Act Two Theatre

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February 2, 2015 by dgraham Leave a Comment

Velma Takes The Stand – Part Two

We’ve now had a few weeks of rehearsal and we are really getting this show whipped into shape! Last week we had our first choreography rehearsal for “Cell Block Tango,” which will be a BEAST of a number once we polish it up. We worked for three hours straight and by the end our brains were fried and our feet were tired. But the whole number is blocked! It was a huge accomplishment!

Our choreographer, Rachel, and our director, Andrew, like to work in tandem to create the best picture they can. Lots of different ideas get tossed around, including some by cast members, and everyone’s opinions are considered. It’s a wonderful, incredibly creative environment I am so proud to be a part of.

When I’m rehearsing, I have so many different thoughts flying through my mind that it can be a struggle to focus on the most important. Andrew helps me tremendously by being encouraging and fostering a safe environment where it’s okay to experiment and even *gasp!* fail.

Sometimes I fail in a BIG way, but he and my other cast members are always there to laugh with me while we try to find a better way.

At this point in the rehearsal process, I am focusing on learning my lines and connecting it with my blocking. It’s easiest for me to do that when I’ve sat down with my script, gotten comfortable with the scene but not entirely memorized, and then had a blocking rehearsal. As soon as I know if and where my character is moving on a line, I can start to discover why I’m doing that action. That helps me build the character organically.

When it comes to choreography rehearsals, I tend to work the same way, but in the case of Chicago, I’m trying to be completely off-book (memorized) on my music before we start dancing. Notice “trying” is not always “succeeding!”

If there is one thing that I have taken away from these last few weeks, it’s this: Don’t be afraid to try new things! Sometimes the best discoveries are made when things go wrong!

Filed Under: Act Two Theatre, Chicago, Rehearsal, Theresa Hermann, Velma Kelly Tagged With: Act Two Theatre, Andrew Kuhlman, Chicago, Rachel Lampert, Rehearsal, Theresa Hermann

December 30, 2014 by dgraham Leave a Comment

Velma Takes The Stand – Part One

Introducing Theresa Hermann–who will be playing the role of Velma Kelly in our upcoming production of Chicago! Her blog for the run of Chicago will be titled “Velma Takes The Stand,” so look forward to more blog posts from her coming soon!
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Auditioning can be fun, stressful, painful, exhilarating, or all of the above. The one thing it isn’t is EASY. No matter how much you might prepare, there are always things that will throw you off your game. The trick is to recover quickly, with grace and humor (if possible!).

I first heard about the auditions for Chicago from some friends at work. I decided, somewhat spur of the moment, to go ahead and give it a try. I have an extensive background in theatre–in fact, that’s what I studied in college! I worked for several years as a professional actor in and around St. Louis. Now, that may sound glamorous but it actually entails long months with no auditions in sight, spaced between short intervals living out of a suitcase several hours from home. In between out of town gigs, I waited tables and bartended (just like every actor on the face of the earth!). Finally, about two years ago I decided I no longer wanted that gypsy sort of lifestyle and I took an acting break.
My audition for Chicago was my first in more than two years, and I was worried that I had gotten rusty! I decided to sing a song by the same composers who wrote Chicago–John Kander and Fred Ebb. I’ve always been taught that it’s ideal to sing something from a similar musical style so that the director can more easily picture you in the show. The song I picked is a not-very-well known jazzy belt song, called “The World Goes ‘Round.” It not only shows off my vocal range well, it also has a similar “attitude” to a song that Velma Kelly might sing. It’s a song about sucking it up, because life is hard for everyone and the world won’t stop turning for you. I could DEFINITELY picture Velma saying those exact words!
I felt like it went well, but as always, I would have loved another chance to do it even BETTER! We had a really great group of people in the room when I auditioned, and it was really cool to get to hear the songs that other people had selected. After everyone had a chance to sing, we all learned the dance routine together. The dance audition is always my kryptonite, but Rachel (the choreographer) taught it really well and it went okay.
The next day Andrew offered me the role of Velma Kelly! He told me he didn’t need to see me again at callbacks because he liked what I had done at the first round of auditions! Sometimes that can happen, but it’s pretty rare, so I was really honored. I couldn’t wait to get started! When the first rehearsal rolled around, I was so excited to meet my fellow cast members and the awesome crew that is going to make us look good! After that first read through, I can honestly say that I have never been so excited to tackle a role! We have such an amazing, diverse group of people that only good things lie ahead.
Now to work on those lines…

Filed Under: Act Two Theatre, Chicago, Read Through, Theresa Hermann, Velma Kelly Tagged With: Act Two Theatre, Andrew Kuhlman, Chicago, Read Through, Theresa Hermann

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