Sunday, January 27, 2019
Hunchback of Notre Dame Backgrounder - Quasimodo
Backgrounder by Rachel Rycerz:Gannon Styles not only plays the Hunchback of Notre Dame -- cruelly named Quasimodo, or “half-formed” by his uncle -- but has also played a big role building the set.
“I used to serve as Technical Director equity houses, and do carpentry. I have always enjoyed it. My first job, back in high school, was being hired as an A/V guy. I ran events throughout the year, and found a passion for lighting design. In shows, people need help with tech jobs a lot more often than they need performers.”
Back in Michigan, while he was working at Subway, or serving tables, he would also be hired to technically direct community theatre. It would give him a chance to do something he really loved and get paid for it. Now he is a Network Engineer and doesn’t need the side jobs as much, but he still enjoys doing the work to help create the world of the show.
This is Gannon’s second show at DMTC; in November, he made his debut playing Oliver Warbucks in Annie. In the Davis Enterprise, Bev Sykes noted, “[W]hat an addition he is. He gives great warmth to the character of Warbucks and has a great voice to boot.”
Gannon clearly brings not only technical and performing skills to the theater, but a lot of thought about his roles and how he approaches them.
“Quasimodo and Warbucks are very different characters. Warbucks is more of a traditional, old school role. A lot happens in his character arc off stage. He comes in a gruff businessman, and then basically has the song “NYC” to fall in love with Annie, to the point that the next scene he is ready to adopt her.
“As the titular character, with Quasimodo, you watch what he is doing. There is more subtlety. “
Quasimodo is also a more complicated character, in that he manifests two different personalities, two ways of interacting, while remaining the same underneath.
“Around people, Quasimodo has a stilted accent, and is more forced; when he is alone -- or with the gargoyles, which express his inner thoughts, he is normal. As an actor, there is a balancing act, in keeping the same throughout. Quasimodo sees himself as going at the speed he should be. “
It is in song that Quasimodo can truly soar. “When a character sings in musical theater, song supersedes words because spoken words alone are no longer enough. When Quasimodo’s world comes crashing down, his internal monologue becomes external passion in song.”
Hunchback of Notre Dame Backgrounder - Gargoyle
Backgrounder by Rachel Rycerz:Got a chance to talk to Laura right before the show opened. Playing a gargoyle in Hunchback in Notre Dame has brought together three of her favorite things: Disney, Victor Hugo, and the gargoyles at the Cathedral of Notre Dame. She told me, “While the show adheres more to the Victor Hugo book than the Disney cartoon could, it still has the beautiful Disney songs, with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz.
“Victor Hugo has been my favorite author since high school, when I read Les Miserables. His writing is more political than most readers realize, and he makes social commentary on his own country. I also love Hugo because of the surprises in his writing -- you don’t expect certain things to happen. I remember reading the book of Hunchback of Notre Dame in college. For the time it was written, it was a real shocker novel -- I remember gasping out loud at one of the twists in the plot.”
Reading Hugo also began Laura’s love of Paris and all things French -- which led her to the Notre Dame Cathedral itself, and its gargoyles. “I visited the Cathedral, and have pictures of the actual gargoyles -- getting to pretend to be one is fun. And it is concrete for me -- I was actually there.”
Hunchback of Notre Dame Backgrounder - Esmeralda
There are so many talented people in DMTC's Hunchback of Notre Dame...
Aimee Rose Santone, who plays the role of Esmeralda, is new to DMTC but not to performing. She started dancing 20 years ago, at the age of three; at age 10 she joined a show choir, which introduced her to singing. At first she had difficulty holding a tune, but because it was something she really enjoyed she decided to take private lessons. Her experience in show choir led her to believe that musical theater would be a good fit. After doing theater with her schools, she joined a semi-professional company in her hometown of Redding in high school, and then studied Musical Theater at AMDA in Los Angeles.
Aimee Rose brings her triple threat talent and also her experience as an entertainer to the role of Esmeralda. This is especially true in the first number she appears in, “Rhythm of the Tambourine,” in which her dancing captures the attention of the three main male characters in the play; their captivation with Esmeralda ultimately changes their lives. She shared “Quasimodo, Frollo, and Phoebus when we first meet them are all content with the way they are living their lives at the moment. But as they each meet and interact with Esmeralda, she brings out their true selves.”
Being a performer has also made a difference in Aimee’s own life. Her husband is in the Marine Corps, which means they end up moving to where he is stationed. “Being in a theater I feel like I’m home, so when moving to a new area joining a show is a great way to meet people and make friends.”
Once Again, I Have Failed to Secure My Personal Belongings From the Dog
Yes, a comb. I actually didn’t leave it out for the dog to grab. The dog has started taking the liberty of pickpocketing me when I lie down.Saturday morning, Jasper apparently lifted an ATM card from the pocket of a guest to the house. A menace!
Warm Temps This Winter in California
It seemed to me that this winter seemed unusually warm in this part of California, and the data seem to bear that out.Tone Deaf, To Say The Least
Wilbur Ross:
When asked about the federal workers forced to use food banks, Ross seemed nonplussed.
“I know they are and I don’t understand why,” Ross said. “Because as I mentioned before, the obligations that they would undertake, say borrowing from a bank or a credit union, are in effect federally guaranteed so the 30 days of pay that some people will be out, there’s no real reason why they shouldn’t be able to get a loan against it.”
No Surprise There
All the extremist killings were right-wing killings:
The Anti-Defamation League’s annual report on extremist killings in the United States, released Wednesday, found that individuals linked to right-wing extremist movements committed every single extremist-related murder in the country in 2018.
Right-wing extremists killed 50 people last year, mostly with firearms, making them responsible for more deaths than in any year since 1995, according to the ADL’s data.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)