The Wheels of a Dream

Yesterday, I did a "back.story" shoot with my friend, actress Shemika Berry. We were originally going to do a shoot with her as Ruth from the play "A Raisin in the Sun", but in order to continue with the theme of my series we decided to cast her as Sarah from the musical "Ragtime". Instead of telling you about the character and the show, this is the back story Shemika provided...

"Sarah in Ragtime is an idealistic young woman raised in Harlem during the Ragtime heyday of music. She grew up in a staunchly religious home and was very active in her church. Her one true passion has always been music. It stirs her soul and when she heard the piano playings and singing of a young musician named Coalhouse she instantly fell in love. The passion she felt for him made her forget about everything around her. Her love for him cause him to compromise her standards and the morals her parents raised her with. Her parents disowned her and forced her to leave her home upon discovery that she was pregnant with "that musician" Coalhouse's baby. Pregnant and unwed, Sarah was a disgrace to her family. When she had her baby, Coalhouse, Jr. she was alone, the baby came early and was so small he wasn't breathing. She didn't know he was still alive when she buried him, she would have never tried to harm her own child. Her anguish and horror at what she has done comes crashing down around her after her baby is discovered alive and crying in the garden."

Here are the photographs we came up with!

And the photograph that will be featured in my book... sb.imagery

All images owned and copyrighted by Scotty Beland.

back.story

.Today I wrote my artist's statement that I will include in my book. The book will be called "back.story", and... well... you'll figure out what it's about once you read below!

"What is a back story?

A back story is a device used literally as a background story which chronologically would have taken place prior to the narration of a novel, film, or in this case, a dramatic work. These devices are directly related to the narration and usually deal with the history of characters or other underlying elements. Kind of like a prequel.

There are a lot of considerations an actor has to make when coming up with a back story for their performance to make it their own. The lines in their script are only a basis for practically birthing a new character. The psychology of a character simply cannot be provided in a script or the brief character summary that not even all scripts provide; it is the actor’s responsibility to create this psychology and what makes the character tick. After all, if you think about the way a person was raised, who they knew growing up, what trials they faced, the obstacles they overcame, their first kiss... All of these things shape who a person is. This should be a testament to how powerful a back story can be. Two actors playing the same role with two different back stories will portray the character in very different ways.

My intent for this series was to create a collection of “character stills” that show actors, who have played these characters, in full costume and make-up and for them to talk about the back stories they developed for their characters. The photographs are meant to capture the essence of the character and what makes each character unique. Accordingly, each photograph and back story is accompanied by song lyrics that give insight to each particular characterization.

If anything, a person who reads this book should be able to take away the importance of a back story in someone’s life and how these “prequels” shape a character, and ultimately an entire society.

So, tell me... what’s your back story?"

If you want, you should totally let me know what you think! I want as much advice as possible. I will be posting about my progress in the making of this book on my other blog: http://sbimagery.blogspot.com/. Be sure to check it out!

And on this blog, I will be posting a new set of "character stills" soon. My lovely friend and actress/make-up artist, Shemika Berry will be portraying Sarah from the Broadway musical, Ragtime. I met Shemika when we were both cast in a production of Gypsy. She was cast as a stripper with a gimmick, and I was a 12-year-old! We have worked together several times since then and I know she is the perfect actress to portray this character. I'm sure it will be beautiful! I don't want to give too much away about specifics, but this is a song from the show that Sarah sings (hope it will get you in the mood Shemika!).

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Something's Cookin'

Last Friday was the opening night of another show I was in! Despite a short rehearsal process and some serious microphone issues (in addition to a period of mass confusion in which I forgot the words to one of my songs... :-) ), it was well-received by our opening weekend audiences! The show is called The Spitfire Grill, and it will be running for two more weekends (this Friday and Saturday at 8 and Sunday at 3 as well as next weekend). You can order tickets online at http://www.tantallonstage.com/ or call 301.203.6070.


Although this particular show is not well-known, it is a really good show filled with great music and intense dramatic moments! I play a somewhat dim-witted Sheriff who falls in love with a parolee who came to this town after being entranced by a newspaper clipping. She takes employment at The Spitfire Grill and soon enough, the town is thriving with life again. If you want a review, you can find one here from the folks at Showbiz Radio: http://www.showbizradio.net/2010/09/29/review-tcp-spitfire-grill/.

And here's another one from the Maryland Independent: http://www.somdnews.com/stories/10012010/weekmor130843_32199.shtml.

Here's a few more photographs shot by my good friend, Kristin Leahy.

I really hope to see some of you there!!!

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All of the images in this post copyright Kristin Leahy.

show.time

So, I thought it was important to include the live performance shots I have decided to include with my book that I will be making. These will all be compiled at the end of the book design, after all of the narratives I have shot.

