Merci et à Bientôt! from Emmanuelle Chaulot

For those who may of missed it because of the haze left over from our "incident", Theatre VCU had a brilliant and generous guest artist last week, Emmanuelle Chaulet. One reliable source described her workshops as "life changing". 

Upon leaving us Emmanuelle sent us this lovely note:

 

Dear VCU Theatre Department:

I just spent a truly energizing week in Richmond with all of you and want to thank everyone for 6 fun-filled and inspiring days. My gratitude goes to all students, faculty and staff for such a warm welcome and for a wonderfully committed, focused, receptive and 'high energy vibration' group of students!

 

In particular, I want to thank my dear friend and colleague Josh Chenard, who has not only been a most gracious host, but who also recharged and renewed my inspiration.

Additionally, I want to extend my congratulations to all on ANIMAL FARM, the show which opened last night and which he directed. It is an exciting and thought provoking moment of theatre! Kudos to all the actors who showed a wonderful feeling of ease on stilts and with beautiful masks...
I'd love to hear about all of your projects and would like to keep you informed of my upcoming retreats and workshops. Please sign my email list at: starlightacting-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Merci et à Bientôt!

Emmanuelle Chaulet
Emmanuelle Chaulet
Starlight Acting Institute, director
Energize a holistic approach to acting
http://www.emmanuellechaulet.com
http://www.starlightacting.org
E-list: starlightacting-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
energize@starlightacting.org
info@emmanuellechaulet.com

no words necessary.... no shame... november 5

have they no shame....?

(another great night for Theatre VCU)

Last two shows for Animal Farm!!

You have a half hour to get to The Newdick Theatre at Shafer St. for the 2:00 pm show, while the last show of Animal Farm directed by Josh Chenard goes up at 6:00 pm.

The word is that this production is very moving and disturbing... George Orwell would be proud.

One week to go!

 Here's the Hodges stage as of this morning... Saturday, Nov. 6.

The Service Pro guys are cleaning each seat. Frankly, they've never looked better.

The central windows are in, and over the din of the "airscrubbers" you can hear the whine of the table saw from the scene shop.

Everyone is remaining calm, focused and polite.

Down in the basement velvet coats are being trimmed, gowns are being fitted and edged in lace.

Open House was a huge success, and the potential students and their families who attended were impressed by the stunning upholstery in the lobby.

Many thanks to my beautiful assistants: Blaire, Sarah, Lauren and Matt. Thank you for sharing your passion and stories of the theatre dept. I'm sure you would of rather stayed in bed... it was generous of you to donate your Saturday morning to the cause!

And finally, thank you to the high school students and their families who traveled as far away as Portsmouth and Fluvanna to visit Theatre VCU this morning. 

There are never enough thank yous!!

A note received this morning by this Bloginator from a high school senior who toured the department, and who also attended VTA. Knowing how hard everyone is working this week - this letter is for you guys.

I may have been the tour guide... but it was our amazing students who showed this student their warmth and commitment. Thank you, she's right, you know...

Thank you so much for the warmth and welcome you gave me when I came to tour VCU.  What VCU has to offer theatre students is amazing of course, but the impact of having you take your time out to show me around, and introduce me to other students is what made me feel like this is my home.

It was a wonderful example of a warm home within a large, urban environment.  When I went to meet with you, I had a list of 7 schools I was interested in.  Having met with you, and then Lorri at VTA, I know there is no other place for me.  This is where I want to be.

I will be working hard on my monologue, and then auditioning in Dec.  If there are any good words you can put in for me, I would appreciate it.

Thank you again for your time on a day when you were very busy and had deadlines to meet.  And thank you so much for introducing me to the students and staff in the department.

"ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL, BUT SOME ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS"

Come check out George Orwell's ANIMAL FARM at the Shafer Street Playhouse running November 5th at 8:00 and November 6th at 2:00 and 8:00!

IT"S ON!!! Curtain up Saturday, November 13, 7:30

As some of you know, we had a potentially disastrous "glitch" in the Raymond Hodges Theatre on Monday, November 1.... perhaps it was the last goblin of the previous day's Halloween.

Even though we were in welding compliance, had thought about every possible scenario, had spotters, and followed every guideline... Even though we had NEVER before had a freak accident like this... Even though we thought we had thought of everything... One spark, just one determined little spark found it's way into the theatre ventilation system... and set thirty years of dust to smoldering. Within minutes the alarms went off and we had Richmond's finest out front in full fire-fighting regalia.

By then the TD and shop supervisor had tracked down the problem backstage.

And with an axe or two the fire department made sure: yep, the ventilator is now a memory.

Long story short: smoke damage.
Isn't it amazing where smoke manages to find a home?

By Monday night ServicePro had their air scrubbing fans roaring and had sealed off the theatre.

By Wednesday a complete crew started the wipe down/scrub down from ceiling to floor.

Every light and line.

Every theatre seat.

Under the seats.

Behind the seats... and everywhere in between.

And after holding our collective breaths for three and a half days we received our verdict. The air exchanger and air conditioning will be up and running.

The students are on "All Call" 24/7 and we are going to have a show in nine days.

To your right is the stage as of now.

This blogster will keep a photo journal so you can see the transformation. Nine days. Scenery, costuming, lighting... and of course, the actors.

Pretty damn exciting if you ask me...


Curtain up Saturday, November 13 at 7:30

And I, for one, will be giving a standing ovation for our TD, Alan Williamson, our Shop Supervisor, Kevin McGranahan, our Lighting Supervisor, Lou Szari, our Costume Shop Supervisor, Neno Russell and for ALL the students who will paint, weld, hammer, focus, and stitch this beautiful creation to life.