RPO & Audra McDonald

Garth Fagan with Audra McDonald
post-concert

Not that I needed additional motivation to subscribe to the RPO this season, but doing so gave me early access to tickets to the special performance of Audra McDonald with the orchestra. I have been a fan of hers since I saw her on Broadway in Carousel and Master Class. I even endured Michael LaChiusa's miserable Marie Christine just to see her. And I've had the pleasure of seeing her in several Sondheim events, so I couldn't wait to see her perform solo, and I hoped, of course, that there would be a little Sondheim on the program...

The audience was more diverse than usual at this practically sold-out performance, and as she started to sing, someone yelled out, “I love you!” and without missing a beat, she incorporated an “I love you, too” mid-phrase. She shared a range of pieces from the Great American Songbook, and introduced us to some hysterical songs: “If Anyone Knows...” and “You Looked Sexy” from Gabriel Kahane's “Craigslistlieder.” She did indeed include one of my favorite Sondheim songs – “Moments In the Woods,” after alluding to the Sondheim Porgy & Bess controversy (or should I say The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess...), and assuring us that they're still friends.

She freely conversed with the audience, at one point saying, “I'm happy to be here. I'm really cold!” and that she had considered wearing a parka over her gorgeous long black gown. She also complimented the voice of a young woman a few rows from the stage when she had the audience sing along on a song, and was surprised that, when asked, the singer's ambition was to work in public health. She was funny, warm, charming, emotional, and the audience responded with applause, laughter, some tears (especially when she shared how she had gotten involved with Covenant House), and more applause. No one wanted the concert to end, and we begged for more (and she obliged). The orchestra played beautifully, as usual, but they definitely were in a supporting role.

A few days before the concert, I had been offered an “upgrade” to a post-performance meet-and-greet, so after the lights went up, my husband and I waited for the crowds to clear before heading to the Ranlet Lounge, where we were greeted by the marketing staff, several members of the board, and Charlie Owens, President & CEO of the RPO. Garth Fagan arrived with his entourage, and I didn't hesitate to steal a long hug from PJ. When Audra finally arrived, we politely queued to take our turn giving her our personal adoration and having photos taken. I never know what to say in these circumstances: “I'm such a fan” seems ridiculously fawning and redundant! So that's what I was, telling her I'd been her fan since seeing Master Class, and she was astonished that that was 20 years ago now. It was so gracious of her to give her time for a little RPO fundraising, but she seemed like the kind of person who understands how important it is to keep orchestras like the RPO alive and healthy. Let's hope the RPO plans more of these special concerts to connect with a wider community, so that new audiences can be exposed to and become supporters of this cultural gem. 

Geva Magic in the Making

Over 800 people showed up for Geva's open house Magic in the Making on Monday night. This annual event is part of the theatre's audience engagement program, and whether because the weather cooperated or because of people's interest in seeing Little Shop of Horror's man-eating Audrey up close, the turnout was almost double that of last year.

We all got a map as we entered, and were encouraged to wander throughout the theatre – to the basement prop shop and dressing rooms, upstairs to the rehearsal room and costume shop, and onto the stage and even backstage. It was a wonderful opportunity for people to meet the behind-the-scenes employees, who were on hand to explain what people were seeing and answer questions. I overheard a man marveling at the amount of room backstage, and was thrilled to see so many kids enjoying this experience. The big draw was on-stage, where the puppeteer, Raymond, explained the various stages of Audrey (1 is a marionette, 2 is a hand puppet, 3 is a large “hand” puppet – Raymond actually operates it from inside, and 4 is similar to 3, but larger and heavier still). In response to a question about how hot it is inside the puppet, Raymond replied: “Hot! But I have a fan and water.”

I had opted for the 5pm “VIP” tour, and joined about 20 other people as our guide, Mary Tiballi Hoffman, Institutional Giving Manager, led us upstairs to introduce us to Jenni Werner (Literary Director / Resident Dramaturg) and Jean Gordon Ryon (New Plays Coordinator). They explained the roles of the literary department, and that they read 300-500 plays per year, to find new plays to develop. One woman asked if they participate in writing the pre-theatre talks, which she praised as the best part of Geva!

Along the way, we met the Director of Production, who showed us several of the miniature set mock-ups for past shows, and the Master Electrician, who dizzied us with his explanation of the lighting requirements and a peek at the catwalks over the stage. Several members of the Costume Shop explained how the costumes go from design to implementation, and how important durability is, since the actors can be quite hard on their costumes night after night.

Down in the basement, we walked through the not-green “green room” and peeked in the sparse dressing rooms (these are on the renovation list, thankfully). We met a woman in the Props Department, who gave us a preview of what she's working on for the upcoming Katherine's Colored Lieutenant in the Nextstage, and were overwhelmed by the prop storage room (very dusty!) and costume storage (which represents only a fraction of the costumes, most of which are stored off-site, as are most of the larger props, like furniture, kitchen appliances, etc.). Someone in my group asked whether Geva loans out their costumes for local productions. Because of their strict policies and standards regarding costume maintenance, no high schools are eligible to borrow them, but other theatre companies and some colleges meet the requirements. For example, during a production, every bit of clothing that touches an actor's skin must be washed daily – who knew!

By the end of our tour, it was clear to everyone how much work goes into preparing a play for the Geva stage, and how many more people there usually are backstage than onstage during a production. It was also clear that for many of the Geva employees, it truly is a labor of love, and I was grateful that they gave up an evening in order to share their passion. I would encourage anyone interested in theatre to take advantage of this event next year!

