This week has been a lot of schoolwork and rehearsals (the usual). So, I decided to interview one of my favorite humans who happens to also be in the theatre. LeeAnn Dowd was the first Chapman person I met; it was during the summer before my freshman year in NYC while she was interning. We instantly hit it off and she even came to one of our shows! During my freshman year I looked at LeeAnn, a senior at the time, as a role model; she started Cross the Line with another senior, Sierra Stenzel, the club that I'm leading now. Our outlook on theatre was very similar. We also went on to do ASTEP's Artist as Citizen Conference together, which was an incredible experience for us to share. Even though LeeAnn has graduated and moved to San Francisco, we still keep in touch and she graciously let me interview her for the blog. Hope you enjoy getting to know a recent post-grad perspective!

How one Rocky Horror director aims to do more than put on a show.

I binge-watched the entire first season of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend last month because I'd been hearing good things about it for a while and finally decided to see it for myself. It absolutely lives up to the hype-it's unlike anything I've ever seen on TV. The brainchild of Rachel Bloom follows a big-shot New York lawyer (played by Bloom) as she moves across the country on a whim to be with her high school boyfriend whom she hasn't spoken to in more than ten years. You can imagine the chaos that ensues. The show is a theater kid's dream. Each episode is like a mini-musical. The songs are amazing, the dialogue and storylines are hilarious, and the characters are, like every day people, flawed but lovable. In honor of Season 2's upcoming premiere, I thought I'd share my top five favorite songs so far (in no particular order):

This semester, I am taking a Writing for TV and Film class - which means that I'm writing a script for a movie. I tossed around different ideas, as did every student in the class, and we tried to find the simplest idea and most interesting idea in which to write our very first script. Anna, our professor, told us to think about things we know, because those are going to be easiest to write about. I couldn't write about the life of a congressman, because I don't know anything about that. I don't know any congressmen. I don't know what they do, and even if I did a lot of research, I probably still couldn't get the dialogue just right, or the lingo. So I bet you can guess what I chose to write about.

Welcome back! This week's article features an art form that a production of Our Town would not be complete without: PANTOMIME! For those who don't know what pantomime is, I decided to give you the gift of the Oxford Dictionary definition:

Very recently, I drove from Auburn to Atlanta to see one of my favorite bands at The Tabernacle - Two Door Cinema Club - and not only did I end up falling in love with them even more, but I also fell in love with Jack Garratt, who was opening for them. My friend Josh and I went together, because neither of us know anybody in Auburn who likes the same music we do - but I ended up seeing my friend and fellow sound designer, Carl, there also!

Monday October 3rd marked the beginning of Month 2 of rehearsals! At this rehearsal, we really ran through the material! It went fairly well!

Getting off book not everyone's favorite part, but a necessary one in the rehearsal process. Once the book is out of your hand, you can move freer and explore the character more. You can really dive into specific choices when you aren't preoccupied by the book taking up space in your hands. How does one get off book, you might ask? Well here are some tips and tricks based on what I've learned in my experiences, with input from some of the cast from Our Town.

Hey. It's been a while. And yet, three weeks seemed to have flown by. I guess that's senior year. Between homework, rehearsals, and work, I haven't been able to set aside enough time to write down my thoughts. But here we are, so let's do this.

Music is in the air at the University of New Haven as the Theatre Club prepares for their third cabaret. The tradition started last Fall under the direction of Robert Vaccaro, who also directed the Spring Cabaret 'Cabaret 2: Electric Boogaloo'. Upon Vaccaro's graduation, the Cabaret was passed to the direction of two time cast member Jared Reynolds. I had the pleasure of speaking with the director, choreographer, and a few cast members about their experiences with Cabaret III.

My apologies for not publishing this week's blog sooner!

Recently, I had the amazing opportunity to interview Rafael Casal, co-creator of #BARS workshop currently in association the Public Theater. He is a rapper, poet, actor, playwright, teacher, and musician. His highly socially-conscious work combines elements of hip-hop music and theater in a unique way. It was only fitting to have the interview in the Public Theater.