Here you go...

Secret Garden - Port Tobacco Players

Dracula and the Curse of the Silver Scream - Port Tobacco Players

Little Shop of Horrors - Greenbelt Arts Center

You Can't Take It With You - St. Mary's Ryken

Cinderella - St. Mary's Summerstock

West Side Story - Rockville Musical Theatre

sb.imagery

All images owned and copyrighted by Scotty Beland.

New Website Design!!!

My website is finally published to my domain name!!! AND it's a new design. Hopefully you like it! A few things need to be added and changed and fixed, etc., but it's functional. Sooooo... just go to...

http://www.scottybeland.com/

I also created a blog for recent works to keep my other, non-theatre stuff in the open so I don't have to update my Web-site all the time. So go here to look at it!

http://sbimagery.blogspot.com/

In other news... the film I was cast in just wrapped!!! Now, I just have to wait for pick-ups and reshoots and such. The production crew is hoping to have a rough cut done by the end of the year, and then to release it sometime next spring... meaning probably next summer or fall :-) I've also been cast as Joe Sutter in a production of The Spitfire Grill, and I have to say that this score is a DREAM for me to sing! It fits practically perfect on my voice. The rest of the cast is pretty fantastic for what I've heard so far. Here's a cast list and some other information...

Percy Talbott - Valerie Holt
Hannah Ferguson - Lani Howe
Shelby Thorpe - Roberta Chaves
Caleb Thorpe - Ron Sweeney
Joe Sutter - Scotty Beland
Effy Krayneck - Pat Myers
The Visitor - Bob Chaves

Shows will be performed on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. September 24th thru October 9th. Sunday Matinees on October 3rd and 10th at 3 p.m.

10701 Livingston Rd.
Fort Washington, MD

Go to http://www.tantallonstage.com/ for more information!

sb.imagery

All images owned and copyrighted by Scotty Beland.

Impossible Things Are Happening Everyday

Rodgers and Hammerstein undoubtedly left a mark on the world of musical theatre. Penning dozens of scores including Oklahoma, The Sound of Music, The King and I, Carousel and South Pacific. Included in this roster of unforgettable, legendary musicals is that of Cinderella.

I had the pleasure of seeing a production of this show on Sunday, and I have to say that the company did a wonderful job! St. Mary's Summerstock is a... well... summerstock program in Southern Maryland for performers under the age of 21 to come audition and put on a show. The show was very well executed on all counts and the talent within the cast was great. Definitely worth travelling out to see. The night I went to watch, the title role and that of Prince Christopher were played by the understudies, Kylie Oosterink and Nicholas Browne. They did a wonderful job! Coincidentally, when I returned to take pictures today, they were playing these roles again, so the following pictures are of the understudies mentioned. I am including 9 photos from the production to tell the story... I hope you enjoy!

Nicholas Browne as Prince Christopher (L) and Kylie Oosterink as Cinderella (R).

From Left to Right: Kylie Oosterink, Rachel Baylor, Alanna Adams, and Alina Stone.

Kylie Oosterink as Cinderella.

Kylie Oosterink (L) and Nicholas Browne (R) waltz at the ball.

Alanna Adams as Grace (L) and Alina Stone as Joy (R).

Nicholas Browne (L) and Kylie Oosterink (R).



Matt Dowdle as Lionel (L), Nicholas Browne (C) and Kylie Oosterink (R).

There are four more chances to see this show! You can call 301-475-4200 Ext. 1800 for more information or to reserve your tickets now! If you do go, I really hope you enjoy the performance as much as I did, and also hope you enjoyed looking through this post! I'll be writing again soon about some other personal undertakings that I am going through that I can't wait to tell you about!

sb.imagery

All images owned and copyrighted by Scotty Beland.

No Business Like Show Business

Helloooooooo blogosphere!

I have not written anything on here for quite some time, so this is me checking in. Much has happened over the past month, and I have been relatively busy, but I am here now and that is all that matters.

...Spelling Bee has come to a close after a well-received and successful three weekend run for considerably less-than-packed audiences who made up for the short-coming of turn-out with loads of applause and laughter. This was the review given to us by the folks at ShowBiz Radio.
www.showbizradio.net/2010/06/01/review-tcp-spelling-bee/. Although a few points were assumed and not actually valid, the review is fairly accurate. I would also like to mention that I personally got a great review, which makes me really happy because I had only rehearsed the role for a week and a half. I could not be prouder of my cast for their exceptional review and performances over those few weeks! I will definitely miss you all!

