Homeschool and the Theatre

One of the cool things about homeschooling my children and being involved with the Empress Theatre is that we can build our curriculum around the shows we're working on. It can be pretty amazing where this process can take you. For example...

• Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is obviously set in 1850 Oregon, so there's that whole slice of Amercian History to cover.


• Seven Brides is based on a short story by Stephen Vincent Binet called "The Sobbin' Women" which is a wonderful way to get into the writings of Binet. "By the Waters of Babylon" and "The Devil and Daniel Webster" are a couple of my personal favorites.


• "The Devil and Daniel Webster" is cited as an "unofficial" legal case in The United States ex rel Gerald Mayo v. Satan and His Staff (54 F.R. D. 282 - 1971), which opens up discussions about legal jurisdiction and procedure. Can a man actually sue Satan?


• Binet's story, in turn, is based on The Rape of the Sabine Women, from Plutarch. This opens up the history and mythology of the founding of Rome.


• The notion of bride kidnapping has been practiced in many parts of the world, and still is in some parts of the lower steppes of Asia and parts of Africa. This is a stepping off point for discussions of different marriage customs, morals, and scruples. Did you know that the tradition of carrying the bride across the threshold dates from the custom of kidnapping her first?


• The "rape" in The Rape of the Sabine Women means to abduct or kidnap, and has nothing to do with the modern meaning of sexual violation, which leads to discussions of how our language changes over time. Since it comes from the same Latin root (Raptio) that is the source for "rapture," "rapine," "rapacious," "ravish," and "raptor," we can expand vocabulary.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

So here's this week's trivia question, just for Leisa: Be the first to tell me who painted the picture accompanying this post, and where it hangs and you'll get two tickets to Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

Big Bad Acquitted Nicely

The opening night jury voted overwhelmingly to acquit Mr. Big B. Wolf in last night's premier of The Big Bad Musical, undoubtedly a result of the talent displayed by Justin Kofoed, who nailed the character on stage; playing the Big Bad Wolf somewhere between James Dean's Rebel Without a Cause and Henry Winkler's Fonz. The rest of the cast and crew acquitted themselves nicely as well.

Ordinarily I won't review an Empress Theatre production on this blog. I'm usually too close to present an unbiased opinion, and I normally have to look at a production through so many different viewpoints that a review would either be a fractured mess, longer than Gone with the Wind, or would otherwise get me into trouble. But since all I did was make sure the program got to the printer, I'm not quite so close to this one...

It is important to remember that this is a "young performers" production. The whole point of the production is to help young actors, singers and dancers develop their talents. With that in mind, and noting that there were only a handful of adults involved beyond a little advising here and there, the performance I saw last night was remarkable.

Here are some of the highlights:

Madison Ford's portrayal of the Evil Stepmother, from costuming to posture and gesture was so good her parents should either be worried, or they should be preparing to send her to a real law school. My only complaint about her performance was that her blocking kept her back to the stage right audience for most of the performance.

Shannon Jones did a wonderful job on her big song, despite having a touch of a cold. Her characterization of the Fairy God Mother/Prosecuting Attorney was consistent, with enough sweetness that we could believe she was FGM, enough grit that we could believe she was a lawyer, and enough histrionics to keep us laughing.

Skyler Blumel was hilarious as Judge Wise Old Man; this young man has an incredible amount of talent. Keep your eye on him. In fact, keep one eye on Skyler throughout the performance and watch his reactions to the action on stage.

Was it a flawless performance? No. Young performers tend to be quieter than more experienced actors, so the singing, especially on chorus numbers, was a bit unbalanced. (Although the "Wolfettes" rocked!) The choreography wasn't as polished as it could have been. There were a few other things that I noticed that didn't quite work.

But comparing this to high school and junior high school productions I've seen, it was significantly above the average; excellent, even outstanding in places. Definitely a good show for children and the family; my younger children loved it.

Unlike the real legal system, which prohibits being tried twice for the same offense, Mr. Wolf will have to face a jury four more times: tonight at 7:00 PM, tomorrow at 2:00 and again at 7:00, and then Monday at 7:00.

