Posts Tagged ‘media’

AVT's Technical Director, Jeremy Gruca, at Sagebrush Cafe for this interview.

Jeremy Gruca sat down at Sagebrush Cafe one afternoon to talk about the many challenges and unique aspects of staging plays for a garage theater.  As AVT’s Technical Director, Jeremy is responsible for integrating the overall technical effort and interfacing with the Artistic Director on how best to support the actors and the overall artistic vision for the production.  Jeremy also has complete purchasing authority for technical materials and infrastructure upgrades once the Producer has approved an overall budget for a particular production.

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Podcast #3: A Conversation with the Technical Director [ 24:28 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (83)

AVT is on an ongoing mission to post spontaneous interviews with cast, crew, fans, and innocent bystanders.  This is the third in our series of (what I hope are) interesting podcasts, focused on personal experiences with the project.

Want to hear more?  View all posts with embedded podcasts, or search for “Antelope Valley Thespians” on the iTunes podcast directory to subscribe for automatic updates.  Enjoy!

Check out our third interview with Community Theatre Heroes, which was a great, roughly 30-min discussion with cohosts Chris Murphey and Phillip McKaughan about AVT.

Community Theatre Heroes is the AV’s weekly podcast on theatre and the arts.  Tune in weekly for audition notices, reviews, commentary, and interviews.  We are also pleased to be able to host the latest episodes from CTH on our website… check out our side navigation bar for an RSS feed of AVT’s own podcast, as well as the latest from CTH via their BlogTalkRadio player.

AVT’s podcast series continues with the upcoming release of an interview with Technical Director Jeremy Gruca. Jeremy talks about how he got involved with theatre, the challenges of tech in a garage, lessons-learned in team leadership, and what’s in the shop for “Crime and Punishment”.  Look for this podcast to be posted in the next couple of days.

Thanks to Courtney’s sound engineering skills, AVT is on an ongoing mission to post spontaneous interviews with cast, crew, fans, and innocent bystanders. The goal is a series of (what I hope are) interesting podcasts, focused on personal experiences with the project. If you would like to be interviewed about your thoughts and experiences with AVT, please let me know!

Our podcasts can be streamed from our website, or you can search for “Antelope Valley Thespians” in the iTunes podcast directory for the auto-updating feed.

AVT's costume designer, Anna Delrosario, during tech rehearsal for her recent role as the spirit of Jeanne d'Arc.

I had the wonderful opportunity yesterday to sit down with Anna Delrosario, costumer designer for AVT and co-star of our first production.   Our conversation ranged from her experiences with the start of the project and her role as the spirit of Jeanne d’Arc in “Voices” to what’s coming up in the costume department for “Crime and Punishment” and the rest of our 2010 Season.

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Podcast #2: Anna tells us about "Voices" and costume design for upcoming shows [ 9:10 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (342)

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This podcast was recorded at Best of Europe Deli, on the corner of 50th St West and Avenue M in Quartz Hill.  A genuine local establishment, this family-owned importer of European meats, preserves, teas, coffee, and eclectic soft drinks has been in business for 10 years!  Stop by for their excellent sandwiches, fine imported goods, and friendly atmosphere.

AVT is on an ongoing mission to post spontaneous interviews with cast, crew, fans, and innocent bystanders.  So here is the second in our series of (what I hope are) interesting podcasts, focused on personal experiences with the project.

Want to hear more?  View all posts with embedded podcasts, or search for “Antelope Valley Thespians” on the iTunes podcast directory to subscribe for automatic updates.  Enjoy!

Nalin A. Ratnayake, Producer and Artistic Director for AVT, lounging at Sagebrush Cafe during this podcast.

Courtney and I met up this afternoon to interview each other at AVT’s favorite coffee house, Sagebrush Cafe, on L-14 and 50th W in Quartz Hill, where we have most of our production meetings.  You can probably find me hanging out there a few times a week!

Having recently figured out how to embed podcast capability into our blog posts, we thought it would be a great idea to start posting spontaneous interviews with cast, crew, fans, and innocent bystanders.  So… here we go!  The first installment in what I hope will become a series of interesting podcasts, focused on personal experiences with the AVT project.

AVT's Business Manager and genius behind the podcast recordings, Courtney Marietta.

Don’t worry, we still intend to listen and call in occasionally to  Community Theatre Heroes, a weekly podcast on theatre happenings in the Antelope Valley.  These podcasts we are doing here are solely focused on the AVT project, and our cast, crew, and fans.

AVT Podcast #1 [ 13:56 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (197)

This first podcast is about how the project got started and where we are right now.

I was invited to call in to BlogTalkRadio’s “Community Theatre Heroes” again last night to talk about the AVT project.  For those of you who don’t know, local thespians Chris Murphy and Phillip McKaughan have a weekly podcast on Wednesday at 8pm that discusses theatre auditions, theatre people, and theatre happenings in and around the Antelope Valley.   I think it’s a great resource, and moreover it’s just really cool that there is a vibrant enough arts culture in the AV to support our own local theatre podcast!

You can listen to last night’s episode on demand from their website.  I called in around 10 minutes into the show… and accidently entered the queue earlier than I expected!  I thought the interview went well though, and I’m glad we have such good support from them.

I can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong… tech week is usually a hellish nightmare of panic; yet this week for us has gone more or less as smoothly as we could have hoped – knock on wood! It has been quite a bit of money and many many long nights, but this project is finally reaching its… beginning!

This weekend will be proof of concept.  Proof that yes, in a small space not designed for the purpose and with common materials, we can indeed display fine acting, creative scenic design, innovative light and sound, and stunning costumes.  Proof that we can indeed make art in a garage.  Proof that in some things, beauty really does lie in essential simplicity.  Thanks to many hours put in by a very dedicated team, we are READY.

This the phase that is nailbiting for a director… one has already let go of the wheel, and now paces the deck nervously, waiting to see where the ship will sail.  Yet with this team, I know I need not worry; “Voices” is in good hands.  So I will just pour myself another glass of Merlot, and revel in it!

Playbills printed, still need to fold them.  Next show flyer and patronage solicitation printed.  All seats laid out and theatre space swept. Just some cleaning of the downstairs area and setting up for the reception, and my list is done.

Thanks to AV Press staff writer Julie Daniel for a wonderful article in today’s “Showcase” magazine!

We have one seat remaining for tomorrow’s show, and two left for Sunday at this time.

Ooof, exhausted… signing out for tonight. Though what’s the point?  I’m too excited to sleep despite my tiredness!