14

Apr

I am pleased to announce that my new official website–bradleyj.co–is a go!  There you can find the latest shows, music, and happenings in the life of Bradley J.

Building it–particularly the galleries–got me all ferclempt thinking about the wonderful people who I’ve had the chance to work with over the years.  Many of those people are still in my life, most notably the “Much Ado Crew”–the fine group of actors who survived a particularly traumatic rehearsal process and came out the other side lifelong friends.  It’s crazy to think that that production of “Much Ado About Nothing”–my first professional show in St. Louis–was nearly ten years ago.  As if on cue, as I was typing this post, one of my dearest friends from the Ado Crew just called me.  I’m telling you:  theatre friendships create invisible ties that know no distance or time.  Do accountants get this choked up looking over their C.V.?  I am going to speculate they do not, especially not on the eve of tax day.

Thank you for checking out the new site.  You’ll still find freshly pressed musings on musical theatre here at 7 1/2 Cents, but all of my professional content will be on bradleyj.co.

11 years ago Short URL Comments

Musical Theatre Musings

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13

Apr

Perhaps a Little Too Meta

Hey, nerds!

See, I told you that would start to have a nice ring to it.  Oh, you’re not convinced yet?  Well, give it time.

At the risk of going a little too meta this week, I’m blogging about…blogging.  In particular, I stumbled–while blogging–upon this great web series called #TellMeTony.  It gives some great advice to performers about how to go about making their online presence a bit more spiffy and a lot more effective.  Now, 7 1/2 Cents was not designed to be the kind of micro-blog that Tony Howell describes.  No, we like to dig in a little more here.  Talk shop.  Chew fat.  Drink beer.  But considering how many readers of this blog are performers, I thought it had some ideas worth exploring.  This also brings up something important:  I will have a new website ready to unveil very soon.  It will be home to all kinds of photos, press bits, media samples, and the like.  I am excited to share it with you.  Soon.  So that’s announcement number one.

Announcement number two is that we are mere weeks from opening The Great American Trailer Park Musical here at SDSU.  Our dramaturgs have crafted a terrific blog, and so if you wanted to find out all about the cast members, about the town of Starke, Florida, or about the history of plastic pink flamingos, you could find it all in one place.  You could also, ahem…buy tickets.  And guys, if you come on Saturdays, there will be food trucks.  Seriously, BBQ at the Don Powell Theatre.  Guys!

Third, because it is my baby, the deadline for Youth Sing Praise applications is this Wednesday, April 15.  Know a high school student who loves musical theatre and would benefit from a week-long retreat where they will put on a full-length, faith-based musical?  You do?  Oh, but they’re not into premiering a brand-new musical based on the Book of Esther?  Oh, well then, in that case, certainly don’t have them go here.

Lastly, I am bursting with things to tell you.  Loads of news happened last week, and much more is in the works.  I am going to make up for the few weeks that I’ve been lax in blogging with a couple of bonus posts this week and next.

So, I’ll see you soon.  Check out the video from #TellMeTony, and then #TellMe what you think about it in the comment section below.

11 years ago Short URL Comments

Musical Theatre Musings

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23

Mar

Musical Theatre Nerd Alert!

“Hey, nerds!”  You might want to get accustomed to hearing that, because it is the standard greeting for the MFAs.  Also, we are ramping up a huge project that will put that moniker all over the internet, which, as you know, makes a thing permanent–and true.  When I say “huge project,” I should explain.  Our professor Rob wrote a component into this semester’s History of Musical Theatre class that involves creating and posting some of our findings on the internet.  Basically, we want to share the riches of the SDSU Musical Theatre Archive with “all y’all.”  (N.B.-50% of the MFA class and 33% of my roommates are from the South, and it is apparently rubbing off on me.)

So, the MFA’s, being A+ students…went a little A+ on this project.  Not satisfied with some chintzy iPhone video, we created a new series called “MUSICAL THEATRE NERD ALERT.”  We are all pretty excited.  Not only do we get to share a little of our passion for musical theatre, but also we are able to show our old friends just how crazy our new friends are.  We crammed this series full of MFA-isms, jokes, and–oh, yes–facts, too.  It also demonstrates something I love about our class:  we do everything full out.

Start the series here.

LIV LIVE–As director, Kikau observes Liv’s shot with a keen ear on natural speech. The MFAs aimed to deliver the Nerd Alerts with a casual, conversational tone–with just a touch of cheese.
CUE CARDS–Before shooting, Randall transfers his script to cue cards. With so many MFAs cramming lines, the Archive had an energy like we were waiting for a callback.
DIRECTING & SLATING–A slap of the slate board is no joke as it helps align audio and video in the editing room. Kikau served as director for the day of shooting while Jessica and Brad took turns as production assistant.
SCRIPT CHANGES–Kikau guides Randall through a few changes to his script. The MFAs squeezed in a webisode rehearsal before the Saturday performance of BD Wong’s Mr. Doctor.
LIGHT LEVELS–Randall waits to film his “Fun Fact from the Back” segment while the crew adjusts light levels. Part of the fun of ‘Broadway school’ turned ‘Hollywood school’ was all the gear.
MIDNIGHT WRAP–Once finished, MFAs convert ‘Hollywood school’ back to ‘Broadway school.’ The new web series MUSICAL THEATRE NERD ALERT will be posted to YouTube in late spring.
CRAFT SERVICES–Pizza is a fine dinner for talent. Shooting day was also Randall’s birthday, and so Brad’s cake pops were also on the menu. The Diet Coke: all Rob’s.
SET DRESSING–Producers Julia and (husband) Adam spruce up the Archive for shooting. The intention was to invite the new internet audience into the world of the MFA Archive.
WRITERS BOX–Liv and Brad stand by at rehearsal for any needed edits. They developed scripts based on MFA research.
NERD ALERT–Jacob collaborates with Julia on his storyboard for the intro. Jessica wrote the “Musical Theatre Nerd Alert” theme song.
OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN–While the MFAs kid Courtney about her enthusiasm for OH, she is not alone. All of the information contained in the scripts come from the hours and hours researching and lecturing on these heritage composers.
MAKEUP! –Though each webisode “stars” one of the MFAs, audiences can expect to see a number of visitors popping in to other’s video. The whole venture needed a group effort, and so they webisodes reflect that.
J’S CREW–Producer Julia directs while Kikau is on camera. The day could not have functioned without fellow SDSU School of Theatre, Television, and Film students.
HEY, NERDS!–“Welcome to the web series for anyone who has ever ____,” starts all of the webisodes. The MFAs used the same principle for an internet fanbase that one uses for a real show: just pick an audience.

11 years ago Short URL 3 Comments

MFA Life: Many Fine Anecdotes

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