Over 400 votes later, here are the winners from our profile picture contest! Each of these pictures will be our Facebook Profile Picture at some point this semester. We decided to use the two top choices from ON THE TOWN, as they were the two most popular pictures out of the whole bunch, and only came in one vote apart.
Ever wondered what the cast does when they’re not performing? Well, if you go to Muhlenberg, the answer is probably make LipDub videos! Check out the second behind-the-scenes video from the On the Town cast, created by Dance Captain Emily Phillips ‘14. Enjoy!
Hi again, everyone! Now, I’m pretty sure you all are dying to know how On the Town has been going. Well, I am absolutely thrilled to report that the first weekend of the show was fabulous with standing ovations every night! Opening night went extremely well, and the audience seemed to love the show. It was particularly special for me because my parents were in the audience! I only got to see them for a little bit after, since the crew was in the middle of clean-up, but they really enjoyed the show, and they may even come back to see other Muhlenberg productions with me. Another sweet touch was that Susan, our lighting designer, gave all of the crew gift cards to YoFresh, a local frozen yogurt shop, to celebrate our opening, which was totally unexpected and really generous of her. So all in all, opening night was a great start to the run!
Saturday night also went really well, but it was a little stressful since I forgot my run sheet in my dorm room. Now for those of you who don’t know what a run sheet is, it is basically a chart that tracks all the different set cues in the show and who does them. I use mine for reference and to keep track of what I’m doing, so it’s really hard for me to do a show without it. Luckily, everything went off without a hitch anyway, and when I wasn’t sure of something, I would just check with someone else to be totally sure. The audience Saturday night was even more excited than the night before, and they laughed at almost every joke. I had friends from my hall in the audience, and they loved it as well! After the show on Saturday, we had the Gala, which is basically a small reception with food to celebrate the show. We had awesome food, the mini tiramisu being my favorite, and it was nice to be able to take a short break. Also, some of the alumni who were in the 2003 production of On the Town came back to see the show. It just goes to show how supportive our alumni are and how fondly they recall their time here. I can only hope to be that supportive after I graduate.
On Sunday, we had a matinee, but it wasn’t just any old matinee! This performance was Open-Captioned and Audio Described, so people with auditory or visual disabilities could enjoy the show. Before the house opened, the audio describer gave a tactile tour. During the tactile tour, we passed around different important props, like Chip’s guidebook or the caveman club from the Museum scene, so the audience members who were visually disabled could get an idea of what they felt like and what they were for. I got to help showcase the props, and then the six principals introduced themselves so that patrons who wouldn’t be able to see the characters would be able to distinguish the different cast members by their voices. The show went well! It was really cool to see how excited the audience was to watch the show, even though some of them couldn’t exactly see or hear it. After the show you could tell that the cast and crew were very tired. When the crew finished cleaning up, the rest of the ASMs, some of the crew and I went to GQ for a well-deserved dinner. These past couple of days off have been nice, but I’m excited to get back to work tonight!
That’s all from me for now, but as a little treat (pun intended) I’ve included a picture or two from the gala. Happy belated Halloween!
Happy Halloween! Hope no one had any major damage from Superstorm Sandy. We are back up and running today and all performances this week will continue as scheduled. If you still need tickets for On the Town, the Box Office will be open the usual 12 - 6 p.m. so give them a call at 484-664-3333. Trust us, On the Town is a show you won’t want to miss!
Hi again, everyone! I’m taking a break from the crazy schedule I’ve had to update all of you on what’s going on with On the Town. We began technical rehearsals 8 days ago and tonight is our final dress. YIKES! Where did all the time go? Since we’ve moved into the Empie Theatre, a lot has changed. The deck crew has joined me and the other three ASMs backstage. It’s our collective responsibility to make sure that everything is (pardon the pun) ‘ship-shape’. It’s hard work. Not only do we have props to hand off, but wagons to push on and off, panels to adjust, actors to keep track of, and fly cues to manage. Needless to say, it gets a bit crazy, but I think we’re all doing an awesome job.
Personally, I’ve been enjoying tech a lot. It really brings everything together. Every couple of days, we add a new element, which makes the show seem more and more realized. I think it really hit me two nights ago, when we had the orchestra in for the first time. I’ve heard the songs from the show over and over for the past couple of months, but hearing them with a full orchestra was possibly one of the most wonderful moments of this entire process. It makes the show sound ten times better than it already did. Seeing the actors in their costumes was also a really awesome moment because since I’ve watched their characters develop rehearsal after rehearsal. It was so interesting to see how the costume designer envisioned them.
