It is the hope of members of this cast that we will have chances to correspond with many people about the upcoming performances of Beauty and the Beast. Rehearsal is taking place now and it must be said that the set, music, in fact all aspects of the performance are coming together quite well. Lots of people are putting a lot of time and work into making the performances stellar and entertaining. I am certain that this will be a fantastic show, and it is the hope of the entire cast that we fill the Three Lakes auditorium with lively and active audiences who come expecting to laugh, cheer, feel many emotions and most of all be entertained. I look forward to blogging with many different people here about any and all aspects of the show. Thanks. Michael Wang (Gaston)
It Takes A Community
“It takes a village to raise a child,” or so says an old African proverb.
But after watching and participating in recent rehearsals for the Three Lakes Theater Company’s upcoming production of Beauty and the Beast, I’d revise the adage to “It takes a community to create a truly amazing production.”
The ‘community’ of which I speak goes beyond that of the Town of Three Lakes, however.
It includes people from throughout the entire Northwoods community. Take for example Rhinelander’s Fran Fritz who has sewn costumes for shows including The Wizard of Oz and others. My guess is that few, if any cast members know Fran. Yet the role she and others play in creating our productions is invaluable.
About five weeks ago, I dropped off a large bag of gold, peach, blue, white and floral-patterned fabric at her son’s auto body shop in Rhinelander. He knew the routine. It wasn’t the first time Fran and I had used him as a fabric intermediary.
I walked into my Rhinelander High School classroom two weeks ago to find a note attached to a bag saying, “These are from Fran.” Nestled beneath the left over fabric and patterns were all three of the costumes Kara Liebscherr, who plays the lead Belle, will wear for the show.
Although I tried to resist the impulse to pull the masterpieces from their bulging plastic bag, temptation overwhelmed me and I ended up sharing the yet-to-be-altered dresses with my class as they entered the room.
“Who made those?” they inquired as I admired the craftsmanship.
“Tom Fritz’s grandma,” I replied, mentioning a junior boy. “They are for a musical I’m involved with.”
“But isn’t that in Three Lakes?” someone asked.
“It is,” I thought to myself, “but it takes a community. . . “
An Inside Look
I’ve been on somewhat of a hiatus with the theater company since 2003’s Annie Get Your Gun. Prior to that production, I could be found not only marketing the show by writing articles, creating the program, and overseeing ticket sales, but I could also be found on stage, usually as part of the chorus.
That changed in 2003, however, with the birth of Daniel. After having a baby my involvement with the group became somewhat distant. An adorable little boy and my husband’s responsibility to the family cranberry business took precedent—as it should.
Articles still appeared, PSAs could be heard on the radio, and tickets sales still kept me busy, but my onstage participation and the close relationships with the cast ceased to exist.
Oh, I they still knew me, but the community I once knew had moved on without me, or so it seemed.
That changed about two weeks ago.
The TLTC Board of Directors was a bit slow in selecting a show this year for a number of reasons, one being that we didn’t have an accompanist. When January came around and we still hadn’t met to even create a shortlist of shows, some board members wondered if doing a show would be possible this year.
Creative Mari Lynn Garbowicz had a solution to our problem though. When she and choreographer Michelle Bryski attended a weeklong Broadway workshop a few years ago, one of the newest technologies being hyped was the OrchExtra, or Sinfonia.
The premise was simple. Professional orchestras had created digital sound recording s of music from several Broadway productions. MTI and other licensing companies were now offering OrchExtra and Sinfonia to professional and amateur groups. With a computer, someone to operate the program, and a willingness to pay, our accompanist problem would disappear.
The question became who. Since I am handy with a computer, can read music, and have some directing experience from my two years as drum major in high school—thanks Mr. Mackin—I uttered the phrase “If we can’t find someone else, I can do it.”
Luckily, Three Lakes Elementary teacher Beth Jacobson would be doing the hard work. She, not me, would teach the cast the music using the computerized piano score. However, since Jacobson was also in the show, she couldn’t be the ‘someone else.’
