We are back in high school, fiercly ripped out of the utopia that is SYT and thrown into a messy world of unwanted, extraneous work with the theatre activities we can do crammed in on the edges. But during the first few weeks of school when we are still constantly wishing for SYT, we find random reminders that send us into song, sometimes the wrong song.... The Lawrence High School choir kids have been voicing their choirs using the song 'My Country 'Tis of Thee' which makes us break out in 'I Believe in Love', because it had a jazzified version of the song in it. Everything we think ties to our SYT experiences.
Its tough to break out of a shell like that. You get engulfed in the passionate creativity that surrounds you everyday. In HAIR we created a hologram of life in the late 60s, a fight for freedom, expression, and love. In the month of rehearsals, our cast developed the same thing. Through Ric's excercises and tribal activities we became a diverse family and put on a boss show. During production week we watched the show come together, and as that was happening, we really became a tribe. We got to know people from all over the area, which added to the diversity. The cast was able to extend the experience down the aisles and into the house during every show.
There is nothing more lovable than a full house. It is the coolest feeling ever to open the doors at LAC and see a packed audience. You feel fired up when you have an audience that big. After the show is also amazing, especially when you know the audience was captured in the show. It is wonderful to see people in the halls and around town who come up to you and tell you how good HAIR was.
SYT is the best thing since sliced bread and diet pills ;)
eyes look your last, arms take your last embrace, syt has ended for the year

the rest is silence,
Leah and Babs

Returning to LAC

I was complaining last weekend to a group of fellow SYT enthusiasts about how half of our very precious summer is over. Completely Gone. But, then one of my friends smiled and said, “Don’t think of it like that. Don’t think half our summer is over, think we are lucky enough to have half our summer left. We still have another show to do.” And he was right.

As The Crucible came to an unfortunate end, I was saddened. The people of SYT are not only my friends but my family. Even though I was only away from the Arts Center for a week I missed the atmosphere and the feeling of acceptance and camaraderie. But, with my friends’, reminder I soon I began to eagerly anticipate the start of the July show, Hair. We are now six hours into our first rehearsal, and already we have fallen into a familiar pattern. We squirrel around, we practice, we do warm ups and are reminded to stay on task.

The Hair cast is a large one, but already I can see friendships forming as people break off into groups laughing and smiling with excitement. We are all happy to be here, traveling back in time to sing and dance to the songs from the sixties. And (personally) I think the show is going to be an extraordinary feat for our fifty plus cast.

As I sit here blogging, I hear my fellow thespians practice various songs. They are all quite beautiful, and I am extremely proud and thankful that the Arts Center has given us all the opportunity to be a part of this experience and part of this family. I cannot fathom a better way to spend my summer than alongside people my own age who love acting and singing as much as I do, and I am so excited to see what this show will become.

Leslie Cunningham

Track List

This summer has been a whirlwind already, and it is hard to believe today is our last performance of The Crucible. I am incredibly humbled by and proud of the work done by everyone involve din this production and count myself blessed to have gotten to share their time and talents for the month of June.

The cast and directorial staff all have our own individual passions, but collectively we all share a love of music. From our bluegrass hoedown warm-ups on rehearsal days to the dance train on performance nights, music has been an integral part of this process. To that end, we have compiled a two disc set of songs--one chosen by each member of the cast or directorial staff--that represents us as individuals, as a cast, or some element of the play itself. If you'd like to hear what we sounded like, who we were, and where our hearts were this past month, this is the soundtrack to the June 2010 production of The Crucible at SYT at LAC. Enjoy.

