Opening Night!

Well, here we are. Opening night! Cathy, Susan, Tracy, Zach and I worked on a few set details last night while the rest of you were taking a well-deserved break (I hope!). My job as your director is done. Now it's your show! Make the most of the three performances - tell the story, keep your volume (and energy) levels high, focus, keep breathing and most of all have fun! You guys are great! Now go out there and get some applause!

Come See Us!

"Taming the Wild, Wild West in a Dress
...or...Let's Give the Villain the Slip"
by Billy St. John

May 31 - 7:00 pm
June 1 - 7:00 pm
June 2 - Mule Day! - 4:00 pm

WHERE: Smith Gym - Reardan Elementary School, Reardan WA

TICKETS: At the door - $5 (adults), $3 (under 12 )- $12 (Household max)
Doors open 30 minutes before curtain time.

(produced by special arrangement with Pioneer Drama Service, Englewood, CO)

Final Dress Rehearsal

Wow! You folks were amazing last night! This show is really ready for an audience. (Now...if we can just get that shotgun.....)
I e-mailed a link to the photos from last night to everyone, but I know not everybody has e-mail access (Roger & Russell, for example), so feel free to share somehow. Susan M. has been taking photos all along and I will be adding some of those too. Stacie's mom has an awesome camera, so I'm sure hers are better. Can we have too many?? I think not.
Director's notes for today: REST, REST, REST!

New Photos Added

Hi "kids"! I know everyone is pretty tired by this point, but you really do have a show! That's theater talk for "It's going to be OK, really it is!" Tonight's dress rehearsal will be fun and we'll run straight through and I'll keep my mouth shut until the end, when I will be cheering my head off!
I posted new pictures from last night's rehearsal. Click on the link to the left to see them.

Three rehearsals left!

Hey kids! Act One was superb last night! The backgrounds in the saloon and salon are really great! You all have developed the talent of looking busy, having conversations, etc. without attracting undue attention away from the dialogue. It adds so much to the show!
Tonight we will go over scene changes in Act 1 and polish Act 2. You will be soooo ready for opening night on Thursday!

FUNNY STUFF. After hearing "Lady Luck Saloon" a couple of times from a few different people. I figure it's time to include my list of word bloopers.

1. 'Saloon' instead of 'Salon'
2. 'Salon' instead of 'Saloon'
3. 'Lady Luck' instead of 'Lucky Lady'
4. Great Aunt Aunt Iva
5. Shattle and Rake
6. Midnummer Sight's Dream

PS - I added a link to some of our rehearsal photos. Enjoy!

In the Gym

Dave and I just returned from Reardan. We spent several hours there today along with Lee (Colt Revolver), attempting to raise the walls. Many are up, but we need more braces to secure the saloon walls, so those remain unfinished. The lights are hung, but not aimed.

Still to do:

• Put the backing on the lattice-work panels
• Cable-tie the lattice panels together
  
• Finish the saloon doors
• Paint the new table (thanks for the table Harper family!)
• Hang the "stage" curtain
• Find and hang something for the backdrop behind the salon window
• Hang the workroom curtain
• Practice being even louder in the new space

You will notice immediately how much bigger the stage is AND how much farther from the audience it is. Please "project" your voice from here on out! See you tomorrow evening at rehearsal! --- Your Director

So...how did the move to the Gym Go?

Well, I got back from a successful trip to Canada last night. All four classes went well and the drive was outstandingly beautiful! My colleague almost didn't get back in the country, though. I think she'll be getting a passport now. I'm tired from driving and teaching, but ready to get OUR show on the road!
Dave and I will be out at the gym today to help with set up. Hope to see many of you there. YIKES! I just looked at the new schedule and I see setup is at 10:00 and here it is 9:30 already. AND....Kim just dropped the key off at my house! Yep, I asked him to, not realizing that he was going to cut the lawn at the church in Reardan and that I could have let him hang onto it.

OK, Madam Director....git yer shoes on and high-tail it to Reardan!

May 23

Sooo...how did the line-through go last night at The Rock? I hope everybody found it helpful, yes?
I'd love to get some reports or thoughts from some of you in the cast about last night, so please comment.

I'm waking up in Kelowna BC this morning. I took a wrong turn in Colville and ended up going across the border at Northport which added an hour or so to the trip. We pulled up at the school just in time for class! Whew! We're headed for Prince George today with class there at 5:30pm. It's already a much longer drive, so no "detours" allowed. We'll be tres fatigue!

10 days until showtime!

WOW! WHAT A STORM!! Thunder, lightening, hail and lots of rain! But those of us who have been involved in MDM for years know a storm like this during a grange rehearsal is practically a tradition!
Didn't quite get through the whole show tonight, but it's looking great and the set is really coming together. There are lots of great funny moments in this show -- it's going to be a hit! People are going to love "the ladies" and "The Rob Banks Gang" and the quirky saloon staff and all the other oddball characters in this show.
We're working harder and longer this week and next but I hope everybody is finding some time to sleep and/or rest. I'll be in Canada the rest of the week, so I hope some of the rest of you cast members will post to this blog, OK? -- Your Director

Final Two Weeks!!

So...now we're into our final two weeks of rehearsals for the 2007 Mule Days Melodrama. Things are coming into place and we really have a great show for this year. It's by Billy St. John (Yes Again! We love doing his shows!) and it's called Taming the Wild, Wild West in a Dress...or...Give the Villain the Slip!" Produced by special arrangement with Pioneer Drama Service.

Last night the cast got through the entire show for the first time! According to a reliable source, it went pretty well. We'll be doing it again this evening. Naturally, we'll be missing a few cast members. That's why we've decided to call our troupe "The Not-All-There Players".

I'll try to keep updating this blog as we progress through the final performance on 'Mule Day' itself. June 2, 2007.

For more information on Mule Days, go here: http://www.reardanmuledays.com/