Chorus Member Gives the Scoop!

Kevin, one of the chorus members from “Tosca”, wraps up the production with some backstage memories and insider info. Stay tuned, entries from the cast of “Tales of Hoffman” are coming soon!

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Rehearsals for “Tosca” went by in a whirl….before I realized it, they were over! The ensemble doesn’t spend a lot of time onstage (and we sing about as much offstage as we do ON!), but we do get to sing some great stuff!

Being out of town on business, I missed the first two vocal rehearsals – I hate that – I don’t like to feel behind, but I did what I could to catch up. With just a few rehearsals, the day to be “off book” came sooner than I would have preferred, but most people were prepared.

Staging rehearsals went amazingly well, for various reasons. Rehearsing in the “new” space at the Orthodox Church at 40^th and Pennsylvania was certainly an improvement. I certainly hope we can continue to use this space – the parking is nice and there’s plenty of it, the space is clean and bright, and there are places to “go” so that you may converse when you’re not being used without annoying others. That said, we never really had time to “go” anywhere. The director, Mr. Schamberger, was always conscious of using us fully while we were there, and didn’t leave us sitting around. The chorus’ time was never wasted, which is something that can’t be praised highly enough!

Move-in to Clowes was one of the most painless ones I remember…partially due to the simplicity of the set. Mostly projection screens and small pieces of furniture, it did not present problems for stage crew to manage or for the chorus to negotiate. It’s interesting to do such a “verismo” opera, known for realism, on such a non-real, representational set. I got the idea from members of the audience that it worked for some and not for others. That’s about par for the course, isn’t it? Can’t please all the folks all the time, and all that!

This was the first time I had dressers to help me with a quick change onstage – and they were definitely a lot of help! We couldn’t have done it without them. (Then again, I think that’s true with the dressers in all operas – that’s my rule – never anger the costumers or the wig ladies!)

All in all, this one was a pretty simple, painless and enjoyable process – that’s always nice!

-Kevin