This time last year, I met my friend Anthony Narciso. He was contracted to be the sound designer for Playhouse Creatures, a show that I was running sound for. We didn't know it at the time, but we were to become thick as thieves and become the best sound team there has ever been (okay, maybe we're a little biased). We share sound effects, projects, and ideas - a good mark of two sound designer best friends. We created a shared dropbox folder - and titled it Anthony and Cheyenne Sing Sound Shanty's. Probably the most important folder we have inside our sound shanty's is our sound dictionary. We've just been taking ordinary words and using them to define events and happenings that we find in the world of sound. For example, the first definition we came up with was for 'Smashed,' which is defined as 'the poor mixing of a track, only possible when patching a fisher price keyboard into a cassette tape recorder and mixed with low quality YouTube,' and this definition spawned from a show choir performance in which I received a terribly recorded track to play.

It's been three weeks since the first rehearsal of Guys and Dolls at the Orange County School of the Arts, and things are moving along quite quickly! This year is OCSA's 30th Anniversary Celebration, which entails extra concerts, master classes, and special events for much of the cast, so we are working frantically to get the show done before our schedules get any crazier.

The first two weeks of fall semester were nothing compared to the heavy-hitter that was the third. I found myself (*gasp*) actually having to put in homework hours at the library, at home, and in rehearsal spaces; the semester had finally begun.

For most shows by closing, I'm sitting at the soundboard, tired of hearing the dialogue: I'm memorizing the beats in the actors voices, tracing out lines on my palms, you name it. Running a show for two weeks will end up with me either hanging on the edge of my seat out of love and adoration, or out of dying, death, and despair. The Foreigner by Larry Shue, however, is my favorite show. I never get tired of watching it, of running it, of listening to the dialogue while I'm sitting by the board. When done well, the show is hilarious, sweet, tear-jerking at times (maybe I'm emotional), and just plain enjoyable. I am typically fonder of straight plays for sound design (although I do love mixing a live orchestra with actors) because of the incredible liberties I can take. Of course, most straight plays are realistic, so there's not a ton of magical orb sounds or dragon's roars, but I do have a recording of Sowing In The Morning played on the Harmonica for The Foreigner, as well as car horns, 40 minutes of rain, and an explosion. And maybe it's me, but I love these effects.

Welcome to the second installment of the behind the scenes look at the University of New Haven's production of Thorton Wilder's American classic, Our Town. For those who are just joining us this week I have the pleasure of guiding this journey from the rehearsal process all the way through closing night.

Who comes to mind when I think of a talented, intelligent and influential person? Ayodele Casel. This powerhouse tap dancer, actor and teacher has broken boundaries and shown how an interest can help you discover a talent and even transform into a lifestyle and career.

Friday September 9th was the first opera rehearsal for the Universite de Moncton opera workshop production of 'Dido and Aeneas'!!

When we talk about a play or musical that speaks about a different culture, we can say that the production is about race and all that the race entitles. Whether or not it is speaking on love, achieving your dreams or posing a big question on humanity, we believe in it's diversity because it talks about a different experience. And we are content that there is a piece about this very culture because it relates in the most minuscule level of who we are.

This semester, I am enrolled in two theatre classes--Shakespeare II and Business of Acting. For the latter, we have a workshop-style class every Friday where we discuss our preparations for our BFA Showcase and post-grad plans, as well as meet with industry experts. This week, we met with a Los Angeles casting director who spoke about the importance of being professional, which is what sparked this blog post.

The resonance of an orchestra warming up before a performance is a very comforting sound for me: reminiscent of the nights at the theatre with my Meme. But there is something very special regarding the cadence of my first Broadway orchestra in preparation, that sound I will never forget.

Last year, I took a digital performance art class. And to be totally honest, I didn't think that I would love it, and sometimes I didn't love it. It forced me to step outside my comfort zone and put myself out there as both a designer and as a person presenting my designs. I spent long hours in the computer lab compositing this video - a video I never thought I would make.

The season has officially begun at the University of New Haven. Our season opener, Our Town, has officially begun the rehearsal and I am honored to be a part of this amazing cast as Lady in the Box, Man Among the Dead, and a member of the Choir. I am thrilled to be able to bring you behind the scenes as we bring Thorton Wilder's American classic to life at the Bucknall Theatre.

BroadwayHD made an announcement last year that they would begin to stream live performances of professional productions from all over - Broadway, West End, you name it.