Hello all!
My final week in Denver has finally come and gone. The ultimate goal of the past four weeks has as well – our performance in the Temple Buell Theatre. In short – it was an amazing performance and experience. Many of the people I talked to about the show had nothing but praise for the show. But perhaps I should start at the beginning of the week to adequately explain how great it was to hear this.
Our week started off in the Temple Events Center, an old temple in downtown Denver which we used in interim until we could get into the Temple Buell Theatre. We spent the first day listening to a few speeches and items, ranging from the Up with People experience to our travels through Mexico and the United States. I’m especially excited for our travels through Mexico. From what our coordinators have said, Viva la Gente (as Up with People is known in Mexico) is a VERY big deal in Mexico. There has been a representative from Mexico in EVERY cast of Up with People. Viva la Gente is a household name, as are the songs. We also got a rundown of the places we’re going to visit, and what they will have to offer from a travel perspective. It looks amazing! Every one of the cities is STEEPED in history and culture. It should be an exciting experience.
On Tuesday we worked through the entire show piece by piece, working on vocals, dance, and blocking (though only slightly for the latter because of the limitat
ions we had at our location). It was a long, but productive day. Wednesday brought our arrival at the Temple Buell Theatre – a gorgeous and amazing facility. All week long, we had to use the backstage entrance to the building, which made us feel like rock stars. We had dressing rooms that have been used by casts of Broadway plays, city orchestras, and the like. All along the backstage walls of the building were paintings of all the shows that have graced the Buell’s stage. At the end of the week, our own painting was right next to all of the rest, with our signatures all across it. The Buell Theatre is one of the premier venues in all of Colorado, if not THE premier venue. It holds over 2,000 people and has amazing acoustics. (I don’t think I can say amazing enough).
Friday held our official dress rehearsal show, where we invite our host family to see what we have to offer. It also gives us a chance to run through the show in front of a crowd that is not
part of our show staff. It went well! We really stepped our game, according to the staff. Going into Saturday, we didn’t have much sleep, but we were still feeling energized from the night before. We started the morning off by meeting the FOUNDER of Up with People. He spoke to us for about an hour, and I found it amazing to listen to his story of seeing a need and fulfilling it. He said the 1960’s were full of young people who had so much passion for something (mostly against The Man – the establishment). Most of the passion resulted in negative forms, and UWP founder decided that there should be another way to harness this energy. He held a conference to discuss possibilities, with the 1,200 young people who showed up. Out of the conference came Up with People. Amazing.
We spent the rest of the afternoon doing a stop-and-go rehearsal, running through the show but stopping to correct things as we went. It went well. Finally, dinner came – Dominoes pizza. Yum. I spent a good twenty minutes centering myself before I went into Green Room, which is our pre-show meeting place and talk. Andrew, our sound technician, gave us a great speech that reminded us why we were there – why the Up with People show was there. Up with People’s motto is that we can change the world for the better. That is the message we’re trying to convey with our show, but its so easy to forget in the every day functions and learnings of orientation/staging. We ended Green Room and went out into the house
, meeting and greeting people who had taken time to see our show. A friend of mine, also, decided to come down from Rapid City to see the show, but I wasn’t able to find her until intermission. (Donna, thanks again for braving a flat tire and ticketing cops to see my show! You’re amazing!) :) Soon the show started and there was a palpable feeling of adrenaline and anticipation. This was the moment we had been waiting for for the past four weeks. This was the culmination of our staging process – getting to stand in front of over 2,000 people (a full house) and convey our message, as well as shine the light on local heroes of Denver. I think our excitement showed, but the show kicked off with a power greater than the dress rehearsal. It was fantastic. It was intense. It was powerful. By the end of Saturday night, I was sore and I was tired, but I was on a high so great that it was hard to get sleep for a while. Such a unique experience that I get to be a part of for the next four months.
Today, my host family and I spent time together, traveling to Boulder to have brunch and enjoy each other’s company for the last time. After that, we picked up a few things that Kristian and I needed before we hit the road, and then came back home. We had dinner, and exchanged gifts of appreciation for each other. No tears yet, but I have no doubt that tomorrow will be soggy. Tomorrow officially marks the beginning of our travels across the world to bring the message of Up with People and I confess myself excited. It is going to be an amazing experience and here I stand on the edge of it, knowing that it will be amazing but having no clue how it will be that. And interesting prospect.
Until my next post!
Dan
My final week in Denver has finally come and gone. The ultimate goal of the past four weeks has as well – our performance in the Temple Buell Theatre. In short – it was an amazing performance and experience. Many of the people I talked to about the show had nothing but praise for the show. But perhaps I should start at the beginning of the week to adequately explain how great it was to hear this.