--Shannon

The Crucible Cast Picks I

The Only Living Boy in New York (Eric Palmquist)--Simon & Garfunkel

Us (Jordan Gaches)--Regina Spektor

No Such Thing (Bailee Blair)--John Mayer

Live Life Loud (Rhiannon Croker)--Hawk Nelson

Lion (Leah Towle)--Kes

Lean On Me (Nora Byers)--Bill Withers

Kids (Leslie Cunningham)--MGMT

Fake Tales of San Francisco (Madi Brunkan)--Arctic Monkeys

Neighbors (Meredith Johnson)--Gnarls Barkley

Out of Reach (Jack Garvin)--The Get Up Kids

The Whaler (Matthew Drahozal)--Thrice

YYZ (Griffin Jacobsen)--Rush

The Riddle (Zach Spears)--Five for Fighting

The 59th Street Bridge Song (Lydia Miller)--Simon & Garfunkel

Just Like You (Nyeisha Pearson)--Keshia Cole

I Am a Child (Jake Leet)--Neil Young

The Crucible Cast Picks II

Polaris (Hanna Foerschler)--El Dar

Fields of Gold (Joyce Bohling)--Eva Cassidy

It Snows in Hell (Lordi)--Peter Bray

Two Doves (Nina Kizer)--The Dirty Projectors

Lost (Trust Marshall)--Michael Buble

Just Drums (Babs Boswell)--Tapes ‘n’ Tapes

Missfit (Phoebe Clark)--Horror Pops

Automatic Stop (Katie Meyer)--The Strokes

Henrietta (Sadie McEniry)--The Fratellis

Independent Women, Pt. I (Katherine Steir)--Destiny’s Child

Judy & the Dream of Horses (Pamina Buechner)--Belle & Sebastian

How Soon is Now? (Shannon Draper)--The Smiths

Rehab (Sally Spurgeon)--Amy Winehouse

To Be Surprised (Michelle Stockwell)--Sondre Lerche

You! Me! Dancing! (Stephanie Gage)--Los Campesinos

Change (Elizabeth Sullivan)--Blind Melon

We’re Gonna Be Friends (Eric & Jake)--The White Stripes

soul searching

Working on The Crucible has been the biggest acting challenge for me yet. In the past I have either been given small roles or I was typecast, cast as a character with tons of similarities to myself. This time things turned out differently. I am cast as Marry Warren. Mary Warren is insecure, desperate, and gets easily worked up. I however, am confident and I rarely take out my anger or cry. I don't let a whole lot get to me and when it does I am passive.

At first, I felt confident about the role. I found myself surrounded by a loving and talented cast and I thought I understood Mary Warren. As the first week came to a close and we rolled into the second week I began to lose that confidence. I could not for the life of me cry onstage as Mary Warren does far too often and something wasn't clicking into place. I had no idea what exactly I was doing wrong, but I felt like I was letting down my big Crucible family.

Last Wednesday or so (the days blur together when you are in the perfect blissful land that is the Art Center's basement) our assistant director, Elizabeth, took me upstairs and helped me figure out who Mary was and what we had in common. After politely listening to a brief history of my social interactions and my analysis of my personality, Elizabeth confirmed that Mary Warren and I are opposites. She then taught me to cry, I mean have a weep-a-thon, on cue. Elizabeth shared her experiences with me of conjuring up tears and told me that the tears have to come from somewhere real. Sure, I had been told to think of dead puppies before, but I don't cry when I am sad. I cry when I am frustrated. Elizabeth also reminded me to have the courage to let go onstage. I am very lucky to have her guidance.

Soon after soul searching, we worked the show in detail. There is a point where my character yells onstage. Not like a pathetic pep squad shout, but really yells, with anger and sincerity. I was not getting it. I don't yell at people. At my toughest, I look someone in the eyes and speak sternly. Shannon, our director, was unbelievably patient. The five or so others in the room endured me whilst Shannon searched for the question or scenario that pissed me off. Miraculously, she found it. I applied it to the scene and it was amazing. It clicked. Everyone in the room was supportive and once I was offstage I rejoiced to a friend who was waiting in the hall. He celebrated with me. I love our cast.

I still have a ways to go but I could not be where I am without the amazing directors staff and my ever supportive cast. They truly are family to me. This show isn't about any one person, especially not myself, and I encourage you to come see everyone's profound performance. I just told you all about a small part of the big picture.

To my family (yes, that means you cast and staff) thank you sooo much for your help and patience. It means the world to me. You are all talented and bring the show to life.

~Michelle Stockwell

the process of producing perfection

The past 3 weeks of rehearsals have been absolutely wonderful. It seems like this show has been going by incredibly fast. From a time perspective, I can hardly believe that tomorrow is the beginning of production week, but for the time we have left, our show’s development is right on track.

