"Here I Go Again" with BMT Youth Troupe!

It's another session with BMT Youth Troupe, and it's packed full of awesomeness like you wouldn't believe!

If you are one of those awesome students Melissa, Antonio and I see on Saturday mornings, welcome!  Very glad to have you, please don't be afraid to browse the blog and hit that 'Follow' button on the right to keep updated on other cool stuff.  (You'll find some posts about the BMT show Guys & Dolls here, as well!)  In the meantime, let's talk about the song you'll be performing in May - "Here I Go Again" from the musical Rock of Ages!

Melissa and I wanted to make sure we found you a song that was going to be, first and foremost, fun for everybody.  We are so happy and relieved that y'all are happy with the piece, because we've got some amazing stuff planned for you. 

Rock of Ages is what's called a 'jukebox musical', where the songs themselves are pop songs that are widely recognizable, stuff found on just about everyone's classic rock playlist you can find.  "Here I Go Again" was originally performed by British hair metal band Whitesnake and became a hit single in 1987.  You can still find the song in most karaoke machines and '80s metal compilations.

The music video created iconic imagery for the '80s hair metal era, with vixen Tawny Kitaen prancing on the hood of a Jaguar XJ in scant white lingerie and seducing the lead singer while he's driving.  We also have shots of the band who are performing in what seems to be an empty stadium.  It's a cheese video, but it made it huge.  We can rip on it later.  Check it out below - if you dare!



I also must apologize for the recording that I had played for you, which was a live performance from the original Broadway cast.  After finding the London West End cast performance for a televised fundraising benefit on BBC, I'm rather upset I didn't play that one instead.  If you'd like, check out the Broadway cast, but it's not worth it to post here.  You're better off with this one.  :)



Which brings us to a little video I made for you guys! This is a practice track from the Whitesnake version of the song, which is essentially the same at the musical version, other than some minor differences. This will most likely be the track we perform to, but you'll be warned of any changes, naturally.

And that guitar I was talking about?  Here it is!  One of you lucky people will get a chance to use this beauty in our performance!  I'll bring it in sometime for everyone to check out ...

Enjoy your practice video!  The lyrics are after the video, if you'd like to copy n' paste into a document.

SHERRIE:

I don't know where I'm going

But I sure know where I've been

Hanging on the promises

In songs of yesterday

An I've made up my mind

I ain't wasting no more time

But, here I go again

Here I go again

DREW:

Though I keep searching for an answer,

I never seem to find what I'm looking for

Oh lord, I pray

You give me strength to carry on

'Cause I know what it means

To walk along the lonely street of dreams

SHERRIE/DREW:

Here I go again on my own

Goin' down the only road Ive ever known

Like a drifter, I was born to walk alone

And I've made up my mind

I ain't wasting no more time

STACEE:

I'm just another heart in need of rescue

Waiting on love's sweet charity

DENNIS:

And I'm gonna hold on

For the rest of my days

LONNY:

'Cause I know what it means

To walk along the lonely street of dreams

COMPANY:

And here I go again on my own

Goin' down the only road I've ever known

Like a drifter, I was born to walk alone

REGINA:

And I've made up my mind, oh yeah

I ain't wasting no more time

FRANZ:

But, here I go again

SHERRIE:

Oh, here I go again

DREW:

Here I go, here I go

Here I go again

Oh yeah, here I go

[GUITAR SOLO!]

COMPANY:

And here I go again on my own

Goin' down the only road I've ever known

Like a drifter, I was born to walk alone

SHERRIE:

And I've made up my mind

DREW:

Oh yeah, I ain't wasting no more time

Come on!

COMPANY:

And here I go again on my own

Goin' down the only road I've ever known

Like a drifter I was born to walk alone

'Cause I know what it means

To walk along the lonely street of dreams

Here I go again!

BMT's 'Guys & Dolls' - New & Improved Video!

For your listening - and practicing! - consideration, please enjoy this all-new and improved rehearsal recording with video-note accompaniment for your convenience!

I'm currently editing the most recent tracks and developing them into videos of similar format, which means I'll be PERFECT.  I'd just better remember this stuff when it comes to the actual performance.

Enjoy, lovelies!

BMT's 'Guys & Dolls' - 'The Hand That Rocked The Boat'!

Well, we had finally finished learning 'Sit Down You're Rocking The Boat' as a full cast, and I have the recording to prove it!  I just need to edit the recording a bit and get all the 'blue talk' outta there first.  Don't want to implicate anyone, but I'm waiting for a certain possibly incriminating photo that I can't wait to PhotoShop.

Abi and I were secretly thanking SHOUT! when it came to our vocal training and working with Josh, especially dealing with the music.  (I'm gonna have to scan a page or so to show you just how nuts this music really was.)  We're also crazy to take on the soprano parts.  Of course, since Abi is playing General Cartwright, she's gotta hit that crazy high C at the end of the song, and we thought we would challenge ourselves.  It's not as bad, we don't sound like dog whistles or dolphins ... not all the time.  I put trust in Sharon, our musical director, a self-proclaimed 'technique nut'.  Hence, the recordings for future and classroom reference.  The first rehearsal recording doesn't have any of the warmups, but that's in the second one (coming soon!). 

Our third recording - still to be edited - has the complete workup of the warmups, all the harmony parts, dynamic notes and just about everything else Sharon talked about to make this song great.  So, castmates, take heed!  It's here whenever you need it!

We have what might be called a 'staggered' rehearsal schedule.  For example, a scene with a few major actors will be blocked from 7pm to 8pm, the entire cast would come at 8pm to run through necessary blocking or music rehearsal, and that'll go for about an hour.  After that, another scene with a few principle actors will be blocked for about an hour, and we call it a night.  We don't get a chance to see the blocking for the scenes we're not called in for usually until full run-throughs, but it's great time management when there's only four months of rehearsals.

Thursday's rehearsal started at 8pm for the entire cast to run through 'Sit Down' and do a flash-run of a few scenes that were already blocked before we headed to the bar.  Well, I'll go next time it's on a pay week, if y'know what I'm sayin'.

Here's a few shots of John Carson, Brad Bryson and Noel Fernandes running through the blocking for 'Fugue' and 'G&D'.  At one point we had an a cappella performance!

Well done, boys!  Off to the bar!

The second and third rehearsal recordings will be up very soon!

BMT's 'Guys & Dolls' - Blocking Scenes, Acting Drunk!

I managed to get away with acting like an idiot and being lauded for it.  Only in theatre!

Yesterday's rehearsal brought us the blocking for Sister Sarah Brown and her Mission Band performing 'Follow the Fold', whilst the gamblers, drunkards and bobbysoxers on the street laugh her words away.  Joe, our director (burgundy shirt, top row to the right), hadn't given me a 'role' yet in regards to ensemble designation, which should prove interesting.  He had already led on that he's got something good for me in the 'Havana scene'.  But to open the show as a drunk bag lady!  Nice!

Joe has me slumped on the ground, upstage left, bottle in hand, where the Mission Band make their entrance.  'Missionary' Cullen (dude in thinking position, bottom left) will have a large pair of cymbals he'll be crashing, so I figure I play a bit into that, get a little drunkenly startled without being too distracting.  Can't wait to have the actual things for rehearsal.  I then wait for the audio/visual cue of Lynette and Alicia (that's Lynette's beaming face, middle right) being all rude-like and laughing out loud at poor Sister Sarah - our lovely Stephanie (she's making faces at you, bottom right) when she's on her soapbox trying to save New York City from the Devil.  They're over at stage right, and then cross over to stage left.  See, problem is, I'm playing drunk, so I'm not too sure what kind of debauchery Susan and Joanne (look out, Joanne!  Susan's gonna get your face - middle right!), the two 'street walkers' are up to.  When I see Lynette and Alicia cross, I stumble up and go to to Arvide, portrayed by Jack (grandfatherly gentleman, top left) up-centre stage and proceed to flirt with his 'big bass drum'.  No really, he'll be carrying one.  No, an actual bass drum ... stop it!

There's a line cue in Sister Sarah's sermon where I get my drunk ass right up in her personal space, toast her with my bottle and take a good swig, falling with the utmost trust into Lisa's safe 'Missionary' arms.  (She's that Amazonian beauty, top left).   She then, on Joe's direction, leads me off stage with my own bottle of alcohol like leading a donkey with a carrot.  I had a few castmates tell me they had a hard time keeping straight faces with this routine.  I had a hard time keeping a straight face through the whole thing myself.  But I swear - I am not exercising method acting.  There's no vodka in the water bottle.

Funny thing is, my drunken stumble is very similar to my zombie walk.  I might need to keep that in check before I start grunting and trying to chew off Sister Sarah's femur. 

