Thursday, August 20, 2009

We Have Broken Through!

As of today, we have finished blocking the entire show, from curtain to curtain. Well, I guess there is an extra 2 curtains in there for intermission (or what I like to call "halftime"). I suppose I'll never shake my soccer roots!

We are moving so much faster than we did last summer with the show. It is mostly because the creative team has such a better idea of what they want this time, so we spend a little less time "reinventing the wheel" so to speak. We kept what works and spend the time on the new changes. Interestingly, it seems that we spend the most time on some of the smallest sections: transitions, short chorus crosses, adding in the new words to the same song 10 times or more! This morning we spent almost 2 hours on a short "dance" that Laura and I have at the end of the show. In reality, this section will only be about 20 seconds long. But, we wanted to try some new things. Whatever we end up with, I hope I can do it 8 times a week for almost a year! Those are the kinds of things you have to keep in mind when you are creating a long running show. It may be cool and fun in the moment, but after 5 months..1 year...you can regret creating that "cool" moment. hah!

Now we will begin finessing, smoothing all the rough edges, and clearing up the story as best we can. As I think I said before, everyone is really taking the changes very easily. I don't anticipate and meltdowns...yet :)

Onto tomorrow to "turn that prairie gold!"

11 comments:

  1. Good Morning!

    The whole show sounds so promising. It is unbelievable, how fast you are. Just begun and almost completed now, so that you can devote yourselves to the details.
    It is really a long time, which you are away and you all must play the same show day for day. It surely gets very exhaustingly and with safety you feel quickly the routine, so that the tension maybe gets a little less?! But surely it also becomes a quite wonderful year - although it is only 10 months, or not? 10 months sound fundamentally better - for us here in Germany! ;)
    The long time surely will require a lot of strength and courage of you. But there will be also joy and new adventures at the same year.

    It will be to the joy of the audience that you all things work out into the last detail.
    Even if you are working now on a scene at the time of 2 hours, which lasts later only a couple of seconds - in the brevity is the seasoning and the audience will love exactly these scenes and thank you for it!! :)

    Which meaning has soccer for you? You already mentioned your soccer legs and now again the reference to your possible passion?! Have you used to play soccer? If it is so - you played only for the fun, or did you have the sports correctly professional?

    Have a good start in the weekend,
    Julia

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  2. Yeeehaaa Kevin! (sorry for choosing this kind of expression, but I´m also infected with that Facebook Game "Farm Ville" *g*)

    Once again, than you for sharing your experience with us. It is always a plesure to read, what´s going on and what you are thinking.

    I can´t wait for the final result of this project and how the audience will see it.

    Kind regards,

    Franka

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  3. Hey Kevin,
    wow, really fast work. Must be very nice to have so much time for details and finessing, that will increase the quality, don't you think? I'm shure the audience will love it.
    Kira, Krissi and me, we were on a musical- open air festival this weekend, with anton and 5 other singers. It was really great.
    I hope, you all have enjoyed your weekend, too,
    Marietta

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  4. Yeah Marietta,
    I saw the pictures on Krissi´s facebook page. Looks like a lot of fun!
    The day before "Dinslaken" we had a Tarzan BBQ at Kerstin´s house, we had a great time, too!
    We had "some" Caipirinhas, a lot to eat and we were singing and playing guitar......... :)
    Fränky and me had to rehearsal for the street-singing and I think together with Tonia, we couldn´t rescue from money!!! *g*

    I hope you also had a great weekend, Kevin and could relax a little bit.
    It sounds great that you´re moving on so fast! Maybe you have some spare time between rehearsals and the actual musical-tour , that you can come to Hamburg and do a saturday martinée at Tarzan.........haha
    It was just a joke! :P

    I wish everyone a wonderful new week,
    Kirsten*

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  5. Hi Kevin!

    Thanks for your Add on myspace!
    Well,you should have listened to our singing at the BBQ,it wasn't bad at all!!!
    I`m seriously thinking about to apply for the role of "Jane" next year.
    Okay,therefore I have to loose some weight,otherwise the swing would fall down while I'm singing "Auf einmal".*Do I hear some sneering laughing?*

    Hope,everything is fine with you!

    Take care,
    Tonia

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  6. Yes, as Tonia has already said- we are rehearsing for the next Tarzan Cast change at the moment... :p
    I´ll do the spider- and I don´t even need a costume... :D

    By the way, thank you for the Myspace add ;-)

    Franka (Fränky- my new name :p)

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  8. Hey Kevin!
    I finally made my way through your blog and here is my first commment! Yiipiiiee :-)
    I'm happy that you want to share your experiences with us, and it is so excited to read about it.
    I am sad that I have never met you in Hamburg, but I was only one time in Tarzan and that was on 28th January...
    But now it is great, because here, I can find out more about you. I heard many positive things about you, from the other girls, like Kirsten, Julia, Mella and so on ;-)

    Greetings
    Janine

    P.S.: I hope my english is not sooo bad :-D

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  9. Oh yeah! The BBQ was great. Like Tonia and Franka said, we are preparing for the castchange at Tarzan. Maybe I will do the young Tarzan :P I like Kirsten's idea: you're coming for a saturday matinee show *hehe* ;)
    Hope you've had a great weekend too.
    Lots of greetings Kerstin

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  10. Hello Kevin,

    as Marietta already said, we were in Dinslaken on Saturday. By the way, Ana Milva was one of the other singers.
    It was really great atmosphäre, also the singers were in a good mood. You could see how happy they were, not to have such a stress like for big and expensive shows. Little accidents were taken with laughter and applause.
    So Kevin, if you need some diversion and neue Flora doesn't need a compensatory tarzan, come to Dinslaken on 12.8.2010 (Its is even nearer for Julsch)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjl4_zLf7Mc&feature=channel

    hugs Kira
    Translation:Marietta

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  11. welcome aboard Janine! As you'll find, my English is probably poorer than yours...so don't worry :)

    I hope all your rehearsals for the cast change in Tarzan go well. Good luck with the Spider, Franka!

    J, I did play soccer growing up. I played other sports, but that was my favorite. I especially loved indoor soccer.

    Thanks for posting the youtube of the Dinslaken concert. I'm proud of Anton. That's my boy!

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