BWW Blog: Spring Break, Summer Stock Auditions, and New Work at a Local Theatre

After 9 weeks of intense classes, rehearsals for two shows, and performances of one, it feels great to be back home for a week with some time off. After a successful run of Jasper in Deadland, I immediately started rehearsals for the IU departmental production of City of Angels. It's been so exciting to be working on my first mainstage production here!

On top of these rehearsals and performances, I also auditioned for summer stock theatres in January and February! I traveled down to St. Louis for the open non-equity call for The MUNY. It was for sure an eye opener and a great way to gauge where I need to be in terms of my dancing by the time next year's audition season comes around. After going to St. Louis, I also traveled to Chicago for auditions for MTWichita and up to Warsaw, IN to audition for Wagon Wheel. All auditions were a great experience, as I can't do a full summer stock season this summer due to a family vacation, and I did them as a way to see how these types of auditions roll. On top of that, it was super fun to road trip to great cities and be able to visit in addition to auditioning!

While home, I got to see a fantastic production of a new work at The Detroit Actor's Theatre Company, a company out of downtown Detroit that strives to produce thought-provoking work and start a conversation through theatre. I saw And Licked My Hand: A Fairy Tail, a new play by Theodore Groll, a clever look inside the mind of animals who live as pets to humans; all animals (dogs, cats, etc) were played by humans and acted like humans, only they were treated like animals onstage.

The direction of the play kept this idea consistent throughout, and quickly established the suspension of disbelief needed as the audience watched a grown man be scratched on the belly as if he were a dog. The story follows Max, a lovable mutt, and his quest as being his owner Susie's loyal companion, and his struggle to adapt to her new boyfriend and his anti-canine pets that accompany him. Casey Hibbert, who played Max, was the epitome of what you'd think of if you had to imagine a dog coming to life. From his high energy physicality to his manner of speech to the hysterical asides he would have when he pretended like he was in a movie, everything about his performance was incredible.

Kryssy Becker, who played Max's owner Susie, was delightful and was so great at establishing the sweet relationship between her and her dog. Throughout the whole play, she consistently showed her care for Max and displayed an obvious overarching struggle to choose between her dog and her stubborn boyfriend.

At times, I struggled to understand where the plot was headed through some of the dialogue, but it became clear quickly after. The attention to detail in the direction of all of the animal characters contrasting the humans in the show was another highlight; the way that Lester, a flamboyant British cat, and Polly, a defensive and speedy cockatoo, were physicalized onstage worked very well. The use of music also was a great layer to the production value; there were recognizable movie themes (such as Jaws and Sherlock Holmes) and classical pieces throughout that made it an enjoyable experience from a technical aspect. Overall, I really enjoyed the performance and loved seeing new work being performed through a great organization. Support local theatre!

Other than that, I've mainly been enjoying my week off and been resting up before going back into intense rehearsals for City of Angels; once we get back from break, we only have 4 weeks before we open, so we will definitely hit the ground running next week!

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