In terms of the whole schpiel with Wildwood Summer Theatre, I did go to the auditions for Merrily We Roll Along, the replacement production for A Chorus Line. I did not end up participating in the show itself, however, because a new and better opportunity had opened up. I was offered the position of Choreographer for a production of Reefer Madness with STROyKA Theatre! This would have to be one of my favorite shows, regardless of it's shortcomings in terms of script and music and overall over-the-top, kitschy theatre. In all honesty, the over-the-top, kitschiness is exactly what makes the show so appealing for me. It requires a lot of energy and something is always happening to keep the audience interested. I also believe that the show itself has reached a platform of being a cult classic, like that of Rocky Horror and Hedwig and the Angry Inch. BUT... another travesty was about to strike. The day after I had choreographed the piece I was going to teach at auditions and e-mailed the director about it, I got an e-mail saying that the rights had been pulled. Foiled, yet again, by technicality! Luckily, I had not been truly and completely attached to the position or the show yet, so it did not kill me inside as much as ACL had. It's still heart-breaking, though, for lack of a better word.

Given all these signs, I have decided to take a bit of a break from auditioning for anything for about 6 months. I'll be graduating in December, so it is probably for the better in order to focus on school and developing a truly KICKASS portfolio and keeping my grades up. Speaking of which, I should be getting my portfolio review paperwork back very soon so keep your fingers crossed that I passed! Please and thanks. Although I may have decided to take a break for auditioning and participating in mainstage performances for a stint, I will probably be spending more time reading and writing, and probably taking some lessons and working on becoming better as an all-around performer. After a recent visit to NYU to stay with my dear friend and sitting in on one of her rehearsals, I realize that I do not work hard enough. I have just as much raw talent, I just have to work to make myself better than everyone else. On a side note, I commend all the people in that studio that day on the work they have put forth so far... I have a lot of faith in your potentially ground-breaking, very interesting original work. While I was visiting, my dearest friend Peggy-Sue Boone... or... Sylvia... or whatever character she is at this moment in time... made a short, silent film. It actually turned out pretty interesting and it was my first experience with filmmaking, which was cool: AKA I really enjoyed it. Maybe it will be posted here soon??? Guess you'll have to check back to find out!

'Til then, PEACE!

sb.imagery

Another Opening...

"There's no business like show business."

Truer words have never been spoken. It is with great remorse that I have to inform you that the rights for A Chorus Line have been revoked due to a National Tour production. This news came to me and the rest of the cast on Wednesday: Only five days away from our first rehearsal! The board fought extremely hard to re-acquire the rights, but unfortunately could not get anything to come to fruition. However, a substitute production has been chosen.

Wildwood Summer Theatre will now be producing Merrily We Roll Along; a musical modeled after a play of the same name with music and lyrics by the phenomenal Stephen Sondheim and a book by George Furth. The show revolves around Franklin Shepard who was once a talented composer of Broadway musicals, but abandoned his true talent and friends to produce films in Hollywood. The show starts at the prime of his career and works it's way backwards to reveal memorable events which occurred along his journey. I have not had a significant amount of time to research much more into the show, but from what I have heard of cast recordings the music itself is beautifully written and has a similar sound to that of A Chorus Line. The cast has reasonably been asked to re-audition this coming week so that the production staff can best cast the new show. At this point in time, I am a nervous wreck. That is all :-)

In other news, my OTHER show The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee opened this weekend! In all honesty, I could not have asked for a better opening night! The cast was so charged with energy that it made the production explode with amazing-ness (a word had to be made up to describe this phenomenon). I could not be more proud of my cast! No reviews have been published yet to my knowledge, but I will post them here to be read (if they're good, of course :-) ). There will not be a performance tomorrow in observance of Memorial Day weekend, but there are two more weekends of performances to be done so don't miss out and get your tickets! The show truly is hilarious! Call 301.203.6070 for ticket information!

Here is a little write-up about the show from The Gazette, with a few quotes from yours truly.

http://www.gazette.net/stories/05272010/entepri142233_32548.php

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Magic Foot...

As it turns out, I will actually be playing the role of William Barfee in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. This is a recent under-taking because the person originally playing the role dropped out at the last minute... we'll say due to artistic differences. I have a little less than a week to learn the entire role and develop a character, not to mention I choreographed the show, so I have to focus on the rest of the cast to make sure they are hitting their marks, as well. Needless to say, I am going to be a HUGE ball of stress over the next couple weeks. However, I have faith in my cast and in myself to make this show REALLY good; it is so close we just have to polish! Which should not be too hard, since we have been running the show for more than a week now.

The show will run May 28th to June 13th, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, Sundays at 3 pm (there will not be a show the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend!). It will be performed on the stage of the John Addison Concert Hall at the Harmony Hall Regional Center in Fort Washington, MD.

10701 Livingston Road

Fort Washington, MD 20744

Call 301.203.6070 for ticket information!

Check back here for upcoming reviews and stories about the show!

sb.imagery

"Secret Garden" Review...

