Time to come clean...

Well, here we are in our third weekend of the show and I have to admit something publicly... I really wasn't sure how this was going to turn out in the beginning. I got a little bit of that cheezy feeling reading the script and I failed to remember that this was Newline I was working with.

Don't get me wrong... I'm sure other groups in town could do this show and it would be marginally funny and adequate, but Scott never fails to elevate the material just enough to make it great. His direction was simple - "Take it seriously." And that's what we did. In our world of RTTFP, it is really normal for all of us to break out into classic rock 'n roll songs... that's just what we do. It's okay for a pedophile captain to want to space-fuck a teen aged girl... that's what we do! And it's okay that the Bosun and the Robot are secretly having an affair with the Science Officer joining in occasionally... that's just what we do (oh wait... backstage and on stage are starting to blur there).

The other thing that really makes this show work is the cast. All the onstage lovebirds (Mike and Tara, Nikki and Zach, Phil and Sharp Tedder) bring an awesome sensibility to this show and I can't imagine anyone else doing their parts. The biggest props go to Kimi, Mike Dowdy and Tawaine (Noah to his Circus Window fans). I love that when the audience gets up for intermission or after the show, they all look behind the consoles to try and figure out what they have been working on so intently during the course of the evening. AND they have to sing almost every song... BRAVO GUYS!

And the Band! The band KICKS IT every night. Nothing thrills me more than to hear the audience stay, after the actors have left the stage, just to listen to the band rock out! And speaking of the audience... THANK YOU TOO! Thank you for participating in the Polarity Reversal Drill and thank you for being so smart that a majority of you GET the Shakespeare references (and those of you that don't laugh anyway so you don't look stupid). And thank you for gasping when I almost fell the other night. It's nice to know that schadenfreude isn't driving everyone to hope I fall and bust out my teeth (because I would totally be doing that if I were you).

Anyway, I have rambled on enough. Come see the show. Tickets are selling fast and I really don't want you to miss this special treat.

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Scott (A.K.A. Ariel)

Opening weekend...AND BEYOND!

WOW! What a week! We opened the the show after rehearsing several days in a row and surprisingly enough... PEOPLE LIKE IT! The critics are kind (very kind) and smart in their reviews.

This cast is great! All very supportive and all very funny... even Sharp Tedder. Tonight we start the second of 4 weekends and after this show, I will be taking a long break (perhaps permanent) from theater. I think I realized this week that I am really too old for the parts I want and since this is not my main source of income, it seems silly to keep putting myself through the rejection that inherently comes with doing theater.

So I say Adieu, but in the meantime, please come see the show. It's awesome, smart, and funny.

Coming down to the wire

We are entering our last week of "regular" rehearsals. It's been going pretty well. Lines are still a little rough and skating is still a little sketchy, but all in all I think this is going to be a blast.

I am going to start wearing the top half of my costume tonight so I can get used to spacing. The shoulders on my costume are pretty wide and Zach's (Dr. Prospero) ego is so large, I'm afraid I won't be able to skate far enough to get around it. I did get a little surprise last week. The floor has speed bumps now (the wires for all the lights) so if you want to start placing bets on when the robot goes down during the show, let my Mom know... she'll want a piece of that action.

Lastly... Saturday, we (the cast) and Scott (the Miller)  were invited to sing at a party hosted by Chuck Miller (no relation). It was a blast (off). There were some really interesting people there (of course I'm not talking about anyone from the cast) and we sounded wonderful singing Good Vibrations together. I gave Tara some nutrition advice, Phil gave me some advice on how to lose weight (ask to see his college IDs) and in general had a great time. It was good bonding time for all of us.

Lastly-lastly... Chris starts playing for us tonight and that means we are close to the band coming. I can't wait to hear the awesome surf music with a band.

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Scott (A.K.A. Ariel)

Xanadu Deserved an Oscar!

Alright... once again I exaggerate, but I have to say that I have a new-found respect for those roller skating, dancing freaks. I'd better - because I'm one of them now.

Last night we went to Leaping Lizards where Robin taught the dance for The Monster Mash. Dance doesn't intimidate me. Sometimes I have a difficult time remembering the order of steps due to A.D.D. but I have developed some coping mechanisms that help a little with that. And although I am not a trained dancer, per se', I have taken a jazz class here and there and one beginners tap class. So when it comes time for dancing, I don't freak out... until now.

If you haven't read yet; I'M ON ROLLER SKATES! Not only am I step-ball-changing and Fossi-Fossi-Fossi-ing but now I am rolling too. The funniest thing is, I'm pretty good on them. I surprised myself a little. Don't ask how I am making 360 turns, but I am (let's just say that toe stops are my best friend at this point). I am pretty confident that, by opening night, I'm gonna be able to do a double pirouette in these bad boys (thank goodness I don't have to though). So there I was last night; pretty confident, that with a few changes due to the skates, I would be rocking the Monster Mash and then I remembered... MY COSTUME!  It's huge and bulky and sooo not conducive to dancing. So this weekend I am going to be on the lookout for a cardboard box that is approximately the size of my costume's upper body so I can practice with it and get used to being the size of Rosanne Barr after a 6-month eating spree at the chinese buffet!

