Two BLOGS in ONE DAY?! Yes - because you shouldn't have to wait to hear about By the Bi taking Dublin!!

Shaun McCracken just forwarded the email below from Caroline Downs 

(just recently returned from a triumphant presentation of the original theatre piece By the Bi).

By the Bi - ROCKED Dublin!!

“Hello Shaun!

Our week of showing in Dublin was a huge success! It was known to us before arriving at the festival that we would be somewhat the underdogs of the week, as we not only had the youngest cast, but were the youngest company, the only all female run company, and the only show about bisexuality to be shown at the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival EVER in the history of it’s 12 year run. However, this began to work to our advantage. As people were very curious, some even viewing us as a “novelty”, we stirred up a lot of talk surrounding the show, and our reputation began to precede us at the nightly festival gatherings. We opened to wonderful reviews, some of which I have attached. To quote the end of our first review by a festival critic, “There is an integrity in this pleasing production that deserves audiences of all ages and persuasions. Is the B silent in LGBT? It no longer is in “By the Bi”. Worth seeing.” 

All of the very best,

Caroline Downs

Co-Founder/CEO

Blazing Change Players

First festival review! 

FESTIVAL REVIEW: “By The Bi” Teachers Club Main Hall until Saturday May 9th. Just as lesbian, gay and Trans people are on the cusp of getting equal rights, the Bisexuals roar onto the stage in “By the Bi” from USA’s “Blazing Change Players”. In a strong performance piece combining storytelling, dance, monologue and live music with a great soundtrack, this talented young ensemble bring a voice to the often confused and cast aside bisexual community. There are many finely narrated scenarios about the girl who loves a girl and a boy, and the boy who loves a boy and a girl, religious views well articulated and the confusion caused by lack of recognition and rejection of the binary system of human attraction and love. The ensemble of seven, four girls and three boys are multi-talented. They perform with passion and conviction in an imaginative piece created by Caroline Downs and Morgan Barbour. There are no individual cast credits or programme but suffice to say this is a well balanced team, with fine performance skills that connect and impress throughout. Homophobia, rape, suicide, first love, school and church stereotypes are all present in a spirited definition of the duality of sexuality. Bisexuals live as a ghost in the LGBT community. In this they have a clear voice that resonates and entertains. Diction was clear and the energetic physical movement ranged from graceful to acrobatic. The dancers centre of gravity will grow with performance experience and the abrupt endings of some scenarios will also smooth over. The unpacking of biblical condemnation should be heard by all on the NO side of current debate. There is an integrity in this pleasing production that deserves audiences of all ages and persuasions. Is the B silent in LGBT? It no longer is in “By the Bi”. Worth seeing. AO’B

Go HERE for another wonderful review found in the Unforgettable Lines blog.

With Katie Marlene Crescenzo, Dante Piro, Jake Ehrlich, Gabby Rojtman, Caroline Downs, 

Ann O Donnell, Natalie Morales and Dion Torres in Dublin, Ireland. 

Congratulations to everyone involved in the production of 

By the Bi!

Please go HERE if you are interested in auditioning for the European tour of By the Bi

SUPERHEROES!!

The Superheroes are Mariah, Tyler, Devin and David

and some other guys.

YOU will be able to buy one of the cardboard heroes 

(for just $1)

 next week at the first official

2015 Ball Bake Sale & Hero Raffle!

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015 • 10 AM - 2 PM • PAC LOBBY

Can you bake or sit at the table?

Please email gmbrannan@vcu.edu or Facebook

Theatre VCU

" There IS no weakness in having a theatre background. There is only strength." - This is Great!!

Thank you to Brian Baez (PBF Performance Theatre VCU 2008)

9 Ways a Theatre Degree Trumps a Business Degree

September 13, 2013 — 

Some of you may know this about me, some may not. Despite having spent the last 15 years as a PR & communications professional, my college degree is in theatre. I have never in my life taken a marketing class, or a journalism class, or a business class. Yet, by most measures, I’m enjoying a successful career in business.  ”So what?” you ask… read on.

I was having a conversation with a friend this week. She’s an actress. Like most actresses, she also has a Day Job that she works to pay the bills between acting jobs. This is the reality for most working actors in LA, New York and the other major centers of the entertainment industry. She was pointing out to me that she viewed her theatre background as a weakness in her Day Job career field, and that it was holding her back. She asked for my advice.