You are hereby called to jury duty!

The Four Part Harmony SeriesVoice Workshops at the Empress Theatre

This summer, the Oquirrh Hills Performing Arts Alliance is proud to offer a series of four vocal music workshops!

The workshops are open to people between the ages of 12 and 18, and will be taught by Anna Hunter. The cost for each session is $75. You can take any or all of the sessions. Call the Empress Box Office to register, (801) 347-7373.

• Session 1: July 14-18, 8 AM to Noon. Performance at 1 PM on July 19th


• Session 2: July 14-18, 1 PM to 5 PM, Performance at 1 PM on July 19th


• Sesison 3: July 28-August 1, 8 AM to Noon, Performance at 1 PM on Aug 2nd


• Session 4: July 28-August 1, 1 PM to 5 PM, Performance at 1 PM on Aug 2nd

The workshops will be held at the Empress Theatre. The performance location is still to be determined.

Programs for Big Bad Musical

Okay, so here's what happened...

We had a smash hit with Joseph, that covered our expenses and allowed us to reimburse some long outstanding purchases and cover some other deferred expenses.

"An Evening of One Act Plays" was an educational program, not a major production. It was artisticly and educationally successfull, but it didn't make us any money. We may have even lost a bit on the deal. But that's why we're a non-profit organization.

We hoped that The Foreigner would ride on Joseph's coattails and be successful at the box office. Based on this expectation, we committed cash to secure the rights to Big Bad Musical and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. And we started putting money into Seven Brides.

Well, Foreigner didn't do as well as we'd planned. It was a risky show for us to do. It's not well known outside of theatre circles, and it has some language and situations that some find objectionable. It just wasn't what our audience wanted. It's a wonderful show, and Porter and the cast have done a marvelous job with it. But we just didn't draw the paying audience we expected for it. Hopefully, when all the beans are counted, it will have covered its expenses.

But Foreigner hasn't put any cash back into the till.

Meanwhile...

For our big productions, we have a contract with Theatre Publications to actually publish the book. They have the right to sell some of the advertising, so they underwrite a large portion of the printing bill. So those big 32-36 page full color programs don't cost us very much. And we are able to sell advertising to help defray some more of the costs.

But our smaller shows and educational programs are not covered in the contract. One-Acts and Young Performers' Theatre isn't expected to draw large audiences, and we'd never recoup the cost of the big programs without selling a lot more advertising than we've been able to do so far. We've only had a couple of volunteers step up to sell ads, and they've had marginal success. (though they've been more successful than I was when I tried doing it for a living in Las Vegas!)

We were able to have the programs for One-Acts printed for $200. When I asked about doing the Big Bad programs, and I was ordering only half as many, the quote was $250. That was a pretty steep increase. And we're cash tight.

So, here is a specific need for donations or sponsorships. We need to raise enough cash to cover printing the program for Big Bad, and we need some additional cash to cover the cost of printing flyers and postcards and doing our other marketing things. If we can raise $500, we can do 500 black and white, 8 page programs and have color postcards and flyers printed. If we can raise $750, we can have the programs in color. For $1,000 we can do 16 pages in color.

(No. We're not in danger of closing up shop. We have a temporary cash shortage. But we do still have a long way to go before we'll be financially comfortable and able to reach our goals. I always look at these little situations as opportunites. Lets see if we can raise some cash to meet this need! As an educational program, this is one of those things that has value beyond the price of admission.)

So, I'm going to ask you to either make a donation, become a sponsor, or help us find some sponsors for Big Bad Musical. (BTW, I already have one $50 pledge... From one of our friends in Holladay!) The deadline to submit the program to the printer is Monday, so don't procrastinate.

UPDATE: As of 11:40 this morning, I have received a committment from one Friend of the Empress for a $50 - $100 donation, but she won't be able to make it until June 25 when she returns from Brazil. Another of our friends has agreed to put a full page ad in the program. And finally, we've received a $200 donation through Google Checkout. That's $325 we've raised so far. Lets keep going!

