by Spencer Duncan, dramaturg
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Top row (L to R): Logan Ruesch, Danny Brown, Michael Comp, Sierra Docken, Haley Flanders, and Dennis the puppet baby. Bottom row (L to R): Britney Miles Smith, Arianna Krenk, Lauren Wilkins, Kate Coombs, and Teresa Dayley Love. Photo courtesy of Britney Miles Smith.[/caption]
At its home base of BYU, Water Sings Blue has brought many smiles to many people's faces. It's been privileged to have Kate Coombs join the audience. And it has enjoyed good reviews from Utah Theatre Bloggers. (Of course, if you'd like to see Water Sings Blue at the Margetts Theatre, you have until tomorrow, Saturday, 10 October, to get tickets.)
But there is much more ahead.
This last week, our Water Sings Blue cast began their tour! For the next three months, our cast will perform for thousands of children in Utah, Salt Lake, and Summit counties with a goal "to introduce theatre to children at an early age through performances and workshops, helping them to start a lifelong love of fine arts." At last count, the BYU Young Company performed for 23,000 children a year!
With each performance, the actors will get to hold an educational workshop with classes. Teachers will also receive, beforehand, supplementary educational packets with core curriculum tie-ins to the show.
It's a very exciting adventure, and we'll clue you in on actor responses at the end of it.
Until then, it's 'bon voyage!'
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For many, High School Musical is a nostalgic film that brings back memories of our days in high school, of struggling to fit in, figuring out who we are, and developing friendships that shape and change us. It teaches us that “we are all in this together,” a theme we’ve embraced throughout this production.
The debate over whether The Cherry Orchard is a comedy or a tragedy began with Chekhov himself and his director (and sometimes friend) Konstantin Stanislavsky.
The creative team began working on this production a little more than a year ago. In my role as production dramaturg, I was happy to create a website of resources first for the creative team, and then when we went into rehearsals, for the cast. And now that we are opening the show, the resources offer valuable perspectives to our audiences as well.