Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Meet the cast of "bare" (Part 1)

Over the next couple of weeks, I'm going to be posting some interviews with the cast of "bare". Some of the cast members took the interview more seriously than others (for example, I happen to know that Ryan Khatcheressian's favorite role ever was as my body double in BatBoy, although he failed to list this in his interview ... I am offended.)

This may take a few weeks (or days, depends how often I feel like updating) ... I have to spread things out, create some anticipation ... that, and I can't put the whole cast all in one post. This blog doesn't hold that much awesome.

Name: Ryan Khatcheressian
Role: Peter

What are some of your favorite past roles? The West Springfield HS ensembles of The Sound of Music, South Pacific, and Oliver!

If you could play any role you haven’t yet played, what would it be? Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol

What do you do when you’re not doing theatre (day job, hobbies, etc.)? Sorting socks and catching butterflies.

Anything else we should know about you? I like funnel cake and tennis.

And finally, what is one thing that people would not guess about you upon first meeting/seeing you (can’t be something you’ve said already; make it good – “I’m allergic to cats” is lame, but “I once worked as a dancer in a vampire theme bar” is awesome!)? In July of 1991, I threw up on the Tilt-A-Whirl at Ocean City and cried.

Name: Tara Leigh Moore (real picture coming soon, promise!)

Role: Ivy

What are some of your favorite past roles? Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors, Columbia in The Rocky Horror Picture show, Echo in Eleemosynary, Alice in Closer, Shelly in Batboy: the Musical, and Little Red in Into the Woods

If you could play any role you haven’t yet played, what would it be? Eponine in Les Miserables (realistic) and Mimi in Rent (unrealistic since last time I checked I wasn’t the appropriate ethnicity) oh and Daisy in SideShow which will never happen since nobody is my size :)

What do you do when you’re not doing theatre (day job, hobbies, etc.)? I’m a speech and language pathologist. I work with children who have communication disorders including articulation, receptive and expressive language impairments, reading and writing delays, etc. ... love what I do.

Anything else we should know about you? I love sushi and lobster. Not together. And chocolate – milk chocolate or with caramel is a plus. Favorite TV shows: Lost, Heros and Buffy the Vampire Slayer

And finally, what is one thing that people would not guess about you upon first meeting/seeing you? I’m a pole dance instructor for DivaFit in Ashburn!!! I’ve been pole dancing for two years. It’s the first hobby in my life that’s rivaled theatre for my attention. And yeah, you could guess it on the days that I have bruises up my legs from too many pole classes but it’s worth it!

(Erin says: Tara is my pole dance instructor and she's awesome. If you've ever considered taking pole dance, you should really check out DivaFit. Super fun. And now, back to your regularly scheduled interviews.)

Name: Dan Plehal (Erin says: Dan said I should have made his shirt green, but that other than that it's a pretty good likeness ... so apparently, Dan looks like Charlie Brown mated with a Weeble. Watch out, ladies. This one's a hottie.)
Role: Jason

What are some of your favorite past roles? Pish-Tush (Mikado), Willard (Footloose), Pharaoh (Joseph…Dreamcoat), Papa Ge (Once on this Island), Bobby Child (Crazy for You)

If you could play any role you haven't yet played, what would it be? Leaf Coneybear! (25th Annual…Spelling Bee) and (admittedly) Mark in Rent. If I had the range I would love to play Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar, but alas, I do not.

What do you do when you're not doing theatre (day job, hobbies, etc.)? Going to School (senior at William & Mary, studying theatre), doing lighting design and direction, singing with my a cappella group (DoubleTake), taking headshots

Anything else we should know about you? I'm a big fan of food, and Lost, bowling, mediocre pizza at 2am, Wii, mint chocolate chip, and that performing thing :) Shameless plug: if anyone needs new headshots, let me know!

And finally, what is one thing that people would not guess about you upon first meeting/seeing you? I may or may not have a relatively extensive collection of improperly acquired street signs. And a traffic light.

(Erin says: Dan just may be my new hero. Sorry, Ryan. He's got an improperly acquired traffic light. That's pretty rad.)




Dan's REAL head shot (credit Traci J. Brooks) ... not nearly as Charlie Brown-esque.

Oh and also, apparently the traffic light works. Dan wired it himself and it is controlled by a normal 3x lightswitch box.

I am impressed.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

And they're off!

So the cast has been rehearsing for about a week now, and things seem to be going smoothly!

Last week we had a cast meet 'n' greet at Tara Moore's (Ivy) house. I hear everyone got along great and had a lot of fun mingling -- I got there late as I had dinner plans that I had made before I knew about the meeting, so I missed the fun part and was just there for the administrative stuff where everyone got their scripts and talked about how this is going to be a lot of work but SO MUCH FUN!

Rehearsals so far seem to be very music-oriented at this point, which is good, as it's a pop opera (i.e., not much dialogue).

One day soon I'll start posting some cast interviews!

Oh, and yesterday was also Technical Director Kevin King's birthday -- Happy Birthday, Old Man! ;)

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Meet the Cast!

Congrats to the cast of "bare"!!! We're super-stoked to be workig with you guys -- this show is going to kick butt!!!

Peter: Ryan Khatcheressian
Jason: Dan Plehal
Ivy: Tara Moore
Nadia: Brittany Washington
Sister Chantelle: Rikki Howie
Clarie: Cathy Arnold
Priest: Michael Ehrlich
Tanya: Janelle Delaney
Kyra: Felicity Brown
Diane: Traci Brooks
Christy: Carla Okouchi
Matt: Brian Garrison
Lucas: Cory Okouchi
Alan: Michael Schaaff
Zack: Asher Miller

Monday, June 2, 2008

Final Call for Jason

We are holding our final auditions for the role of "Jason" this Thursday, June 5th at 7:30 p.m. Auditions will be held in the black box (room 106) at Chantilly High School.
4201 Stringfellow Road
Chantilly, Va. 20151
Auditions will consist of sides and songs from the show.
Please pass along to anyone you know who may fit the bill.

Actor must appear at LEAST in EARLY TWENTIES if not younger on stage, have a wide vocal range, and be a strong performer.
For additional details visit www.2ndflightproductions.com or call 703-927-5438.