“Lights up! Work on your English accents. Learn your lines. Try that over again, yes, yes, excellent. OK, we’re getting there. Do it again”
That’s Tim Weigand, Director of Avalon Theatre’s upcoming Christmas production, The Santa Diaries, as he coaches cast members through their scenes.
Director Tim Weigand coaches Nicole Root.
Stage left, Cavin Moore, production choreographer, works on highlighting graceful hand movement during a dance pirouette with Katelin Beach. CeCe Davis, Assistant Director, sits cross-legged on the stage reviewing the script for the Scene Two rehearsal. Someone practices singing in the background, stage lights fade up and down, two dozen kids wait for their moment on the “boards,” moms look on attentively, a seamstress puzzles out and sews a long strip of material for one the sets. It’s a perfect mix for a for chaos—but, after all, it’s community theater, and everything is under control!
Assistant Director CeCe Davis checks the script.
Katelin Beach and choreographer Cavin Moore work on a dance turn.
The Santa Diaries, written specifically for the Avalon Theatre by St. Michaels authors Laura Ambler and Mela Burt, promises to be one of the troupe’s most elaborate musical comedies and perfect holiday fare for all ages. Ambler and Burt, accomplished screenplay and fiction writers, worked hand in hand with the Avalon crew, enhancing script dialogue and adjusting scene portrayals—customizing the musical to work with the cast and the set design.
Casey Rauch and Jenny Medino rehearse lead roles.
“We have between 45 and 50 cast members playing close to 70 characters in the play,” Davis says. “And since it’s an original play—with two original songs by Laura Ambler— we have no past productions or YouTube videos to study, so we’re completely on our own as far as developing this production and that’s one of the things that makes this incredibly exciting.”
Al Bond, Executive Director of the Avalon, took a special interest in the progress of the set design. It’s special. In fact, it will introduce to the community a whole new way of experiencing a play.
“Let’s put it this way—I had to go back to trigonometry to figure this thing out and if it works, the performance will be magical,” Bond says. “Few community theaters have the capability of offer this element.What could make for a better family holiday outing? A beautifully crafted play, a huge community cast—this is what our mission is all about and it’s a perfect piece for our biggest fundraiser of the year.”
Performances
December 16th – 2 pm
December 20-22 – 7 pm
December 23 – 2 pm
$10 Student, $20 Adult
Dinner Theatre (A performance with a family-style holiday meal provided by Banning’s Tavern.)
$100 ($55 Tax Deductible)
December 17 & 18 – 6 pm
Proceeds benefit the Avalon Foundation.
For Tickets call the Avalon Box Office at 410-822-7299 or visitwww.avalontheatre.com
Call 410-822-7299 for student tickets.
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