... with some of my photographs accompanying!!!

You can see the shots included with the article, along with a couple other's, in the post below.

The show runs the rest of this weekend and the following two weekends at the Port Tobacco Theatre in La Plata, MD. Call (301)932-6819 to make reservations or if you have any other questions :-)

It is a really great show for the entire family and has a really beautiful musical score.


http://www.somdnews.com/stories/05072010/weekmor171539_32184.shtml

sb.imagery

All images owned and copyrighted by Scotty Beland.

Come To My Garden

The Port Tobacco Players will be presenting a production of the musical The Secret Garden on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from now until May 23rd, 2010. This is a musical rendition of the children's story of the same name with beautiful music and a touching story that the entire family can enjoy. This particular production was directed by Amy Cooksey, with music direction by Therese Theidemann and choreography by Randy Tusing.

I had the pleasure of taking some photos of the performance during their tech week and was quite pleased with the amount of talent on the stage, especially from the younger actors! Anna Radtke plays a very dynamic Mary Lennox opposite Tori Carter's bratty, although somewhat endearing, Colin Craven. Tracy Weisemann superbly sings through the lyric soprano role of Lily, harmonizing wonderfully with Peter Ullman as Archibald Craven. Another stand-out performance for me was given by Mary Theideman, as the Craven's house-maid. Her rendition of "Hold On" was very warm and sentimental and even gave me goosebumps a couple of times. The ensemble for this show was also extremely solid, which was quite a task for some of the challenging vocal parts throughout the score of this show.

Here are some pictures :-)

Peter Ullman as Archibald (L) and Anna Radtke as Mary (R)

Anna Radtke as Mary (L) and Tori Carter as Colin (R)

Mike Mickey as Neville Craven (L) and Anna Radtke as Mary (R)

Mary Theideman as Martha

Tori Carter as Colin (L), Blake Racer as Dickon (C), and Anna Radtke as Mary (R)


You can see a full cast list and purchase tickets for the remaining performances by going to http://www.ptplayers.com/

In other news, I recently had the pleasure of seeing Anne Arundel Community College's production of Urinetown a couple of weekends ago, and I absolutely loved it! I am usually not a fan of overtly, for lack of a better term, "campy" shows, but this one was well done enough that I did not even notice. I went to support a friend of mine, Kasey Staniszewski, who played Hope Cladwell in the show. This was my first time seeing her in a leading role, and also the first time I had actually heard her sing, and it was definitely nice to see! Not to mention, she looked absolutely gorgeous (as per usual). Although this show is over now, it was definitely a must-see! I also would like to congratulate Magruder High School on their production of Curtains. I have never been so thoroughly impressed by a local high school theatre group, especially on a show as gargantuan as such. The ensemble was pure brilliance in the vocal department and even had amazing choreography to boot. I was pleased to find out that the show was choreographed by Kristina Friedgen who will be my director for A Chorus Line this summer! A few stand-out performers included Rachel Kelly as Carmen Bernstein, Kelly Ohanian as Niki Harris, Matt Dyer as Lt. Frank Cioffi and Emily Reggia as Bambi. Oh, and Sonia Galiber played an AMAZING clarinet solo, too! ;-) Here's to a job well done!

sb.imagery

All images owned and copyrighted by Scotty Beland.

Why I Do What I Do...

I'm in love with this tap sequence... someone please teach it to me.

Kthanks.

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It is my pleasure to announce...

... that a musical has won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama after a 14 year hiatus! Yes, that is correct. This award has not been won by a musical in 14 years, the previous winner being RENT. Without further ado... the winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama is...

NEXT TO NORMAL

Now this is even more amazing to me than it may seem to others because this happens to be one of my favorite new shows. It is a rock musical written by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey and opened on Broadway in April of 2009, after a run at the Arena Stage in Crystal City, VA. It is about a married woman's struggle with coping mechanisms, bi-polar disorder and depression as well as a family's despair in the middle of an emotional crisis. The show also won Tony Awards in 2009 for Best Score, while Tom Kitt earned the Best Orchestrations award. The show's star, Alice Ripley, also earned a Tony for Best Actress in a Musical.

Here's a taste of the show.



On another note, my dear friend Kylie Oosterink did a fantastic job in her high school's production of Thoroughly Modern Millie! She portrayed the role of Miss Dorothy Brown as well as anyone I've seen. She is definitely leaving at the top of the playing field and I couldn't be more proud! All in all, the production as a whole was good considering it was a high school group. Of course, you could tell who really wanted to be there and who didn't, but what else can you expect from a large group of hormonal teenagers. Alina Stone played a convincing Millie Dillmount and definitely had the vocal chops for the role, which was surprising considering her age. Another stand-out performer for me was Tony Oblen. He played an adequate Jimmy Smith, and although I did get very nervous for some of the higher parts in his songs, he did pull them off very well (with some modifications, but that's okay, we've all done it).

