Just about an hour outside Sacramento, CA sits Vacaville. A somewhat small town, their performing arts epicenter resides at the Vacaville Performing Arts Theatre. The venue, which opened in 1993 has hosted a slew of events and concerts such as Debbie Reynolds, Lou Rawls, The Smothers Brothers, Boyz II Men and George Winston. It also plays host to a number of local events such as Vacaville Ballet Theatre Company, Solano Community Symphony, Vacaville Concert Society and Dixon Dance Studio's annual recitals. 

It’s important to think about who is on screen but also who is in the audience. For deaf moviegoers, it’s not fair to watch a hearing person playact real pain and hardship they have to go through every day. At the same time, hearing audience members lose out on a correct representation of deaf people and deaf culture, especially since our depiction in media is already scant. For people who don’t have much contact with the deaf or others within the community who communicate using ASL, films like “Wonderstruck” are their only windows into our life. To have our experiences, culture, and language represented by a hearing person who is not fluent in ASL is a disservice to both deaf and hearing audiences alike as well as personally devastating to me.

We attend the theatre to be enchanted, entertained, and to view some real, raw talent. Most importantly, from the moment the first act begins, we expect to be taken away into another world and not to return to reality until intermission.  However, because anything can happen during a live performance, it’s not unlikely that the illusion will be compromised before the house lights come up. Flubs—an inevitable fact of theatre, live broadcasts, and any medium with an audience— can either create an even more special memory or completely ruin the experience.

We've all been there, spent £40 on a ticket to enjoy a night at the theatre and some idiot decides to ruin a show, by talking throughout the performance, pulling out their mobile phone and basically just ignoring theatre etiquette. But, is it happening all too often now?

Most young actors, including myself when I was one, go into an audition intent upon showing them that they can play “that” character.  They meticulously familiarize themselves with the play and, if a musical, the score, and memorize the sides they’ll be reading which may have been sent only that morning.  Preparation is all.  How can you decide what to sing for your audition if you aren’t familiar with the musical style of the show you’re auditioning for?  Are you really going to sing a song from In the Heights if you’re auditioning for Carousel?  If you have no experience with or training in commedia dell’arte, then you’d best bone up on it before your audition for Servant of Two Masters.

Listening to a David Yazbek score will always take you someplace. Whether it's the blue-collar grit of Western NYThe Full Monty) or the elegant style of the French Riviera( Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), there is, arguably, no better composer at transporting an audience than Mr. Yazbek. With each song, he immerses the audience in the show's setting. You can feel the rhythms and beats of the cities, taste their flavors and see both their beauty and scars.

With The Band's Visit, Mr. Yazbek has taken those skills to a new level and I have a feeling that he will transition from one of the most underrated composers today to one of its most celebrated.

Running a theatre company can present a number of challenges. Most importantly, no one can truly do it by themselves, they need help from others to not only handle what's going on stage but behind the scenes as well. This means bringing others into the fold, often placing an incredible amount of trust in certain people to handle major tasks within the theatre, including its finances. 

While the vast majority of individuals serve these roles honorably and honestly, there are some who take advantage of the access they have and their actions could result in dire circumstances for the theatre company. Especially when certain people are stealing funds directly from the theatre itself. 

On August 7, I auditioned for “Decision Height”. On August 8, I was cast as Norma Jean (not Eddie the part I originally wanted but that’s for another post). I accepted because it was a wonderful role and provided me the chance to perform with friends. That “yes” led to a 3 month labor of love. It’s been a revealing process; revealing personally and to learn what goes into character development.

Fight choreography is a unique part of theater storytelling. It is done because we want to make a scene appear as real as possible without anyone getting injured. Fight choreography isn’t just involved when the actors are called to fight but also when weapons are involved. In the past three years, I have been involved with several shows where I got to see this happen. I was able to watch right from the start and see how the actors first learned the safety aspect of things and then how to make it look real.

Laura Adams says as she stands at the podium. In front of her are several members of local media.  She visibly nervous but unmistakably resolute. You might look the same if you were about to reveal a thirty year old secret that's been eating away at you since the day it happened. Now imagine doing it in front of a room full of media.

She begins, "It's time to tell our stories....We have held this secret for far too long...."