Update and New Schedule

Hey everyone. Long time no real post. Sorry about that. Life has just been a bit crazy as of late and I thought that I should give you an update as to what's been going on.

Earlier this year I graduated from high school. With that came a lot of stress thanks to school work. My final semester was quite tough and it became a time of focusing on homework and grades. But, I finished off high school and was very relieved to be out of there. When I began my senior year, I didn't want to leave all of my friends, but by the end of it all, I just wanted to be out and away from the stress for a while.

In late August, I began my freshman year of college. I enjoyed the first semester and loved how new everything was. But with that came an adjustment period. I was having a hard time adjusting to the condensed courses and how fast paced everything was. It probably didn't help that I had some classes that were quite difficult as well. My school schedule was also quite different from what I am used to. But all in all, I feel that I have acclimated to my new environment and will be fully prepared to take on my next semester.



With the New Year upon us, I wanted to find a way to fit blogging into my schedule as well. I very much enjoy posting on here and I hope to do more of that. This means that I have made a new schedule that I feel I will be able to stick to fairly easily.

Next semester, my classes are scheduled closer together, with the exception of one morning class three days a week. This means that for these days, I will be free for most of those days. This gives me a good portion of time to blog and do my school work.

Here is how I plan to post on here from now on as well as some content I hope to do on here as well: 1) There will be a new post on here every Monday and Friday at 3 p.m. starting January 5th. 2) Musical of the Month will be back at the beginning of every month with the exception of January due to a few other posts I want to get up before it. 3) You guys voted and I will be posting my Rent Inquiry Blogs from my ENG 101 class on here. They will be posted every other Monday starting January 8th.



And finally, I would love to know what you guys would like to see on here. Please send me suggestions either via the comments, Twitter, or Instagram.

I wish you all a Happy New Year. See you in 2018.

Sincerely,

Carlee


Instagram: @The_Theatre_Corner
Twitter: @Theatre_Corner

Bare: A Pop Opera Review (minor plot spoilers)

PC Here

On June 11, 2017, I went to see a show at the Nearly Naked Theatre (also known as the Phoenix Theatre) called Bare: A Pop Opera. I heard about this because a good friend of mine, Brandon Hayes, was cast as the lead, Jason.

When I got to the theater and was seated, I was able to see the gorgeous set. It started as a cathedral which looked phenomenal and I think tech did a wonderful job designing and building the set. As we were waiting for the start time to roll around, there seemed to be a bit of technical difficulty they were trying to fix. They ended up fixing it in time which shows how hard tech works and how dedicated they are to the show.

Program

I decided not to take any notes during the show so that I was able to give my full, undivided attention to it. I didn't want to miss anything that was happening on stage.

So lets start off by talking about Act One. Act One is about the conflict between two gay men, Peter and Jason (Cole Brackney Wandelear and Brandon Hayes) keeping their relationship, and their sexuality hidden from their parents as well as their peers at their Catholic School. But everything seems to possibly be crashing down around them when it starts to become harder for Peter to keep their relationship a secret. It shows a struggle that is so real in our society not only twenty years ago when the show was written, but also now for many still coming to terms with their sexuality. Every single actor performed every song and ever scene seamlessly and so did tech. There was not a falter  in sight when it came to their performance.

Act Two was just as incredible and the actors and tech had the same energy they had in Act One. This was the most powerful act of any show I have ever seen. Everything was crashing down around all of the characters and it seemed to feel like the weight of the world was on Jason and Peter's shoulders. And even when the end of the world for these characters seemed near, we are left with the important reminder that love is love and nothing can ever change that. This act showed how coming out can be scary for some and how peoples reactions can affect those who come out. It sends a powerful message which makes the show so real and relatable to many.

Me with Brandon Hayes (Jason)

I want to talk about the actors individual performances for a bit. Cole Brackney Wandelear (Peter) really embraced the character of Peter. Brackney Wandelear emotions and facial expressions really show his conflict with whether to tell others about his sexuality. Alyssa Lucero (Nadia) conveys perfectly her characters conflict with her body image and being accepted. Nadia is a character that many of us can relate to in one way or another and Lucero brought that relatability to life. Johnna Watson and Shawn Wong (Ivy and Matt) are as talented as can be and play their characters beautifully. Watson was perfect in her execution of Ivy's wanting for Jason and the conflict it brings. Wong perfectly channeled his anger at the fact that Jason seems to take everything from him and created a truly incredible and believable performance. Brandon Hayes (Jason) is excellent when it comes to conveying his characters struggle with his sexuality. Hayes gives a performance that makes you really feel for Jason and the characters own personal conflicts. Charlotte Strayhorne (Sister Chantelle) completely rocked her role. Strayhorne did not hold back at all in her portrayal of the LGBT supporting nun which made the show that much more perfect.

I also quickly have to mention the set. The use of the set was amazing. Every single piece of scenery was utilized to it's maximum potential. Everything that is on stage in the opening of the show was all that was used and it is so amazing to see the creativity in the set design. I would never have thought to use a bench stool as a makeshift closet.

Also, I want to give recognition to the technical crew for not missing a single beat when it came to lighting, sound and everything in between. The technical crew did a magnificent job.

