Thursday, October 29, 2009

First show come and gone....

Sorry I have been such a slacker iwth this blogging thing kids... Me and my xbox have been spending way to much quality time together. You can find me there a lot on xbox live, "call me nero"

My solution for this was to see if any other makeshift folks would ike to contribute. Christine Walsh just finished playing Sabina in RAPUNZEL, and I asked her if she would mind letting us in on her experience with the show... so here that is and I am going back to my xobx.... xbooooooooxxxxx... I need help.

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The People, the Places, and all the Cool Kids!

Hi there! My name is Christine and I just finished playing Sabina in the show, “Rapunzel” with Makeshift Theatre. I had a great time working with this company and being on stage and here’s why:

The People!
Everyone in the cast and on the crew was very nice and welcoming. We all became friends from day one and had a great time working together. We would joke offstage and be even funnier onstage. Patrick, who played the part of the handsome prince and Paul, who played Rapunzel’s father were always seeing who could “out-joke” the other.

As goofy as we could be, though, when it was time to learn lines and memorize songs, we got down to business. I was really impressed when Kristen, who played one of the minstrels, wrote all of the songs for her part herself. And she sang them while playing the guitar! That’s not easy.

I love dressing up and the costumes were a special treat for me. Thanks to the costume designer, Deb, we all had marvelous costumes. Vinnie, who played a minstrel, looked great with snazzy suspenders and very high socks. And of course Molly, who played the beautiful Rapunzel, looked magnificent with her soft blue dress and long flowing hair.

When you act, you always need to use a lot of energy – to be seen, to be heard, and to let the audience know what your character is like. I think Laureen, who played the evil witch, did a great job of that. Her energy was always high and she did a great job of scaring everyone – even me and I’m her friend!

There is a lot that goes into creating a show like Rapunzel and the actors aren’t the only ones who work very hard. Our director Shaine and our stage manager Coral did a fantastic job of keeping us organized. Shaine helped us get into our characters and encouraged us to have fun. Coral was always there to place a prop right where it needed to be. And Mr. Rhodes helped by creating the entire set! Talk about your big projects!

The Places!
I loved both of the theaters we performed in – Arlington’s Regent Theater and Winchester’s NextDoor Theater.

The Regent Theater was a big theater with many long velvet curtains on the sides of the stage. Sometimes, because the backstage area is dark, we actors had a hard time finding a way to get on stage through the curtains! The theater had two levels and Mr. Rhodes went up to the second level in order to help with the lighting of the stage. The audience sat on the lower level so they could see us easily and be closer to the action.

The NextDoor Theater was very colorful and fun. It was a smaller theater, so the audience felt like they were right smack dab in the middle of the play with us! It was so nice being able to see the kids’ faces and know that they were having a great time laughing at Prince Rupert and his fake horse or getting nervous as the Witch cut off all of Rapunzel’s hair.

The Cool Kids
Finally, the best part of this experience was the kids! Every kid who came to see us was so very nice and polite and interested in the show. It was a pleasure to perform for such great groups and I cannot wait to do it again!


--
Christine R. Walsh

Saturday, September 12, 2009

5th season under way...

Hey Guys and Dolls! We are off and running...




We may have lost our home for the past 4 years but we are pressing forward. Mr. Rhodes assures me he has some serious plans for Makeshift this coming year. In the mean time we are happy and thrilled to be making our first appearance at the NextDoor Theatre in Winchester this season!! We will also be back at out other favorite regular venue The Regent Theatre in Arlington!!!


We have 3 shows for you this season starting with RAPUNZEL in October!



We will then be taking a break over the winter and getting some of our ducks in a row, but will be back in February with THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES, and in April we will be back with one of our most favorite shows... ROBIN HOOD!!!

Keep Checking back for more information... now I have to get back to the capitol waste land

~Nero

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

and we are back....

Okay Kids!

We have had one heck of a summer break. Many MANY changes! All will be revealed in time and the first show of our 5th season has been cast and is about to start rehearsals!! Very exciting!!

But the biggest news that will be affecting us is that we will NOT be returning to the Coolidge Corner Theatre this season. They have decided not to have us back. Yes, we are very sad about this.... loosing our home for the past 4 years and the friends and audience that we have developed. All things change, and we are forging ahead!!

We have booked new spaces and we are in the process of searching out a new permanant home for Makeshift! So keep tuneing in for all the exciting news coming down the pike. For all our old Coolidge fans we hope you can make the trip north of the city to Arlingtion and Winchester to see our shows this season and we will continue to try and bring our shows to you!

More soon. I promise, I am back on the job!!

~Nero

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

VOYE FOR US!!

