End of the semester and 2009

Hey all,

It’s Steven here again to let you all know that we had a great semester here at Waldorf. With everything going on in the department I thought it would be a great time for me to play catch up with you all as we finish up the holiday break. Well for starters. Merchant of Venice was performed November 18-21 in Smith with it being successful. Next we got the The Second Shepherd’s Play up and performed as a reading by The Classical Theatre History Class. Following that we had musical auditions for Godspell which will be performed in February. More on that production to come. After that we also had auditions for two student directed plays. Both of which will be put up in February. One is Savage in Limbo by John Patrick Shanley, which will be directed by myself as part of my capstone class. That will be going up February 5th and 6th. Following that after the main stage production of Godspell will be Eric Villhauer’s show Fat Pig by Neil Labute.

So a lot has been happening to wrap up this past semester. Alot to come in the next semester. Until then I hope you had a safe and warm holiday and continue to do so.

Until next post,

Steven

Merchant of Venice

Hello all,
It is Steven here once again to let everyone know that we are in the middle of preparing for the Merchant of Venice with our actors learning all their lines, the set coming together and costumes being pulled. So, as you can see we are all busy here in the Theatre Department preparing for this show.
For those that don’t know the plot of Merchant of Venice, it revolves around a man by the name of Antonio who goes to a Jewish money lender by the name of Shylock to get a loan for his friend Bassanio, so that he(Bassanio) is able to woo Portia who is under the rule that she can only marry the person who chooses the casket that has her image. Antonio in return for this loan has stated in a contract that he will give up a pound of his flesh from wherever Shylock chooses if he doesn’t repay the loan.
Merchant of Venice is running from November 18-21 at 7:30pm. If you would like tickets please call 585-8585 or e-mail theatre@waldorf.edu. Tickets are$8 for adults, $6 for students and seniors and $2 for Waldorf Students.

New Year, New Faces, New Season,: Just all around New

Hello all,

Well it’s once again Steven here to wish you a very happy a new year. Well, everything here is going along like clockwork. We have new faces with new first year students joining us here in the Theatre Department which is very exciting. We just finished theatre camp with them a few weeks ago. Let us just say it was a blast working with them. Something else that was new was a thing for us called Hardcore Theatre Camp Plus, which was a week long extension of the theatre camp weekend for those of us who could do it to get a head start on our first show. This was a major success because we got everything we needed done. Also, we just finished our 3rd annual 24-hour Theatre Project which was another rousing success for us as well.

Yet, back to our first show, well we have it cast and we are already in the middle of rehearsals for it. We are about two weeks from opening night and it is shaping up nicely. The first show of our season this year is Our Town, by Thorton Wilder, which is a play about life in a small town. It will run from September 30th to October 3rd. Show starts at 7:30pm and tickets cost $8 for Adults,$6 for students/seniors, and $2 for Waldorf Students. If you would like tickets please call our box office at anytime at 585-8585 or email Theatre@waldorf.edu

Our other shows this year include Merchant of Venice by  William Shakespeare, Godspell by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelac, and Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen.

That is all that has happened around here for in the last few weeks in the Theatre Department.

So until next post,

Steven Van Overbeke

Final Days in London

Hello all,
Sorry it took me so long to get this up. So anyway our final days in London passed without much incident. Well our trip had been an interesting one we all went and had a great time. We are all currently safely back here at college already in the throws of a new year already in full swing. That, however, is for another time.
Until next post,
Steven Van Overbeke

Day 7 part 2,8,9,10,11

So part 2 of Day 7 has to deal with the fact that we went to two shows while in Stratford. We went to a Winter’s Tale which is a very good show for one to get introduced to Shakespeare on.Next we then went on to see the show As you Like it which was again another great show for us to see.

Day 8 we spent in Oxford touring the colleges that make up Oxford University.There are so many college buildings to this university that we were only able to tour New College.

Following the tour of New College we then went punting on the Isis which is a boat type device that one can row down the River. Fortunately, no one fell in which was a plus. It was just a nice relaxing activity for us which after such a hard first week was good for the group to do before our second week.

Day 9 was an extremely exciting day for the group because this was the day that we ended up going to the John Soane’s Museum which was a cool place due to the fact that there were paintings upon paints that would fold out from the walls. This place was just crammed full of things to see. It was amazing.

Part 2 of Day 9 we went to The Royal Haymarket Theatre and got to see Sir Ian McKellen and Patrick Stuart in a world class performance of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot which was amazing and funny at the same time. As a plus everyone got to meet both Sir Ian McKellen and Patrick Stuart at the Stage door which will I believe be a lasting memory for all of us.

