Here's a teaser for our new play Bear Country starting Jan. 9th! Tickets make a great last minute gift!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Bear Country Teaser
Monday, December 22, 2008
The Costumes of Bear Country
By Beth Novak, Costume Designer for Bear Country
Bear Country is a play that takes place over a 50+ year span of time dramatizing important moments both real and imagined in the life of Coach Bear Bryant. There is a cast of only four actors, one who plays Coach Bryant at the end of his career looking back on his life; one who plays Coach Bryant throughout his life; and two who play all of the other important people that populated his life during important decision making and life changing moments. The mature Bryant wears only one iconic outfit – instantly recognizable to anyone. The other three actors have close to thirty different looks, some that have to happen in just seconds. The creative team (director, designers) decided to take a somewhat presentational approach to the costumes.
The play is written in a fluid style with scenes bleeding into scenes and actors changing characters within the context of a scene. If we tried to create completely different visual statements for each character the production would run the risk of becoming a frantic “fashion” show which could actually be more intrusive than helpful. We chose to use very realistic “period” clothing pieces to enhance the time, place and character of each scene of the play, but also chose not to attempt extremely detailed changes (wigs, facial hair, body padding, etc). Thus, an actor that plays two coaches during the late 1920’s and early 1930’s wears the same pants and shoes, but changes his jacket and adds a hat for one of the coaches.
We all recognized from the very beginning of the project that we would have to be especially true to the details of Coach Bryant’s life because we are in the heart of “Bear” country and there is an enormous amount of common knowledge about him and his story. But we are also fortunate to have fantastic resources at our fingertips. So, in addition to book research, I have been to the
An important element of the visual story is the “period” football paraphernalia from the 1920’s, 30’s and 1970’s. We found a company in Los Angeles that rents authentic athletic costumes for movies, TV and commercials and they have much of what we need in their stock. In addition they are building other special items just for us. These uniforms (helmets, shoes, jerseys, padding, etc) greatly enhance the authentic feeling that we are trying to create for our production of Bear Country.
Bear Country Set (pt. 2)
As promised, part two of the Bear Country set build!
The crew tapes out the hashmarks on the field.
A Ghost! Not really, though we are rumored to have a few ghosts running around the theatre.
The last few panels for the stadium, here being dried before installation.
The stadium is a series of large panels that carry the perspective of being in the crowd at a game.
Spot the crew member in the light grid! One of our brightest ideas (haha) was building a light grid using airline wire. This lets the crew walk out and set the lights and the wires don't cast shadows on the action below.
The infamous tower. Coach Bryant would spend the practice up in the tall metal tower watching his team below. Woe to the person that caused him to climb down before a practice was over.
A door to nowhere? (Or an entrance/exit for the actors.)
That's the last post for the set of Bear Country. They're almost done with it and I'm not allowed to take photos once it is completed, so if you want to see the final version call 334-271-5353 -or- 1-800-841-4273 or visit www.asf.net to purchase tickets to fantastic show. Better hurry, tickets are going quickly!
That's the last post for the set of Bear Country. They're almost done with it and I'm not allowed to take photos once it is completed, so if you want to see the final version call 334-271-5353 -or- 1-800-841-4273 or visit www.asf.net to purchase tickets to fantastic show. Better hurry, tickets are going quickly!
The Scene At ASF
Hiya! Don't forget that The Scene party is on January 16th here at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. We'll have live music by Lance Brown, food, drinks, and highlights from Paul Bryant's career at UA. Top it off with a 7:30 showing of the new play Bear Country and you'll have a great night of football, friends, and fun!
Tickets are going quickly for this show so if you want to come to the party then call 334-271-5353 -or- 1-800-841-4273 -or- email thescene@asf.net.
If you like to party and you like theatre, then this is your Scene!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Merry Christmas from ASF!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Today we had our Christmas Party with everyone gathering together in the front hall to eat a great lunch (some went with the traditional turkey but I went with the Southern favorite of pulled pork barbecue) and all kinds of sides and desserts. I managed to snap some pictures between visiting friends and enjoying lunch. It's picture time!
Even Shakespeare is festive!
A view from the balcony over the spread.
The line's starting for the food.
I didn't know Santa moonlighted! (hehe)
Kristi W, our sassy intern, poses for a picture.
Surprise picture!
Pretty posing!
Food and tickets!
Door prizes that were given away during the party. These are sure to raise everyone's spirits!
Eat, Drink, and be Merry! Father Christmas (aka Ghost of Christmas Present) would be proud!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Sideline Specials for Bear Country
The Men of Bear Country Offer You a Seat on The Sideline!
Our next production, Bear Country, a play about the great Paul "Bear" Bryant, is starting is a month here at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. In fact, the first rehearsal is this afternoon. I'll try to get a few photos so you can see the four amazing actors that we have for this production. In fact, the lead for Bear Country will be in rehearsals in as well as finishing up the last few weeks of A Christmas Carol: The Musical as the old miser Scrooge.
