The Making of a Holiday Tradition (part 7)

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever - Reflection

The Christmas trees are bagged and piled high, the robes folded and stacked, the props are sorted and crated. The 23rd performance of "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” is now history rich with an array of memories woven into the tradition of the season. Here is just a sampling of some of our most treasured memories.

First, a conversation between some of preschool Little Angels. It went something like…
“You know Jesus was a real person.”
“No he’s not. He’s dead.”
“Yeah, that is why he is a doll.”
“And I touched his head.”

When Emily stepped forward to sing a duet with Nathalie there was a clear difference in height between the two singers. Emily was concerned that Nathalie would be not be heard through the hand held microphone so she knelt down next to Nathalie so each of them would be heard equally.

When Stella, our beloved Grace Bradley and our senior cast member, arrived at Maple Ridge Estate to join her fellow cast members in a performance of our pageant scene there was no costume for her. I had left it and its back up in Studio 2 at BYPC. I was horrified that I could have let her down in that way. She explained that she had a shawl and that she looked like she could be a shepherd. I apologized. Stella said “You are human. You made a mistake. It is really OK.” Then, on her own initiative, she waited to enter with the shepherds. And in that moment I witnessed a gracious and elegant young woman stepping onto the stage out of her childhood and it took my breath away.

When Anna and Allison stepped forward to sing their duet they turned to each other with a knowing and loving in their glance reflective of their friendship. It was a reminder of the power of friendship and how it can lift each of us through the most difficult times.

And when the audience of enthusiastic and grateful seniors joined their voices with ours to sing “Joy to the World” our assistant director and choreographer, Jess, was dissolved in tears moved by the pure joy and love that we were all feeling in that moment. It brought an image of her own Nana who lives in a senior community in Florida and how much she would have relished singing her favorite Christmas carols with a youth filled choir. Our cast received a spontaneous and most heartfelt standing ovation.
The friendships, the acts of kindness, the courage of young performers, the lessons learned, are forever in our hearts and minds. The kinship that we experienced defines the tradition of the season and that of BYPC.

Over the past few weeks we have shared some of our students’ favorite holiday traditions through our Facebook and Instagram pages. I would like to add mine.

When I was young my father and I would watch “Miracle on 34th Street” each Christmas season. It was not always easy because there were no Netflix or On Demand services. We were at the mercy of a handful of networks. So one year we stayed up until 2AM to watch the classic movie together. My Dad is no longer with us but once BYPC is safely wrapped for the year I will light the fire, the candles, and our Christmas tree.

I will curl up on my sofa and watch “Miracle on 34th Street" and my Dad will be with me again. For it is tradition that warms the heart and comforts the soul. It ties the generations of the past to those of the present and guides us into our future. It is the power of the tradition that reminds us that the true meaning of Christmas is simply - love.

As I sign off from this blog series “The Making of a Holiday Tradition” I want to thank all of you for joining us on this treasured journey. I wish you and your family all the joy and the comfort that the tradition of the season brings.

Merry Christmas and a most Blessed and Happy New Year.
Ann Davison

The Making of a Holiday Tradition (part 6)

The Making of a Holiday Tradition (part 5)

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever - The Ensemble

The ensemble is the backbone of every successful production.  Ensemble members must be talented, focused, disciplined and creative. They sing the harmonies, they dance the production numbers and they breathe energy into every scene.  The ensemble is invaluable.  

Last year BYPC brought a remarkable performance of “Newsies” to the Derryfield stage. The story is inspirational.  The music is compelling.  And the dance is the star.  And all of that happens through the ensemble.  Check out this photo.  The intensity and energy that exudes from the ensemble was palpable providing the dimension and power that lifted our performance to pure magnificence. 

With a cast of 52 talented performers the BYPC’s 2019 production of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” is double cast so each actor has the opportunity to play an acting role and to play an ensemble role.  The experience for our young actor is immeasurable and provides unique challenges.  Here are some insights from our cast.

So Mrs Armstrong, we would like to amend your statement that “there are no small parts only small actors” to that there are no small parts - period.  The ensemble rocks. 

The Making of a Holiday Tradition (part 4)

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever - Gladys Herdman

In the words of Charlie Bradley, “Gladys isn’t big but she’s fast and she’s mean, and she bites.”

And yes, sadly, Gladys hits too. As the youngest and the scrappiest of the Herdman clan Gladys is a survivor of her own life.  She is intimidating, cunning, and resourceful.  After all she is the Herdman who pierced Imogene’s ears which is stunning for one so young. 
She has been portrayed by some of our youngest cast members who delight in bringing life to this feisty fireball.   Here are some of our current and past Gladys Herdmans broadcasting her now trademark proclamation.  “Shazam! Out of the black of night with horrible vengeance. The Mighty Marvo.”  