UPDATE: Got an email from Joline a few minutes ago. Kathy Wilcox just made another donation for $100. Kathy you Rock!

UPDATE 6/9/2008: Jan Lowder just donated $100 via Google Checkout! This is awesome!

Music Summer Camps at the Empress Theatre

OHPAA is sponsoring four music camps this summer. The first set of 2 will be between July 14-18, with a performance on July 19th at 1:00 PM. The second set will be between July 28 - August 1, with a performance on August 2nd. The camps are open to ages 12 - 18.

Anna Hunter will be the music director for the camps. Each camp will be 4 hours/day with one camp in the morning and the other in the afternoon, and will last for 5 days. There is room for 15-20 participants in each camp. There will be a $75 tuition cost for each session that includes the camp, t-shirt, snacks, performance and a CD of the performance.

The camps will take place at the Empress. The performances may or may not be at the Empress Theatre. We're still working through some conflicts on the performance location. Each camp will have a different theme, and anyone wanting to participate in more than one camp is welcome to do so.

Call the box office at (801) 347-7373 to register or for more information.

The photo is of Tomaso Angotti, Alfonso Cairo, and Filippo Notarianni, a Magna based Italian performing combo from the 1920's.

The Value Beyond the Price of Admission

Every now and then I am confronted by someone who complains, as did a commentor in today's Tribune (see the comments associated with the letter): "What is it about dance, theater, opera and symphony, that they can't finance themselves like so many other artistic genres?"

This person is probably suffering from a common delusion that most of the operating money for live theatres like the Empress and organizations like OHPAA come from government grants. For the record, OHPAA received a whopping $3,000 in government subsidies last year; compared to over $500,000 in donated cash, volunteer labor, and materials from private sources and over $70,000 in earned income from ticket sales, etc. And that was just our first year of operation. We expect to make about $150,000 from ticket sales this year.

Nevertheless, the question is valid and deserves an answer. I think however, that we must first reframe the question slightly. Dance, theatre, opera, and symphony and all of the other performing and fine arts are all able to "finance themselves," but they don't do it strictly from the money collected from admission to events or sale of artifacts. These art forms are funded by a combination of "earned income," sponsorship revenues (from the sales of advertising and promotional partnerships) , and donations or grants from private and public sources.

For what it's worth, TV, movies and even professional sports wouldn't make it on admissions alone. They need sponsors and they get subsidies too! There is just a different mix and visibility, as well as different production & distribution efficiencies.

Next, I think we need to ask the question: Why is this this model used? This question is really two questions: What are the alternative models and why is this model chosen over them? And Why does this model work at all?

We can take up the first question at a later time, but for today, lets examine the 2nd. Why is it that "dance, theatre, opera and symphony" can finance their art and the operation of their venues with tax subsidies and private donations?

What value exists in the performing arts that justifies governmental subsidy programs like the Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts, and Parks program or a grant from the Utah Arts Council or the National Endowment for the Arts? What prompts a charitable foundation like the George S. and Delores Dore Eccles Foundation to establish arts as a philanthropic focus? What inspires a private donor to write a check for several thousand dollars and give it to an organization like OHPAA? And what's up with all the donated labor and time?

I have my thoughts on this, but I think I'm going to leave the question open for today. Instead, I'd like to hear your ideas about why it is even possible for a performing arts organization to acquire funding beyond what it can earn from the sale of tickets. Click on the comment link below and tell me what you think.

Help Wanted

Do you like to work with Photoshop, Illustrator, or InDesign? How about Dreamweaver? Do you like to write or is photography more to your liking? Would you like to plan parties and events? OHPAA and the Empress Theatre need people who like to do all of these things and more to help out in our Development and Marketing Departments.

We need artists to design and produce our posters, fliers, postcards and programs. We need photographers to take publicity and production pictures, and to take "head shots" for our programs and other printed material. We need copy writers and proof readers, and people to chase down errant actors to get their biographies. And people to deliver fliers to businesses and other locations around town.

