Wonderland

Where has Kate been all month?  Wonderland, of course!  Wonderland, where else. 

 

True to form, as soon as I moved to Carlsbad, I threw myself into the community theater.  The show, "Wonderland", an adaptation of Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass, with an all child/youth cast was gearing up.  Since I was a bit above the age limit, I volunteered to help with choreography.  I got handed a script, the music, and told to have fun.

 

And I did.  The first two rehearsals I attended the cast was singing through the score.  When they split into parts...what?  Carlsbad, New Mexico?  Middle and high school students going SATB?!  I knew this was a talented group. 

 

I ended up choreographing nine of the numbers in the musical.  It was hard.  I'm not going to lie.  But I loved it and I loved working with the youth.  They pulled it all together and put on a dang good show.  I am so immensely proud of all of them.  I hate when the curtain closes.

 

The opening scene.  Alice sits in the chair with the chess board, and the rest of the cast create a garden (trees, fountain, arbor) around her.

The Tweedles Dee and Dum.  Possibly my personal favorite number to choreograph.  The music is old time jazz/swing and I had a lot of fun with it.

My 'shadoo-bee-doo' boys.  This was rehearsal but somewhere backstage they found the bow ties.  I miss them already.

Since this is Through the Looking Glass, instead of playing cards, the cast is chess pieces, red and white.  Through most of the show, the Red King, is asleep.  In one song, he (played by a very talented she) sings in his/her sleep.  Hilarious!  Our music director was absolutely amazing.  What a woman.  I wish I could play the piano like she can!  And get those kids to sing in parts, and, and, and... How grateful we all were she was willing to share her talent with us.

When Alice makes it to the fifth square on the chess board, she meets the current resident, Humpty Dumpty.

I have many more pictures, but I thought this should suffice.  I believe this is one of those posts more for me than for those who occasionally troll through.  I love the theater!