Roger’s show photographs from The Clarence Brown Theatre production of A Christmas Carol  [2009] (running in the Clarence Brown Theatre through December 20) are now loaded onto my flickr account.

Click here to view the A Christmas Carol (2009) slideshow.

Click here if you’d rather view the set in raw form.

And of course you may access all my CBT show photographs from the Photos menu item on this intranet. 

CLARENCE BROWN THEATRE
AUDITIONS

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS      
THE FLU SEASON
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
OEDIPUS REX      
CHARLEY’S AUNT
 

WHO??     Ages 17+

WHERE??  Ula B. Doughty Carousel Theatre
                 on the University of Tennessee campus

WHEN??    Saturday, August 22nd      1:00 PM until   ??
                 Appointments ARE needed

PREPARATION:  1-minute monologue, 16 bars of a song *
                          Singing not necessary if only auditioning for
                          FLU SEASON, OEDIPUS REX or CHARLEY’S AUNT
    
                          There will be an accompanist present.
     
                          Please bring a resume and photo (photo does not 
                          have to be a professional head shot)
    

CALLBACKS:  Sunday, August 23rd    10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
                          (For LITTLE  SHOP, FLU SEASONand 
                          CHRISTMAS CAROL) Sunday, November 15th  
                          
                          Time to be determined
                          (For OEDIPUS REX and CHARLEY’S AUNT)

To schedule a time, call 974-6725 or come to 219 McClung Tower.

For complete information about the upcoming season, please visit our website:  www.clarencebrowntheatre.org

CLARENCE BROWN THEATRE AUDITIONS FOR CHILDREN
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
 

WHERE?? Carousel Theatre at the University of Tennessee

WHEN??   Saturday, August 8, 2009
                10:00 AM (appointments are not needed)

PREPARATION: Be ready to sing a traditional Christmas carol of your
choosing, and dress comfortably for active play.  We will begin promptly at 10:00 am. 

Callbacks: Saturday, August 22nd, time to be announced.

For more information, please call Betty Tipton at 974-6725.
For complete information about the upcoming season, please visit our website.
http://www.clarencebrowntheatre.org/

Some of you have, but many have not yet noticed that we have added a page here that takes you quickly to a collection of Clarence Brown Theatre show photographs from the past three seasons.  We don’t have every show, but many of them are here.

Disclaimer: some of these photos were a learn-as-you go process, and most of them were taken not with an SLR with proper creative controls, but with a memory card on a video camera.  The resolution is also a lot lower than today’s digital SLRs provide, so the picture size (and blow-up-ability) is less.  We have a new Nikon now, and we’re making progress, though!  Nevertheless, there are some interesting shots here you might find interesting.  We’re storing our photos on flickr, which allows for easy maintenance and several display options.

To go to my CBT summary page, just hit the “Photos” link on the menu bar, or click here or head to http://www.uttheatre.org/flickr.php.

Enjoy!

My family had a great Christmas and New Year, and I enjoyed a little time off from work at the theatre.  Today, I came back to the office, and it wasn’t long before I had to dive into everything waiting for me — for example, doing the Final Show Report for the Clarence Brown Theatre’s production of A Christmas Carol.  We did really well, so it’s taking a while.

Like most regional theatres, we operate on a fiscal or “school” year, so we’re only half way through our season.  But today was an example of how a theatre proceeds through the year — out with the old, in with the new.

Now parked at our loading dock are two full-sized truck trailers, ready to be loaded with the set of A Christmas Carol.  The set’s been waiting on stage through the Christmas break, but now must come down to make way for The Life of Galileo.  The strike began today, involving a large number of people from the scene, props, and lighting shops.  Normally, our sets are simply thown out when a show is over — a few easily reusable items are saved for future use, but most of the set is thrown away or sent to salvage.  It’s not that we don’t want to keep them — the cost of storage is just too high.  In this show’s case, however, we know we will use this same set again very soon, so with the help of a CBT supporter, we’re storing it in the trailers until Knoxville needs another dose of the holiday spirit.  It’s kinda in the vein of the old Robert Cothran Christmas Carol set with the three turntables, which reappeared for a couple of decades.  We’ll see how long this one lasts — it worked well this (oops, last) year.

