Funny Money is up and running with one more week of performances including Wed. matinee Aug. 1st and evening performances Thursday Aug. 2nd thru Saturday Aug. 4th.  Our set designer, Brittany Elias, has been creating the worlds in which you have enjoyed the shows this summer.

Funny Money, shown above, takes place in the 70's with mustard yellow walls, a pea green dining room, plus many furnishings, all transporting our audiences back to the 70's.  Brittany is originally from Palm Harbor, FL.  She holds a BFA in Theatre Design from University of Central Florida, but also attended the University of Cincinnati for 2 years as well.  This is Brittany's first summer here at Tibbits and loves designing in this space, especially with the historical aspect of Tibbits.

Brittany started performing at age 2, when she began ballet as well, but started competing in scenic design competitions in FL at age 16.  She won several state competitions and then went on to attend Carnegie Mellon's pre college program to see if she wanted to do this for real.  Brittany said she grew up wanting to be an architect and loved legos, so designing sets wasn't too far off from her childhood dream.  Brittany has extremely supportive parents who wanted her to follow her dreams of scenic design, she also had great inspiration from judges at those design competitions, who kept urging her to go to college for scenic design.

Last summer Brittany designed 2 shows at Weathervane Playhouse in Newark, OH along with being the prop master for all 8 shows that summer.  She has worked as a painter for Utah Festival Opera and a carpenter/painter for American Stage Theatre.  Brittany's dream show to design is Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and advises young hopefuls to take lots of art classes.  She said her most challenging set of the season will be Nymph Errant.  It is a big show with a lot of locations.  Brittany said she had the most fun designing the On Broadway 1956 set.  She loved the inspiration behind it and it's free form style. 

Sound designing for us this summer is Shaun Reis.  Originally from Johnsburg, IL, he just graduated from Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO with a BA in Theatre.  This is Shaun's 3rd summer here at Tibbits.  He is a carpenter as well as our sound designer.  He returned stating he loves the area and the theatre.  It helps in his position knowing the theatre as well as he does.  By knowing how Tibbits works, he can think outside the problem and come up with a creative solution.

Shaun is responsible for the amplified sound you hear onstage (our monitors) and out in the house as well.  You may have noticed the 1920's microphone used by many on the top platform of Chicago.  Shaun rigged that piece to a modern usable microphone for speech to be heard better.  Shaun ran the show backstage, pulling up the mic when needed throughout our run of the show.  As you sit back and listen to the morning farm noise in Charlotte's Web, it is Shaun who has found that sound effect and made it happen.  Also he found, and is responsible, for the BBC music before, during and after Funny Money.

Shaun started performing in 7th grade, his older brother was a jack of all trades in theatre and by high school, Shaun had entered the technical side and had a hand in all sort of backstage work.  While in college, Shaun worked for a local sound company, an after school theatre program and often for a production and AV company.  These gigs often came through connections with his college and allowed Shaun more hands on training.

Eventually Shaun wants to be a stage hand that tours for a couple of years.  He likes the idea of the venue changing and traveling, which he thinks is a good lifestyle challenge.  He advises young technical people to "put your heart into it and never let it go, theatre takes all of you."  Well said Shaun.

See you at the show!!!

Angelica Golden and Samantha Rey are both very busy girls here at Tibbits this summer. This week they have closed their On Broadway 1956 review on Saturday, they have rehearsed and opened The Frog Prince, for Popcorn Theatre, and all the while been rehearsing to open Chicago soon. Whew! Like I said, busy gals.

Sam and Angel both just graduated from SUNY Cortland with BFA degrees in Musical Theatre.  Angel is originally from Albany and Sam is from Syracuse, NY.  They even travelled here together, from NY to Tibbits, via Sam's car.

This is both of the girls' first summer here at Tibbits. It is Angel's first summer stock experience, but Sam spent last summer at Northern Lights Playhouse in Hazelhurst, WI.  Angel, however, has worked for Auburn Public Theatre with an original children's theatre show, "The Littlest Witch."

Angel said she most likes how welcoming people are here in Coldwater. For example, employees at Northwoods know the cast members by name.  Sam said she really enjoys working with new directors and actors, learning new things outside of college by working with new people.

Angel began in theatre when she was in 6th grade, she played Adelaide in Guys and Dolls. Angel is a triplet, with two brothers. She remembers her mother always singing to them and says her mother inspired her love for music and then the theatre.

Sam was a jock all her life. Her uncle is in the theatre business, so she grew up seeing shows he was involved with often. Then in 9th grade she joined friends doing musicals and got cast in Beauty and the Beast. Sam said she was hooked, she quit sports and now, here she is.

Angel tells me her dream role to play is Kathy in The Last Five Years, and Sam tells me her top three dream roles would be Fantine or Eponine in Les Miserables, and Charlotte in Little Night Music.

Both of these girls have good advice for young people seeking a life in the theatre.  Angel said, "Never stop trying, even when it is hard.  Stay faithful to yourself and you will have the strength to make it.  It's hard to be real in a phony world."  Sam definitely added to this wisdom by stating, "in theatre, with all its drama, baggage and pressure to be something cookie cutter, just stay true to yourself."

These girls have done just that.  Make sure to catch them in The Frog Prince next Friday and Saturday at 10am, July 13th and 14th, and soon in Chicago opening July 12th, playing thru July 21st.

In preparation for Chicago, our costume designer Theresa Hartman, is hard at work as well.  This is Theresa's 3rd year returning to Tibbits, this year she will design Chicago and Nymph Errant.  Theresa is originally from Milan, MI, she holds an undergraduate degree from Wayne State and an MFA in costume design from Virginia Tech. 

Theresa began in fashion design which then led her to Theatre Costume Design at Wayne State.  She interned at Seattle Children's Theatre and says that children's theatre and musicals are her favorite to design for, because of the heightened reality and the freedom of design within those styles of theatre.

The challenges Theresa faces this summer, with the two shows she is designing, is that there is limited time to build and lots of people in Chicago, each playing several parts in the show as well.  In Nymph Errant, one person has to change into another character in the matter of seconds or a few lines. 

Theresa's advice to young people interested in costume design is to learn about as many different time periods, cultures and styles of theatre as possible.  She believes acting experience is a plus in order to understand what works for actors.  Theresa stated that good costume design, "is not just about pretty drawings, but the right designs for the the show." 

You will see the fabulous designs by Theresa next week as we open Chicago and then again during our last show of the season, Nymph Errant.

See you at the show!!!

On Broadway 1956 opens this Thursday June 28th with 8 talented actors, performing pieces from Broadways shows that opened on Broadway in 1956.  This cast includes a few
returning actors to Tibbits and several new faces as well. Two new faces amongst the cast are Tyler Whiteman and James Bleecker. 

Tyler Whiteman (on the right, wearing a green shirt), is originally from St. Louis, MO.  He is entering his Junior year as a BFA Musical Theatre student at Missouri State University in Springfield, MO.  Tyler will also be joining us in the musical Chicago this summer here at Tibbits.

Tyler landed into theatre in a very interesting way.  When attending a community college for a general studies degree, not sure of his career path, several friends of his persuaded him to audition for a show at the college, Footloose.  After being cast in the show, he never looked back, but raced forward in pursuit of a performance degree.  Since then, he has worked for Citilites Theater and Stray Dog Theater in St. Louis, he has performed three summers at Six Flags around the St. Louis area and also performed shows at Missouri Baptist University.  His dream acting role is Jamie in The Last 5 Years, and when asked what his advice would be of people wanting to enter the theatre world, he stated, "It's never too late." 

Another new actor at Tibbits this summer, James Bleecker (pictured above in the blue shirt), is originally from Fort Myers, FL.  He now is entering his Junior year as a BFA Musical Theatre student at Western Illinios University in Macomb, IL.  James will also be seen this summer in Chicago and Funny Money. 

James told me that he took a break before attending college, and believes that his time spent co-founding Harrison Hilltop Theatre in Davenport, IA from 2007-2010, educated him in a way that has now prepared himself much more for college than after leaving high school.  James started performing at age 6, when his mother realized he needed a creative outlet for his talent of impersonating TV personalities and reenacting commercials back to his family. 

Even though this is James' first summer here at Tibbits, he had his first summer stock experience last summer working for Gaslight Theatre in St. Louis.  He was nominated for a Kevin Kline award for his performance that summer in Thrill Me, the Leopold and Loeb Story.  James' dream role is Alan in Equus, which he may have a chance to perform next year.  His advice to aspiring actors is to develop a thick skin, make sure you realize what you want out of life, what kind of theatre you want to do, and go after it. 

It looks like both of these gentleman are doing just that, come see them in person in the On Broadway 1956 review playing for two weeks at Tibbits, opening Thursday, June 28th and closing Saturday, July 7th.