But the big news for today is that we've got a great special going on for this show called the Sideline Special. We're offering a discount on the seats in our 100 and 500 sections of the theatre, the "sidelines" where you buy one adult tickets and get the second for half price. You have to act fast, though, because this offer is only for the Tuesday and Wednesday shows in the first two weeks. So if you've been waiting to get your tickets then go ahead and give the box office a call at 1-800-841-4273 or visit the link at the side to buy online.
I'll be back with more fun pictures and another update on the Bear Bryant Set soon!
Friday, December 12, 2008
Christmas Carol Promo Extended!
More discounted tickets are available to our production of A Christmas Carol: The Musical for selected shows (this weekend and next at the 7:30pm shows mostly)! If you've been waiting to see the show then this is your moment! Call 1-800-841-4273 or visit www.asf.net for a great deal on your tickets to this amazing musical production.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Bear Bryant Set (pt. 1)
So the other day I was snooping down in the Scene Shop and came across parts of the set for Bear Country, the next play to be in our Octagon Theatre. I caught the boys laying down the astro turf and saw the plans to turn our thrust theatre into a football stadium. Here are the pictures I snapped while spying downstairs.
Here's a sample of what the set will look like. Sorry the flash washed it out a bit.
It's Bryant in his tower where he watched how the plays worked on the field. The designer does tons of research for each set.
A little blurry shot of placing the Astroturf. (The guys couldn't stop moving because of the tape!)
A Bird's Eye View!
A Bug's Eye View!
Since the football field starts at the 50 yard line, this ramp provides the perspective in the corner that the field continues down to the field goal.
The top of Bear Bryant's tower. This gave Coach Bryant a better view to watch practices and see how strategies were working.
Annnnnnd...Poof! The magic of the painting crew transforms a bit of Astroturf into a beautiful field!
"Action!Ramp" holds up the rest of the field and once everything is painted it'll look like our Octagon Stage holds half a football field.
That's all for now. Next time I'll have more photos of the set being assembled and hopefully will have lots of great shots from our Christmas Party next week. Last year someone proposed, I wonder what will happen this year.
Happy Holidays!
*edit*: The original picture of stairs were removed because they are part of another show. The correct stairs to the tower are pictured in Part 2 of the build for Bear Country.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Turntable for the Stage
For three shows in our 2008-2009 season (A Christmas Carol: The Musical, the Three Musketeers, and Les Miserables) our scene shop built a turntable to go on the Festival stage. It's installed right now and will go until next summer when we close the season and dismantle it. The turntable (think lazy susan) makes quick scene changes easier and sets up some dynamite blocking choices. Here's a quick podcast on how it was made!
Monday, November 24, 2008
First in about Bear Country
I recently sat down in a meeting with our COO, Mike Vigilant, who is also the author of our upcoming production of Bear Country am almost biopic of Bear Bryant, head football coach for the University of Alabama during a very successful and controversial time in the university's football program. Here's what he had to say about the play so far (I'm paraphrasing a bit):
The play is about like jazz, verbally, like a dance between the characters. There's four people playing about 15 different roles, so alot of very quick changes. The interaction between the actor playing Bear and the rest of the cast has the tempo and the style of jazz with the theme and variations throughout the memories. In fact, this play is supposed to make sense even if you were to take out the dialog and just have Bear telling his memories. We should have about 80% of the show done before rehearsals start, but since this is a first time production, the remaining 20% will come during the rehearsal process and everyone from the actors to the director start working on making this real.
As much as I love jazz, this sounds like an amazing play, and I don't even understand football! Tickets for Bear Country are on sale now and they make great Christmas gifts! Call 1-800-841-4273 to purchase today!
Intern Company: Adam Souza
Another intern interview! This time with Adam Souza. Enjoy!
Born: West Hartford, Connecticut.
Past Experience: Grew into theatre with a play here and there while growing up. Played Willy Wonka at 10. Lots of experience with music on different instuments like the piano, guitar, trombone; also played a bit of soccer and did competitive fencing (which is very different from stage combat!).
Siblings: one younger brother who's more business minded and in school to be a pro golf manager.
Schooling: New York University. Large school with a large drama program (Tisch School of the Arts) but still small enough to to have a good collegiate atmosphere.
Working with Charlotte's Web: It's changed the way that I look at children's theatre- what it means and the level of theatre. It is almost harder to perform for children because you always have to tell the truth. It requires a lot more work and energy because things are more important to kids. You have to approach kids with an open mind because if you don't connect then they tune you out; there's no sense of obligation for kids to pay attention to the story you are telling.
Everyone I've worked with on the show have been of such a high caliber and I'd love to work with Nancy again.
Dream Role of Rep: I'd love to be Athos in The Three Musketeers. Loved the book as a kid and have read it over and over, just to be a Musketeer would be great.