We need folks to work with our web team to maintain and update our website, our blog and our presence on Facebook and other "social networking" sites. There's a need for people to work on our email newsletter and announcements.

And we need folks to help plan fund raising events and campaigns; help develop our sponsorship program and maybe even help with designing T-shirts and such. And if you'd prefer to be more of a behind the scenes player, we need people to manage our patron and donor database, research grant opportunities, and manage grant programs.

There's a ton of fun stuff to do. And it is all important and rewarding work. Exeprienced or just learning, we need your help! Come join our team! This is a great opportunity to exercize your creativity and do something for the community at the same time.

If any of this sounds interesting, shoot an email to twimmer@empresstheatre.com and let me know what you'd like to help with.

Educational Value of Performing at the Empress Theatre

I got an email yesterday from Stacey Case. Stacey works in the counseling center at Cyprus High School, and her son, Brandon, played the Baker in Joseph. Her email was part of an extended conversation we've had about her observations, as both a mother and someone who works within the school system, of the impact of working at the Empress. I want to share her comments with you:

How do you teach persistence, dedication, punctuality, personal
presentation, and adaptability? These are concepts that can be difficult
to learn, let alone teach. The Empress Theatre experience teaches these
concepts to youth and adult alike. My son has grown in these areas through
his Empress Theatre experience. With rigorous schedules and dedication to
perfection the students become engrained with these concepts.
Opportunities abound for a person to explore and expand these concepts through a
group or an individual performance. Student actors are encouraged to excel
in school as well as in their personal lives. These experiences transition
to their education and create a well rounded student.

Jenni Makes a Shameless Plug for W.I.P

My wife has finally learned that there is no such thing as a quick visit to the Empress Theatre. It looks like Jenni is learning a similar lesson, and lived to tell about it.

Last night I stopped by the Empress to drop off some things for tonight’s Joseph cast party, and what was meant to be a brief visit turned into a seven-hour stay… I had forgotten that Work In Progress holds their workshop every Thursday evening at the theater.

I asked Jourdan Dixon, the evil mastermind behind "Work in Progress" (or "Quick as a W.I.P" as they like to refer to themselves), about these Thursday workshops the improv group does. Here's what he told me:

Anyway, yes, I'd like them [The Work in Progress workshops] publicized. With WIP, they need to audition, so go ahead and put how to audition. They can email empressimprov@gmail.com. They should email a resume and preferrably a headshot to that address. The ones who teach the workshops vary between who I assign each week. There is no cost for the workshops if they pass the audition. If they don't pass the audition, they may not attend. We teach short form improv mainly, but occasionally teach long form as well. Short form is the basic improv that people are used to in the short game format. I'm not gonna go into the long form details.

The workshops are held every Thursday from 6:30 - 9:30 PM in the upstairs rehearsal hall of the Empress. We are offering the workshops because even improv teams need rehearsal time. Not that we perform exact stuff that we rehearse, but it's mainly technique and theory. That's how you do improv. Use every fiber of your own being and use your insticts combined with an outline of quirks and tricks etc.

If someone goes into improv thinking that they can hide from who they are, they got another think coming. So, I guess I'm trying to help people gain people skills, confidence and awareness. I let 3 non-graduated people on the team at any given moment. I don't want too many because on school dance weekends I'd be out of luck with scheduling and because they are generally harder to deal with because of how reliable they are etc. I have 1 team member who is in high school who is one of the most dependable people on the team. He has progressed more than ANYONE else on the team. When we first started, he was awkward and not confident and nobody wanted to perform with him. He has become a player who everyone wants to perform with and who is more than confident in who he is. His communication skills are a 180 from where they were. I mainly keep doing this because of people like him. Not for myself as much. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy it, but it's seeing other progress that keeps me going.

"An Evening of One Act Plays" Update

Here's the official scoop on: "An Evening of One Act Plays."
Opens April 18th and runs through April 26th (everyday but Sunday)
Ticket prices $7 Mon-Thurs $8 Fri and Sat.
Tickets are available online now.

