Camden...New Jersey?

Today we explored Camden Town, which is surprisingly very similar to Camden, New Jersey. We walked around shop hopping and stopping for free bits of entertainment. Because of technical difficulties, the video can not be uploaded at this time. But picture for a moment, a middle aged man with a grandpa face mask deejaying, while a shirtless man in his late 60's patted and rubbed his belly to the beat.

We also took the Tube to get around where Rajiv made a new friend:

But before all the touring, we visited the birthplace of As You Like It and Shakespeare's domain. You guessed it, Shakespeare's Globe Theater! We toured with an actual British person (which was a nice treat after our bus guide yesterday who is from California. Poser.). After the tour, the cast took a workshop with one of the actresses (check out the PDS Theater facebook group for a video https://www.facebook.com/PDSTheater). 

And then we visited the gift shop, where Olivia Melodia found some swag: 

We will return to the Globe Theater later this evening to see a performance of Anthony and Cleopatra, which will be spectacular. Maybe we will learn a thing or two from the professionals. 

Day 1 (or 2?) in England

Since the last blog update, the PDS Company has braved the wilds of Northern Canada, crossed the frigid waters of The North Atlantic, conquered the frozen bogs of Iceland, and, most impressively, after almost 24 hours of travel, endured a 4 hour bus tour of London. However,  our patience was rewarded with magnificent view of the city:

 

Here we are at Hogwarts

 Apparently British architects took inspiration from Salvador Dali

Legendary 600' tall Michael Tucker next to the Big Ben

The plane ride over was an adventure as well, we made new friends:

We practiced Yoga in the confines of a 3'x6' cube:

But even though we were exhausted, the PDS Company maintained the highest level of discipline and took our roles as representatives of PDS very seriously:

Jokes asides, our journey to the UK today (and technically yesterday) went by without any issues. With a good night's sleep and a meal consisting of more than Pretzel M&M's, the PDS Fringe Company is eager to take to the streets in Day 3 of our trip to the UK!

John Gudgel

Bon Voyage

On the plane and headed to Iceland!! 

Farewell Newark, its been too real. 

Just Keep Swimming

After a long and stressful week of rehearsing, the cast and crew had a relaxing day at the Melodia hús (for those of you who don't speak Icelandic, hús means house). It was nice to kick back and relax and not worry about lines or quick changes. The cast and crew bonded as strongly as a synchronized swimming team. The weather was beautiful and so was the food (thank you Mr. Melodia and Wegmans Food Market, Inc.)

Some people jumped into the pool instantaneously, while others were pushed in against their will. Taylor Fasolo, director, who I assumed would be mature, pushed in musician, Brooke Heap, who was fully clothed in jeans and a shirt. Taylor, sleep with one eye open tonight. 

After Stan Cahill, producer, made the cast do 100 laps to stay in shape, we stuffed our faces with burgers, marshmallows, and sushi (not all at the same time). After lunch, everyone joined in for a nice game of Categories and Finish The Sentence. My personal favorite: "I took a risk and _____" (readers, you may play along).* 

After another 100 laps, it was time to go home. We said our goodbyes and hugged each other. We all realized it would be an entire 24 hours until we saw each other again. And then cast cried about all the packing they still had to do. 

Here is Rajiv Potluri, who plays Sylvius, ignoring the fact that he will be packing all day tomorrow.

All in all, it was a magnificent day. Next time you check back, the cast and crew will be on their way to London via Iceland Air. So stay tuned! góða nótt (goodnight in Icelandic)!


*The answer to Finish The Sentence: it worked.

Arden revealed....

No longer hidden, Arden was finally revealed on Friday! The cast was thrilled to finally perform with live audiences; we were able to gain a taste of what Fringe is going to be. Two shows were open to the public and although we were nervous at first, both shows turned out to be major successes.

Following the shows, the cast and parents sat to listen to words of wisdom, produced by none other than our beloved Stan Cahill.

The conversation ranged from Epi-pens on planes to the difference between a bagel and a scone, but we ultimately concluded that late pass privileges are no laughing matter.

Overall, Arden had an exhilarating day and if you missed it, you need to buy an Icelandair ticket and meet us at the Pilrig Studio in Edinburgh! 

Cast B Is What YOU Want To See!!

Today was another productive and efficient day in Arden as our Fringe Company completed it's final dress rehearsal before Friday's public unveiling. Not only were there no accidents or technical problems, but Cast B took the stage by storm and performed with excitement and energy.
       We started the day with a giggle as we watched some funny videos/vines of Harper Joseph while sipping our last inches of caffeine. Soon after, we rushed to get dressed and preset our props backstage before the show began.
          After the show ended and the set was struck, we actors sat in the theatre for notes and discussed the many lingering questions of our impending adventure. Once released, we exited the McAneny Theatre feeling happy, exhausted, fulfilled, and hungry( but when aren't we hungry?).

Did I mention that we celebrated another birthday in Arden today? Amanda Herrup turned seventeen and received her license! Congrats Amanda!!!

After striking the set, the cast sat in the theatre for notes. 

Kayla and Brooke lovin' life after a long day of rehearsal.

FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!

BIG NEWS!! Today during lunch, Austin Jacobson asked Jay Mack for a cookie. Jay politely denied Austin of the gooey chocolate chip cookie. However, Austin did not take this news well. In a rage, Austin threw a punch and a fight broke out! Here is the footage (this footage is from World Star. I do not own the rights)!