About the same time, actors and designers gathered in the Carousel for Galileo’s first rehearsal.  This new production draws upon not only our resident company, but a “hired gun” lead actor and artistic personnel from around the country.  The production’s principles got together for a “Meet and Greet”, viewed presentations by the designers, conducted Actor’s Equity business, and got started with the rehearsal process.  Opening Night (February 1) will be here before we know it!

In the box office, I busied myself with making deposits and then moved onto the aforementioned Christmas Carol  Final Show Report after making a few adjustments to the seating charts for The Life of Galileo.  We’re also processing more gift certificates and season ticket orders that came in the last couple of days of the run of Christmas Carol.

Later this week, I’ll be considering some ticketing system options for next season.  The artistic director and faculty will be finalizing the program lineup for next year.  It never stops!

There’s another thing that never stops — the needs of the less fortunate in our community.  The Clarence Brown Theatre made a modest effort in asking our single ticket buyers of A Christmas Carol  to bring non-perishable food items during the run for the Second Harvest Food Bank’s Food for Families program.  Our patrons responded with several barrels full of food items, some of which were picked up and distributed before Christmas, and others to restock their supply. 

Although the collection at the theatre is over, the need for food for the poor of East Tennessee transcends calendars, so we ask that you consider making your contributions directly to Second Harvest or to any of the other charitable organizations in the area.  Hopefully, this New Year will be a happier one for everyone!

Technorati tags: clarence brown theatre, theatre, a christmas carol, the life of galileo, second harvest, roger’s musings

Isn’t this a great time of the year?

Whatever your religious convictions, you’ve got to admit that Christmas rocks.

I love driving on Neyland Drive and seeing the lights by the river and on the Henley Street Bridge, and of course the ‘trees’ on all the taller buildings’ rooftops.

Many organizations set up events to help us celebrate, including schools, churches, and arts groups.

There was an article in the News-Sentinel  last Sunday about the annual production of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.  Producer Jeff Delaney reportedly thought the show was the second-best attended Christmas event in the area, and article write Doug Mason mildly disputes it, bringing up other events that may outdraw it, but forgets others.

I have absolutely nothing against the play — it’s a cute story (and I was asked to consider a part in the cast a few years ago), but there are a few other Knoxville Christmas traditions to remember.

One example is the Nativity Pageant of Knoxvlle, reported in today’s News-Sentinel.  It probably draws twice the numbers of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

And of course there is something closer to my heart — the Clarence Brown Theatre’s production of A Christmas Carol.  There have been multiple sell-out performances for this year’s version, and although the 7,000 to 8,000 attendees for The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is impressive, we’ve already sold over 11,000 tickets for our performances of A Christmas Carol (including five school performances), and we still have seven shows left (during our “Bonus Week” — through the 22nd.  Some great seats are still available!)

Oh, there was one more review of A Christmas Carol — this one from The Tennessee Journalist’s  Briget Hardy:

The production of “A Christmas Carol” is currently playing at the Clarence Brown Theatre on campus to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.

And I’d like to remember some friends of mine who are travelling far away from the area for Christmas — Carson-Newman College’s A Cappella Choir and members of the Knoxville Choral Society will spend Christmas Eve singing on Nativity Plaza in Bethlehem.  Both groups are directed by Eric Thorson, simply one of the best choral directors anywhere, and a friend for a number of years.  A News-Sentinel article will tell you about the trip, and WBIR-TV video will show you (and you can hear a sample of their singing!)

Several interesting items (to me…)

Gene Wojciechowski has written an nice piece about UT Lady Vol Candace Parker on ESPN.com.  Gene is one of my favorite writers — and it doesn’t hurt that he’s a UT grad and a Chicago Cubs fan.

According to the Knoxville News-Sentinel, Broadway in Knoxville will go dark next season.

Roane State Community College is holding auditions for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest on Thursday, Dec. 13 at 6 p.m. in the Theatre on the Roane County campus.  Actors are asked to prepare a 1-2 minute monoluge.  For more information, call Michael Golebiewski at 865-882-4589.  The play will be performed Feb. 14-16 and Feb. 22-23 at 7:00 p.m., Feb. 24 at 2:00 p.m., and Feb. 17 at 2:00 p.m.

