Long Time, No See....

Hey bloggers!! So very sorry for the delay in my blogging, but the past few weeks have been rather harrowing. So, last we blogged I was in Shah Alam, Malaysia, and have since been through 2 hotels in Malaysia, tech.'d the show, and traveled to Singapore, where we are recording the finishing touches on the cast album. The show had a soft opening, which means we performed an invited dress for some dignitaries, invitees, and a group of about 75 orphans from a local home. I have to say, that was the best part of the trip so far. Those of you who know me well know my education and Children's theatre backgrounds, thus, how much entertaining/educating kids is a part of my life. So, to bring such joy to kids who have so little made me well up with tears of happiness and saddness, all at the same time.

OK, we're in Singapore but, remember, I'm supposed to be vague about the details of the show, so please don't be mad if I can't say too much. So, before coming here, we stayed at, and were subsequently moved out of, a hotel in Malaysia, as it was sub-par by many standards, but were moved to one of the nicer hotels in the country, so it worked out OK. It didn't matter that much, though, as the tech. days were very long and busy, leaving very little time for anything but sleep and work. With that in mind, moving from our lesser hotel brought with it the disadvantage of losing the one perk this establishment had to offer: free internet.

Alothough I was able to get a sporatic signal at the nearby airport, it was always very late and had more pressing business to attend to when the signal was working. For this I do apologize, butI am here to work after all. I am currently sitting in a PC next to the hotel. For those of you who remember my last trip abroad, I did not have a computer and was reliant on these PC's for blogging. What they are are hole in the wall cafe's specifically designed to allow folks to use cheap internet for games, communication, and other non-work related computer uses. It's about $2 HKD(@$1.33 USD)/hour, so It's nice and affordable for poor blokes like myself.

This means I should be able to blog a few more times before leaving Singapore, so keep your eyes on this site and I promise a diligent effort to blog- Don't feel bad, blog-dogs- the pictures I will have will make up for my neglect(sorry, but you'll have to wait 'til I'm home to see them!)

Until the next time, I am alive, safe, and very well in the Lion City-State of Singapore!

Bye!

-Gags

O Captain, My Captain...

Friends, Romans, Bloggers, lend me your....eyes... Hi all- me again, filing your day, well, at least your screen, with more tantalizing tales from lovely Malaysia. Actually, things are pretty tame here as we get ready to enter the recording studio for the next two days. We are laying down our "vocal sweetening" tracks and voice over tracks to be used in the live production. For those of you who don't know, vocal sweetening is used to beef up the live vocals when the actors are off stage and unable to "wing sing"(i.e. sing from the side of the stage when not in a scene) due to costume changes or, once in a while, when dancing so hard it becomes difficult to carry the number by yourselves.

Now, I know you're thinking- "Hey, Gags, isn't that cheating?" Well, when it's the only music you use, maybe, but in our case, it will be used to sweeten the live mix, thus the term "vocal sweetening" . Also, it will be our own voices without studio magic, just plain old tracking of the parts. Again, it's mainly due to the fact there are a ton of quick changes and our mic's would amplify all the backstage sounds, including every time we brush against the bud(mic head) or grunt getting in and out of the big foam costumes we'll be donning.

Like I said, some of the actors will also be recording the tracks unable to be done live. For example, the actor playing the voice of Plankton also plays the live character Mr. Krabs, and he has a few scenes with himself, a feat only a few one person shows are able to achieve. So, he'll record Plankton's lines and the people doing the puppetry, like myself, will learn the lines as recorded and, with the help of our sound engineers, make the magic happen in live performance. It's kind of neat to see how it all works out, but it shouldn't be too difficult- just a matter of repetition.

That being said, the show opening is getting closer and closer and I'm getting excited to put it on its' feet, especially considering that, outside the original cartoon voice actors, well be originating these roles. That's something no-one can ever take away from you as long as you live. Pretty Cool! Well, I think so!

OK, I gotta go to bed, as we leave for the studio at 8:45 AM tomorrow and will be there until 7 PM, so, if you don't see me post for a day or two, you'll know why. Oh, and as for the explanation of the title of this installment of blog theatre, I have been selected as the production's Vocal Captain. What this means is that because the accompaniment is all pre-recorded music, there are no live musicians to conduct and, thus, no need for a full time music director. Which means as of her departure at the beginning of June, I, along with the Stage Managers and Dance Captain,will be in charge of maintaining the integrity of the production as set by the Artistic Staff(Director/Choreographer/Music Director).

My specific job is to maintain the musical side of things, which is a nice opportunity to put my experience as a music director to good use. Although, with this cast, my job will be very easy, so I'm looking forward to helping keep the production fresh and new. This means I'll probably be sitting out a few performances every few weeks so I can follow the score and listen for stuff that gets loose or slips with time, as well as getting a chance to see the show from the audience's perspective. That's the most exciting part about it!

OK, Blog to you soon!

Selmat Datang,

Steve

My Goodness, My Guinness....

Hey there, blog-dogs! I know it's been a while, but the planets seem to have been out of alignment when I've tried to blog lately. One reason is that the sporadic wireless signal that kept showing up in my hotel room has dried up. Also, the three days Starbucks closed early this week (due to holidays) didn't help. But, here I am plugging away after a night of Guinness by(and in) the pool and, as today is my day off, I figured I'd put down a few palabras. This may be the last one for a while, but when we move to our new hotel on Thursday of this week, we have been told there is free wireless, so I should be able to keep updating on fairly regular basis.

Things here have been going well. The show is making progress every day and, at this point, is pretty much learned. The only elements of the show yet to be staged are the ones involving flying and puppetry. We go into Tech. very soon, so these elements will be folded into the mix over the next few weeks. This means very long days and test of every one's stamina and patience, but, that's Tech. for ya.

The main thing that kind of bites is the fact that the venue where we are Teching is literally in the middle of nowhere. Hoo-ray. This means we will have to stock up on provisions this week before leaving Shah Alam. Unfortunately, this means that we will again be in the middle of nowhere when we return from Singapore, as the Tech. venue is the same venue we will be playing here in Malaysia. Ho Hum, I suppose it will save us a lot of time upon the return, as re-spacing and re-setting the show can be an arduous process.

That being said, I am looking forward to adding in the remaining of the elements of the show, because once we are in run, the show can just sort of go and free time will open up for most of us. Those with the leads will be asked to do a lot of advanced press as well as the regular press circuit, so I guess there are advantages to playing ensemble track #10.

Well, that's all for today. As always, I thank you for your readership and I invite and encourage your comments and emails(sgagliastro@yahoo.com) and when possible, I will try and continue writing with frequency and brevity as opposed to a diatribe of bland goings on. So, 'til next time, keep your eyes open for mentions of the production in the press as we have been told it is getting some good "face time" in the trade papers, as well as Nickelodeon's website back home.

Selmat Datang!

Gags