Phantom Photographer

There is a mysterious photographer haunting the McAneny Theater. He lurks around the theater waiting for the right time to ambush the actors and crew with his iPhone 5 flash and take the best, and sometimes the most unfortunate, pictures. I managed to get a hands on his film. Let's see what the phantom snapped today!

Here is Taylor Fasolo, director, acting as Orlando. Not too shabby, Phantom.

Here is Adina Triolo, who plays Rosalind and a musician. Here, I am not quite sure which role she is in...maybe she's just being Miley (if you get that reference, thank you. If not, I'm sorry.).

And here are two members from our crew. To your left is John Gudgel who is our Production Manager and to your right is Alex Mahmoud, Prop Master. 

The Phantom Photographer could be following us to Fringe, so stay tuned...

Hear Ye About Day 3!

Today was another exciting adventure in the Forest of Arden! Armed with cookies and lollipops galore, we worked efficiently through a very productive rehearsal while still having as much fun as we like it! The cast and crew started off with a brief tech inspect (technological inspection that is) of the show, making sure all the light and sound cues were in order. After zipping through the tech, we broke for a quick lunch and, afterwards, we went right back to rehearsing. For the first time, we did a simulation of the performance in Edinburgh, including a full dress rehearsal. Boy did it feel great to get those costumes back on! The show looks pretty much ready to perform, with lights, music, and costumes. What's more, the cast and crew put together the set, ran the show, and took the set apart in under 2 hours, the time allotted for us to put it all together in Edinburgh. The day ended with a pleasant surprise for us all: FREE T-SHIRTS designed by PDS' very own Paul Batterman! With this final gift, we departed homewards for a little R&R. Stay cool and get pumped for Fringe guys!

P.S. A very happy birthday to Sarah Lippmann!

Day Two of Tech

Day two of tech flew by just as quickly as the first. While Actor-turned-temporary-tech Rajiv and I went on a wild goose chase for a missing speaker stand (on which we found many wild geese), Alex, Ian, Helen, and Dani all finalized the fabric set decor. Joseph and Michael finished their work in sound and lights in preparation for tomorrow's tech run.

 Lets see how long it takes Joseph to notice a ladder is in the way.

All in all, today felt like the calm before the storm, and with luck tomorrow's performance will be smooth sailing.

Day Two: A Success!

Day Two of our Fringe rehearsals went well! The musicians started the day with a music rehearsal, reviewing the play's songs and harmonies (which had not survived our summer forgetfulness). The cast then moved swiftly into rehearsing the play twice in the Dance Studio (once with Cast B, then with Cast A), where we "bahhhed" like sheep and threw new jokes at the audience (mostly cast members). 

The cast also discussed preparations for our trip, including assignments for mounting and striking our set, and general jobs that will keep the whole show (pun intended!) running smoothly. At the end of the rehearsal, the cast received acting and line notes in the Dance Studio before leaving for the day. Boy, was it hot out!

 Jacques talks about the "seven ages" of life.

Rosalind tries to fend off Phebe, who thinks she is a man!

On the Tech side of things...

The Tech Crew's first day was packed with action, laughter, and tears. Onstage, we started to build a performance space modeling the one we will use in Scotland, on lunch break we laughed over jokes about Haggis and Braveheart, and later cried when we saw the Dollar to Pound exchange rate.

 

Forget the blue face paint Mel Gibson, I found something even more terrifying.

Backstage, Propmaster Alex discovered that there is a critical shortage of deer antlers for sale online, so ASM Peter set to work with wire, cloth, and glue to make one. (Jeff rejected "John and Peter's infallible plan to hunt a deer with power tools" for some odd reason)

Meanwhile onstage, work to recreate our Scotland venue was well underway, and I managed to bug costume managers Dani and Helen enough for a photo.

See Dani, that wasn't so hard was it?

Work on the lights begun, and unfortunately I couldn't help out with the tedious wiring because I had some extremely important Production Manager issues to attend to.

Hey guys I gotta double check the props list real quick.

Jokes aside, both the cast and crew are crazy excited to be going on this trip. As Jess said, be sure to check regularly for updates, we'll be doing them the whole time!

Production Manager, 

John Gudgel

Welcome to the Forest of Arden!

Hello friends, family, and people who accidentally stumbled onto this blog!

Welcome to "As WE Like it: PDS Takes Edinburgh." Over the next 3 weeks, we will be updating you and the world wide web all about our rehearsals at PDS to our adventures as we travel through London and Edinburgh (and a short stop in Iceland).

Today was the first day of rehearsals for As You Like It and boy was it thrilling. It was great to be back with everyone! We started the day off running the show with Cast B and then had a lunch break (thanks for the salad, Dad!). After our break, we ran through the show again with Cast A. Surprisingly, everyone had their lines and blocking memorized. We're going to be in great shape by the end of the week!

As you (like it) know, the show has a lot of musical elements. During the trip, we will have a chance to perform and advertise our show on the streets of Edinburgh. The musicians have already starting working on a few songs. Here is a sneak peak at what they've been working on!

Stay tuned because PDS will be taking Edinburgh by storm and you won't want to miss a beat.

Company Manager, 

Jessica Toltzis