The marching choreography for the Mission Band is really something!  I love to watch marching band formations, how geometric shapes and lines can be so graceful and visually stunning.  I'll have to take some video next time they run through it.  I won't be able to see it later, drunk and passed out on the ground. 

The rehearsal was short, bittersweet.  I can't seem to get enough of these.

I have a recording of our second rehearsal working on 'Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat' (dated 12/1/2012) that's just over an hour long and doesn't want to seem to upload.  I'll be shortening it into two parts and posting it very soon!  Check out the first rehearsal (dated 10/1/2012) here!

BMT's 'Guys & Dolls' Rehearsal Recordings - 'Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat' (I)

Finally edited and finished - and in a nice little movie!

I love my little iPod Touch.  It's got a voice memo recording app I wish I had during SHOUT!  So, I've opted to press 'record' each rehearsal, from beginning to end.  It's not a bad reference to have, especially learning and memorizing harmonies in choral.  Please enjoy our first rehearsal learning the vocal arrangements for 'Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat' featuring John Carson as "Nicely Nicely" Johnson and our musical director, Sharon Vandrish, taking the lead.

And if you're a fellow cast member, leave me a comment below if you'd like me to email you the .mp3 file!

BMT's 'Guys & Dolls' - Call This 'Fan Art'?

Layout and print design for me is like a grown-up colouring book.  I had some fun making my own little poster for the show that might turn into some sort of souvenier.

You'll find more 'Guys & Dolls' inspired stuff on my crafty blog, Design by Cassandra.  Visit now!

I Got a Part in BMT's 'Guys & Dolls'!

I will be returning to the stage in one of my most favouritest musicals of all time with Brampton Music Theatre's Guys & Dolls!  YAAAAAH!

I'm very grateful to be in the cast as part of the ensemble and carry on a 'tradition' of sorts that began with my father about twenty years ago when he played Benny Southstreet with the same production company.  Many of the production members remember Dad fondly from those days, and many others they had performed in together, and I was happy to make him proud and be a part of the G&D magic!

The audition process was a real learning experience for me - but let's face it, hindsight is always 20/20.  Y'know the moment when you walk away from a conversation with a wittier retort than what you said?  I walked out of my audition for this production realizing the 'error of my ways' when reading for Sister Sarah Brown, the female lead.  Cassandra the Actor thinks evangelicals, 'bible-thumpers' and the hardcore-preaching-type can get overly theatrical and exhuberant, and my nerves went down that road when I started reading, and I couldn't stop.  Sister Sarah Brown in G&D isn't 'theatrical' but more passionate about the idea of fixing these broken people that surround her in such a cesspool of sin, as portrayed in Runyon's version of New York City.  She's a woman with a big heart, who has the desire to leave a light burning in a place of darkness, to save a few souls from the self-destruction of drink and gambling.  She's soft, and she wishes she were big enough to hug the whole world, lean its sobbing head on her shoulder, stroke the hair away from those tear-streamed eyes and say, "It's alright, let me help you."

I read the monologue like a panicked tele-evangelical on her third cup of coffee.  I walked out of there thinking, "Ah, crap.  Well, at least the song choice saved me."  I sang 'Fly Me To The Moon' a la Frank Sinatra, ol' Blue Eyes himself.  My voice suits the cheese and makes it work.  I know this because I love this stuff.  I'm so glad to be in this show!  I'm especially excited because it means I'll get a chance to perform on the Rose Theatre stage!

The musical stylings of G&D are incredibly unique within its genre.  You've heard Frank Sinatra sing 'Luck Be A Lady', yeah?  A huge standard in his day, and everyone knows it, even if it's a few bars.  It's from this musical!  I often tend to think I was born in the wrong era because of my extreme love for 'big band music' and ol' time jazz (Billie, Ella, Chet, Glenn, those guys), and a lot of these songs became jazz and torch song standards that were hits outside of the musical theatre genre.  As much as I appreciate Marlon Brando's take on 'Luck Be A Lady' from the 1955 movie, I really like Frank's more.





Oh, rehearsals are gonna be amazing, I'm so excited to make new friends and work with old ones again.  In fact, guess who else is here - Abi "Yellow Girl" Adekoya is playing General Cartwright!  I've got my trusty iPod Touch with the Voice Memo recorder that I'll be sure to take advantage of.  I'll be posting more about the production as we get further into rehearsals, including recordings, photos and other fun stuff, like where to get your tickets, yeah?

I'd love you to come ... you are coming, right? (Imagine me with puppy dog eyes ... you can't resist!)