Cinderella on the radio!!

Two songs from Kaleidoscope's production of Cinderella's Christmas will be featured on the radio this weekend! To hear the two catchy Christmas songs, tune in to WNRI (1380AM) this Saturday at 4:00pm and Sunday at 6:00pm. You can also check them out online!

Remember, if you'd like to see Cinderella's Christmas performed live onstage, come to our upcoming performance at Rhode Island College on Sunday, December 14th at 2:00pm! To reserve your tickets, call the RIC Box Office at (401) 456-8144!

Email Issues

Please note that the kaleidoscope@kaleidoscopetheatre.com account does not seem to be working! If you've sent any email to us in the last 5 days, and have not gotten a response, please resend your message to either kaleidoscope1977@gmail.com or kaleidoscopethtr@gmail.com

THANK YOU!!

Happy Turkey Day!

Our November newsletter has been released just in time for Turkey Day!

If you have not received it and would like to... please become a subscriber!

This issue outlines all of our upcoming holiday performances! We hope you can join us there!

* November 29 - December 1

Hansel & Gretel

Kesley Theatre, MCCC

West Windsor, NJ

*December 6

Cinderella's Christmas

Chevrolet Theatre

Wallingford, CT

* December 7

Cinderella's Christmas

Saugus Senior Centre

Saugus, MA

* December 11

Hansel & Gretel

Scottish Rites Auditorium

Cranston, RI

* December 14

Cinderella's Christmas

Roberts Hall Auditorium, Rhode Island College

Providence, RI

* December 23

Goldilocks' Christmas

Orpheum Theatre

Foxboro, MA

Check out our website for more details!

Cinderella and Santa!

This past Saturday, our very own Cinderella welcomed Santa Claus to the Warwick Mall! She was introduced by 92 Pro FM's Kim Zandi. Pictures from this event have been added to the Kaleidoscope Theatre myspace account, click here to check them out! They can be found in the "character appearances" photo folder!

If you're interested in seeing Cinderella in person again, join us at Rhode Island College on Sunday, December 14th at 2:00pm for our production of Cinderella's Christmas! Tickets are only $10 in advance ($12 at the door) and can be purchased by calling the RIC Box Office!

Showing kids how to TELL

"Putting an end to bullying in all its forms -Kaleidoscope Theatre players teach Silver Spring kids to tell not tattle”

East Bay Newspapers recently did an article on our anti-bullying program. Thanks to Officer Aguiar, the community relations liaison, BULLY has been into every public school in East Providence! To read the article by George Morse, click here.


(Photo: courtesy of EastBayri.com - Officer Aguiar and students at a recent BULLY performance.)

Buy your tickets!

Tickets are still available for our performance of Hansel & Gretel on December 11th at 10:00am. This special performance will be at the Scottish Rites Auditorium on a Thursday morning! Tickets are only $5.50 and are going fast! Please call Bob ay (401) 942-3637 to reserve your seats!

Looking Through The Kaleidoscope #6: Loss

I realize this next post is digressing a bit. It is not about what I said it would be about last time. I also think it might be digressing a little because it has been some time since our good friend Larry has passed. I had wished to touch on this earlier when it might have been more prevalent, but there were many thoughts stirring about this.

When one becomes involved with the theatre, it is very easy to become part of an extended family. As I've posted before, Kaleidoscope is certainly no exception to this. It is a very welcoming community that is always open to a few more faces. And it is also very tough when one has to come to the realization that there is a face that you will now only revisit in memories and pictures.

I didn't know Larry very well. I only have small bits of imagery and information readily available, but it is enough to paint a detailed picture of this man. I know that he loved to make music. His love of music was something him and Debbie shared closely.

I remember finishing up a show at RIC last summer and we were loading up the van at the back of the auditorium. As I was bringing in some of the equipment, I saw Larry over by a piano that was set up near one of the other performance spaces. He stood at one corner of the piano, his cane in one hand, and lightly playing the keys in the other. There was something about it that was flowing and effortless. A sort of grace that just came from him naturally as opposed to years of study. For some reason that image stays with me the most: a man and a piano, making music out of silence.

From what I had seen between Larry and Debbie, I could tell how much they loved each other. Despite his illness, Larry would travel with Debbie to every Snow White performance last summer. Something as debilitating as cancer couldn't keep Larry from being there. I'm almost ashamed to say this, but just before a performance at Cape Cod Melody Tent, I had been backstage to get something from my bag and came across Larry and Debbie just holding each other. I moved quietly as to not disturb them in this tender moment. But that's just what it was. This one image of a man and woman holding each other spoke more about their relationship than any number of words could say. And I hated the idea of disturbing this, but frankly the room could have caved in and they would still be sheltering each other in their arms. There was something very powerful about this moment that I know I shouldn't have been a part of but am almost thankful that I was.

