Hi Buddies,
Thank you for sending me get well wishes.
My best friend, Moosey-Moose, made scones for me! I know he does not like to bake so this is an extra special treat for me!
He also made hot cocoa with a LOT of whippy cream!
The scone looks very toasty and yummy. Hmmm, maybe I’ll save it for later. I’ll drink the hot cocoa for now.
Your buddy,
Sleepy Bear
Hi Book Buddies and Theater Buddies,
I don’t know what happened. One minute I was feeling fine, reading books and sipping hot cocoa with whippy cream and the next minute – BOOM! I felt absolutely, positively, super-duperly, rotten!
How could things change so fast?
I filled my sippy cup with grape juice before crawling under the covers. But I sure wish I had a cup of hot cocoa and extra whippy cream. That would really make me feel almost like my ol’ self again.
Maybe I’ll try to sleep for an hour or two. Then I’ll get up and have my snack.
Bye for now,
Sleepy Bear
Hi Theater Buddies,
Last night I went to the theater again. No, not the movie theater. Live theater on stage! I saw the play ARSENIC AND OLD LACE at The Bathhouse.
I’m just sitting around drinking some tea before the show started. Oh, alright. I was really sitting on the set pretending to be in the show. It was a little scary when I saw the audience watching me. I don’t know if I would be able to act on stage. I think I would have stage fright!
window with a window seat. You have to use your imagination a little bit but that’s part of the fun!
Back to my seat in the audience. ARSENIC AND OLD LACE is a comedy. It’s about two sisters who try to help people by giving them a yummy drink. Except the yummy drink makes them really sick.
Their nephew, Mortimer, tries to help them because what they are doing is not nice. But they don’t want help because they do not agree with him.
More people come to their house and so the sisters and the nephew have to keep their secret from the visitors. Sometimes the visitors want something to drink but they can’t because then they will get sick, too. It was a little complicated for me to keep track of everything. But I understood most of the story.
This play was directed by Shana Bestock. She directs a lot of plays for the Seattle Public Theater. I like how she helps the actors really become the character. Oh! I forgot to tell you that the actors are kids in middle school and high school!
On the right is one of the sisters, Abby Brewster. She’s talking to Mrs. Harper, a neighbor lady. Abby is played by Casey Bouldin. The neighbor lady is played by Sarah Murphy.
She plays two different characters, Mrs. Harper and Mr. Witherspoon! They both did a super job convincing me they were the characters in the play and not their usual selves.
At the end of the play the actors came out and took a bow. That is their way of thanking the audience for coming to watch them perform. On the far right is William Lavely. He plays Mortimer. He is a super actor. The girl next to him is Hannah Ruggiero. She plays Mortimer’s girlfriend. She was really good, too.
ARSENIC AND OLD LACE has shows today and tomorrow. Ask your parents to take you. This is the link you can tell them about with all the details: http://seattlepublictheater.org/education-programs.htm
I hope you get to see the play. If you do, write to me and tell me your favorite parts.
I’ll write again about shows performed by kids in the education program with Seattle Public Theater. You can follow my blog so you know exactly when I post something new!
Your Theater Buddy,
Sleepy Bear
Hi Theater Buddies,
Just like I promised, here is some more about my day at the WILLY WONKA rehearsal with Broadway Bound Children’s Theater.
WILLY WONKA is a musical. That means there is singing and dancing. I got to sit with Melina Markland, the musical director. She’s a really good piano player. I couldn’t take my eyes off her hands on the keys! I made another new friend, too. Her name is Edan. She plays the character Phinneous Trout. Edan sings a solo in the show. Just thinking about doing that makes me a scaredy bear. But I know Edan will do a great job on stage.
This is Sonya the director with her assistant. They are leading a group of actors in a dance number. Everyone’s arms and feet are doing exactly the same thing! The kids didn’t even get to practice very much. They are having a lot of fun and I have fun watching them.
This is what’s happening on the other side of the room. Look! This group of actors is doing the exact same thing, too. Wow! They’re super good.
This is me at the end of the rehearsal. I’m ready for a nap. I didn’t have to do even a teeny tiny bit as much as these kids did during rehearsal and I’m pooped! Good thing for me I made another new friend to hold me. Her name is Chloe. She plays the character Ms. TeeVee. She doesn’t look tired. She’s a pro!
I hope you like reading about the behind the scenes of a live stage production. Check back soon. I plan to visit another rehearsal before opening night. I hope to see you at the show!
Your Theater Buddy,
Sleepy Bear
Hi Theater Buddies,
Yesterday, my friend, Jimmy Nixon at Broadway Bound Children’s Theater, invited me to spend two whole hours at the rehearsal for WILLY WONKA!
I met the director of the show, Sonya Shaw. She’s the one in the white sweater. Sonya is super nice. She even said I could go back to visit again. I think I will!
Sonya is using a model of the stage to help the actors make pictures in their mind about the scene they are going to rehearse. I think my paws are too big to play with the model!
I got to sit with the production team. They asked me to help them take notes. The man in the blue shirt is Mike Bowers. He’s the stage manager. I want to know more about his job. Maybe he’ll write to me and explain what he does! The lady next to me is the Assistant Stage Manager. Her name is Amanda Elvig.
This is what it looks like from the production table. We’re in a room like a classroom but everyone pretends they are on the stage already performing. Sonya is directing this small group of actors. But sometimes, she has to direct a really big group! She even knows all the names of the actors and the character they play! And do you want to know something else? There are three casts for WILLY WONKA! Sonya has a really good memory. Sometimes I have trouble remembering if I already had a cup of hot cocoa. So I usually make another one just to be sure.
