Theater Profile- The Alliance Theater

Since 1968, the Alliance Theatre has served as Atlanta’s foremost theatre, working within the local, national and international communities to become one of the leading theatres in America. The Alliance theater in Atalanta is now into its 41st season. It is a well known theater and the recipient of the 2007 Regional Theatre Tony Award, which is an honorable achievement. Being the leading resident theatre organization in the Southeast, The Alliance Theater prides itself on creating the powerful experience of shared theatre for diverse people on two stages for youth and adult audiences. The theater is run under the leadership of Artistic Director Susan V. Booth. Being a national theatre, it still keeps a local address, reaches out annually to almost 200,000 patrons and members of the community. Well known for its high artistic standards and national role in creating noteworthy theatrical works. The Alliance launched three Tony Award-winning hits to Broadway including Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida and Alfred Uhry’s The Last Night of Ballyhoo. And, in a rare event for a regional theatre, it originated the national tour of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Further evidence of the Alliance’s commitment to new work is found in its nationally recognized Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Competition, a cutting-edge program introducing student playwrights to professional networks while producing the world premiere of the winning student’s work. This is one of the reasons the theater appeals to me. It gives aspiring students great opportunities to live out their dreams and if chosen their playwright is shown. The Alliance Theatre also offers extensive education and outreach programs such as the Institute for Educators and the Collision Project for high school students. The Alliance continuously brings and flourishes Atlanta with the finest talent and supreme art. Giving the city such culture proves that the Alliance provides great theater experience and opportunities for all the lives it touches.

The Alliance Theatre is also a division of the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta, Georgia, which also includes the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, High Museum of Art, Young Audiences and the 14th Street Playhouse.
The mission of the Alliance is clear-cut and motivating:

As the premier theatre of the Southeast, the Alliance Theatre sets the highest artistic
standards, creating the powerful experience of shared theatre for diverse people.

Another reason this theater stood out to me, is because it is not just a theater, but also serves the community as an entry into the world of art for children and adults. There are many programs The Alliance Theatre has offered throughout the years that are designed to develop an appreciation and love for great works.

Some in include launching the first annual Alliance Theatre National Graduate Playwriting Competition in 2004. This national program introduces student playwrights to professional networks while producing the world premiere of the winning student’s work on the Hertz Stage. The Alliance Children’s Theatre is one of the nation’s oldest and most esteemed programs targeting youth. Every year as many as 45,000 students and families experience fully-staged productions by professional actors, directors and designers. The Alliance also brings education to the classrooms through their Institute for Educators and Teaching Artist. Throughout the school year, Alliance professionals visit more than 180 classrooms at 45 Georgia schools.

The Alliance Theatre also offers many prosperous and challenging internship programs to qualified college students and recent graduates who are actively pursuing careers in professional theatre. Their intent is to connect the student or grad’s education with their goal of the professional world. By providing hands-on experiences in the day-to-day workings of a professional theatre the interns have the opportunity while benefiting from the knowledgeable and experienced staff and artists. Some of the internships offered include: Artistic Internship, Development Internship, Literary Internship, and Marketing/PR Internship. Overall the Alliance is a great theater group that is really impacting the world of arts and encouraging youth to enjoy and appreciate the art of theater.

Passion Piece- The Wizard of Oz

I chose to do my personal passion piece on an oldie but a goody, “The Wizard of Oz.” This is a musical I have never seen live but I know is something I would love to see eventually in my life. I have seen the movie numerous times as a child and even today I still enjoy watching the movie. To give you a background about the show. L. Frank Baum first published The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900, and the success of that book then led to a number of sequels. Several adaptations of Baum's Oz stories for stage and screen appeared before MGM's classic movie was released in 1939. Surprisingly, this film was never regarded as a box-office success in the years following its original release. Its status as an American classic owes more to television, as The Wizard of Oz became an annual television event in the 1950s and 1960s.The movie originally premiered in Chicago but later got its debut in Broadway in 1903. In Broadway the Wizard of Oz ran for nearly 293 performances from January 21, 1903 to December 31, 1904, followed by travelling tours of the original cast. The show starred Anna Laughlin as Dorothy Gale, Fred Stone as The Scarecrow and David C. Montgomery as the Tin Woodman, Arthur Hill played the Cowardly Lion, but in this version, his role was reduced to a bit part.
The movie is a charming story that is based on the popular L. Frank Baum stories. As many know, Dorothy the protagonist lives on a farm in Kansas with her family and lovable dog Toto. When a malicious neighbor tries to have her dog put to sleep, Dorothy takes Toto and runs away. A cyclone appears and carries her and Toto to the magical Land of Oz. I love how in the beginning the movie is shown in black and white, but when she arrives in Oz it magically becomes color. In the Land of Oz, Dorothy befriends many different creatures. She learns that in this magically land not everyone is nice and friendly there is some evil in Oz as well. Dorothy is helped by Glenda the Good Witch of the North, but she's also in trouble with the Wicked Witch of the West, who seeks revenge on Dorothy for the death of her sister. The Wicked Witch of the East, for which she blames Dorothy since her house landed on the sister and killed her. Scared of the threats in Oz Dorothy is determined to get home and learns that she needs to find the Wizard of Oz. He has the answers to the land and can help her return home and even grant her new friends their goals of a brain, heart and courage.
This musical has always had such an impact on me because I believe even though a story for all ages, there is many meanings, themes, and life lessons to learn from the musical as well. The first lesson I see in the movie is really to accept your friends for who they are. Friends are a great thing in life that will help you in life journey. Even though they may have quirks or different habits, as a friend they are there to help you. So even though the lion had no courage or the scarecrow did not have a brain they were still there to support and help Dorothy in her journey back home. The yellow brick road is another analogy of life itself. Dorothy is told by the good witch that she needs to follow the yellow brick road which was right there in front of her. Surely Dorothy would have been able to find the road on her own, which is lesson everyone should realize in life. Even though we have people guiding us down certain paths it really is our own responsibility to discover the path we want to take. Once we come to self realization of what we want, you should make sure that is how you want to live and then pursue it. One of the monumental moments in the movie, is when you find out the Wizard of Oz is just a man behind a screen. He really does not have any magical powers. Instead he is hiding behind a screen and lying about his true identity to everyone in the land. This is something we should not do in our lives. It is important to show your true self and learn to love it. This is the key to life happiness. These and many other lessons in the story is why I will always have a deep love and passion of the Wizard of Oz.

