The Half

For 25 years, theatre photographer Simon Annand have been allowed by stage actors into their inner sanctum before they go onstage. He has captured these sacred moments taken during final half hour before curtain time called "the half". His photos are now on exhibit at the Idea Generation Gallery in Shoreditch, London until August 2012.

Above left is a photo of Cate Blanchett in Plenty at the Albery Theatre in 2000 and on the right, a very young Colin Firth in The Lonely Road at The Old Vic in 1995. To view a slideshow of other actors like Tilda Swinton, Daniel Radcliffe and David Tennant, please click here.

The Proposal

Amidst the sadness of the last curtain for Wonderland, tears of sadness turned to tears of joy and celebration. Darren Ritchie who plays the White Knight proposes to Janet Dacal who plays Alice. Check out the video and see all the excitement from the cast. I love the reaction of castmates Kate Shindle and Jose Llana. Congratulations!

Printing Playbills

Courtesy of the Theatre Development Fund, here's a look of how your Playbills get from printing to the theatres.

Broadway Shoe Shopping

Ever wonder where those dancers on Broadway get their fabulous shoes? Well, here's an interview with Phil La Duca, a former dancer himself and now owner of La Duca Shoes in NYC. Lani, Mike and I passed their store on 47th St. while walking around Hells Kitchen (I think you have to be dance worthy to wear their shoes). The company now supplies dance shoes to musicals such as Wicked, A Chorus Line, The Addams Family, Promises Promise and A Little Night Music.

Waiting In The Wings

Although this article was published a while back, it's an interesting read. NPR did a piece about Broadway understudies, the unnoticed gems of most shows. It features incredible dancer, Megan Sikora (who plays Miss Polanski and understudies Kristin Chenoweth's character Fran and Katie Finneran's Marge McDougal from Promises, Promises), Chris Hoch (who understudies Kelsey Grammar and Douglas Hodge in La Cage Aux Folles) and Stephen Rowe (who understudies Alfred Molina in Red). See their take on their role. It's very interesting! Read it here.

Related to that is this discussion from the American Theatre Wing episode about Understudies. Guests include Tony Carlin (Lend Me A Tenor), Bryan Fenkart (Memphis), Corinne Melançon (Mamma Mia), Jay Russell (Our Town) and Paul A. Schaefer (The Phantom of the Opera). They discuss their preparation for their role as well as the difference between an understudy, standby and a swing. The watch the video click here.

(photo from NPR.org)

Backstage Life

Patrick Healy of the NY Times has this very interesting article about how actors spend their time while waiting for the cue to be onstage (wow that was long!). It features Jan Maxwell (Lend Me A Tenor) and Katie Finneran (Promises, Promises) and a few others. To read the article please click here.

(photo from NYTimes)

Honesty With A Dash Of Hopefulness

This week, Julia Murney has been busy teaching a masterclass for theatre students of Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. She gives soon to be professional theatre actors a glimpse of the life of a working actor in NYC. Check out the videos below where she talks about the reality of the business behind the glamour of Broadway.

Part 1:


Part 2:


Incidentally, she will also be performing with WMU senior students at Late Night Broadway, a cabaret held at Terry Williams Theatre tonight Dec 3 until Saturday Dec 5. For more information about the concert, please click here.

(video courtesy of Fox17)

Daycare Challenges for Broadway Actors

I just wanted to share with you this very interesting article from the NY Times about daycare issues for Broadway actors. It's an interview with actress and mom, Sharon Wheatley who has performed in Cats, Les Mis and Phantom of the Opera. St. Malachy's Church (The Actors' Chapel) in cooperation with Actors Equity and The Actors Fund is exploring the possibility of a daycare center for these actors. A qoute from Fr. Baker said “We see it as a God-given gift these people have, they shouldn’t have to give up their family.” I totally agree! To read about it please click here.

(photo from NYTimes.com)