Our week started off in the Temple Events Center, an old temple in downtown Denver which we used in interim until we could get into the Temple Buell Theatre. We spent the first day listening to a few speeches and items, ranging from the Up with People experience to our travels through Mexico and the United States. I’m especially excited for our travels through Mexico. From what our coordinators have said, Viva la Gente (as Up with People is known in Mexico) is a VERY big deal in Mexico. There has been a representative from Mexico in EVERY cast of Up with People. Viva la Gente is a household name, as are the songs. We also got a rundown of the places we’re going to visit, and what they will have to offer from a travel perspective. It looks amazing! Every one of the cities is STEEPED in history and culture. It should be an exciting experience.On Tuesday we worked through the entire show piece by piece, working on vocals, dance, and blocking (though only slightly for the latter because of the limitat
ions we had at our location). It was a long, but productive day. Wednesday brought our arrival at the Temple Buell Theatre – a gorgeous and amazing facility. All week long, we had to use the backstage entrance to the building, which made us feel like rock stars. We had dressing rooms that have been used by casts of Broadway plays, city orchestras, and the like. All along the backstage walls of the building were paintings of all the shows that have graced the Buell’s stage. At the end of the week, our own painting was right next to all of the rest, with our signatures all across it. The Buell Theatre is one of the premier venues in all of Colorado, if not THE premier venue. It holds over 2,000 people and has amazing acoustics. (I don’t think I can say amazing enough).Friday held our official dress rehearsal show, where we invite our host family to see what we have to offer. It also gives us a chance to run through the show in front of a crowd that is not
part of our show staff. It went well! We really stepped our game, according to the staff. Going into Saturday, we didn’t have much sleep, but we were still feeling energized from the night before. We started the morning off by meeting the FOUNDER of Up with People. He spoke to us for about an hour, and I found it amazing to listen to his story of seeing a need and fulfilling it. He said the 1960’s were full of young people who had so much passion for something (mostly against The Man – the establishment). Most of the passion resulted in negative forms, and UWP founder decided that there should be another way to harness this energy. He held a conference to discuss possibilities, with the 1,200 young people who showed up. Out of the conference came Up with People. Amazing.We spent the rest of the afternoon doing a stop-and-go rehearsal, running through the show but stopping to correct things as we went. It went well. Finally, dinner came – Dominoes pizza. Yum. I spent a good twenty minutes centering myself before I went into Green Room, which is our pre-show meeting place and talk. Andrew, our sound technician, gave us a great speech that reminded us why we were there – why the Up with People show was there. Up with People’s motto is that we can change the world for the better. That is the message we’re trying to convey with our show, but its so easy to forget in the every day functions and learnings of orientation/staging. We ended Green Room and went out into the house
, meeting and greeting people who had taken time to see our show. A friend of mine, also, decided to come down from Rapid City to see the show, but I wasn’t able to find her until intermission. (Donna, thanks again for braving a flat tire and ticketing cops to see my show! You’re amazing!) :) Soon the show started and there was a palpable feeling of adrenaline and anticipation. This was the moment we had been waiting for for the past four weeks. This was the culmination of our staging process – getting to stand in front of over 2,000 people (a full house) and convey our message, as well as shine the light on local heroes of Denver. I think our excitement showed, but the show kicked off with a power greater than the dress rehearsal. It was fantastic. It was intense. It was powerful. By the end of Saturday night, I was sore and I was tired, but I was on a high so great that it was hard to get sleep for a while. Such a unique experience that I get to be a part of for the next four months.Today, my host family and I spent time together, traveling to Boulder to have brunch and enjoy each other’s company for the last time. After that, we picked up a few things that Kristian and I needed before we hit the road, and then came back home. We had dinner, and exchanged gifts of appreciation for each other. No tears yet, but I have no doubt that tomorrow will be soggy. Tomorrow officially marks the beginning of our travels across the world to bring the message of Up with People and I confess myself excited. It is going to be an amazing experience and here I stand on the edge of it, knowing that it will be amazing but having no clue how it will be that. And interesting prospect.
Until my next post!
Dan
1 comment:
Again, Roh, the trip was definitely worth it! And those little delays just make for a more entertaining story.
The show was absolutely amazing! I hope everyone has the opportunity to see it... I can't tell you enough how much I enjoyed it.
Hope your trip to Lincoln today goes well. (No flat tires, etc.) I look forward to hearing about all the wonderful places you'll be visiting!
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