Classes and Teachers: I love how demanding the teachers are. They and the environment challenge you and force you to the next level. Denise [Gabriel, movement instructor] is great. It's hard at first to get your mind around what she's trying to point out in our body movements but when you do finally grasp it then it becomes this amazing and big thing that you've never given thought to before. Ray [Chambers] keeps so much info in his head and is always so precise. He's really committed to teaching a skill for everywhere, to empower the actor. Greta [Lambert] is all about nurturing the ability and talent of everyone. She creates an environment where you feel safe to take risks and push yourself.
Graduation: I have mixed feelings on this. I'm looking forward to taking the skills with me into job force but sad that we'll be leaving before Les Miz. We know it's coming up soon but there's so much between now and then that we haven't given it much thought.
Have you found "The Moment?": It varies project to project and is very difficult to find. I'm just now getting to the point where I can feel that true moment as an actor.
Future Dream Role: Macbeth to be sure, also Richard III, but it will be years before I'm age appropriate.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Straight from the Cast: Blog with Billy Sharpe
Billy Sharpe (Cratchit, A Christmas Carol: The Musical) checks in with a new blog about working (and playing) at ASF.
Sooooo, I was asked a couple of weeks ago to write a little something for the blog, and that is when anxiety and panic set in… what could I POSSIBLY have to say that would be of any interest to anyone? After much angst and confusion I am sitting down to write a TELL ALL about the cast of A Christmas Carol – The Musical… well, maybe NOT a TELL ALL… How about a TELL SOME…
It seemed that this group already started to play well together as they had a chance to mingle at Geoffrey’s house after the first day of rehearsal. I discovered that I had actually met one other cast member three years earlier at a Mexican restaurant in
The next day Jessica Blair, Mark Woodard, Will Ray and I started the tradition of Buffet Monday. We decided that every Monday we would find a different Buffet and use it as our grazing spot for lunch. So far, we have gone to
We have also had many other outings in addition to the Buffets!!! Some cast members/ASF MFA’s went to the Haunted Chicken House in
This cast is an AMAZING group of FUN and TALENTED people without a rotten apple in the bunch! I hope this gives you some insight into our activities so far, and I hope to have another entry to the “Times” in about a week!!!! Here is the Summer in the Glass Recipe:
1 can of Frozen Minute Maid Limeade (the large size not the small!) empty into blender
Fill the can almost to the top with vodka and add to blender
12 mint leaves in blender
Sooooo much ice that you think it is too much and then add one more ice cube
Blend/Mix/Liquefy until completely mixed… enjoy!!!!!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
A Christmas Carol Trailer
Enjoy and come see A Christmas Carol: The Musical now playing through Dec. 24th!
Check the link out to the side for ticket information or call 1-800-841-4273.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Be A Kid Again Promotion
We're running a promotion for A Christmas Carol: The Musical for the following dates:
11/18 @ 7.30pm
11/20 @ 7.30 pm
11/26 @ 2pm
Buy one full priced adult ticket and get the second for half price! That's $75.00 for two tickets this fabulous holiday musical; it's like Broadway has landed in Montgomery, Alabama. You can't beat this deal so bring your mate, date, family, and anyone else you'd like to share the magic of this Christmas story with, and help support the arts by loving what we do best, entertaining you!
Friday, November 14, 2008
A Christmas Carol Official Opening
Well, after a week of previews we are headed straight for the opening weekend of our newest production, A Christmas Carol: The Musical. This amazing show is full of Singing, Ghosts, Dancing, and Mutton Chops (that fun bit of facial hair that all the guys are running around with). It will make you laugh and cry, often at the same time, and really brings to life the Christmas spirit, with a side of silliness.
I have to warn you; this is not your grandparent's Christmas Carol.
The opening number itself is full of singing and dancing, and contains about three scenes within the musical number. Our sound and light crew hustle the entire time to keep up with the show's demands. The entire production lasts about 90 minutes, so you can see that it starts at a fast pace and never lets up. The group of actors play so many parts that they are constantly in new costumes, which are gorgeous, and their roles are so captivating. We have a whole group of ghosts who help to drive home Marley's message to scrooge and a line of "presents" that Christmas Present uses to help show Scrooge the joy of life. Check out the program to see exactly how many roles each actor plays.
And it is lovely.
The set is amazing with a turntable (watch for the podcast coming next week on how they built the turntable, complete with photo montage!) and beautiful London scenes. The costumes are absolutely lovely and make you wish for a real winter in the South. We've had, like, one freeze warning so far and it's almost Thanksgiving? This show is absolutely fabulous with each and every song and dance.
Scrooge, the character we all dislike in the beginning, but the one that most of us can connect with. Watch for Scrooge's backstory and you'll find out why he is the way he is, and all the while you're disliking the poor soul you'll be secretly wanting for him to redeem himself, because if there's one person who needs hope, it's Scrooge.
So why haven't you bought your ticket yet? This Broadway musical won't be in town forever so hurry up and get your tickets while we have them. Got family coming for Thanksgiving and you don't know what to do with them? We have two shows the day after Turkey day so come out to a show with the whole family.
Don't be mistaken for a Scrooge this Christmas. Come out and enjoy the fun of live theatre with your family and community!
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