That is pretty much all I have for today, just decided to stop in with that amazing news about the Pulitzer. Soooooooooo... keep it classy!

sb.imagery

One Singular Sensation!

As I enter the throws of a new quarter of college, I have so much stuff coming up that I need to start working on. I got my exit portfolio back from pre-assessment and was happy to find to find out that it is a passable book! However, that's not good enough for me, so I have decided to work extra hard on it, as well as my other book, to make them AMAZING by the time I graduate in December. This quarter I will be taking a Conceptual Thinking class which seems like it will be a really interesting class that will get me to think outside the box, as well as a Science of Light class (BOOOOORING) and my exit portfolio class so I can work on my book for graduation. I will still be working on my theatre stuff throughout the quarter in order to have as much prepared as possible for my other book to put up in December with the rest of my show, so please let me know if you know any performances I can photograph or if you're an actor and want to be a character from a show for my series! I need to do as many as possible so I can have a strong collection.

In other theatrical news... for those of you who have been keeping track of what I've been doing, we have cast ...Spelling Bee and we could not be happier with our cast. The show will be going up at the end of May/beginning of June so hopefully some of you can make it out to see! The show is being produced by Leslie Luense, directed by Banafsheh Wallace, music directed by KJ Jacks, with choreography by Yours Truly, Scotty Beland. We had a really small turn-out of auditioners, but we were extremelyfortunate to get the exact auditioners we needed to fill the roles. This cast has a really high amount of energy, which is perfect for a show about a bunch of pre-pubescent kids competing in a county-wide spelling bee, and plenty of talent to boot. And without further ado... here is the cast list.

Cast:
Rona Lisa Peretti - Kate Dehnis
Chip Tolentino - Frank Brizzi
Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre - Jennifer Blanton
Leaf Coneybear - Charles Watley
Willam Barfee - Davey Jones
Marcy Park - Aimee Bonnet
Olive Ostrovsky - Samantha Battersby
Douglas Panch - Robert Rausch
Mitch Mahoney - Kenny Waters



For more information go to http://www.tantallonstage.com

I also would like to take this time to announce that I got cast in Wildwood Summer Theatre's production of A Chorus Line! The show will be going up in July/August and I will be playing the role of Zach. Zach is the choreographer/director of the show that all the dancers are auditioning for... So, I pretty much get to be in the entire show and will have tons of lines to learn! The role doesn't sing or dance much, so I still haven't figured out if I got the role because they hate how I sing/dance hahah, but I'd like to think I got it because I'm good at what I do. A good friend of mine also got cast and she will be playing the role of Cassie (who happens to be Zach's ex) so that will make the show about a million times more fun that it's already going to be.

Here is the rest of the cast list... http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/notes/wildwood-summer-theatre/cast-list-a-chorus-line/106788402692216

Anywho, that's pretty much all I have for now that is new... but check back soon for a review of a production of Thoroughly Modern Millie which I will be seeing on Saturday, and hopefully for some new pictures!

sb.imagery

Stardust!

I haven't made a post for a while, so I figured I would post something. I have been SO busy lately. Between my birthday a couple weekends ago, school, work and theatre. I just haven't had time to breathe much lately.

We will start with my birthday, which was absolutely FANTASTIC in every sense of the word. Everyone should enjoy their 21st birthday as much as I did. I went to New York City and spent some time with my two best friends on the face of the Earth, Kelly Colburn and Pamela Morris. I hung out with Kelly the first couple of days, and went to some of her classes at the glorious New York University where I learned a lot in just a few hours. Maybe this makes me a nerd, but I loved it. And I also got to watch her act in some of the classes, which was awesome because she's amazing and has come so far since high school (Mrs. Meers!). And then I was with my friend, Pam, for the rest of the weekend. She hooked us up with the NICEST hotel room I've ever been in (the bed was SO comfortable). And we spent all of Saturday walking around the city in the pouring rain. I went to the Museum of Modern Art, ate New York pizza, went to Ripley's Odditorium in Times Square, then to Madame Toussaud's Wax Museum right next to it, got hit on by some guy at the gelato place ("what country are you from?" followed by me saying "...really..."). We were supposed to take a train out to Brooklyn to catch a show after that, but the power was out on the ACE line, so we got stuck in Manhattan. I was pissed. We went to Ellen's Stardust Diner as a plan B and that gave me a complete attitude adjustment. I love that place, I'm going to work there at some point. Our waiter kept bringing me free drinks that I didn't ask for, so that was fun, but I think he had alterior motives (just ask Pam). The next day, we packed up our stuff and headed out to Long Island for Pam's concert that night. It was a concert for the Oceanside Concert Series. It's a series of concerts (duh) presented by Broadway pianist and all-around amazing musician Donny Jones with the goal of connecting amateur performers to performers who have been on Broadway, in National Tours, and recording studios. Act I is comprised of 6 to 8 amateur performers who each sing two songs, while Act II is where 1 or 2 professional performers sing a set of 10 or more songs. The group I saw was absolutely spectacular! There was a little girl, Rachel Krevans, who was absolutely adorable and definitely a gold-mine of talent waiting to be discovered. Andrea Arias-Martin and Stephanie Horowitz offered a lovely and fresh take on some opera classics. And of course, my friend, Pamela Morris, entertained the small crowd with "At Last" by Etta James, and "Astonishing" from the musical adaptation of Little Women. It was SO GOOD. And then the pro's took the stage. This time it was Scott Barnhardt who appeared in the Broadway revivals of Big River and Bye, Bye Birdie, and Erick Devine who appeared in Broadway's Ragtime, Seussical, Cats and Sid Caesar & Co., as well as the National Tours of Big River, Annie Get Your Gun, Grand Hotel and others. Great voice and amazing stage presence from both performers! Alas, the best weekend of my life had to come to an end, so I went home the day after. Sadface.

