Calling all actors - Kinetic Imaging Dept. wants YOU!

Do not miss Henry V

S.A.L.T. presents...

Henry V by William Shakespeare

Directed by Anna K. Kurtz and Kerry McGee

FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE!!!!

TODAY at 2 pm and 8 pm
FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE!!!!

 

 

Not only did the actors rehearse in Shafer, but they also experienced  a rigorous day-long boot camp,  described here by Ted Carter:

 

The boot camp weekend was designed to give the actors a brief, intensive experience that would give them some basic military knowledge and meet some of Kerry and Anna's goals for ensemble building.

We met Friday evening and divided into three squads based on their roles in the show (Nobles, Merry Pranksters, French). Squad leaders were appointed and Mark served as the platoon leader for the weekend. Over the course of the next 24 hours the actors participated in a series of activities designed to expose them to the following elements of military training: Drill & Ceremony, Individual Movement Techniques, Physical Training, Patrolling, Squad and Platoon Infantry tactics, Tactical Camouflage, Enemy Prisoner of War Searches. 

 

The actors worked together to build their own weapons for the show. They ran in formation and sang in cadence at 6:00am Saturday morning through Monroe Park. The platoon patrolled through Oregon Hill to Belle Isle where they executed a tactical movement course. Although they learned several specific skills, my goal as the military coordinator for the weekend was to create a physically and psychologically demanding weekend that would give the actors a glimpse of the fatigue, discomfort, and frustration that are part of military training. These elements are perhaps more important than the skills learned in the training because it is through surviving these hardships that soldiers gain the confidence and self-awareness that best prepares them for combat. It was my hope that 24 hours of being truly cold, weary, and stressed-out would give them some insight into how a soldier in battle feels every day.

 

Photos to follow - when the server becomes available.

SETC preview in the upper lobby - come see some pretty costume, scene and lighting design...

... then buy a brownie!!!

manana, dude...

What's going on tomorrow and the weekend?
Well...
First things First

Bake Sale - Lobby - 10:30 am until every cupcake is gone!
Every cent goes to our fantabulous
Black & White Masquerade Ball.

Stop by and celebrate the end of the week with a brownie, or a Shaun McCracken muffin.
While your here wish the Theatre Auditioners Good Luck - they'll be here from 11am - 6pm tomorrow, auditioning, interviewing, sweating nervously... you remember....

And then there is Henry V at Shafer Street!

Location	Shafer St. Playhouse 221 N. Shafer Street Richmond, VA
Created By	Mauricio Marces, Anna Kurtz, Kerry McGee
More Info	S.A.L.T. presents... Henry V by William Shakespeare Directed by Anna K. Kurtz and Kerry McGee FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE!!!! Feb. 24 & 25 at 8 pm Feb. 26 at 2 pm and 8 pm FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE!!!! Doors open 30 minutes before show starts Handicap accessible bathrooms located in Shafer Court Dining Center Stage Manager: Nikki Malloy Fight Choreographer/Military Consultant: Ted Carter Dialect/Vocal Coach: Stacey Cabaj Costume Designer: Jenny O’Donnell Dramaturge: Augustin Correro Cast: Justin Ahdoot, Micheal Bertoni, Caitlin Carbone, Mark Caudle, Patrick Clark, Debora Crabbe, Bryan Hall, Carla Joseph, Greg Joubert, Bryan Lamorena, Mauricio Marces, Zachary Page, Evan Redd, Austin Seay, Tyler Weaver, Miranda Webster, and Cat Wheelehan

Cupcake anyone?

For those of you waiting with bated breath to hear
the latest plans, schemes, inspirations,
and fund-raising triumphs  for the

Your wait is over...

We raised $58.00 last Friday at our first Bake Sale.

AND we are having another Bake Sale this Friday, February 25, 2011.
We are in need of more goodies so this Friday's sale can be an even GREATER success...
Please get in touch with Ms. Brannan at gmbrannan@vcu.edu and let her know what you can bake in your Easy-Bake oven. (we have muffins from Ms McCracken, mystery baked goods from Ms. Bonnie, cookies from the cookie monster) Are there brownies out there? Hungry auditioners and their parents need those sugar soaked carbs to get through the day.