The cast is fairly willing to admit, yes, Friday’s rehearsal was rough. In reality, it was what we often refer to as a train-wreck. For the majority of rehearsal we worked Act 2 and Act 3. The energy was low, and what energy we had was unfocused. But the challenges we faced made us aware of how important every individual is to the show. We rise and fall together, but every single person has to commit in order for that to happen. Just because we didn’t feel like committing to one rehearsal, the discussions we have as a group to begin and end rehearsals demonstrate that we are all committed to the show. Many of the shows I have been in hit a wall as production week nears and everyone gets worried. The cast is then inspired to work hard and the show turns out better than we could ever imagine.

Next rehearsal marks a major turning point in the process of the production. Our tech cue-to-cue brings all of the set, lighting, and sound to life. It completes the creation of the world that the play takes place in. The tech in a show is like a frame around a painting. The painting/show would be beautiful no matter what, but the frame/tech makes it presentable to the world.

Where we go from here will be amazing and I am sure our show will be a great success. I am absolutely positive that the experience has been a success already and our last week will be filled with a ton of work, fun, and finally, reward. We bring a piece of literature to life and the world gets to see what we have spent the entire month of June working on. People wonder why we devote so much time to SYT. I know I commit because the cast is like an extension of family and it is wonderful to work with such talented, fun and kind people. The thrill of the performances and the feeling you get when you know you gave the audience the gift of a really good show top it all off.

It is cliché, but I will remember the experiences I have shared with this cast forever.

~Leah Towle

Outlook in the Midst of Stress Week

I had never read The Crucible when I auditioned for this show, and after the first rehearsal I wasn't sure what to think. Awesome? Absolutely. The hardest show I've ever done? That too. Between praying that I can get my lines memorized in time and working on them about three hours every morning before rehearsal, most of the time I have no room for any emotion other than stress. Of course, as a result of...thirteen?...holy cow, thirteen years of SYT, I know that the end result will be worth every moment of the work.

I have to confess, I love this cast. I have been part of lots of fabulous casts, but I think this might be the first show of which I can honestly say that I want to get to know every single individual. I am really looking forward to the next couple weeks and already bummed that a week and a half are over already. It's been along time since I've been this excited about a show!

Joyce B

Think Again

Let's see, SYT at LAC (Summer Youth Theatre at Lawrence Arts Center) a half a summer of theatre...hmm boooringg! If you're thinking this well THINK AGAIN!!! Summer Youth Theatre is AWESOME and were doing The Crucible which is AWESOME! At this moment we're playing theatre games SUPA FUN! We're playing speed dating which sounds creepy but it's actually fun-- (sometimes we take it too far-- but usually not. We also get an hour for dinner and we have been having SOOOO much fun!

-Zachary S.

United We Stand

I get to spend an entire summer with high school theatre people. That may sound like cruel and unusual punishment to some, but I think otherwise. I have said this once and I can't say it enough. I love theatre people. They're crazy, quirky, and even a bit catty at times. They are all unique individuals, but that's what makes them so great.

However, that is not what theatre is about. There is no one star or one spotlight. I can't even think of any great one-man shows. That would make a terrible high school show, I'm sure. It is always the ensemble's show. The ensemble works together to make the greatest show they can. As our director Shannon always says, the show is only as good as the least-committed person. Only the best shows are done by what the ensemble considers a unit, a cast that is all on the same page.

So you'd think, "There's no way that high schoolers can work together so well." You may think, "How can so many individuals think on the same page?" You may even think, "There's no such thing as a good high school show." Well let me tell you this: IT CAN BE DONE. That's why we spend an entire month together, work on a show together, and be completely outrageous together.

Now granted, I've been in lots of shows where what I've talked about has not come together. I've been in many shows where people can't work together, cliques form, and the outcome is not the best sight. People are afraid to commit, and therefore the show suffers. Though, my fondest memories of theatre come from the casts that work the best together. I end up getting to know every single person, we can all commit to the same purpose, and the show looks great. The best shows I have been involved with I have made some of the best friends from, and I will never forget those experiences.