Young Skeptics Club

The inaugural meeting of the Young Skeptics Club, founded by Dan Courtney (the person who gave the first atheist invocation at a Greece Town Hall Meeting), was Thursday afternoon, at the Fairbanks Road Elementary School in Churchville. He created this first-of-its-kind club in response to the evangelical Good News Club, which operates in the same school (and across the country). We met a few weeks ago to review the kickoff's lesson plan, with a theme of: “Fact or Opinion?” Dan developed an hour of material including presentation, interaction, reading of a story, and, of course, snacks! In the run-up to the Club's first meeting, it got lots of press, from articles in the D&C and Washington Post to the Christian Post and Glenn Beck's The Blaze. The YS founders were interviewed by Evan Dawson on WXXI, and were notified that a reporter from Channel 13 would be at the meeting to run a story that evening.

Several of the YS team

So a team of eight of us signed in, donned our Young Skeptics t-shirts, and waited for the kids to show up. Compared to the several dozen kids who attend the school's Good News Club, we were off to a slow start – two intrepid sisters, ages 5 and 9. No matter – we plunged right in, and these two adorable girls were totally game! I sat down at their table with them, to try to take the pressure off of them to answer all of Dan's questions, and to encourage a little silliness. At one point their father came in to observe, along with the reporter (and she interviewed him as well as Dan: http://www.13wham.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/young-skeptics-club-first-meeting-19309.shtml).

Dan had attended a Good News Club meeting a while back and encouraged the rest of the team to do the same, so off I trundled the next day to observe their meeting. When I approached Beth, the woman who appeared to be in charge, she seemed very defensive and secretive, and said she'd have to check with someone because they are very “protective of the kids” from outsiders (since I am not in that district, and I don't have kids in the school), and since they are a private club, they have no legal obligation to let me observe. She escorted me out of their main meeting room, and closed the door. I waited patiently in the hall and watched as various kids in the club were whisked away to other rooms (one instructor carried a sign ominously titled “Consequences”). After ten minutes, Beth returned with her husband, Richard, who informed me I was not welcome today, but I could request permission by calling him two weeks in advance of a future meeting, so he could discuss my background and motives (I suggested that we could do that right there and then, but he wanted to defer to his team to make a decision). I did ask him what he was afraid of, since I promised to be quiet, not take pictures, etc., and suggested that perhaps my impression of the group might be favorably changed by observing, but he expressed his doubt at that. It seemed to me they felt a little threatened by my presence! (Dan later pointed me to the school district's website that states that meetings by community groups, such as YS and Good News Club, must be open to the public:  http://www.cccsd.org/files/filesystem/3280%20July%202009.pdf). Wish I'd had that in my back pocket at the time!)

The goal of the Young Skeptics Club is to encourage kids to think, not to tell them what to think (which the Good News Club has covered – they specifically target impressionable young elementary school kids, and I can imagine that their “weapons are fear and surprise”...). I'll be co-developing the lesson plan for our February meeting, whose topic is “Evidence.” Everyone is welcome, no need to call in advance for permission (the kids do need permission slips from their parents). I hope someday some of the Good News Club coordinators get curious enough to join us. But I suspect curiosity is not in their wheelhouse, although that's just my opinion...

Other fun links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_News_Club (down at the bottom)

http://christiannews.net/2015/01/12/atheists-from-better-news-club-launch-program-to-counter-christian-good-news-club/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/atheist-parents-take-on-christian-good-news-club-with-better-news-club/2015/01/08/3487b884-9766-11e4-8385-866293322c2f_story.html

https://richarddawkins.net/2015/01/in-response-to-christian-club-at-elementary-school-some-atheists-are-launching-a-skeptics-group-for-kids/

Concentus Concert - One Down, One to Go

(originally written for Concentus' blog)

It's always exhilarating and sad when we reach the culmination of a season's practice and finally perform. Months of rehearsals go into preparing for our concerts – I actually calculated the rehearsal-hours this season: 40, spread over 16 Sunday evenings. Of course, very few in the group attended every rehearsal (I myself am guilty of missing two) because of various scheduling conflicts  or illness. Still, it took many hours to get performance-ready for a roughly one-hour concert. And in those hours we got to understand the pieces in a way that might be difficult to convey to the audience in a single hearing. But that is part of our objective: not just making nice music, but communicating with the audience – the wintry mood of pieces such as Harri Wessman's “Water Under Snow is Weary” (sung in Finnish) and Bruce Sled's wordless “Ice,” * or the whimsy of Jocelyn Pook's “Snow Carol,” or the chant-like quality of Ola Gjeilo's “Ubi Caritas” despite the changing time signatures in our music (as we try to follow Gwen's advice and “get rid of the bar lines”). I know some of us (like me...) have personal objectives as well – to get particularly challenging passages right this time, finally!

Perhaps because we've had almost an extra month of rehearsal since the concert is in January, instead of December, I feel more comfortable and confident with the music than I have for past performances. And perhaps because of that additional time I have grown to love the pieces I initially approached skeptically, as I've come to appreciate their musicality, and the reasons Gwen chose them for this particular concert. So I am very excited to share them with our audience, and doubly glad that we have two concerts, not just the usual one. And that's the sad part – that after living with these songs for so long, waking up to snatches in my brain, it's time to let them go, some of them forever (luckily, Gwen does recycle some of the favorites periodically, like Gjeilo's “Tundra,” one of my personal favorites).

So if you missed our Friday evening performance, you have another chance Sunday afternoon at 2pm at Third Presbyterian on East Avenue, before we head back to the rehearsal room to start preparing for our May concert with the RPO!

* To hear and see the sheet music for this incredible piece, click here: http://larrynickel.com/CypressAudio/Ice.html