My advice? There IS no weakness in having a theatre background. There is only strength. Here are just a few skills that a theatre degree gave me that have served me enormously well in business:

You have advanced critical thinking and problem solving skills: taking a script and translating it into a finished production is a colossal exercise in critical thinking. You have to make tremendous inferences and intellectual leaps, and you have to have a keen eye for subtle clues. (believe it or not, this is a skill that very few people have as finely honed as the theatre people I know. That’s why I listed it #1).

You’re calm in a crisis: You’ve been on stage when somebody dropped a line and you had to improvise to keep the show moving with a smile on your face, in front of everyone. Your mic died in the middle of a big solo musical number. You just sang louder and didn’t skip a beat.

You understand deadlines and respect them: Opening Night is non-negotiable. Enough said.

You have an eye on audience perception: You know what will sell tickets and what will not. This is a very transferrable skill, and lots of theatre people underestimate this, because they think of theatre as an ART, and not as a BUSINESS. I frequently say (even to MBA-types) that theatre was absolutely the best business education I could have gotten. While the business majors were buried in their books and discussing theory, we were actually SELLING a PRODUCT to the PUBLIC. Most business majors can get through undergrad (and some MBA programs, even) without ever selling anything. Theater departments are frequently the only academic departments on campus who actually sell anything to the public. Interesting, isn’t it?

You’re courageous: If you can sing “Oklahoma!” in front of 1,200 people, you can do anything.

You’re resourceful: You’ve probably produced “The Fantasticks” in a small town on a $900 budget. You know how to get a lot of value from minimal resources.

You’re a team player: You know that there are truly no small roles, only small actors. The show would fail without everyone giving their best, and even a brilliant performance by a star can be undermined by a poor supporting cast. We work together in theatre and (mostly) leave our egos at the stage door. We truly collaborate.

You’re versatile: You can probably sing, act, dance. But you can also run a sewing machine. And a table saw. And you’ve probably rewired a lighting fixture. You’ve done a sound check. You’re good with a paintbrush. 

You’re not afraid to get your hands dirty for the benefit of the show. In short, you know how to acquire new skills quickly.

You’re flexible: you’ve worked with some directors who inspired you. Others left you flat, but you did the work anyway. Same goes with your fellow actors, designers and stagehands… some were amazing and supportive, others were horrible and demoralizing to work with (we won’t name names). You have worked with them all. And learned a little something from every one of them.

These are the top reasons I’ve found my theatre degree to be a great background for a business career. What are yours?

What's up this week?... How 'bout this?

 First-year actors waking up with Chris Baker

 Bonnie Brady's Stage Mangement class

More First-Year students gathering for Stagecraft

More fFrst-Year students gathering for Stagecraft  part Two




The magnificent Toni-Leslie James and Jenna Ferree gird their loins for their first classes

Jorge Bermudez and his class of actors.

James Russell is overwhelmed by the Student Handbook.

Have you read it yet?

Chris Baker, the brilliant Noreen Barnes and Wesley Broulik comparing notes.









Olivia & Chris are waiting until the very last minute to go in.

Wesley.

That's all folks!

OH Those Salty SALTS... Tonight on the Shafer Stage

Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992
Written by: Anna Deavere-Smith

Directed by: Alina Collins-Maldonado
Assistant Director: Tiffany Byrd

FREE. FREE. FREE
Shafer St.Playhouse, Newdick Theatre
Friday September 21 8:00pm
Saturday September 22 3:00pm and 8:00pm

TWILIGHT: LOS ANGELES, 1992 is a piece of documentary theatre in which playwright Anna Deavere Smith uses the verbatim words of people who experienced the Los Angeles riots to expose and explore the devastating human impact of the event. From nine months of interviews with more than two hundred people, Smith has chosen the voices that best reflect the diversity and tension of a city in turmoil: a Korean store owner, a white male Hollywood talent agent, a Panamanian immigrant mother,beaten truck driver Reginald Denny, civil rights activist Dr.Cornel West and other witnesses, participants, and victims. A work that goes directly to the heart of the issues of race and class, TWILIGHT ruthlessly probes the language and lives of its subjects, offering stark insight into the complex and pressing social, economic, and political issues that fueled the flames in the wake of the Rodney King verdict. 

Cast:
Eleanor Bellamy
Zach Brown
Rob Gibson
Anna Jones
Aquirra Lundy
Jeannie Melcher
Kendra Mosley
Nick Zubieta

Followed by 

Friday Night Live!!!

11:00pm - 2:00 am