Monday, August 30, 2010

What’s the BVB?

I’m so excited to take the reins in my first season as president of the BVB. What’s the BVB? Behind all the professionals who bring the great performances to you at The Rep each season is a group of volunteers who assist with a large number of activities to help make it all happen. The Backers Volunteer Board, or BVB, consists of 36 individuals who are passionate about supporting our great theatre. We do everything from picking up actors from the airport and delivering them to their temporary homes at the Garden Apartments to assisting with the many educational activities that The Rep supports.

You will find BVB members helping with Kids ArtStart, WiseWrite, ITC performances and the Food & Wine Experience. Our group is responsible for Talk Theatre, an opportunity for theatre lovers to get together during the run of each play for an interactive lecture series. Your organization may enjoy a fashion show of costumes from previous Rep performances, which our group can provide. We are also there if your group would like a theatre tour, docent or career day presentation. The BVB is also there to help out in The Rep offices when extra hands are needed with big projects.

If you would like to learn more about the BVB or any of our activities, please feel free to contact us through the Volunteer page on the website.

Arlue Briggs
Backers Volunteer Board, President

Monday, August 23, 2010

The Season is Here!

On your marks, get set…GO! We’re off and running at The Rep, getting everything ready to wow you with what we’ve got planned for our 44th season. One of our new offerings is right here—the Backstage Blog. We’re going to give you a behind-the-scenes peek at all the crazy, incredible and shocking things that go on backstage at The Rep.

So what’s happening? First rehearsal for You Can’t Take It With You was last week, and it was a treat to see lots of familiar faces (Joneal Joplin, Anderson Matthews, Carol Schultz, Todd Lawson, and more!) as well as plenty of new folks. We sure are glad to have them here, and if first rehearsal was any indication of how this show’s going to go, we’re all in for a really fantastic, fun opening.

As someone who does all her work far from the stage, it’s so interesting for me to sit in on first rehearsal and take in all the work that goes into putting on a play. From plotting out exactly where and when fireworks will explode to researching historically accurate clothing and furniture to constructing custom-built costumes for each actor, I can’t imagine the average theatergoer is aware of the amazing amount of hands involved in this process. But as you Rep fans know, the talent and craftsmanship is certainly evident on stage. I can’t wait for Opening Night. See you there!

Sarah Brandt
Publications Manager

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Hello world!

Welcome to the Backstage Blog! We’ll be giving you a lot of opportunities to learn about The Rep: our past, present and future. We’ll peek into the scenic and costume shops at the theatre, chat with actors, directors and designers who make the work on stage come to vibrant life, and give you a glimpse at some of the sometimes-fascinating, sometimes-mundane business that goes into producing professional theatre.

We’ll take you behind the scenes nearly every day, so you’ll have a seat at the parties, special events, rehearsals, meetings and more. We’ll let you know what some of your favorite Rep artists are up to beyond our stages, and we’ll pass your questions about stagecraft, playwriting, acting or anything else theatre-related on to our experts for an answer.

Speaking of which, if you’ve questions or comments about anything you see here, you can start or join the conversation. Just use the “Comments” link below each entry to have your say!