As we head into our second season, I am astounded by the talent we have amassed. I am also astounded by the hard work, dedication and far-thinking approach of my colleague (and, full disclosure) dear friend Bob Wood. And as a musician, I am also still astounded that he patiently got me through my piano final at good old Northwestern, and that he didn’t laugh too hard at me in conducting class as I stood at the podium, trying desperately to keep the horns in check and cue the violins without falling off the little step. Conducting is no joke, people; wait till you see Bob in action – watching him work is one of my favorite things.
I have been told to STAY AWAY from backstage (and backstage is definitely one of my favorite things) this year and let the people who are good at this kind of thing actually do their jobs; no more “Undercover Boss.” My duties last year included crew wrangling, mistress of the keys, organizing large and cumbersome instrument cases in small shared spaces, errand girl, caterer, wig control, steaming and pressing, minor stitching and the dreaded but exciting quick changes – with a great team and gracious actors it all worked out, but it’s a good thing my blood pressure is actually a little low. (If you do Insanity for a workout then you have an idea of what my life was like last season.) I loved being in the thick of it and making it all happen and I will miss it, but it is high time I left the running of that part of UrbanArias to our production stage manager for the season, the lovely Jocelyn Henjum, and our technical director Brad Porter. Brad was with us last season and was instrumental in figuring out how to hang the precipitous yet stunningly beautiful projection screen; clearly he can handle anything, and we’re very lucky to have him back.
A few more of my favorite things for the upcoming season:
· Vale Rideout More full disclosure – Vale was my Raoul in Phantom of the Opera in Hamburg, Germany a million years ago – “Raoul! Es ist nicht mehr vie fruher Raoul!” Never mind what it actually means – just know it makes Christine sound like a barking dog in a corset. Glad to be working with you again, friend.
· A workshop of our commission Positions 1956 (it’s a commission – how cool is that? – Conrad Cummings and Michael Korie are working as I type). This one of the main reasons we founded the company and it is gratifying to see our first effort get off the ground. More on this in my next post….
· Caroline Worra is coming back, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. If you had the good luck to see her in Glory Denied last year, you know she is a fantastic singing actress. We’re confident she will kill it in Before Breakfast.
· A 15 piece orchestra conducted by Bob, not by me.
· Cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudel…Favorite things, get it?
· And we are grateful for our awesome and generous donors – keep it coming! Get your friends involved – check out our Kickstarter campaign.
Check back for more of Madame President’s favorite things, and get your tickets for 2012!
Hi Susan (I think I hit send too soon on an earlier message – if so, sorry!),
It was good to meet you Friday. Bob and I really loved the show – we’ll be back! I’m attaching a link to The American Century Theater’s website, where you can see more on our upcoming production of Marathon ’33. We’d be happy to extend a comp if you’d like to attend. I also wanted to let you know about a group called D.C. Arts CAPO (Chairs and Presidents Organization), in case you haven’t already heard about it. It was started a couple of years ago by the chairs of Arena Stage and Signature for the local arts presidents and chairs to get together periodically to discuss topics of common interest. It’s been dormant for about a year but I just got an email last week about trying to schedule a meeting in May. They’re very informal, done over lunch, no dues or real structure, and it’s a great way to get insights into the other groups in town and how they operate. I’d be happy to forward that email along so you can attend if you’re interested (if so please send me your email address). Hope to hear from you. Regards, Wendy