It is amazing to think that twenty-eight visions of a single show will become one vision before the show opens, but I think this is going to be accomplished this month. I love everyone in this cast, and we're becoming a unit as we speak. We laugh together, we cry together, we even cry "WITCH!" together. I know I'm going to have very fond memories of this month and show because I know our production of The Crucible will be one of the greatest shows I will be involved with in my high school years, if not ever, and I can't thank any single person for this. I have to thank our wonderful ensemble.

Undeniably and incredibly sincerely,

Hannah Foerschler

A Journey to Greatness

Only living in Lawrence for about 7 months, one would think that i have not yet found a purpose. Well, to that one, i am sorry but i have! Right here in SYT at LAC. I must say that there is no other way i can imagine spending my summer.

I was moved to Lawrence for better opportunities. I had my mind set that i was not going to surround myself with individuals who were not on a path to success. Since i have been here i have found people that i share many qualities with and have come to know and love. These people love me and all my goofyness. Im smiling right now!!!!

We have only completed our first week of rehersal but i can smell a great show coming to life. So, good luck to all who have read this and more for those who have not.

--Nyeisha Pearson

A Snapshot of the Beginning

From where I sit, behind the production staff (there they sit; Katherine and Elizabeth and Pamina), I can see the cast, crooked in a half circle, uncomfortable on the hard floor. They're not paying attention to me, but to our director, Shannon. It is 3:03 pm, Thursday, June 3, and the day is just getting started. Out of the corner of my ear, I can hear Shannon talking about... this blog, and me writing. It's oddly surreal.

From this day, the third of our rehearsal time, we have exactly three weeks. It sounds like a lot of time, and it sounds like no time at all. I'm not worried (some people are); I've had less time to put on a show (the least, five days), but we do have a deadline. The show is the Crucible, by Arthur Miller. We're twenty-five pages in (though the first eight are not actual dialogue), and we have 125 pages left, putting the total length at 150 pages, or about two and a half hours. We have a lot of work to do, but not immediately.

To start the day, as we always do, we (that is, the rest of the cast; I'm blogging) are playing an improvisational game called "Accused and Accuser." It's a variant on "Buyer and Seller," where one person attempts to sell an item to another without the buyer knowing what the item is. It looks like fun, and I think I will join them.

--Matthew Drahozal

The Cast and Crew of The Crucible

CAST

Rev. Parris: Matt Drahozal

Betty Parris: Lydia Miller

Tituba: Nyeisha Pearson

Abigail Williams: Katie Meyer

Susanna Wolcott: Phoebe Clark

Mrs. Ann Putnam: Hannah Foerschler

Mr. Thomas Putnam: Peter Bray

Mercy Lewis: Sally Spurgeon

Mary Warren: Michelle Stockwell

John Proctor: Eric Palmquist

Rebecca Nurse: Leah Towle

Francis Nurse: Jordan Gaches

Giles Cory: Zach Spears

Rev. Hale: Jake Leet

Elizabeth Proctor: Joyce Bohling

Cheever: Bailee Blair

Herrick: Madi Brunkan

Judge Hathorne: Jack Garvin

Gov. Danforth: Griffin Jacobsen

Sarah Good: Babs Boswell

Hopkins: Leslie Cunningham

Voice of Martha Corey: Meredith Johnson

Accusers: Meredith Johnson, Stephanie Gage, Trust Marshall, Sadie McEniry

Accused: Nora Byers, Rhiannon Crocker, Nina Kizer

CREW

Director: Shannon Draper-Gard

Asst. Director: Elizabeth Sullivan

Directorial Intern: Katherine Stier

Stage Manager: Pamina Buechner

Technical Director: Danny Rogovein

Summer 2010

This summer the Lawrence Arts Center is proud to present two classic staples of American Theatre through the Summer Youth Theatre Program. Both shows feature students from local junior high and high schools

In June, The Crucible will be staged. Performances are 7:30 pm on June 24, 25, and 26 with a 2 pm matinee on June 27.

In July, the tribal rock musical Hair will be brought to life. Performances are 7:30 pm July 29, 30, and 31 with a 2 pm matinee on August 1.

This blog will serve as a place for the students and staff involved in the 8-12th grade productions of 2010 SYT to share their experiences and thoughts as the process evolves. We are very excited to share our talents and these wonderful shows with you all: please come support local theatre, local talent, and the Lawrence Arts Center.