Hiccup, Toothless, and the whole gang are back to sing, dance, and tell the story of Berk, where every passing day's still a fight! With their past ravaged in fire, can their future be rewritten in flight? You'll have to come see for yourself!
I am so pleased to have the opportunity to direct over sixty extremely talented students in the new junior musical from MTI, How To Train Your Dragon. Based on the epic animated features, this story has meant so much to me since I first saw it on the big screen fifteen years ago. This show would not be possible without the dedicated team of volunteers and production staff at Ovation Performing Arts. There will be six opportunities to catch a performance - I hope to see you there!
The act of getting lost isn’t always a bad thing, this is especially true for actors when embracing ourselves to connect with the characters we play. Sometimes we might start out a little bit lost, I know I have. “How am I going to pull this off? Can I do this? Am I the right flavor for this story? What flavor am I? Rocky road? Mint chocolate chip? Have I eaten today?” These are the anxious questions I always start with in search for my answers. Once I’ve satisfied my hunger with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, then it’s time to get to lost in the character. But, how?
I had the great fortune of playing Leo Bloom for Theater in the Park’s The Producers in Bend, OR, this past summer. It was one of my favorite and most challenging roles I’ve ever held as an actor. Leo pushed my limits despite him being a complete and utter scaredy-cat. I had not sung or danced for a musical in many years, so to return to the stage again to sing and dance after such a long hiatus was a bit horrifying. Singing the lyrics “I can’t do it! I can’t do it! I can’t do it, that’s not me!” felt very real to me because he’s exactly how I felt. How can I do this? Am I the right flavor for this? Why do I keep thinking about ice cream? Have I eaten today, or am I just too anxious to lean into my life like Leo?
I knew after eating another pint of Ben & Jerry’s that I had to prepare this role like an athlete would, with much practice before, during, and after rehearsals. Not only did I have to figure out how to move the character physically through the show through dance and comedy, but I also had to take time to sit with who he was in connection to myself emotionally. Leo was remarkably like me, which you’d imagine would make things easier, but it was far from easy. It was one of the most challenging roles of my life because it required me to be very, very vulnerable. I needed to get lost in Leo by facing parts of myself I really didn’t want to face. The anxious, fearful, worried-what-the-world-might-think-of-me-for-dreaming parts.
However, there was an upside to Leo’s fear. Despite being scared, he declares what he has always known and who he wants to be, “I’m gonna be a producer! Look out Broadway, here I come!” And off he goes, so in turn, off I went to get lost in Leo.
To connect with the characters I play, I always resort back to an exercise I learned back in college in one of my movement classes where we assign our characters an animal to embody. This assignment helps actors guide and create the character’s personality through physicality, emotion, and action in order for our characters to achieve their objectives in the story.
I decided that Leo was a possum almost immediately.
A possum gets by on scraps. A possum plays dead. A possum is a peaceful and timid little introvert. I thought this fit Leo perfectly and made him all the more endearing and interesting. Making Leo’s personality based off of a possum helped me find how he danced, how he spoke to Max, how he fell in love with Ulla, and how he could successfully achieve his objective of becoming a Broadway producer. Leo Bloom, a possum that has the audacity to dream.
It might seem stupid and silly, but it’s a Mel Brooks musical, so stupid and silly is surprisingly welcomed in the world of Mel Brooks.
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I felt like I had Leo figured out, but I still had my own anxieties to face when playing this role. I was in just about every number of the show, with only two scenes in total where I was able to be off stage and drink many gallons of water. It wasn’t easy. I’d always question myself during this down time. Did I hit those notes right? Was my dancing okay? Am I hitting my mark? Should I get ice cream after this? All of these questions constantly loomed over the biggest question I held throughout the whole process of The Producers:
Do I belong in the role of Leo Bloom?
When we opened the show for our audience, I no longer questioned myself. I felt like my own personal doubts about myself essentially was my connection to the character. I was Leo. Leo was me. We could be distinguished by acting exercises and musical numbers I wouldn’t normally break out in to in my everyday life, but emotionally we understood each other. Leo taught me a lot about myself through his character arc of the show.
Sometimes, you don’t need to have all of the answers to the anxieties of trying. Sometimes, you just need to have a little faith in yourself to bloom.
Doing Our Part to Strengthen Local Community Theatre
While I recognize the vast amount of theatre in Central Oregon, I have decided to bring my passion for community to life in the form of drama clubs for all ages. Drama club brings the education side of this art form downstage center. We want to help build a foundation for our students to prepare them for performance opportunities.
If you were to pop into any one of our drama clubs, whether it's for ages 4-6 or 75-100, you will see us using exercises from The Viewpoints, Stella Adler, Sanford Meisner, Uta Hagen, and more. Drama club is the place where our imagination can run wild! We practice and play in the world of storytelling without the pressure of memorizing a script or blocking. CoCreated partners with Bend Parks and Rec for our students ages 4-15. We also host The Drama Gym, which is drama club for older teens and adults (16+) and we offer private classes for our homeschool, charter schools, and assisted living partnerships.
Photos from The Drama Gym by Bx Bezich
Video Spotlight
Stop Trying to Be Funny: Improv Tips from PVImprov
Open Scene of the Month
*screenshot this and send to your favorite scene partner*
A: How are we going to get it out?
B: I don’t think we can.
A: Then what are we going to do?
B: We’ll just have to wait.
A: But that could take a long time.
B: You’re right, but do we really have any other choice?
A: I guess not. Unless…
B: Unless what?
A: Nevermind. It was a stupid idea.
B: Desperate times call for desperate measures.
At CoCreated we love a good open scene! An open scene gives us the opportunity to fill in the who, what, when, where, and why of the story. It can come to life in so many different ways depending on the actors involved.
We recommend finding a scene partner (or two, with person C having the extra challenge of being in the scene with no lines!) and reading the script aloud together. Then determine the given circumstances and try reading it again. See what happens after a few run-throughs, adding in some blocking and pantomime. Have fun and don't forget the power of a dramatic pause!
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