Like the headline says, the Fredonia Theatre and Dance blog is moving to a new location on the web. We like WordPress.com and all, but its limitations can be frustrating. So we are moving to a server where we can set up a more flexible and capable website to run our blog – all this to bring you more exciting ways to stay in touch with us, such as with Facebook and Twitter. So here is our new address on the web:

http://tada.fredonia.edu

You will need to make the changes to any bookmarks you have for this site, as this web address will go dead as of today Tuesday August 25, 2009. We will leave the blog on the web for this semester, but if you’d like to stay current with everything we are doing, make sure you change your bookmarks NOW so as to update our site location. After December 31, this site will cease to exist.

Thanks for joining us here, and we hope to see you there!

-Tom Loughlin, Professor and Webmaster

Welcome back!  Or to those of you who are new, welcome!

I’ve been back on campus for a week now.  Ted Sharon had hired me to be the music director this year for the drama day camp, Playground.  Playground is a week long camp for kids in the area to experience the thrill of theatre.  This year, we put a production of Suessical Jr. together.  On Monday morning, the campers auditioned for Marc de la Concha (an alumni of the department) who directed the show.  After lunch, Marc and I along with other staff ran callbacks and cast the show.  We rushed into rehearsals that day.

Over the course of the five days, the campers learned 30 musical numbers, 6 dancers, and also took classes in musical theatre, dance, and writing.  I worked the Musical Theatre Workshop with Aundre Seals.  During class, we taught the campers a range of things from storytelling to objectives.  We also worked on teaching the vocals to the show and telling the story through the lyrics.

On Saturday, the kids performed for their parents.  It was such a rewarding thing to watch these kids flourish so strongly.  By the end, every kids took something away from the show, whether it was a new friend, a new love for theatre or a new skill.  And that’s why I love camps like Playground.  Some of these kids will never step on stage again.  But it’s now a part of them.  They will always have this appreciation for theatre.

Today, the semester started for the campus.  Personally, I have a new pet peeve about Fredoina.  They are “going green” left and right and it’s becoming an annoyance.  We no longer are being handed out syllabi for our classes.  They are on ANGEL and we can print them out if we want or if they requrie us to.  So now, for the first day of classes, we do not go over the syllabus in a class.  So if there are important we need to know, we don’t get to see it written out unless they email or post it for us.  Also, we don’t get our bills via mail any more.  We now have an “ebill” where the only way to get your bill is electronically.  I’m sorry, but this is utter bull.  Call me old fashioned, but I like to have the paper in my hand so I can visually see what I need to know when I need to know it.  And I don’t always have an internet connection.  Personally, I think the whole “going green” thing is a bit of a waste of time.  Yes, I understand that we should be nice to the environment.  But we don’t have to become monks and inconvenience ourselves at every corner.

Alright, I think that’s enough for now.  Time for meetings and auditions!  Wahoo!

KAB




IMG_0192

Originally uploaded by theatre.dance

This summer the Department of Theatre and Dance undertook the process of enlarging its Drafting Studio. By switching one office and the old drafting room we were able to add four more tables to make the lab a total of ten. It will share a new digital projector with the CAD lab as well.

Todd Proffitt
Associate Professor Lighting and Sound Design.

Greetings everyone! Welcome back! Hope you like our new look!

It has been a very wonderful and productive summer here at SUNY Fredonia’s Department of Theatre and Dance. Students have been running around doing all sorts of things, and are now deep into preparations for auditions for this year’s season of mainstage shows. Faculty are getting those last few days of summer vacation in before buckling down and preparing for classes. Final repairs and maintenance to equipment is taking place. Our Summer Theatre Playground for Kids will commence next week. And in less than two weeks the curtain will rise for another semester of theatrical mayhem.

Our big announcement for this post is that the department is now ready to accept applications for auditions for the 2010-11 academic year. Auditions will begin in December 2009 and continue into the spring 2010 semester. You can find the online form and other information about auditions by clicking this link. We’ll be sure to keep you informed as to upcoming dates as the year progresses.

As we begin this new academic year, we hope to add even more features to this blog. If there is something you’d like to see us try or write about, don’t be hesitant to give us feedback in the comment section of each post. We enjoy hearing from you as we look for better ways to let you know what we’re up to, and to make SUNY Fredonia the place you’d like to further your theatrical training. The new academic year always brings with it an air of excitement, and we hope you’re just as excited as we are!

Hello everyone!  Hope the holiday was wonderful for you all.

Facebook is a wonderful creation!  Now, I’m always the first person to chastise my friends for posting certain things on the site.  But I’ve recently discovered how to use it to my benefit.