“Shazam!” In one raucous and momentous utterance we are awakened to the fact that Gladys Herdman is just a child.  She is one unshakable and tough child but she is nonetheless a child.  An innocent who drifts into her imagination fed by stories read from a comic book to make sense of the events that Grace Bradley chronicles from the Christmas story.  Her viewpoint is honest. She cuts through the poetic prose and boils it down to one simple and direct message.  “It’s Jesus.  He’s in the barn.  Go on go see him.” And she wins our hearts.  

“Hey, hey unto you a child is born!”  This child, as every child,  brings the message of hope filling our hearts with love. And this child, Gladys Herdman, invites each of us to experience the joy of the season as only a child can.  Shazam!

The Making of a Holiday Tradition (part 3)

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever - Mrs Armstrong and Entourage

Mrs Armstrong and Her Entourage

Ah Mrs Armstrong. Some may call her bombastic while others see her as a gift from the angels themselves. After all she runs the bazaar, the potluck supper, and she directs the Christmas pageant year after year after year. Her directing philosophy is summed up in her trademark slogan - “There are no small parts only small actors”. She has it down to a science - every detail, every line, every note, every halo. And it is all done exactly as she commands until one day - disaster hits.

With one slip of a step Mrs Armstrong finds herself in traction at the local hospital instead of at the helm of the town’s Christmas. Rumors of her accident spread like wildfire with even the idea of cancelling Christmas itself. But calmer heads prevailed. Grace Bradley’s calm head to be exact. Grace volunteers to direct the annual Christmas Pageant and the rest of the holiday to-do list is reassigned to Mrs Armstrong’s entourage - commonly known as the town gossip mill.

The Gossip Mill

Try as they may even this intrepid group of town gossips are no match for Grace Bradley’s belief in the true meaning of Christmas and her determination to make her production truly, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. And in the end even Mrs Armstrong and her entourage feel compelled to applaud the efforts of Grace and her spirited cast of characters.

Over the years the very first parts that I feel compelled to cast are Grace, Beth, Alice, Gladys, Imogene and Mrs Armstrong. Each of these characters are pivotal to the arc of Barbara Robinson’s delightful story but Mrs Armstrong is particularly challenging.

She is outrageous, bombastic, a know-it-all and just plain fun to bring to life. Mrs Armstrong demands that our actors let go and “play her big”. She is often loud, raspy, and undeniably delicious to portray for our actors who accept the challenge of throwing caution to the wind and are willing to go a bit over the top. Over the years our Mrs Armstrong has been in a wheel chair with a head full of curlers draped in a fuzzy bathrobe with a wide ranging selection of accents that span the globe. And although the costuming, props, and accent of this year’s portrayal of Mrs Armstrong are still in process our actors are sure to delight as they strive to leave their mark on this begrudgingly lovable character. It is not to be missed. Ah Mrs Armstrong.

Don’t miss Mrs Armstrong on December 6 and 7! Get your tickets today, https://www.showtix4u.com/event-details/35009.

The Making of a Holiday Tradition (part 2)

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever - Beth Bradley

Wikipedia defines the fourth wall as a “performance convention in which an invisible, imagined wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this "wall", the convention assumes, the actors act as if they cannot”. At BYPC we train our actors at an early age about the fourth wall and in our more advanced classes our actors learn methods and techniques to use the fourth wall to enhance their storytelling.

Rule number one - you never break the fourth wall. Unless, of course, you are the narrator. Beth Bradley is a narrator. Over the years I have discovered the power of the role of Beth in my development of BYPC actors. She is definitely one of those break through characters.

The role of Beth Bradley is uniquely challenging because she starts the show by reminiscing with her audience about her experience as a part of the town’s Christmas pageant. From her very first utterance she needs to grab the attention of each audience member to set the tone of the relationship that each of our cast of storytellers will rely upon. She needs to be relaxed, conversational, charming, relatable and at the same time - compelling. Not an easy task.

But it gets even tougher because she moves from narrating about the story to being a character within the story. She definitely needs a score card to know when, what, and just who she is at any given moment. She is simply our story’s glue.

Our past Beth Bradleys have gone onto many storied careers in their adult lives including Kaleigh Cronin who has earned herself a successful Broadway career. A few years back I saw Kaleigh in “Cabaret” on Broadway and had visions of her in a Beth Bradley velvet dress with her red hair pulled back in a bow - a memory that she and I shared backstage after the show. For her it sparked a love of performing casting her on a magnificent journey of performing leaving an enduring legacy at BYPC.

Fulfilling Kaleigh’s legacy are some of our current actors who have taken on the challenge of bringing Beth
Bradley onto the stage. Here’s what they have learned from the endearing character of Beth.