A Rehearsal Journal
One Tuesday evening in late May found me kissing my little one goodnight at 6:20 and heading to the auditorium. Rehearsal started at 6:30, and as a TLTC board member, arriving late wouldn’t set a great example.
I actually kept a written journal of the evening’s events—when I remembered. Below are my cryptic notes.
6:25—Ahh, they have started the set construction. Yup. May 22. Right on time. It looks like Dan Halverson has a full crew tonight—Larry George, Truman Gussick, David Jacobson, Roger Jehnke. I wonder what they have finished? I’d better take some pictures and I have to get an article in the paper pretty soon.
6:30—I’m on time. It sure is noisy in here tonight. Hammers, drills, chattering. The stage is pretty empty but local electrician and technical director Doug Russell seems intent on getting something up so that blocking efforts can get underway. The cast seems upset with all the noise, but what can they expect. Maybe the noise will cover up my mistakes!
6:45 – Several new faces have joined the TLTC community in the last few years. As they warm up, I try to attach names to faces. I recognize Liz and Becky Henderson. But I’m going to have to look at last year’s program to figure out who that tall woman is. I can’t believe I don’t know them!
7:00 – I’ve just messed up the number they were working on. Beth knows the computer program and the show better than I do. I’d better read the entire script tonight so I know what comes when. I have the copy of Beauty and the Beast that were giving away for the radio promo—maybe I should watch it!
7:14—Mari Lynn is cajoling the cast onto the stage “Get on stage! Get on stage” I’m not sure I want them on stage as I now have to figure out the musical cues. Yup, that script will need to be read TONIGHT! Ok, I messed up twice!
7:35—Well I know why they wanted me here so early. Beth needs to learn the choreography. She’s been so busy teaching the music that she doesn’t know all the dance steps. Well, that explains a lot. I wasn’t going to come in and work with them until June 3. But that wouldn’t have helped Beth at all. They are taking a break now. I’d better get some shots of the set being built. I think some of the male cast members would rather be holding a hammer instead of singing. . .like bees to honey!
7:36—Patrick (Nickel) is standing on stage thanking the academy and his family for this honor. Boy, have I missed watching the antics of Patrick and others. Mari Lynn is encouraging anyone within listening distance to “hit the man in the yellow shirt.” I think she means Patrick!
7:55—The cast is stopping the dance practice to fix some stuff. I can see that Michelle has put a lot of time into the choreography. She’s pulling groups aside to work on complex steps that simply aren’t there yet. I notice that a lot of the cast has broken out in a sweat. Boy, do I miss that part of rehearsal!
8:07—Oh, here’s the new guy—“The Beast”—David Denny. According to the bio he turned in for the program, he’s from Texas. He looks tired and sunburned tonight. He’s just walked up to Mari Lynn speaking those four dreaded words, “Am I done yet?” That question didn’t go over too well in the past, but Mari Lynn apparently has made some adjustments to rehearsal schedules. She gives him an affirmative. I can’t resist asking him a bit more about his day. He tired face and response about moving docks at HoneyRock all day using a pontoon and canoe leave me wondering how he had any energy to do anything. I’ve still got to prepare a lecture on Reconstruction when I get home tonight. Aargghh!
8:10—Mari Lynn just asked the women playing flatware “Do you know what you’re doing in this song?” A couple of them don’t seem to know. What am I saying, I’ve just figured out where this song fits into the whole production. Be Our Guest indeed!
9:58—Things got so busy that I forgot to take notes. I am having flashbacks to all those late nights we had years ago when I was in the show. We’ve been here for over three hours and the show doesn’t open for almost another four weeks! Blast! I should have had the cast evacuate the stage about every half hour and have taken photos of the ‘castle’ as it emerged tonight. It’s amazing what happened here with all the helping hands. I hope Daniel doesn’t mind getting his goodnight kisses a little early in the upcoming weeks. Good Night!
