Christopher KingActor/Composer/Music Director

Just checking in and letting everyone know I’m going to be Music Directing a cute musical called “A Year with Frog and Toad”  In Chilliwack BC.  It’s with a lovely fine arts program out there called CSOPA (Chilliwack School of Performing Arts)  The artistic director is a friend of mine Andrew Smith, who is the husband of Sarah Rogers, who was the director of Anything Goes I did at TUTS this summer.  It’s going up in January and currently I’m in rehearsals with the kids on Monday Nights.  I’ll let you know how it’s going as I go.  Cute kids and lots of talent.  Come out and see it at the Chilliwack Cultural Centre.  A beautiful theatre, new and up to date.

LA Stage Times Logo

After one of my posts about a “Theatre Code of Ethics” that I wrote a while back, I was contacted by a writer from the blog LAStagetimes.com asking for a follow-up comment.  I wrote him back and he has published an article of his own about the subject and the “Code” Please have a read of it.  Here is the direct link.  I think it’s a great article and bring up some great points.  Hope you all have a read.  Let me know what you think.

Here is a promo video for Anything Goes at TUTS this summer.  I make a small contribution talking about Cole Porter.  Take a look and come and see Theatre Under the Stars in Vancouver, BC this summer.

A friend posted this on Facebook and I thought it was very well written.  It’s something I think I will pass on to younger aspiring students and actors I come across in my career.  Have a read:

This is a direct lift from this fantastic blog LA Stage Times which has more info and background on this article if you follow the link

Foreword to the Code
“A part of the great tradition of the theatre is the code of ethics which belong to every worker in the theatre. This code is not a superstition, nor a dogma, nor a ritual which is enforced by tribunals; it is an attitude toward your vocation, your fellow workers, your audiences and yourself. It is a kind of self-discipline which does not rob you of your invaluable individualism.
“Those of you who have been in show business know the full connotation of these precepts. Those of you who are new to show business will soon learn. The Circle Players, since its founding in 1945, has always striven to stand for the finest in theatre, and it will continue to do so. Therefore, it is with the sincere purpose of continued dedication to the great traditions of the theatre that these items are here presented.”

The “rules” follow:

1. I shall never miss a performance.
2. I shall play every performance with energy, enthusiasm and to the best of my ability regardless of size of audience, personal illness, bad weather, accident, or even death in my family.
3. I shall forego all social activities which interfere with rehearsals or any other scheduled work at the theatre, and I shall always be on time.
4. I shall never make a curtain late by my failure to be ready on time.
5. I shall never miss an entrance.
6. I shall never leave the theatre building or the stage area until I have completed my performance, unless I am specifically excused by the stage manager; curtain calls are a part of the show.
7. I shall not let the comments of friends, relatives or critics change any phase of my work without proper consultation; I shall not change lines, business, lights, properties, settings or costumes or any phase of the production without consultation with and permission of my director or producer or their agents, and I shall inform all people concerned.
8. I shall forego the gratification of my ego for the demands of the play.
9. I shall remember my business is to create illusion; therefore, I shall not break the illusion by appearing in costume and makeup off-stage or outside the theatre.
10. I shall accept my director’s and producer’s advice and counsel in the spirit in which it is given, for they can see the production as a whole and my work from the front.
11. I shall never “put on an act” while viewing other artists’ work as a member of an audience, nor shall I make caustic criticism from jealousy or for the sake of being smart.
12. I shall respect the play and the playwright and, remembering that “a work of art is not a work of art until it is finished,” I shall not condemn a play while it is in rehearsal.
13. I shall not spread rumor or gossip which is malicious and tends to reflect discredit on my show, the theatre, or any personnel connected with them-either to people inside or outside the group.
14. Since I respect the theatre in which I work, I shall do my best to keep it looking clean, orderly and attractive regardless of whether I am specifically assigned to such work or not.
15. I shall handle stage properties and costumes with care for I know they are part of the tools of my trade and are a vital part of the physical production.
16. I shall follow rules of courtesy, deportment and common decency applicable in all walks of life (and especially in a business in close contact with the public) when I am in the theatre, and I shall observe the rules and regulations of any specific theatre where I work.
17. I shall never lose my enthusiasm for theatre because of disappointments.
In addition, the document continued:
“I understand that membership in the Circle Theatre entitles me to the privilege of working, when I am so assigned, in any of the phases of a production, including: props, lights, sound, construction, house management, box office, publicity and stage managing-as well as acting. I realize it is possible I may not be cast in a part for many months, but I will not allow this to dampen my enthusiasm or desire to work, since I realize without my willingness to do all other phases of theatre work, there would be no theatre for me to act in.”
All members of the Circle Theatre were required to sign this document. And they must have-because the theatre, and the group into which it evolved, was successful for many years.

