Spotlight: The Last 5 Years

Guys. One of my favorite shows of all time is finally coming to the screen after YEARS of waiting. Words cannot express my excitement! For those of you who do not know, I would like to take a moment to really talk about this unique show, and what you can expect from the film.

The plot is centered on one couple, two people, and their 5 year relationship. Jamie’s perspective is told from beginning to end, while Cathy’s perspective starts at the end and works backwards til they meet in the middle at their wedding. This story is partly based on Jason Robert Brown’s own relationship with his ex-wife.

In 2001, Jason Robert Brown premiered The Last 5 Years in Chicago with Norbert Leo Butz (Catch Me If You Can, Wicked) as Jamie and Lauren Kennedy as Cathy, but Kennedy was replaced by Sherie Rene Scott due to scheduling conflicts. The production ran for two months before transferring to Off-Broadway with the same cast, where it ran for an additional two months. An Off-Broadway revival with Adam Kantor (Rent) and Betsy Wolfe (Bullets Over Broadway) was staged in 2013 where it ran for a limited engagement.

A film had always been in development, but it was only confirmed 2013 when it finally got a director, Richard LaGravenese, and a cast, Jeremy Jordan (SMASH, Newsies) as Jamie and Anna Kendrick (pitch Perfect, Up in the Air). The project was filmed independently and it has just been screened at the Toronto Film Festival. It has also just been announced that RADiUS has picked up the film as the production company and it is now slated to open in theaters everywhere next Valentine’s Day.

Intrigued? Good! I love this casting for the film, and I have high hopes. I love both of the stars and they are flawless. Don't believe me?

Here’s a recently released clip of Anna Kendrick belting “I Can Do Better Than That”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtG2DJnLBEk

And if you want to see Jeremy Jordan singing some Last 5 Years, check him out singing “Moving Too Fast” at a concert. He officially starts at 2:43.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuXzprnappg

Well, short article! But it’s a short show! Please get to know this show because the plot is so real and the music is unreal. Hope y’all enjoyed this! Like always, comment below or find me on the twitter! Have a great week!

Andrew

Coast to Coast Theaters: Alaska

For about 60 years, the Anchorage Community Theater has made it their mission to educate those wishing to expand their knowledge of the dramatic arts. In 1953, three of Alaska's more prominent  members of the arts, came together to create Anchorage Little Theatre.

In 1957, Boris Karloff gave his earnings from Arsenic and Old Lace to the theater, where they were able to move to their now permanent home and changed from a little theatre to a community theatre.

Looking at the list of past shows, the theater has maintained a good balance of musicals and plays, both older shows and more newer ones.

During the summer, the theater held multiple camps and classes for children, teens, adults, and senior citizens. The theater takes a lot of support from their community, and they always want to give back. During the season, the theater also offers many classes for people and does outreach programs to support the community.

The theater allows many volunteers of all types, with any skills requested. Contacting the theater will allow to to find all the requirements needed for each role. Under their list, they look for managers, designers, directors, crew members, facility workers, and photographers.

The 2014-2015 season:
I Hate Hamlet
Bell, Book, and Candle
Christmas Belles
Crimes of the Heart
The Trip to Bountiful
A Day in Hollywood, A Night in the Ukraine

You can find the ACT's website at actalaska.org.

Where does your theatre lay on the map? Leave us comments below on what you think.
Kendall

Audition Songs

We've had a lot of questions about auditions recently so I’m doing this to answer some of the questions you may have! Let’s face it. Audition songs can be extremely hard to find. They have to be perfect, because they’re one of the main reasons why theaters want you to audition for their shows. They have to know how good you are! But how do you find songs like these? Especially when auditions are looking for a specific type? Well, let me tell you all about them in four easy steps!

1) LOOK AT THE AUDITION REQUIREMENTS
One of the main things that the audition sign up will tell you is how long should your song be. The 2 lengths are usually 16 bars and 32 bars. 16 bars, for those of you do not know music theory that well (which is completely fine by the way, Ramin Karimloo cannot read music), is about 30 seconds. Most big auditions, like national auditions or college auditions, will ask for this amount just so that they can see everyone as quickly as possible. 32 bars is just about a minute. This may be for smaller auditions, maybe college musicals or community theaters. So how do you count the bars? Easy peasy.

Each bar is a measure. Just count however you need!

Now most places ask for a 16-32 bar range. So basically anyplace between 30-60 seconds. Give them basically enough to prove to them that you can hold your own if you got a lead role. Also, on the sheet it should say what types of audition songs they want to hear. Now you got all the information you need, let’s go hunting.