Day 10 was a day of relaxtion for us because we went to Hampton Court which were Royal Gardens for the Kings and Queens of England. They were completely amazing although it was cold and rainy yesterday. Finally, to cap off the night we ended up seeing Tom Stoppard’s adaption of Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard with Ethan Hawke which was another great show.

Finally today on Day 11 it was a free day for all of us to go visit and explore the city which I and my comrades thoroughly enjoyed. It was a very relaxing day for all of us.

Well that is all for now from the group here in Merry old England.

Until Next Post

Steven Van Overbeke

Day 2,3,4,5,6,7 of London

Today and yesterday a lot of things happened here in London. Yesterday we went to the Tower of London and saw the crown jewels and saw the Comedy of Errors at the Globe which was totally amazing. Of course standing for 3 hours was less fun but just being in that atmosphere of the reconstructed Globe was very cool.

On Day 3 we went to North London and visited one of the biggest markets in the world which was Camden Market which if you have been to a flea market type setting before that it is what it is like. If you like any type of shopping this is the area for you.

Day 4 was actually a pretty light day in that we just had a performance of the tragic Romance of Romeo and Juliet

Day 5 was a very heavy day for us we visited actually a lot of the London City area including a few famous churches such as Saint Paul’s and Saint Ethelreda’s, Saint Bart’s which I would recommend visiting to everyone because it that neat.

Day 6 was a great day for us as well because we visited many places such as the Actor’s Church and National Portrait and National Gallery in Trafalgar Square where we saw many famous painting such as the Grotesque Lady and The Sun Flowers and such.

Day 7 was our busiest day because we took a coach to Shakespeare’s birth place and where he lived as well as his wife’s house. We also saw where they buried Shakespeare. It was a great thing to see.

Well that has been what we have been up to for the first six or so days of our trip. Coming up I shall let you know about the last few days and the activities that have been going on over these days.

Until Next Post,

Steven Van Overbeke

London We have arrived

Hi all its Steven once again to tell you that after months of planning and prep work by the professor of the theater department we are currently here at Arran House in London staring at us when we look out our front door. Let me tell you the flight here was long and tiring. After which we arrived at our hotel with everyone or nearly everyone in tow. We rested for an hour. Then, the fun began for our first day here in London. We did a four hour walking tour of London. We saw Westminster, Big Ben, The Eye, and many other attractions too numerous to name. We ended up with a few hours later at My Old Ducth a restaurant that served pancakes and they were HUGE. Well that pretty much sums up our travel day and first day here in London. Over the next 2 weeks the Waldorf Theater group that is here in London will continue to update you on what is going on with us. It might not always be me though that is updating the site. It will be one of the other students.
Until Next Post,
Steven Van Overbeke

No Exit and Doubt

Hey all,

It is Steven once again here to tell you all about two exciting shows that are upcoming this week and next week. These two shows are two senior capstone projects done by Katy Snow and Immanuel Elliott. No Exit which is the play being directed by Immanuel Elliott is a play that takes place in a single hotel room and I can’t really tell you much more then that without giving away anything. While Doubt, being directed by Katy Snow( yes this is the play movie is based on) is about a priest who gets accused by a nun of having inappropriate realtions with an African American boy and the ramifications facing all those involved.

These two show will run April 16th-18th at 7:30pm for No Exit and Doubt will run April 21st-23rd at 7:30pm. Both shows are free admission and will be held in Smith Theater.

Until Next Post,

Steven Van Overbeke

Theater Operations Associate

South Pacific

Hey all,
It is Steven, here once again to tell of an exciting event that will be opening this weekend and then continuing through next Saturday. This weekend Waldorf Theater’s main stage show South Pacific will be opening to a private performance on Saturday March 28th, a school performance on Monday March 30th with the general run happening Tuesday-Saturday March 31st through April 4th. South Pacific tells the story of Ensign Nellie Forbush and Emile De Becque who after meeting at Officer’s Club meeting fall in love with each other. This play is about all the obstacles they and another man by the name of Joe Cable face in order to find true love. It is a story dealing with love and racism and is a pure delight for anyone.
Tickets can be reserved by calling 585-8585 or 585-8782 or by email Theater@waldorf.edu. Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for Students and Seniors and $2 for Waldorf Students. Better hurry and get your ticket they are going fast.
Until next post
Steven Van Overbeke

Trip to the Gutherie

Hi, all, it is Steven here again with some slightly exciting news to pass along.This past Saturday APO, our theater honors society, the Honors College, and the Shakespeare Class that Dr Bob Alsop is teaching all went to see Two Gentlemen of Verona, a play by William Shakespeare.
This is a story of love and betrayal that one needs to see in order to find out the story of. It was a great time for us. It is hoped that this tradition will keep continuing to happen .
Until next post,
Steven Van Overbeke
Theater Operations Associate