I attended the wake. Debbie and her family stood in the line, greeting friends and family. There was a certain kind of strength that I could see in her. It wasn't necessarily fighting the tears back, but rather it was that the love that she had for Larry was still there, as it should be. As I stood in the line, I heard her tell someone "wherever he is now, he's rejoicing." I could see in Debbie's eyes that no matter how far away Larry now seemed, the love and the music were not going to leave her. As I eventually said my goodbyes, I told Debbie that she had a whole other family to take care of her. She responded in such a way that I didn't even need to reassure her.

I offer a portion of a poem by Mary Sarton:

Who will remember you when I have gone,
My darling ones, or who remember me?
Only in our wild hearts the dead live on.
Yet these frail engines bound to mystery
Break the harsh turn of all creation's wheel,
For we remember China, Greece, and Rome,
Our mothers and our fathers, and we steal
From death itself its rich store, and bring it home.

We will always remember Larry and he will always be in our hearts and homes.

In the words of Garrison Keillor, "be well, do good work, and keep in touch."

McPherson Designs

Kaleidoscope's favorite scenic painter/designer has a new website! Laura McPherson has been working with Kaleidoscope Theatre for the last several years on all our new backdrops. She redesigned and repaired the Sesseman Home and designed a new mountain drop for Heidi in 2005. This past summer, she led a group of Kaleidoscope volunteers in painting a new house drop for Cinderella!

With the help of RISCA, Kaleidoscope hopes to collaborate with Laura again this year to design and create new drops for our planned remounting of Aladdin for the Summer 2009 tour! Stay tuned for more information!

(Photo: Laura and the Kaleidoscope painting volunteers!)

Remembering Larry

This past weekend, one of Kaleidoscope’s most cherished friends passed away after a long battle with cancer.

Larry Gower, the husband of Debbie Gower (Evil Queen in Snow White and Dumdora in Rapunzel), was always willing to go the extra mile to help Kaleidoscope. He often toured with Debbie and would volunteer to help with the sets and props. He was an accomplished performer in his own right and he frequently accompanied Debbie on the piano. His beautiful playing and his beautiful smile will be sorely missed.

The wake will be held this Wednesday, October 22nd from 4:00-8:00pm at the J.J. Duffy Funeral Home, 757 Mendon Rd Cumberland, RI. The funeral service will be held the following Thursday at 9:00am at St. John Vianney 3609 Diamond Hill Rd, Cumberland, RI.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to the Home and Hospice Care of RI, 169 George Street, Pawtucket, RI 02860. For more information, click here.

(Photo: Larry, David, and Debbie at Kaleidoscope's 30th Reunion, October 27, 2007.)

Looking Through The Kaleidoscope #5: I Suppose You Can Call It Typecasting

It has been quite some time since I have made a post on the blog, for which I apologize. Things have been extremely busy as of late. But seeing that the newsletter mentioned the blog, I figured I should oblige again. I wouldn't want to newsletter to be accused of libel.

For me, I had expected certain things to happen with Kaleidoscope. My main expectation was that I was going to play The Huntsman again for Snow White, which I did. I relatively try and keep modest when it comes to theatre and think of every new show, even one I've done before, as a clean slate, meaning I was prepared for the idea that someone else might play The Huntsman instead. However I did have assurance from others that I would get to rejoin the cast and I was happy to do so.

For those of you who may have only done a particular show for one run with Kaleidoscope, getting to do a second run has a particularly good feeling. Because of the atmosphere that this particular theatre company already creates, going in to revisit a show with familiar faces is extremely welcoming. The first rehearsals usually begin with enthusiastic greetings between people who haven't seen each other since last summer. In my case, these greetings were with a great deal of children, who seem to have grown in one way or another since the summer before. I see certain faces and think of how glad I am that they are part of the show again and hope that they could stay small forever. However I think the parents would protest to that last part. Otherwise when would they move out? Never the less, seeing a familiar cast is always special. The rehearsals also run pretty smoothly because, as I said before, doing a Kaleidoscope show is a lot like riding a bike: you do it once and then you never really forget.

As I stated, I had certain expectations for the summer with Kaleidoscope. I expected to go to certain venues, my particular favorite being Melody Tent. I expected experiencing the fury of a character lunch and lots of time in a van. What I didn't expect, however, was to do another show.