Overall, this is a very powerful performance done by an equally powerful and amazing cast. It sends an incredible message and I think everyone of age should see it. Now, I must say, this is not necessarily a family friendly show due to its mature subject matter, language, and nudity. Viewer discretion should be advised.

My overall rating out of 5 stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is an absolutely phenomenal show that you don't want to miss. Whenever I see a show, if I like it there are usually two versions of liking for me. There is, "I liked it, but I am satisfied with seeing it the one time", and there is "I want to see it again, it was unbelievable". This is one that I really wish I could see again to be able to re-experience the beauty that is Bare: A Pop Opera at the Nearly Naked Theatre in Downtown Phoenix. So believe me when I tell you that you need to go and experience this eye opening, tear jerking, unbelievably excellent show. But you better hurry. There are only two more shows left and you don't want to miss it. You can buy tickets here.

Sincerely,

Carlee

Instagram: @The_Theatre_Corner
Twitter: @Theatre_Corner

The Theatre Fam is the Best Fam

When I was in creative writing, my favorite topic to write about was theatre. If you can't tell already, I really have a passion for it. Lots of my friends liked my pieces and I felt like sharing some of them with you.

This first one is a personal favorite of mine. This was the first one I ever wrote for my creative writing class. The topic was to write about a groups stereotypes, and obviously I gravitated towards theatre kids. I showed this to a few of my friends, who  loved it, and even my theatre teacher. She told me that it was very heartfelt and genuine. She even asked me to print her a copy of it. So here it is.

The Theatre Fam is the Best Fam

My Theatre Family

We are the theatre family. We are loud and obnoxious. We like to spend most of our time in our theatre class room and love every second of it. We act different in front of theatre kids than we do around our other friends because we are allowed to truly be ourselves without fear of judgment. We support each other through everything. We bond over Hamilton and any other show we are listening to at the time. We wear our cast shirts no matter how long ago the show was. We spontaneously burst into song and don’t care who is staring at us. We have playbills covering our walls from all the shows we’ve seen. We are wild and crazy, but extremely awesome.

But when there is a show that is a whole different story. If we are lucky enough to be cast, our whole

world changes for months. Our rehearsal space becomes our home away from home. We basically live there until we finish striking the set. We lose any reminisce of a social life. When anyone asks us to hang out, our favorite line is “I can’t, I have rehearsal.” We try our hardest to be off book as fast as possible, but it doesn’t always happen. Sometimes, we are not off book until the week of the show. We know not to touch other people’s props because the stage manager might actually kill us, but we do it anyways. We laugh and joke with our cast mates, telling stories of previous shows we’ve been in. We try our hardest not to get sick by taking every cold medicine known to man. We know the closer it is to show week, the closer it is to tech week, A.K.A. hell week. During tech week is when we really feel like we live at the theatre. We live off of pizza and junk food and do our homework when we are not on stage. This is also the time where sleep becomes a word with an unknown meaning. We fall behind on homework but somehow we are able to catch up. We perform opening night and we are extremely nervous. After that, it’s a breeze. We take our final bows, relief washing over us. Then, we strike the set, beginning to feel sad that it’s all over. After the show closes, we go through PSD (Post Show Depression), not knowing what to do with ourselves anymore. That’s when we start looking for the next show.

I love my theatre family, and no matter what happens, I know that this is where I belong.

Sincerely,

Carlee

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Twitter: Theatre_Corner

Tips: Getting over a Cold

Now let's be honest, the worst fear of any stage actor is getting sick before any audition or show. I will admit, as I am writing this, I am currently sick with a cold and I have an audition on Wednesday. I thought since this is a common fear and quite frankly happens often that I would tell you guys my secret for getting rid of a cold as fast as possible.

Firstly, I must say that this will not work with the flu and other illnesses such as mono, but if you have the common cold, this should work every time.

PC here

Now the first thing I always take when I am sick is a zinc lozenge. They come in a multitude of flavors and help to end colds faster than is you just leave it. And believe me, I hate leaving colds. I like to use the brand Cold-Eeze because that is what I grew up with. I tend to take three of these every day usually after every meal. You don't want to take them before a meal because zinc lozenges numb your taste buds for a little while. I would also space out each Cold-Eeze by at least four hours.

PC Here

The next thing I take are echinacea capsules. They are herbs ground up into powder and put into a capsule that you take orally. It helps to boost the immune system and helps to fight colds. I usually take one capsule with breakfast and one capsule with dinner.

Other than that, I do the usual things you would do when you have a cold. I drink a lot of water to keep myself hydrated. I take naps because rest really help. I also take warm showers and drink tea because the steam and warm liquid help to soothe the throat and clear the sinuses.

Also, I would keep a few boxes of tissues by you at all times. I know it seems like a no-brainer, but I have gone through a whole box in one day before. In fact, I ran out of tissues the other night. It's always safe to have extra in case you need it.

This is what I do when I need a little bit of help getting better faster. And I can tell you that this has worked for me many times. The best example is when I was in my last full length show, I got sick the week we opened and I was only really sick for one of the performances.

Hope this helps you when you need to get better faster than what would happen naturally.

Sincerely,

Carlee

Instagram: @The_Theatre_Corner
Twitter: @Theatre_Corner