Last night I had the first orchestra rehearsals for Theatre Under the Stars production of Anything Goes.  Fantastic group of people, I’m looking forward to working with all of them.  This show we are using a smaller arrangement of the orchestration so I only have 13 people in the pit this year.  I am recording some of the rehearsals I’ll post some of the good ones soon.

Get your tickets!

www.tuts.ca

Here is a great video of the Beaumont cast of “Anything Goes” from the 1987 Tony awards. The fabulous Patti Lupone playing Reno. Just to give you a taste of the show.

Final 42nd street show of the week. Next show is Wednesday night. The wiz also has an evening show for cheap tonight. Hope people come after the Canucks eliminate the hawks tonight.

Wiz opening was great last night! Check out our first review!

Fighting Chance Productions
The Wiz

Date and Venue 21-30 April @ 8pm | Performance Works, Granville Island, Vancouver

Reviewer Ed Farolan

Give Ryan Mooney any musical and he converts it to magic. That’s what he did on opening night of this hit Broadway musical which made a hit again here in Vancouver with a brand-new take, a hip hop version of the classicThe Wizard of Oz.

Originally titled The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical “Wonderful Wizard of Oz” with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls and book by William F. Brown, its original context was African American, and it opened on October 21, 1974 at the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1978, it was later made into a film starring Diana Ross as Dorothy and Michael Jackson as Scarecrow.

In the Vancouver production, the musical is updated to make it more 21st centuryish. Veteran actress and singer, Jennifer Suratos, playing “The Wiz” like “magical” Oprah Winfrey, was a fantastic lookalike and mimicked OW to the T, while Jenny Moase as Evilline, is the despot Sarah Palin, the evil witch from Ozlaska. Moase, in my opinion, was the show stealer.

I enjoyed the energy, the gusto, the love of theatre that these young thespians displayed: the acrobatics of Lucas Blaney (Scarecrow), the transvestite transformation of Sean Parsons (Lion), the soulful singing of Nick Fontaine (Tin Man), and the childlike innocence of Arielle Tuliao (Dorothy). I was also delighted by the Lady Gaga imitation of Brittany Scott (Addaperle) and the lovely voice and sexy features of Emily Canavan (Glinda).

I remember many of the ensemble dancers/singers from last season’s Hair, and they were all fabulous and full of elan. Choreographer Dawn Ewen did a fantastic job with the dance numbers, and Musical Director Christopher King did a superb job with the songs and music.

Mooney, who was dressed in a red tie and red basketball runners, encouraged the opening night audience to help out by buying raffle tickets, saying the company lives off box office receipts, and a few sponsors here and there, donations, and occasional grants. This has, and always has been, the plight of community theatres here in Vancouver.

FCP promised that The Wiz was going to be successful, and it did in fact deliver as promised. I won’t be surprised if this musical sells out just as Sweeney Todd sold out last year. So be sure you don’t miss your chance to catch this show.

© 2011 Ed Farolan

Wiz Preview was last night and I was thrilled with the music and singing!  The show is coming together and I’m so excited to see how it is received tonight at Opening!

I am doing 42nd Street tonight though and won’t be able to attend, so Break a Leg! to the cast and crew!

Here is an article about me and my involvement with The Wiz

Come See "The Wiz"

Last night we had “The Wiz” Dress rehearsal!  I’m super thrilled with the music and sound.  I think it’s going to be great.  Make sure to get tickets to the fantastic production.  It’s at Performance Works, on Granville Is.

Crazy days for me.  Had Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Band rehearsals at Magee High School.  Fantastic group of kids and pro players.  The school will be blown away.  The Wiz also had the tech/move in day!  Excited for Dress rehearsal tomorrow night!