On to the Next One...

A Change Gon' Come has come to a close and I am sad to see it go. I can honestly say that I have never felt more connected to, and proud of a show that I have been a part of. Each of my castmates have so much raw talent to offer and came to rehearsal and each performance ready to work and challenge themselved, to make discoveries in their characters, and dance with such passion. I want to thank everyone who had a hand in making this production what it is and I hope that I get to work with everyone again! However, with the closing of this show, Chicago is on the way so I am on to the next one! Rehearsals are going great so far and I cannot wait to see how things develop! More details will come later. I am also lining up a lot of auditions in the coming months, and may be doing an internship out in California this summer (interview tomorrow!).

In regards to photography... I have been in contact with several local, professional theatres in the DC area with the possibility of doing some work for them. I do not want to disclose which theatres yet, but as soon as I have more information I will share. There is also a possibility for me to take a staff photography gig in Cooperstown, NY this summer for The Glimmerglass Festival photographing their performances which would be basically perfect. They even provide housing!

Anywho, that's my update! Thanks for reading!

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Sunset Boulevard

I will be the first to admit that I am not the biggest fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber and that my bias weighs in heavily on my opinion of the show as a whole, but Signature Theatre's production of Sunset Boulevard just did not quite quench my thirst for excellent entertainment. And with that being said... the cast was filled with a lot of talent and energy. Unfortunately, the cast, set and costumes were the only pieces to the puzzle that seemed to fit. The actual piece itself seemed very contrived and leaves the artists will very little wiggle room to develop their own solid characters. A performer cannot possibly turn in the same performance and character as the originator, or anyone else's performance for that matter, and it is unfair to leave this as a request. I could not connect to a single character until about halfway through the SECOND ACT when Joe and Betty sing the duet, Too Much In Love To Care. Susan Derry turned in the performance as Betty Schaefer and did an excellent job! She was a refreshing burst of energy and was truly a natural in each of her scenes. Betty is romantically interested in Joe, a struggling writer, with whom she is re-writing one of Joe's screenplays where Girl Meets Boy. It was hard to believe that Derry and D.B. Bonds, who plays Joe, were romantically interested in each other until the show was almost over. Both performers are brilliant actors and singers on their own, but when combined simply did not have the right chemistry. Bonds did however portray a convincing chemistry with Florence Lacey, the aged, washed-up film noir actress who thinks she is the Greatest Star of All. Lacey played the role of Norma Desmond wonderfully. She gave the character just the right amount of over-the-top energy and had a magnificent voice! She has a very focused sound and it truly worked for her character and made her shine. However, some of her gestures were a little awkward, while other were so over-the-top that they came across as very cheesy. Perhaps the best performance in the show was given by Ed Dixon, playing the role of Max Von Mayerling. His mannerisms as Norma Desmond's house servant were perfect and his accent hit the nail right on the head. It was hard to direct attention to anyone else during any of his solos thanks to his rich, deep voice and his confident stage presence.
All-in-all, the performance itself was not bad. The problem lies within the actual book. Commendations to each of the performers and the creative staff for trying to breath life into this piece, but it was just too big of a piece to try to swallow. If you'd like to catch the performance, the show runs until February 13th.

You can go to http://www.sig-online.org/ for more information.

In other news... A Change Gon' Come is trucking along nicely. I have finally gotten to the point where I can be comfortable dropping in to my character, although it is still very emotionally demanding and draining. My fellow cast-mates are brilliant and I could not have asked for a better team of actors to work with in developing my character and challenging myself as an actor and dancer. On Saturday there was a dance rehearsal where I got to see all the other numbers that I have not seen yet, and there are a lot of really beautiful, touching dances. I'm not going to lie, I teared up a little! I hope that some of you can make it out to see one of the two performances, I promise it'll be worth it! The performances are as follows:

Friday - Feb. 18 @ 8 p.m.
Saturday - Feb. 19 @ 2 p.m.

F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre
603 Edmonston Dr
Rockville, MD 20851

Tickets are 15$! Let me know if you want to pre-buy your ticket (I need to have your money by Saturday, Feb. 12th).

Cast:
Helen/Harriet - Syriahnne Parker
Nick/Slave/William Still - Edward Byrd
Nia/Nelly - Clarissa Bridges
Ryn/Silas/Townsperson - Randy (Moyston) Henry
Susan/Lacey/Leticia - Bernadette Spriggs
Jack/Jake/Townsperson - Byron Johns Jr.
Beatrice/Bess/Townsperson - Vermonica Thomas
Pastor Griffin - Kelly Smith
Jesse - Antoine Spriggs
Josie/Townsperson - Schuylar Johns
Overseer/Officer Riley - Scotty Beland
Slave/Leonard - Jahred Harris
Sarah - Rachel Steger
Slave/Charles - Issaiah Demus
Mrs. Mendenhall - Lena Choudary
Slave/Townspeople - Amina Alzouma, Khalid Alzouma, Tyler Hill, Autumn Robinson

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