I was told by Jamie that the company was looking for someone to perform in Little Red Riding Hood playing, surprise, The Huntsman. I figured "how different can one huntsman be from another?" Turns out there is quite a difference between the two, particularly that The Huntsman sings in Little Red. My gut reaction was that this could pose a problem. But at the same time, I sang at my first audition, I can try again at this next one.

For the second time, I made my way down to Kaleidoscope's office and was about to audition for a new part. I never would have guessed that this would be the easiest audition of my life thus far. I kid you not. I'm not saying it was due to this Broadway-caliber barrage of talent practically glowing out of my being, especially since that factor of myself doesn't exist. It was David who made this audition easy and he was only there for a total of seven seconds.

Jamie and I were going over The Huntsman's song a few times in preparation for David to get there and officially hold the audition. David came in while I was in the middle of singing, said "I didn't know you could sing...OK, you've got the part" and proceeded to leave. That was it. I didn't even know I could sing, but if David said I could who was I to argue? The man runs the company, for pete's sake! Don't hassle him about your insecurities of your own talent. He's got bigger fish to fry.

So for two times this summer I would play The Huntsman, albeit for only one other performance. That story will be for next time, plus how a monitor can cause sudden bursts of inspiration.

In the words of Garrison Keillor, "be well, do good work, and keep in touch."

September Newsletter!

Our September newsletter has been released!

We send our newsletter out to subscribers only and we never intend to spam anyone. If you do not want to receive this newsletter, please email us so that we remove your name from our list which we will do immediately!

In this newsletter, you can read about:
1. Our Upcoming Performances
2. How to Use Your $100 Off Coupon
3. "Looking Through the Kaleidoscope"
4. BULLY video now online!
5. Congratulations, Siara!
6. Support Our Members - other venues to feature our performers

A Tribute to Lon

Recently, one of Kaleidoscope Theatre's family members was featured on the front page of the Providence Journal! Lon Cerel, who has been with the company since 1983, has had a wonderful 30 year career inspiring children through magic and story telling. Click here to read the online tribute.

(Photo: Lon as the MC for Kaleidoscope's 30th Reunion!)

Looking Through The Kaleidoscope #4: It's (Un)official

For those of you who have read the first entry of this blog, you might remember that I referred to my job as a cameraman for Kaleidoscope as official/unofficial. It was probably one of the easiest jobs I have ever gotten because I didn't even ask for it.

It all really started when I bought a camera. I had been working full-time and was saving money regularly, so I decided to get a nice camera. Not necessarily a professional camera, but a small one that was good quality. I picked up a Nikon Coolpix, which at the time was one of there latest models. Very sleek and small, it was certainly worth the money and I was excited to use it.

I had brought it with me during the summer run of Snow White, particularly when we had started touring Melody Tent and South Shore. The kids were all over it. They were constantly wanting to get their pictures taking and striking a variety of poses to their own amusement. Another particularly fun feature with this camera was that it could take short video clips. I decided to utilize this as well and would constantly be filming some "behind the scenes" footage. I would film the sound checks, the song rehearsals, and mostly interviewing my fellow performers and asking for their thoughts on the show.

I don't think I realized how noticeable this was until I was taking a video of Tommy using his phone as a mock piano. Tommy, having a lot of musical experience, had his phone keys set to "piano", which made each number a different piano key. I filmed Tommy playing an impromptu tune, completely perplexed, when all of a sudden David comes over saying "I finally get to be in the famous Ryan videos." The famous Ryan videos? Not only did I not realize that I had videos named after me, but that they were famous. Famous to Kaleidoscope at least. To me the videos were just fun to do and when I started uploading them to YouTube I remember the company being appreciative.

I remember when Cinderella Too! began Jamie invited me to come down to RIC and see the premiere. I decided to at least make myself useful and did a series of videos covering the event. Besides the usual backstage interviews and sneak peaks, I had the opportunity to interview parents and kids about the show while they were in the autograph line. This was at the request of David and it made the task seem more official and like an actual job. This "job" actually allowed me to travel with the cast of Cinderella Too! to their touring venues and document everything, which was extremely fun. While I loved the cast of Snow White, traveling with the Cinderella Too! cast was very different because everyone was similar in age. The times we spent backstage and in the van were probably some of the best times I have spent with the theater. All of us got along extremely well and these people were some of the best people to travel with.

It didn't occur to me to actually take pictures and video during an actual show because I wasn't sure if David and the others would want me to. In truth they did want me to and the first show I did show photos for was Cinderella. I was up in the balcony during a full house and tried to stay out of the way of the public as much as possible, but the camera held up very well and got some great shots. I would have to say that was my first official/unofficial job as the Kaleidoscope cameraman. I didn't have to do it but I was happy to.

Since then I have mainly done pictures at RIC. I went to just about all of the remaining shows for my first summer and got pictures. As for this summer, I did miss a couple of shows but they were shows I had gotten the year before. All of the shows I attended this summer were new to me and I got plenty of photos and videos along the way.

Probably the most daunting task is uploading everything. It isn't difficult to do, but it is time consuming. The photos would usually go up relatively quickly, but videos took forever because at first I could only upload one at a time to YouTube. I had discovered this past summer that there was a multi-video uploader available and the job became much easier. If you want to know just how much easier it was, let me put it this way: just as many videos that went up this summer were from last summer. I felt bad taking so long to get them up but I am glad I finally did.

The videos have also evolved a lot since last summer. The sense of responsibility motivated me to make the videos look a little more professional. The latest ones have the company logo as a title screen, a watermark of the logo in the corner, and then an ending screen with the website. I lose a little video quality in the process, but everyone seems to think that they are still good and worth the additions.

While this job is on a volunteer basis, I can't deny the perks. I've become much closer to a wonderful company, I've seen great performances, and I've traveled with great friends. And despite the company getting a photographer with professional equipment, I was invited to the Party of the Year to take pictures. Perhaps I will talk about that some time.

Next time, however, I think it would be only fair to contemplate this past summer.

In the words of Garrison Keillor, "be well, do good work, and keep in touch."

Looking Through The Kaleidoscope #3: How Magical Is A Fairy Tale At 5:30 AM?

We are all well aware that summer is a big season for Kaleidoscope. Having just finished up this year's season of fairy tale musicals, we all look on to the future and what is yet to come. Except me and this blog, of course. Like I said last time, I would like to reflect on my first summer show with the theatre, that show being Snow White.

I remember being excited about actually getting into the show. I wasn't so certain that I would be asked to do it despite having done the dinner show. I could tell how much more there was to the fairy tale musicals. It was extremely clear how much the company put stock into these shows. When you think of Kaleidoscope Theatre and its thirty years of existence, you think of going to a venue during the summer and watching fairy tales that you knew and loved being put to music and surrounded with colorful characters. I had vague memories already of seeing Alice in Wonderland, although I didn't make the connection until some time after I joined the company.

It was also a big deal because Jamie was playing Snow White for the first time and she had wanted to play the part for a number of years. It's kind of surprising that she didn't play it before because she practically looks like the character come to life, right down to the short, dark hair. If she had the birds flying around her at all times then she literally would have been Snow White. But there were no birds, which was just as well because I am sure she would have freaked out a little.

The Queen was being played by a woman named Alyce, who has been with the theatre for some time. In fact it is the very same Alyce who makes all of the 3-in-1 Dolls for the concession stands. I had met Alyce already from the dinner show. Our Prince was another new actor by the name of Dan, who I remember being very shy and maybe a little nervous around me. He had picked up on the fact that Jamie and I dated and made it clear that he was nervous about kissing her in rehearsals. One time he actually wiped his mouth clean after the kiss thinking I would be offended. I was, of course, but it was because he wiped his mouth as if he had just kissed a soggy log in the woods. This year he was much more comfortable around the cast and there was no more mouth wiping, which I suppose means he no longer found Jamie disgusting.

Of course, it isn't Snow White without the dwarfs. Seven little kids in one room dressed as little old men. All of them very energetic yet surprisingly well behaved when it came to rehearsing. I understood that they already had some rehearsals when I came in, but if I remember correctly only one "dwarf" had done the show before, who was a young boy named Max. Max and I got to know each other right away as we were assigned to introduce each other to the cast. But I got to know all of the kids, all of which are amazing talents. That's one thing I truly credit Kaleidoscope for; they seem to have this uncanny ability to find very talented young children.

These talented kids, however, all seemed to be scared of me, or so I thought. All of them of course would flock to Jamie, who became sort of a mother figure. Jamie was extremely good with the kids and had worked with children before. At first, I think they saw me as the really tall guy with the beard. Later I think I worked my way up to the crazy uncle. I remember specifically looking at each of them as they rehearsed and if Max caught me looking at him he would say "why are you staring at me?" As you read on, you will see that he warmed up to me quick.

With nerves having to be cast aside, the show soon went up. We started out at Rhode Island College as the company usually does. We then moved on to the Chevrolet Theater in CT. I remember walking in and looking around in complete awe. The place was absolutely huge and you can't see the top of the fly system. We also did a character lunch, which can be completely chaotic. But I was starting to get a feel for touring and liking the idea.

What I remember most about those shows were the ones at Cape Cod Melody Tent and South Shore Music Festival. By now, the kids were as comfortable around me as they were with Jamie. Proof of this was Max willingly jumping on my legs and latching on for dear life as well as all of the kids wanting me to shoot pictures and videos of them with my camera.

Another bit of proof was that the kids would bombard me with choruses of "Jamie and Ryan sittin' in a tree" at a moments notice. This was a bit surprising because Jamie and I thought we should be professional around the kids and be kind of hush-hush about it around them. Here's the thing about kids though: they are very observant and will figure it out. This was only proof of that theory.

One of the other most outstanding things about traveling with these people were the parents that travelled with us. They were some of the most supporting people I had ever met. None of them were like the overbearing "stage moms", which was a blessing in itself. All of them were extremely polite and friendly, coming to every show and driving kids to the venues all the while. One couple, the Thalers, were very nice enough to invite everyone down to their house on the Cape after the show at Melody Tent. Everyone was treated to food, sun, and water tubing. If you haven't been water tubing, either go while the weather is still warm or hope that next summer you do a show with a Thaler child.

Touring can be a wonderful thing with Kaleidoscope. Shows are always fun to do, but I've come to realize that a lot of the fun can be in getting there.

Next time, earning my official/unofficial job with the company and how some of the most fun on a summer tour involves the shows you aren't in.

In the words of Garrison Keillor, "be well, do good work, and keep in touch."

Looking Through The Kaleidoscope #2: Who's The New Kid?

As I mentioned previously, my first shows with Kaleidoscope Theatre were Dial M for Matrimony and Snow White. The dinner show came first and I thought it was something that was right up my alley. What I didn't realize, however, was how fast this company moved. By the time I found out I was in the dinner show, it was about five minutes to call.

OK, it didn't happen that fast, but it felt like it could have. We only had a few rehearsals and if I remember correctly I wasn't able to be at every one of them. I know I made at least two, but that was it. Thankfully my part did not have a lot of lines. For those of you unfamiliar with Dial M for Matrimony, the part of Pasqualie/Peccarino requires mainly two things: when you play Pasqualie you're old and when you play Peccarino you're annoying. Younger, but annoying. But I already had in my head how to do these characters. The most intimidating part was probably the fact that everyone else knew what they were doing, or at least they were extremely talented actors who made it look like they knew what they were doing.

But fast-paced takes on a new meaning at Kaleidoscope and I think it is especially apparent anytime the company does something other than the fairy tale musicals. While the musicals are perhaps the backbone of the company, the actors and actresses can change over a course of a short time. This has nothing to do with the talent of these actors and actresses, but rather the fact that the shows require very young people in some instances and as much as we might want these kids to stay young forever they do in fact grow. Throw in a couple of years and you might find that "Doc" is a little too tall to be a dwarf now. But we always have such wonderful young talent and I know that the company works very hard to keep as much of these kids as possible. So it wouldn't be fair to call Kaleidoscope the "Menudo" of the theatre world.

With the dinner shows, it can be like "getting the band back together". Here we have a wide range of performers, most of which have been with the company for quite some time. It's a lot of the people that have seen the company grow over the course of thirty years and now we've put these people in a room and told them to have fun. That is where the "fast-paced" comes in. Doing the show is like getting back on a bike for most of the performers. Just give them a minute and every line and movement will come flooding back. This is no longer a rehearsal, it is a jam session. Chaos usually ensues pretty quickly. But its a good kind of chaos. And its a chaos that one can actually step into and not get hurt because this regime is in fact a family. Kaleidoscope isn't a company made up of employees or volunteers but members of a family. You can see it very quickly when you step into the performance space and go over your part for the first time while most of the others have done their respective part many times before. And despite the fact that they know what they are doing, they are very willing to see what you bring to the table.

For those of you reading, I ask you to consider this: going out into the acting world may not always be welcoming. You might run into a group that are only concerned about reputation, fame, and money when it comes to theatre. Those people may only choose to work with you on a strictly professional level. In other words, it will never be about the goofs during rehearsal, or the long tech nights, or get-togethers after a show. Not that the whole theatre world is that grim, but parts of it can be. But once in a while, you find a place like Kaleidoscope and you can be a part of a greater thing. Something that surpasses the standing ovations and autograph lines. It is the ability to become a family and the ability to keep people in your heart for years to come. For those of you fortunate enough to become a member of this family, no matter what happens, remember that you can come home anytime.

Next time, Snow White and seven kids that will climb on you like a jungle gym, all the while singing songs of you and your significant other showing public displays of affection in a nearby red maple (aka "Jamie and Ryan sittin' in a tree...").

In the words of Garrison Keillor, "be well, do good work, and keep in touch."