Finally, bravo to Robin Berger. I always enjoy her choreography and I can't wait to perform it opening night!!!  Get your tickets Folks.

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Scott (A.K.A. Ariel)

Directionally challenged

So last night was my first rehearsal on skates and while I was skating around I realized my problem... I CAN'T TURN LEFT! Okay, "can't" is a strong word. It's more laborious for me to turn left. Turning right is no problem... in fact, I border on awesome going right. I can do a 360 if I am turning right. I can confidently say that a jump wouldn't be out of the question if I could go into it from a right turn.

But for some reason when I turn left, I wobble like a cheap bar table that has had one to many drunk sorority girls dancing on top of it. "Why?" I ask myself. So I tried studying my leg position when I turned left; tried mimicking my movements during a right turn; tried using my toe stop thingamajig to help the situation - all to no avail. Am I doomed to the life of Zoolander (look it up... crappy movie but he had the same problem)? Are there others like me? Is there a whole portion of the population that is left-turning challenged? Maybe there's an actual disease for this affliction... something like lack-o-lefteeitis. Or maybe, just maybe, my body is trying to perform at peak efficiency. UPS avoids left turns for that reason. Who's to say my body isn't doing the same? 

In any case, I hope I can figure it out before opening night.

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Scott (A.K.A. Ariel)

Getting Nervous

So Betsy came to rehearsal last night and she brought the rest of Ariel's costume. Let me just say... I LOVE IT! It is going to be so much fun and so dangerous!

Let me explain... As I mentioned before, I will be on roller skates for this show and the costume (as awesome as it is) limits my view of the floor. I guess this wouldn't be a problem for someone who is mildly confident in their ability to skate around without falling and breaking their ass. So now I have another impediment in my quest to look like the Brian Boitano of roller skating. But I am up for it. If it comes down to the choice of wearing this costume and walking away from this show with a few less teeth and not wearing the costume... I choose the former. Besides... I live in the St. Louis Metro area. I'll fit right in with the meth addicts and their lack of a full set of choppers.

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Scott (A.K.A. Ariel)

"Can a soup wah ooh!" - that's a REAL lyric in the show

Last night was our first rehearsal. After the obligatory nice-to-meet-yous and gossiping about the new people behind their backs, we started going over the music. First off I would like to say this music is a BLAST! When do you get to sing a Beach Boys song in a show? On that note... THANK GOD I DON'T HAVE TO SING THE ENTIRE BEACH BOYS SONG! Most of the music is pretty easy (compared to other Newline shows I have done), but as we learned doing the Sheldon Concert, Brian Wilson's music is H-A-R-D. I think I saw Zach cry a little.

Betsy is our costumer for the show and she brought little bits and pieces of the costumes last night. Needless to say she was a big tease, but I am VERY excited about her vision and I think this show will have some edge to it and the costumes will be as interesting as the material.

Also, the search is on for my robot voice... if anyone has any suggestions, please leave them in the comments. I am thinking something like Data from Star Trek Next Generation. You know... more humanoid than synthesized machine (Oh my God, I just sounded like a geek... ARRGH).

That's all for now... I will keep you up-to-date as we go.

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Scott (A.K.A. Ariel)

This ain't junior high anymore...

Let me start by explaining the title of the blog; my character in RTTFP is Ariel. He is Dr. Prospero's robot and he is on wheels... that's right folks. I will be roller skating.

When I was offered the part, I wasn't worried. I was a pretty damned good skater in my day. In '86 I was speeding around the rink, doing the hokie pokie and winning the limbo... all to the such great hits as "I love rock 'n roll", "Mr. Roboto" and of course "Freedom" by Wham (whodda thunk George was gay... go figure.)

So I bought some skates... not the cheapest, not the most expensive. And my friend Deana offered to give me a brush up lesson or two (she's a roller girl). We meet at this skatetacular rink in South County and I lace up my skates. I confidently stand up and... OH MY GOD. I can't stand without wobbling. "WHAT THE HELL?"

Needless to say, I started out the day thinking I would learn some new tricks for the show and I ended just happy I didn't fall.

For those who have seen me in Newline shows... I kinda have a niche. I tend to get interesting parts that require me to learn a new skill: In Spiderwoman I had to learn to act like a woman, in Grease I had to play guitar, Urinetown... two characters in one show and in Assassins I learned an Italian accent and to speak some Italian. So I am pretty confident I'll pull this one off. Just don't expect any triple lutz jumps or anything. I'll just be happy to skate without pushing off the wall.
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Scott (A.K.A. Ariel)