My mother recently received a message from a friend of hers whose children are enrolled in a summer theatre program called Footlights done through the local YMCA.  Apparently, they were in desperate need of a music director.  The message was passed along to me and I was put in contact with the director of the camp.  I scheduled a phone interview and waited to hear back.  Now, I am NOT a piano player.  I can play vocal parts and I can teach SATB parts.  But I am in no way an accompanist.  Knowing this, I was still hired.  It is the most incredible job I have ever had.

The program this year is doing Wizard of Oz.  When I walked into the inner city school the first day, I found out I was working with the munchkins… the young children who are there for something to do with their summer.  As I sat down, I thought to myself, “What was I thinking?!”  But as soon as I started to teach them, everything clicked.  For some reason, the kids who don’t want to listen to anyone, responded to me.

The next day, I was working with the older kids who are the Ozians/Jitterbugs.  With a different approach, they also warmed up to me and were really making some fast growth.  I’ve also had some time to do one on one coaching with the leads.  I’ve spent a great deal of time working with Dorothy on the key song in Oz, Somewhere Over the Rainbow.  The girl has a pleasant voice but I’ve been able to take her on visual journeys to the places she wants to sing about and it’s incredible to see how far she’s come.

I love this job so much.  I wake up every day excited to go in and work with music and theatre and kids who want to do it.  And, to top it off, I get to conduct my first orchestra, I dream I’ve head for more than half my life.  I’m seeing the truth behind the saying “do what you love and never work a day in your life.”  It’s so true.  While I’m hired to do this, I love being able to go into a theatre and work, whether I’m acting, singing or in this case, teaching the craft.  And if this is how I feel just teaching kids, I can’t even begin to imagine what it will be like to go out to New York or London or some other city and just start doing my craft for a living.  But I think I’m getting a good idea.  And I love it!

            My usual MO for the summer is to plot really ridiculous plans; not because I think they’ll actually work out, but because they’re fun to imagine (i.e. The Hot Air Balloon experiment of last summer… not even close to enough funds to consider actually trying to build my own hot air balloon, but I learned a lot and had fun planning and designing, so it was ok).

            This summer, I’m still going to do those kinds of things, but with the addition of setting some actual realistic and achievable goals. Here’s what I’ve got as of the last day of school:

1. Learn to cartwheel (figured this one out about a week ago, thanks Kelsey Rispin)
2. Learn to juggle (I mean I can sort of juggle but it’s sloppy and bad-looking)
3. Learn to ride my bike without holding on to the handlebars
4. Bust out my the unicycle my mom got in college from the basement, pump up the tire, and learn to ride it
5. Learn more monolugues so I have more to fall back on
6. Worry less
7. YouTube all of the shows happening next year so I have a really good idea of what’s going on, whether I’m on the stage or behind it
8. If I’m feeling ambitious (and haven’t killed myself yet with the first two cycling escapades), learn to juggle and ride the unicycle at the same time – because that’d just be cool

I think that’s all. If I think of more later I will add them and I’ll be sure to post more later how things are progressing (especially in regards to the unicycle because I imagine that’s going to result in some really amusing stories).

Have a good summer everybody!

Hello everyone!

Well, it’s June.  The summer season has started.  And with that, many of us are working various jobs to afford the things we want.  For me, the thing I want the most is the ability to go back to school without taking out immense loan monies.  So here’s my summer work schedule:

  • Working at Alto Cucinas- a high class restaurant in Erie
  • Assistant Administrative Director for the Erie Playhouse Youtheatre camp
  • Low Brass instructor/Marching instructor for my old HS marching band
  • Various jobs around my home town
  • Music instructor for Ted Sharon’s Playground summer theatre program
  • Assistant director for a children’s show in Erie.

Along with all my work, I have some things to be working on for next semester already:

  • I was selected to be the director for PAC’s production of Company.  Time to start conceptualizing.
  • I will be working with Eliza Meunch on publicity next semester.
  • Find audition pieces for Kiss Me, Kate, Electra, Fuddy Meers (which I cannot be cast in due to Company), and Charlotte’s Web (same situation as Fuddy Meers).

Within this busy schedule, I’m also having a hard time readjusting to being home.  This past year, Fredonia has become my home and in the last semester especially I became very close with my roommate, my class, and my faculty.  It’s a truly wonderful feeling to be able to knock on the door of one of my professor’s with a question and end up having a full conversation with them.  I also miss being able to walk down the hallway to hang out with my friends.