The Making of a Holiday Tradition

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever - 2019

The holiday season with all of its trimmings and traditions is about to be upon us. In my family we have traditions around family gatherings, trips to Boston to see the lights, tree decorating,home cooked meals, and the reading of the “Polar Express”.

Here at BYPC our holiday season always begins with the performance of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever”. The retelling of this magical holiday story began over 23 years ago when the Spencer family moved from Pennsylvania to Bedford, NH. They brought with them a love of theatre and a very talented musical theatre performer in their daughter Stephanie who graced our stage for all of the years that the Spencers lived in Bedford. The Spencers also brought a script from a community youth theatre company from their Pennsylvania home town. That script made me laugh and it touched my heart. I licensed the production for BYPC and we staged our first performance of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” in 1997.

A new tradition was born that has span 23 years and hundreds of performers. Our first performers are now grown and have families and professions of their own. They have gone into such fields as the arts, medicine, business, education, tech, public service, and journalism spanning the world. They carry with them the memory of their time telling the story of the Bradleys and the Herdmans reminding us of the true meaning of the season. And they have left a legacy that we carry forward to this day.

This year we have a record number of performers with multiple casts. Our performers hail from Bedford, Amherst, Merrimack, Goffstown, Manchester, Windham, Londonderry, Candia, Weare, New Boston, Lyndeborough, Mont Vernon, and Salem. And they range in ages 5 - 18 years old. Some of our performers are experiencing our holiday story for the first time but many of our performers have also made “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” a tradition in their families as they join us year after year.

Let me introduce our cast. Here are our new performers

(Bottom left to right) AJ, Luke, Rhys, Violet, Catherine, Ivy, Rylee,
Lily, Julia, Kaity, Catherine, Sienna, Maggie, Bella, Sophia, Cage
Grace, Katie, Emma, Hope, Paige, Lauren

These cast members have performed in our show for one - four years

Marin, Graham, Louisa, Nathalie, Brielyn, Brayden, Calla, Daniel
Teddy, Gabriel, Kayla, Scarlett, Oliver
Luke, Ava, Liam, Piper, Gabrielle, Emily, Annabelle, Chloe

These cast members have performed in our show for five - ten years

Ainsley, Izzy, Megan, Shannen, Allison, Annalise, Isabelle

And our Grace Bradley, senior Stella Jaques has performed for a whopping 13 years.

We are thrilled to have all of new and returning actors come together to invite you to join us in the holiday tradition of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever”. And just like me you will laugh and you will tear as this tale touches your heart and for at least a moment remind you of the magic of the season. Join us on Friday December 6 at 7PM and Saturday December 7 at 1PM at The Derryfield School in Manchester. You may purchase your tickets at https://www.showtix4u.com/event-details/35009.

The tradition continues.

Ann Davison
Executive Director

The Making of a Musical (part 4)

January 23

As actors it is our job to breath life into the characters that we bring onto the stage.

So, what happens when your character is a statue?  How do you breath life into an inanimate object?  The secret is the focus of energy.  As our actors strike a pose they send energy throughout their bodies by focusing the brain. 

Check out Maddie LaCroix (left) and Shannen Holohan (right) as they create a dynamic stillness by imagining movement throughout their bodies breathing life into an inanimate statue.  The tension that they send down into their arms, legs, hands, and torso create the stillness but by actively sending the tension throughout their body they create a moving energy for their statue characters. 

Next watch how we bring those statues to life!

January 26

A few years back Bradley Cooper appeared on the CBS Morning Show to promote the movie "Burnt".  During his interview he defined the job of an actor as to "create these imaginary circumstances and to live within them and have an honest moment."  It is our job as actors to create believable characters and their stories.

So what happens when you have to create an honest moment for a circumstance that you have never experienced or even imagined?  For example, how do you create an honest moment as a statue that comes to life?

It is a fact that none of our actors have ever experienced being a statue coming to life but what have they experienced that could simulate that action?  How about waking in the morning?  So let's create that imaginary circumstance.  Here are all of actors lying on the floor exactly as they would if they were sleeping in the exact position that they experience as they sleep each night. 

Next they are asked to imagine waking from a deep sleep - wake your mind, wake your body - what does that look like?  What does that feel like? How do you live that in this moment?  If we do it honestly by imagining that we are living it then we will be true to Bradley Cooper's definition of an actor and a statue might just come to life.

January 27

So what does a toy soldier have in common with a chimney sweep?  Nothing - unless, the chimney sweeps are dancing in "Step in Time".  Nothing - unless the chimney sweeps dancing in "Step in Time" are rotating in a straight line.  Nothing - unless they are dancing in "Step in Time" rotating in a straight line just like a Rockette dancing in the iconic "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers".

Moving in a straight line as a wooden soldier or a chimney sweep is definitely challenging.  It begins with the correct positions of arms and no actual touching.

