Beauty And The Beast....
It's been a long time away..
I've been working a bit too much. The Ballet has come and gone. ( And it may be the last Ballet B.C. ever if they don't get their finances in order. ) Ballet B.C., the name is a bit of a misnomer in my opinion... It's really a modern ballet company that puts on the rare classical show. Which is what they should be doing more of. They're sales are down this season and they had to lay off all their staff. Which is sad but, I think they don't cater to the classical buffs enough.
It's hard to fill the QET (2900 Seats) with enough people who want to watch dancers roll around on the floor. That's a small dance company kind of thing. I mean. If you're paying the big bucks to spend the evening in the big house. You want you and your guest to see Giselle, Carmen or The Nutcracker. Shure, give it a different, west coast twist. But, not what they've been doing the last few years. Dancing to Sinatra Songs???? Especially this season... the shows have been almost all remounts. And they wonder where their subscribers have gone. Plead for help when really they need reprogramming. And more funding like any struggle arts venture. But, they need a Christmas " Get the Bums in the Seats " kind of show to build on the rest of the year. Artsy dance for dance sake... leave that to the little companies. Unless you're a New York or Chicago Dance troupe. Where there's a real solid base of ticket buyers for that kind of extreme - ness.
The VOA has it all dialed in, that last opera at the QET. Eugue Oneigin was a lovely classic russian Opera. Big sets, an orchestra and well known singers For opera buffs - or new stunning, local talents. The packed the big house. And the show got rave reviews. Which means it will go over well, when it gets to the other co-pro cities. And luckily from the change in the strike I was able to go straight from that to what I'm now working. "Beauty And The Beast."
This is year 4 for me as the regular Xmas show. So I'm all dialed in. It's almost too easy. I really have no complaints. The shows selling well. The cast is full of returned people I know. And the new people on deck and in the cast are all experienced artists and crew. It's almost a bit to easy. Some of the new performers were asking about how it was versus how they are. And I started to give opinions. And then I remembered how interconnected Vancouver Theatre's acting circle is: Some of last years performers are dating or good friends with the current crop. And I really shouldn't say much because they can all be so sensitive to opinions as criticism. Luckily, as a remount we won't get a review of much. Unless the news desk is slow. ( not that this is a bad production... everyone's really strong ) It's just that the show gets such a " This isn't art... its pap " reviews anyway every other year. And I like to just setup and go. The houses are still as always full of young families and wide eyed kids. And that who it's really for.
As I don't have any of my own. This is sort of my Xmas gift to little kids and friends..... Its fun to give the comps away to people who haven't seen musical theatre. Especially if they're kids. They eat this stuff up. And the generation that saw the big animated movie are all in their 20's now. So they love it for the nostalgia. So, for me it's a win win situation.
It's been a long time away..
I've been working a bit too much. The Ballet has come and gone. ( And it may be the last Ballet B.C. ever if they don't get their finances in order. ) Ballet B.C., the name is a bit of a misnomer in my opinion... It's really a modern ballet company that puts on the rare classical show. Which is what they should be doing more of. They're sales are down this season and they had to lay off all their staff. Which is sad but, I think they don't cater to the classical buffs enough.
It's hard to fill the QET (2900 Seats) with enough people who want to watch dancers roll around on the floor. That's a small dance company kind of thing. I mean. If you're paying the big bucks to spend the evening in the big house. You want you and your guest to see Giselle, Carmen or The Nutcracker. Shure, give it a different, west coast twist. But, not what they've been doing the last few years. Dancing to Sinatra Songs???? Especially this season... the shows have been almost all remounts. And they wonder where their subscribers have gone. Plead for help when really they need reprogramming. And more funding like any struggle arts venture. But, they need a Christmas " Get the Bums in the Seats " kind of show to build on the rest of the year. Artsy dance for dance sake... leave that to the little companies. Unless you're a New York or Chicago Dance troupe. Where there's a real solid base of ticket buyers for that kind of extreme - ness.
The VOA has it all dialed in, that last opera at the QET. Eugue Oneigin was a lovely classic russian Opera. Big sets, an orchestra and well known singers For opera buffs - or new stunning, local talents. The packed the big house. And the show got rave reviews. Which means it will go over well, when it gets to the other co-pro cities. And luckily from the change in the strike I was able to go straight from that to what I'm now working. "Beauty And The Beast."
This is year 4 for me as the regular Xmas show. So I'm all dialed in. It's almost too easy. I really have no complaints. The shows selling well. The cast is full of returned people I know. And the new people on deck and in the cast are all experienced artists and crew. It's almost a bit to easy. Some of the new performers were asking about how it was versus how they are. And I started to give opinions. And then I remembered how interconnected Vancouver Theatre's acting circle is: Some of last years performers are dating or good friends with the current crop. And I really shouldn't say much because they can all be so sensitive to opinions as criticism. Luckily, as a remount we won't get a review of much. Unless the news desk is slow. ( not that this is a bad production... everyone's really strong ) It's just that the show gets such a " This isn't art... its pap " reviews anyway every other year. And I like to just setup and go. The houses are still as always full of young families and wide eyed kids. And that who it's really for.
As I don't have any of my own. This is sort of my Xmas gift to little kids and friends..... Its fun to give the comps away to people who haven't seen musical theatre. Especially if they're kids. They eat this stuff up. And the generation that saw the big animated movie are all in their 20's now. So they love it for the nostalgia. So, for me it's a win win situation.