Tech Load-In!!!!

Hi theater-lovers,

Flipping Channels is opening this Friday, and you can find cool posters hanging all around campus! On Sunday, we had our tech load-in, which basically means that we set up a theater in the Berkshire Hall atrium, where we will put on the show.
The cast and crew were split into four crews: one to hang up lights, one to transport platforms for the audience, one to put together costumes, and one to organize the props. After four hours of hard work, we have arranged all the set pieces in the atrium and set up all the lighting systems for the show. The costume racks were all neatly arranged and the props were all in place. 
After a 20-minute-break, we returned to work. We set up platforms and chairs in our newly constructed theater and started aiming the lights. Finally, we finished at 6:00 pm, having started at 11:15 am.
Today was a great work day; we were able to get so much work done and have everything ready for tech week and the show.
Stay on the channel,
Maggie

Cuddle Puddle!!!!!

Enjoying the sun! This is what we do during rehearsal breaks!

Hey theater-lovers,

We are less than 2 weeks away from the opening of "Flipping Channels!" This past week has been drenched by rain every day, and the cast and crew, being students, went through numerous stressful AP's, the SAT's, etc. However, luckily, we got to have some real fun at rehearsals.

Italian rehearsals does not mean rehearsing with an Italian accent-- it means to speed run the entire show with extremely fast cue pickups in different settings. "The Office" and "Scrubs" had the privilege to have this fun.

"The Office" is a very subtle comedy, maybe the most realistic one out of all four, featuring long awkward pauses and a slow speed. The cast was not sure what to do at first when Mr. Howard said, just run it really fast. One scene later, Mr. Howard suddenly said, "now say all your lines as if you have a crush on the other person." Everyone bursted out in laughter, and everyone was relaxed. Mr. Howard continued to give different "handles" (distinct character traits, as I featured in my last blogpost,) like "now you have a bad Russian accent," "now you're a character in a melodramatic BBC show," "now you're an overblown character from a video game where everything has a sound effect," and "now you're a character from a children's book."

Everyone had so much fun with the different "handles," and we could not help but laughed throughout the whole run. The Italian rehearsal helped us put together the whole picture of the show, and also made us realize how important our "handles" are, in order to help us elaborate more on our characters.

Eat, drink water, and laugh,
Maggie

As opening night draws closer, the process is beginning to steadily intensify.  Much of the show has been blocked in a basic sense (general ideas and movements etc.). Now our focus has shifted to going over those scenes with a fine-tooth comb, detailing exactly how we want it. A large part of this process is actually rehearsing in the Atrium. Yesterday was our second rehearsal in the space. It was a very helpful opportunity for a couple of reasons. First, the cast of Flipping Channels had the chance to gauge how loud and exaggerated everything must be for a successful performance in the Atrium (very). Second, it gave us a chance to identify logistical issues, especially those involving playing to the most possible audience members. Mr. Howard and Annie could then come in and help correct those issues to allow for the best experience for the entire audience. Only a couple weeks left!

-Riley

Meet (Some of) the Cast!

Name: Benjamin (Ben, Benji) Wolf 

Grade: 12

Roles: Dwight (The Office) and Ross (Friends)

Name: Charlotte MacKenzie

Grade: 10

Roles: Pam (The Office) and Terry (Friends)

Name: Minh Nyguen

Grade: 12

Roles: Turk (Scrubs) and (Big Bang)

Name: Noah Faison

Grade:12

Roles: Jim (The Office) and Gunther (Friends)

Name: Shannon Lee

Grade: 9

Roles: Stephanie (Friends) and Angela (The Office)

Name: Lucia (actually Hannah)

Grade: 11

Role: Stage manager

Check back later to meet more of the cast as we get closer to opening night! Only two more weeks!!
-Anna

Hi everyone,

Welcome to May! The show is officially less than three weeks away, and we are cranking away at the script after a successful line run. We have already finished the first or second drafts of blocking on Scrubs and Friends, and one page away from finishing The Office. Recently during rehearsal, Mr. Howard stressed on the idea of "the handle" for the actors to work on their acting. "The handle" refers to a distinct characteristic or trait that the character exhibits, which can be easily picked up like a handle by the audience even if they have never seen the show before. For example, my character in friends, Monica, is a control-freak who gets really hyper an competitive with games. To exhibit my "handle," I will have to exaggerate and broadcast these characteristics of Monica, and coin it down to one phrase like "hyper control-freak" for me to have something to focus my energy on. We will be having more rehearsals in the  Berkshire Hall atrium in the upcoming weeks, and that would be a great chance to put our skills to practice and really feel what it would be like to perform in that space.

Don't switch the channel,

Maggie