20 November 2014

FORREST MCCLENDON, SCOTTSBORO BOYS AND OTHER SHOWS




One of the shows that we were looking forward to seeing was Kander and Ebb's The Scottsboro Boys.  As you may know Kander and Ebb wrote Cabaret and Chicago.  The show started at the Vineyard Theatre in New York, then went to the Guthrie in Minneapolis, then Broadway, and last year the Young Vic in London where it sold out.  It transferred to the West End this year into the Garrick Theatre.  A friend of mine, Forrest McClendon, who I have known since the late 80's and early 90's has been in all of these productions and was nominated for a Tony Award in New York.  We all read the show before we went to go see it, and then met Forrest at the Stage Door after the show.  He later came into the Theatre in London class to give a master class.




Here is Forrest on the billboard in front of the theatre.


We sat in the first two rows of the Dress Circle. Great seats!

 Mitch Lawson, the Director of Study Abroad at Saint Mary's visited us for a few days and came to see the show with us!

The Set:  Clever use of these metal chairs throughout the performance.  Each chair cost $800

Forrest after the show at the Stage Door.



The master class with Forrest was inspirational.  He spoke about the History of The Scottsboro Boys, his audition for the show and his journey to the West End.  He spoke about his career, training, and teaching.  Most importantly he spent time on Relationships:

R - Relatives
E - Employers
L - Lovers
A - Artists
T - Teachers
I -  Interns
O - Opportunists
N - Newbies
S - Schoolmates, Students
H - Heroes
I -  Innovators, Investigators
P - Playwrights
S - Strangers



Miranda gets a hug!  I think Gabe is jealous!





It was a great two and a half hour session and we all learned a great deal and as I said above were inspired!

Urinetown!  This show started at the St. James' Theatre and transferred to the West End.  It was so different from our production in every way!  It was a very dark production that did not spoof musicals, theatre, and people.  Bobby Strong was objectified not Hope.  Lockstock was very seedy and out of it at times.  By the end of the show the entire cast was covered in blood!  Lots of blood.  This seems to be a trait of Jamie Lloyd, the director, who also directed Richard III starring Martin Freeman.  That entire cast was also covered in blood by the end of the play.  The fact that it was so different and dark showed the students how a play can be interpreted in two totally different ways and still work and be wonder and tell the story. It was fantastic.  We loved it!!!




This is the understudy who played Cladwell.  He originally plays Tiny Tom.

Officer Lockstock.


Bobby Strong.  Wore these glasses in the show as well.


Group photo with Bobby Strong and Little Sally (1st row center)


We also got to see other shows.  Some of us saw Forbidden Broadway which spoofs Broadway shows, stars, and producers. Alan Rickman was in the audience and sat next to Gabe and Miranda.

I went to see Catch Me If You Can, a musical based on the film, at Arts Education which is London's premiere musical theatre training program.  Trevor Nunn former Artistic Director of The National Theatre and director of Les Miz was in the audience and after the show I spoke to him to find out about a scene he added in his production of The Lion in Winter that we attended two years ago. The scene was between King Phillip of France and his sister, Alise.  He found the scene among Goldman's personal papers that he did not include in the play or film.  A great scene that ties up loose ends with these two characters.  I asked him if it was available, and he said "I suppose so"  whatever that means....hahaha.  Anyways he really enjoyed the production of Catch Me If You Can.  I am sure he was scouting future talent.

We saw God Bless the Child in the upstairs theatre at The Royal Court Theatre.  The space was transformed into a 4th grade classroom complete with 8 yr old students.  These kids were fantastic.  A great play critiquing the education system, government involvement, budgeting, and student rebellion!  It gave us a lot to think about.

Adrian Chapman, our British Literature professor, Matt, and myself saw some of the plays at the Cockpit Theatre. They were called The Iron Curtain Trilogy.  I saw the first two plays with Adrian and Matt attended Pentecost, which was the play Saint Mary's did a few weeks ago.  This was in a small black box as opposed to a big proscenium stage.  It was very good as was The Shape of the Table.  I had the pleasure of sitting in on a conversation with the playwright, David Edgar, and got to speak to him privately for quite awhile.  A very intelligent man! He was excited that we did his play at school.



