The Home Stretch!

Today was our last official rehearsal. Now we have three performances tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday to show Gansett what these kids have been working so hard on since September! A poster was created with photos from yesterday's rehearsal. The plan is to sell these large, glossy posters at the performances with the Ogre Ears. They will be $3 each or both for $5. My name even made it onto the poster at the bottom!

We got Fiona's green makeup and ogre ears on in time for "Who I'd Be," the Act 1 finale when she laments the curse that turns her into an ogre every night. With a little paint and some swift brush strokes, she was transformed from a princess into an ogre in a matter of minutes! When she becomes an ogre in the second act, however, Fiona has barely thirty seconds, which is not enough time to paint her green. To solve this dilemma, we came up with the idea to shine a green spotlight on her to create the illusion that her skin is green. A very simple but effective theater trick!

A great shot of one of our middle school volunteers working the spotlight at the rear of the auditorium. It is amazing how skilled these students are at such a young age. He rarely misses a cue!

This is the mic chart that we use both at the front of the house and backstage. It breaks down the show scene by scene and indicates which characters have mics and their mic numbers for that scene. In Act 1, Scene 1, for example, King Harold wears Mic 5 but then gives it to the Big Bad Wolf in Scene 2, who gives it to Gingy in Scene 4. With only eight microphones and 70+ students, most kids share except for Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey.We use this at the sound board to turn the correct numbers on and off or adjust the volume as well as backstage to know who needs to switch mic packs and when.

Finally, here's a clip of "What's Up Duloc?", one of the best numbers in the show. This was their last chance to perfect it before opening night and I thought their performance was excellent, save for some missing shoes. 

We have had an issue with small costume pieces, particularly gloves, tails, and tights, getting stolen or mixed up. I am hoping that the students who are missing pieces will find them tomorrow or will replace them with something from home. I have learned that, with so many actors and countless costumes, some items are bound to get lost. We will just have to make do with what we have and leave the rest to the audience's imagination.

Tomorrow, all of our hard work over the past six months will culminate in a real performance with an audience! I can't wait!