As for the Masquerade Ball - It is still May 7th, curtain up at 7:30, and yes, it will be fabulous.
Tickets will go on sale in April for $7.00 and with each ticket you will receive a mask.
Yes, you may invite a guest from outside of the department.
We're looking for two Master of Ceremonies - are you one of them?

Check this wonderfulness:

 Also - Hot off the SALT presses:
We are now accepting proposals for next
seasons's/ Fall 2011 SALT season! Proposals are due by March 22nd.
Proposal forms for directors will be located on the SALT website:
http://shaferalliancelabtheatre.webs.com/
and hard copies will be held
on the callboard in PAC.


Here's a word about last weeks No-Shame:
Greetings from No Shame Headquarters!
         I am proud to report last Friday's show was our first injury-free show of 2011! ...That we know of. The short, but sweet, show featured some wonderful singers (Alex Fulton, Josh Marin, Katie Ford), a great mid-winter health update from Nurse Shirley and some borderline offensive white-boy rapping (thanks, Alan Vollmer) as well as a myriad of other entertaining acts that kept us up to the wee hour of 12:10am. Whew. What a night! The (brave) Josh Chenard even made a surprise appearance and reportedly "had a ball," though it's impossible to say whether or not that had anything to do the crisp $100 bill he was handed before the show. We'd like to remind our faithful audience that next week's show (March 4th) will be our "No Tech No Shame" edition, meaning if you show up with so much as a CD to play during your act, you will be laughed at. But seriously folks, it'll be an open-mic night without the mic!
Love,
Your benevolent leader
Tommy "T-Money" Callan

Alex singing

Lauren, Demetor & Austin

Josh and the guys

Josh Marin

Tommy & Bizzy

Legacy of Light - Beautiful, magical, funny romantic... the film says it all...

oh so much...

It's Audition Time at Theatre VCU - which ramps the theatre  department nervous energy up just a bit....


Here's a great paragraph or two or three about the senior's trip to LA last week, as shared by Tommy Callan.

Photos are at the end of the blog

What a week! My fellow seniors and I just got back from sunny and warm Los Angeles, California participating in about 18 workshops with all types of industry professionals working in television and film. Between agents, managers, casting directors for every type of medium, we were inundated with quite the fantastic educational experience. The trip was organized for us by Actor's Connection and our Senior year professor Lorri Lindberg, who was gracious enough to join us for the entire week.

The average day went like this: we'd wake up for our first workshop which would usually begin at 10am. We'd gather as a group and do individual interviews with the guest artist before the official instruction began. Every casting director would, after interviewing us, assign us television scenes (aka "sides") that they felt fit our personalities (often with striking accuracy) and pair us up with a partner. We'd have about 10 to 15 minutes to prepare our scene before going back into the room and presenting them to the group. The casting director would most times give very helpful feedback and often redirect us (to see how well we handled direction) and, after everyone in the group had presented, offer a helpful Q & A.

The Q & A sections were, by far, the most informative. After spending four years training, we were all very able to cold read sides and present them with well-crafted choices so those were often not too terrifying. The Q & A sections, however, would give us all valuable opportunities to tear down the pre-convieived notions about "Hollywood" and what it's really like to live and work as an actor out there. If we did learn anything, it's that to work in LA is, in some ways, easier than it is in New York but in others, much harder. It boiled down to what seems to be a lifestyle choice and, while some of us still prefer the East Coast, just as many are absolutely psyched to possibly call Los Angeles their home in a few months. We're so grateful that TheatreVCU offers us this opportunity and hope that the partnership between Actor's Connection and TheatreVCU only grows over the coming years.

Tommy Callan, Class of 2011

In & Out Burger, Yes!

Darling Donzell!

The usual suspects in front of Universal Studios!