Check us out!
We've been nominated for Best Theater or Theatre Group for Kids in Nickelodeon's Parents' Picks Awards! We need your help to win! You can vote for us once a day, every day, from now until July 15 at http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com/parents-picks! Thanks for your support!
Click the link below to vote!

Thursday, April 02, 2009

another extended absense...

Sorry folks, we have been so very busy getting ready for THE THREE MUSKETEERS that I have been so off my game.

But now I have just one thing to say, ALL FOR ONE AND ONE OR ALL!!!!

we open this saturday!!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Q & A for H & G

Hell all!!

We are half way through our run of Hansle and Gretel!! We have had some great houses. This time around we bring you a brief Q&A with Hansel and Gretel Director Caitlin Stewart-Swift.

Q & A with Director Caitlin Stewart-Swift

There’s no one better to tell you about this production than our fantastic director, Caitlin Stewart-Swift. We sat down with Caitlin and asked her a few questions about Hansel & Gretel and theatre in general.


Q: For Makeshift's production of the classic fairy tale Hansel and Gretel, we're using another wonderful adaptation from local playwright Jack Neary. What is different about this version of the play than what people are used to?

Well I would have to say that Jack does not back away from the dark side of this fairy tale which I feel is keeping very true to the original. But I really enjoy how Jack balances out the dark side of this story with a crazy Granny (aka the Witch!) and her equally zany henchmen Rollo and Stench!


Q: What made you want to direct this particular show?

I really fell in love with the darker side of this play and how well it was balanced by the crazy and colorful bad guys. It also, to me, had qualities very similar to that of British Panto and that peaked my imagination and made me want to stage it.


Q: Children's theatre requires a lot of energy. What are you and the cast doing to keep energy up at rehearsals and to keep it fun?

Well the cast and I are making sure we always start rehearsals off on a fun note, lots of high energy warm ups and some laughter! We are also really playing up Granny, Rollo and Stench, to balance out the scary circumstances that the children and father are facing in the play. We are also keeping the pacing of the show up! This is not a show that drags so hold onto your hats, folks!


Q: What's your favorite thing about doing children's theatre and about working with Makeshift?

My favorite thing about doing children's theatre is two fold: firstly I love bringing fantastical characters to life. It is so much fun to play with these characters who are truly characters, and yet are also old friends from our childhood stories and fairy tales. Secondly, I love introducing young audiences to theatre and how magical and engaging it is. And when it comes to Makeshift I don't think you can beat the great groups of people and artist who make up this super duper awesome community of artists.

Q: You've been an actor, dancer, choreographer and director. What keeps you coming back to working in the theatre?

Theatre, all aspects of it, are my passion. Whether it is acting, dancing, choreographing, or directing I love it plain and simple, and I am happiest when I am working on something theatrical and artistic. I was once told by a very wise teacher, "that work in this field is hard to come by, so if you’re lucky enough to get work, work as hard as you can and give it 100%." This has come to be my motto, slightly corny I know, but I find it to be pretty spot on.

Q: Can you share a funny story about something that has happened to you in the theatre, either working on this show or another one?

Well since you ask... There was this one time I was doing "Li'll Abner- The musical" and three other characters and I were ready to make our entrance, and the guy on stage completely goes up on his lines and jumps to our next entrance, which is on the other side of the stage! So we dash to the other side to enter for the next scene, and he regains his lines and flips back to our original entrance, back where we came from! We were dashing about like ping pong balls in a tournament of really skilled ping-pong players! No one in the audience knew but "boy oh boy" were our heads spinning by the time we finally made it on stage....

This show does have its funny moments, but I wouldn't want to spoil it for our audience...

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We hope to see you at the show!!

~Nero!

Monday, January 12, 2009

Did I leave some bread crumbs lying around here?

Once again art work done by the amazing Kristen Boucher!!

We want to welcome Ms. Meghan Coonan to the Makeshift Family as a production and marketing associate!!!

Also, I feel the need to mention that it is STILL SNOWING!!!

Monday, January 05, 2009

A new year, a new server... and a new guild?!?!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! what does 2009 have in store for you!!!

Well we at Makehift have been getting in touch with our nerdy roots for the new year!!! YES, we are back on World of Warcraft!!! Bring on the hot pockets!!

You can find us on the Khadgar server under the names:
(FOR THE HORDE!!!!!)
Reph
Glokk
Callmenero
Wineinabox
Inkido

Mr. Vinnie is trying to start a guild... ask for Reph!

Also we start rehearsals for Hansel and Gretel tonight!!! The season is moving right along... We are starting to look for shows for next year, so if there a fairy tale that we have not done yet that you would like to see let us know and we will start looking for scripts!!!

Wishing you a Happy and prosperous new year, may your loot be epic and powerful!

~Nero
Callmenero
17lv rogue
khadgar
undercity