Upon getting home, it hit me like a ton of bricks that I had a lot of school work to do, some choreographing to do for one show, and some audition preparation to do for another show. Talk about a wake up call. The entirity of the last week has been jam packed with stuff to do! Luckily, I am all caught up and ready to turn in my final projects for the quarter. As for choreographing, if you read my previous post, you might remember that I am choreographing The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee for the Tantallon Community Players this spring. I put a really cutesy, fun, physical movement piece together to "Pandemonium" for the audition and was thoroughly happy with the auditioners ability and how fast they picked it up, and honestly a little surprised at how decent the piece looked when everyone was together. Yes, I am patting myself on the back. It was a very small turn out of auditioners on Saturday. However, based on the actors who did audition, the show CAN BE CASTED. That's a definite sigh of relief, because we were definitely nervous for it. I have to teach the choreography again tonight for a small group of auditioners, and then there is callbacks tomorrow. Good times. In addition to working and choreographing for ...Spelling Bee this weekend, I had auditions for A Chorus Line with a group called Wildwood Summer Theatre. I was not sure how I did after my dance audition on Saturday, but I felt pretty confident about the singing portion. Apparently, I did well enough, because I got a total of three callbacks! The roles I got called back for are Mike (which is one of my dream roles), Greg and Mark. So I went back up to Bethesda yesterday to dance and sing some more as well as to do some readings. I got there at around 2 to get warmed up and stretched out and did not end up leaving until 715. It was a long day to say the least. The combination I was taught for Mike was AMAZING. It definitely sealed my craving to BE Mike. I really hope I get that role. I sang for that role later, as well as sang and read for the roles of Greg and Mark. They also asked me to read for the role of Zach before I left, so I technically got 4 callbacks. All in all, it was a lot of fun and definitely a learning experience, and I got to meet some new people. If offered anything, I would probably take whatever they offered, but I'm REALLY REALLY holding out for Mike.

Anywho, I need to actually starting getting prepared for auditions to night and getting dinner ready for myself... sooooooooooooooo check back soon for more!

sb.imagery

All images owned and copyrighted by Scotty Beland.

New Developments

I figured I would take some time to write about some new theatre projects I'm working on in addition to some photography projects.

I have not been able to do anything in the way of performance since December when I did the USO Christmas Show with the Tantallon Community Players in Fort Washington, MD. I have auditioned for a few things here and there, but I've either just been too busy to do the show or flat out haven't been cast (which is new to me, but I'm learning to deal with it hah). Most recently, I have been asked to Assistant Direct and potentially choreograph The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee with the Tantallon Community Players. The show will be directed by Charla Rowe with auditions on March 20th and 22nd with callbacks on the 23rd.

For more information go to www.tantallonstage.com.

A friend of mine teaches an acting class and is putting together a production of For Colored Girls, which her students will act in, and she asked me to help cast the show and run auditions with her. This actually turned out to be a lot of fun. We played good cop-bad cop because she is really hard on her students in order to get them to act, and there were some good moments through out the audition process. I was impressed by a couple of the students abilities, and I think the show will turn out in the end. I've also been asked to understudy the role of Mr. Lindner in A Raisin in the Sun, which will be opening very shortly, also with the Tantallon Community Players. You won't want to miss this talented cast!

