Jeanmarie Simpson - Page 3

I am incredibly proud of all my kids and Ryan is pursuing his dream as a performer. He has been performing for quite awhile now as a professional and I have had the idea that this would be so since about his Junior year in High School. I have always taken the time to include my kids (when they have shown an interest) into the shows I was doing. Ryan and his older sister, Kaitlynn, were able to be more inundated with it at a young age as I was more active as a professional performer and they got to be backstage and at rehearsal, and often in shows with me. Whenever I was in a show that needed kids, I got them an audition and, since they were talented, often got cast, so we were able to share the stage. Sound of Music, South Pacific, Music Man, Secret Garden, A Christmas Carol, all shows that my kids been able to share with me.

Now & Then Creative Company is a culmination of perceived needs in the valley, coupled with opportunities for learning and growth with students at Metropolitan Arts Institute. The 'now' focuses on new play development and film production-working with local artists on the development of plays, screenplays, workshop productions, and film productions. The 'then' produces theatre classics that speak to our present time-plays that tackle large issues to provoke conversation around social concerns. Further, I imagine the classics to be interpreted with a strong vision from directors. We are interested in producing classics with strong concepts-we are not interested in producing classics in ways that feel familiar. More to that point sometimes classics begin to feel like museum pieces-once you've seen them, you've seen them. We want to nurture an exciting, vibrant, and meaningful approach to the classics.

This rags-to-riches story of ugly-duckling, Louise, the tomboy who rose to national fame as Gypsy Rose Lee (the entertainment queen who put class into Burlesque) is an all American classic; and Mama Rose, the pushy backstage mother who lived through her daughters, but paid a high price, is one of the most iconic characters in Broadway history.

I am most concerned with what the audience sees, as they are the viewers/hearers of our story, so what they gather from our performance must be paramount. I come in with a strong image of what I want the show to look like. I then block the show right away to get it on its feet. I call this building the skeleton. The rest of the rehearsal process is about fleshing out that skeleton. I do not have the actors wander the stage looking for what feels right for them. It may end up being more “true to life” by letting two people do what comes naturally, but that does not make for a good presentational performance. I block to keep things visually interesting and I work to use the entire stage.

Brelby Theatre Company's Shelby Maticic has directed her company in a breakneck paced, enticing production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. With a book by Rachel Sheinkin and music and lyrics by William Finn, it's a show that could be breathtakingly dreadful, but instead is wildly entertaining.

I don't think my goal is to be a performer, rather more of a person who makes theater happen. Whether that is being an actor, a designer, a director, a patron, a donor, a supporter, an observer, or the executive director of a theater company, that's completely up to fate, really. All I want is to be a part of the progression of this art.

Blacklisters ain't for sissies. It is, however, a vital work by a serious young playwright, produced by an essential young theatre company that must be encouraged and supported. Our survival depends on it.

Alanna Kalbfleisch is an utter delight to see and hear, with luminous skin, bright eyes and dimples in both cheeks and chin. Let's face it. She's eye candy. As Dot/Marie, the comfortable authority with which Kalbfleisch moves about the stage suggests a lifetime of performance. Her voice is off-the-charts resplendent, however she is by no means all flash. The nuances in her performance are breathtaking - her pure talent and spectacular range, vocal and dramatic, are world class.

'Not only are you learning a new skill or refining already existing ones, the instructors are working artists from all around the valley. Artists you may be working with in the future on a professional level are teaching you. It's a wonderful opportunity to not only learn but network.'

'There is something for everyone in the upcoming classes at Brelby Theatre Company,' said Education Director John Perovich. 'I speak frequently with audience members, collaborative artists, and our company members about what classes we should be offering at the theatre. This spring, we have 4 exciting class offerings that focus on playwriting, acting, directing, and musical theatre,' he said.

We're excited for the New Works Festival! The plays were written by Metro students, predominately from my beginning and advanced theatre classes. Once completed, the plays were read by a group of 9 readers. The readers consisted of one of my advanced theatre students and a group of artists from Brelby (including Brian and Shelby). The plays were selected, began rehearsing in January, and will premiere at Metropolitan Arts Institute at the end of the month.

I am thrilled with how the production looks and sounds so far. We have a great team at the helm with Phillip Fazio and Steve Hilderbrand. These two have created some of the biggest hits at Theater Works in past few seasons. I think Phillip is a brilliant director and am always excited to see what he brings to life with a production. Steve Hilderbrand, is a foremost Sondheim enthusiast and I feel blessed to have such a well versed music director for this project. The design team is creating something quite unique and appropriate for our production.

When I wrote Blacklisters, I was focusing on fascism and totalitarianism through the perspective of the individual in relation to absurdism. It's strange now considering the relevance a lot people who've been involved with the script have given it. On one hand it bugs me that the current events are being very tightly tied to the story when it was not my intention, but I can't deny that interest in it has picked up as a result. As I see it, what I wrote in this show was designed to be slightly unreal and terrifying but not beholden to a specific time period. I also can't deny that inspiration comes from weird places and like most people I was obsessively watching last years politics unfold, largely in horror, so it probably affected me.

My favorite experience was playing the part of Young Cain in The Children of Eden. I loved being with all of the college students. They were so talented and taught me a lot. I only knew one person from a previous Valley Youth Theatre play, but by the end had a lot of great friends. Even though I was just a kid they treated me like a professional. I will always remember that. When I am an adult actor, I will be sure to be nice to all the kid actors.

Now and then, but not often, a theatregoer experiences theatre that is THEATRE. Not theatre that tries to be film or television, but theatre that has the audacity to be theatrical. Theatre wherein the actor looks the witness in the eye and says, 'I know you know I'm an actor, and I know you're sitting there experiencing this with me. I know you see the lights and the seams in the muslin walls and the painted wood grain on the scenery. And I feel your heartbeat, and we're all breathing this air together.'

The two are featured in Brelby's Peter and the Starcatcher, opening Friday at the Brelby Playhouse in historic downtown Glendale. Maticic plays the coveted role of the dread pirate Black Stache (who will one day be Captain Hook), and Perovich appears as Lord Leonard Aster.

I was attracted to Peter and the Starcatcher because of the script. It is an extremely well-crafted and an exceptionally inventive grown-up's prequel to Peter Pan where twelve actors play over 100 assorted characters, through the use animated characterization and the boundless limits of imagination. The actors enter a sparse stage and create a world for us where we face high adventure, big dreams, tough choices and flying; and the audience is asked to employ their imaginations immediately. The script is smart, tight, heartwarming and hilarious.

Molly is fierce. She's a brassy know-it-all, but she's always fighting for the greater good. She lost a parental figure at a very young age, and it's shaped her into a different person than she might have been otherwise. She's also at a turning point in her life during the course of this play. She's learning about what it means to be an adult, and to make the difficult decisions, even if you don't feel ready to. She has some of the wittiest lines in the show, and gets to be unapologetically confident. Especially when it comes to putting boys in their place.

Brelby is committed to encouraging, nurturing and producing the work of local playwrights. Their 2017 lineup features ten world premieres.

Lynne Griffin is what director David Ellenstein describes as 'a heavy-weight' in the industry. Her credits span more than 5 decades and include print, film, television and theatre. She was a child model and actor, appearing in multitudes of commercials and even hosting a children's television show in Toronto.