Queen at the Ballet #OutAndAbout

Sean Bovim's Queen at the Ballet... need I say more? Having friends of mine performing in this wonderful production and with my own background in ballet, it was such a privilege to be invited to both the opening and the preview for the Johannesburg season. Unable to attend the official opening on 27 April at the Joburg Theatre, we attended the preview the night before and I am so glad we got to see the brilliance of this cast and production.

Henk Opperman in Sean Bovim's Queen at the Ballet.

The first time I met Sean Bovim, was during a summer school program (or was it winter?) at the State Theatre. He was then still a part of the fantastic PACT Dance Co. and I was still very much a blushing ballet girl in awe of him and his colleagues. During the course of the program we would do joint classes with the Company, including body conditioning with the incredible and legendary Pat Gush. I will never forget being partnered with Sean for some random foot strengthening exercise, which to this day I can't for the life of me remember - as I was too busy worrying about the proximity of this incredibly hot and sexy male dancer, whilst forced to play a weird form of footsie with him and trying to be good at it at the same. Needless to say, I've been a fan ever since. Sean has done some incredible work, and I wish I had had the opportunity to work with him in the height of my contemporary dancing days.

And speaking of inspired young dancers, I met a beautiful member of the cast named Faye Dubinski, who happened to have gone to school with me at the National School of the Arts. And as we were introduced she tells me that I was her Gr12 senior and her idol at the time. I said 'really'? She replied, Yes! I looked up to you so much, I even named a bear after you. I wanted to be just like you.

Friends and leads Henk Opperman and Devon Marshbank

Well, my night and possibly my week was made. And as I had no clue about Faye, so I am sure Sean will have had no idea about my own awe and admiration. We have absolutely no inkling of the lives we impact in our day-to-day comings and goings... the ultimate life decisions or paths we influence or inspire, that's what makes what we do so powerful. Faye's name is one I will now watch with keen interest and hope to see in many programs yet.

And seeing as impacting lives are par for the course for us, hubby and I love to include our FADCreationS's Career Mentorship Students in experiences like these. Two of our students joined us for the evening, Roelien Prinsloo and Morne Vogel, both have recently finished Matric and are heading for studies or careers abroad in the US. We have the honour of guiding, coaching and developing them along the way. Here we all are at the Joburg Theatre.

With hubby, Roelien and Morne.

Some of my favourite numbers of Queen at the Ballet were Who Wants To Live Forever with the three incredible pas de deux couples and the Don't Try So Hard duet, danced by friends Henk Opperman and the beautiful Elzanne Crause. Sean's pas de deux's are just breathtaking.

I am so glad this production is being showcased in Johannesburg and hope that we will be privy to many more of Bovim Ballet's works up in Jozi in the future.
I am sure that their Opening Night must have been magnificent and wish the cast and company all the best for the run. The season only runs until 13 April, so make sure you do not miss it!

Tickets at http://www.joburgtheatre.com/. 

Here is a link to a 'taster' video for Queen at the Ballet. 

Lots of Ballet Love,

BPSE 2014 Rehearsals #ComingAttractions

It's happening again! Our annual BPSE 2014 rehearsals are underway, and the talent we have pooled together this year is scary brilliant!

The Broadway Performance Showcase Experience is an annual workshop hosted by FADCreationS, where we take a group of industry hopefuls and give them a true experience of what it takes to put a full musical theatre production together - from the audition process, all the way through to the final performances.

Eben Liebenberg from PhotoElements has been capturing some wonderful behind-the scenes moments during rehearsals... Can you see the concentration, the focus... the creative chaos... we love it!!!

Our candidates receive all the show material before hand and undergo a real audition process for casting on Day 1 at BPSE. This year we are rehearsing at the beautiful Dance De Art studios in Centurion, where each candidate will also experience full studio recordings of all of the chorus vocal material of the production. They learn choreography from scratch, plot acting scenes and start piecing it all together. Later they put it all on stage and in costume, and all this in under 2 weeks. (We're mad right!)
But honestly, it is a life-changing experience for most young artists and many keep returning to us. It's not only the work, the exposure or the final show but rather the process, the experience and the family they gain and value most through it all. The candidates (and their parents) also get to meet and rub elbows with some high-profile industry experts during an enlightening Q and A session, as well as on the VIP show evening.

 

And same as last year, 2014's production called "96000", will be performed at the Atterbury Theatre in Lynnwood, Pretoria. There will be two performances: Friday 4 April at 7pm and Saturday 5 April at 3pm.

So if you live nearby or feel like coming through to support and check out the theatre stars of the future, please join us!



Tickets are R120 per person and available at Computicket, just follow the link...








Hope to see you all there!

Love,

Causing A Scene #ActressLife

To me improv is like church for actors, it's where we go to get nourishment and fuel for when we're out in the acting 'world'. Causing-A-Scene improv troupe opened their doors for a short while, to allow 'outside' actors an opportunity to come and 'play' with them (as they put it), and also for them to find a few new candidates to eventually join their regular sessions.

I was lucky enough to be able to 'play' with them every Wednesday for the past 5 weeks and last week I attended the final 'open' evening at the National School of the Arts in Braamfontein. So now, many hopefuls will wait to hear if they will be invited back as part of the Causing-A-Scene improv troupe. Either way, it has been a fantastic experience for me. I am not new to improv, but I know during the past few weeks, I broke some barriers for sure. I grew not only as an actress, but also in my love for theatre sports and improv.

It can be such a scary yet exhilarating exercise. No 'scene' is ever the same and anything can happen, I think that's what I like about it... the endless possibilities.
And when it is well executed, man, it is brilliant to see. Attending improv workshops doesn't necessarily mean you have to be the next SNL star or even be a comedic actor at all, but it allows us 'normal' actors to open up to some seriously uninhibited exploration and building your self-trust. To learn to get out of your own head a little and just go with it. To listen and to say 'Yes!' - to your fellow actors, their decisions and to whatever happens in the scene.


Through just a couple of weeks attending the Causing a Scene sessions, I have undoubtedly grown leaps in my approach, my techniques and confidence. Many of which, I can now put to use during castings, on stage or on screen and I do look forward to exploring more workshop opportunities of the same kind.

If you are interested, here are some cool sites on the subject:
http://improvencyclopedia.org/games/
http://cloudcuckoo.co.uk/jonthrower/improv_ex.htm
http://learnimprov.com/

Speak soon,