2) FIND THE SHOW TYPE
If you are going into an audition for Next to Normal, you probably don’t want to sing something from Oklahoma! There are two types of musicals, classical and contemporary. Classical would be like Rodgers and Hammerstein, Comden and Green, Frank Loesser. Contemporary would be Sondheim, Schwartz, Jason Robert Brown, and Duncan Sheik. Please, research composers when trying to find audition cuts. Get familiar with their work and find what you’re comfortable with. Look at the composers for the musical that you are auditioning for, and try to match that with other shows that they have done or look at shows that opened on Broadway about the same time that yours did. RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH.

3) FIND YOUR RANGE
Once you know what you want, try finding your range. And when I say range, I just don’t mean your vocal range. I mean your character type, what role are you going for, is there more than one character that you can play in that show? Look at your past theatre history and look at what other actors have done in those roles and you should be able to see a pattern with what you’ve been typecast as. Maybe it’s the protégé, or the girl next door, or the best friend. Find your strengths! If you want to be Natalie from Next to Normal, you need a belty, edgy, teen angst song that shows off your high notes. If you’re going to be Johanna from Sweeney Todd (even though it’s Sondheim, it has a classical feel), you need a light, airish, flowing high soprano song. What matters is what look do you want to go for?

4) FIND YOUR CUT
My advice is to find something near the end so you can show off your range and those crazy belting skills. Be confident in your starting point, and make sure you tell a story! YOU MUST TELL A STORY. THAT’S WHAT ACTING’S FOR! You’re not only showing off your singing skills, you’re showing the directors that you can convey the meaning of a song easily and portray the feelings that the character is singing about. If you follow all of these, it will show that you are professional and confident about auditioning.

That’s about it guys! Again, feel free to comment or ask us questions! This blog was created so that we can help the fans with all of their “actor problems” (sorry couldn’t resist) and also so that we can see their progress and try to tell people our experiences! I know I personally want to be able to communicate with all of you and help you in any way imaginable! Like always, comment below OR find us on twitter! You can find me at @theatreginger for any questions about auditioning or shows! Love y’all and thank you always for your support!
Andrew

Spotlight: Newsies

Happy Labor Day weekend! It's the perfect time to take a trip to NY for a Broadway binge. Wish I was there for sure.

But you know one show you won't be able to see? Newsies. Okay, that was kinda harsh. It seems as if everyone in ¿the Broadway fandom? had an uproar over the closing of Newsies. It seemed like the show that was going to run forever.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end. But a beautiful end, if that.

The musical takes you back in time to 1899, in the heart if New York City. Following a group of (very attractive) newsboys, the audience is caught in the middle of the famous Newsboy Strike. When the price of purchasing the paper is raised ten cents per one hundred papers, Jack Kelly rallies the newsies of New York to fight against the man.

Littered with friendship and courage, the show contains infamous songs such as "Santa Fe" and "Seize the Day".

Based on the 1992 Disney film, directed by Kenny Ortega, Newsies opened in 2011 at The Paper Mill Playhouse. In 2012,  Newsies found it's home at the Nederlander Theatre. Even though it has closed as of August 2014, there are rumors of a London production, as well as a North American tour that starts in October 2014.

The magic of Newsies is still able to live on a little longer, and it will continue to be a dear favorite to some. We greatly anticipate a revival.

Have a question? Want to comment? Leave it below.
Kendall

Into the Woods (2014)

Sorry for taking a little hiatus, but I was busy moving back into college! Anyways I’m back!

I would hope that most people are aware of a certain huge musical blockbuster coming out this Christmas. And no, it’s not Annie (blah).

The Pre-Production

Production for Into the Woods really began in the early 1990’s where there was a staged reading which included Robin Williams as the Baker, Cher as the Witch, Steve Martin as the Wolf, and Danny DeVito as the Giant. But after a negative report, the film stayed inactive. But in January of 2012, Rob Marshall was hired to direct the new adaptation for Disney, making this the first Broadway musical adaptation produced by Disney. A reading took place before casting that included Broadway favorites James Corden, Megan Hilty, Laura Osnes, Donna Murphy, Anna Kendrick and Cheyenne Jackson.

The Casting

The casting process for this movie has been a source of some debate and controversy. The first wave of casting was when Johnny Depp, Meryl Streep, and James Corden were all confirmed to play the Wolf, the Witch, and the Baker in May of 2013.  Soon after, Christine Baranski and Emily Blunt were cast as Cinderella’s Step-Mother and the Baker’s Wife and Chris Pine and Jake Gyllenhaal entered negotiations to be the Princes. Gyllenhaal dropped out due to scheduling conflicts and Broadway vet Billy Magnussen replaced him. Anna Kendrick began talks to be cast as Cinderella a month later. Mackenzie Mauzy, Tammy Blanchard, Lucy Punch, and Daniel Huttlestone joined the cast soon after to play the parts Rapunzel, Florinda, Lucinda, and Jack, respectively. Then Sophia Grace Brownlee was cast as Little Red and the theatre world exploded with outrage. Most of the critique to this particular news was due to the fact that Sophia was way too young and that the role came with a scene that had some sexual undertones that would not look very good on screen. Soon after, Sophia’s father issued a statement that she had withdrawn from the role due to her age and it was an amicable decision between the actors and the producers. Lilla Crawford was announced later to replace Brownlee and additional casting was announced as well.

