The Cadi Corner: Movie Night

Great news! We have added to a line of Totem Pole traditions: Totem Pole Movie Night! If you didn't make it Tuesday night, you must come next time, it was very exciting. Mister Ed provided us with popcorn and we had a plethora of candy and cokes, not to mention Totem Pole fun facts, and a history lesson from Shakespeare buffs Ray Ficca and Dr. Peggy Russo. To be honest, I can't believe we didn't think of this before. You get all the ambiance of being in the theatre except you can eat, drink, chew gum, and text your BFF because unlike live theatre, the actors can't see or hear you! This is a million-dollar-idea, I'm telling you - a movie in a theatre...this is gonna be huge!

We showed Hamlet so that everyone could brush up their Shakespeare before the opening of our next show (the soon to be Totem Pole favorite, I Hate Hamlet). As I mentioned earlier, Dr. Peggy Russo provided us with interesting Hamlet tidbits. For instance, did you know that after making Hamlet Mel Gibson swore he would never make another Lethal Weapon movie? Thank goodness he changed his mind and made two more. Peggy is an Assistant Professor of English at Penn Stage Mont Alto and she also provides us with dramaturgy for all our shows (pick up a program and check it out- there she is!). Ray Ficca helped break down in layman's terms what the characters were saying so that those of us unfamiliar with Iambic pentameter could follow along. Speaking of Iambic pentameter, or as the bard would say, "Speaketh of my lingo", it inspired me to quiz Totem Pole staff and patrons on their knowledge of the play and poet. Here are some of my favorite answers:

Q: Who wrote Hamlet?
A: Hamlet - Milo Groundskeeper


Q: Who stars in Mel Gibson's Hamlet?
A: "Uhh- I don't know" - Miller Assistant Technical Director
A: "Colin Farrell" - Christina movie go-er

Q: What is a fardel?
A: "A small fart" - Wil Love Shakespeare Historian/ Star of You Say Tomatoes
A: "Sounds like a fart" - Miller ATD
A: "A fart that Milo leaves while lying on his back" - Sue TPP Business Manager
A: "A special place I go to pass gas" - Milo Groundskeeper

Q: Finish the quote: "To be or not to be ......."
A: "How much is the bologna" - Wil Love Shakespeare Historian/ Star of You Say Tomatoes
A: "Did he just say how much for the blonde woman?" - Jeffrey movie go-er

Q: Hamlet is the Prince of what?
A: "Wales" - Mister Ed Star of stage and screen
A: "Wales" - Miller ATD
A: "Sherwood Forest" - Sue TPP Business Manager
A: "Drama" - Milo Groundskeeper
A: "New Jersey" - Wil Love Shakespeare Historian/ Star of You Say Tomatoes
A: "Denmark" - Shannon 13 year old whiz kid

Q: Who are Rosencrantz and Guildenstein?
A: "The agents we get our plays from" -Sue TPP Business Manager
A: "Money lenders" - Mister Ed Star of stage and screen
A: "Two old drag queens" Wil Love Shakespeare Historian/ Star of You Say Tomatoes

And finally.......

Q: Can you spell Shakespeare?
A: "S-H-A-K-E-S-P-E-R-E" - Matt (Star of I Hate Hamlet)

Well folks, there you have it. Movie night was a success and I hope to see you all at the playhouse for the next one. Oh, and if you still don't know what a fardel is, come check out I Hate Hamlet opening this Tuesday June 30th. "The play's the thing"!

Totem Pole staffers serve popcorn at Movie Night!

The Cadi Corner

Hello all you savvy Totem Pole web surfers!  My name is Cadi and I am a production assistant here.  From the first rehearsal to closing night I help out with all our shows in a season. Our fearless artistic director, the fantastic Mr. Ficca has decided it would be great if I started to blog to give you an insider's view of the goings on at Totem Pole Playhouse.  So, here we go!

Yesterday we had our first rehearsal for our upcoming show, I Hate Hamlet.  All of our first rehearsals start with a table read.  All the actors sit around a table and read the play out loud for the first time.  We do this so that our wonderful director Carl Schurr, along with all the designers can get a feel for the play without risking paper cuts.  Also, our lighting designer, Michael Domue don't read good.  The table read was just hysterical, we are all in for a treat with this play I can't wait to get it on its feet and start making some theatre magic!

In addition to our first rehearsal, we had two performances of our current show, You Say Tomatoes, or if you're from across the pond, You Say Tomatoes.  The set for this show is rather large because Act I takes place in England, and Act II takes place in New York.  To achieve both looks we (the crew) have to rotate 3 revolves at intermission (to take us to NYC) and before the curtain rises on each show (to take us back to England). 

There are particular steps we all have to follow in an exact order to make the transition smooth. We must follow the instructions step by step so nothing bad will happen. 

Something bad happened. 

We turned one of the revolves out of order and so it got stuck on the English side.  We tried by sheer man-power to move it and a piece of the set fell off and hit our assistant technical director, the brilliant Melissa Miller in the face!  Who says theatre isn't a contact sport?  Don't worry, she's ok.  And we all learned an important lesson today about following instructions!  This blog is brought to you by the letter W ( for worker’ comp).

(ATD Melissa Miller shows off her killer scar)

 

 

 

2009 Season

Welcome to the Totem Pole Playhouse official BLOG!

We hope to use our blog as way to keep you informed about what's going on at Totem Pole Playhouse this season and we hope that you will comment as much as possible:) Throughout the season our blog will feature various people who continue to help Totem Pole succeed each year. Look for blog posts from our marketing director and artistic director to follow shortly.

Presenting the 2009 Season:

Cotton Patch Gospel

You Say Tomatoes

I Hate Hamlet

The Queen of Bingo

Tuesday's With Morrie

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change