With the technical problems under control and the drummer’s appearance, Wittman says, “OK, here we go!” Photo by John McCormick Act I Otwell crosses the stage as it plays and gives a thumbs up. Miller, her asymmetrical hair dyed pink, responds with a techno track. “Someone sing something,” Wittman tells the group, prompting a cacophony of near-wailing and feedback. Theatre professor Christopher Otwell asks sound designer Cedar Miller ’21 to play something over the speakers. Wittman, who later compared opening night to childbirth, said it’s been “hectic.” At the moment, the drummer is AWOL, the singers are milling about on stage, and Ballard, at the keyboard, says she can’t hear anything from the on-stage monitor. “You’ll be hired by Starbucks!”Ī couple of nights later it’s dress rehearsal for the show’s two-night run. “You’re specialists!” Wittman shouts over the ruckus. Someone shouts, “Matt,” meaning Matt Penalva ’21, “seems to be confused!”Īll in all, however, it’s going pretty well. Sophomore Elizabeth Martin’s shoe is untied, the lace flopping precariously under the sneaker of the person to her right. When everyone has a cup in hand, Dana Ballard, Curtain Call’s musical director, starts playing the song on her keyboard. “Starbucks has to be out to the front, since they gave them to us,” she says of the green-and-white cups, after which someone yells in mock accusation, “Product placement!” Loretta Wittman, Curtain Call’s director and choreographer, hands out the cups and instructions. The choreography for the frenetic number involves three circles of students, who, with their backs facing center, move in a counter-clockwise direction while passing paper Starbucks cups in the opposite direction. It’s a Tuesday evening in March and Curtain Call, the University of Lynchburg’s musical theatre ensemble, is rehearsing the opening number of its upcoming spring cabaret, “Behind the Curtain.” The song, “Coffee in a Cardboard Cup” from the Broadway musical “70, Girls, 70,” is about how all the world’s woes can be traced back to take-out coffee.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |