The cast and crew of Antigone (plus a few friends of the theater) assembled to help Alumna Charlotte '12 on a international scavenger hunt. The challenge was to have at least 15 people play a game of Twister at the same time - and every contestant had to wear a different color. How did they do? Check out the previous post!
Buildings have a life of their own. When we were building the Copeland Donahue, we knew what it would look like, what facilities it would have and how big it would be. But we had no idea how it would feel. During construction, it was impossible to know the effect it would have on those working, engaging and performing in the space.
I remember my first walk-through in July of 2008. The impact of the lofty ceiling, the dramatic wood doors and the views of oak and pine trees were both evocative and inspiring. Suddenly there was so much possibility - the building promised so much more than we could have possibly conceptualized as we were designing it.
It influenced and enriched my classroom teaching in ways I never imagined. It created an alternative performance space that allowed us to try unusual and unorthodox pieces. And most importantly, it gave Webb's actors and theater technicians a place to call their own.
Charlotte '12 and John '11 chill out before rehearsal.
One of my greatest Webb moments was the 2012 WSC graduation. I was in my seat, waiting for the ceremony to begin, when I looked over the Alamo lawn to see theater Alums (from as far back as 2008) chatting with the recently recently and not-yet graduated theater kids, who were introducing them to the new batch of actors and stage crew. It was a joyous sight, for at that moment I realized that the theater department wasn't just an "afternoon activity" or a clique. We had become a family. A family with traditions, a history and a home. One of the greatest things about having a home is the homecomings.
Charlotte '12 returns to visit Mallory '13 and Jack '13 on the opening night of Antigone
Tyler '11 meets Marcus '16 on a recent visit
Sabrina '09 shares stage manager tips with Alicia '14
It's fun to see familiar faces return to the Copeland Donahue throughout the year, but it's extra-special during the holiday season.
Diana '12 and Dakota '11 return from the East Coast to catch up with Vicky '14 and Jack '13.
3 Generations of Lady Techies: Sabrina '09 (in red) was our first student stage manager and was instrumental in developing our current technical theater program. Her legacy carries on in the capable hands of Storm '14 (shop foreperson), Brooklyn '15 (sound and lighting) and Michelle '15 (stage manager). Back in 2008, Sabrina built that lamppost for our production of Les Miserables.
The Old Guard: Jack, Diana, Dakota,Vicky enjoy a reunion while newbies Marcus '16, Brooklyn '15, Amelia '16, Rena '15, Keely '16 and Karina '15 hang around and get to know them.
We took a few of our Alums (along with the cast and crew of The 39 Steps) to have one last look at Mudd. Having spent so many hours there during their time at Webb, they wanted to take a piece of it with them. Foreman Kenny obliged us by removing the letters from the building. (Photo by Scott Nichols)
Tim '13, Ella '12 and Mallory '13 prepare to grab a few memories (Photo by Scott Nichols)
Letter Perfect: Mallory ('13) and Ella ('12) hold onto a bit of Webb theater history (Photo by Scott Nichols)
Sabrina claims the "M"
(Photo by Scott Nichols)
I got the "U" - because that's what I managed to pry off the wall
(Photo by Scott Nichols)
Varsity Letters (finally!): Cast and crew - past and present - hold their bit of history.
Marcus, Ella, Tinnie '13, Storm, Vicky, Mallory, Tim, Sabrina, Landen '13, Jack, Rena and Brooklyn.
As the song says, there's no place like home for the holidays. We wrapped up the year by holding our annual "Secret Santa" exchange - a tradition started by stage manager Ellie Rudolph '11.
Tech Director Alex and his pal Robbie top our tree as only theater dudes can - with a lighting wrench!
2012 has been fantastic - but now the (much needed) break is here! So...from our home to yours, we wish you a joyous, festive (and yes, FABULOUS) holiday season. See you in 2013!
The Candlelight concerts are one of the most beautiful holiday celebrations at Webb. Under the glow of the Chapel's candle chandelier, our singers and instrumentalists gather to perform and share their music with the community. Led by instrumental music teachers Linda Silva and Kyle Champion, this year's program included the Bach Double Violin Concerto, an Elizabethan Suite for woodwinds and the first movement of Beethoven's 1st symphony. Under the baton of Dr. Nina Gilbert, the girls of the Chamber Singers performed "This Little Babe" by Britten, and the boys sang Biebl's "Ave Maria." The entire group of singers and instrumentalists then joined forces to perform Mozart's "Ave verum corpus." The ensembles performed during both the WSC and VWS chapel, with an extended program for friends and family on Sunday afternoon. After the Sunday show, our generous team of parents provided a celebratory buffet for the performers and audience members.
