Month: August 2009

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is a show that allows the imaginations of our scenic and property artists to go wild.   Below are photos taken in our scene shop during the past week where our production staff, volunteers and TheatreWings High School Apprentices have obviously been having fun..

First up is a photo is the beginning (the head is still to come) of a remote controlled goat that appears in Act I.  If you remember the story, Joseph’s brothers kill a passing goat and use its blood to stain Joseph’s beautiful coat in order to convince their father that Joseph was eaten by a wild beast.

After the goat incident, Joseph’s brothers sell him to a caravan of passing Ishmaelites who put him in chains and take him off to Egypt. Below is a giant sphinx-like Pharoah’s head that will appear in the Egyptian scenes.

And finally in a sidewalk cafe back in Canaan, where a famine is underway, Joseph’s brothers sing the blues and, as they do, in flies the Tour de Canaan which looks oddly like another familiar tower!

Joseph is full of pure whimsy and off-the-wall humor and obviously our production staff, led by Set Designer Stefanie Christensen and Property Master Mike Christensen, have gotten into the spirit!

In June and August Charleston Stage offers a TheatreWings Apprentice summer camp where applicants receive training in preparation for the upcoming season.  This year we were surprised and very pleased to have a larger group of applicants participating in our summer camps.  Highlighted in the photos below, campers learned how to sew while making pants and coats for Joseph’s Brothers in Charleston Stage’s season opener, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, running September 9-20 at the College of Charleston’s Sottile Theatre. 

If you know a High School Student who would be interested in working behind the scenes with Charleston Stage and becoming a TheatreWings Apprentice, while learning and helping with costumes, props, and scenery, contact Stefanie Christensen at schristensen@charlestonstage.com for an application and more information.

(TheatreWings Apprentice Shelby Smith, a sophomore currently attending Academic Magnet)

 

(TheatreWings Apprentice Bailey Buckner, a senior currently attending Humanities and Sciences Academy)  

(by Priya Paranthaman, Charleston Stage’s Professional Resident Actor) Wow! I can’t believe SummerStage is over.  The past three weeks have been such an incredible and rewarding experience.  I was completely blown away by the talent and creativity of all the SummerStage participants.   When I arrived in Charleston, I had no idea what SummerStage was or what to expect.  I definitely was a little overwhelmed by the thought of having to help stage a full scale production with sixty-seven 2nd – 12th graders.  Even though I was a little timid, Marybeth knew exactly what to do.  She guided us, the resident actors, through the production process and transformed us into confident teachers and directors.The children sure made our job a lot easier.  They were so amazing to work with because everyone from the littlest chicken to the older leads, wanted to do their best.  Their enthusiasm and hard work sure paid off!  They were truly amazing on stage.I was so proud of each student and little sad when the show was over, but I do look forward to seeing some of them return for theatre school.  I’m so glad that I was able to be part of their magical experience.

 

 (Center:  Larnell White as Nathan Detroit and the Guys and Dolls Jr. cast)

 

 

(Guys and Dolls Jr. cast) 

 

 (by James Lombardino, Charleston Stage’s Professional Resident Actor)

 

  I first heard about Charleston Stage at a unified audition with about 1,000 other young and experienced actors.  I had no idea what would be in store for me for the upcoming year.  So when I got the call to come to play the title role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat I was more than thrilled.  I’ve never done the show before and it couldn’t be more fun.  Every song has a new style; pop, rock, country, musical theater ballads, even calypso.  

During our first rehearsal, we hit the ground running learning “Go, Go, Go Joseph”.  Before I knew it our scores were down, and we were on our feet learning choreography.  Our choreographer explained that just like the music, the dancing includes a multitude of styles.  Suddenly everyone around me is doing a disco/go-go/amazing dance.  I couldn’t believe the level of talent that the community has to offer here.

With the combination of great music, dance and a talented cast, I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s rehearsals. “Go, Go, Go JOE!”

 

 

 

(Charleston Stage Professional Resident Actors Priya Paranthaman as the Narrator and James Lombardino as Joseph)