If the Shoe Fits
Written by Chelsy King from West Jordan High School
Directed by Sherry Smith

A fairy tale about finding a lost princess and making sure everyone gets what they deserve.

Miscommunication
Written by Gabriel Spencer from Hillcrest High School
Directed by Blake Heywood

A janitor, a student and a tourist seem to have a hard time communicating in this humorous one-act.

The Casualities
Written by Megan Chase from Riverton High School
Directed by Sherry Smith

A life long secret is revealed in an old elevator and life changing events unfold in this one-act drama.

Unforgettable
Written by Eva Terra Nova from Olympus High School
Directed by Trent Oliphant

She thought they would be alone for the evening but she learns that having her 98 year old great aunt at home is a blessing.

"An Evening of One Act Plays"

"An Evening of One Act Plays" opens on the Empress Stage on Fridady,April 18, 2008. Performance dates are every evening from April 18 tp Moday, April 26, 2008. Friday and Saturday tickets are $8, Monday through Thursday, $7. Doors open at 6:30 and the show starts at 7:00.

These plays were written by local Salt Lake area High School students, and we are very excited to be performing these original works at the Empress. I can't tell you a lot about them other than this: there are three comedies and one drama.

I've read the drama and one of the comedies, and I can't wait to see how the directors treat them. The drama, entitled Casulties was written by Megan Chase. It is a story of hiding secrets and seeking forgiveness that is surprisingly insightful for something written by a high school student.

The other script I've read is titled If the Shoe Fits, and is set in a fairy-tale kingdom, complete with, at least for now, a magic mirror.

You won't want to miss these four locally written and produced plays!

More than "Just Another Community Theatre"

As I talk to people from around the valley, they've either not heard of the Empress Theatre, or if they have, they immediately assume that the Empress is "just another community theatre," and they pass on the trip to Magna. Unless, of course, I'm talking to someone that has come to one of our shows. Then they ask me, "Where do you find all that talent? Are they all really local? Are they really just amatures?"

All three of those questions were posed to me by Betsy, a friend of mine from Holladay after she and her family came to a performance of Fiddler on the Roof last summer. Last Monday, she came back to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and brought 20 other people with her. This was her third trip back to the Empress... Somehow I don't think it will be her last. Several people, including my friend Betsy, have said we remind them of Hale when they were in their old digs downtown.

Clearly, the Empress is not "just another community theatre" in terms of our production quality and the talent of our performers. But there's more to the story than that. Over the next little while, I hope to post articles on each of the areas where OHPAA and the Empress are working. For now, here's a short list:

• Historical Preservation: The Empress Theatre isn't just an old building. She's listed on the "National Register of Historic Places" for her place in local history and for her distinctive architecture. And OHPAA's interest in preserving the history and cultural heritage of Magna doesn't end with just preserving the Empress Theatre.
• Educational Programs: We've already started working with local elementary schools to provide interesting field trips to introduce children to the performing arts, and even give some of them a taste of being on the stage. We're working on plans for a number of other educational programs. Afterschool, community, and homeschool group programs, personal lessons, and even a touring performance group.
• Community Building: OHPAA is working with other organizations like Salt Lake County and the Arts Council of Magna to develop cultural and social programs in the Magna area. We're very proud to note that several new businesses have open near the Empress recently, and we hope that the Empress had a part in the resurgence of Magna's Main Street.
• Arts and Culture: This would normally go without saying, but we certainly want the search engines to pick up on it! Beyond just producing plays and selling tickets, OHPAA has a committment to developing new talent and to exposing our audiences to other than the popular fare. We've committed to producing a series of One Act Plays written by Salt Lake Valley High School Students, we've produced two of Shakespeare's comedies and will produce more, we'll be producing an original musical, The Workshop, or trouble at the pole, by local playwright Jordan Dixon to premier this December.

If you haven't come to one of our performances, you're missing a treat! If you have, then consider either volunteering or donating to help us complete the project we've started.

Just another community theatre... Yeah, and Katrina was just another thunderstorm.