Director of Instrumental Music Linda Silva conducts the orchestra.
The Chamber Singers fill the chapel with a glorious sound.
Nina Gilbert acknowledges the applause for our talented musicians
The boys and girls of the Choir and the Chamber Singers perform a piece by Mozart
The vibrant woodwind section gives the program a festive feel.
The musicians are now resting up after their very busy week and are looking forward to a well-earned break (peppered with a little bit of practice, too - fingers crossed!) When they return in January, they'll start to learn music for the next concert. Happy holidays, everybody - may the season be filled with music, joy and cheer!
November 2nd - Opening Night: Instead of resting before the show, the entire cast and crew of Antigone decide to play a massive game of Twister. Slightly crazy, yes, but for a good cause. More about this in the next post. Meanwhile...
Antigone has come and gone, but we haven't been resting on our laurels. The Arts Department has been up to all kinds of good stuff this month!
Mrs Silva, Ms. Hamlyn and Mrs. Sprague took a group downtown to the Ahmanson to see Jeff Goldblum in Seminar - a fantastic new play fresh from Broadway!
After attending Seminar, we walked to First Street to have a post-show discussion and feast at Pitfire Pizza.
Visiting artist Michelle Tellier, who plays the recorder with the world-class baroque ensemble Les Arts Florissants, came to speak with the orchestral students about her life as a professional musician. She played a few pieces and then worked with some lucky instrumentalists.
Prince Wang and Lauren Carpio warm up before their session with Mme. Tellier
Mr. Standlea's class grilled some sliders, took photographs, and are now in the process of sculpting replicas of them. Actually, it's a miracle that any of the actual sliders survived long enough to get photographed - they were delicious.
Looking good enough to eat!
Wood-n't you like to know what this is for?
Antigone closed on a Sunday night, and by Monday afternoon we had already started building the set for the next show, The 39 Steps. Fun Fact: Theme week is the only time during the academic year that the Copeland Donahue Theater is "dark" - meaning we don't have any rehearsals in the afternoon or performances at night. (Classes, of course, continue during the day as usual.) So with just one clear week, we had to work fast! The week Antigone opened, Alex and I finalized the design, measured the space and ordered the lumber. Our awesome carpenter, Ray Skinner, cut the pieces during performance week so he was ready to start building on Monday.
Ray builds a 2-story structure for The 39 Steps, which will also be used for the upcoming musical, Little Shop of Horrors. He got the entire set completed in 5 days - incredible! The tech crew can't wait to start painting it.
After theme week we held auditions for The 39 Steps. If you're not familiar with the play, please have a look at some of the videos! http://www.39stepsny.com/media.html A massive hit in both London and on Broadway, it's a funny, fast-paced show that requires a lot of physical and vocal dexterity. The actors must be able to switch accents as quickly and seamlessly as they change costumes, so we did an accent workshop via Skype with dialect coach Adam Michael Rose.
The cast assembles for their first accent workshop: Landen (clown) Mallory (Annabella/Margaret/Mrs. Jordan) Marcus (clown) Vicky (Pamela) and Tinnie (clown) say hello to Adam. The clowns will be playing 4-10 characters each (that's a lot of accents!) Jack Gilliat, who plays Richard Hannay, sadly wasn't able to attend this rehearsal. Considering he's an Englishman who will be playing an Englishman, we figured it was ok for him to miss it.
The Rain in Spain: Landen, Mallory, Marcus, Vicky and Tinnie will speaking in a variety of accents during the show, including three different English accents (received pronunciation, Posh and Cockney) Scottish, German and French.
The Cast work on dropping their jaws in order to sound plummy and posh.
Los Angeles-based dialect and accent coach Adam Michael Rose is currently working in NYC, so he offered to work with our actors via Skype. Yay technology!
In the following clip Mallory, Marcus, Vicky and Tinnie get to work on their Scottish accents. Why is the word "pudding" so funny?
But perhaps the most exciting development was this:
So long and good riddance. The unforgiving wooden seats of Mudd are carted away.
The campus is alive with the sound of jackhammers! Great piles of stuff are being tipped into dumpsters and taken away from what was Mudd auditorium. Alex and I had the opportunity to go into the building the other day, and I'm happy to report that it's gutted! Onwards and upwards with the Susan A. Nelson Performing Arts Center.
December is always a very busy time at Webb, especially for our musicians. The orchestra and choirs are busy preparing for the Candlelight Chapel concerts in just a few weeks. More on that festive tradition in the next post!