Other students attended Mama Mia, Wicked, The Comedy Store Improv, Billy Elliot, the all-female cast of Henry IV at the Donmar Warehouse, The Cherry Orchard at the Young Vic and the plays, John and Behind the Beautiful Flowers at the National Theatre.

We are in our last week here in London.  Students have been working hard writing papers. Yesterday the Acting class performed their showcase.  It was excellent!  Tony James really got some good performances out of the students.  Six students and myself will be studying at The Gaiety School of Acting, Ireland's Premiere Acting School in Dublin, Ireland for two weeks.  Other students are travelling through Europe and Eastern Europe and some students are flying back to the United States.  We have had an excellent time in London this semester.  I still need to post some more of our adventures (Scotland and some of the art that was experienced through the Art in London class with Becky Hurst!  Stay tuned.


As Chelsea says:

THAT'S ALL FOLKS!

14 November 2014


UNCLE PECK READS THE NEWS!!!

As you can see from the Metro headline one of the hot topics in London these past couple of years has been pedophilia.  There has been scandals and cover ups in both the government and the entertainment industry. So Paula Vogel's play pretty much hit home here.  It is a Pulitzer Prize winning play that examines the grey areas of this topic in addition to telling an unusual love story.


ACT II.

Singing at end of Intermission or Interval as they say in England.









THE PHOTO SHOOT IN UNCLE PECK'S BASEMENT


















AUNT MARY TALKS ABOUT HER HUSBAND




UNCLE PECK DOES THE DISHES




LETTERS FROM UNCLE PECK





THE HOTEL















UNCLE PECK DRINKING HIMSELF TO DEATH




ON MEN, SEX, AND WOMEN: PART THREE




THE FIRST DRIVING LESSON











DRIVING IN TODAY'S WORLD










END OF PLAY



THE CELEBRATION DINNER AT AL FORNO ITALIAN RESTAURANT

We had many friends and family attend the production as well as alumni.  Rick Hein, our musical director from our first production of Working, was there with his wife Marsha.  Joyce Rae, a long time supporter whose late husband, Roger Frith,  lit many of our productions, attended.  Jonathan Kennedy, his wife, Alise, and his mother, Carol from Liverpool have been supporting us since we began the program in 1994.  He has been my right hand man for 20 years!  Rachel Kwiecinski, who graduated two years ago and is now in graduate school at the University of Kent in Canterbury, took a study break and attended the show as did Becca Carroll who flew in from student teaching in Northern Ireland.  Other friends of students who are studying in London attended as did some of my former students from Rose Bruford.  Suzanne Deranek, the Director of Admissions also was able to be in attendance for the production. Our London faculty enjoyed the performance as well.  Relatives that attended were Michael Keating's parents, Karina Kim's grandparents, and Anne Colling's parents, both sets of grandparents and an aunt and uncle.  On Sunday afternoon after the show many of us got free tickets to the 15th Anniversary performance of The Lion King.  Many students waited in line starting at 3 am for the free tickets.  That evening we had our 20th Anniversary Dinner Celebration at Al Forno restaurant in Wimbledon.  34 people attended.  Some of the alums had to leave Sunday morning and could not attend the dinner.  It was a fantastic evening!


Cheers to all and welcome!


The Colling Clan!



Karina Kim's grandparents Rosita and Edmund Baumann, a Saint Mary's Alum, Class of 1954.

Danielle and two friends from back home.


 Katie, Alise Kennedy, who gave our two dance students a private tour of the Royal Opera House, and her mother who was visiting from the island of Jersey.


Suzanne Deranek, another alum, Jonathan Kennedy, Executive Director of Tara Arts and who began the program with us in 1994, and Katie, again!!!


A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL!!!!



THAT'S ALL FOLKS!