Cast:

Walter Lee Younger - Terry Spann

Ruth Younger - Lolita Marie Clayton

Mama Lena Younger - Robin Dorsey

Travis Younger - Kerrington Banks

Beneatha Younger - Christine Champion

Joseph Asaigi - Jivon Jackson

Karl Lindner - Casey Hebert

Mrs. Johnson - Shemika Berry

Moving Man 1 - Derris Banks

Moving Man 2/Willy - Tim Traylor

George Murchinson - Jeremy McShan

Bobo - Marquis Fair

Production Team:

Producer - Larry Carbaugh

Assistant Producer - Leslie Luense

Director - Rikki Howie

Stage Managers

John Battersby

Derris Banks

Additional Production

Temple Fortson

Anya Nebel

Charla Rowe

On the photography side of the spectrum, I've just been trying to line up shoots for the "Playbill" series I am working on. I need to do two more editorial-narrative shoots and I have to shoot at least three more live productions. I know I definitely need someone to portray the Emcee from Cabaret for one of the shoots. Please give me a shout out if you're interested in helping! And aside from that, I've just been working on portfolio stuff for my personal work and for school, and getting my web-site up and running. It is still a work-in-progress, but you can see what I have so far at www.sbeland.aiwsites.com. Feedback is much appreciated :-)

Unfortunately, thanks to the snow and other extenuating circumstances, I have not been able to check out any productions in the area lately. However, a friend of mine and I are planning to go see In The Heights at the Hippodrome in Baltimore, MD in the next couple of weeks. I recently listened to the original cast recording and I am officially in love with the music, which is written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Not to mention, my girlfriend Karen Olivo played Vanessa in the original cast (love that woman!). And speaking of Miss Olivo. I'm going to NYC for my birthday! My friend Pam and I plan on seeing West Side Story again while I'm there and perhaps another show. I can't wait! It's gonna be absolutely ridiculous amounts of fun!

Well thanks for checking in! Come back soon for more!

sb.imagery

If You Got It, Flaunt It!

This past Saturday, I made an addition to my "Playbill" series. Many people, theatre-loving or not, are familiar with the Mel Brooks movie, "The Producers". Many people are also familiar with the character Ulla Inga Hansen Benson Yonsen Tallen-Hallen Svaden-Svanson (and yes, that is the full name) made famous by blonde bombshell Uma Thurman, and Leo Bloom as potrayed by Matthew Broderick. I decided this would be a fun shoot to do... so that's what I did :-)


Meet Ashley Edmiston! I had met Ashley a couple of times before I even decided to do this shoot through mutual friends and other theatrical adventures. Casting her as Ulla for this shoot was an easy decision! I actually got the idea when I was reading her bio when I went to see West Side Story with Rockville Musical Theatre (she was Consuelo). Since she had played the character, I figured it made sense, plus she physically fits the part, so it was pretty much a win-win. She channeled Marilyn Monroe for most of the shoot, and what she came up with was perfect. Not to mention she pretty much directed herself... I hardly needed to say a word!


On the right we have Mark Hamberger, a friend I met when I did Hello, Dolly! this past summer with Rockville Musical Theatre. When Ashley and I decided to make it a paired shoot, we wanted someone with a boyish charm and an expressive face to portray Leo. Mark was one of the first people we thought of, (for obvious reasons). Mark definitely had the more difficult character to portray between the two and still did a great job with it. Ashley and Mark had both performed together in West Side Story, so it was definitely a good choice, especially when it came to the coupled shots. The chemistry was very natural and they were both very comfortable in front of the camera.

Thanks Ashley and Mark for an awesome shoot!

sb.imagery

All images owned and copyrighted by Scotty Beland.

The Stuff

So. My name is Scotty Beland and I am an artist in the DC Metropolitan area. I am currently going to the Art Institute of Washington in Arlington, VA to get my BFA in Photographic Imaging. I'll be graduating within the year and a lot of my portfolio is theatre-related, because I am also a performer. I've been working on a series of images where I get an actor to portray a character from a show, and I wanted to have a written bridge between the two subjects so that's what this will be for. As I do shoots for this series, I will be uploading images from the shoot to this blog and will talk about the character/actor/shoot itself as I go. I will also be writing about shows that I have seen in the area, which brings me to my next subject... Reefer Madness!!!