The Filming

The filming for Into the Woods started in September 2013 and lasted for about 3 months. But in the summer of July 2014, Rob Marshall said that they were adding scenes to the script and went back for additional shooting. The film is now completely finished with filming and is now in post-production.

The Controversy

In June, Stephen Sondheim was quoted saying that Disney had made some adjustments to the book, stating that the sexual undertones of “Hello, Little Girl” had been erased, as well as moments such as the Baker’s wife’s affair with Cinderella’s Prince and Rapunzel’s death. When this happened, I know I lost some faith in the production. The whole point of Into the Woods is to bring these dark adult themes to the stories to really tell a story that has meaning. No one will take a movie seriously if it’s just watered down. But Sondheim recently said that although material has been made age-appropriate now, most of the content is still in the film, such as Any Moment and Hello, Little Girl. So far, the only changes that we know of are the cutting of the Narrator, Rapunzel’s death (but her end is still pretty dark), and a couple of new songs that were written for the movie but were instead left out of the final cut. This was a bummer for me, because this may mean Into the Woods may not get any Original Song Oscar nominations.

Well, that’s all the information we have so far! Expect this movie to be a big hit like Les Miserables was a couple of years ago, but with hopefully more critical acclaim. Oh, and hopefully, you have seen the trailer. If not, here ya go.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNVGDZHRJXM

After seeing that, I have absolute faith in Rob Marshall. I mean, he did such a fantastic job with Chicago! I still have chills.

As per usual, any questions or comments can be put in the comments below or be sent to me on the twitter! Contact @TheActorProblems or myself @theatreginger if you have any questions about auditions, productions, or if you just want to talk about theatre!

Have a great week y’all!

Andrew

Coast to Coast Theaters: Alabama

South City Theatre, located in Columbiana, Alabama, is considered the best little theatre in the state. They have own Best in Show multiple times in Alabama, as well as represented Alabama in the Southeastern Theatre Confrence. The theater is run by Sue Ellen Gerrells, who is on the board for the AACT and is on the vice chair for the Southeastern Theater Community Confrence, and her husband Mike, who was the past president of The Seasoned Performers.

SCT is located in what used to be an old church. The theater puts on six stage shows a year, along with classes for children. The shows tour around the Alabama area as well. This coming season includes: 

Wait Until Dark

Oh No, Here Comes Christmas

Cat On A Hot Tin Roof

The Real Queen of Hearts Isn't Even Pretty

Mama Won't Fly

The theatrr offers classes for children, all the way up to high school. Their most recent class was a Summer camp that ran for two weeks, Monday through Friday. Students learn many aspects of theatre, from presence, to dance, to song, before putting on a showcase on the last day.

Check put their website at southcitytheater.com.

Community theatre is the best way to get involved, as well as bringing a smile to many faces of the public. Support your local theatre by auditioning or attending upcoming shows, and live in the magical moment for just a little while.

Leave any comment below and come back again for another post!

Kendall

ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

You have probably seen all your friends and even your favorite celebrities blowing up Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram with this tag video. ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease, affects the nerve cells of the body, shutting down control of the body. For the past few years, ALS Association has been using the ice bucket challenge to raise awareness and money for the cause, but it hadn't been so popular until this year.

The official site for ALS describes it as:
"Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons  die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed."

Woah. Even though ALS has been known since the late 1800's, it wasn't until famed baseball star Lou Gehrig retired after finding out he had ALS himself. The disease has taken many lives and so far there is no treatment that stops or slows down the process, only drugs that make living more comfortable.

If you haven't seen the ice bucket challenge yet, here's how it works. You take a giant bucket (I've also seen bowls, Gatorade tubs, and coolers), fill it with ice and then water, and turn on a video camera. In the video, you say you are raising awareness for ALS, who tagged you, if someone did, and then three people you want to tag. Then you pour the ice and water on your head. Some people have done this fully clothed, while some are brave and go down to only a bathing suit. 

Here's the catch though: if you don't do the challenge, you have to go to the ALS website and donate $100. Last year, it raised just about 1 million dollars. Today, August 16th, ALS Association announced that the donations have surpassed 10 million dollars! This money will be used to help people with ALS, and to continue in the search for a treatment.

Now, this is a theatre blog, so I've got to throw Broadway in this somehow. The Once cast on Broadwya have done the challenge, and now put the Once touring cast, the Pippin cast, and the Les Mis cast up to the test as well. I just hope none of them catch a cold!

Are you up to the challenge as well?  Let us know what you think!
Kendall