After rehearsal I sat in the Broadway Bound offices to write some more notes. Seeing all the posters on the wall gave me ideas for my own Broadway show! Maybe one day I can be a big time director on Broadway in New York City!
I have a lot more I want to share with you about my visit to the WILLY WONKA rehearsal. So, check back later today and maybe you’ll see yourself in one of my pictures. Tell your friends, too.
Oh, if you want to see the show, opening night is Friday February 4th. Ask your parents to take you. Here’s the link to buy tickets: http://www.broadwaybound.org. But remember, ask your parents first.
If you have questions about what happens at a rehearsal, write to me and I’ll find out the answer and then I’ll write back to you.
Your Theater Buddy,
Sleepy Bear
Hi Theater Buddies,
Last night I went to opening night for the Broadway Bound Children’s Theater production of HAIRSPRAY, a musical with lots of singing and dancing.
I had the best seat in the house!
Before I entered the theater, a person called an usher helped me find my seat and he gave me a program. The program lists all the names of the actors, the characters they play and the songs they will sing. I’m going to put my program in my scrapbook to remind me of my special theater experience.
This is Tracy sitting on the steps with her dad. Her mom is ironing. They are talking about following their dreams. Tracy has big dreams and one of them is to dance on the Corny
Collins television show with all her friends. I really listened to the words they were singing and I told myself, “Hey, that’s right! Dream big!”
I like this show because it has a happy ending! Everyone is dancing together on live television. It looked like so much fun that it made me want to jump out of my seat and dance with them on stage. But I didn’t. I would have to take lots of dance lessons from Danny, the choreographer, before I could do that.
The costumes are very bright and colorful. The costume designer, Deborah Hartwell, did a great job. The director, Jimmy Nixon, did a super-duper job directing the show. He is so fun and full of energy, just like his show! And remember, there are two whole casts he had to direct! I get sleepy just thinking about all the hard work he had to do.
On the way home I was humming tunes from the show! “You can’t stop the beat!” I hope you get to see the show, too, but hurry because tickets are selling fast. If you want to go, ask your parents for help. Here’s the link to Broadway Bound: http://www.broadwaybound.org/ But remember, ask your parents first.
If you see the show, write to me and tell me your favorite parts.
Your Theater Buddy,
Sleepy Bear
Hi Theater Buddies,
That’s right, I was invited to watch the rehearsal for HAIRSPRAY! What’s that you ask? It’s a famous Broadway musical being performed by kids right here in Seattle.
I got to sit with the director of the show. His name is Jimmy Nixon. He’s the one in the white t-shirt. He’s super nice and he has goo-gobs of energy! I could tell he really enjoys his job.
I also got to meet the choreographer. His name is Danny Long. He’s the one holding me. I was so lucky to meet a choreographer in person. Do you remember what the choreographer does? That’s right, he’s the one who teaches the actors how to move and dance on stage. There are a lot of dance numbers in HAIRSPRAY. Danny has been very busy but luckily he has a lot of energy, too! Maybe he’ll teach me some dance steps the next time I see him.
I noticed Jimmy and Danny writing notes on big pieces of notebook paper. I thought I would help them by writing my own notes to share.
Jimmy and Danny share their notes with the actors. And, the actors share notes with each other! Everyone is like a super big family. They care about each other and they want to help each other be the best they can be! I felt very special that they invited me to watch them practice.
After the rehearsal I went backstage where they keep the costumes. The actors must hang up their costumes and they have to hang them up in the same place after every show. All the costumes have a label with the character’s name. I wish my closet was this organized at home.
These are some of the shoes from the show. I never knew so many different kinds of shoes were needed for just one show.
This is another new friend of mine. Her name is Miya. She plays two different characters. There are two casts for the show so everyone has the opportunity to perform. Miya is in both
casts. She said it’s sometimes challenging but I watched her perform during rehearsal and I thought she was super fantastic!
I met a lot of new people last night. I was shy and nervous at first but everyone made me feel very welcomed. Thank you!!!
Tomorrow, I’m going to the opening night performance. I’ll write on my blog all about the show. If you want to get tickets, too, here’s the link to Broadway Bound’s website: http://www.broadwaybound.org/
If you see me in the audience, be sure to say hi!
Your Theater Buddy,
Sleepy Bear
Hi Theater Buddies,
Two days in a row I got to watch a live theater show! I’m so lucky.
I made some new friends in the audience, too. On my left is Ingrid and on my right is Una. They’re sisters. They came to watch their brother, Ingamar, perform.
The show I watched was called SWEENEY TODD. It was a little scary for me and some parts I didn’t understand. I asked my reading and writing teacher, Kathleen, to explain to me what was happening.
But, I really liked listening to the music and the way the actors sang their lines instead of talking their words like regular people. Kathleen told me that the show was a musical. Kathleen also told me that the Seattle Public Theater and the Seattle Opera worked together to help the kids rehearse for the performance. Now I understand why the kids were singing so much. This was my first opera, too! I feel so grown up.
The Seattle Public Theater is going to have another show with high school kids in the education program. It’s called ARSENIC AND OLD LACE. I think I will have to ask Kathleen to be a guest blogger for me again. That show might be a little challenging for me to understand.
If you want to be an actor on stage, you should ask your parents to find out more details about the classes at the Seattle Public Theater. Here’s their website link: http://seattlepublictheater.org/education-programs.htm
Bye for now,
Sleepy Bear
