<p>We saw Illyria on thursday night. It was a great show!</p>
<p>purple9 - Glad you enjoyed Illyria - can you believe they barely rehearsed for ONLY TWO (NOT three) WEEKS?? It was a GR8 show-by Sunday the BEST! I tend to only read the UArts posts (once in a while), and noticed your comments…I believe we were sitting next to eachother at the show. =) CONGRATS to your son & to you!! He will LOVE UArts & learn so much!</p>
<p>P.S. I’m still here in Philly moving my daughter - Move #4 (only a Jr.) =)</p>
<p>Illyria got great reviews by all who saw it (as did Mainstage’s D 
).</p>
<p>Four moves? Wow, I called it quits at 3. At least your D will be all settled in before callbacks and juries next week!</p>
<p>Mainstage - which character was your daughter? We could not blieve they put together such a great show in two weeks. Now I would love to see the show in a full production!</p>
<p>purple9 - I sent you a P.M. - congrats/good luck to all newbies & enjoy the ride!</p>
<p>Had the unexpected pleasure of attending last night the staged reading of “The Immorality of Thought” by Jules Tasca at the Caplin Studio Theater. Directed by UArts professor Neill Hartley, the play is about the mind, passions and life of Spanish artist Francisco Goya and featured a 5 person cast consisting of Gene Terruso (UArts professor of acting), Kristyn Chouiniere and Sonja Robson (outside professional actors), and UArts rising seniors Shoshana Katz and Andrew Tardif. The show was a thought provoking blend of wit, comedic elements and the exploration of the mores and values of the church and art in a society moving from the baroque to the modernistic era. Not only was it thoroughly enjoyable from the audience’s perspective but was also a great experience for the students involved. Jules Tasca, (who has over 125 published plays to his credit) was in attendance and worked with the cast during rehearsals. While only a one night performance, it was a great learning opportunity for the students to work in an intimate small production with a group of professionals.</p>
<p>How wonderful for your D. Michael to have that opportunity. Hard to imagine, too, that she will be entering her senior year in the fall!!! Where did all the time go?</p>
<p>Bk, I know what you mean. I can’t believe how the time has flown by - and your D is going to be a junior! Wasn’t it just yesterday that your D was visiting UArts as a prospective freshman? Congrats to her also in getting cast in Nine. It sounds like it’s going to be a great show and a lot of fun.</p>
<p>Thanks. So now that your D is going to be a senior, do they still do shows, or do they go out and audition everywhere, and learn how to be ready to go out there when they graduate?</p>
<p>The answer to your question is “yes” :). Seniors still audition for school shows but can also obtain permission to audition for outside productions. Typically, most seniors, I believe, are in school shows the fall semester since they auditioned and were cast the prior spring while juniors and if they desire to do outside work, start auditioning for it during the fall semester for shows that go up in the spring. For example, my daughter was also cast in Nine and there is a total of 7 senior girls and 1 senior guy cast in the principal roles. There are 7 other MT seniors who’s names I recognize cast in the other fall shows. Senior year, a lot of the classes are also focused on transitioning to professional auditioning.</p>
<p>I just heard from my D who told me your D’s part. So glad she got a great role, and my D is very excited to be working with almost all upperclassmen, except 1 sophomore girl, who is in ensemble with her. My D is very excited about being one of 8 in the entire ensemble, and might get some solo lines in ensemble songs, and of course she is very excited to be dancing as well. We can’t wait to see it.</p>
<p>I think Nine is going to be a tremendous amount of fun for all involved. Lots of strong vocals, dancing and characters. A main stage production but in the Arts Bank so the venue has plenty of room for the staging but is small enough so that the audience is right up close to all the action. And I know that among the seniors, who have watched each other grow as performers over the past 3 years, there is a lot of excitement about all of them finally being in a show together “en mass”. Kind of like a last “hurrah” for them before they really shift their focus to transitioning to life after school. I’m sure your daughter will have a blast too. Plus having Patty Raine as the director will be a great experience.</p>