The Cupcakes Are All Put Away

After two weeks of show shut down, the final cupcake was stacked along the wall, the floor was vacuumed and the benches arranged in a row in front of the costume racks. I have spent the last couple of weeks putting away the tea cart, packing away the Beast and his paws and trying to find a place big enough to store Mrs Potts hoop skirt...she was a VERY big woman!

There is always something bitter sweet about closing a show. By the time you get to the end of the run, everyone has nailed their part so well. They all begin to mesh as a cast and the stress of opening night is far behind them. Everyone is eager to go another weekend. The cast party and then its over. You are standing in the middle of a volcanic mass of costumes, shoes, props and scripts that need to sorted, cleaned and put away. The scripts have to be boxed up and shipped back to New York. I am never sure if it takes more time to put the show together or to put it all away.

I do enjoy the quiet. I like to take a day to sort through the costumes slowly, looking for tears, cleaning, finding the container they came from and a place to put the container back when you are done. We are getting quite the collection. With each show, I try to clean out unusable items and pull some for the next show. I remove the cast member's name and for a moment remember something unique or special about them. The little cupcake girls may have been costumed the same but each of them added their own brand of icing to the cake.

Cogsworth's cap and clearing the drawers of the Wardrobe. Babette's hat didn't make it, but Mrs Potts hat should go in the Upstart Crow Studios Hall of Fame. I was thinking how fun it would be to have a case where you could point to such things and remember the story behind it. Each show has its own memories, stories, inside jokes and energy. So putting it all away is time spent savoring the remnants of 60 kids who were beauties and at times, beasts, but were always something to crow about!

Beast, Beast, Where For Art Thou?

It never ceases to amaze me what talents lie in the hearts of our volunteers. Forrest Wilcox is an absolute genius craftsman and has once again outdone himself. From my crude drawing on the back of an envelope and awkward description of impossible scene changes, this master designed and built our balconies for Beast to cry out in despair, our battle to ensue and our townspeople to herald crazy old Maurice.

Add to this genius the set design and painting by our talented Alex D'Souza, Laura Emery, Noel McKern, Doug Fuerst, and Maya Curtinzupan and you will find a magical place to suspend not only your belief, but your worries.

Dr. Hoolala will bring his own brand of magic to the stage as he costumes the wardrobe and makes Cogsworth tick. Lumiere will shine and Cupcakes will giggle in the hands of Seamstress Extraordinaire, Mandi Bussell.

Beauty and her Beast, along with an enchanted castle filled with clattering objects will bedazzle, bewitch and befuddle you as to "how did they do that?"

Come see how we put all these pieces into "play" and create our own very special Upstart Crow Magic! Tickets are disappearing!

Human Again

Working the choreography for Be Our Guest proves challenging when so many cast members are out sick. This always seems to be the problem with calling for rehearsals and only some of the cast shows up. The real challenge is the short rehearsal schedule. We can't go back to teach those who missed the choreography creating more demand on those who are there to KNOW what they are doing.

Some of the cast members are also dancers, which helps. The steps are simple enough but learning to sequence them, let alone remember the sequence often confuses the novices. We have a great team, though, and they work patiently with the novice dancers. Those who are involved in dance as well, also "step up" and lend needed support to their fellow cast members.

Hopefully we can get over this sick stretch and make the most of the rehearsal time we have left. Only three weeks to show! The cast will be surprised on Monday when they see what we have in store for them!

Cupcakes, Napkins, Sporks - oh my!

Working our volunteers hard on measuring and designing cupcakes, napkins and utensils for the big chorus number Be Our Guest! WIth our Lumiere shining a spotlight on the enchanted characters in the castle we are looking to find interesting costumes. The cupcakes are quite adorable with berets of whipped cream and the magic carpets look adorable waving golden tassels. Our own Dr. Hoolala is madly whipping up a cup of tea for Chip and a place for the fancy bloomers of the Wardrobe. Tick Tock, Cogsworth will butle his way onto the stage as the enchanted butler. And all for the love of a rose.

Tickets go on sale soon. Great Valentine Gift! Check the web site on February 9th. Order early!

Tea With Tights

Stage Door Productions Team took the stage this weekend at Tea With Tights, an annual fundraiser for the All That! Dance Team. We were invited to be a part of the cabaret style show served up to audience members along with a full tea service. There were 23 dance numbers with dancers ranging in age from itty bitty 3 to 5 year olds to teens and every age between.

Stage Door performed You Can't Stop The Beat! one of the 5 numbers from their latest stage production. They have performed at Festival of The Trees at the Valley River Inn and will be performing at The Studio in the Hult Performing Arts Plaza in a Youth Performing Artists Celebration on April 5th. Next stop is a performance for a local school, River Road School, winner of the Dance With The Stars competition last October.

Great group of performers! Our youngest member was a shining definition of the show must go on. She performed on Saturday despite being sick for the past few days and feeling feverish at the show. She was rewarded with a few cookies and hugs all around (with the exception of her older brother) from her team mates. Bravo to one and all!

Call to Musicians

Looking for something to do on a cold winter night? Warm up with the orchestra at Upstart Crow Studios. We are looking for a French Horn, Cello, Stand-up Bass and Keyboard player. Rehearsals at the Studios for Disney's Beauty And The Beast. Performances are March 12 - 15th at Upstart Crow and Wildish Theatre. You even get a t-shirt! Call Upstart Crow 688-8260 for rehearsal days, music and information.

This Provincial Town

Rehearsals for Disney's Beauty and the Beast have begun and what a great cast it is! This production will be double cast which means a bit of split personalities and chaos but everyone seems enthusiastic and up to the challenge. Today I spent the day rummaging through North Eugene High School's costume and prop department in the hopes of finding something from their 2005 production of B&B. Found Chip's tea cart, Mrs. Potts' skirt and the terrifying Beast's head. Looking for a hoop skirt to attach Mrs. Potts' skirt and fancy butler type suit for Cogsworth.

It is so fun to go on the hunt for costumes!