Each dancer must move individually but in direct line with the dancer on either side.  So as our dancers move forward in a fully measured way they must also look side-to-side using their peripheral vision to keep that line straight and moving.  It is sort of like patting your head while rubbing your tummy.  Try it.

Now check out our kick line. - same basic theory.  Our dancers begin with correct arm placement with no touching.  Each dancer's movement needs to be fully supported and independent..  And honestly, the kick is more of a lift - no need for momentum here - just pure core strength.  Add some peripheral vision and you have yourself a kick line.  I have to admit - much tougher than it looks.  Our dancers had fun giving it a shot - check it out.

January 30

A cast made up of actors with strength of character is key to the success of any musical production and I am not talking about the character that you find on the page of a script.  I mean the character that begins with integrity and discipline, that understands the true meaning of commitment and sacrifice, and that leads to trust and confidence as a cast.   Building character is a perk of performing.  It requires time, work, and discipline.  And often times it requires sacrifice.  But when we are able to count on each other as a cast then there is no limit to what we can accomplish - together.

Here is Sarah Dobbin.  You may remember her from our very first blog post.

She always comes prepared and ready to work.  She gives her best at whatever is asked of her no matter the challenge.  Her journey has not always been an easy one but she has always worked with determination and a touch of humor (that never hurts). 

Sarah is a senior and has been accepted to her first choice college!  Lucky school.  Today she asked if she could miss a rehearsal next week.  She made it clear that her commitment to our show is paramount but that she was invited to a special event at her college.  And she asked if she could go. The answer was easy. Sarah is a young woman of character and she has earned my trust.  We missed her but had a fabulous day at the college where she will spend the next four years of her life.  It was thrilling to hear her tell about her day's visit.  She was so excited and we will miss her.

Building strength of character is a perk but the payback is priceless.

February 2

Mirror - friend or foe?  Well, for those of us who look in the mirror and see our mothers - foe.  To dancers it can be a friend - a tool that comes with a warning label.

Warning - use with caution.

A wall full of floor-to-ceiling mirrors provides the perfect tool for dancers to learn choreography, to check alignment, and to adjust lines and spacing.  But when a dancer gets lost in the mirror or depends too much on the mirror it can be a curse.  Check out this March 2017 blog post from the Rockette Facebook page:

https://www.rockettes.com/blog/how-to-use-the-mirror-in-dance-class/?cmp004%3Dsoc_fb_rockettes_=2.%20How%20to%20Use%20the%20Mirror%20in%20Dance%20Class&cmp=rox-soc-earned-fb&__prclt=0BjbPgla

While almost every dance studio has one, facing your own reflected image is practically a given, and some even consider the dance mirror a necessary tool in dance training. Here are a few tips on how to use the studio mirrors to your advantage and how to avoid common reflection-gazing pitfalls:

•   Watch yourself in the mirror occasionally to adjust your shape, line, alignment or spacing. Sometimes it helps to decide on one dance element you want to work on during class and use the mirror only to correct that one thing.

•   Watch classmates only to learn from them and apply what they do well to your own dancing.

•   Use the mirror to get an overall picture of what the choreography looks like, or to learn a phrase of movement more quickly.

•    Constantly gazing at your own reflection causes you to rely on visual cues more than your proprioceptors, the sensors that provide awareness of where your body or its parts are in space. This can negatively affect your dance training. If you find you are having difficulty balancing or dancing without a mirror, these are signals to spend less time looking in the mirror in dance class:

•   Shift your focus toward points relevant to the choreography or in the direction you are moving just as you would on stage.

•   Intentionally stand in a part of the room that limits your use of the mirror.

Take class in a studio that covers or does not have wall-mounted mirrors.

Tonight we turn our cast around.  Choreography has all been taught. No more mirror.  Fourth wall here we come.

February 3

Choreography and music have been taught - check.  Now we clean.  Now we polish.

Now we add the finishing touches like transitions, style, precision, and character.

Now we create a performance.  And let's see who has come to play.

Holly Anne Palmer is a successful director and producer.  She has worked on Broadway and in regional theatre.  She is currently the lead producer for "Wine Lovers the Musical" performed on Norwegian Cruise Ships around the world.  A few years back Holly Anne came to BYPC to teach a workshop and one year later used Skype to teach our musical theatre class. Amongst her many pearls of wisdom were to get to class because training is key, to do your research, to always be prepared and on time, to conduct yourself professionally in a rehearsal or an audition, and to come ready to play.  

So who is ready to play?  At this stage of our rehearsal run our actors are deep in their heads remembering choreography, lines, music, and blocking.  It is tough to let go at this stage.   But, yet,  there are some who just do.  Today Allison Seidel, Jaime Setzler, Anna Whitney, and Hailey Moores did just that and it was so much fun to watch. It's playtime - watch as more of cast join in. Let the work of play begin!