Monday, June 9, 2008

Middle-School Students Enjoy "Bloody Blackbeard"

Earlier this evening, I got together with seven current students, six of their family members, two former students, and a fellow teacher to see Triad Stage's "Bloody Blackbeard."

The verdict? Everyone enjoyed the show. The setting, the costumes, the music, the special effects--all are very impressive.

One student wondered if Poor Margaret's wooden face really looked that way in person. I told her that Kaleigh Kathleen Malloy benefited from at least a little make-up for the part.

There's a scene in which Blackbeard's bad side wins over, and to prove this point to the good-and-decent wife (Mary Ormond, played by Isabelle Gardo) he's most recently added to his less wholesome collection of wives, Blackbeard gives in to the pirates' way of sharing his wife with his crew (without her consent). It's not a graphic scene, but it doesn't have to be to get the point across. One of my students leaned over and whispered, "Mr. Floyd, you didn't warn us about that!" While I don't think it was ultimately too much for my students to handle, that's the one part I definitely would have prepared them for.

After the performance, some of my female students were interested in seeing and perhaps meeting young Blackbeard ("Neddie," played by Chris Wright) in the lobby. We saw some of the other actors, but if Wright came out, we missed him. He gained some female fans on opening night, partially for his performance and partially for his appearance.

I was disappointed when I found out that this show was going to open the last week of school, without any student matinees in its opening days. But I think it ended up working out for the best. For young people (such as my eighth-grade students), I'm not sure that "Bloody Blackbeard" would have ended up having as much universal appeal as Triad Stage's "North Star" and "The Diary of Anne Frank" had when we took our entire team to see them as field trips. I gave out letters and permission slips for "Bloody Blackbeard" to all of my students (about 96), and 9 of them ended up being interested and free for either the June 8th or June 10th performances. I'll also be seeing "Bloody Blackbeard" Tuesday night with two of my current students and one of their mothers. I think they too will enjoy it. If it had been a whole-team field trip, at least some students probably would not have appreciated the performance. This way, I think the students who signed on to attend will end up having a positive experience.

Thank you to the cast and crew of "Bloody Blackbeard" for doing such a great job. We had a really good time tonight, and I'm looking forward to seeing the show again Tuesday and Saturday. (22 friends and family are getting together to see it on Saturday.)

And a special thank you to Sherry Barr, Triad Stage's Director of Audience Services, for working with me to reserve seats ahead of time for my students to attend. She has helped me set up our past field trips, and she is my primary contact for setting up group reservations for friends and family to attend Triad Stage productions. She is always great to work with, and I thank her for everything she does--Triad Stage is lucky to have her!

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Anticipating a Bloody Beautiful Performance

You can still purchase tickets for 24 of the 28 scheduled performances of Triad Stage's "Bloody Blackbeard."

In our popular culture, it's more common for us to get excited about an upcoming movie ("Indiana Jones IV"), but for about a year, I've anxiously awaited the third collaboration between two of our area's greatest artistic creators, Preston Lane and Laurelyn Dossett. "Bloody Blackbeard" follows two amazing Lane-Dossett productions, "Brother Wolf" and "Beautiful Star."

The three preview performances (June 8, June 10, and June 11) are sold-out, and a corporate sponsor has all the tickets for June 28, I believe. I'm getting together with some current and past students, as well as some of their family members, to see "Bloody Blackbeard" on two of the preview nights. On June 8, 18 of us will see the show, and on June 10, 4 of us will. A group of 22 friends and family members will also see the show on June 14. With plans to see "Bloody Blackbeard" three times myself, it's obvious that I'm optimistic enough to believe that it will be worth seeing that many times. If I can commit to seeing it three times, you might consider committing to see it at least once.

I missed out on far too many Triad Stage shows before finally seeing "Dracula" in 2004. Even since then, there were still seasons when I would miss some of the shows. But I didn't miss a single show during the 2007-2008 season, and there hasn't been a single production that I didn't enjoy. As busy as work and life usually are for me, I've finally realized that I have to make plans to attend plays or I won't end up seeing them. It's not enough to think in the back of my mind, "I'd like to see that play. I'm going to be sure to see it." Even more definite plans have to be made, and tickets have to be purchased, or it will be too easy to find excuses to postpone my attendance. Suddenly, I'll discover that time has passed, the last show's ended, and at no point did I ever make it to a show. Not having seen the show, I of course don't know what I missed, but knowing that I've enjoyed and appreciated every Triad Stage show I've ever seen (for different reasons and to different degrees), it's very safe to assume that if I end up not seeing a show, I certainly missed SOMETHING. And when I allow that to happen, I always end up suffering the regret that I allowed time to pass wihtout following through. Almost all of us need to work on keeping this from happening to ourselves.

As loyal fans return and as word spreads, I have faith that "Bloody Blackbeard" is going to do very well, and I suspect that many more shows will ultimately sell out. I suggest that you pick a date as soon as possible (June 6-July 8, excluding Mondays), that you pick your date(s) with whom to attend (family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc.), and that you order your tickets now. Don't forget that gallery seats are only $10.00 each, and remember that educators receive half-price discounts on all tickets. (You can't beat such deals!)

If you've never seen a Triad Stage production, this show is the perfect one to choose for your first Triad Stage experience.

Order tickets on-line. Or call the box office at 336.272.0160 between 10:00 AM-6:00 PM, Tuesday-Friday. Or just drop by Triad Stage during those hours. And after you've seen the show, let me know what you think of Triad Stage and this particular production. I hope you'll end up falling in love like I have; it's a wonderful feeling!

Please don't forget: the time is now.