This brings me to question where home is for me.  It’s said that “Home is where your heart is.”  Well, where is home if you aren’t entirely sure?  I have my mother and sister here in McKean who I love dearly.  But my sister will be moving to Iowa to start her new life as a doctor of osteopathic medicine in a few days.  At Fredonia, I have the friends who have become my family.  In McKean, I have a house where I’ve lived for 20 years.  In Fredonia, there is always a couch or bed in some dorm or house that I can stay.  I know that when I graduate, I will not be returning to Erie.  I’m not sure where I’ll go yet, but it won’t be here.  I also know I won’t be staying at Fredonia.

I’m, therefore, forced to say that “home” lies with those you care about.  And for me, that “home” is scattered across the eastern coast.  I suppose this is how the seniors will feel for quite some time.  But it’s certainly hard to swallow right now.

But until August, I will have to make the best of my time here.  So, I’ll just chin up and work, waiting for my time to get back.  I hope the rest of you are all having a lovely summer.  I’ll check back with some news about my camp in the month to come.

KAB

We have a tradition at SUNY Fredonia TADA where the graduating seniors sign the wall in the sound corridor just inside the stage door. Right after yesterday’s ceremony, the 2009 graduates gathered on the loading dock and proceeded to take pictures and sign the wall. Here’s a video of part of the festivities. Congratulations graduates, and good luck!

The Graduating Class of 2009 Department of Theatre and Dance

The Graduating Class of 2009 Department of Theatre and Dance

   There are two days until graduation and then I will be finished with my time at Fredonia State. I know this blog is meant for students interested in the theatre and dance department at FSU, so I’d like to give my final summation of what I’ve learned from/about Fredonia in my four years here.

   Fredonia is, by far, the most supportive and loving environment I could ever imagine. I will not say that every student, every day is filled to the brim with sunshine, buttercups and rainbows. But, on a whole, we all really want to see each other succeed not only in our educational process but out in the real world as well. I think there is an overwhelming dedication to the ideals of making something with substance and not merely spectacle. While I doubt any of us would turn down a Broadway show, our primary goal is become contributors to our society as beautiful people creating interesting works of art. That state of mind keeps the competitive energy to a minimum and enthusiasm in full force.

   I cannot say enough about my professors. The dedication to their students is overwhelming. In different ways, each one has invested so much time, energy and hope into my success. They’ve been my best role models, teachers, critics and friends. Their ambition is contagious and their intelligence is inspiring. I have learned that the more you rely on your professors, the more they will rely on you. If you spend time with them, you will find a wealth of knowledge waiting for you. They will happily share.

Although a bit frigid in the winters, at the first moment of sunshine the campus is teeming with life. Music can be heard everywhere you go. Literally. The students at FSU really strive to make this town an enriching community. It may be small, but you will never EVER be bored. There is a constant stream of sporting events, art shows, concerts, film previews, club meetings, rallies and game nights. If you open your eyes, there are a myriad opportunities at every door.

As leave here, I am very confident of the person I have become. Fredonia has equipped me with skills to not only be a great performer, but a great human being. I am excited to start my new adventure outside of these comfortable walls. I will ALWAYS look back on my time spent here with the greatest fondness and love.

On Monday night, some of the students from the  junior and senior BFA classes had our final slumber party/bonding expirience of the year. Someone asked the group “What is best decision you have made in your life?” It was unanimous among 18 students. It was coming to Fredonia. In doing so we found each other and found an abundance of love.

My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep. The more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite.

-Amy

It is the last day of Finals week, barriers have been completed, and the campus is slowly dying down as the minutes before graduation diminish. It is strange, mostly. The idea of saying “farewell” is bizaare to me. I realize that although things will never be as they are in this moment- the relationships, the way we look, the way we behave- it is all inconsequential. This world of the performing arts is so small. The fact is our paths are bound to cross again. Be it at an audition in Manhattan or being cast in a T.V. show or touring company. I don’t believe that the Seniors leaving now… I don’t believe this is the last I will see of them. They are my friends, colleagues, and peers. There is a bond there. I can’t quite explain what it is to be in this position. The pictures capture us as we are now- a frozen moment of time with those we care about. Will I miss my friends? Of course. But it’s not over. Not even close. I still have two years ahead of me to continue to grow, improve, and break new ground. Watching the Seniors from the time I have come here until now has proven this to be true, leaving me with only more to look forward to.

Arrivederci, mi amici! In bocca da lupo! Buon viaggio!

Good bye, my friends! In the mouth of the wolf (metaphorical statement of ”good luck”)! Good journey!

P.S.- I am assistant directing La Boheme in the Fall, under Tom Loughlin. I am looking forward to this endeavor, possibly opening up another door. More on that as my research for it continues throughout the Summer.

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