This process has been long and hard, but I’ve enjoyed every second of it. Watching a production grow from words on a page to actors on a stage, and knowing that I helped it get there has been very gratifying for me. The cast, crew, and directing team are all wonderful people who really love what they do, and I will definitely miss them after it’s over! I have tonight and two weekends of performances to look forward to, and I can’t wait for the Muhlenberg community to see what we’ve been up to!
Well that’s all from me for now! Here are some pictures. The first is a picture of the set and the second is a picture of me and two of my co-ASMs getting some rest during tech. (I’m the one on the left!)
Hello fans and friends of Muhlenberg Theatre! I’m back and currently sitting in the dressing room during our tech rehearsal for On The Town. It has been a whirlwind experience, and we’ve added so many new elements that are sure to make the show amazing.
We have now moved into Empie Theatre with moving set pieces, hundreds of brilliant lights, fantastic costumes and, as of today, an amazing orchestra. We are so lucky to have these resources available to us in the department, as they allow us to crank out such professional shows.
We began on stage this past Thursday with a general spacing through the show. At a snails pace, we went through each scene, determining where we stand, move, enter and exit onto the stage. It’s a pretty big undertaking since Empie Theatre is much bigger than the dance studio theater, where we were rehearsing! Over the weekend, we began working with our lighting designer who creates the ambiance and highlights the performers with each scene. These processes take at least double the time of the show itself, AKA a lot of hours! This past Saturday we were in rehearsal from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. and on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Let’s hope the cast is getting some sleep and studying done in their free time!
Today is our first run though with the orchestra, and its really bringing the show together. It was so exciting to hear the songs sounding full and really jumping into the world of the play.
Backstage, the cast has also been having a lot of fun. We’ve taken pictures in our sometimes ridiculous ’40s style clothing, had a capella jam sessions, and are in the process of making a surprise to document this experience.
We are three short days away from opening night and a lot of our shows are sold out! Better get your tickets now, if not, ya might miss out!
T minus 29 hours until opening night! Yaoweee!!!!
PS: Check out the video below, courtesy of MBC, Muhlenberg’s student run television channel!
Take a look at the segment about On the Town airing soon on Muhlenberg Broadcast Community, a student run television station. It features interviews with two of the leads and the director, as well as some exclusive footage from rehearsals. On the Town is the first event to be highlighted in MBC’s new show - MBC Spotlight!
On the Town Dance Captain Emily Phillips created this amazing behind-the-scenes video. If you’re not smiling by the end, you don’t deserve one of the few remaining seats…
On the Town - Past & Present.
Tickets are selling fast, so make sure you get yours today!
Hello everyone! This is my first post for the blog, and I’m excited to give you all a sneak peek behind the scenes of what a Muhlenberg production is like. I’m an Assistant Stage Manager for On the Town, which is our second Mainstage this season. Kasie already gave you all a brief overview of the show, so I’m going to skip that and head into my experience.
As an Assistant Stage Manager, or ASM, my job is to help the Stage Manager with anything he needs to get done. Since this show is very big, there are four ASMs assigned to it. During the actual run of show, we’ll be in charge of the crew backstage, making sure everything is going according to plan.
This is my first time being involved in a Mainstage and I really love working on this show so far. The cast is great and they have been nothing but supportive and sweet. Some of them have even helped me out with my music theory homework! My fellow ASMs are wonderful. We all get along really well, which is good, since we spend a lot of time together. On Fridays, the four of us go off campus and get dinner together before rehearsal. I always look forward to those days since they’re one of the few times we actually get to relax during the week. We rehearse a lot! David, our production stage manager, is amazing. He has taught me a lot about stage management. After rehearsals on Wednesdays, the whole stage management team goes to Wawa together, which is awesome, because I’ve been missing Wawa since I moved in.
As I’m writing this, we’re in the middle of a dance brush-up rehearsal. All of the choreography is done, all the scenes have been blocked, and all the music has been learned, so a lot of our rehearsals involve running things until they’re perfect. The speed with which the cast picks up complicated blocking and choreography never ceases to amaze me. They’ve learned so much in such a short time, but there’s not much time left! Friday is fall break, and then the Thursday of the week after we get back, we go into tech week. I’m excited to start tech, because I’m curious to see what it will be like, having never done a Muhlenberg tech before. Also, tech means we open soon, and I can’t wait for this cast to share their hard work with everyone!
Well, that’s all from me for now! I’ve attached a couple pictures from rehearsals that David has taken and a picture of the dinosaur that appears in the show. You’ll have to come see it to figure out why!
Pictures: (Left/Top) The cast reading through a scene; (Right/Bottom) The dinosaur! His name is Esteban, AKA Estebanosaourus Rex