Broadway

One of the most popular tourist attractions in New York City, Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 large professional theaters. With over 500 seats, Broadway is located in the Theater District, New York. There is also one theatre in Lincoln Center in Manhattan, New York City. According to The Broadway League, Broadway shows sold approximately $943.3 million worth of tickets in the 2008-09 seasons.

When researching Broadway I went to the most common website and the first hit on Google, Broadway.com. On this website, a customers can purchase tickets for all Broadway shows either online or you can call the toll free number 1-800-Broadway. You can also purchase most off-Broadway shows in London’s West End. It is very easy to buy tickets on the website you would just search for the show you want to see and then there is a buy tickets button you hit where you can then enter your payment information. But for those who do not feel comfortable paying online, they can always call and order tickets off of the toll free number. When you decide on a show, the website will bring you to a calendar of the dates the show is playing and the seats that are available at that date and time.

This website is great for traveling visitors of the city as well as natives. The site also contains the latest coverage, news, reviews, and interviews about the shows, so you can log on and get updates instantly. The website also offers theater packages that help those from out of town find hotels and restaurants during their visit. They also offer last minute Broadway deals and group rates.

The top 10 most popular shows as listed on the website include:
1. Wicked
2. The Addams Family
3. Chicago
4. Memphis
5. Promises, Promises
6. Million Dollar Quartet
7. South Pacific
8. The Lion King
9. Avenue Q
10. Blue Man Group

There is a whole tab related to the Broadway buzz to keep customers up to date with shows. There are 36 shows playing on Broadway right now. The Lion King which is one of the hottest shows to ever play on Broad is included in the shows playing right now.
The stars of the show include:
• Simba Dashaun
• YoungMufasa Nathaniel Stampley
• Nala Ta'Rea Campbell
• Rafiki Tshidi Manye
• Young Simba (alternating performances) Marquis Kofi Rodriquez
• Scar Derek Smith Young
• Simba (alternating performances) Alfonso Romero Jones II
• Zazu Cameron Pow
• Timon Danny Rutigliano

The Lion King is the number one Broadway show I want to see. Since it is so well know and has great reviews. I personally have never been to any Broadway shows but I plan to go to one very soon, and hopefully The Lion King will be my first show. The director of the show is Julie Taymour and the music is done by the famous Elton John. What every raves about the show is the beautiful and creative costumes and puppets that draw the audience into the African show. The Lion King has been one of the shows that has won many awards including, six 1998 Tony Awards. Some recent news I read about the show on Broadway.com includes the cameo appearance by Whoopi Goldberg, and there was some interviews done on Dashaun Young who plays samba in the show.

Currently the longest running show on Broadway is “The Phantom of the Opera which has won 7 Tony Awards and 7 Drama Desk Awards in 1988. “The Lion King” as I mentioned earlier has also won 6 Tony Awards and 8 Drama Desk Awards in 1998.

The show “Cats “was the first musical opened on Broadway in 1982. It won many awards, including both the Laurence Olivier Award and the Tony Award for Best Musical. The show ran for 18 years before it had to close due to lack of audience but it still holds records for longest running Broadway play.

Chicago Set Deisign

I decided to design the set for the play Chicago. This play has a very dark and scandalous plot full of dramatic action. The set is focused on a very stage like atmosphere with a jazzy feeling and bright lights that depict Chicago and the city feeling. The first thing I would focus on would be establishing the time and place for the audience. Since the play takes place in the 1920s in the city of Chicago, during prohibition so the set will give the audience this feeling by dark and dreariness with object such as cars, phones and setting from the time period. The stage will be very limited in lighting and since majority of the time is focused on the girls in death row which is not something that should be bright and cheery. The background will have a very industrial look with bars and cement like materials used in all scenes to have a feeling of jail and the ill intentions the girls have. I want to make sure to keep the set limited and straightforward since the main focus of the play is the great music and songs performed by the girls. The play is very flashy and all about Hollywood and the girls desires to be famous so there will be bright vibrant accents that are flashy and give an old Hollywood experience. Reds and orange gold accents such as blinking signs and will be used to set a depressing and restricting mood that the play depicts. Silver glitter and accents will also bring out the Hollywood feeling with draping beads from the ceiling. The infamous C that is in the background of a lot and scenes will be the main focus of the show. As I said before it will be light with red and orange lights also.