Thursday, February 22, 2007

Congratulations, Rob!

Kaleidoscope Theatre's Technical Director, Rob Ferland, has just received a promotion at Rhode Island College! He is now serving as the Interim Technical Director of the three theatrical spaces at RIC, including Roberts Hall Auditorium (where you might have seen Kaleidoscope Theatre performing our fairytale musicals!), Sapinsley Hall, and the Helen Forman Theatre.

Rob is a hard-working, diligent individual who has come through for us countless times, so none of us here at Kaleidoscope are surprised that his talents and abilities are being recognized at Rhode Island College. Congratulations, Rob - we couldn't be prouder!

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Backstage Pass: Recording Session with Fallon Healy!

Kaleidoscope Theatre is currently in the process of recording our version of Cinderella's Christmas. We will be creating a new CD of this show, to be sold in conjunction with a coloring book in the holiday season of 2007.

Fallon Healy, who has appeared in the Kaleidoscope productions of Cinderella (Putricia), Jack & the Beanstalk (Jack's Mom), Mother Goose (Queen of Hearts, pictured left), will be singing the role of "Putricia" on the recording. She took a few moments of her time to write about the experience for the reading enjoyment of all our readers in the blogosphere! Here's what she had to say:

Hey guys!! My name is Fallon Healy, I'm 23 years old and a 2005 musical theatre graduate from Rhode Island College. I have been working on and off with Kaleidoscope Theatre since the winter of 2004. My first show with Kaleidoscope was Cinderella's Christmas where I played the role of Putricia. I don't often get to do as many shows with the company as I would like because I currently live really far away and I have a pretty busy full time job. So that's why when Tommy called and asked me to do the recording of Cinderella's Christmas, I was very excited! At first, I had no idea it would be something that was going to be so widely sold. That was just a major plus of it all!

The whole experience was very different for me, but it was a lot of fun. First, I met with Tommy and we just ran through the music a couple dozen times. The rehearsal process wasn't too bad seeing as I had already been in the show; it had just been a really long time since I had sang and I needed some touch-ups on the harmonies. Then, about a week or so later, we met at the recording studio. I was very excited. I don't know about anybody else who did the recording but this was a first for me! You had to put on these big earphones and stand exactly right on a white taped line on the floor. It was weird because the singer was downstairs and Tommy and everyone else who was listening were upstairs. They communicated to you through the headphones. After the recording, it was very cool to hear everything being played back - my voice sounded so clear and I loved hearing it with the music, as opposed to me hearing everything from onstage.

Another thing that was a little bit different was that in the staged version of Cinderella's Christmas, the stepsisters and sometimes the whole step family sing together, but in the recording studio we all sang separately. As a matter of fact, Debbie (Stepmother) wasn't even there the night Carolyn (Disgustia) and I sang. It was explained to me that we all sang separately so that if someone messed up, one track could be erased or fixed instead of the whole group’s track, which makes sense. If I was asked to do it again, I think I would definitely be a little bit more prepared in terms of all the little nit picky types of things (like cut off times), and for the parts I was self conscious about, I would make sure I had them completely right before I entered the studio.

I am very excited to hear the final product! The whole experience for me was just really awesome. I am so glad I was asked to participate in this project and rejoin the Kaleidoscope family. I hope this helps anyone who has questions about the studio experience!! :)

Monday, February 05, 2007

Open Auditions!

With the wonderful turn out we had at our last set of auditions in January,
we've decided to open our doors again. This time we are looking specifically for men ages 15-30 for Prince roles and ages 20+ for character parts.

There are multiple roles in several shows that are available, so performers of all types, ages, and ethnicities are still strongly encouraged to audition!

Please come prepared to sing a song of your choice (a cappella or with taped accompaniment) and to read from a script. Kaleidoscope Theatre is a professional, non-profit theatre company, and all roles are paid.

Open auditions will be held on Sunday, March 4, 2007 from 2:00pm until 7:00pm at the Meshanticut Park Church, 180 Oaklawn Avenue, Cranston, RI 02920. Please call Nicki at Kaleidoscope Theatre, (401) 942-3637, to set up an appointment.

Friday, February 02, 2007

It's Opening Night!

Hello cyberspace!

Welcome to Kaleidoscope Theatre's first official Online 'Blog!

We here at Kaleidoscope have decided that it's time to catch up to the 21st century, and start a blog so that we can keep our fans informed of all of our exciting news! This is a great opportunity for us to tell you about our upcoming performances, tell you a little about some Kaleidoscope Theatre company members, give you a hint of what's up in the rehearsal studio, discuss the adventures of a day-in-touring, and post any other ramblings from the K.T. H.Q.!

Please stay tuned for more postings in the future from Tommy (Kaleidoscope's Artistic Director), Nicki (our Office and Stage Manager), David (Executive Director), and Rob (Technical Director).

Thanks for your support - we look forward to hearing your comments!

What's your favorite fairytale?