What better a way to kick off a blog than by writing about the fantastically hilarious musical comedy that is... Reefer Madness. The show is a satire of the cult classic film from 1936 with a book by Kevin Murphy and Dan Studney, with music by Dan Studney and lyrics by Kevin Murphy. It opened in Los Angeles, CA in 1998 and opened off-Broadway on September 15th, 2001. Closing shortly after, a movie was made in 2005. This production was done at Dominion Stage in Arlington, VA and I went to see it on the Saturday of opening weekend, January 16th. It was produced by Helen Bard-Sobola and David Moretti with direction by Matthew Randall and music direction by John-Michael d'Haviland. All in all, the cast was very well put-together and the orchestra was also pretty stand-out.
As soon as the curtain opened, the set grabbed the audiences attention. The set, designed and painted by Jared Davis, was skillfully painted in a style remniscent of Roy Lichtenstein, minus the bendet dots and served several purposes and we easy to move and set. The show was choreographed by Catherine Oh, and she did not disappoint. The opening number was expertly crafted and kept the audiences attention, and was also expertly danced by an extensively capable ensemble. Another number that stuck out in my mind was the 1936-swing style number, Down at the Ol' Five-and-Dime. Oh used authentic jitter and swing dance steps in the number and creatively tied them in to the dialogue and lyrics throughout the song. The ensemble was FILLED with talent from the get-go. Their dance abilities have already been discussed, but this was one of the most vocally capable casts I have heard recently in the area. All the vocal parts could be heard, but blended together wonderfully and never got over-bearing and help just the right amount of camp to serve the show justice.
Joel Piper as Jimmy Harper and Jaclyn Young as Mary Lane played very well off one another which definitely added to the comedy of the show without making a farce out of it. They were both vocally up to par to handle the roles and were almost perfect in their delivery. Piper did a great job with a high energy performance with just the right amount of over-the-top-ness overall. And Young played the naive Mary Lane to the tee and made the dominatrix scene between her and Ralph one of the funniest scenes in the show. Ralph was played by Sam Nystrom and did a great job, as well, seeming completely comfortable with all the quirks and strange characteristics that make up Ralph's persona. Tom Flatt was the Lecturer and narrated the show. His expressions could be seen from the back of the theatre, and his stern tone matched his expressions perfectly. The dark and mysterious villain of the show, Jack, was portrayed by Michael Reid. Reid did a fantastic job making the character as unlikeable of a person as possible. He was slimy, greasy, violent and mean and it worked perfectly for his conniving, reefer-peddling character. He also played the bit-part of Jesus, which was absolutely hilarious, showing his versatility as an actor. Cassandra Hodziewich portrayed the role of Sally hilariously! She gave Sally the sexy edge that was needed to lure Jimmy into trying reefer. Last, but certainly not least, possibly my favorite in the show was Amy Baska as Mae. This was her return to the world of musical theatre and it certainly was a good one! Her voice had a great smoky quality that added a quaint sex appeal to her character and was technically very sound. The role was also acted well between trying to get Jack to do the right thing and her addiction to reefer; it truly showed a definite struggle in a real-life situation instead of it all being funny.
The show was very well-staged and the director did a lot of justice to the satire that makes this show so enjoyable, and the communication between all the members of the production staff made the show seamless. This show is clearly for a mature audience, given the subject matter and some of the language, but all-in-all could be enjoyed by a wide variety of audience members. If you'd like to catch the show... the performances are as follows:

Thursdays - Jan. 21 and 28 @ 8 p.m.
Fridays - Jan. 15, 22 and 29 @ 8 p.m.
Saturdays - Jan. 16, 23 and 30 @ 8 p.m.
Sunday - Jan. 24 @ 2 p.m.

For more information, go to http://www.dominionstage.com/

Cast:
Mae - Amy Baska
Lecturer - Tom Flatt
Sally - Cassandra Hodziewich
Ralph - Sam Nystrom
Jimmy - Joel Piper
Jack/Jesus - Michal Reid
Mary Lane - Jaclyn Young
Ensemble
Melissa W. Bailey
Julia Fu
Peregrine "Pippin" Herlinger
Tyler Herman
Sally Kiernan
Gerard Maurer
PJ Mitchell
Maureen Reed
Dana Robinson
Michael Schaaff
Jack Solano
Erica Wisniewski

Production Team:
Producers
Helen Bard-Sobola
David M. Moretti
Director - Matthew Randall
Music Director - John-Michael d'Haviland
Choreographer - Catherine Oh
Assistant Choreographer - Mark Hidalgo
Stage Manager - Colleen Stock
Assistant Stage Manager - Anika Codispoti
Technical Director - David M. Moretti
Scenic & Painting Design - Jared Davis
Lighting Design - Jeffrey S. Auerbach
Special Effects
Jeffrey S. Auerbach
David M. Moretti
Sound Design - Ben Allen
Costume Design - Jacquin Pierce Allen
Assistant to the Costume Designer - Bill Hoyt
Properties - Christine Spata
Set Dressing Design - Patrick M. Doneghy
Hair & Makeup Design - Cast
Projection Design - Michael Sheman
Director Apprentice - Phillip Archey
Rehearsal Accompanist - Chris Byer
Dance Captains
Sally Kiernan
Michael Schaaff
Combat Choreography
Pippin Herlinger
Michael Reid
Master Carpenter - Hector Lorenzini

sb.imagery