There’s another review of the currently-running Clarence Brown Theatre production of A Christmas Carol, this one in Metro Pulse.  Once you get past reviewer Kieron Barry’s somewhat self-indulgent and condescending asides, he says some interesting things about the show:

And indeed there is much to enjoy.  Edward Morgan’s sprightly, lovable production is spirited in all senses.  With a lavish set by James Kronzer and Beverly Emmons’ blissful lighting design, its production values are approaching the stratospheric.  The cast, by and large, lives up to this promise, some of them even gamely attempting an English accent here and there.

The Clarence Brown Theatre’s production of A Christmas Carol  continues to draw glowing comment from those who have seen its early performances.

For example:

Last night was the most enjoyable night I have ever spent at CBT (in 30 years). It was absolutely wonderful in every respect, and indeed, was CBTs gift to all of us.
  
Brenda Madigan

And this one:

Dear Clarence Brown Theater,
 
     I am a new student here at UT, and “A Christmas Carol” was my first time going to a show at the CBT. I just wanted to let you know, that is was amazing. It was such a great choice for the holiday season. Being away from home, it hasn’t felt much like Christmas yet. But, seeing that play really put me in the holiday spirit. The whole production was superb. I hope you all will consider doing another holiday play next year. (like maybe “Miracle on 34th St.”, It’s a Wonderful Life”, or “White Christmas”) I would most definitely go back!
 
Sincerely,
 
Meredith Machen

Keep those cards and letters coming!

We really like the version of A Christmas Carol  that we’re doing at the Clarence Brown Theatre this year.  It’s very traditional yet fresh — and people love it!

But there are some very different takes on the old tale out there.  The Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. is presenting A Christmas Carol 1941, set in our nation’s capital just after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.  The Scrooge character is instead a war profiteer, and instead of the three Ghosts of the original story, there are the statue-like Victory, Freedom, and Grief.

Here’s a picture from the show — notice former CBT’er Connan Morrisey as Freedom (in the center, looking like the statue on top of the U.S. Capitol).

And if you’re in the mood for something less Christmas-y and more swashbuckling in the Washington area, you can head up to Bethesda to Connan’s husband (and former CBT Artistict Director) Blake Robison’s theatre, the Round House Theatre, for their holiday production of Treasure Island.  The lighting design is by our own Kenton Yeager! Blake directs; Jeff Modereger (who designed Oliver! at the CBT) is the set designer.

As much as we’d like to, we can’t please everyone with our stage offerings.

Or maybe we can with this production of A Christmas Carol!

We’re getting rave reviews from all kinds of folks, coming at it from all perspectives.  (We’re selling a lot of tickets, too!)

Knoxville super-blogger Tish of The Kat House writes

As you know, I’m quite the theatre geek. I see plays all the time, and it is rare to find one that I don’t enjoy. But this play was absolutely fantastic - the best one I’ve seen in a very long time!

Though it wasn’t a musical per se, the play was filled with traditional Christmas songs. The set was incredible, and the actors were genius. My eyes welled with tears several times. The standing ovation at the end was well deserved.

And Knoxville News-Sentinel reviewer Doug Mason compared our Holiday performance offering to the usual commercial promises made at this time of the year:

But when University of Tennessee theater department head Cal MacLean stood up in front of a sold-out Clarence Brown Theatre before Friday’s opening-night performance of “A Christmas Carol” and said “This is our Christmas gift to the community,” he wasn’t blowing smoke up anybody’s chimney.

I take it as a gift. And I say thank you, thank you, thank you for it.

Finally, after a lifetime of wanting it, I have been given an outstanding stage adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic Christmas tale. It’s as fine a Christmas present as I could wish for.

There’s more there — read the whole review. 

OK, just one more quote to close:

There are more pleasures than I have space to tell - including a flying ghost! You will not find a better Christmas entertainment this season. So don’t deprive yourself.

Forgive me for telling you that you can obtain tickets by calling the Clarence Brown Theatre Box Office at 865-974-5161 or via the Internet at http://www.knoxvilletickets.com/venues.asp?venueid=34.