Well, what's happened in the last week. The shows are still going well and we continue to have some fun behind the scenes. The cast is getting ready for the Cabaret. This Friday December 18, 2009 most members of the cast will be performing a cabaret after the show. A lot of funny ideas have been flying around. Andy Kindig, Lancaster resident, cast member and all around nice guy (well maybe not but it's all I could think of right now) is heading up the cabaret. He and Eleni Delopoulos (also in the show and hilarious actress) are currently writing some of the acts that will be taking place. DON'T MISS THIS!!!!

One of our cast members Katie Sina broke the bone in the ball of her foot during production week and had to move from her apartment to a closer one. Because of this, we all got together at her apartment last week and had a potluck dinner. What could be better then supporting a cast member and friend by helping out and eating great food, having great conversation and then going to do a show. Wait,.. That was the down side. I think we all ate so much that none of us wanted to do the show because we were so full and dare I say it??? Yes....full of gas. That was an interesting show, but we got through it.

Alene Robertson (Miss Hannigan) had her 21st birthday this week. After the show we all went out to celebrate. When we asked Alene how old she is she told us she is 21 again. We figured it's a good age to be again. So we went out for drinks and wings at a local place. This event was so big that even Chad Coudriet (Burt Healy) joined us. That was a huge shock but we all got through it and even asked him to join us again sometime. What a nice guy.

Secret Santa's start this week. How does this effect you? It doesn't, but we get gifts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh yah, we have to give them as well. This should be fun. Some of the creative idea's and gifts going around already have been brilliant. I'll keep you posted.

Well that's it for now. Tune in next time for another episode of Annie...The life after.

Now let's see... It's been a while since we've had a blog. I blame the rehearsal schedule. As I said in the first blog, our director is a slave driver. We've been rehearsing Annie and Nutcracker at the same time and the schedule was pretty rough. However, we opened both shows and both have been received really well by audiences and Annie got great reviews.

In the time of all the rehearsals, a few of us took a tour of the town and ended up at a Cajun restaurant called Prudhomme's. It was awesome. Great Cajun food and not bad drinks.

We had some great times developing characters for each show and have a hard time not laughing at each other on stage.

Paul Aguirre and Becca Nicole Snyder.

Some cast members dreamed of being Annie as you can see.

Robert Kovach designed the set and it is beautiful thanks to Robert, Bill, Steve, Rebecca (paint), Dale (props) and everyone else who helped on the construction.

The lights were designed by Paul Black, he even made Jamie (Daddy Warbucks) look good on stage. David Temby did the sound design and Joe Simon runs the sound. They also made Jamie sound okay. Well... they did the best they could do (again with the jokes).

Great costumes and hair done by Beth Dunkelberger, Anthony Lascoskie, Jr. Our lovely costume mistress Brittany keeps us looking good, even Jamie.

Nykol, Anne and Bryan keep everyone in line backstage... well as best as they can. We'll have to get more into the stage management crew on the next blog........Oh Yah!

So far everything is going well with the show that Marc put up... however I'm sure he can't wait to come back and see the show to tell us to take all of our improvements out and make the show what is was when we opened.

That's it for today. I'll write more before the end of the week.

First and foremost, I want to say that everything in this blog is meant to be fun and entertaining. Everything you are about to read is all in good fun. So this is for your entertainment.

When I was asked...No...Told I was going to be doing the blog for Annie, I think I was thrilled. So here it is. We started rehearsals the second week of November. I do have to say that I have not worked with a cast in a long time or perhaps never worked with a cast that is this nice. What I mean is, not only is everyone incredibly talented from the kids up to the adults, but everyone is so nice and genuine. No one thinks they are better than anyone else and they always have time to stop and say "Good morning" or "Bon Jour" (musical theatre joke) to each other. Everyone is greeted with a smile from the cast as well as the production staff. Can we talk about the production staff??? Everyone is accommodating and fun to be with. When it's time to work, we work but there is always fun to be had and little jokes back and forth to keep the day moving as efficiently as possible.

Rehearsal started with the standard music rehearsal and we went on to blocking the following day. I am pretty sure the whole show was blocked in one week and we started running through the show rather quickly. Everything is running smoothly. When things needed to be cut down for time reasons or continuity, the decision was a simple one for our fearless leader Marc Robin (director, choreographer and all around nice guy). He would come up to me and say "Steve, we're cutting your lines... you never knew them anyway so I didn't think it would make a difference." Of course this is a joke (or is it?).

When Marc was making his decision to cast me in the show, first he had to weigh out if he wanted anyone to work with me or get to know me. After he made the decision to "Go For It" and cast me, everything that he feared really did come true. So I am saying right now to the cast and production staff...I'm sorry for anything and everything that I have done or have yet to do, but ultimately you will have to blame the director for bringing me into this in the first place.

In all seriousness, Marc Robin is not only a very talented person, but he also cares very much about his shows, the people he works with and the people he casts. If you're having a bad day, he wants to know about it and help you. That is very rare in this field and we all appreciate this very much. Thank you Boss!

Our Stage Manager Nykol first and foremost, has great hair. Long, curly and red. Next, she along with Anne and Bryan (Assistant Stage Manager and Production Asst.) are the best audience in the world. They laugh at everything and applaud, and even keep a tight running ship in the process. I'm sure I speak for everyone in the cast when I say "you're in for a long run."

Ron, our Music Director. Great voice, great patience and great ability to transpose. That is truly impressive. I look forward to getting you to play some Billy Joel for us during production week. I hope that's not a problem.

As we get into production week, I will be able to talk more about the rest of our fearless staff. So no one is safe.

As far as the rehearsal space goes, it's very nice. Two floors and a kitchen. I feel the only thing missing is the coffee cakes and donuts. If we had these things, it would really make the rehearsal time a lot more constructive. But that is just this guy's opinion. We get to move into the beautiful theatre on Wednesday of this week. The day before Thanksgiving. Now the real fun starts. If I may right now, I would like to put in a request for coffee cakes and donuts for the dressing rooms right now. Thank you.

I hope you have enjoyed the first installment of the Annie Blog and I hope you stay tuned for the upcoming ones.