News

September 1, 2003

The site is now live! We will have lots more information here when rehearsals are over for this weekend.

Carla has graciously drawn us a picture to be used on our Maypole shirts! We will have more information later on - so stay tuned!

September 16, 2003

Added some of the dances to the dance section, links on the link page - and embarassing pictures to boot! The cast lists for the different shows will be up soon.

Just a reminder that Reesa will be casting the pre-show dances during Dress Rehearsal Weekend - so be sure to practice those 7's. And 1-2-3's.

If you have anything that you want posted on the site - from pictures to site recommendations to where to find a good parasol, email me at the address below and I will add it on.

September 24, 2003

The set lists are now up for the three shows. Remember that if you are not in one of the two "cast" shows we still need you there. You are still cast in the Escargot, the Maltese Bransle and the Basket Weave ... and we definatly need you in the Candy Cane. The sets are mutable as well - and you might (and probably will) be called in to dance from time to time.

September 30, 2003

The set lists for the preshow are up and done. Contact Reesa with any preshow questions. The revised sets for the shows should be up soon. We will post all the relevant set lists on the call board as well, since they are all finished -- with people who are actually there, even!

October 8, 2003

Well, the first weekend is done and over with - and I think everyone did very well. Hopefully you have all started to get an idea of what the shows are going to be like. There are a few issues that need covered, however.

The moresca has been cut. The dance just wasn't working. I know you all worked very hard on it this year, but I just don't think that it is going to be up to performance standards this year. Next year, absolutely, but not now. Right now, there is nothing replacing it, but I would like to put Half-hanniken in eventually. Just be aware that it might show up.
We need to talk about the age range for patrons in the different dances. The Maltese is good for all age ranges. The basket weave is too - but with a few finer points. Remember when I said that the kids have to be as tall as my bosom to have their own ribbon? I said that for a reason. We CANNOT have tiny tiny kids with their own ribbons and no performers helping out. Several times, I saw 5-8 year old children all by themselves in the weave, and performers sitting on the sidelines. Lets not have that happen again, ok?
Toddlers in the weave. No more than two per ribbon - and there MUST be a performer with them. We are looking for a range of kids in the dances, not all very young ones. Even if they have their parents with them, please at least follow along with them to help out. As we found out Sunday morning, not all parents can be trusted with a ribbon.
Which leads me to another point. If you see a problem happening - any problem - fix it. Even if it isn't your kids. Just fix it. We saw some rather unexpected problems crop up over the weekend that could have been taken care of earlier with a little more vigilance (I'm not excluding myself from this gripe - believe me). You all know what is supposed to be happening, and I trust you to take care of it. Please don't make me and Vanessa get really angry about this.
Pre-show looks great.
Everyone should be participating in the Escargot and the Maltese Bransle. If you cannot participate, then you had better have a very good reason for it. If you are not dancing, then you should still be in the scene and helping out. Sitting under the tree is not helping out. Passively watching the show is not helping out. Maintaining a perimeter, watching the kids, getting water, smiling and having a good time are. We do not ever want to hear that there were multiple performers sitting down or otherwise not participating - especially not at the 1:30 show, which is the busiest and requires the most watching.
Our musicians are getting drowned out by crowd noise. Part of this is a constant battle in that particular space, but part of it is a lack of a clearly defined stage area. Though the show is very audience-participation geared, there still must be a defined perimeter around the stage area. This keeps the patrons' chatter away from the musicians and allows us to hear them better. It also makes the show look like a show and not a big mass of people.
Let's talk about boys. Young boys are ok to dance. 20 somethings are not. Potential love interests are not. Please, lets not use the show as a dating game, ok?

All in all, you gals did a great job. Saturday was a VERY difficult day for everyone, and you all made it through with flying colors. We are pretty sure that you all know what went wrong, and probably have a good idea as to how to fix it. I know that this weekend will be great. Keep up the good work!

This page was last updated October 8, 2003.

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