Piñata Party

So I promised you all a Thursday post if Asher sent me the pictures Michael told me he was going to send. Well, he didn't, but Brittany did, so Brittany is today's official Blog Superhero, and she gets extra superhero points for being as nerdy as me to the point of Googling the word "piñata" so that she could paste it into an email and have the proper accent on it. I thought I was the only one that anal retentive -- good to know I'm not!

Okay, so this post is about the piñata-making party a few of our cast members had earlier this week. During the show, there is a birthday party, and at this birthday party is a piñata shaped like a penis. Now, this is not an easy thing to acquire, nor is it cheap, so the cast decided to make their own penis piñata. Below, find pictures from this endeavor, courtesy of Brittany Washington (who says the piñata is apparently pretty heavy, so we're going to hope she doesn't take out and cast/audience members while she swings it around onstage!).

Early on in the process (pre-papier-mâché [see, I can Google for accents too!]). Michael concentrates very hard. I'm fairly certain he's trying to create the head, but I really don't know.

Now that the head is attached to the shaft, Brian begins to cover it in papier-mâché.

Yes, this is slightly out of order, but it would take a really long time to delete this picture and go back and left-justify it, because I'd also have to delete all the others and re-justify them, because my computer is being really slow. At any rate, this is Michael, peering at us through the penis. A little weird, that.

Asher blow-dries the papier-mâché once the penis is assembled.

These next few photos are actually from set building on Sunday, but I figured I would include them as well.

Our lovely set -- that's me on the left, laden down with bags of costuming paraphernalia, then Brittany, Michael, and Kevin's dad Mike.

Michael and Theresa being craaaaazzzzzyyyyy.

2 Weeks Out!!!

We are almost 2 weeks out from opening night, ladies and gentlemen. Who's ready?

It's a scary time for a theatre group, to be 2 weeks away from opening. Kevin King (our technical director) and I were talking last night, and he said "I feel like we're behind, but if you think about it, in the old theatre we wouldn't have even been in the space yet, so I guess we're actually ahead!"

It's true. When 2nd Flight was just 2nd Flight, and we performed at the Cramer Center in Manassas, we wouldn't even move into the space until 2 weeks before the show went up (which would be this coming weekend). We'd build stuff ahead of time, but we wouldn't be able to really put it together until we were in the space.

And I have to say, this set is going to kick butt. Right now it's not painted or anything, it's just the skeleton, but it's awesome. Mad props to Kevin and Rick Wilson (our other technical director) and all the others who helped work on it so far (Theresa Bender, Brittany Washington, Asher Miller, Michael Schaaff, Kevin's dad Mike, and I'm sure there are others but these are the people I have actually seen working on it).

On another tech-related note, if you ever need cheap fabic, go to Wal*Mart. Their dollar-a-yard racks have costumed more shows for me than I can count. Go in with an open mind regarding color and weight of the fabric, and you're bound to find something that will work really well. Don't go in planning to be picky; you'll never find exactly what you want. Looking for something specific in the dollar-a-yard rack is like looking for a vintage Versace evening gown at the Sterling Goodwill. Not gonna happen.

That's about all I've got for today, but I have it on good authority that I may have some fodder for a Thursday update coming my way. I won't make promises, since it's not within my control whether or not the photos I've been told of appear in my inbox, but if they do, there will be an exciting story about the making of a certain special prop.

In the meantime, here are a couple more rehearsal photos, courtesy of Traci J. Brooks.

I actually watched this in rehearsal, and in person, it was even funnier than this picture. Poor Tara and Dan were trying to sing lovingly to each other, paper in hand, while Dan grabs Tara's butt to keep her from falling. Without the paper, she'll be able to hold on better, so he won't have to grip so hard, so it won't look as funny. But in rehearsal, it made me laugh.

This is one of two classic Ryan onstage poses. The other pose looks like Superman posing on top of a building with his cape billowing in the wind (though usually there's no billowing cape, for Ryan). When I go to see Ryan onstage, I always look for these poses -- I don't think it's on purpose that he does them, it's just that the roles I've seen him in lend themselves well to these "I'm singing very passionately out ot the audience" types of poses. I'm not making fun of you, Ryan. You know I love you.


A rare tender moment between Ivy and Nadia. I'm not entirely sure if this is actually Ivy and Nadia, or Juliet and the Nurse, but regardless, it's one of the few times Brittany's character isn't calling Tara's character a ho-face.

And finally, we have a not-so-tender moment between Ivy and Jason. Ivy looks like she's about to stab him in the face, then laugh about it. I'm not 100% sure what's actually going on here, but I can tell you that Ivy does not actually stab Jason in the face. Unless Debbie took some interesting directorial liberties that I'm not aware of. Which I don't think she did.

That's all for this particular update Tuesday! Come back on thursday and see if Asher sent me what he was supposed to (and if he didn't, you'll know it's his fault you don't have a story, not mine!).

Update Tuesday strikes again!!!

I promised two updates, so two updates ye shall have.

In this update, pictures from rehearsal!!!

Director Debbie Niezgoda offers direction (cuz that's what directors do, ideally) to actor Dan Plehal (Jason). I think he looks like he's not paying any attention, but I'm sure he's actually committing her every word to memory; right, Dan?

Photo credit: Traci J. Brooks

Ryan Khatcheressian (Peter) and Dan look very studious. Dan must be taking better notes, though, cuz his hand is moving faster. Step it up, Ryan!

Photo credit: Traci J. Brooks

Assistant Director B. Keith Ryder and Stage Manager Colleen Stock (greatest stage manager ever, from what I can tell) take notes. Lots of note taking going on at rehearsals. Kinda makes you wonder if they ever actually sing or dance or act, doesn't it?

Photo credit: Traci J. Brooks

Yes, they DO rehearse! Here, Ryan practices being a hummingbird while the rest of the cast practices choreography for "Rolling".

Photo credit: Brittany Washington