the new year. (Thanks to all-about-wolves.com for the photo. You can click on the photo to go to their site if you want.)
Often this is a time for looking back and reflecting upon the events of the last year: the triumphs, the tragedies, the losses, the successes.
So I would like to take a moment to do that now, and I invite you to join me, if you would like.
Ready? Okay, here we go.
. . .
Okay. Everybody done? Okay, we'll wait a moment for Terry Dodd to finish. (That guy had a busy year.)
Hello, 2009. The Big Bad Wolf has come a knockin'. Don't make me come through the chimney . . .