Saturday, December 29, 2012

The Little Mermaid

After putting Rogers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music to bed after a highly successful run at St Andrews Presbyterian Church, we now turn our attention to our next big project; The Little Mermaid. Bottle Tree Productions has secured the rights to Disney's The Little Mermaid. It is the show that our musical theatre class will perform. We are looking for young aspiring actors to play Ariel and her friends; Flounder and Sebastian. Also Prince Eric and Triton and of course the evil Ursula. Good parts are also available in the roles of Scuttle; the Sea Gull and the eels; Flotsam and Jetsam.
There are a number of great songs in this show including Part of Your World and Under the Sea. in this popular Disney classic about a mermaid who wants to be human. Based on the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale. This will be a spectacular show on stage.

Our first class is Monday January 7th from 6 pm-8 pm.

Each child that signs up for our musical theatre class will get either a lead or chorus. But either will give your child memories for a lifetime. The big musical numbers will be a blast for the chorus members to perform and the leads will be a challenge for whomever is picked. In our musical theatre classes, we strive to give the child a taste of what a professional production is like. There is a time commitment of three to four classes a week. There are singing, acting and dancing lessons by Charles Robertson (Director of 2012's The Sound of Music) and Anne Marie Mortensen (Director of 2011's Oliver! and 2012's Fiddler on the Roof) There is instruction about how to prepare for an audition.

We choose shows that have appeal to young people and that support large casts, and role sharing. Every student who enrols in the class is guaranteed a place on stage as an actor in the production. There are no prerequisites for enrolment - if you have an interest, we will train you! When possible, we share roles so that more students get a taste of being both chorus and a named role. The class runs like a production, and the show is performed for a paying audience in a proper theatre, with lights, sound, set, costumes - the works!

Each child will be put in a position where they can be successful on stage. We encourage team work in theatre. When everyone is contributing as part of the team it makes for a far more enjoyable experience for everyone.

The final production will be at The Octave Theatre on Dalton Avenue which comes equipped with everything for a professional looking show-lights, sound, dressing rooms and a nice-looking theatre.

To register, pay online or to find out more information please go to Musical Theatre Class

Monday, December 10, 2012

Two Marias

Two very talented young women are sharing the role of Maria

Bottle Tree Productions presents Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music and two very different Marias

Bottle Tree Productions presents The Sound of Music at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church on the corner of Princess and Clergy Streets. Performances are December 13th to the 22nd, Thursdays to Saturdays at 7:30 pm. Tickets can be purchased online at Bottle Tree Productions; The Sound of Music or at the Grand Theatre Box Office. 613-530-2050 or online at grandtheatre2@cityofkingston.ca. The Grand Theatre Box Office is located at 218 Princess Street in downtown Kingston. Ticket Prices are $25/adults, $22.50/seniors, $20/students, $15/children under 12.


Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein wrote the musical based on the memoirs of Maria von Trapp. Maria von Trapp, the misfit nun who became governess to the von Trapp family was played by Julie Andrews in the filmed version of the musical. Christopher Plummer played Captain von Trapp.

In Bottle Tree's production, two very talented young women are sharing the role of Maria. Both are first year Queens students and they could not be more different. Engineering student Hannah Smith and Con Ed student Sara Sturgeon play Maria on alternate nights. Robert Bruce plays Captain Von Trapp. 

Sara is French Canadian and Hannah is English Canadian.

Sara attended Marie Rivere, the francophone high school on Dalton Avenue and Hanna attended KCVI.
Sara's first big role came in last year's Meistersingers' production of Oliver as Charlotte the undertaker's daughter  where, as she says: ”I had four lines” Previous to that Sara had been in a Not So Amateur Amateurs Production. She wasn't sure if she was guard number two or guard number three.

Sound of Music director Charles Robertson saw Oliver and when Anne Marie Mortensen and he were looking for someone to play Cinderella, they both thought that Sara had great stage presence and so cast her in the lead. Robertson commented. “She was everything a Cinderella should be. Charming and graceful with a nice singing voice. You would have thought she had been acting for years. It was shocking that Sara only had bit parts before.”

Robertson has known Hannah Smith for a long time. “Hannah is one of the best actors I have worked with. She is very bright, very well read and very creative. Great imagination. She has a great voice and tremendous acting skills. She recently appeared in Domino Theatre's production of 'A Street Car Named Desire' as Stella and before that as Rita in Theatre 5's 'Educating Rita'”  You tube video of Hannah performing Juliet.

Robertson added; “While both first year Queen's students do intend to keep acting in the future, they are working hard to succeed in their chosen career paths at the university. If for whatever reason; engineering and teaching don't turn out, they always have a plan 'b; to fall back on; they can act and sing.”